05.17.08
Posted in Magazines at 11:53 pm by Greg
Big Chilli Magazine, May 2008
I’ve always been a fan of science and what it’s done for us - everything from calculus to space exploration to funny animal videos on YouTube. It’s especially true if I’m feeling ill; if I need healthcare, I’m 100% behind modern medicine and the fantastic drugs it’s brought us. I recognize that some people get results with alternative medicine, but I’ve always seen it as a bit far-fetched. That is, I did, until I blew out a knee last year - bad enough that I thought I’d need surgery. The chiropractor I visited told me he was going to try something different, and zapped my knee with a type of phaser/light particle machine thing. I tried not to laugh at first, but a few days later, although not 100% cured, I was back to taking stairs two at a time. Color me convinced. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 11:51 pm by Greg
Big Chilli Magazine, May 2008
After living in Thailand for a while, eating the cheap and delicious food that can be found on every street corner and under every umbrella, it’s easy to lose touch of what constitutes really good western food. After a few dozen meals in most Thai restaurants, a piece of meat that’s 1/8th of an inch thick and labeled a ‘steak’ starts to sound totally logical. And don’t even get me started on the ‘American Breakfast’.
But, much like Serpico fighting to keep honor amid a less-than-stellar surroundings, one man in Thailand is working to keep really good western food available to all. Bob Coombes has been running Choice Foods for nearly 40 years, offering up high-quality meat and deli food to restaurants (and average Joe Somchai’s) who appreciate that a real steak should be thick, tender and full of flavor. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 11:50 pm by Greg
Pattaya Coast Magazine, April 2008
With Pattaya’s slow but steady rise out of the realm of red light districts and after-hour shenanigans, new developments are going up faster than a Lego city built by a child high on Red Bull. As more and more companies rush to buy up a finite amount of land, the best spots are being snapped up and the top views taken over by taller and taller towers.
But like an old friend (or at least a neighbor who’s lived in his house longer than you have), the Amari Orchid remains where it has for years, at the north end of Pattaya Bay. And now more than ever, it dominates the area with the November 2007 opening of its Ocean Tower wing, a 5-star, 297-room tower of power that caters to those who appreciate style as much as they appreciate quality. Read the rest of this entry »
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04.17.08
Posted in Magazines at 9:44 am by Greg
Logistics Manager Magazine, April 2008
If you charted the changes in the shipping and logistics industry, you’d likely end up with a graph full of dramatic spikes and deep valleys. In a business where great changes happen on a year-to-year or even month-to-month basis, staying afloat is a task that has seen many established companies succumb to forces beyond their control.
But a fine example of a company who has ridden out the storm time and time again is GAC. An early photo of the company’s humble beginnings in Kuwait contrasts greatly with the global shipping group as it exists today: a grainy black and white photo of a tiny shop house on a dusty street with the words “Gulf Agency Co” above the door. As it moves full steam ahead into the 21st century, LM sat down with Johan Vermeiren, GAC Thailand’s Managing Director, to talk about the company’s changing value structure, employee training program, new logo and even his favorite beer. Read the rest of this entry »
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02.28.08
Posted in Magazines at 9:53 am by Greg
Property Report Magazine, November 2007
Recovering from the crash of 1997 has been a long and difficult road, but recover Thailand has. And, of course, along with a more robust economy comes a resurgence in the desire for prime living space; once again, the Bangkok skyline is populated with cranes and steel skeletons rising anew. There are a few tried and true locations around the Big Mango that are at the fore of development (and price) – Sukhumvit, Sathorn, Silom, Rama III among others – but what’s next? Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 9:47 am by Greg
Pattaya Coast Magazine, March 2008
With Pattaya’s slow but steady rise out of the realm of red light districts and after-hour shenanigans, new developments are going up faster than a Lego city built by a child high on Red Bull. As more and more companies rush to buy up a finite amount of land, the best spots are being snapped up and the top views taken over by taller and taller towers.
But like an old friend (or at least a neighbor who’s lived in his house longer than you have), the Amari Orchid remains where it has for years, at the north end of Pattaya Bay. And now more than ever, it dominates the area with the November 2007 opening of its Ocean Tower wing, a 5-star, 297-room tower of power that caters to those who appreciate style as much as they appreciate quality. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 9:43 am by Greg
Pattaya Coast Magazine, March 2008
If you ever find yourself on a lonely stretch of Thepprasit Road in Pattaya, among businesses that are strangely incongruous to one another – a high-end furniture shop next to a rickety chicken BBQ place next to a shop selling fish ponds – you’d be justified in assuming that this would be the last place you’d find a high-tech maritime engineering operation. But you’d be wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 9:35 am by Greg
Pattaya Coast Magazine, March 2008
One of the constants of the natural world is duality, something that we’re all subject to. If you have up, you must have down. If you have dark, you must have light. If you have no hair like me, you must have my insufferable friend Dan, who has hair like Stalin. Another example is Pattaya, Thailand’s infamous playground of the night, which is primed to break out into the big time as many residents work to make sure that the seaside resort town is on the map for more than just beer bars and debauchery.
If you have vice, you must have nice. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Magazines at 9:13 am by Greg
Thailand Property Report Magazine, August 2006
As little as 60 years ago, there wouldn’t be much use in going to what is now Hua Hin unless you had a really soft spot for rickety houses and leaky boats. Called Samor Riang at the time, the little fishing village 200 km south of Bangkok started to gain notoriety when King Rama VII built a summer palace there in 1921. A nearby beach was christened Hua Hin (stone head), which for some reason caught on better than Samor Riang, and a new town was born. Fast-forward to the present day and you’d be hard pressed to imagine a time when the bustling city wasn’t crawling with tourists, vendors and especially property brokers catering to buyers of all shapes and sizes. Read the rest of this entry »
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11.08.07
Posted in Magazines at 9:52 am by Greg
Thailand Property Report Magazine, September 2006
The last thing anyone says as their airplane descends into Bangkok is, “What a lovely looking city!” But part of what makes the Thai capital such a great place to explore and live in is the number of secret pockets that only surrender their charm to those who are willing to seek them out. Unfortunately, the number of hidden gems scattered throughout the city is steadily shrinking to make way for boring steel and glass towers that leave little trace of the historic structures that once stood in their place. Read the rest of this entry »
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