Meet SERBJEET SIDHU, author of “Patong Can Wait”
Tell us what your book, “Patong Can Wait,” is about!
Sure! Here’s the summary:
Patong Can Wait is a satirical comedy about Indian travellers, social behaviour, and the small absurdities that appear the moment we leave home.
Through three very different Punjabi characters, the story moves from airports and hotels to beaches and Bangkok-style nightlife, turning familiar travel habits into sharp, affectionate humour.
Beneath the comedy is a simple question: when we travel abroad, do we really leave our habits behind, or simply take them with us?
What did you love most about writing this book?
What I enjoyed most was taking very ordinary travel situations and looking at them through a slightly exaggerated lens.
Airports, hotel check-ins, buffets, beaches, and nightlife are things many of us have experienced, but the comedy often comes from how people behave in those situations.
I also enjoyed writing the contrast between the characters because each of them reacts differently to the same moment. The most satisfying part was being able to laugh at familiar behaviour that I observed, having lived out of India for more than 30 years and I could do that without becoming cruel about it.
How did you start writing?
Patong Can Wait started from something I had observed repeatedly while travelling internationally: tourist behaviour can become unintentionally funny the moment people leave their familiar environment.
Loudness, bargaining, occupying too much space, treating buffets like strategic operations, or carrying local habits abroad are not unique to any one nationality. You see them everywhere.
What struck me, though, was how visible Indian travellers can become simply because of the sheer number travelling internationally today. That gave me the idea to write a satire from the inside — not to ridicule Indians, but to laugh at some of our own habits with affection and recognition.
From there, the characters began to take shape, and the book became a way of asking whether we really change when we travel, or simply carry home with us in our suitcases.
Tell us a little bit about your self-publishing experience.
I am an engineer by education, a management consultant by profession and a writer by passion.
Over nearly three decades, I have worked across countries, industries and cultures, which has given me a close view of how people think, behave and make decisions in very different circumstances.
My writing draws heavily from those experiences, sometimes seriously, sometimes through satire, but always with people at the centre.
What was your biggest challenge in bringing the book to market, and how did you solve it?
The biggest challenge was not writing the book, but learning everything that comes after it: formatting, cover design, positioning, publishing, pricing and discoverability.
I approached it the same way I approach transformation projects professionally: break the problem into smaller parts, learn quickly, use the right tools, and keep improving rather than waiting for perfection.
What's one piece of advice you have for other writers?
Do not write simply because a subject is trending. Write because you genuinely feel you have something to say.
Use modern tools, including AI, where they help, there is little value in reinventing the wheel, but keep your own experience, judgment and voice at the centre.
Most importantly, finish the book.
Anything else you want folks to know?
I do not write within one fixed genre. Some of my books explore difficult human choices, some look at leadership and technology, and others use satire to laugh at the world around us.
What connects them is curiosity about people: why we behave the way we do, especially when circumstances become complicated.
Where can people find your book?
