What a nice week; I was in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, and I’m in Paris Wednesday and Thursday.
Mostly in daylong meetings so I’ll be pretty tired by Friday.
Paris weather is great, blue skies and nice and warm. Tonight we’re off for a well deserved diner in a resto along the Seine. Will post another picture if it’s really nice.
Au revoir!

What’s happening to my tranquil and quiet beach? Well the local property developer - The Hong Kong Resort Company Limited (HKRC) - is trying to promote their recent redevelopment of Discovery Bay’s central area (”the plaza”) into an “Alfresco Dining experience” called “Water Margin” (??). In this supposedly 100M HKD redevelopment (sounds low?) the plaza is renovated, restaurants added, and indeed the place has improved a great deal.

So last Easter weekend HKRC organized a “Golden Easter Egg Hunt” on the beach and it was buzzing and swarming with lots of parents and children from around Hong Kong - all digging up the sand in search for Easter Eggs. In hindsight it’s no surprise it was this busy as transportation to Discovery Bay was free with both ferries and buses offering complimentary rides.

But it was scary to see this many people swarmed into the area. The beach was black with people, the plaza full of people and kids, and people lining up for buses in long lines.

I’m sure all the new restaurants have welcomed this initiative - which in the end is the reason for HKRC to do this, and rightly so, as I wonder how all these new restaurant will survive just on the DB residents. But, looking at most families that visited I think that McDonalds and 7-Eleven must have benefited the most from last weekend’s campaign…

So a different strategy is required to attract spending families from around Hong Kong to dine in all these new restaurants. My feelings are dual: I hope all these restaurants can get sufficient clientele to stay open and profitable, but I surely hope that Discovery Bay will stay the relaxing escape from town it currently is.

If I’d wanted all this activity on my weekends I would be living elsewhere!

by Nadine

Me & shopping… perfect! Me & coffee… ideal! Me & travelling, airports, airplanes, boats … wow! Me & books… magnets! ME & MAPS … DISASTER!

Now, which one is the “SEND” button here?

As you can see I’m very busy currently. So expect some delays in replies

By Nadine

Today is our nth day in Phuket, Thailand. We’ve been bumming on the beach soaking up the sun and sucking up Singha beers and mojito. So far we’ve absolutely done NOTHING and will continue doing NOTHING till it’s time to step on friendly skies! Oh, hang on! We joined a Thai cooking class yesterday. That was fun! Marc & I has now learned th basic ingredients in Thai appetizers, salads and curries. We’re proud both to say that we can whip up a party serving Thai appetizers. That’s all. Hey, we even have certificate aafter the course!

I’m completely choco brown while Marc is lobster red. He will be main course while I, Dessert. So we thought of running to the nearest spa for sunburn relief. And found out that Marc haas to be wrapped in a seaweed concoction for one hour unabe to move nor hold the remedy that Dr. Singha has prescribed him. Ah, too much time spent away from the comforting coldness of that aluminum prescrition can! So we didn’t do it.

We both went to Patong to check out Friday night. And we ended up checking out the katois dancing without panties on a platform! I almost choked on my B52s! It is as anyone have been here in Phuket or Bangkok a sensory overload once you hit Bangla Road. Girls, girls, boys, katois! Haggling with the tuk-tuk cartel is also a bit of a frustration as you mgiht end up paying too much or having to stay in Patong should you refuse to pay the fare they’ve all decided to extract from tourists.

Shopping is good here in Phuket. I’m planning to hit the largest Central Festival shooping mall tonight. Children’s clothes are quite affordable here. And they are of good quality,too. There is no haggling in this mall but tourists get 5% off on all items bought plus a detax of 7%. You need to claim your detax on the same day you purchased all these items. Minimum is THB1,500.00. I’m also hoarding on Thai fish sauce. A must on almost any Thai dish!

Anyone coming to dinner at our place tonight?