Travel is My Life; Work and Pleasure

Effective Sunday 30th March 2008 for the first time European Airlines will be allowed to fly from any point in Europe to any point in the USA without any restriction, i.e. European Airlines will be able to fly from anywhere, thus, not only from their home town , no limit on the number of times per day, at any given price!!!

Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Transports. “This agreement is the most ambitious air services deal ever negotiated. The two biggest aviation markets, encompassing 60% of world traffic”

I believe that we will shortly see airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, Air Berlin, Condor, Thomson Fly, Clickair, SkyExpress, and many others fly for crazy low prices, as low as $0.01 a direction + taxes.

Which will enhance the use of Low Cost Airlines Booking Engines who engage with lowest internet travel fares, such as Skylow.com

There are over 50 million passengers a year flying across the Atlantic, which means there is plenty of room for quality, low fare, low cost competition.

This will open up new destinations; I personally believe that destination such as Orlando, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose and mostly Seattle will see more direct traffic.

The effect of the US Dollar has a great impact on the Europeans travelling to the US, enjoying high return on their local currency; the Euro.

Having said that, this matter will enhance issues such as; Airport congestion (example; the fiasco of British Airways Terminal 5), the environment, secondary airports and most of all the security. On the other hand, it is estimated that approximately 100,000 new jobs will open up on each side of the Atlantic.

Mandara Spa - words cannot explain how important it is to; relax, recharge, to live.

http://www.mandaraspa.com/

I have lately visited Thailand and had the great experience in the Mandara Spa.

Visiting a spa starts at the door; from there to the reception, the way you are welcomed, greeted, and taken to your one hour hide away.

The walk to my hideaway spa room at The Mandara Spa Phuket, was different from all the other spas in the world I have been to. Usually once you entered the reception you walk through the corridors - breathing the aroma, the odor, the scents of tranquility - it’s the first sense in action, and you are yet to start the massage - the smell. Here, I was walked through the gardens - nature. I entered through an amazing large wooden door, to a private spa with a private garden and an outdoor shower.

The massage was amazing, though, one can say, that a good massage is one which is needed. And indeed travelling with 2 young kids and after a long period of hard work in the office a good massage is the overall elements that combine it, and it starts with the location, the look, the ambiance, the smell, the sounds, the professionalism of the Mandara Spa.

In insight, I should have visited the amazing spa more often, charge my soul and body with more energy to last longer once returned home.

Mandara - we look forward to spending more time in one of your world-wide world-class spas.

I have recently travelled with my wife and 2 kids to Phuket in Thailand; a family vacation.

Thailand is known for its tranquility, relaxation, amazing service, and children activities.

We got to the Phuket Zoo and asked our driver to pick us up after 3 hours, which was a reasonable time to visit. Us being experts in zoos as our kids love animals thought it’s reasonable.The entry fee is 500 Thai Bhatt per adult which is equivalent these days to US $16.

Once we entered the zoo we were shocked!!!

Never have I seen animals held in such poor conditions;

The monkeys were chained with metal chains while inside their own cages.

The elephant’s legs had shrunk from being chained to the floor with a tight metal chain.

The Bengali Tiger was held in a cage size of 2×3 meters.

The general state of the animals and cages was appalling, how can this be allowed in the 21st century.

Moreover, they are proud about their “animal shows” - the shows were cruel, animals were provoked and hit.

We have decided to leave after 45 minutes - I have taken photos - and decided not to display them in my blog, but I have decided to share with you all my thoughts about the Phuket Zoo condition.