Let Your Mind Go and Your Body Will Follow

Steed

2011-04-07T07:28:00.002+01:00

Look ma! no hands!

2011-04-07T07:19:00.004+01:00

Long time no see

2011-01-18T19:02:00.003+01:00

Signs

2009-05-25T23:39:00.000+01:00

Mallorca - May 09

2009-05-25T23:37:00.000+01:00

Ik was Zwanger!!! Ik hebben Klientje nu!!!!

2008-09-06T06:52:00.001+01:00

To air or not to air

2008-03-03T13:51:00.003+01:00

I've spent most of the last 2 weeks thinking...

No, not about where life is taking me.. or anything even remotely philosophical...

I've been only wondering whether the MACBOOK Air is the laptop for me or not..... I need a laptop which I can use for carrying around, watch a few movies maybe, and also fiddle around with my pictures and of course for itunes.

so without further ado here goes:

Pros:

# Do I really have to list these out ?

# Serious Eye Candy

# Enough RAM, HDD space for being mobile

Cons:

# No DVD drive (can buy the 100 $ / 89 Euro external one)

# No Ethernet adapter

# Which means that one has to carry the above two at all times

# Performance - slower than a macbook - which is 25 % cheaper!!

And so, I think im going to think a little more!!!

Coool !!!!!

2007-12-20T17:15:00.000+01:00

Current Summary
-4°C with LIGHT FOG

RealFeel® -8 °C

The Mile-High Club

2007-11-05T14:29:00.000+01:00

This is the funniest thing I've read... well today atleast...

Singapore Airlines, the proud first operator of the new Airbus A380, has requested people to NOT use their inflight suite to join the mile high club....

Inspite of having the world's first true inflight beds, they have asked passengers to "refrain" from having sex, since the suites are not that private and are not sound proof !!!

Personally, I sleep thru most flights.... however I can understand certain passengers "concerns" about how they can refrain, especially since they give a bed, champagne, exquisite food, and excellent service. Well, as long as the air - hostess isnt asked to provide the extra "1st class service", I guess its fine!

A recent survey found that around 9% of people admitted to having had sex on board a commercial airliner.

Interestingly, it was pretty much an even split between men and women. maybe thats an indication that the traditional wisdom about men tending to brag and women tending to be modest when asked questions about sex may be all but fading!

However, before you start checking around you on your next flight to see if close to one in ten people are ‘at it’ don’t forget that only means that they may have done it on one occasion, not every time they fly!

Vote for Wii !!!!

2007-11-05T13:29:00.000+01:00

I got the Nintendo Wii this weekend, and ever since have been HOOKED.

Along with the unit got a sports package (tennis, boxing, baseball, golf, bowling) and the Need For Speed Carbon...

First of all, take everything youve heard about the UI / interactiveness and CUBE it!!

Games like boxing and golf actually give you this feeling of actually hitting the guy or actually driving that ball 250 + yards...Added to this the force feedback is simply the icing on the cake.

At the beginning, when i opened up the package, I was wondering if I needed a Phd to set it up! I was looking at motion sensors, and this space age "thing" that turned out to be a stand after all...Actually setting it up was a piece of cake.. and took only around 10 minutes.

At the end of some 2 hours, I have to admit I had a sore back and creaky shoulder...... but then hey... u shud have seen me K.O. my opponent :)

The Road to Josephine

2007-11-02T15:52:00.000+01:00

Everyone who has heard Chris Rea has mostly one thing to say - What a voice!!

True enough, and my sentiments exactly....Road to hell is probably his most famous song.

However my captivation with Chris Rea goes back to an older song. "fool, if you think its over" is one of my all time favorite songs...

Well the reason for this post is not about either song, but about "Josephine"..... if you havent heard it yet, please do immediately!

Also here is wiki's story about him

Zen Sarcasm

2007-10-25T15:45:00.000+01:00

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbour's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

20. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Some guys have all the luck!!

2007-10-24T17:05:00.000+01:00

2 weeks ago, we did something which I personally have been wanting to do for maybe 20 years....

15 to 20 years ago - I adopted "Some Guys Have all the luck" as my theme song... Foolishly, destined to beleive that some other guy was actually having all the luck, one thing was clear... I had to see the person who was performing the song...LIVE.

Other hits like Maggie May, Young Turks only fuelled this fire...

If you havent figured out the guy by now, please dont ever talk to me ever again!

During the hair raising performance, he kept repeating things like

"The next song is my good friend Cat Stevens's song"

or even better"

"Thanx Van" (Morrison).

Arguably the best rock performer from the period of the 60s, 70s, he himself in his 60's (62). He is definitely one of the most spirited performers, regardless of the fact that he cant really dance for nuts!

Ladies & Gentlemen, please put ur hands together for Rod Stewart.

Time flies!!

2007-10-17T12:04:00.000+01:00

Its funny how time flies.... and no, not only when your having fun..

you could be sitting around with a lot of friends / family and having a blast.. and thinking to yourself, it cant get better than this..

suddenly you realise, its 10 years since that happened, and you havent spoken to those people in a very long time.

getting in touch with old friends is really nice.... most of the time.. its even better if they turn out to be exactly how you remember them to be.

well the purpose of this very boring note is, basically that over the last month or so, i've gotten in touch with around 15 old friends.... some of them whom i really did remember the good times we had... and some of them whom - well lets just say, i have no clue about!!!

while i sit here and reminiscence about the good old times, i wonder, whom or what i'll be thinking of in another 10 years time!!??!!

Party around the world

2007-10-16T13:34:00.000+01:00

According Bureau Van Dijk Electronic Publishing, partying in Amsterdam is expensive.... 31st most expensive place to party in the world... The Argentine city of Buenos Aires is the cheapest; for less than EUR 60 you can have an extensive night out. Oslo being the first, it is six times more for a night out!

One surprising fact was that Frankfurt was in the top 3 (along with Reykjavik (Iceland)) which I find really hard to believe...especially more since I found Germany to be cheaper on eating out, shopping, drinking to be ATLEAST 30 % cheaper than Netherlands... and I was comparing two cities (and not towns) in Germany - Berlin and Koln.

Stringent Rules for Photographing Thai Royalty...

2007-10-16T13:05:00.000+01:00

So, if you always wanted to take that elusive pic of Thai Royalty, forget it!

Here are the list of rules for taking a pic of the royal family.

I guess Time got the rule about eye level wrong in this one?!

By the balls!

2007-10-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

A guy receives an ad in the mail for a golf resort where everything costs one dollar. He jumps at the offer and heads off for a weekend of fun in the sun.

He arrives and plays a round of golf. It cost him a buck. When he goes for dinner that evening, it costs him another buck. His room is only a buck a day! The day before he's to check out, he heads out to play a last round and stops by the pro shop and charges a sleeve of three balls to his room.

When he's checking out next morning, he looks at the bill and sees:

Golf: $1.00.
Dinner: $1.00.
Room: $1.00.
Sleeve of golf balls: $3,000.00

Calling over to the manager, he asks, "What is this all about?Everything is supposed to cost one dollar, and you charged me three thousand for three golf balls?"

I'm sorry, sir," said the manager, "but you didn't read the fine print in our promotional brochure. That's what our golf balls cost."

"Well," said the man, "if I wanted to spend that kind of money, I could've gone to that luxury hotel across the street and paid them a thousand dollars a day for a room. At least I would've known what I was paying for!"

"That's right, sir, you could have," said the manager. "Over there they get you by the room. Over here we get you by the balls!"

HELLO KITTY!!!!

2007-08-06T15:49:00.000+01:00

I havent blogged in more than 3 months.... not really found the interest to.... however, when I came across this article today... I thought the world JUST HAD TO KNOW!!!!

Bad Thai Cops getting some "rough" treatment!!!

There are two rules for success

2007-04-27T05:50:00.000+01:00

1. Never tell people everything you know

Genius loves company

2007-03-30T06:52:00.000+01:00

If you do not have this album already, get up, get out, get it, listen to it and then read the rest of this post....

Ray Charles, with a group of accomplished stars.. belting out 12 duets is the stuff made of dreams....

This album won 8 grammies last year, and thats not enough I think.

As difficult as it is to choose the best song, I got 2- Crazy Love with Van Morrison, and Over the rainbow with Johny Mathis.

Though each song leaves a lasting impression, long after the music stops.

While on the subject

2007-03-29T11:24:00.000+01:00

of architecture and funky buildings..... check out this one

Ground breaking (is that a good word to use here!?) design.

Tripmaster Monkey

2007-03-29T11:21:00.000+01:00

Having worked in the New Bangkok International Airport Project for 2 full years, this is no surprise...
The writing was always on the wall.

Though I should say, the magnitude of the series of events ever since the final opening, have been more than imagined.

The rest of the list is quite interesting too.

Like homosexuality, nudity is tolerated and enjoyed in Berlin

2007-03-25T08:09:00.001+01:00

so don’t be surprised to stumble across naked flesh in parks, or if the naked bodies happen to be all male.

Few things excite the smaller nations of the sub-continent than slaying the big beast.

2007-03-23T13:16:00.000+01:00

Wonder if Woolmer is the big beast currently...

Ferrari on pole.. alonso second.... anything new?

2007-03-17T10:45:00.000+01:00

Wait.... the king is no more... LONG LIVE THE KING!

I actually have no interest to follow the season this year..... maybe if we travel to monaco...... hmmmmmmmm......

No tigers were harmed in the shooting of this picture

2007-03-17T10:31:00.000+01:00

A recent article about the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, near Bangkok...... well, a definite case of been there, done that!

Watching cricket is one of the best ways of avoiding working known to man

2007-03-16T07:57:00.000+01:00

A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has warned that the British economy could lose 270 million pounds over the next two months, due to World Cup absenteeism.

I wish there was a way for me to watch :(

Is the pen mightier than the sword?

2007-03-15T16:57:00.000+01:00

Received a gift from Satyam today... a decent pen, and a even more decent swiss knife like thingie...

Was quite pleasantly surprised, and was infact wondering what brought about this spontaneous act of generosity, when I heard that guys in Cognizant were given a choice between a Dish TV Connection, a DVD player or a Samsonite bag...

Suddenly neither the pen nor the sword are so mighty after all!

Marijuana, the wonder drug

2007-03-15T16:46:00.000+01:00

As if there was any other word for it, Mary Jane can now be called an official wonder... wonder if it will make it to the top 7 !?

A new yardstick for judging quality of life

2007-03-15T16:34:00.000+01:00

In the months to come a select group of relocation agents, recruiting firms and real estate brands will start issuing their annual "quality of life" and "best places to live" surveys. The reading is never terribly surprising or exciting: Zurich usually ranks first, Vancouver might be up or down a point or two, Geneva will likely make top five and if Melbourne's lucky it might squeeze its way into the top 10.

However, says Tyler Brûlé, the new yardstick of measuring quality of life is the quality of the (inter)national airport

I fully agree and beleive that it does give people a window (always better than the real picture) to the world they are stepping into.

Gravitational pull

2007-03-15T10:56:00.000+01:00

It is happening... as we speak... the first Indian Space Tourist is getting ready for his trip to the moon....

Wonder what hes taking along!?

Incidentally, he is a fellow keralite... which means he must be packing his tea leaves, a carton of milk... and a few cups.... to actually start the so called infamous tea shop on the moon run by a malayalee...

At a cost of 90 lakhs (200,000 US $)... the trip is more than just high tea...

Miles to go before I sleep

2007-03-13T18:19:00.000+01:00

Everything you wanted to know about Plasma and LCD Tv's but didn't know whom to ask

2007-03-13T16:01:00.000+01:00

The mother of all guides.

Why TOP GUN was gay

2007-03-13T15:00:00.000+01:00

A hilarious rationalization by none other than Tarantino himself.

:)

2007-03-13T14:56:00.001+01:00

Arena

(known to self and others)

confident, friendly, happy, loving

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

adaptable, cheerful, dependable, energetic, helpful, independent, intelligent, kind, knowledgeable, relaxed, self-assertive, self-conscious, sensible, shy, silly, spontaneous, warm, witty

Façade

(known only to self)

powerful, proud

Unknown

(known to nobody)

able, accepting, bold, brave, calm, caring, clever, complex, dignified, extroverted, giving, idealistic, ingenious, introverted, logical, mature, modest, nervous, observant, organised, patient, quiet, reflective, religious, responsive, searching, sentimental, sympathetic, tense, trustworthy, wise

Dominant Traits

83% of people agree that pritham is friendly

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (0%) adaptable (16%) bold (0%) brave (0%) calm (0%) caring (0%) cheerful (50%) clever (0%) complex (0%) confident (50%) dependable (33%) dignified (0%) energetic (16%) extroverted (0%) friendly (83%) giving (0%) happy (33%) helpful (16%) idealistic (0%) independent (16%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (16%) introverted (0%) kind (16%) knowledgeable (16%) logical (0%) loving (16%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (0%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (16%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (16%) self-conscious (16%) sensible (33%) sentimental (0%) shy (16%) silly (16%) spontaneous (16%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (0%) warm (50%) wise (0%) witty (16%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 13.3.2007, using data from 6 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view pritham's full data.

Steve Jobs bad bet

2007-03-13T10:38:00.000+01:00

Steve Jobs --- A brilliant CEO? or just a guy who makes dumb oversights?
Not so dumb if one of his yearly bonuses included a Gulf Stream V!...

But this article talks about how he passed up (cant really say passed up, but I am going to!) on 3.6 $ Billion... and how Fortune could have had a ton of money and a bridge(!?).

The richest city in the world

2007-03-13T10:24:00.000+01:00

Ninety miles from Dubai, another Xanadu has been decreed. Its name is Abu Dhabi, and that $3 billion hotel is just the beginning of the story.

Khaldoon Khalifa al Mubarak is definitely a man on a mission. The mission being to make Abu Dhabi the centre of the world... well almost.

Read on

If I had $925 Million

2007-03-13T10:11:00.000+01:00

Troubled Ford Motor Co. said Monday it would sell its Aston Martin luxury car business to the founder of an auto racing company and other investors in a deal valued at $925 million

A consortium of buyers will be the new owners.... two of whom include Kuwaitis :)

Lets see now.... Aston Martin, read DB9 vantage & the DB5 classic, will be no longer under the FORD banner. Which is not necessarily a bad thing!

Ulirch Bez, who currently heads Aston Martin for Ford Motor Co., will continue in that role as its Chief Executive Officer, according to an announcement from the buyers.

"This new partnership is a tremendously exciting opportunity for Aston Martin," said Bez

Yah... right!

Mukesh eyes Rs 1 lakh cr global buyout

2007-03-12T09:40:00.000+01:00

Set to dwarf the 12 billion US $ Tata-Corus deal, the elder brother of the Ambani clan is set to climb to new heights.
The article I came across in todays ET has more detail. Well detail atleast that something is afoot, something in the range of 22 to 30 Billion US $.

Home @ amsterdam

2007-03-11T14:17:00.000+01:00

Taken from just outside... this is the apartment complex we live in.... our apartment is the one where the sun is shining :)

My promised picture :)

2007-03-11T09:32:00.000+01:00

Tata's 1 Lakh car - Big Dream? or Small Dinky?

2007-03-09T15:37:00.000+01:00

It is true that having a car thats slightly more expensive that a bike, will mean a lot of advantages for people who use a bike for only "commuting".
However, if it looks like and performs like one of these small dinky cars we see running around in Europe (I really wish I had a pic, but every time one goes by I'm too busy laughing my head off!!), then I can think of millions of people who would rather use a bike.

Hey, atleast they can get to their destination faster!

To be fair to TATA, the ones that run around here can barely seat 2 plus some groceries and they are talking of seating 4-5.

See the article here, where Rahul Bajaj thinks the 1 lakh car is even lesser than a dinky car!

Tata's talk of small car, a mktng gimmick: Bajaj-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

The better choice

2007-03-09T14:23:00.000+01:00

It has been scientifically proven that if we drink one liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than one kilo of Escherichia Coli Bacteria found in water that contains feces.

In other words, we are consuming one kilo of shit. However, we do not run that risk when drinking rum, gin, whiskey, beer, wine or other liquors because alcohol has to go through a distillation process of boiling, filtering and fermentation.

It is my duty to communicate to all of you people who are drinking water, to stop doing so. It has been scientifically proven that it is unhealthy and bad for you.

THEREFORE - It is better to drink alcohol and talk shit than to drink water and be full of it !!

Search for a dangerous stolen vehicle

2007-03-07T18:01:00.000+01:00

The driver of a vehicle carrying 27,000 litres of "Diisobutilchetone" decided to stop over at his house for the weekend...
somebody flicked it....

how does one loose a truck carrying 27,000 litres of anything!?

Children of the future

2007-03-06T16:04:00.000+01:00

Came across this article, where it says that the Netherlands tops the UN child well-being table for advanced economies, while the US and UK make the bottom two.

The article also states "The Netherlands also ranks highly in 'peer and family relationships' and 'behaviours and risks', which we can interpret as: Dutch children have a very positive outlook on life,"

I found out something today...

There are only 21 advanced economies in the world?

Don't wear iPod earbuds on the subway!!!

2007-03-06T11:57:00.000+01:00

I always realised that one can always look at a person with a pair of headphones in their ear and say whether they are listening to an ipod or not.

Correction.... whether they are using earbuds which come with an ipod or not.

Now, they are advicing against it!

Well, according to stats 11 % of 15 crimes per month are for the Ipod's (in SFO)

What I'm wondering is, why should I (read Ramya, coz she is the one who wears the Ipod in this house) not use an Ipod if 1.65 Ipod's are getting stolen once a month in SFO!!??

The answer is, I (again read Ramya) neednt care!

The BART (the SFO Bay Area Rapid Transit system)recommend the following:

“always be alert and aware of your surroundings” and “if threatened, scream or make noise to draw attention.”

:) too funny....

Drowse Protection

2007-03-06T11:51:00.000+01:00

A very handy device to have around.... especially for people who drive a lot....
well, make that... people who drive and have a habit of nodding off a lot.

I would really like to distribute some to more than a few people i know!

Thy shall not COVET!!

2007-03-06T11:22:00.000+01:00

Personally, I find this a blatant covet, and that in itself means the IPhone is going to be a smash hit.

After all, just by giving it a nice front end doesnt make the skin equal to the IPhone's operating system.

A windows is a windows is a windows.

Good case of beauty is only skin deep.

British Embassy in Bangkok

2007-03-05T16:31:00.000+01:00

We used to live just 3-4 minutes walking from the British Embassy in Bangkok.... Infact on the same road were the US, British, Swiss (which Thai's consider the best location in the world after Krung Thep of course!), The Hilton, All Seasons, and the Conrad.

Called Wireless (literal translation for Wittayu - which means Radio) Road, this area was really a prime location... Sukhumvit just 15 minutes away by walk...apart from a host of other attractions just around the corner.

I came across this old article regarding the selling of a major chunk of the land where the British embassy is.. and was happy (astonished as well?) to see that the land prices have gone up...mainly because i can say, as i have in this post... been there.. lived there!

Touted the most valuable plot in Thailand, it was finally bought by Central Corporation (Judging by the angle of this picture, it was taken from the top of the Central Mall!! which shows how close by it is) for 900,000 Baht per Wah.

* 1 sq wah = 4 sq metres
* 1 million baht approx = 18,000 Euros approx = 23000 USD

Getting stuck in Malaysia

2007-03-05T16:12:00.000+01:00

If i've said it before.. i will say it again..
The food in Malaysia is second to NONE.... and this is coming from a guy who LOVES all kinds of food :)

But that is not a reason good enough to stay for 16 years....

wonder if nasi goreng and nasi lemak are served everyday!?

Blogging in Egypt

2007-03-05T16:02:00.000+01:00

The above in itself could be a hazard....

Read this article about a 22 year old man who was sentenced to 4 years of jail time for speaking out against an incident with a mob, and in the same regard about their president. The remarks made by Abdel Kareem Nabil were religious, to use a very sensitive word, but to throw him behind bars really questions right to free speech.

Moreover, it is quite stupid, and astonishing even that Egypt still continues to bid to be the host of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in 2009.

Dollars to Dinars

2007-03-05T15:56:00.000+01:00

What 360 tonnes of cash will buy you...Definitely not a lot of friends.

Thailand's Royal wealth

2007-03-05T15:48:00.000+01:00

A thought provoking article.

Hola!

2007-03-05T13:58:00.000+01:00

2 months without posting anything... and im surely either extremely busy... or just plain run out of things to do....

i am... believe it or not.... extremely busy...

today however, as i ran thru hridu's blog - thinking i will wish him as well.... :) ok ok i was also going to call u!... something triggered deep inside of me (beleive me- when i say deep - i can mean real deep).

i havent been blogging... i havent been doing anything with my camera... nope.. not even as a paper weight.... its collecting dust inside a cupboard here....
i havent even bothered to take it out of the house... much less... even take a picture from my house of the outside world....

based on the above finding.. i am going to take the camera out this weekend... and take a few pictures.... and however bad they turn out... put them up on this blog...

by the way... the trigger was Terra Spirit who should be, my best guess, a professional photographer.......if he isnt one already...

A diet anyone would love to follow!!

2007-01-18T00:27:00.000+01:00

The Wii Diet

Catch the Fever

2007-01-18T00:18:00.000+01:00

What i want, more than anything else in the world - right now!

2007-01-13T08:58:00.000+01:00

Plutoed???!!!!???

2007-01-10T13:17:00.001+01:00

Apparently "Plutoed" has been chosen as the word of the year...

SOmeone please tell me if you have heard this... i definitely have not!

It actually happened!!

2007-01-07T07:48:00.000+01:00

What does your dad do???

2007-01-05T00:52:00.000+01:00

Billy was at school this morning and the teacher asked all the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came out - Fireman, policeman, salesman, chippy, captain of industry etc. but Billy was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about His father.

"My father is an exotic dancer in a gay club and takes off all his clothes in front of other men and give them lap dances. Sometimes if the offer is really good, he'll go out with a man, rent a cheap hotel room and let them sleep with him."

The teacher quickly set the other children some work and took little Billy aside to ask him if that was really true. "No" said Billy, "He plays cricket for England, but I was just too embarrassed to say..."

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T07:23:00.000+01:00

We were at Dam Square last night.... and the evening was quite eventful....
We started off walking for quite a bit, coz the damn trams werent running after 8. something we didint know about!.

after that, we somehow managed to get ataxi and head to dam.... where it was PURE MADNESS, though a lot of fun!

firecrackers went off all around us, the rain came pouring down... and so did the champagne after a while...... and least eventful of all, was the hike back to try and get a taxi!!!
now i know how downtown baghdad might have been last night!
in the end, we got this amazing taxi driver... who kept us all extremely entertained all the way home :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!!!!!

A start of something new

2007-01-01T06:50:00.000+01:00

As the whole world ushers in the new year, looking for new promises, new goals, and new beliefs, this happened....
A sad start to what would have been another great year in Thailand...

Parlez vous Malayalam?

2006-12-27T12:54:00.000+01:00

This is an article which has tremendous insight (if you are a malayalee) and tremendous rationalization (if ur not).

Either way, a very well written article by Sashi Tharoor.....

A Malayalee as the UN sec. general.... that would have taken the joke about a malayalee and his tea shop on mount everest to another level!!

Eleven reasons for England Cricket fans not to loose hope

2006-12-07T07:45:00.000+01:00

I guess, necessity is really the mother of invention!!!

Quite funny though, this list of eleven reasons...some of them even a bit sarcastic.....

Thats more like it, 'Ol Chap....

2006-12-05T06:57:00.000+01:00

England shed their last nine wickets for 60 runs in 42 overs.....

people were starting to ask - England, where art thou...

AUSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!!!!!!

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE!!

2006-12-05T06:51:00.000+01:00

A SUPERB rendition of the famous Billy Joel Song......

Highest paid sportsperson in India

2006-11-29T08:43:00.000+01:00

Surprise, Surprise, its not the underachieving, spoilt cricketers... but its a golfer...Jeev Milkha Singh. His Volvo masters performance in Spain earned him a cheque of Rs. 3.8 Crore.

It is no secret that this sport does not get the needed exposure in India , this does come as a surprise, though not a big one, since the highest paid sports person in the world now is a golfer, none other than Tiger Woods (after the retirement of Schumacher)

Came across an article this morning, with a unnecessary dig at Narain Karthikeyan, India's F1 hope.

Hopefully, things will change.

Satyam, Where art thou??

2006-11-28T15:38:00.000+01:00

Infy, TCS and Wipro to be in the worlds top 10 soon....
This headline leaves the question, how far behind are Satyam, CTS and HCL (not necessarily in that order behind)
I guess I ask this question, since I have worked with Satyam for the last 7 years....

Suddenly, fleeting memories of the boiling frog story comes to my mind!!

Bookings @ the Nambiar Mariott, Amsterdam

2006-11-28T13:53:00.000+01:00

Well, i finally did it, before it got out of hand.

I have shared a calendar - call it the reservation for the Nambiar Mariott (rechristened from "Hilton" for lack of originality ;-) ) @ Amsterdam :)

Very simple to use, you can just browse through and see which are the dates that you would like to visit, check if they are free and send me an email.... i will make the bookings immediately....

Very pleasant staff, very nice ambience, and breakfast included !!!

only sometimes you gotta make it yourself...

Very nominal rates as well....only includes food products made in India :)

Dutch women are very naughty!

2006-11-28T13:02:00.000+01:00

Now for everyone reading this and thinking naughty, its not spicy as you think....

A survey found that 8 out of 10 dutch women are "naughty", ie flirt, eat too many snacks and gossip....

And also in relation to this, came across a nice article Getting along with the Dutch

I said this just day before....The dutch are very nice people, well, a majority of them.... a majority almost reaching Thai standards...
and whats more, EVERYONE speaks english as well! that ought to push the level above the Thai's right?

Im le dos, cela a pris un moment cependant

2006-11-22T07:20:00.000+01:00

It did take a while... i guess you can say moving house isnt that easy!!

Here are pictures from our weekend in paris..

At the base of the eiffel tower - at night.

at the top the next morning - was really cold!

The worlds first pungee? aways i saw the picture :)

Outside the moulin rouge, just before the dinner and show... MAN what a show!!

Doing what we malayalees do best.. smoke a beedi and drink some caapi... just didnt matter that it was in the centre of Paris!!

At the Louvre...

At the Renault showroom bar and resturant.... damn nice place.. only wish it was a ferrari!

Ramya at the renault showroom.

Me at the moulin rouge - man what a show!!

IS HELL EXOTHERMIC OR ENDOTHERMIC ?

2006-11-22T07:19:00.001+01:00

BONUS QUESTION:

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell.
Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.
With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct... leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

The student received the only "A".

Some facts about Orkut

2006-09-11T12:33:00.000+01:00

Been hooked onto the Orkut community for the last 3-4 days...... became a member a few months ago... but only on saturday did i start actually "orkutting" ??

Here are some crazy facts about the person and the website.

1) Orkut Buyukkokten(the creator of Orkut) gets $12 when every person registers to this website.
2) He also gets $10 when you add somebody as a friend.
3) He gets $8 when your friend’s friend adds you as a friend & gets $6 if anybody adds you as a friend in the resulting chain.
4) He gets $5 when you scrap somebody & $4 when somebody scraps you.
5) He also gets $200 for each photograph you upload on Orkut.
6) He gets $2.5 when you add your friend in the crush-list or in the hot-list.
7) He gets $2 when you become somebody’s fan.
8) He gets $1.5 when somebody else becomes your fan.
9) He even gets $1 every time you logout of Orkut.
10) He gets $0.5 every time you just change your profile-photograph.
11) He also gets $0.5 every time you read your friend’s scrap-book & $0.5
every time you view your friend’s friend-list.
12) Many Global Financial Consultants think this person might become the
richest-person in the world by the end of 2009.
13) Finally, this is the best fact. This person has 13 assistants to monitor his scrapbook & 8 assistants to monitor his friends-list. He gets around 20,000 friend-requests a day & about 85,000 scraps a day.
14) A company named Affinity Engines that builds social networking products for universities (that just so happens to have been founded by Orkut Buyukkokten - the creator of orkut.com - quite interesting) is now suing Google for stealing their code - Company Claims Orkut Stole Orkut Code

To sum it up... over the last 48 hours, i have made for Mr. Orkut a grand total of around 1100 US $... not bad for a weekend!

Shattered, still they remember

2006-09-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

A brilliant photo essay by photojournalist James Nachtwey....

Also, what has become of the first responders who were instant heroes? Take a look

Harmonizing English in the EU

2006-08-28T05:12:00.000+01:00

We should all be aware of the following moves to harmonise the language:

The European commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English" (or preferably, "SI English").

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords containing "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

Top 10 Secrets to truly visit Thailand

2006-08-04T09:42:00.000+01:00

eThaiGuide.com presents Top 10 Thailand Travel Tips to create new points of view concerning traveling to Thailand. The tips cover prominent tourist spots i.e. Phuket, Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Koh Chang, Koh Samet and new tourist spots that are unknown paradise.

Thailand is considered a tourist spot that everyone would like to experience. Large amount of tourists all over the world know about prominent tourist spots i.e. Phuket, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi (PP Island) but in actuality, Thailand still has many hidden paradise waiting to be experienced.

The prominent tourist spots in Thailand as follows:

1. Koh Chang – Don’t stop at only Koh Chang because Koh Mak, Koh Kood and Islands surrounding Koh Chang also have more beautiful beaches and water. We were there september 04, and had a really nice time.... like i was telling people, there were 3 people on a 2 km stretch of beach - my wife, me and a waiter :)

2. Chiang Mai – Try to find hotels outside of the city such as on Hangdong – Samoeng and Samoeng – Sankamphaeng routes because there are better views and hotels along the mentioned route are less expensive than the hotel in the city with the same standard. The true nature of northern Thailand can also be experienced. We planned a weekend to head out to Chiang Mai and the nearby ChiangRai, however floods cheated us of a chance to truly explore entire thailand.

3. Phuket – Don’t pay too much attention to sea-view rooms because the limitation in space. The sea could not be seen directly from rooms in most hotels. The tourist should pay more attention to the standard of the hotel and the distance from the beach.
Was there, October 04, and had a blast. we landed in Phuket and stayed in Phi Phi, which is actually MUCH better.

4. Koh Samui – If you have limited fund, the best way to travel to Koh Samui is by speed boat from Lomprayah Catamaran Company. Lomprayah offers less expensive service than taxi for hire and service provided by the hotel directly. Nevertheless, if you have no problem with fund, you should hire a taxi because this would create job for the locals. Missed out on actually going to this island, but did go by a snorkelling tour till the waters.

5. Andaman Sea – Trang Sea is as beautiful and interesting as nearby provinces such as Krabi. The prominent tourist spots in Andaman Sea are Koh Libong, Koh Hai, etc. Was in the same sea - which was simply breathtaking.... like i always repeat everywhere, was able to see 20 metres into the water, from my vantage point on the second floor of a boat.

6. Krabi – Although Railay beach in on the mainland, you still have to travel by boat from Ao Nang beach because it is surrounded by mountain and cannot get to by land transportation. Bamboo Island, in Krabi - had one of the best beaches i have ever been to

7. Pattaya – North Pattaya beach and Central Pattaya beach have many facilities but the true nature can be found at Koh Lan, which is 7.5 kilometer from Pattaya. You can get there in 45 minutes by regular boat and 15 minutes by speedboat.
Highly overrated place, however this place is not bad. Coral Island is lovely, minus the crowd, which is never going to happen!

8. Hua Hin – Hua Hin is a popular beach that is close to Bangkok but that does not mean that it is the most beautiful. Not far from Hua Hin, Pranburi beach is much quieter and more suitable for relaxation but the transportation may not be as convenience as at Hua Hin.
Went for the 2004 Hua Hin Jazz festival, sat on the beach listening to some decent jazz, and had some of the BEST italian food ever.

9. Koh Samet – You should contact travel agency or the hotel in order to find out which pier to get on the boat. Some hotels provide their own service. Don’t trust strangers because you might end up higher price.
Was a truly different experience. went there with a friend, stayed on the beach, and had a BLAST...... was a bit crowded, so stayed on a beach which was uninhabited, quite a revelation, considering the crowds elsewhere.

10. Bangkok – Jatujak market has products from all over the country e.g. cloths, decoration, house hold items, souvenir, food, pet, etc.
We even saw a cobra for sale, among other crazy animals / rodents / etc. Went to Jatujak market atleast a dozen times, not always willingly :) however 37000 shops is quite a choice!

What is missing from this list is probably the BEST reason to visit Thailand --> the people of Thailand or the Thais.
I would actually rate them and their hospitality above any other race of people i have come across.
So go ahead, let Amazing Thailand embrace you.

Secret to Success

2006-08-04T09:36:00.000+01:00

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.

The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air.

Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you
want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.

Suvarnabhoomi - Spread your wings and fly.

2006-07-31T09:30:00.000+01:00

This is the recap of the commercial wide bodied aircraft test flights undertaken on Saturday out of Asia Pacific’s Largest Airport and the world’s largest Greenfield airport constructed in last 25 years. Of course, the commercial open will take a few more weeks.

Bangkok Post Article

Nation Article

Six Thai carriers - Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Orient Thai Airways, Nok Air, PB Air and THAI - flew a combined 20 domestic flights in and out of the new airport on Saturday. In a few weeks from now, when it is commercially open, more than 500 domestic and international flights are expected to fly in and out of it daily.

Somchai Sawasdeepon, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said all new airports risked system break downs, especially the information technology (IT) system that links all facets of the facility, but Suvarnabhumi had prepared several measures for a back-up system. "We have two more months to test and work out things in detail," Somchai added. "But today [yesterday's test flights] is testimony that our officials are working in full spirit. We will have a meeting on Monday to evaluate the results of the test."

BMW 645 Ci

2006-07-11T12:31:00.000+01:00

What i want.... more than anything else in the world right now.
And the best part is its parked downstairs right now.

Lets call it NBK

2006-07-09T20:06:00.000+01:00

It is not my baby (read project).. I did spend 2 years on this project though. The first commercial flight will take off from the Old (read current) airport at Don Muaeng, and land at the new airport at Suvarnabhoomi.

Just for information, the foundation stone for the airport was laid in the early 1940's. or was that the 1950's....

Read on.

To the international aviation industry, Suvarnabhumi airport will soon be known under the code-name NBK while Bangkok's international airport moves from Don Muang to the new site...The code will be used for a period after the hoped-for opening of Suvarnabhumi airport for commercial services on Sept 28, until operations run smoothly.
Then the IATA code for the 125-billion-baht new airport will be changed to the designated name for Bangkok's international airport--BKK--which is currently used by Don Muang airport.
Don Muang is being stripped of the BKK code as it will no longer serve as Bangkok's international airport after the much-delayed Suvarnabhumi opens...

Reservation slips for the inaugural commercial flights from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi on July 29 will be BKK-NBK...

http://www.pritham.net

2006-07-08T13:51:00.000+01:00

I registered the above URL to point to this site.....

Sadagopan had told me about this quite a while ago... and Hridu has had a website for almost ages now....

i wonder why it took so long.... Thanx Navanee!

Everything you always wanted to know about drugs but were afraid to ask

2006-07-07T12:23:00.000+01:00

A very informative link, So long as its NOT to be used as follows:

Everything you always wanted to know about OD'ing but were afraid to ask!

Breaking all rules

2006-07-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

The Mad Photographer

2006-07-04T19:10:00.000+01:00

In 1917 James Francis Hurley (1885-1962) became the first offical photographer to the Australian Imperial Forces.

When he arrived at the Western Front his rank was honorary captain, but the troops, seeing how he took risks to get his pictures, dubbed him “the mad photographer”.

The photos are more than worth it....

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's SUPERMAN

2006-07-04T18:47:00.000+01:00

Superman Returns to tinsel town after a gap of many years. I had posted on this blog a while ago, when i had actually heard it was being slated for a 2006 release.

Superman, has been one of the world's most favourite superheroes. This is also coupled with the (false) belief that he is THE superhero who has fought crime the longest.

Apparently, the rights to Superman were sold to DC for all of 130 US $, by 2 high school students - author Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster.

Why is Superman so popular?

There are many theories / answers to that question.

One answer which caught my attention, and made me think, was Christopher Reeves.

Song of the month

2006-07-03T17:18:00.000+01:00

What is it about a song that inspires one so much...

have you ever had

that feeling of unbridled energy...
that rush of adrenaline...
that feeling of just getting up and dancing...
that feeling that makes you feel like you were flying...

to cut a long long long story and a sad poem short, the song of the month does that for me...right now atleast

Inspiration

2006-07-03T17:09:00.000+01:00

- Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.

- Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.

- Arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity

Stevie Nicks - Dreams

2006-07-03T16:40:00.000+01:00

Viva la Europe?

2006-07-03T16:17:00.000+01:00

This years FIFA World Cup is looking more like a European Championship.

After the dust has settled, it is Italy Vs Germany and Portugal Vs France.

One explanation has to be that the Europeans love playing on their own continent. Looking back through FIFA World Cup history, European sides have found themselves among friends or atleast neighbours at this stage of the competition three times before: at Italy 1934 (Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria and winners Italy), at England 1966 (Germany, Portugal, USSR and winners England) and at Spain 1982 (Germany, France, Poland and winners Italy).

Brazil, on the other hand, must be wondering if France are not their bête noire.

If I was gambler, I would have lost money this world cup. My bets were on a Germany Brazil Final..... still, one of those might come true.

50 Most expensive cities in the world

2006-07-03T16:15:00.000+01:00

This is the list of the 50 most expensive cities to live in the world.

Based on the cost of items including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

Funny thing is I always thought Tokyo would top the list......

Elite Home Theatre Seating

2006-06-04T16:32:00.000+01:00

Will not drool, will not drool, will not drool...

check out the site

Have actually asked for a quote - for a layout I have had in my mind for years. Well, its just a quote!

Foreboding

2006-06-04T16:18:00.000+01:00

Staring up into the heavens
In this hell that binds Your hands
Will You sacrifice Your comfort
Make Your way in a foreign land

Wrestle with Your darkness
Angels call Your name
Can You hear what they are saying
Will You ever be the same

Remember, remember Never forget

All of Your life has all been a test
You will find the gate that's open
Ever though Your spirit's broken

can you

Open up my heart
Cause my lips to speak
Bring the heavens and the stars
Down to earth for me

is it worth it?

2006-06-02T20:13:00.000+01:00

im sitting in amsterdam typing this.....

my entire family, and most of the extended family are at home.... celebrating the first birthday of my niece.

my entire set of friends are there as well

everyone says - we miss you

everyone says - we wish you here

I am even calling once every 3 hours to check whats happening, have everyone come in? whats the menu? EVEN whats everyone wearing?

im asking - is this really worth it?

the answer my friend, is NO.

Keukenhof!!

2006-05-14T21:16:00.000+01:00

Simply amazing, the flowers just took my breath away.... and im not even a flower person!

Was thinking a lot of Ammuma at Keukenhof..... i remember discussing this place with her 3 years ago....

These are just some of the pictures i took.

Neil Young goes digital

2006-05-03T15:18:00.000+01:00

Neil Young unleashes a digital broadside today. His new album, "Living With War" (Reprise), was recorded and mostly written three to four weeks ago and as of Friday can be heard in its entirety free on his Web site and on satellite radio networks.

The website also has all the songs from his previous album - Praire Wind, including one of my fav songs - "He was the King"

Here is the related article

One Toilet paper roll for 145,750 $ ????

2006-05-03T15:06:00.000+01:00

Just how bad is inflation in Zimbabwe?

Read the full article

15 Best Skylines in the World

2006-05-03T08:45:00.000+01:00

Suprise, Suprise!
9 out of the top 15 best Skylines in the world are in AsiaPAC.

Here is the entire list

Krushi chief finds Bangkok jails too hot

2006-05-03T08:30:00.000+01:00

Fugitive bank scamster Kosaraju Venkateswara Rao, the smooth operator who led Krushi Bank to ruin and along with it the savings of thousands of people, will be brought to India to face justice in the second week of May.

A Bangkok court reportedly gave clearance for his extradition on April 26.

This was after Venkateshwar Rao gave his written consent to a Thai magistrate on April 10, stating his willingness to go back to India to face trial. Sources in the police department said Venkateshwara Rao had grown tired of a life of squalor in the Bangkok jail, warding off homosexual advances from jailmates. He has been in jail since his arrest in Bangkok in Nov. 2005.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) here has completed all pre-extradition procedures like transmitting relevant documents to the interior ministry of Thailand.

Although Rao has given written consent to going back to India, the Thai court gave him 15 days within which to appeal against its extradition order.

Police functionaries here said that’s not a real possibility.Venkateshwara Rao was on the lam for four years since he defrauded depositors of Krushi Bank in 2001. He first fled to London in 2001 where he tried to get a work permit but failed.

Harried by an Interpol red corner notice, he slipped into Thailand and ran an IT company in the central business district of Bangkok. The source of his investment in Thailand has never been explained.

Mixed Nuts!

2006-05-03T08:24:00.000+01:00

Two articles, one day apart....

First one says the Suvarnabhoomi Airport will open in July:

The next one says that there are some concerns regarding the opening in July:

April 28th, 2006:

Acting caretaker Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya Saturday denied that the new Suvarnabhumi Airport's runways had developed cracks.

He said anyone who said the runways had developed cracks should back it up with fact or else rumours or untrue reports would cause damages to the country.

Chidchai said the new airport would be opened in July as scheduled.

He said he would call a meeting of Cabinet members concerned with the airport construction to a meeting after the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

April 29th, 2006:

Caretaker Deputy Transport Minister Gen. Chainant Charoensiri has expressed his concern that a planned opening of Suvarnabhumi international airport this July could be delayed due to extensive repairs on the passenger terminal and of roofing fabric on concourse buildings.

That must have been one hell of an inspection on the 28th night, to come up with a restimation by the next morning!

To quote from the Beatles.... COME TOGETHER!!! RIGHT NOW!!!

A study of Bangkok Expats

2006-05-03T08:22:00.000+01:00

The expatriate community in Bangkok grew by over 13.8% from December 2004 compared to December 2005. There are now 61,913 foreigners with work permits in Bangkok, according to the latest CB Richard Ellis residential rental report, this excludes diplomatic staff. 22% of the total number of expatriates were Japanese followed by Indians (12%), Chinese (9%), British (9%), and American (7%).

These numbers are expected to grow, especially Japanese expatriates due to the growth in the number of Japanese companies manufacturing in Thailand.

The supply of the apartments in Bangkok’s Central Areas increased slightly in 2005 to 9,953 units, a 1.4 % increase from the third quarter of 2005, 142 new units in 3 building were completed in the fourth quarter of 2005 namely Sofitel Residence Asoke on Soi Sukhumvit 19, BT Residence on Soi Sukhumvit 8, and Blossom Ville on Soi Sukhumvit 63/4. Apartments are single ownership developments rather than multi ownership condominiums.

Sukhumvit is still the most popular area due to its wide variety of retail and entertainment facilities. This area accounts for 69% of the total stock in downtown Bangkok. Grade A apartments to comprise 1,526 units, only 15% share of the total stock. Key characteristics of grade A apartments are easily accessible with a good location, design, layout, interior, property management and adequate facilities for residents. Overall occupancy rates increased to 90.6 % and rents for grade A apartment properties rose by 1.4% at the end of 2005.

“Today roughly 60% of expatriates receive a housing allowance from their companies. The balances of expatriates are on lump sum salaries,” according to Mr. Theerathorn Prapunpong, head of Residential Leasing Services at CB Richard Ellis, “these tenants want modern accommodation with hotel style bathrooms and European kitchens”.

Much of the rental stock in Bangkok is more than ten years old and only new or recently refurbished developments are able to achieve the best rentals.

CB Richard Ellis expects rentals for new accommodation to increase. Expatriate numbers are expected to grow. There will be 513 new apartment units completed in 2006 and 2007. There will also be 5,279 condominium units. Many of the new condominium units are aimed at the local market with much smaller sized units and will not compete directly with apartments. Based on recent completions, more than 50% of new luxury condominium supply will be owner-occupied and the balance available for rent. Only the best decorated and designed properties will get the highest rents.

Demand and supply are growing at similar rates but because much of the existing stock is old, the gap in rentals achieved between new and old developments is greater