Phuket is experiencing a buzzing low season with hotel occupancy rates up 20%-30% from last year. The term 'low season' may no longer be applicable based on visitor arrivals in the past several months. Quality hotels such as Trisara and Twin Palms were fully booked during a time that is traditionally the low season," according to Mr. David Simister, Chairman, CB Richard Ellis Thailand.
CB Richard Ellis remains confident in the sustainable growth of Thai resort property markets and is now expanding into the Samui and Pattaya markets following requests from our major clients. CB Richard Ellis celebrated the opening of the Samui office on the 14th September with plans to open the Pattaya office later in October. As Thailand's political situation improves, real estate will also continue to draw in foreign investments into the country. The new constitution was approved by a public referendum last month and this has paved way towards a general election at the end of this year. [via PRWEB]
If you pass on the islands, where else can you look? CBRE thinks that Pattaya could be the next up and coming venue. But is Pattaya yet a place for the well-heeled? By day it looks like a post-apocalyptic Mad Max hellhole. What if Pattaya’s nightlife were to be closed down? “If that happened,” says Simister, “house prices would go up in Pattaya.
There is a world of difference between the kind of person who buys a house in Pattaya for Bt5 million ($157, 480) and one who buys for Bt10 million to Bt15 million.” On the assumption that investment bankers and hedge fund managers invariably abhor moral turpitude, you have to conclude his Pattaya analysis is correct. [via FinanceAsia.com]
Ed. What's he talking about, if it wasn't for investment bankers and hedge fund managers in Hong Kong, Wanchai would go out of business.
Sierra Tangos
- Your next one might be your last one - A Chinese factory allegedly supplied to British chemists "fake" Viagra that is three times the maximum strength of the g enuine product, media reported today. The dangerously powerful Viagra is life-threatening to men with heart conditions.
Samples of the factory's Viagra, a drug for sexual dysfunction, were tested by Pfiz
er, its official manufacturer, and found to contain talcum powder as well as "overdose" level of Sildenafil, the drug`s active ingredient. "Just one of those tablets would give you
an overdose," a Pfizer spokeswoman was quoted in the Sunday Times today. "The effects in men with existing diseases, such as cardiovascular conditions, may be unpredictable and potentially serious." Other patients would be at greater risk of side effects such as headaches and dizziness.
Among fake drugs sold to patients with the national health service prescriptions are Casodex, Plavix, a blood thinner, and Zyprexa, a schizophrenia treatment. [via Zeenews.com]
- Heaven's Above Reopens - Tonight 28 Sept. Check out the new layout.
- U Too Bar Pool Competition - Tonight, 28 Sept
- Buffalo Bar Posts Photos Of Sandy's Birthday Party - Explains why the Buffalo Bar is one of the most popular bars off the Walking Street. Sample photo follow:
- The Thai Government has approved the transfer of convicted heroin smuggler Holly Deane-Johns to Australia. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says the transfer will take place once formal processes have been finalised. The department says it is working to ensure the transfer can occur as soon as possible.
Deane-Johns was sentenced to 31 years in a Thai prison after she was convicted of trying to post 10 grams of heroin from Thailand to Australia in 2000.
- Free Equivalents Of Expensive Desktop Applications [via makeuseof.com]:
(1) Office Software
Open Office replaced Microsoft Office - Microsoft Office’s replacement was the easy one to find since there is a lot of commotion these days regarding the alternatives. Open Office was a no contest option and with the recent update, I love it.
(2) Graphics and Image Manipulation
GIMP replaced Jasc Paint Shop Pro - Paint Shop Pro was the cheaper alternative to Adobe Photoshop. GIMP has more than fulfilled my needs and there are hundred of free tutorials available. Also make sure to check out GimpShop, a version of Gimp with a Photoshop-like look and functionalities.
(3) PDF
PrimoPDF and PDFedit replaced Adobe Acrobat Pro - The only key functions I ever used Adobe Acrobat Pro for was to save (aka print) files to PDF and to edit, type on or add graphics to the PDFs. With PrimoPDF I can print to PDF and the rest is accomplished with PDFedit.
(4) FTP
Filezilla replaced CuteFTP - I only assumed that the free versions of an FTP client were a bit sketchy. However, FileZilla is not only secure, it’s also widely used and highly featured.
(5) Bookmarks Sync. Tool
Zinkmo replaced Skymarks - Skymarks (IE bookmark synchronizer via the web) stopped working then disappeared and their site is down now only 3 months after I had paid for the program (all the other free ones created errors or did a poor job). Finally Zinkmo does a good job of syncing my Internet Explorer and Firefox bookmarks over the internet.
(6) FeedReader
RSS Bandit replaced NewsGator’s FeedDemon - FeedDemon was awesome, because it synced to NewsGator Online so no matter if I was at home, work or not one of my computers everything would be synced up. RSS Bandit accomplishes the exact same thing.
(7) Weather
Weather Watcher replaced Weather Channel Platinum - When Weather Channel’s desktop weather program failed to work on Vista, I asked support for help. They never solved the issue and I was stuck using an ad supported program at home. Weather Watcher has everything and more.
- TV Schedule Of Major Sporting Events - link to the TV schedule for major sporting events such as the IRB Rugby World Cup, English Premier League, F1 Grand Prix, Cricket and Euro 2008 qualifiers.
- Thai Toilets
On my first trip to Thailand the favourite watering hole of my mongering mentor was the Pink Panther in Pat Pong. I was in the loo one night unloading in to a wall mounted urinal when a bikini clad go-go dancer came rushing in to use the the communal cubicle. The cubicle was occupied so the girl walked up to the wall mounted urinal next to me, pulled her bikini brief to one side, thrust out her box and proceeded to unload male style into the urinal. It was like standing next to Niagra Falls. Having been well drug up and it being my first visit to Thailand, I was stunned to say the least. I wouldn't bat an eye lid now but then, ayeeeeeee. I couldn't get my head round bar fining for the best part of an hour. I know this story will turn on some of my golden shower friends but for me, nah. Forgeeeeet It.
- On the first day of their honeymoon, the blonde bride slipped into a sexy but sweet nightie and, with great anticipation, crawled into bed. When her husband wasn't shortly behind her, she got up and went looking for him -- and found that her new Catholic husband had settled down on the couch. She asked him why he was apparently not going to make love to her. "I thought you realized," he replied. "It's Lent." "What?!" she shrieked, almost in tears. "Why, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!" "Well, you asked, and that's the answer," he said, going back to his book. "But..." she said. "Who did you lend it to, and for how long?"
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