thegreglowe.com

Author Paul Theroux ponders the changing face of travel as he’s witnessed it and tells GREG LOWE how to make the most of your trips

There is a misconception about how travel has changed, like the misconception about the Internet. That it makes people more intelligent, that it puts them in touch, that it gives them more information. It has made people presumptuous: this idea that the world is all connected, that you can go anywhere and do anything.

I have a lot of trouble getting a Burmese visa now. I went to Burma about a year-and-a-half ago without too much trouble. This time visas are hard to get. It’s hard to travel in Burma right now. It’s impossible to travel in Afghanistan. It’s difficult to travel in Iran. But I went through Iran and Afghanistan easily 30 years ago. [Read more →]

Thailand´s property market will be hit by the double impact of domestic politics and global economic turmoil next year, but while both prices and demand may fall by up to 20 percent as the Thai economy falters, the market´s sound fundamentals will continue to provide solid medium to long term profits for cash-rich investors.

The lack of debt-driven financing in the local market and a strong banking sector that relies predominantly on domestic deposits, rather than investing in the complex debt instruments at the heart of the current global economic firestorm, provides firm financial foundations for the industry, according to local analysts. Read more…

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’s Cabinet will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss ‘measures’ against protesters in Bangkok who have broken the law, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said in a national television address last night. [Read more →]

MAE SOT , Min Min U, 24, from the village of Betut in Labutta Township, deep in the heart of Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta, recalls the day Cyclone Nargis struck, prompting him and his wife to migrate to the Thai border town of Mae Sot:

“The winds started to blow at around 2pm on 2 May. They were quite strong, but nothing out of the ordinary for that time of year. After a couple of hours we thought it might get worse, so my family collected our belongings and took them inside the house. More…

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’s economic fundamentals are sound enough to ride out the global financial crisis, though the domestic political turmoil is making a bad situation worse, experts say.

Consumer fears: Thai consumers are now more fearful of the future than when they were living under military rule last November, says Moodys Economy.com [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’S biggest mobile phone operator has denied reports that it has slashed its 3G budget because of the credit crunch. But it has ‘consolidated’ its plan to roll out 3G technology because of red tape, its president said. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE
in BANGKOK

KIM Eng Securities (Thailand) said yesterday that despite reporting declining third-quarter profits in the face of the global financial crisis, the firm would maintain annual performance at last year’s levels.

The company posted Q308 profits of 88.61 million baht (S$3.73 million), down 55.89 per cent, or 112.28 million baht, from a net profit of 200.88 million baht for the same period last year. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

CONVENTIONS and exhibitions in the region will weather the global financial storm, despite a drop in delegate attendance, but corporate meetings and incentive travel will plummet as budgets are cut, those in the industry say. [Read more →]

by Greg Lowe

Thailand´s property market will see little direct impact from the Lehman Brothers sell-off and corresponding US financial crisis, according to local analysts, but secondary knock-on effects may crimp sales, particularly at the top end.

Lehman Brothers Holdings, one of America´s oldest investment banks, went bankrupt last September, with assets worth US$613 billion (21,144 billion baht). A local subsidiary Lehman Brothers Holdings (Thailand) had Bt50 billion of assets, about 80 percent of which was in property – including investments in local developers Raimon Land, Grande Asset and Ascon Trading. more…

Shop ’til you drop? For the true test of retail therapy’s outer limits,try touring four of Asia’s leading mega malls

BANGKOK

If shopping malls are cathedrals of consumerism, then Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong district could be likened to Vatican City, with CentralWorld taking pride of place as its St Peter’s Basilica.

But what makes this complex stand out from the 11 other malls and department stores within a short walk? Well, at 550,000sqm, it’s the largest lifestyle shopping complex in South-East Asia. Read more…