Archive for the ‘Travel, tourism & Me’ Category

Passport interrogation

Posted: December 29, 2012 in Active Minority, Travel, tourism & Me
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10 years have passed already, opened like a book, filled with pages of desire, achievements and failures stamped in different colors, allowing me to dream, to chore, consider and able to cultivate…

Born in the greatest decades of all, unaware of its visionary ramble, nurtured with cultures of taboo. He contributes his youth in chains, insisting to rebel, while sky watchers foretell his travel.

Globally unknown, unwanted and rejected by most, even his own! He travels within Arabian deserts, seeking a bubbled reputation, unwilling to change his colors, rushing his engulf for quick sands of power…

Amongst a minority, treated with ambiguity, unsure of his sin, propulsive in assumptions, with risk born in his nature, creeping from in between realities of different cultures, never welling to surrender.

10 years have passed, inept to leave his pouch, at rest with his own reality, oblivious from certainty in his authenticity, filled with pages of civility, color, gain and forfeiture.

Proud to attain okayed permissions,  branded signatures, a dictating hustler, this opened book scored my fraudulent fulfillment. Yet, he’s numbed from gratitude and structure, pages bordering the end of his journey, unwilling to leave his distant end.

Like an old dog with faded history, leaving his master to die in solitary, seeking his origins; At first, he travels half way to the orient, only to be faced once more with his reality, motive, authentication, history and clarification.

Weakened by the soul, lost in perceptions of identity. Engaged with cultures of the past taboo; will they tolerate him, will he have a courtly departure, will he come back to me with an extended culture!

The language of education

Posted: November 29, 2012 in Active Minority, My Thai language course, Travel, tourism & Me
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We know that language is one of the most important tools of engagement, and has further significance to almost every aspect of life as we know it. To me, languages are becoming an increasing fuse, but it was only recent when I began to identify with the benefits of having more than just one language to speak, beyond any social, cultural or even financial gain.

My mother tongue is Arabic, and that was the only language I used to speak till I was twenty years of age, writing however, is a different story. In Jordan, where I was born and raised, there was two ways to learn good English, movies and MIRC chat program, I used to spend most of my time watching, or repeating a movie, matching subtitles with spoken words, I would watch a movie, repeatedly,sometime only by looking at the subtitles. Other times, I’d be online chatting, I used to stay up till Four or Five in the morning, just chattering my time away, and the great thing about MIRC is that there is no profiling, statuses to update or links to share, no real names and most importantly no boundaries, you could pick up whatever nickname out there and instantly begin chatting about all kinds of stuff, and that was my world of engagement, communication, even some fiction.

But in those days, internet was charging by the minute, and after several months of excessive abuse, lets just say, I got a real kick in the ass. Anyhow, that was all in English, I couldn’t yet write proper Arabic with a flow, and I was still searching for keystrokes when typing it in, I even thought English was more approachable and easier to deal with when it comes to explaining emotions, with Arabic it was more difficult to do so, especially after all those years of schooling with nothing but traditional poetry, which needed books of explanation and definitions to understand a dimension or two, but mostly, it was absolutely boring. But with English I was able to express without judgment, it felt more approachable and engaging, most importantly I was able to do it, but after a few crushes and a little bit of maturity, with failed choices in scientific path high-school degree, I had to turn to literature in an attempt to pass high-school without really studying, and engaging more with language as a natural cause of life. Funny enough! it worked, and I passed.

But my affiliation with language ended by the time I accomplished my limited benefits with it, and moved on to the world of assurance, in this world, there was all kinds and varieties of languages, not by ethnic differences and its variations, but by a racial, more egoistic pronouncing and always with a means to an end, stuffed with limits, boundaries and rules, and I couldn’t play by the rules, I tried, but I just couldn’t, so I moved on…

I migrated to a world themed with languages, and where egos didn’t matter, and rules were meant to be broken, life started to be more ironic, and by all means interesting. An Arab, married to a Japanese, studying Thai, communicating with each other in English as a first language, and both never learned each others language, we’re trying! But lets just say it may take a good while, in the meantime, we created our own yammer language.

This year, is my second year trying to learn Thai, and aside from being able to identify with most of their consonants and vowels by reading or pronunciation, I still can’t make out one full sentence, other than ‘Hello, I speak a little bit of Thai’ and that is the only bit I have. This language is just not sinking in me, not that I have tried much, and to be honest, with my Arab tongue, whichever consonant or vowel I try to pronounce, I have to move most of my facial muscles, and that makes people laugh their lunges out. Eventually, I realized that this language needs to be approached differently, I was trying to understand and relate to it with languages I already have, and other than acting funny to write Thai with Arabic and English, it was not working.

Another issue I faced with Thai, they seem to not have or use grammar to compose a spoken sentence, but that was good, because I never understood grammar in any language I have.. (this moment of writing, I have absolutely no idea how my grammar is, but as long as its making sense, then, I guess am doing fine, am sure you’ll do too :-)

Do not even get me started on Japanese, Three years with my wife, and I barely can remember how to say: Hello, was it ‘Arigato’? (Correction, she say: it means THANK YOU).

I’ve tried many techniques, but they all had to be paralleled with my slow learning methods, I like being lazy, and I also like to think that am a slow learner by definition, this way I can take my time, and once it sinks in, believe it or not, it can never escape, and until that time, I’ll enjoy developing each language with its own pace and time, like everything else, those languages need their time, to me,  this is the exact definition of education, because with language comes cultures, with language comes experiences, with language comes emotions, and with language comes destinations.

That moment…

Posted: November 26, 2012 in Active Minority, Awareness & Self Development, In search of Art & Nature, Travel, tourism & Me
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After 6 months of non-stop traveling, taking time off and considering another one, in search of something new, more than just an experience, more than just to be free, but with time passing by, and money running out, we somehow managed not to worry, reminding ourselves of what we’ve been through, and keep on moving from one place to another, living however we want, and tolerating the unwanted. It always looked good from the pictures, almost as if it is made to be a dream, but this dream had to be balanced with a few nightmares, nonetheless, we finally decided to look for some stability, take a moment or two with ourselves, reassess and see what we have at hand.

reflecting on a hammock

By living simple we were able to develop a quick ability of pinpointing what we really have as two living beings breathing together and wanting to make a life with each other, using the tools we were equipped with, to naturally survive, and as humans we value things differently in life, if we were to look at things within the bubbles of values and valuables; we had our good health, ability to think,  create and speak our minds, a set of hands, and legs to walk them, fully equipped with laptops, camera’s, recording and playing machines. To me, I didn’t need anything else, especially because I realized that I was a bit of an ignorant, and was about to begin learning, starting with what I already have, two languages, that’s it. I can read, I can write, and I can definitely use my hands, in the meantime, let me not worry about my infirmity!

We were on an island, far away from any civilization, for a while, it felt like a moment out of a great island flick, but it was evident, and we were there, I… was there! Till today, it always take me a while to flash back to that frame of nothing but nature and the open sea, clear water that stretches to the horizon, colored with fish as far as I can see it, feel with it, and swim in it. Nothing mattered at that moment, my soul and body was in absolute nothingness.

That moment

When I was able to touch my grounds while floating, the only thing I could think of was writing, not because this is what was supposed to happen, but because it had to happen, it’s the only thing that is meant to happen. Why? Because within this moment of nothingness, I was able to look at myself, and wash off my past, make it more clear, to be affirm, able to move on. that moment there, that was the first moment I felt totally like myself, no masks, nor needs or wants, just me. no ifs ands or buts about it.

Engaging with detachment

Posted: November 24, 2012 in Active Minority, Arabs & Culture, Awareness & Self Development, Travel, tourism & Me
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My first actual holiday from work was to Thailand, and at that time, I was still a co-founder of a hospitality and tourism company in Dubai, and it was the first time I’d be traveling with a partner -she later became my wife, it was even her suggestion to visit Thailand. And since we were just about to have a birth of a company after 3 years of labor, between licensing and financing, hiring and firing, arguing and planning, hustling and getting hustled, celebrating all that with a nice holiday came just in time.

Welcome to the North of Thailand

Flashing back to the moment where I laid eyes on raw and fruitful nature for the first time, contemplating with a background of an arid mind, it became a fantasy to have fresh breaths of air on constant basis, and allow the variety of bird dins be the background a cappella of my daily lifestyle, on top of that, I began wondering in my want; a complete privacy with this rich aura, no people! Nothing against people of course, but city life, to me, was becoming fastened with misused freedoms, from car pollution, noise, and what have you! while the visual pollution of it all, became a daily dull theme.

That being said and thought, with a couple of travel inspection visits later; there we were, a couple of people with nothing but backpacks on our backs, a budget barely enough to survive a couple of months ‘where we used to live’ but can wondrously sustain a year of attach-free life for us elsewhere!!! I wondered, because of the enormous ignorance from my part towards survival methods. All I knew was, in able to develop and survive I had to have a job, and in order to identify with myself, I had to have a job title, many things depended on both those terms, without them, I was a nobody, or at least I would become a nobody, that’s what I believed, especially living in countries where the first thing you would be asked after your name is, what do you do? or, where do you work?, and by taking for granted that anyone we meet should have a clear and straight forward answer to those questions, and I did, I had the best answer for them, or at least, I thought I did!

Three years later, I would have never guessed that an innermost thought of fantasy would become a reality that accommodates a conscious need of becoming totally free to do what I want, when I want it. But now that my fantasies and dreams have become facts , I am constantly challenged with a new pleasing dilemma on how to manage all of that freshly created time, filled with endless possibilities, interest, cravings and lusts.

Our freedom space

Of course, I appreciate the comforts of every day routine, the security of the familiar and the tranquility of repetition, I enjoy them as much as anybody! But in the spirit of accomplishment, I kept stepping in traps of detachment with anything related to habitual actions…

For instance, I was always reluctant to wake up for school or work every morning, not because I was a night owl, well! that maybe true on occasion, but because my mornings would be to please others, and also end up bearing more responsibilities in continuation of pleasing others by night, wither it was studying whatever am suppose to do tests for, and if not, socializing with people who are only interested with what I had to offer within the limits of a job I have taken. My entire day was owned by anyone excluding myself, and every time I realized that, I end up letting go in sake of a fresh start.

But even with my annual fresh beginnings, I kept falling under the same phases of detachment, and when I got the big career break, all phases of detachment became one major pain in the ass. Why? because I seek quick fixes, and in this case, it was a premature leap of faith towards making a difference, ending up to realize that change needs more than just experience, and the desire to do so.

In the center, me and my previous answer

Failing to accomplish what I had in mind was the best thing that could ever happen to me, because when I failed, I had to try again and again, till I got it, and maybe learn something new, but this time, it was different, this time I failed and was forced to pull the plug on any job opportunity to come. Why? because I realized that working for or with others does not get me to where I need to be, it gets my employers and partners where they need to be, and always left me with crumbs of success, or shitload of failures. And that was fine, it was a natural process to my inexperience with life and how to live it, and that is why I needed to become inexperienced with what I already am experienced with.

One thing was for sure, I never really applied my human self that much, I mean, sure I did some good things and helped here and there whenever the mood struck. But If I were to identify with myself as a human being, I can’t say that I did much in that area, and instead of going through reason and blame, I had to begin to engage with myself first, and engage with life as am suppose to do, like a human being. Thus I begin my journey with no limits, and take each day as a learning curve, using nothing but nature and the natural order that comes from it.

Changing How your World Works

Posted: February 22, 2012 in Active Minority, Business talks, Travel, tourism & Me
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I remember the first time I took a real job back in 1999, a small boutique office located on the premises of a 5star hotel, serving as a travel agency and as a General Sales Agent for a reputed airline, it was boutique because it was a small red and white theme colored office, tucked in between the shades of luscious palm trees and murmurs of water fountains to greet passing travelers.

We were a 5 “sometimes 6″ employees operation. A manager was there, his assistant, me, the accountant (or the finance manager as believed frequently by himself) and particularly, an office-boy who is approximately 90+ years old. This office was located a minute of walk away from home, and so, that office quite often became a visiting spot to me as a child, while my father arranged for his travels. and so, I got to spend a lot of time watching the same travel agents servicing my father back then, becoming coworkers to me when I got tagged to adulthood later on.

Still watching the same office boy, with the same wrinkles (a couple of teeth less) while he frequently draw clueless smiles. I even remember his constant appeals to my father to bring some lemons from the tree we had back home, only to make some lemon tea for the office employees, and even as I grew older into that job, I kept on the legacy of lemon flow.

Aside from that, everything went as it should be, I started to learn how to interact with travelers more, I embraced a more professional attitude, answered some calls here and there, drank and served a lot of tea and coffee, and eventually made some sales. I even started to work for them without the need of a salary, and every now and then, the accountant (AKA. Finance Manager) would reach out and give me some money, and even though he gave it to me only to feed his egoistic bossy attitude, I was always appreciative to whatever I accomplished, no matter how small it was. A couple of fights later I quit my job for an attitude he threw at me, but we remained friends nevertheless. (he’s now serving time for embezzlement)

I realized the need for a mature management approach, something that would help me gain more skills, and be a little bit aggressive toward sales. The earlier job taught me how to be nice and shut up when my rights are abused, I now need someone who will at least pay to abuse those rights! only for me to discover a well seasoned travel mentor, who probably admired my tolerance, and tested it with smashing phones on walls, and broken chairs of frustration while popping pills to numb obsessive compulsive tendencies (Admitted and frequently announced and proved by himself) only for him to explode on the drums of my mistakes!!! (I quit that job before having a nervous breakdown)

Years go by, many suits and uniforms to wear and buy, the more I advance and grow the more I spent and the less I saved, but why is it when I raise, so does my expenses! Where are all those efficiency tactics?… in the meantime “Ah” I finally made it… My own company, an executive office, with all the latest technologies and protocols money could ever buy for any CEO to become even more successful. Spending 4 times the original budget, with a 2 year marathon path to obtain “Not one, or two…Not even three or four, but FIVE trading licenses” while searching for employees, training them for 6 months or was it 7…I wasn’t sure! it needed to take as much time as it needed for us to rebuild an office, redesign it again from scratch “Not once, but twice” and pay salaries for 20 individuals throughout the whole process, while freezing all operations until we are licensed to start. What do you get at the end…? spoiled Employees and Employers. And regardless of the many mistakes I have accomplished in those years. I realized …it was time for me to retire!

Its time to stop wasting my energy on people who do not want to learn, and start focusing on what I need to learn instead “because apparently, I know nothing” even with that corner office. Because only then I thought, after all those years of dealing with people, screening them, literally hunting or haunting them, training them, observing them, even sometimes try and nurture them, mentally, emotionally and financially, for what… for NOTHING.

now I am retired from my devilish advocates, what can I do; I don’t want to spend more money on lost causes, nor I even want to try. shall I search online…huh, I barely can trust people offline, and the though of searching for work or hiring people online makes me almost want to laugh! but apparently what I should’ve been doing is Cry! because the solution was right there in-front of me and I couldn’t even see it…

Countless, endless days fuzed with nights, a printed square on my lap, surfing and clicking on dreamy thoughts of a small ATM machine built into my laptop screen. and since I was already living a dream ‘retired at 30′ I thought to myself “it won’t hurt to dream once more”.

realizing that, in order for me to make this dream a reality, there are certain things I will need to establish before any new discovery, and so I started preparing a list of thoughts… maybe you should too!

1- I was not ready to engage in any other business ventures, but at the same time, I realized that I need to create a method to raise more money, and even-though I had the mindset of being retired ‘that of being with no bosses around to control my income’ I still needed to be realistic in terms of making money, so my first thought was, for me to find something I can do, learn or research.

2- I knew I had a set of skills, and so I listed everything down, not necessarily in details, but just enough to recognize and open potentials.

3- I started thinking out of the box, and trying to create instead of researching for something that has been already created, and thus I decided to try and find something to learn first, at least keep me focused on a goal, and with a little bit of willpower I can progress to something better. Positivity is KEY

4- I came to a realization that, since I do not want to engage in a new business venture for now, and I cannot find any Jobs that would match my credentials, and since I am practically on my retirement holiday, how about a new adventure!

5- I took my wife and traveled to a small island in the middle of nowhere, literally feeling far away from the world we know and feel everyday, and where the only thing we are able to do is to spend time on reflecting and relaxing, only to find myself starting to write, expressing different emotions, experiences, while realizing that writing is the best way for me to reflect and learn more from my mistakes (Finally there is a record to prove it :-)

From that moment on, I truly felt free, and thanks to Google and some well invested time to research, surfing a new cyber of this world, leading me to a new identity, one that I could even trust, without the need to meet or fit with anyone or anything else.

But How does it work…

Many-times, I wished that I could have a non-bias mediator, between me and my employers, or me and my employees, which only meant the risk of more resources with no guaranteed results, but here is where the beauty of online technologies surface, creating a medium where employees are guaranteed payments upon accomplishing work, and employers paying work fees to employees only when the work is truly done. Not only that, but you get to apply for jobs as an employee by competing on bidding and relaying on quality of work, and employers get to offer jobs and receive best bids on them from both financial and quality aspects.

But that is not all, once I was able to go through their guidelines on how to develop my work and income, I was already starting to obtain new skills, especially through applying to tasks related to things I liked doing the most and not only related to my education or level of experience, while being away from routinized tasks, and increasing my multitasking abilities, aside from having many helpful tools for both employees and employers, such as the wide range of available online tests for employees as a proof to their efficiency, and an effective documentation to different skills that covers what any employer needs or employee wants. I found it to be the best application to be introduced to any individual or group of individuals who are willing to catch up with the train of the inevitable domination of the online world. Because the only sense you get to feel from singing up with this network is truly “changing how the world works”.


Click on the above image to JOIN

The great thing about Odesk is the relatively easy use of the application. I have been through most online freelance networks and nothing offers the same flexibility, organization and potential that this network has, especially if you are new to the online world and want to change the potentials in the ways you want to make money now, or in the near future, but is still in general, a great tool for any online contractors looking for more variety of work and/or motivated skillful employees with results, history and most importantly “feedback’s” from employers on employees and vice versa.

I even enjoy engaging with their support and help system, either live through their application, or for a much more fun networking experience through their social media networks or Blogs and other links associated with this rich network, while having a powerful success element most businesses online or offline forget; a support team and management with attitudes that can only be described as a treat, while offering a structured and maintained platform for any individual to achieve goals based on effort, efficiency, organization and result, and if you’re wondering that you still need anything else, try contacting one of their “Happiness Engineers”.

To me that’s all what I really needed, to accomplish things; a holistic operational system that provides constant opportunities to me, as an Employee, contractor or Employer “it doesn’t matter anymore” because I finally have my manager, my accountant and employees, and I don’t even have a Desk.

An Active Minority Emancipation

Posted: December 3, 2011 in Active Minority, In search of Art & Nature, Testimonial, Travel, tourism & Me
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“The most important thing that’s happened to me in Chiang Mai is I’ve started to know who I am. I’ve started to realize why I exist.”

It was September 2011, when Chiang Mai culture began thoroughly percolating into Hussein Ghouleh’s sense of Self – transforming his life, eternally.

          “The moment I reached Chiang Mai, everything started to became clear,” says Hussein. “And when I started looking at this culture from the point-of-view of a Muslim, I related to my religion more than I ever could before.”

He felt, “peace.”

For a contextual window into Hussein’s mindset, he’s from Jordan in the Middle East – a location for which he harbors spirited sentiments related to how his worldview was moulded.

          Hussein proclaims that many aspects of his root system are based on “limitation,” which he maintains is about prescribing levels of personal production via education regarding religion and culture. Accordingly, he did feel part of a community, although “treated as a sheep – not (valued) for my potential.”

          While of course these cultural facets exist worldwide, Hussein – at the time of his initial arrival in Chiang Mai as an “Arab traveler” – “didn’t know if it was right or wrong.” Therefore, he naturally strove to make sense of his new-found environment by drawing from his prior life experiences. And this journey has been flip-flopping everything he had previously known about the world.

          “Why I really love Chiang Mai is because I literally feel like I can accomplish anything I want here and anything anyone would ask me to do,” said Hussein, while displaying a rich smile and a determined gaze. “Because I’ve finally realized that life is just one big, fat joke, and I’ve learned how to laugh.”

          “I’ll be honest,” he added. “Up until the moment I reached Chiang Mai, I was acting out of limitation and desperation…Now that I’m free, I can never go back.”

***

Hussein declares that the fundamental difference between his prior lifestyle and the one he’s now living in Chiang Mai is that his current environment is providing for a sturdy platform from which he’s envisioning a seemingly endless array of life opportunities. He feels liberated from norms related to social ranking, especially those to which he’s accustomed.

          He’s creating his own stick for which the carrot is attached, by life-nesting with his wife, Manami. They are both successfully indulging in a freelance work lifestyle, in a home tucked inside a dead-end street located on the western fringes of Chiang Mai.

          Here, Hussein is undergoing a series of personal growth journeys – including those related to patience, acceptance, responsibility and respect – that are nourishing both his external and internal worlds.

          The general social environment of Chiang Mai’s is offering him a “real education,” which he’s convinced is about being exposed to new information as well as adopting the behavioral traits of another culture. He thoroughly comprehends that a lifestyle in addition to the one to which he was accustomed is sustainable.

          “There are too many reasons why I’m in Chiang Mai,” said Hussein. However, “Upon arriving, I first noticed the people. Every person I dealt with was treating me for who I am as a person, which was a human being receiving a service; so, they gave it with a smile. Regardless if this smile was fake or not, it felt real.”

          Furthermore, he’s thoroughly inspired by the tenacity of local, common-folk Thai people, their resourcefulness and capacity for survival, while being seemingly immune to perpetual worry. They “accept life as it comes.”

          Hussein acknowledges these traits as a positive result of religion and culture. And these life philosophies are at the polar opposite of the ones he’s used to practicing. “It was never about the journey, always the destination.”

          Furthermore, “Most (Thais) are doing something to live, to operate, to function,” added Hussein (who confesses to speaking in broad generalities). “Whatever skills they have, they use them to their full potential. This is what Chiang Mai is. Even if they don’t have a (formal) education, they have something to rely on – a skill, and they’re not ashamed to use it.

          “What I have also noticed is they don’t put the personal-life factor up front. It’s a personal thing. It stays inside. ‘Whatever I do during the day, I don’t have to report it to anybody.’ There is no judgement.”

          Hussein, for the most part, feels “accepted” and “embraced” in Chiang Mai. He also believes that tranquility between humans can be cultivated if people acknowledge that when they are interacting with others – say, from a different country – they are actually interfacing with another culture.

          “They will then start to acknowledge that whatever this person is doing – which may seem weird or strange, but is normal to them – should be appreciated. It’s something of a self-reflection, like looking into the mirror.”

          An example of this is Hussein’s experiences while selling pita bread and sandwiches at a Chiang Mai street market. He felt free and welcomed, while receiving kind-hearted gazes and curious inquiries from both Thais and those from other countries. What astounded him most was the queries related to his levels of happiness. “This question, nobody, not even my father or mother or friends, have asked.”

          Hussein talks about “feeling rich when you are poor,” adding that a self-sufficient mentality assists with this. “The more I’ve started becoming a Chiang Mai resident, the more I feel that I’m obtaining (life) skills and really shouldn’t worry. I can do, anything.”

          He added that all of these overall factors related to Chiang Mai culture create an environment suitable for a plethora of personal backgrounds and opportunities.

***

Hussein coins a term for himself – an “active minority,” in the sense that he’s been active as a minority within every community of which he’s lived, whether related to his ethnic origins, or personal and professional backgrounds.

          Likewise, he’s diligently working towards providing inspiration and guidance for people searching for new challenges in their lives – willing to “break cultural and social boundaries to broaden their possibilities.” For Hussein, Chiang Mai is currently the “utopia, whatever this means,” for realizing this life vision.

          “The most important thing that’s happened to me in Chiang Mai is I’ve started to know who I am,” Hussein expressed firmly. “I’ve started to realize why I exist.”

          Hence, he feels “alive.”

          “I didn’t even stop for one second in my 30 years of living in the Arab world to look at a tree.” However, “I feel like this is year one for me. It’s like being in my childhood, as an adult.

          “I’m really taking care of myself now. Every day I wake up, I still get the same feeling that this is my first day in Chiang Mai…I really don’t know what will happen, or what I will be doing, but I am extremely excited.

Text and photography by Jeffrey Warner

(www.jeffsjournalism.com)

Budget your skies !

Posted: July 15, 2011 in Business talks, Travel, tourism & Me
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In the early years of my travel & tourism career, people had to go to the Airline office, or the travel agency to book their flights, ‘back then’ making and confirming a flight reservation took about 20+ minutes to process and confirm, going back and forth ‘on the phone’ with airline personals, sometimes it took even longer when the high season is near to come, which meant that higher demand during the season became an inconvenience to some extent.

I also needed another 30+ minutes to issue ONE airline ticket ‘manually’ prepared, in comparison to other travel agents I was fast in writing all aspects of the price rules and calculations, we even had to use countless amounts of paper to calculate how much the ticket would cost ‘which was not as easy as it would seem’ especially going through various ‘mathematical equations’ that relies on distance and locations, seasons and dates as well, not to forget the ‘huge’ inconvenience of worrying about this paper ticket with the same worries of bad scenarios in carrying or losing a passport.

Your only resource to calculate ticket prices as a travel agent was through a regularly updated guidebook of over 3000 pages issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to calculate ticket prices from and for each season. and even though the process was extremely inefficient and slow, from  regularly turning all those pages, taking hours to just be able to calculate the price of each ticket you issue during the day. People used to consider going to the Airline office or the Travel agency to be the beginning of their holiday and where designing memories starts to happen naturally and literally.

Travel agents investing time with their clients and guests, discussing various details for their guests desired destinations, drinking their favorite coffee or lemon mint tea, and no matter how much time it took to finalize a reservation or issue an Airline ticket, there was always time for a good laugh with a client, or a discussion for another potential exciting trip in the near future.

Years went by, computers and technology started to become more accessible and easier to use, then the internet was invented, and all of a sudden! Airlines started promoting for all their services online, and more competition started to heat up between Airlines and their Travel agents alike, fueled by increasing demand, Travel agencies turned their backs on their customers, and favored the corporate strategy in Hospitality and Tourism; Serving quantity rather than the quality! Which was understood, since it only takes ‘a couple of minutes’ to finalize all your reservation procedures, and so, clients’ visits became shorted, and coffee and tea became water.

Nowadays most people book their flights online, not only because of the easy accessibility to all flight schedules and the extra details they can input to secure their favorite requirements in choosing their favorite seat, meal and drinks. But the high demand and the necessity of airline travel to business and personal purposes alike, demands more and wider options to suite the increasing needs to find convenient flights with convenient prices.

With more and more rising demand on low cost Airlines, the evolving trend of cheap flights and convenient pricing techniques without sacrificing quality when it comes to economy couch flying, low cost airlines are becoming more and more favorable to the public as a frequent way for their travels, with the extended flexibility of choosing your seat online, or buying your favorite meals and drinks on board, the low cost experience in skies is taking a trend that would probably become the way to travel in the near future, especially with the encouragement of rising fuel prices and manufacturing costs on airline operators, directly effecting the price of airline tickets to unreasonable levels.

When looking at fine examples for low cost airline operators such as Air Asia (www.airasia.com) we no longer look at them as a cheap flights operators, and becoming a reliable regional carrier to an international low cost operator with an extended futuristic view in making international destinations more approachable and affordable to a wider base of the needing public , and is found by most as a perfect solution to their frequent travels whether domestic or international flights alike, and even providing the opportunity to various expatriates to commute more frequently with their loved ones or expanding their business relations to a wider demographic.

We can find various evolving examples of low-cost airlines, as well as the extreme luxurious experiences of flying ‘5 stars’ invading our skies, which makes you realize that, market trends in travel and tourism these days is a reflection to the world global economies separation between the rich and poor. Nevertheless, the effects of technology though ‘rapid’ but is widely appreciated and effective, and although it has created accessibility to all kinds of flights, international or cheap! The final choice remains dependent in the hands of the consumer and how to adapt their budgets or their sense of style when it comes to travel choices.

Spirits of a Religious Nature

Posted: July 7, 2011 in Active Minority, In search of Art & Nature, Travel, tourism & Me
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Needless to say, Thailand in general, and Chiang Mai in specific is blessed with a beautiful untouched nature, not only because of the components of that nature from waterfalls and natural springs that generously feeds its mountains and hills, growing an over supply of whatever a living being would need, and that’s one of the reasons why Thailand is self-fulfilled, and because there is always supply and a demand that matches it, especially in Chiang Mai where most of the products in the market are locally grown, bread, and manufactured from all aspects of life and nature around it, and that is why you end up with quality of products and ‘considerably’ lower prices than anywhere in the world, from housing to food, and cost of living in general.

A long with the many blesses that Chiang Mai and the northern parts of Thailand has, is the appreciation of every aspect of life as a local culture, sharing it with pure amazing people embarking their knowledge in ‘their’ favorite city as they pass along, and taking something with them along the ride to remember Chiang Mai with ‘until their next return’ whether long or for just a short break. Even at night ‘this moment’ and since I live close to the mountains on a dead end street ‘that’s how close!’, and although its a disadvantage to miss the view from the balcony at night, the sounds of Cicada’s, Gecko’s, and river bank Frogs, makes it a pleasure to sleep your day away with a sense of pure serenity, more close to a Nirvana…

View from the balcony

Suddenly… the repeated shortened bird chirping of Gecko’s and the continuous croaking frogs ribbiting to mate! stops ‘all at the same time’ and gradually continues after a while, growing into a true phenomena! You truly realize how this nature ‘far exceeds’ being anything but ‘natural’, which is unfortunately either taken for granted or simply just ignored, whether here in Thailand or any parts of this unappreciative world. But the fact is, a nature that keeps me up all night, eager to look at her every morning, waking me up with free-spirit birds; a nature that will always make me wonder what mood she will bless me with today, but she always manage to keep me pleasantly warm, or lift my spirits with a winding breeze from mountain tops, taking away the sunshine ray, behind the scenes of mighty mountains and rice fields.

Nature demands and requires respect, she needs to be taken care of, so she can take care of us! We always like to feel that we are taken care of regardless how, where or why! In life in general a sense of security is always needed for all living things, including ‘humans’, and when someone takes care of us, it is required ‘at least’ from us to thank them, as a gesture of ‘good faith’ in them, and ‘appreciating’ the helpful hand or the advice they gave us, even the talk we enjoyed with them at any given moment. But how do we thank Nature for all the things she gave to us? I have no resources to give back to nature ‘I can take care of her whenever I can’ but she’s all over the place, I cant take care of her all, but I can only hope to enjoy her more.

I wash my hands, face and ears, head and nose, and gurgle the earths juice in tears, clearing away the dirt of the day. Feeling fresh, feeling blessed, I find my self alone with nature in the dark, and I couldn’t help my self but to pray to the only power I know that can provide such a spiritual experience for a religious nature.

Goodbye 20′s Hello 30′s

Posted: June 23, 2011 in Active Minority, Business talks, Travel, tourism & Me
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All through-out my 20′s I always looked forward to my 30′s, not just because of the roller-coaster ride I was tripping on the past 15 years, but because this type of roller-coasters can only be done once. I have enjoyed the fact that I went through all of it, but I would never wish to go through it all together again, nor I would like for anyone ‘in it’ to see me repeat it again, simply because my life was all about how I can please everyone and anyone around me and live-up to their expectations, whether in business or personal relations, most of which have failed due to the reasons that usually are deliberated behind closed door.

But throughout all those failures, I was lucky enough to ‘ironically’ have some successful speed-bumps created by those same failures in every job or project I undertook the past 15 years, that’s why I was ‘and still’ grateful for those experiences, and thank God I wont have to go through them again. Not just because of careless teachers and professors who didn’t like constructive arguments, because they’re not text-book! or manipulative employers who think ‘just because they know my father’ I can work for free, or an extreme ‘on medication’ obsessive compulsive mentor that taught me how to be extreme with an attitude of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ to unappreciative passionless employees and colleagues, to inattentive employees and business partners who never got to know what true creative potential is. Mostly it was my fault because I agreed to live in those terms, where people forgot and even stopped any efforts to understand and appreciate the concept of responsibility, and actually having confidence and guts was their ultimate fear, and without spoon-feeding them I ended up growing monsters.

I am glad I’m finished with my 20′s and I can say that I am corporate-free in my 30′s. No more office cubicle boxes, and free from any cluster-phobia traumas, no more A/C ‘Controlled life’, no more budget deadlines, or salary cuts, firing or hiring. No more morning sad lifeless faces , no more waking up because you have to wake up, no more ‘expectations’ from clueless childish co-workers, no more disappointments, no more hiding, and most certainly “no more excuses”. Yes! no more need to do this. Why they have to know that! and why they need to understand this or that! and what I need to do for this? or create for that? or even ‘clown’ this or bread that!!! Time to choose my own battles, attend to my own pleasures, and develop the ones who want to learn how to develop in their way. (Read: Freelancing Corporate Loyalty)

One thing I knew in my 20′s about my 30′s, is that I’ll be reborn, I will be free, and I will have total control of my life, whether people like it or not, it doesn’t matter anymore, it doesn’t even matter that I am 30 years old anymore. It doesn’t matter anymore because life was ‘and still is’ ironically decided and my self-actualization levels have already paved the road for me to walk through it, while watching bystanders on the sidewalks awaiting the signal-light for life instructions in the cross-roads they ‘wished’ to undertake.

Thanks to everybody who cares or not, who dares or not, who shares or not, even who hates me or not, without you I would not have the passion to hate, love, or to care, share, dare or to play, and so I wish you all the best in your life pursuits wherever they maybe.

Untouched sense of nature

Posted: June 20, 2011 in Travel, tourism & Me
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One of the amazing things in visiting Thailand for a holiday, is the easy access to all the hideaways most tourists are still unaware off, and the variety of those hideaways in Thailand caters to all kinds of taste and interests, whether its a small teak wood villa in the middle of  one of the most amazing and beautiful accessible mountains and hills stretch throughout Thailand, whether its the beautiful triangle of the north and natures of the South, or the peaceful islands of the Eastern Thai sea  , filled with waterfalls,  natural springs and rivers, or “secluded islands” where nature “literary” untouched but easily accessible with a bit of an adventurous soul . Since most of those hideaways are developed by the local Thai’s to cater for people who are looking for this type of serenity with a nature that is second-to-non.

    

Feeling privileged to visit some of those amazing hideaways just as a local would eaily be able to do, one specific spot was “Koh Kood”, and the fact that it lays somewhere in the middle of the Eastern Thai sea, and the only way to reach is to travel east where Thailand shares boarders  with Cambodia” reaching a Thai city called “Trat” which can be accessed from Bangkok thru various commercial and “low cost” airlines, and is reachable by land transportation as well, which is “always the best way” to travel around Thailand. From “Trat” you need to take a 3 hours speed boat, that can be both “fun” or “disastrous” depending on how your stomach holds up, but reaching your destination will prove that your long Joy ride is worth this small effort to do ; from crystal clear “private” beaches and barely seeing any tourists or even “staff” at sight, some fishermen with their boats at the sea Horizon, leaving you with a peaceful Joy that you are truly far away from any world you know or experienced, leaving you with a sense of rebirth, you can actually sense it in everything you do there, from the food to the sea winds, swinging on your own private hammocks, hanged on the multiple palm trees spread all around and throughout the island.

     

The beauty of having NO cars on the Island and even No roads to service them, and where the only 2 ways to move around the Island, is either by walking through the forest, where you can almost immediately locate various hidden resorts and Thai restaurants, cooking one of the most amazing sea foods in the country, or you can just rent out a small boat from any resorts around the island ‘that is, if you prefer to do some island hopping by your self”. This is the beauty of Koh Kood! Encourages you to get in touch with nature first hand and enjoy every aspect of it naturally with no inconveniences or outside effects, whether its by a whole day fishing trip for “20 dollars” including the boat rent and all the fishing equipment you might ever need, and a designated Thai fisherman on top of all, to drive the boat for you and prepare for your fishing experience, after which,  any restaurant you may favor would be more than delighted to cook your catch in any way you wish to, with any side dish you can imagine, or you can just leave it to the experience of the Thai sea food chefs that are spread around the island.

     

If you’re looking to spend some good spiritual quality time on by the beach on a swinging hammock, or just laying down on the white puffy sand beaches, or maybe a dip in the clear ocean water sea, enjoying the countless natural views spread around the island. Just grab a pair of goggles to snorkel around the island, and wander around endless types of swimming fish, and amazing sea life, or you can engage in the different water activities with your partner thru a close by “Activities Center” that provides all kinds of water sport activities and adventure, where you can actually go on discovery trips to register, and name an undiscovered diving spots after your “own name”.

     

     

Another encouraging aspect about this island is the range of prices for all accommodation types, ranging from “as low as 15 dollars” and “as high as a 150 dollars” all with incomparable quality, leaving you not only speechless, but naturally “skeptical”. But not to worry! Just right around the end of the day, you’re cultural shock tends to drift away with the amazing scenery around the island, as the sun fades away behind the ocean view.

    

This island is a habitat to the local community running those resorts with a hand full of restaurants around the island, and another hand full of tourists who were lucky enough to discover the island after going through “quiet a ride” to reach to this hideaway. After sunset, and since there are no streets or cars on sight, there isn’t any need for public lighting! making it “unnecessary” to go outside your resort area after sunset. But that’s where you can enjoy a nice quite or romantic evening the beach with a dinner that will leave all your senses satisfied, along with all sorts of natures musical sounds and beach waters splashing against the palm trees on the shoreline, leaving you in total serenity, with a rewarding value for money and the best quality time to spend with your loved ones with absolute stress-free environment.

    

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