+++ DoeWelEnZieNietOm +++

today was extremely constructive!

I repaired the terrace floor in the garden, and in order to do that we had to drive first to Makro so that I could buy the tools.

The work made a lot of noise and dust, but nobody complained, so I was able to finish it all, and even mowe the lawn!

It made me realise that I really love to do construction work, it pleases me very much. If it were better paid, I'd close my law firm and start a construction business !!!

Are you good in working with your hands too?

huggies,

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes Delhi High Court Verdict on Section 377 of IPC

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes Delhi High Court Verdict on Section 377 of IPC

Contacts: Aniruddhan, The Shakti Center (98840-17695), Sunil Menon, Sahodaran (93810-16129)

Chennai Rainbow Coalition welcomes the Delhi High Court ruling of July 2, 2009, that decriminalizes consensual same-sex behavior among adults. The judgement, long awaited, lends new hope to millions of homosexual, bisexual and transgender Indians who have had to bear the unjust burden of criminality imposed by an obsolete colonial law.

Though a High Court verdict, it is an important precedent that has nation-wide implications for equality, non-discrimination, dignity and inclusiveness for all in society, as envisioned by Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Coalition urges the progressive Tamil Nadu government to take the lead in initiating similar measures in the state.

will you get all answers correct??????

Van Venice-June2009

A Madam Teacher was having trouble with one of her students in 1st Grade class. Madam asked,'Boy. what is your problem?'

Boy answered, 'I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 4th Grade!'

Madam had enough. She took the Boy to the principal's office. While the Boy waited in the outer office, madam explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Madam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave. She agreed.

The Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'
Boy.: '9'.

Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'
Boy.: '36'.

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 4th grade should know. The principal looks at Madam and tells her, 'I think Boy can go to the 4th grade.'

Madam says to the principal, 'I have some of my own questions.
Can I ask him ?' The principal and Boy both agreed.

Madam asks, 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two of'?

Boy, after a moment 'Legs.'

Madam: 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?'

Boy.: 'Pockets.'

Madam: What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin whitish liquid?

Boy.: Coconut

Madam: What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft And sticky?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy was taking charge.

Boy.: Bubblegum

Madam: What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer..

Boy.: Shake hands

Madam: You stick your pole inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do.

Boy.: Tent

Madam: A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first.

The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.

Boy.: Wedding Ring

Madam: I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good.

Boy.: Nose

Madam: I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.

Boy.: Arrow

Madam: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?

Boy.: Fire truck

Madam: What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it, u have to use ur hand.

Boy.: Fork

Madam: What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?

Boy.: SURNAME.

Madam: What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love ?

Boy.: HEART.

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher,

'Send this Boy to the University !!!!

I got the last ten questions wrong myself!'

Saturday, June 27, 2009

back from Venezia !!!!!!

Venice-June2009

sigh .... it's good to be back home :-) we had a great time in Venezia, (click on my mask to) see the pix !!!

But as always ... home sweet home hehe! We always are happy to travel and happy to be back :-)

Did you miss us while we were away? (grin grin)

huggies,

Sunday, June 21, 2009

goodbye arabia ... the Iran disaster closes all doors 4 me ...

Here is a relic from the time that arabia ment: joy and fun and sweetness .... now, with the disaster unfolding in iran, it's clear that there is no happiness in that region anymore, and I closed all doors. Nowadays, I get allergic to arab and persians and their political and religious system. I'm very sorry for my friends there .... I know they suffer from it too.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

gratitude vs. ambition

I've read somewhere: "The first step is being grateful for all you have. It is a very healthy and positive way to keep you motivated. Take time out of each day to think about five things you are grateful for. This is a time for you to reflect on the day in a positive light."

Those are true words. Whoever you are, you and me, and whereever we are, we have so many things to be grateful for. It's a good idea to start the day, revisualising the persons and things and circumstances that should make us grateful.

But at the same time, I am not content with just gratitude. I want to look forward, and see new things and meet new people and discover new attractions.

-oOo-

Does that make me ungrateful? I don't think so ... it's who I am, constantly welcoming a new day and new experiences. What do you think? Can gratitude be combined with ambition and expectation?

huggies,

little tony

A teacher asks her class, "If there are 5 birds sitting on a fence and you shoot one of them, how many will be left?"

She calls on little TONY.

He replies, "None, they will all fly away with the first gunshot."

The teacher replies, "The correct answer is 4, but I like your thinking."

Then little TONY says, "I have a question for YOU. There are 3 women sitting on a bench having ice cream:
One is delicately licking the sides of the triple scoop of ice cream.
The second is gobbling down the top and sucking the cone.
The third is biting off the top of the ice cream.
Which one is married?"

The teacher, blushing a great deal, replied, "Well, I suppose the one that's gobbled down the top and sucked the cone."

To which Little TONY replied:

"The correct answer is 'the one with the wedding ring on', but I like your thinking."

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Chinese gays step quietly toward progress

Van fwfreshmenpicstheklineshcolarsinthepool

By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer Tini Tran, Associated Press Writer – June 18, 2009

BEIJING – The first time director and movie buff Cui Zi'en tried to hold a gay and lesbian film festival in 2001, it was shut down by police before it even opened. When he tried to organize a gay cultural festival in 2005, five dozen police officers swarmed the venue, closing it.

But this Wednesday, Cui and other organizers managed to pull off the opening to the five-day Beijing Queer Film Festival with no police and no disruptions — drawing only an appreciative and low-key crowd to the Songzhuang Art District on the city's outskirts.

For China's gay community, this week's film festival and an art exhibition on sexual diversity in Beijing, along with last week's first gay pride festival in Shanghai, are quiet steps forward after years of slow but unmistakable progress.

Cui, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, said the events mark a significant moment for China's fledgling gay movement.

"The biggest change is that I'm not the only one doing this," he said. "There's more support from the gay community. Society has become more relaxed and open-minded in its thinking."

But he sounded a note of caution that progress is often accompanied by setbacks, saying organizers would not consider the events a success unless they make it to their closing ceremony Sunday unscathed.

"In China, we were the first to put on queer events. In those events, we've had interference and that had lasting influences," Cui said.

"(Now) we've had a successful opening and if we can also achieve a successful closing to the event, it will have another kind of impact," he said.

China has indeed eased its control over some aspects of gay life. In 1997, sodomy was removed from the country's list of crimes, although homosexuality was not taken off the list of mental disorders until 2001.

In recent years, the gay community in China has gone from being virtually invisible to establishing a small foothold in society. In large cities, gay bars have opened and gay and lesbian activist and support groups have sprouted. Internet access to gay groups online has helped ease the isolation for those who live in rural areas.

Even so, the vast majority of the country's gay and lesbian population continues to face discrimination and stigmatization. Most remain deeply closeted in a still highly conservative society. Gay Web sites are often blocked by the government's Internet firewalls.

Still, community organizers see progress in the fact that gay-themed events that would have been banned outright even a few years ago are now being permitted.

"Ten years ago, this would have been completely impossible," said curator Yang Ziguang, who helped put together the Beijing art show, the first in the country to explore sexual diversity and gender issues. The works by 16 artists include explicit explorations of gay and gender issues.

The auditorium for the film festival's opening movie — a story of a Chinese man who searches for the soul of his dead Swiss lover — was packed with a lively crowd of about 100 people, mostly young and proudly gay.

Others who came were simply curious to know more about gay issues, a segment sought out by organizers who wanted to encourage dialogue between the gay community and the wider public.

"I don't know that much about the lifestyle so I was curious," said Du Jie, 30, an artist who lives in the area. "I really liked the movie. You see on-screen the raw emotions in the relationship between them. It's a very good opportunity for the public to better understand the gay community."

That's not to say that everything has gone smoothly. The art show curators ran into problems with local authorities just before opening day last Sunday.

"I used to think China was becoming more and more open. On TV, movies and magazines, you hear more and more about these issues," said Gogo, a second curator who goes by one name. "But before the exhibit started, they came and told us 'You can't do this.' That changed my mind a little about how ready China really is."

Furious negotiations followed, and in the end only four works were removed — including one photo showing a man holding a fish over his crotch and a painting depicting two naked men in a sexual act. Organizers decided to leave the empty white frames hanging on the wall as a statement on censorship.

Despite the initial problems, the exhibit's opening drew an estimated 500 people — an enthusiastic public response that left its organizers pleasantly shocked.

The organizers said they made a concerted effort to keep the events low profile to ward off unwanted attention. There were no fliers or public advertisements for the events — only announcements circulated on Web sites. And they chose to hold it in the remote Songzhuang Art District, almost an hour's drive from downtown Beijing.

"If we were to advertise this all over the place, then we would only cause problems for ourselves," said Zhu Rikun, another film festival organizer.

The same low-key approach was taken by organizers of the country's first gay pride festival last week in Shanghai, China's commercial hub. They carefully planned a week's worth of movie screenings, art shows and sports events — all held in private venues instead of public spaces, said festival spokesman Kenneth Tan.

Despite the attempt to avoid problems, several events still ended up getting delayed or canceled by authorities who claimed organizers didn't have the correct permits, said Tan.

Still the festival got high praise from the China Daily, the country's official English-language newspaper, which ran a front-page article lauding organizers for sending a strong signal about "greater acceptance and tolerance."

Overall, China has been slowly moving in a direction of more openness toward the gay community, Tan said.

"I think the government has given a lot of space for the local gay community to grow and flourish," he said. "I've been in China for seven years and the changes I've seen in the Shanghai gay scene is tremendous. It's a metamorphosis."

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the kitchen is coming!

which means ... we went to the Bulthaup store today and they nicely prepared everything for us and the price was within our budget ... so tomorrow we'll sign the contract and the kitchen will be delivered this September! Woohoo !!!

Maybe you wonder what the picture on top has to do with kitchens? Well, in the kitchen you prefer to use fresh food, and the picture shows the fresh meat at Allan's Institute :-) so whenever there is the smallest opportunity to publish pix of cute guys, I'll grab it :-)

fresh hugs,
PB
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

PDF under attack?

sweets, for today just a quickie :-)

I read that nowadays there are computervirusses, even in PDF files !!! My oh my ... and that's something that was totally virusfree till recent ... and I use PDF a lot.

So no choice, I'll have to buy a good virusscanner. According to the consumer magazine, the free one I'm using now (AVG) is not so good, and they preferred GDATA.

I downloaded it today, a whopping 250 Mb !!! and it's a free trial for 30 days, I'll let you know if it functions well :-)

Stay virusfree !!!

PB
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Thursday, June 11, 2009

nudity: why we should embrace it

(source: http://www.planetout.com/lifestyle/2009/06/naked-power.html)

There’s an adage that says, "All the world’s problems could be solved if our leaders would hold their meetings in the nude." The image may be humorous, but you can’t miss the powerful connection between accepting our bodies and accepting each other.

What we believe about our bodies, is what we believe about ourselves. That’s why that old joke about the one’s who seem to always go naked on a nude beach are the one’s who should keep their clothes on, is ultimately a statement about body-phobia. If we can’t see the beauty in others, especially in the body’s natural state, then we are doomed to hate ourselves, because sooner or later we will have less and less control of our body’s look, not to mention it’s function.

Many of you are probably thinking that this is nothing new because you already feel that your body is far from where you’d like it to be. After all, America’s consumerism has succeeded in not only making us the most obese population in the world, but also the most unrealistic body conscious population in the world. Is that a lose / lose situation or what? But all is not lost. There are many ways out of this scenario and believe it or not, the key is actually your body.

When streaking was the fashionable mode of activism, it worked because the naked body had the shock value to disrupt and attract attention, regardless of what cause the runners were trying to advance (the sexual revolution, antiwar demonstrations, etc...). A few celebrities don’t give a damn about who sees their naked beauty, like Madonna. When she was cornered by the tongue-wagging media about her first nudes being published, she simply yanked the bang out of their buck by responding with, "So what?" (Hey! look, I am a fag! I just made a Madonna reference!)

These examples point out the power and strength that is the unobstructed body. Furthermore, it seems this strength of nakedness is present regardless of body type. It does not matter if a "gym bunny" or a "troll" walked down the street naked, they would, without a doubt, stop traffic. Furthermore, if you were to witness this event, below your culturally trained shock would be some configuration of awe, as if to think, "That takes guts!" Nudity can be viewed as one of the most natural forms of honesty — physical vulnerability. I believe that the innate desire for a sense of belonging infers an innate desire to be known — to be accepted as you are. In that light, nudity, to a great degree can become a recipe for more fully accepting yourself — even if it’s just running around in your birthday suit in the privacy of your home.

So am I suggesting we all doff our clothes any chance we get? In some respects, it is already happening. Photographic and video imaging across the internet is now so easy, that showing explicit and sexy self portraits is becoming as commonplace as revealing your astrological sign. Hundreds of websites are solely devoted to sharing thousands of explicit self photos and videos of everyday people. There is a sense that this kind of cyber exhibitionism and voyeurism has the feeling of a revolutionary act of freedom and sexual self acceptance, which flies in the face of the prudish negativity that is so pervasively degrading in our society. Although an intricate part of internet exposer lies in the fact that all of the sexual activity occurs in the safety and privacy of one’s own home, I predict that if people experience pleasure, freedom, empowerment and sexual health from this type of semi-anonymous expression on the internet, more public forms of this kind of natural expression is only a pant zipper away.

That’s what makes the negative hysteria around sexting so vile. With all this new media, it was going to happen sooner or later, and it will happen again when other new forms of communication emerge. I’m not saying that the bullying and exploitation that has come with it is okay — I am not. But to label these kids as sex offenders is so damaging and wrong. Besides, if so many adults are doing it, why are we so surprised that they are following our lead? Once again, silly and irresponsible teen behavior gets blown way out of proportion, and what is the message that everyone hears though it’s never spoken: "The body in its natural state is severely bad."

Is it really that horrible? Wouldn’t it solve a lot of the problems in the world if everyone felt comfortable with their unique sexuality, behavior and body shape? Could personal explicit photography and video recording become as commonplace and enjoyable as taping a person’s birthday party? The, um... naked truth is that the majority of us have perfectly healthy and beautiful bodies, and we look nothing like the enormously unrealistic body type our society deems as acceptable. And for that I say, "Thank goodness!" When it comes to body image the most important activity is not to conform to whatever the "ideal" body might be, but to celebrate everyone’s body type, whatever it’s shape and size!

So if you want to reach new levels of accepting your body, I don’t necessarily suggest you streak down the middle of some busy street (unless you can get away with it). But if you are at a nude beach or a clothing optional resort, don’t be the one who keeps your shorts on. You’ve got nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of. Celebrate it! I’ll wager you’ll feel good about yourself for letting the sun touch you all over. Make it a step of radical self-acceptance. Oh! But don’t forget sun block - Youch!

Dr. Jallen Rix holds a doctorate of education in sexology and specializes in maximizing sexual pleasure for singles and couples, "ex-gay" recovery, religious abuse and creative approaches to sex education. You can learn more about Dr. Rix at his website.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

lawyers joke :-)

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

He asked one man, "Why are you eating grass?" "We don't have any money for food," the poor man replied. "We have to eat grass."

"Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you," the lawyer said.

"But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree."

"Bring them along," the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, "You come with us, also".

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, "But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!"

"Bring them all, as well," the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."

The lawyer replied, "Glad to do it. You'll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high".

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Monday, June 8, 2009

sniffing & sneezing

my oh my, the cold springtime in Belgium (15°C) finally got me ... here I am, sniffing & sneezing and imitating a fountain (water from the nose). Horrible, I wish I were in Asia !!!!!!

Well, soon hehe!

atsjoooooooooooommmm !!!!!!!

PB
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Sunday, June 7, 2009

a new ABBA from Sweden? (thx 2 APS)

via videosift.com

Saturday, June 6, 2009

3rd party info: Lets Love the Philippines!

Lets Love the Philippines!!!

My dear Filipino friends and partners,

A few months back, I have received an email from one of our distributors containing an essay created by a Korean student studying here in the Philippines. My heart melted as I read the essay, thinking that this foreigner in the Philippine soil took pity and gave much love for this country. He emphasized that what the Filipinos lack is not good governance. South Korea, way back 1960’s was battered with war, corruption, and famine. It was once a very poor country. The South Korean President called back their skilled workers abroad to work in South Korea even for a lower salary. They immediately went back for the love of their country. And now South Korea grew to become a promising rich country in Asia. Instead of pushing their skilled workers out of the country, they pulled them in. In the Philippines, it is the other way around. After I read this essay of a Korean student, Mr. Jaeyoun Kim, I agree with his opinion that the problem of the Philippines is the lack of love for the Philippines. I want to say something more about the Filipinos and the Philippines.

The Philippines is the first democratic country in Asia and the only predominantly Catholic country in Asia as well. It has abundant resources in agriculture, fishing, mining, resorts and versatile cultures. Filipinos belong to the top ten happiest people of the world. The Philippines was expected by most of the countries to be the best country in Asia after WWII. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
The most important assets for any country are its people, land and sovereignty. The Philippines has good, friendly, happy and hardworking people. It has beautiful land with abundant resources. It has its own sovereignty which those national martyrs sacrificed their lives to get it for the right, dignity, freedom and benefits of ALL their beloved fellowmen — the Filipinos.

Like what Mr. Jaeyoun Kim said, I admired the Philippines very much when I was young. I told myself I would go to the Philippines to see how great this country is. When I arrived in the Philippines two years ago, I was disappointed and frustrated. For the last two years, the Philippines had sent another few millions of its most precious asset, its people, out of the country as OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) to serve the people of other countries worldwide. Most of them are doing manual labor. The Philippines’ economy relies heavily on the remittance of the OFWs. Even government officials started to call them the HEROES of the Philippines! I feel sad. I have travelled to many countries, and I saw for myself how hard those OFWs work, how do they live below their means, saving every penny so they could send home some money. I have heard so many stories about how they have been maltreated, ripped off and abused in those foreign countries. Every Christmas season, when we are celebrating the holiday with our families, there are over 10 millions of Filipinos outside the country missing their families, crying on the phone! Will they and their families have a peaceful and happy holiday? I don’t believe so! Who doesn’t have brother, sister, daughter, son, wife and husband? If they are OFWs, will you wish them be home with you?

There are many foreign investors coming to the Philippines and trying to get as much as resources from the Philippines, especially its mining resources. Do they care about the pollution or environment protection? I don’t know but I do see the polluted rivers, lands and suffering Filipinos. There are over 7,000 islands in the Philippines. Many of them are beautiful and considered among the best resorts in the world. Tourism can be a great resource of fortune for this country. It can develop millions of jobs for Filipinos and bring billions of dollars to the Philippines.
When asked about the government and its lawmakers, senators and congressmen, 85 percent of those I talked to said the government is so corrupt. Five percent gave no comment, 10 percent just conservatively smiled. I have met many Filipino businessmen, especially those in their mid-30s to mid-40s, who want to do something to help their country but couldn’t. I could feel their passion and, at the same time, frustration about their homeland.

Months ago, many people gathered on EDSA to celebrate the anniversary of People Power Revolution, the non-violent revolution that toppled down the highly-corrupt Marcos government. I asked many Filipinos, “Were there many OFWs during Marcos’ regime?” The answer was negative. What does that mean? In the last two years, this country has sent a few more millions OFWs out! The rate of poverty and people in hunger kept going up. During this global financial crisis, the unemployment rate also increased.
I am neither a politician nor an economist. But my feeling is, if this country keeps sending its most precious asset — the Filipinos — out as the biggest labor supplier of the world, I don’t see much chance that the Filipinos’ future will go anywhere better. I can see that the position of Filipinos in the international society is low because most Filipinos working abroad are laborers and are poor. Why would other countries bypass the Philippines and rather go to other Asia countries to invest? Why would the US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, bypass the Philippines when she came to visit Asia? We can’t blame anybody because I always believe that how others treat us is because we make them treat us that way! To keep on blaming others or ourselves will not help anything but only make things worse.

I came to the Philippines in 2006. During my stay, I traveled to many places, from north to south. I met many Filipinos and I fell in love with Filipinos and the Philippines. Within me grew a passion and desire to do something to help make the Philippines as the best country in Asia as it is supposed to be.
For the last two years, I have found and learned that other than love Filipinos and love the Philippines, we need to be united, too! Unity is power! Let us be united. Let us help and support each other. Let us work together on an economical movement instead of political movement in 2009 and 2010 to improve the economic situation of the Philippines! Let us create US$24 billion to US$50 billion revenue for the Philippines! Let us bring all our OFWs home and build the Philippines as the best country in Asia as it should be.

Is that possible? Yes, I believe it’s possible if we love each other and unite ourselves.

First of all, I encourage each one of us to reframe our minds to think like an entrepreneur and build our own business, our own International business! We could “Nrich” our life and help others to “Nrich” their lives, too!
To be a successful entrepreneur, there are five criteria to be met: Leverage, Control, Creativity, Expandability and Predictability.

Teambuilding is the best way to leverage! I encourage each one of us to join and learn with others who want to be “Nriched” and “Nrich” others as well!
As I always emphasized, we are in the educational business. We are offering a “life-changing” education to all those who want to become an entrepreneur. They are educations of mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, finance and marketing skills. We want everyone who join us to become a leader — a true leader who has the following characteristics: (1) dreams big; (2) think big; (3) cares for, loves and helps others; (4) is willing to learn and be a good teacher; (5) inspires and brings people to move up and go beyond their human limitations, doubts and fears; (6) is focused and persevering; (7) responsible and walks his talk.

India, the seventh largest country in the world with a population of 1.17 billion people, became one of the fastest growing economies in the world after their economic reforms in 1991. India will replace Japan as the third economy of the world by 2032 and will replace the United States of America by becoming the second economy of the world by 2050. India started to build their IT industry — they develop and export IT products, support and services, not labor!

Can Filipinos and the Philippines do better than India? Yes, I believe we can as long as we love Filipinos, love the Philippines and stay united! Join us to learn, to teach, to build and export our “life-changing” education, not labor, which can benefit all Filipinos, the Philippines and the whole world.
Do we love the Philippines? Do we love our hometown? Do we love our family? Do we love ourselves? Are we willing to love each other as God commanded us? If our answer is YES, please join us and let us work together! This is the best timing and opportunity for all of us! Let us build an international business and bring fortune to all Filipinos and the Philippines. We can make it happen! We can create a historical miracle! Please tell everyone you know (families, neighbors, friends, classmates, colleagues, OFWs, government officials, congressmen, senators) and let’s work and fight together for the bright future and prosperity of all Filipinos, the Philippines, and even the whole world!

Sincerely Yours,
Joseph Ho
www.nrichclub.com
www.nrichglobal.com

from our Asian President of Kaire World

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

fly like a bird

Stone Man, originally uploaded by sokalkyle.

Now that we regularely take a plane, the news of the Air France flight from Brazil really interests us.

Not because it probably went down. We know that it can happen, and we're prepared for it (in case, not as a necessity!). Me & my bf, we jokingly say to each other: if the plane crashes, at least we'll die together :-) but it has a serious undertone.

It interests us because obviously so many important people were on board of that plane. A number of high positioned guys from Michelin (France/Brazil) ... is it wise to put them all together in one plane, knowing the possibility of crash?

Which caused HL to remark: well, they paid for first class, but in death all are equal ... paying much more, they will die for the same price as economy :-)

A horrible remark, of course, but nevertheless true!

We'll think about you, next time you'll take a plane. We hope you do the same!

hovering hugs,
PB
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Monday, May 25, 2009

vanishing justice ....

Male Nude – Hamburg, originally uploaded by cromacom.

hi there! nice to see that you're still reading my blog :-) and here's the today report!

I had a court case in Turnhout, that's 2 hours by train and a bit more then 1 hour by car, so I choose the car :-) what else do we have the engine for hehe? I had to be there at 10.30 am, so I could have left the house at 9.15 am.

But I didn't. Because in order to reach Turnhout, I have to pass Antwerp, and that passing is always highly time consuming, with lots of problems and standing still traffic in the morning, especially on a Monday morning. Most of all, because there's a tunnel under the main river (the Schelt), so horrible.

So I left way in advance, at 8.15 am. Just because I was ready and no use in waiting to depart :-)

Guess what happened ... it took me till 10.15 to reach the court house. Fortunately I left in time.

My client was there in time too, he took a bus from Antwerp, where he lives. He's tired of fighting for his rights, and he informed me that his battle in justice soon will be over, the poor lad. I can understand him. Fighting for your rights is a troublesome action, it simply never ends. And for all of us, there comes a day that we don't want to fight anymore. Sometimes, the ideal of justice is simply vanishing ...

I pleaded nicely, I had a good feeling about the to-be-expected result of the court session. Then afterwards, I drove the client back to Antwerp. And guess what? There was a huge accident in the tunnel, direction of Gent, and the traffic around Antwerp in that direction was standing still everywhere. Plain horror.

The client guided me through Antwerp, to an alternative small and old but convenient tunnel. He was happy to be driven back home, and I was happy to have avoided the jam!

This brings me to my basic thinking: by offering the client to drive him back (instead of making him take the public transport) I was not standing still in an hours long jam. That is the essence of my life: by doing good and spreading joy, you will receive much more good and joy in return. Don't you agree?

joyful hugs,
PB
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Friday, May 22, 2009

Centuries old, and almost brandnew

SpringHouse-2, originally uploaded by naked.duck.

Nice picture, isn't it? Just an illustration of the renovation work in the low house next door.

The renovation is almost done! Now we started to buy stuff to decorate the old "new" house. Today we got 2 huge plastic pots, since we will have plants there too. Provisionally they decorate the garden now, but they will end in the renovated house.

BTW, do you know that the renovated house is already many centuries old? It's a miracle that it's still standing there!

The entrepreneurs should have finished everything by the end of this month, I hope. Then we can start to do the interior painting, and slowly move in there. By the end of the summer, we should live there. That's the planning!

Did you ever move house? If so, did you enjoy it?

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Long Live Long Warm Weekends!

geoffrey1105171, originally uploaded by Luis Machado.

Good evening!

Once again, Belgium is holidayparadise :-) we have a long weekend now, from Thursdag till Sunday !!!! Incredible, isn't it? One might wonder how this country can still function with all those holidays!

Anyway, for me it's work as usual. I prefer not to follow the workflow of the majority ... I cherish to be a minority :-)

This includes also working in the garden! After our long absence, the garden really needs urgent attention. I give it sparsely, since the office needs the same, and the office gets priority !!! Guess why hehehe?

Tomorrow I'll make 2 hours free time to go to Lars (the eldest son of my sister). Next Sunday, he'll celebrate his Holy Communion (which is some kind of rite from boyhood to adulthood), and I promised him to buy a very nice present for him ... and he choose a cellphone! So we'll go cellphone hunting tomorrow, Lars & Howlan & me :-) Let's hope we find some working shops (due to the long weekend, I expect lots of shops to be closed ... or will the financial crisis urge the shopkeepers to be more active and lure as many customers in as possible? Wait and see!)

That's about it for today :-) I don't want to bore you too much with stories about the work hehe!

huggies,
PB
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

X1 search engine! I love it :-)

this is by far the best search engine I found on the internet till now! And it's for free (well, the basic version, but that's all I need). In the blink of the eye, it guides you to all your files on your computer, stuff that otherwise would be dormant till the end of times :-)

Free and perfectly working, what more do you need?

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Saturday, May 16, 2009

the boundaries of relationship

It's Saturday night, and from a fresh (15°C) Belgium, I send my best wishes and greetings to you :-)

So many things were on my mind today, but I don't want to get you bored with detailing all of them !!!! Just this little one.

Today we went shopping for furniture for the renovated house. It was fun, we went to Ikea, and to a high-end designer shop. Ikea was cheap and (almost all) boring, the designer shop was expensive and interesting. As HL always says: one price one quality hehe.

Anyway, that's not what I want to write on this blog about :-).

I feel that moving to the renovated house, in a month or two, will have an effect on our relationship. Not yours and mine, but HL's and mine.

We will be placed in a new environment, we will have to decide on new subjects like decoration and what to order for the kitchen, and so on and so forth.

This brings me to the question: how far can a relationship stretch? We are now together since 1997, that's more then 12 years. Our relationship today is different then it was in the beginning, but I think we still enjoy it, both of us.

From the beginning, it was a monogamous relationship. For HL, because he wanted only one lover in his life. For me, the main reason for monogamy was safety. 1997 was the time of AIDS spreading and it seemed wise then to limit oneself to only one lover.

Now we are 2009. Times have changed. Our relationship has changed. We still feel very nice and loving and caring with each other, and I hope we'll continue for the rest of our lives like this. But the question remains: what are the boundaries of our relationship? Should we limit it to only the two of us, or should we allow others to enter it?

The question is particularely genuine, since it is clear for everybody who knows me, that I am attracted to youth. Don't worry, I do stick with legal age, I don't go for underaged persons :-) However, youngsters give that sparkle to my life, that I so much need. They lift me up and make me alive. Nothing much I can do about it, that's who I am.

That being said, it's not necessarily a sexual desire. I enjoy the energy of youngsters, I admire their beauty, I am ravished with their scent and smile and spirit and spontane reactions. That doesn't mean I want to dive into bed with them :-)

But what if I encounter someone that awakens these very natural desires in me? What should I do? Faithful as I am, I will never abandon my bf. Human as I am, should I refrain myself and deny the natural desires?

The question is not imminent yet. But I feel it coming. If the question would arise one day, I wonder how my bf will deal with it. And most of all, how I will handle the situation.

When taking all that into consideration, please don't forget that I have given myself a ten-year-limit (see former blogs). I still have 10 years to live. How will I live those years?

I really look forward to your comments and ideas and advises. Do not refrain yourself from being blunt. Just spit it out. What would you do if you were me? paulbavo@yahoo.com !!!!

sensitive hugs,

PB
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Dental Deterioration and Dawn. And how long?

Van DentalArtist

you! yes you! hehe! do you know I'm 55 y.o. already? Well, I do. Slowly my body is decomposing. Every now and then a part needs to be replaced, like an old car that begs to be guided into the repair workshop.

Lately I have dental problems. 2 teeth were removed, and I need a so-called "bridge" now. I hate it. But no choice, the dentist said that it was necessary. Who am I to discuss?

Today, I went to the so-called "dental artist". He's the one that will decide on the colour of my new teeth. Fake of course, but obviously the dental industry is doing its best to show fake as real as possible.

The guy was checking my teeth (the colour of it) over and over again, sketching and making photographs, my oh my, I thought it would never end! I took some pix, you see this dental artist on top of this blog :-)

All this rambling about my teeth brings me to the following topic. How long will I still be here on earth?

I keep on thinking that my life will end around 65 y.o. I have no idea why, since statistically, males live till 77 y.o. in Western Europe. Maybe the smoking and drinking has something to do with it :-)

If my thinking is correct, I'll live another 10 years.

What would you do, if someone told you that you have only 10 more years to live?

Do tell me :-) paulbavo@yahoo.com !!!

huggies,

PB

Monday, May 11, 2009

Michael Jackson performs AGAIN (now in Malaysia)

Friday, May 8, 2009

who doesn't like japan guys?

gay youtube!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

the continuing discovery

I was thinking last night ... will we ever return to Budapest? We probably will. I think that, after this 3rd visit, we haven't seen half of the city. So many things still to discover. And HL is ravished by the really good buys he can do here, when it comes to fashion. Top brands at a fraction of the price: the Ukraine maffia at its best. But it's likely that we won't come back to this hotel: it's overpriced, even though the luxury of having an indoor hot spring is tempting. Instead, we should look for a place to rent, although the prices I've seen today (a 3 bedroom appartment costs 100 euro per night!) urges to some more research!

Today we strolled in the area of the Astoria metro station: mostly Racoczi Ut. In the sidestreets, the red light district is developping (we didn't visit it), and it's an enchanting alternative area.

This is our last full day here. Tomorrow afternoon we're off to good old Belgium! Thanks to the Danubius card we have a late checkout (at 3 p.m., then the taxi comes and brings us to the airport at a promised price of 25 euro, roughly double the normal cost).

See you then and there!
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Monday, May 4, 2009

adam's costume

The program of today contained only 2 topics:
* see if an upgrade at Malev was possible, and
* walk in Vaci Ut + windowshopping.

Entering the Malev office is like entering a plane in first class, really nicely done. Unfortunately, a relatively friendly lady explained us that upgrading was not possible, we should have done it in Belgium before using the tickets, according to her. Well, we didn't put our hopes to high hehe!

Then the metro to the center, and from there a nice sunny walk along Vaci Ut, so many nice houses there, in lots of styles. HL quickly jumped in his favorite Designer Outlet store, and got himself a white pants, much nicer to wear in this springtime sunshine!

And then by tram 2, along the river, back to the bridge, jump on the bus (fortunately the bus was there, because suddenly it started to rain!), and back to the hot spa in the hotel! It will be a cosy evening :-)
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Sunday, May 3, 2009

presents and goodbyes

yes yes yes, everybody was present in good health today :-)

We had our usual long walk, and at 3 p.m., we said goodbye to the familymembers, off they went! Johan & Patricia offered HL a Swarowski flower, and the present by Liesbet & Freddy was a 55 euro coupon by Fnac. Happy birthdayparty to myself!
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Saturday, May 2, 2009

Methadon

Catastrophe !!! Volkwin drunk from (what he thought was) a bottle of water, and he poisoned himself: it was not water, but Helfrich's Methadon. Result: the whole day, Volkwin was sick as a dog, vomiting everywhere (fortunately in a plastic bag) and expressing his feeling bad in a demonstrative way. And on top of that, it started to rain in the morning!

Apart from that, our family-outing today was a success: we managed to do all the highlights of Budapest, although it's clear that a second day is sufficient.

Liesbet & co stayed in Budapest, I don't worry about them: they will find their way back to the hotel. Johan & co returned to the hotel by our bus, discussing wether it was necessary to call in a medical doctor. I hope Volkwin makes it till tomorrow, then they'll fly back to good old Belgium :-)
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Friday, May 1, 2009

how to knot a tie :-)

Johan and Liesbet arrived, Raf couldn't make it, and husband and wife and offspring join the party! They clearly like it here, Lars and Arne couldn't wait to conquer the spa. After setteling in the rooms, we took off. The guide explained us that we'd better avoid Budapest today, because of the festivities in the city on this day, and the political manifestations, and several roadblocks. So off to Szentedre, an artistic village 20 km north of Budapest. Packed with fellow tourists, it was nevertheless a nice walk there, HL compared it with Plovdiv (Bulgaria) but he found that one more authentic (which it is). The couleur locale came alive when a carriage with horses passed by: marriage in the local style! In the pictures, look at the lovely way the tie of the boy near the car is knot: I'd love to know how they made such a lovely knot!

Then back to Budapest, uphill in the Gellert district. It's our first time that we see the statue of freedom from this close, so we enjoy it too. And the views of Budapest from this high hill are absolutely spectacular on this sunny and bright day!
Going back downhill, we spy at the Gellert baths (Danubius Gellert hotel), it's really an artistic building, and the setting is breathtaking, too bad there's so much traffic around the hotel.

After the 4 hours tour, everybody's exhausted, except for Johan's kids: they plan to dance the night away in the discos in the city ... I hope to see them alive and well tomorrow!

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

From Belgium to Hungary!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox

Yesterday we took the plane to Budapest! The flight is code-shared between Brussels Airlines and Hungarian Airlines, and HL booked the ticket through the Hungarians: for the same product, their price is fundamentally cheaper! It pays to compare prices :-)

The flight to Budapest was with Brussels Airlines; in the Brussels airport, HL tried to get an upgrade to business class with the One-World-points, but unfortunately, that didn't work (as far as I remember, points-upgrades are only theoretically possible in the airport upon departure: you really need to do it in a regular office, long B4 departure)! Which was not inconvenient, since our tickets were B-flex: a nice meal included, and free flow of wine :-) BTW, Brussels Airlines has a lovely white wine from New Zealand, try it if you can!

It has been some years now since we last visited Budapest. We remember the city as totally inefficient, neglected, dirty, lots of homeless and a general mood of hopelessness; we thought this was going to change fast, since everywhere renovations were being done, and we had the impression that the city and its inhabitants were moving forward rapidly.

Unfortunately, the financial and political crisis has struck here too, the currency is in a free fall, and poverty is harder then it was before. Lots and lots of police on the streets, identity controls (not ours, we clearly look like tourists and therefor harmless), when taking the bus, it seems that we are the only ones with tickets (but in the underground, every single passenger is controlled).

You could suppose that this would be a very cheap holiday then, but that would be a mistake: a room in the hotel here (Danubius Spa, Margitsziget) is 200 Euro per night, double the price for half the service. Some hotel staff speak relatively well English, others clearly still struggle with the language. The rooms are nice but outdated, urgent renovation is required. And the problem is: the locals just don't realize it, I guess that they think this is the summum of comfort and luxury.
The hotel has an old wing (old castle-style) and a new wing (former communist retreat for the leaders), and we stay in the new wing, half board. Each wing has its own restaurant. However, due to the lack of hotel guests, only one restaurant at the time is functioning: we have to take the breakfast in the new wing, and the dinner in the old :-)

Today we spent half a day on planning the family trip: we compared prices between the offer of the hotel, and the offer of Toukan Tourist (an openly gay travel agency, we found it on the Web, and we'll gladly support their pride in this - still homophobic - country), and the hotel-offer was almost 50% more expensive, so after running back and forth between the two, we went for the Toukans! The manager there is mister Istvan Pocsai (he could use a dental, his front teeth are really admirable!), he's a charming guy, efficient and clearly moved by the fact that we choose his agency because of the gay label.

Our usual daily program here is: wake up around 6 am, go for a swim/bath (the hotel has its own therapeutic hot spring!), breakfast (basic but good, except for the coffee, even the - extra charged - cappuccino is undrinkable), stroll. This will change in the coming 3 days, when my siblings and their offspring will be here on my invitation, to celebrate the fact that I managed to be alive for 55 years :-)

More on that tomorrow!
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Monday, April 27, 2009

fresher then fresh!

Van Athens-Feb+Apr2009

Greece already prepared us: it's only 15°C in Belgium for the moment ... fresher then fresh :-) I'm sure you would enjoy it tremendously hehe!

We do miss the warmth though, this climate really makes us long for our next trip. And we miss you too, of course!

When in Belgium, we concentrate on work. So it might be that I skip posting for a week or so, I really need to catch up with the office now, I'm sure you'll understand!

But if there's something nice or interesting or disturbing to tell you, I'll post it here, so that you stay tuned!

Meanwhile, fresh hugs!

PB
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Friday, April 24, 2009

The End Is There!

Van Athens-Feb+Apr2009

Ah, Athens! Here we are again, in one of the places of ancient civilization ... wherever you roam you'll find marks and signs of thousands of years old. It's Fierce!

We stay in Athens for one night, in order to overcome the worst effects of the usual jetlag ... traveling between time zones (from left to right and vice versa) is causing physical discomfort, and we learned during our travels that it's best to overcome the jetlag in a non-homey-environment. In this case: Athens!

After a breakfast rich in Vitamin C (the hotel has this huge machine that squeezes oranges right in front of your eyes, impressive!), HL decided to repack all the luggage, he's so afraid of overweight :-) which he shouldn't, because we can pay the overweight of luggage with our airmiles :-)

In the late afternoon, we went for a stroll from Syntagma Square all the way to Omonia Square and back, first following Stadiou lane, and coming back by Panepistimiou Lane. Some things to remember:
* Omonia is clearly the meeting point for foreign workforce, whatever the work might be: Eastern Europeans and Asians group there, clearly waiting for someone to hire them, although the young ones are missing (they obviously don't need to publicize themselves there);
* the same square is one of the red light districts: lots of xxx venues;
* the Greek are so good in statues: you find excellent examples all over Panepistimiou;
* we attended a (part of a) Holy Mass in the Saint Denis Church ... all in Latin, the Kyrie Eleisons brought back memories :-)
* it's incredible how many homeless guys there are in Athens, they sit on benches everywhere, or stroll around in the most fancy dresses, and nobody seems to really care.

And here is our program for tomorrow:
6.00 wake up
6.30 swim
7.00 breakfast
8.00 shower, personal stuff, getting ready
10.00 transport by hotelshuttle
10.10 airport, checking in
11.20 flying to Belgium!

This will conclude our quite long travel. We were enchanted by all the new experiences, and be assured that we are - already now! - looking for the new ones ahead! But first let spend summer in good old Belgium :-)

Huggies,
PB
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Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Equinox

Since it's Equinox in Thailand, it's hot hot hot .... and we'll be leaving tonight for Bahrain and then Athens!

I'm sitting in the hotellounge now, sipping my cappucino & Perrier ... and it's almost time to grab the hotel limo & drive to the airport, 30 minutes of relaxing left :-)

While I'm relaxing here, some things to be remembered:

* cars in BKK don't like hills. Our taxi needed multiple attempts to climb up the small bump on the entrance of the hotel. While we were driving on a flyover in BKK (they only have 2 lanes, one for each direction of the traffic), we spotted a huge standstill in the opposite direction, caused by ... a car that couldn't make it uphill on the flyover, it was just standing still there ... and no way for the cars behind to pass it. I wonder how this Gordian Knot got resolved! Did they push the standing-still-car over the edge to clear the path?

* paté in BKK is only so-so. Our yesterday dinner with Kevin was lovely, and I normally try out the paté when I visit a restaurant for the first time, and it was not bad, just so-so. Too much pepper to my taste (what did they have to hide?) and not enough other sensations. Paté is obviously not an Asian dish :-) HL confirmed that his dish (recommended by Kevin) was delicious!

* Alyssa gave us a tip for next-time-shopping: Platinum Mall, opposite of Amari Watergate. Original copies of the real stuff at local prices ... not to be missed by HL!

* young monks in BKK don't like to be photographed. They shy away. No idea why, they are cute!

* Thai people smile to much to hide the fact that they didn't understand you (said Kevin). Or they don't know the answer. Their best reply is a huge smile :-)

* The hotel here (Méridien) is cutting down on costs ... and the staff suffers. Before the crisis, the staff had a very nice choice of food in the cantine. Nowadays, it's only one dish, and sometimes the same dish day after day after day. An occupancy of 10 to 20% does seem to leave some marks ...

* The hotel in Hua Hin has no choice but to bring in more wedding parties. Without them, the financial goal cannot be reached. The staff will have a hard time in calming down the normal guests! And HL should explicitely ask - before booking - if there's a wedding planned ...

* BKK at the equinox is deadly. Be sure to have at least 1 liter of water per person with you, when you go out. Inbetween, buy new cold water and refresh yourself regurarely. The heat is sucking every drop of liquid out of your body. We saw many tourists and locals suffering, their faces all red and blown up. It's life-threatening.
Positive aspect: the pool is gorgeous! So nice to swim under the sun, in warm water, and noone else around :-)

huggies,

PB
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

to vaio or not to vaio, that is the question!

To vaio? What does that mean? hehe! It means that my Sony Vaio (having problems from the early beginning) finally got a repair here in the Sony Repair Center in Bangkok! It wasn't easy though: we went there at 10 a.m., and we came back at 4 p.m. .... that's 6 hours of going there and coming back, and waiting inbetween, and testing the repair of that moment, and sending it back to further repair. But it was quite interesting. Not only we saw (and chatted with) so many people who had problems with their vaio computer (fortunately all solved on the spot, though not necessarily cheap! e.g. the guy who had the screen replaced for 29.000 bath ....) but we also had a stroll in the nearby area, visiting the very cheap neighbourhoods in wooden houses on the slopes of the river, built on standing still water, a perfect place to breed mosquitos and other unpleasant environmental aspects, with narrow streets and remarquably clean and not smelly at all!
The Sony Center is next to the ItaloBuilding on the New Petchbury Road, all the taxidrivers know that landmark.

In the Sony Center, a cute caucasian guy approached me, asking if I were a tourist or a resident there ... because he's tired of teaching English, and he's searching for someone who can hire him at a very cheap rate ... it's crisis indeed, when even the caucasians start to sell themselves cheap ...

On the Sony building, there is quite a huge pond with extremely huge fishes ... so everybody who's waiting for a repair and who wants to have a smoke, pops outside and sits there ... excellent stuff to make pictures :-)

But I'm still not convinced if Sony is such a good brand for computers, given the endless stream of problems and defaults, rolling in there ... then again, what brand is problemfree?

While sitting in the lounge here, enjoying our evening snacks & drinks, A.P. popped in at yahoo. We agreed upon a parcel of land to be bought in the Phils, but suddenly all the preparations go about something totally different, where it is clear that the seller is trying to mislead him (and me) and tries to sell the less valuable land at the given price. That is so unfair, I hate those kinds of so called misunderstandings. We agree upon a given solution, and at the end something totally different pops up, clearly in our financial disadvantage. Why do some people keep on thinking that we're tourists, and thus stupid? My confidence is this seller is completely gone, and I was quite disappointed in A.P. ... how can he defend his rights when even beforehand he admits to be the looser?

Anyway, in a couple of days we're out of Asia, and back in the harsh jungle of good old Europe, where liars and thieves are daily meals :-)

And now, let's jump into the single malt :-)

blub blub blub :-)
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Monday, April 20, 2009

Dear Bangkok? A Deer in Bangkok!

Never ever in our whole life we would have expected to see a living deer on the streets of Bangkok! Well, today was the day! We went to the Sony Center (my Vaio has sound problems) to check if they could be of help (they will, we'll go back there tomorrow) and after stepping out of the taxi, and proceeding to the entrance door, The Bangkok Deer looked us in the eye! Woohoo, for a moment we thought we were beamed up to the German Forests! What an "Aha Erlebnis" !!!

And it was hot today, my dear, so hot, that even the locals were suffering and fanning themselves and sweating like never before. In this heat, it's impossible to start a revolution :-)

After our Sonyvisit (I was quite impressed by their professionalism, Japan clearly has a good influence on Thailand), we strolled to the nearby Wat Mai Chong Lom. The word "Mai" can have 4 meanings in Thai language, so I'm not guessing which one it is in the name of this temple! Very nice, but urgent renovation required, and it looks they are going to do it.

Then back to the hotel, by taxi ... if we find one! The first empty taxi stops, but the driver doesn't like to bring us where we want to be, he mumbles something about "traffic jam" and drives away. The second one is more kind, at least he admits not knowing where our hotel is. No problem, I'll show him the way! A swift ride :-)

A short rest, and hop hop hop shopping time! To ZEN now, once again by the SkyWalk. Buying underwear (what they have here, we don't find in Belgium) and a gift for Alyssa (a very cute black purse from HL's favorite designer ... guess who she is? Does VW sounds a bell other then VolksWagen?).

The evening will be filled with our usual routine: swimming, enjoying the lounge, watching a movie/DVD. I hope you enjoy the evening as much as we do !!!

huggies,

PB
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Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Songkran War (The Five Dangerous Days of Songkran)

As hoped for, the Sri Lanka flight was excellent, good food, splendid champagne, but a female trainee as hostess, too bad the cute male steward (no doubt a PLU) was serving the economy class :-)

Upon arrival in the Méridien, we got our suite 2101, and the lounge gave us a special Sonkran reception: although the snacks hour was long passed, we were sprayed with huge single malts and dry martinis - fortunately in a glass!

Reading the Bangkok Post of today, there are some articles that are worth summarizing, about the last problems in Bangkok:

Alan Dawson remarked: 4 people died and 123 were hurt in five days of political violence and army crackdown nationwide. But in the "five dangerous days of Songkran" (plus two holidays), 373 people died in traffic accidents and 4.332 were injured.

Another reporter informs:
* hundreds of thuggish men, armed with axes, machetes and other weapons, attempting to take over Bangkok;
* an angry mob trying to kidnap Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and breaking the ribs of his secretary general Niphon Phromphan;
* gas trucks planted in different areas in Bangkok (their explosions could wipe out entire city blocks);
* and the final question and answer of the reporter Voranai Vaijaka: People's revolution? Nope, mob rule.

The last remark is interesting. What is the difference between a people's revolution and the mob rule? As far as I can remember, the mob is always used in people's revolutions to be served as cannon meat?

Meanwhile, enjoy with us the single malt and dry martini of Le Méridien! And the swimming pool, of course!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

flight through the rainclouds

and here we are again, sitting in the airport, waiting for the flight to BKK!

Finally we managed to phone first to Lee, since we didn't hear from him for quite a while already. So we have spent our last phonecredits on him, to know if he was doing alright ... and he explained that he has spent a month in hospital! But he's doing fine now, oooofff !!!

This morning, we searched for a shop SPY by Henry Lau .... quite an adventure in HongKong, to find hidden shops hahaha! The only info that we got was, that the shop was located on the 4th floor in a certain street, but only a small sidestreet, not the main street! After much going back and forth, we finally managed to locate the shop ... and it was closed :-) on Saturdays, only open at 15 pm hehe! That was exactly the time that the hotel limousine would bring us to the airport, so we'll still have to discover this shop!

Our friend in the hotel, Jay (his picture is not published in my picasaweb but he's cute!) told us that this was a very interesting shop! And there is another SPY in Soho (where we strolled yesterday night, but we didn't see that shop) plus some more shops in the Soho area, anyway, we exchanged email addresses and he'll give us a full update of our "to-do-list" !

The lounge here in the airport is very spacious, with a limited but nice choice of food and drinks. Ample space, and isn't space the new luxury?

Ah, before I forget! In case you don't find the HongKong pictures anymore in Picasaweb, I'm very sorry! For one reason or another Picasa burped and made a new folder ... so go for:
http://picasaweb.google.com/paulbavo2009/HongKongMacauApril200902#
instead of the former:
http://picasaweb.google.com/paulbavo2009/HongKongMacauApril2009#

Weird huh? I don't know what happened ... let's just hope that the airplane won't have such weird behaviour! A bit anxioux though, since the sky here in HK is dark and it's raining quite heavy. Gliding to BKK instead of flying? Come and see tomorrow for a detailed report!

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Friday, April 17, 2009

The End Is Near ...

yep, that's what it is: the end of our travel is coming near. Today is our last day in Hong Kong, tomorrow we're off to Bangkok, then Athens, and then back home. It was great so far!

What did we do for the last days? Walking and walking, sidestreets and small alleys, sniffing life in this extraordinary city. HL bought himself a stamp with his name in chinese (you know, those red stamps that chinese still use to sign contracts), I got my new toy (a camera) and today I even managed to get a spare battery (which is necessary because this toy is hungry for energy!). We strolled mostly in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon, very authentic chinese.

Overall, I'm impressed by the efficiency of the Hongkies, they know how to get things done (e.g. find this spare battery, justt new on the market). No wonder that their living standerd is comparable to Western Europe. And for HL's tiny bladder, it's a blessing that there are public toilets everywhere: try to find that in Europe!

Today we took the train to Mong Kok East (don't think we are getting lazy: we WALKED all the way back to the hotel), all brand new, shiny and clean, lovely. We bought the spare battery in the Grand Century shopping mall there, and then we walked partly back by the sidestreets of Nathan Road (sidestreets, since the main road is really horrible with all that traffic and persistant Indian boys dragging you to an Indian tailor) and at the park we went left to Chatham Road South ... where HL found an outlet store packed with designers brands at bottom prices ... for less then 100 euro he managed to get not less then 5 pieces hehe ! I'm sure now he loves Hong Kong!

I searched on internet where the gay area here might be, and Utopia directed me to Lan Kwai Fong, on the central island, nearby Central MTR station. We went there this evening, not for sexual reasons hehe, but because the gay districts everywhere are normally quite interesting and fashionable. We were not disappointed: a huge rolling path brought us up the mountain, and from there we did our descent by walking. No gay venues found though, but lots of interesting stuff, art, fashion, restaurants ... we had a bite in the Tsui Wah restaurant, packed with people: the groundfloor and 1st floor were already full, we had to climb to the 2nd floor to find a table! The service was swift and accurate, and for a total sum of 7 euro we had a delicious meal.

There is still so much that we haven't seen in Hong Kong: the temples on the New Territories, the islands of Landu and Lamma, ... if we ever come back, our program will be packed :-)

Although I don't know if we'll stay in the Sheraton ... the complimentary breakfast here is very basic (e.g. no eggs) although the suite is small but cosy and quiet at night (thanks to the double door) and the pool is lovely (28°C) and the jacuzzi's are splendid (but not as glamourous as in the Intercontinental!).

And now it's almost midnight ... HL is already sleeping, and I'll hop to bed too !

nitey nitey :-)

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

Today I finished the courtpapers yippeeeeee!!!!! wow, I felt so tired afterwards, do you have that too, this sudden wave of "fatigue" once a long job is done? After finishing the papers I slept for 2 hours in daylight hehe!

Meanwhile, what did we do the last 2 days, apart of office work? Swim, eat, drink & stroll around :-) For being such small 2 islands, Macau really has a lot to offer for its visitors. And that will even improve in the future: Mainland China decided to expand Macau, in order to diversify its economy, and a huge part of a nearby island (twice the sice of Macau, I've been told!) will be joined to Macau and be governed by Macau rules (one country, two systems). Alexander from the concierge desk confined me that he's eyeing on buying a house already there on those new lands, he says it's so cheap compared to the Macau prices and he expects the prices to go up very fast.

Anyway, I won't participate in this. Although lovely, Macau will not be one of our second homes. The choices have been set on Penang & KL, the Philippines, and (whenever stability returns) Thailand. Do I hear you cheer?

Oh, a quick word on the camera search! This is really a problem, since new camera's are rolling in at a speed that's too fast to follow. Nevertheless, I will forgo the bulky but lovely G1 and stick with the handy pocket cameras. My choice for the moment is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, at a price here in Macau of 3.809 (roughly 380 euro). It has all my heart desires except a SLR system, and I can live with that. I'll hunt for it tomorrow in Hong Kong! It's brand new, probably even not available in Europe yet :-)

:-)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Sunday is haircut

Yesterday and today (after my officework) we strolled in Macau. I'm so surprised to see that the island actually is very small: provided you like to walk for a couple of hours (like we do), all is within walking distance!

Saturday we walked from the seaport, over the skywalk, along the reservoir, all the length of the Avenida de Horta e Costa, then passing the Kiang Wu hospital, mountain up to the landmark of Macau: the front of the Saint Pauls Cathedral. Impressive, how asian and western styles are mixed in that part of the church (the rest was destroyed by fire). Then shopping (still searching for a good camera, but I haven't found any yet!) in the new shopping mall ... nothing much, compared to shopping in HongKong, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur!

Sunday (happy Easter!) we walked the south of Macau, from the famous A-Am temple all the way up to Senado Square. Inbetween, HL had a haircut in the most extraordinary hairsaloon one can imagine: just a container in a lost corner, all very rudimental but the job was well done for 30 Patacas (3 euro). In the sidestreets of the Avenida Ribeirio (opposite of the busstop), the Hongkie Easter Tourists were lining up for some restaurants and candy shops, standing in line is obviously a national sport for tourists :-)

Back in the hotel, HL already booked the tickets from Stockholm to Kuala Lumpur, for the end of this year (special promotion from Malaysia Airlines, better book quickly before the promo is over !), and we enjoyed the Madagascar II movie in the garden of the hotel, free open-air cinema!

And now an early sleep, I want to be fresh tomorrow to work on some courtpapers that need to be ready upon return to the office!

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Friday on your knees