I didn't have much knowledge about the Caribbean before. My sister's mother-in-law bought a holiday home over there and was telling me of the wonderful sunny beaches there. This led me to do some research and I was amazed to learn that the there are some 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays in the area.
There is also more to the place than just bright sun and white sandy beaches. There are more than thirty major islands to choose from in the Caribbean. Each with it's unique culture and attraction. They have something for everyone. As for me, when people used to mention the Caribbean, the first thought that comes to mind is always reggae music and the place where it was born - Jamaica. Though I mostly prefer rock ballads, I love reggae music too and have always wanted to visit the place Bob Marley was born. Jamaica is also the home of several other different musical genres such as ska, dancehall and ragga among others. Would definitely love to visit Jamaica and experience the musical culture there.
Another place I would love to visit in the area has to be Aruba, which has a totally different history and culture than the other islands. Even the vegetation is totally different with desert landscapes as compared to other tropical Islands int he area. What attracted me was the Island's slogan of "One Happy Island."
05 July 2007
04 July 2007
Alan Johnston released
Put on the TV this morning to hear some wonderful news. BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has finally been released after being held in captivity in the Gaza strip for 114 days.
It is ironic but the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was key in securing his release. 45 years old Johnston was the only remaining Western journalist in the Gaza strip and he was abducted on 12 March by the Army of Islam a militant group there.
Hamas took control in Gaza by force last month and they slowly closed down on the group. There was relief that Alan was released without any military action and he was unharmed.
I am happy that I can finally take down the button on my side bar calling for his release.
Related links:
- Johnston free after 'appalling' ordeal
- Hamas role in Johnston's release
Tags: alan johnston bbc gaza hamas palestinian
It is ironic but the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was key in securing his release. 45 years old Johnston was the only remaining Western journalist in the Gaza strip and he was abducted on 12 March by the Army of Islam a militant group there.
Hamas took control in Gaza by force last month and they slowly closed down on the group. There was relief that Alan was released without any military action and he was unharmed.
I am happy that I can finally take down the button on my side bar calling for his release.
Related links:
- Johnston free after 'appalling' ordeal
- Hamas role in Johnston's release
Tags: alan johnston bbc gaza hamas palestinian
Lost in Thailand
Finally got to review Matt's blog "The Lost Boy". Matt is a "farang", a British expat currently working as the desk editor for a local newspaper in Phuket, Thailand. His blog is really cool and the first thing you will notice is of course the great banner.
I really like reading his humorous posts. Nearly fell off my chair when I read this post: Cooped up Paris will lead chickens to salvation. He has got a nice writing style and it's no wonder as he's been writing for various magazines and newspapers for quite sometime now.
Matt wanted some constructive criticism to make his blog better. However, I couldn't find anything to criticise maybe except for only one thing - I would have loved to see more pictures.
One list I would like to see, not only on his blog but on others' too, is a list of the most popular posts.
Check out Matt's blog to get the latest on everything Thai.
I really like reading his humorous posts. Nearly fell off my chair when I read this post: Cooped up Paris will lead chickens to salvation. He has got a nice writing style and it's no wonder as he's been writing for various magazines and newspapers for quite sometime now.
Matt wanted some constructive criticism to make his blog better. However, I couldn't find anything to criticise maybe except for only one thing - I would have loved to see more pictures.
One list I would like to see, not only on his blog but on others' too, is a list of the most popular posts.
Check out Matt's blog to get the latest on everything Thai.
03 July 2007
Booking Indian hotels online
The last time I ever visited India was in 2005 for a conference in Delhi. My wife was there with me and we wanted to mix pleasure with work, so we planned our itinerary in such a way that we would be able to do some sightseeing - including a visit to the famous Taj Mahal. A visit to North India won't be complete without a visit to this romantic tourist destination.
The problem we faced was trying to find an affordable accommodation. You should be aware that Indian hotels often have separate charges for Indians (paying in rupees) and foreigners (paying in US $). The difference can be several times higher.
We were interested in the Bed and Breakfast type hotels so that we had more money to spend on shopping. Searching on the net for a suitable hotel near the conference venue proved to be a formidable task and we finally gave in an choose the 5 star (and costlier) hotel suggested by the organisers. It was not that near either and was somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Delhi. Later learnt that there were several much cheaper yet comparable (if not better) hotels in the area. However, most of them don't have a website and you can't deal with them directly.
Anyway, if you want to book Indian hotels, Inasra.com is an excellent site. This online hotel booking site had 35000 listed Hotel Rooms all over India (when I last checked). The company is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and was set up in August 2005.
The home page is very neat uncluttered unlike other hotel directories I have visited. It seems like every body is going for the Google look now. Not that I am complaining. However, don't let the simple looking interface fool you as this site is clearly high tech as I found out.
Searching for a hotel starts by choosing an Indian city and the the duration you are planning to say there (from and to). They will then give you a list of hotels which you can then filter by ticking a number of choices such as, whether they have a doctor on call, the star of the hotel, food preference and so on. Unlike other Indian hotel directories I have visited, they do list hotels not affiliated with them. However, we have to make the bookings ourselves. That's great.
I have a good knowledge of India and noticed that a few cities I have been to were missing. Maybe I guess these places are a bit of the beaten track. This site is clearly targeted at foreigners as all the prices are listed in US $. They might be cheaper for Indians. A currency exchange calculator would have been a welcome addition so that people in countries other than the US could find out the rates in their own currency. It would be nice to have a link from the hotel names to the details page.
Other than these minor details, this is a really useful and informative site and I would definitely visit it again when I pay a visit to India again.
The problem we faced was trying to find an affordable accommodation. You should be aware that Indian hotels often have separate charges for Indians (paying in rupees) and foreigners (paying in US $). The difference can be several times higher.
We were interested in the Bed and Breakfast type hotels so that we had more money to spend on shopping. Searching on the net for a suitable hotel near the conference venue proved to be a formidable task and we finally gave in an choose the 5 star (and costlier) hotel suggested by the organisers. It was not that near either and was somewhere in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Delhi. Later learnt that there were several much cheaper yet comparable (if not better) hotels in the area. However, most of them don't have a website and you can't deal with them directly.
Anyway, if you want to book Indian hotels, Inasra.com is an excellent site. This online hotel booking site had 35000 listed Hotel Rooms all over India (when I last checked). The company is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu and was set up in August 2005.
The home page is very neat uncluttered unlike other hotel directories I have visited. It seems like every body is going for the Google look now. Not that I am complaining. However, don't let the simple looking interface fool you as this site is clearly high tech as I found out.
Searching for a hotel starts by choosing an Indian city and the the duration you are planning to say there (from and to). They will then give you a list of hotels which you can then filter by ticking a number of choices such as, whether they have a doctor on call, the star of the hotel, food preference and so on. Unlike other Indian hotel directories I have visited, they do list hotels not affiliated with them. However, we have to make the bookings ourselves. That's great.
I have a good knowledge of India and noticed that a few cities I have been to were missing. Maybe I guess these places are a bit of the beaten track. This site is clearly targeted at foreigners as all the prices are listed in US $. They might be cheaper for Indians. A currency exchange calculator would have been a welcome addition so that people in countries other than the US could find out the rates in their own currency. It would be nice to have a link from the hotel names to the details page.
Other than these minor details, this is a really useful and informative site and I would definitely visit it again when I pay a visit to India again.
Betshopboy reviewed
If you read a lot of blogs like I do, you will notice that a lot of bloggers have an online alter ego and I guess I am no exception. I recently got to know Singaporean blogger Cheewee Ng who goes by the online name "BetShopBoy". He blogs at "I Thought, Therefore I Blog".
His blog is using the no frill, purely functional DownRight Blogger Theme v3.0 created by Thur Broeders. I like simple templates like that. He could have personalised it a bit though.
Most of the posts are technical but not too much. Found a lot of them to be interesting and useful - like "Personalize Your Blog Posts - Add a Signature", for example. Noticed a few spelling and grammatical errors but it happens to me too.
Another great blog with great original content.
His blog is using the no frill, purely functional DownRight Blogger Theme v3.0 created by Thur Broeders. I like simple templates like that. He could have personalised it a bit though.
Most of the posts are technical but not too much. Found a lot of them to be interesting and useful - like "Personalize Your Blog Posts - Add a Signature", for example. Noticed a few spelling and grammatical errors but it happens to me too.
Another great blog with great original content.
Get those termites before they get you
My in-laws had been using one of their bed rooms as a store for quite sometime. One day they decide that they needed that extra room and started clearing it. When they opened up the built in closet, they found out that a huge colony of termites had decided to make it their home. They had completely destroyed the inside of the closet as well as the contents. My wife's leather jacket was half eaten as well most of the old clothes inside.
They had to spend a bit to get rid of the pests and repair the damage. Fortunately, it was not that bad.
I guess the signs of termites were there even though we had ignored it. For example, there were mud-looking material on the wooden surfaces as well as holes. To find out how to get rid of termite, refer to the 'Termites guide'.
However, I just wish they would get rid of that awful red background. Makes it really hard to read the information. Really informative and contains everything you needed to know about termite infestation and their control.
They had to spend a bit to get rid of the pests and repair the damage. Fortunately, it was not that bad.
I guess the signs of termites were there even though we had ignored it. For example, there were mud-looking material on the wooden surfaces as well as holes. To find out how to get rid of termite, refer to the 'Termites guide'.
However, I just wish they would get rid of that awful red background. Makes it really hard to read the information. Really informative and contains everything you needed to know about termite infestation and their control.
Doctors or killers
I was shocked when I learnt today that two of the suspected arrested by police over the latest terror attacks in the UK are doctors.
While Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, worked as a junior doctor at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, another doctor, Dr Bilal Abdulla, worked as a locum at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.
Wonder what they were thinking when they took the Hippocratic Oath.
Or maybe they took the hypocrite oath.
While Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, worked as a junior doctor at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, another doctor, Dr Bilal Abdulla, worked as a locum at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.
Wonder what they were thinking when they took the Hippocratic Oath.
Never to do deliberate harm to anyone for anyone else's interest.
Or maybe they took the hypocrite oath.
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