thegreglowe.com

By GREG LOWE in Bangkok
THAILAND offers some of Asia’s best real estate investments. High-quality contemporary properties in prime locations continue to drive prices and build the country’s position regionally, but players say government barriers for overseas buyers are crimping growth. [Read more →]

BANGKOK–Thailand launched its first 3G commercial trial last month, but government regulations and limited hardware continue to hamper the technology’s rollout in the kingdom, industry observers said.

Thailand’s biggest mobile service operator Advanced Info Services (AIS), launched on May 6 its 600 million baht (US$5.3 million) digital 3GSM service along with a commercial trial in the country’s northern city of Chiang Mai.

The service operates on the 900MHz frequency transmitting on High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) at 7.2 Megabits per second, 45 times faster than existing GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) or EDGE systems. 3GSM services include high-speed Internet, video calls, video streaming and sizable data downloads. Read more

BY GREG LOWE In Bangkok
THAI-LISTED companies posted net profits of 152.4 billion baht (S$6.5 billion) in the first quarter of this year, a third higher than the same period last year, the Stock Exchange of Thailand revealed yesterday. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE in Bangkok
THE Asia-Pacific’s tourist trade made first steps towards tackling climate change at an industry level, at a Bangkok conference last week. Pacific Asia Tourism Association (Pata) organised the two-day Pata CEO Challenge: Confronting Climate Change, in Bangkok, last Tuesday and Wednesday. More than 230 delegates exchanged information and discussed practical initiatives on how to reduce the industry’s negative impact on the environment, while protecting profits. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE “GOES ISLAND” AND FINDS HIMSELF IN A RURAL, POTTERY-BEDECKED TIME CAPSULE ONLY MINUTES FROM BANGKOK’S SKYSCRAPERS

IF YOU WERE TAKEN from your central Bangkok hotel, blindfolded, driven around for three hours, dropped off at Koh Kred and then asked where you were, upstream Phitsanalouk, rural Isaan, or south of Samut Songkhram would be good guesses. Thirty minutes from downtown City of Angels would be a most unlikely reply. It would, however, be true, as this hidden gem is just a taxi ride away from Sukhumvit Road. Read more

Photos by Dan White

GREG LOWE in Bangkok
[BANGKOK] International hotelier Golden Tulip Hospitality Group has chosen Thailand as the centre of its one billion euro (S$2.11 billion) South-east Asian expansion plan under which it will open up to 50 properties over four years.
The Swiss-based company, which now operates 324 hotels in 54 countries including China and India, opened its Golden Tulip South-east Asia office in Bangkok last October. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE DOES THE ROUNDS OF THAILAND’S HARDEST HOLES ACROSS THE BEST NINE OPEN COURSES

FROM AZURE SOUTHERN seas to misty northern mountains, Thailand offers some of the best technical golfing available in Asia. Ease of access combined with luxurious leisure activities and unsurpassed environments make it second to none. But where should you play? Here is a list of nine of the best courses on the route map, all open to the public. Read more

BANGKOK–Swiss-based hotel chain, Golden Tulip Hospitality Group, on Monday announced plans to pump US$1.56 billion over the next four years to expand its operations in Southeast Asia, which include building high-tech guest rooms.

The company, which currently operates 324 hotels in 54 countries, is targeting to open 50 hotels in the region by 2012 and will launch three brands: economy-business Tulip Inn, four-star Golden Tulip, and five-star Royal Tulip. Tulip Inns will represent 60 percent of the company’s portfolio, with the other brands making up the remaining 35 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Read more

Asia’s ability to compete on a global scale will remain severely hampered until the Northern Hemisphere’s better off nations loosen their economic grip by removing barriers to trade. Access to markets in the West is a vital lifeline for the development of Asian countries, not only on purely economic levels, but also in terms of establishing more stable democracies.

Strong economies are a keystone of healthy democracies, and the United States, Britain and the European Union (EU), have to put their money where there collective mouths are in terms of ensuring this liberalization takes place, or so says former-British Conservative MP, -Hong Kong Governor, and -European Commissioner, Chris Patten. read more…

Unlike most people, Jane Flemming, the protagonist of Scottish author Christopher Brookmyre’s novel All Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye, can pinpoint the exact turn of events that transformed her life.

A drunken, awkward, and most importantly unprotected bout of unsatisfying sex with her Catholic boyfriend Tom morphed the 19-year old blue-haired punk rocker into the embodiment of the sensibilities of middle age. read more…