sabang

You've only asked for Asian food JT. Thai- The Jazz Pit in Soi 5 (I think) is a nice Thai restaurant and jazz club. Worth paying a bit more for. Otherwise, more than any cuisine's I can name, there is little correlation between the price you pay for Thai food and the quality you get. Check around, find your own fave's. Thai/Chinese seafood- Mom Aroi's in Naklua and on Third Rd is fine -The one down the far end of Jomtien Beach Rd pretty good, but not as good as it was. - Walking St, not good. Nang Nual probably the least mediocre. Chinese- The Peak, at The Dusit Resort from memory (or is it the Royal Cliff?) is the best. - The Rice Mill at the Marriott, Dim Sum very good - Leng Kee on Pattaya Klang & Bukhao, more basic & cheaper Viet- There is no decent Viet in Pattaya. Korean- all I've seen is tour group stuff. Input welcome. Jap- The best is Benihana in the Royal Garden Plaza imo. Sunday buffet is very good. Fuji- reasonably good also, and cheaper.

I think they don't really care what Gweilo (falang/ white devil) think. The Fuk Yu restaurant in Hong Kong, Kowloon East, was quite fun too.

^^ Simple Simons in Soi 5 and Simons are not associated.

^ Indeed. And when they both talk to management is a bonus as well. Lessons that Airbus have learnt the expensive way.

The Boeing 787 has stolen a useful march on Airbus, because it's two new products- the 380 & 350XWB- have been delayed. Thats worth money in it's pocket. The cash cows of Airbus are now the A320 & 330, both tremendously successful, and AB's order book is actually very healthy. If it wasn't for them, the A380 mess would have hit it much harder. The A340 is not expected to get all that much in the way of new orders, although it has been a success for the company financially speaking- and theres still quite a few on order. For short term new orders, the 777 & 787 will have the lions share. A380 revenue starts next year, the AB 320 & 330 series basically dominate their section of the market, but the A350 ain't going to roll out and start making cash until about 2014. Boeing will likely be dominant in the 777/787 range, AB in the A320 & super large 380 for the next few years. So when you look at it, the two companies main strengths are quite different at the moment

Good luck with it. Will certainly be popping in for a burger and beer.

If Tom Leahy is a snake oil salesman, then I would expect him to get the sack like Boeings previous sales director, Ron Woodward. No sign of it yet though....

^ Qatar Air would appear to have not agreed with you.

Airbus have just announced an even bigger order- "Airbus receives Qatar order boost Airbus has signed a $16bn (£8.1bn) deal to supply 80 of its forthcoming A350 aircraft to Qatar Airways. The order replaces a 2005 agreement from the Middle East carrier to buy 60 of the mid-sized, long-haul aircraft. Designed to compete with Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, the first A350 will not be delivered until 2013. By contrast, the 787 is due to begin service in May 2008. The 787 also has many more orders so far - currently 500 compared with the 104 for the A350. 'Modern fleet' Qatar Airways chief executive Albar al-Baker said the order would equip the airline with the "very latest generation and most modern fleet". The order is a welcome boost to Airbus, whose reputation and finances have been knocked by delays to its A380 super-jumbo project. Now running two years late, the first of the twin-deck A380s will not be delivered until the end of this year. The delay, caused by a wiring problem, has also led to Airbus introducing plans to cut 10,000 jobs in an attempt to trim costs. " http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6704567.stm

Time will tell, and do not invest here what you cannot afford to lose. Pattaya however enjoys one of the highest population growth rates of any city in Asia, is close to the new Airport with a new motorway being completed with typical Thai urgency (?), and a new high speed railway linking Bkk/airport/Pattaya mooted. My opinion is that it is a good real estate investment. What does, say, $250K buy you here compared to where you come from. But cash and patience required. And I could be wrong.

I expect a commission for this. Noi's is on Soi Khao Noi, east of Sukhumvit. About 2 Km along the Soi I'd say. Past the rail tracks anyway. There is no BF, although you are invited to make a contribution to the Benevolent Fund.

You flagrant Hussy Lee.

I am curious to know the attitude of US citizens here to the fact that, alone in the world, they have to pay US federal income taxes even when they do not reside in the US- subject to the annual exclusion of US$75K that is. Just curious- I know the attitudes of my former clients, but that was a few years ago, and after all they were my clients.

I don't know of any Filipino restaurants, although there are a number of Filipino English teachers here so it would not surprise me if are one or two. But those Korean BBQ places they have in the Fil's as well, just slightly different sauces (no bagoong). I reckon that would be a reasonable safe choice, for only 99bht.

The Dark Side is gradually turning into one big suburban belt. SP Village 5 is now being completed on Soi Siam- when I moved here last June it was a field. There's a Tesco Lotus due to built over this side as well. It seems every couple of weeks a new pub or restaurant opens.

I'll pop in Mate. Haven't caught up in a while.

Soi 20 is the other side of Sukhumvit from cowboy- a short walk. The Rembrandt serviced apartments here are great value- you have a seperate bedroom, living room and kitchenette. Haven't stayed there recently, but around 2500-3000 bht. For a real cheapie, on the left hand side of Soi 20, opposite the Windsor, there is a hotel that does rooms for 800 Bht including breakfast. They are humble but adequate, and have a private bathroom. There is a friendly little beer bar, the Rain Hut, out the front.

I thought this had already been established BigD. Airbus does not sell planes at a loss- the company had been declaring operating profits that were growing quite nicely, until last years loss due to A380 delays. If they were selling at a loss, the court case would be about 'dumping', which is a much simpler case to prove. It is not- actually both AB & Boeing are suing each other over illegal, or undeclared subsidies. Airbuses subsidies are at least transparent, being the seed capital provided from the EU budget some years ago. Boeings are more obscure, being tied up with the Pentagon budget, R&D tax breaks etc. Personally I think that they should both kick the bloody lawyers out of the equation and get on with business. If you are so convinced that Airbus is reliant for EU funding for it's working capital, how can you explain that AB neither asked for, or received any additional EU funding on the back of the production delays to the A380 and the resultant operating loss in 2006? At least try and get your facts right.

That would be Monetarist Economics 101 though. The Keynesian school believes that fiscal policy (government spending) can play a productive part in economic management, FDR's New Deal being the text book case. I am quite impressed with the achievements of Airbus to date- if nothing else, it shows that a nominally loose consortium of international contractors with a fair percentage of their seeed funding provided by the government can still profitably build a good plane, and capture a substantial market share. But I feel the time has come for the EU politicians to stop meddling in the affairs of Airbus, and for the company to be operated on the same corporate principles as Boeing, or any other corporation. This current haggling over job cuts by French and German politicians is nonsense- it should be the companies decision alone, based on efficiency factors alone. Actually, I think the process of Airbus disentangling itself from the gordian knot of EU venture capital and hence political meddling may well prove to be a more important challenge in establishing itself as a world class company than the hiccup of the A380 delays, which after all they can learn from.

The methodology of the fund is sound enough, but the returns of the past few years may not be sustainable. The past 5 years has been good for futures funds, as we have had a bull market in commodities accompanied by a fair degree of volatility. This is an ideal environment for managed futures funds, in spite of the old mantra that 'futures can make money whatever happens to the market'. When I was responsible for allocating funds for an offshore financial advisory company, I invested several million in a guaranteed futures fund, the underlying Trading Adviser being Richard Dennis- a legend in the industry. The extrapolated results based on carrying forward a 5 year track record exceeded 40% compound. Unfortunately, the fund lasted around six months before the capital guarantee was invoked, and the fund ceased trading. As you have correctly disclaimed, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

I agree with Owen. Forex is really a big boys game- institutional. The commissions alone are likely to exceed what you make, if you are lucky enough to even make a profit. Consider stock indices, if you really must do futures. But if you can't tell me what a spread, a straddle or an artificial option position are, I recommend you stay out of the game frankly.

The current situation here is that there is a general oversupply of 'cheap' apartments. Actually the market for 4mm Bht and up Condo's is stronger, which means that you can sell them much easier. The market at the top end- 8mm and up- is the strongest of all. But this also means that more humble condo's are relatively cheap, so as long as liquidity is not a requirement for you, you can live with this. Terry from North Shore Real Estate opposite the Jomtien complex is an honest bloke, and probably worth talking to.

Unfortunately for all of it's good points, spoken English is far from a strong point of Thailand. Firstly, you have to pay over the odds for the few that speak decent English, secondly even then it's heavily accented and would be hard for your countryfolk to understand. Filipine's is a much better option- cheaper, and most people speak decent English with an Americanised accent. India is good too, but the English there is British English, with a unique Induan accent.

OLD

Height and weight are an advantage. Speed and skill are an advantage. When strong bloke's fight, look at the big game, boxing. It's to do with being able to take punishment, and react. It's hard to define tough, but look at a top Rugby League Forwards face. Then walk away.