Analyst

shit...........

wish i could roll

Poly, anytime you're back in BKK, let me know...hurry up and finish up this grad school thing and head back east...

555555555555555555555555555

It's getting harder and harder these days to find that "road less taken" these days in Thailand. Everyone is looking for the paradise painted by Alex Garland or the back-alley hole-in-the-walls from Bangkok 8. I wish I had more time to explore, but with practically no time, I can only steal an extra day or so once in a while to make it a long weekend.

I found an excellent spot on Koh Pha Ngan back in January. On Mae Haad, on the most northwest corner, you'll find a quiet beach with a semi-submerged sandbar stretching out to a small island in the distance. This is probably one of the most peaceful places I've ever been to on Earth. Compared to Haad Rin, the water is clear and is mostly isolated. About 50m from the beach, you'll also notice a small outdoor bar with "mon kaang" triangle pillows and candles adorning the floor and a skinny local with dreads manning the counter with no other customers. Be sure to try the Bomb Lassis there for a smoothie with an extra spaced-out kick in the pants.

In comparison, when the ferry from Samui drops you and the 60 other Isreali, Italian, British, Australian backpackers off at Haad Rin, the main landing point on Koh Pha Ngan, the first thing you notice are the 60 Europeans, Canadians, Aussies all waiting to get back on the ferry back to Samui and then to wherever it is that they call home. And so it goes day in and day out. Out of this group, you'll find zero Thai tourists, outside of the locals and others with commercial interests on the island. I found it strange that I was the only Thai on the boat and was always mistaken for Japanese. After a few days, you get used to the mellow atmosphere on the island. The best part is that there's never a rush to go or do anything. Breakfast easily turns into 4 hr affair after you've watched several Simpson episodes, Old School, and Maid in Manhattan, over eggs bacon and toast with a few mimosas and maybe a watermelon shake on the side. At night the fire-twirlers line the beach spinning firesticks faster than a Sith Lord on X.

I would disagree about Pattaya. In my perspective, Pattaya by night is like Patpong multiplied by 4X. It's ghetto. There are tons of farangs looking to hook up with both Thai boys and girls. The alleys are all neon lights and beer bars. From a beach perspective, it's easily reached from Bangkok and decent. The diving really sucks from Pattaya, so expect 2-3m visibility at most and tons and tons of sea urchins littering the floor, waiting for you to step on them.

I've only been to Phi Phi before the tsunami. Back then, I took a quick flight to Krabi and then the 1.5 hour boat right to the islands. There's some tourists on the island, but far less than what you would find on Koh Samui or Koh Pha Ngan (home of the full moon party and mushroom shakes). The reason: no night life, which in my opinion, is the best part about the island.

On Phi Phi, you have excellent limestone formations for rock climbing. Maya Bay, where they filmed the Beach, is a close kayak ride away. If you want to go diving, visibility this time of year is close to 20-25m visbility. It's probably one of the best places to get certified. Check out Hippo Divers outfit while you're there. Overall, it's a quaint tiny island, which keeps away the party kids you'll find on Phuket, Samui, Pha-Ngan, Pattaya, etc.

I think girls with skinny wrists look really cool with a loose fitting chunky men`s rolex. like think a submariner or a sea dweller.

I agree. I like seeing girls rock a full 44mm panerai on a pink or blue croc strap. hot!

Poly, unfortunately left my copy in DC or I would send you my copy... loved the duet with Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star...

Last night checked out the 360 Bar on the top of the Millenium Hilton in Bangkok. For one of the best 360 degree views of the city from an enclosed setting, I would definitely recommend this place. While Sirocco atop the State Tower but be a bit higher, I think the mood at 360 is perfect. It's got that Park Hyatt Tokyo feel with the lounge singer crooning Sade and Lauren Hill covers. It also doesn't get too crowded and you can still get a window seat at 11pm on Saturday as a walk-in. Perfect place to take your GF on short-notice

Rocking the Asia-Pac version of the K800....the K790i. Picked it up at the MBK center amid the other 200+ mobile phone dealers.

Had a few annoying bugs so far so I probably should have waited but the 3.2 megapixel camera kicks ass...

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich and Ribs, Rocklands, Washington, DC (really miss this place!)

Pizza, Coppis, U Street, Washington DC

Soup Dumplings - Joe Shanghai, NYC

Xiao Long Pao - Jade Garden, Bangkok

Pho - Pho 24, Saigon

Chili Half Smoke - Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington, DC

Hainnese Chicken and Rice, Street Vendor on Soi 38 Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Dry Egg Noodles w/ Pork Wonton, Street Vendor on Soi 38 Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Kobe or Matsuzaka Steak, NY Steak House (JW Marriot), Bangkok

Japanese Cuisine, Torojiro, Soi 13 Thong Lor, Bangkok

Burgers, Nana Burger, Soi 4 Nana, Bangkok

Burgers, 5 Guys or Lindys on 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington DC

salad preparer at a mountain resort.

i thought it'd be cool making salads and cutting vegetables. but 90% of the time it was transferring shit from one container to the next.

so you're a salad tosser?

shit is coming up as sold out already. i want to stay there as long as possible i get off the 16th and have to come back in the first week of jan. so that's why i'm getting these ridiculous prices probably.

xcoldricex, I would go with the 1500$ ticket for those days. It's peak season and tickets will go up to 3000$ for economy later. I paid 1800$ a few years ago to come to BKK for NYE and was lucky to get that price.

I'm coming back to the states around Jan 15. Prices are around 1300$ on NW I think. Good luck!

It might be hard to find useful information without paying for it. Aside from the "About Us" now section on the website, you might want to check Hoovers for company information. Their corporate Web site should have a list of recent news articles/press releases/etc.

As Mavi is a Turkish company, you might have better luck doing a search on Factiva, which consolidates newspaper articles, magazine articles, etc. worldwide.

If necessary, see if you might be able to call their corporate office to get some additional historical company information. Financial information will be more difficult as I believe they are a private company and are not required to disclose finanical results.

Good Luck.

I love amsterdam. Used to go there every February for a few days.

Always stopped by the Grey Area on Spui Straat and Baba on Warmoesstraat in Centrum. Good times

Summer research job in college:

I gave female sprague dawley rats pap smears everyday to check to see when they were in estrus. Ghetto.

i'm glad to see you posting analyst. didn't know if that bloodless coup affected you.

i used to work at an ivy league university doing IT work in their admissions department. Quit last year and am back in college finishing up some pre-req's for an education in the health sciences.

Ha! I got a day off from work for the coup. Wish I could have gotten more.

Hey, just got back from Vietnam. Spent a couple days in Saigon with some friends. Good times to be had. When you coming back out to BKK/Saigon/Phnom Penh!?

I finally broke down and picked up a Panerai (PAM 164). So far I love it. No problems getting used to the 44mm case and weight. The dial is clean and simple, enhanced by the mars-red croc strap on deployant. I should not be purchasing anymore watches, but was not expecting to find this timepiece again. This time I interpreted the sighting as a sign from God or whatever deity. I also found out that one of uncles is an equity holder with the shop in question. With this assurance, I picked it up immediately the day after.

The grey market watch dealers in MBK center on Siam Square are quite a wild bunch. On the second and third floors, you'll fine numerous watch dealers with awesome timepieces behind glass cases: perpetual calendars, GMTs, chronos, minute repeaters, grande complications, etc. Plus, any brand you're looking for: Rolex, Panerai, IWC, Patek, Lange, Audemars Piguet, is available. Prices are usually much better than what you'll find from the authorized dealers at Erawan, Emporium or Paragon. >15% from top line price for a Panerai, which are rare as hell and usually require 8 months of waiting on a list for the model you actually like. The Chinese dealers don't bullshit so you better bring your "A" game when dealing with them. Do your homework and how your limits and then start the negotiation process. Anything can happen and these guys always want to make a deal.

Never buy for an investment. You'll always lose out on it. Buy the watch you love and hold on to it until you pass it on to your son. I love the Patek ad, "You never really own a Patek, you merely hold on to it for the next generation."

Everything is cool in BKK. Coup went off without a hitch. I got a day off of work right after the coup and spent the day looking for tanks and watching families take pictures with tanks and buy ice cream for the soldiers. Overall, everyone here supported the coup, which was crucial as Taksin was about to consolidate his power across the military by securing key army posts for his henchmen.

Now comes the long wait and sighs due to the inevitable in-fighting as the government tries to get back onto its feet. In the meantime, fuel prices are still sky high (Thailand utilizes the most fuel per $ of GDP in the region) and with no elected goverment in place, infrastructure projects do not get funded and the economy starts sagging.

The only weird thing during the coup was the total shutdown of external information: no CNN, BBC, MSNBC or Bloomberg. On top of that, no access to internet pages: no hotmail, gmail, etc. The days afterwards, they would broadcast CNN but would default to a emergency broadcast alert as soon as a report on Thailand appeared. You can imagine some jackass assigned to monitor the news channels and switch them off as soon as anything is mentioned about Thailand but then switch them back on as soon as something about Hungary or Darfur came on. Sigh.

Anyway, this was the first coup in BKK in 15 years. I hope the next PM is better than the last. Peace.

Moved to Bangkok about one year ago from DC and working as strategy/management consultant in global consulting firm for oil and gas and diversified industrial industries.

My girlfriend just bought a Mulberry bag. Very simple made from amazing quality leather. One of those bags that you use for the next 10 years...

There's the underground strip club scene where anything goes...

IWC Portuguese...I'm in love ever since the day we met.

I have a 3 year old Tag Carrera. If McQueen wore it, it's cool enough for me.

Also, I did check out Sinn. Pretty solid, military style watches, and great for days when you don't want to risk the Panerai/Breitling/Patek.

Definitely agree on the IWC Portuguese. I was looking at the stainless steel model on blue crocodile strap at the watch convention held at Siam Paragon. Now that is a real watch. In house movement with seven day power reserve. 42mm housing. They were willing to go with 25% off of retail with another 7% VAT off collectible when you leave the country. Definitely tempting. Not feeling any of the new Pilots that came out this year. I picked up a IWC 3706 Pilot Chrono about a year ago in NYC and it has become one of my favorite watches. IMHO, IWC watches are timeless. Most are simple, amazingly well-crafted and minimally designed. You either love them or hate them.

While Panerai's success is attributed to mostly excellent marketing and supply restrictions, I can't help but want to pick one up. It's the perfect weekend beater watch with a t-shirt and jeans. Despite it's shortcomings i.e., generic modified ETA movements, recent quality compromises due to increased demand and popularity, etc. , it's a great watch to have when you're young before you starting wanting to buy Pateks, Vacherons and Audemars Piguets. Loving the PAM 164, PAM 25 titanium submersible, and PAM 199 Waffle-faced Regatta.

With watches, I would say buy the watch that you absolutely love and want to pass down to your kids. Patek's motto, "You never really own a Patek, you just hold on to it for the next generation," rings true.

House music is actually very broad genre and includes numerous sub-genres. Here are some samples:

Francois K for classic deep house with a tribal beats interlaced. He used to throw some of the best sunday afternoon parties at Vinyl (NYC) called Body and Soul from 3pm-midnight. Checkout Body and Soul Vol1-3.

Miguel Migs and anything off of Naked Music Records (SF). Deep vocal house.

Danny Teneglia. Dark, nasty tribal house at NYCs Arc club formerly known as Vinyl. At times, sleazy. Check out his global undergound #1. Starts off with Seduction of Orpheus (Hooj Choons, 2000), amazing record.

Scott Henry. Pioneer of the DC scene. Started the Buzz parties at the Capital Ballroom.

Charles Feelgood. Baltimore's own house DJ. Used to play at the old Fever parties.

Terry Mullen. Chicago DJ. Acid house.

There are so many house sounds out there. Listen to as much as you can. And then figure out what you love. Cheers!

Tori Amos at the Macauley Theatre Louisville KY in 1994

Luna and Yo La Tengo at the 9:30 Club in DC from 1994-onwards

Neil Halstead at the Metro Cafe in DC in...2003 or 2004, I think...

Lou Barlow at the Black Cat in DC in...2003 or 2004...

Iron and Wine show at the 9:30 in DC in 2005...Didn't make it there and will always regret it....

Go to Joe Shanghai in Chinatown (Pell and Mott) and eat some soup dumplings, also called xiao long paos. Tasty.

I also like this Japanese grocery story in Soho called Sunrise. Used to stop by to buy mochis, ramunes, and a bowl of tempura udon whenever I was in town.

Honmura An is a soba noodle shop on Mercer in Soho. It's across from the 45rpm store there.

Check out the Boardwalk and ride the Zipper...

Buy some fudge...

Eat at Phillips...

Take a surfing lesson...

OC can be a good time...enjoy your weekend...