Thailand........... the Land of Smiles

Recently, I travelled to Thailand from July 31 to August 4 for a short holiday with a group of friends. Prior to leaving on this vacation it was necessary for me to attend the Australian embassy here in Hong Kong to renew my passport which to meet was a joyous occasion. For a person who suffered a flying phobia all of my life up until 3 years ago when it became possible to travel, you can imagine my delight at having to renew my passport having filled up all 32 pages of the previous one with stamps from different countries that I have visited since the start of 2006. Needless to say, I've gotten 64 page one this time as these days I am always ready and eager to hop on a plane to any destination as flying has become an absolute delight rather than a terrifying experience.

The Kingdom of Thailand includes an irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, ruins of ancient kingdoms, inspiring temples, breathtaking natural beauty and renowned hospitality. No wonder Thailand draws more visitors than any other country in South-east Asia. From the pounding dance clubs of Bangkok, the tranquil villages along the Mekong River, the verdant limestone islands of the Andaman Sea, Thailand has something on offer for every traveller.

Landing in Bangkok on a Thursday afternoon and proceeding to the Banyan Tree Hotel after a short limousine ride I was immediately impressed by the warmth, friendliness and carefree charm expressed by the Thai people.

Staying on the 56th floor I had a great view of the surrounding city and precincts. Bangkok became Thailand's capital in 1782. Prior to that it was an outlying district of Thonburi, a trading post in the mid-18th-century. The government of the day seeing that Bangkok was close to Siams capital, Ayuthaya, and noting Bangkok's military significance built a fortress there on the banks of the Chao Phraya and suspended their huge iron chain across the river to block unwelcome arrivals. In modern times, Bangkok grew and numerous roadways were added and the constitutional government established. Today Bangkok is noted as a financial hub of mainland Southeast Asia.

After visiting Bangkok we departed for Phuket province a short flight to the south. The Pearl of the South in the land of smiles, Phuket is Thailand's largest and most visited island. The economy revolves around tourism but still retains its loyalty to real Thailand culture.

Formerly called Ko Thalang, Phuket combines Chinese and Portuguese influences with that of the Southern Thais as well as the Chao Leh, a seminomadic, seafaring people who rely on fishing and boat building. The island's location on the main sea trade route between China and India historically raised the importance of Phuket as a trading station and fishing centre. In more modern times, rubber farming was introduced to Phuket. This industry drew other ethnic groups including Chinese immigrants and southern Thai Muslims. Thailand is one of the largest exporters of rubber in the world.

In more recent times, the 2004 tsunami wreaked havoc on the island's southwestern and western coasts and took many lives. Some of the damage is still evident although it appears that Phuket has recovered well from this natural disaster. In September 2007 a budget airlines plane crashed at Phuket airport. The tragic accident temporarily closed the airport at that time.

I stayed in a Lagoon villa at the Banyan Tree Hotel at Laguna resort. These villas are large and have their own very private swimming pool. Mine also had a rear access from the courtyard to a small jetty landing on the lagoon where guests could relax in banana lounges. My stay there was extremely pleasant and my compliments go to all of the Banyan Tree's staff for their great service. While staying at the Laguna resort were also able to venture out and explore some of Phuket including massage and spa at the palatial Sukko Spa in Amphur Muang, the Patong Beach area where we dined most nights and were able to sample some of the night life and shopping. If anyone is looking for good places to eat then Baan Rim Pa and the Savoey at Patong Beach as well as the Watermark restaurant at the boat Lagoon Marina at Muang deserve a mention.

Returning back to Hong Kong on a Thai Airways flight wasn't all that bad either or too hard to handle. When I walked into the front of the Thai Airways flight and saw the new capsule seating with the wide aisles, I could have been forgiven for thinking that I was in a Gold Class theatre somewhere. The words "I'm impressed" kept coming into my mind.

We plan another holiday to Thailand soon, this time to Chiang Mai as we are keen to experience nor all that wonderful Thai culture. For me, will be another opportunity at whittling away at those 64 pages in my new passport.

Until next time, don’t forget to wipe………………………..

Waaaa!! Its been four months since my last confession.....

I cannot believe that I have not written an entry here since April 2008. It is now the fifth of August 2008. I will do my best to try and summarise the past four months in this entry. So, here goes..............

At the time of writing my last entry, I was in Melbourne, Australia. I had gone there from Hong Kong with the purposes of moving our office to better accommodation. I originally planned to stay for two months but ended up staying to nearly 3.

Whilst in Melbourne I was able to identify potential office buildings in the form of office/warehouse combinations and at the right price. One in particular caught my eye and I focused on that one but also kept negotiations on other buildings continuing in reserve just in case I couldn't get the one I wanted. The building I liked was brand new, untouched and had a really nice corporate presentation. It is situated in the new Aero Link business Park at Tullamarine near Melbourne airport. In the end, I got the one I wanted at a much better price than I anticipated. Either I am a better negotiator and I give myself credit for all the real estate salesman who did the negotiations on behalf of the owner caved in to early. Either way I was quite happy with the result.

After the building had been negotiated there were obvious things that needed attention such as additional power points, telephone outlets, data etc. These were quickly attended to and the removalist organised. There were a great number of other things that needed to be done in relation to moving but in the end they were quite simple to facilitate as I had already planned them all before leaving from Hong Kong to Melbourne, so it was just a case of " following the bouncing ball" to get things done. Step one followed by step two followed by step three etc. Some of my new friends were impressed by the facilitation process but my attitude was that if we advertise ourselves as project managers, then we better handle our own project well.

Whilst in Melbourne I also engaged the services of a new employee, a project manager whose name is Glen. Speaking of names, some people ask me why I don't write more about my friends. It's quite simple, it's called private life for reason. I write a little about them, as much as is necessary for the purposes of telling a story but I don't like to delve into the right private business. That's for them to tell.

Also while in Melbourne I was also able to complete writing the content for all of our web site updates. These include www.trma.com.au , www.trma.com.hk , www.intersec.com.au , www.alanjbrown.com.au So, it's been a busy time.

We also restructured our business consistent with moving so we could separate our business into business units that were more logically set out to deal with the businesses that we are in.

Also, as a bit of a side project I wrote my own personal web site were I could coordinate various links to other web sites such as this one all from the same place. If you would like to check that out than please go to www.sushinoodleguy.com You will also find a song there that I wrote on a plane in September last year on my way down to Melbourne. It's called " The day you when away". I did the recording in one take sitting in my kitchen in Melbourne Victoria. I simply played an acoustic guitar and saying what the recorder did the rest, so any bum notes are not the recorder's fault they are my own. I wrote the song after reading about a lady doctor in Australia who was sick and suffering from either a leukaemia or Hodgkinson's disease (I think). At that time, this lady was pregnant and had a decision to make. Basically she had to decide whether to keep taking her medicine for her illness so that she could stay well but at the same time pulled her unborn baby at risk, or not to take her medicine which would put her at risk but give her baby a better chance at survival. In the end she chose not to take her medicine knowing the likely outcome. Her husband was an American gentleman who is also living here in Australia. I felt that there was a lot of love and that family. I believe that the baby was delivered prematurely after the lady died, or at the time of her death. I wrote the song from her husband's perspective. I hope you like it if you take the opportunity to have a listen to it.

I enjoyed my time in Melbourne very much. I was able to catch up with old friends and make relationships with new ones. I miss Melbourne when I'm away but I do accept that I'm trying to get a business going in Hong Kong.

After my return to Hong Kong to meet with some business people, I found the lot of business people have gone away on summer holiday. A number of the meetings that I was going to attend were postponed. Still, I turned my attention to marketing and similar activities and have been busy ever since.

As far as travel is concerned, I made a couple of trips over to Macau for business and also when up to mainland China a couple of times, mainly for pleasure and relaxation. I may have mentioned before that it's quite easy to get from where I live in Hong Kong to the Mainland China border, just a train ride away.

I have just returned from a short holiday in Thailand. I went there with the group of friends on July 31 and returned on August 4. I went to Bangkok and Phuket. I found Thailand to be a mixture of Vietnamese, Malaysians, Singaporean cultures, all very pleasant. The Thai people too are very friendly and pleasant and I really did find their custom of saying " Sawadeeka" or "Sawadeecup" to be a very pleasant greeting.

When I take a look back on the past four months, or indeed the past few years, I still think that I'm the luckiest guy on the planet.

Until next time, take good care, and don't forget to wipe.................