Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel located in the Surawong district within close proximity of prominent business and banking headquarters, embassies, major entertainment and shopping centres, the Le Meridien Hotel Bangkok will be located 30-minutes from Bangkok International Airport and five minutes walk from the Sky Train.

The Le Meridien Bangkok Hotel will feature state-of-the-art technology and restaurants and bars, a ballroom, a choice of meeting rooms, fully equipped business centre, health club and a separate spa.

It's all happening at the Botanical Gardens! As well as the Lanterns (mentioned below) there's also the pumpkins on display in the greenhouses. School children of all ages have contributed their own designs to pumpkins of every shape and size. Come and meet Esmeralda the friendly witch and take part in the activities offered here until 31st October. It's indoors and is suitable for everyone - strollers are easily navigable, although the crowds make it a slow process. Get their early to avoid the crush! Happy Halloween!

by Rhiannon Williamson

Egypt may seem like an exceptionally unusual choice as a location in which to invest in real estate - sure, it’s a great vacation location with its 7,000 years of history, its near perfect year round climate, stunning beaches and beautiful diving…but what does it have to offer someone wanting to invest in real estate as a commodity?

The answer is - Egypt is actually fast moving from being an emerging real estate market place to a well established one because the levels of foreign direct investment into the real estate sector have increased based on some excellent fundamentals.

For example, Egypt is now considered to be a politically stable country and one that is absolutely pro-western, meaning that an investor can be confident in the political stability, will and vision of the nation. Next up, the economy in Egypt is going from strength to strength. According to The Economist magazine GDP grew by 5% in 2005, almost 7% in 2006 and is on target for over 7% growth in 2007.

A strong economy gives confidence to investors as well - but it also means local people have more buying power which creates the perfect environment for house prices to rise in value and an investor’s real estate assets to appreciate.

Aside from these excellent foundations on which an investor can build confidence there are some travel and tourism angles you might like to consider when thinking about whether Egypt is worth a closer look as a place to invest your hard earned dollars into immovable property.

First up there’s excellent statistical news and data from the World Travel and Tourism Council, they say Egypt is on track for enjoying 21.4 billion US dollars worth of economic activity from the tourism market in 2007 and that the nation’s travel and tourism growth rate is expected to hit almost 8% this year before averaging around 5 and a half % per annum until 2017.

Clearly there will be massive rental demand for accommodation that a property investor who buys well located real estate can benefit from. Boosting this demand is Egypt’s exceptional climate and the fact the nation is now cheaply and swiftly accessible from Europe and the UK thanks to cheap flight operators.

Finally, if you want more reasons why to buy real estate in Egypt think about the fact there are no capital gains or death/inheritance taxes in Egypt and the government has now made it easy and safe for foreign buyers to own a home or multiple real estate assets in Egypt and surely you have enough evidence to support taking a closer look at the Egyptian property market.

About the Author
Rhiannon Williamson writes about property investment worldwide, to read more about property investment in Egypt visit her site http://www.amberlamb.com

So we’re back in the “Land of the Free” - no, not Sweden, but the United States.

We’ve been back for a few days now and finally managed to get ourselves sorted out travel-wise, so I now have something to report.

We’ve been staying chez Bart and Lauren in the meantime and have satisfied all our cravings for “incredibly bad for us” junk food as well as partaken of some of their gourmet fare to which we have now become accustomed. Going back to hostel food may take some adjustment…

Lauren’s now pretty big - less than two months to go now before their sleep patterns are shattered by the arrival of Kirsten. They seem to be taking it all in their respective (in Lauren’s case, rather truncated) strides. The big news from our perspective was when they offered us the vacant GODPARENTS positions. Wiki describes godparents thusly:

“Traditionally, the godparents were counted informally responsible for ensuring that the child’s religious education was carried out, and for caring for the child should he/she be orphaned.“

We’ll be keeping our fingers firmly crossed that Bart and Lauren last at least until Kirsten is 16 or so…

Anyhow, we were happy to accept this position of responsibility - especially as it means we get more leeway to come by and visit under the pretext of checking on her moral upbringing!

Today we booked ourselves a 30-day train pass and booked ourselves some trips including Washington DC, Boston and Philadelphia - so we may be coming to a state near you soon!

by Nicholas Marr

Overseas property investors have seen the potential of Brazilian real estate and savvy investors are in search of new areas in Brazil ripe for investment. One such area is Touros Brazil.

Brazil Property is the talk of the town with leading financiers ranking Brazil amongst the top 5 world economies by the year 2050. As one world largest countries, with a current population of over 180 million, Brazil s economic potential is enormous. The optimism is based on current availability of cheap labour and materials, coupled with undervalued real estate.

The village of Touros in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norto is seeing some new development that will make it a prime location for international real estate investors. Located about 70 kilometers north of the city of Natal, this town is quickly becoming a destination for travelers and home buyers looking for pristine beachfront property in Brazil.

Touros is distinctive with clean and tidy the streets and a well kept town. Travelers call Touros ‘the real Brazil’ The town benefits from a Diving Centre, Aqua Park and Quad-Biking centres several Golf Courses currently under construction.The road from Natal to Touros is a straight road called the BR101, which runs from Touros down to Rio.

The weather in this part of the country is warm and dry. Rio Grande do Norto is located in the Southern Hemisphere, so the nicest months to be here are during the north’s winter, which makes it an excellent choice for a holiday or second home. Even during the winter months of July and August, temperatures still average around 24ºC, which makes it plenty warm enough to enjoy.

Getting to this part of Brazil is fairly easy, and about to become even easier when a new airport opens. The current airport for Natal, August Severo International Airport, serves both domestic and international flights. There are direct flights here from several European cities, and connecting flights daily from major Brazilian cities. From the airport it is just about an hour’s drive north to Touros.

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) reports that Brazil received 5.4 million tourists in 2005, which was nearly a third of all the tourists visiting South America as a whole during that year. This generated US$3.9 billion in foreign currency exchange from tourists. By 2006, tourist figures in Brazil had reached an impressive 6.3 million. The WTO predict strong performance for travel and tourism demand in Brazil for 2007, growing at a rate of 7.2%.

All looks good for investors heading to buy property in Brazil

About the Author
Nicholas Marr is the CEO of Marr International Ltd the company behind property websites http://www.homesgofast.com and Brazilian property website at http://www.brazilian-homes.com/

Summer in de city, in Berlijn moet je dan echt naar de Strandbar Mitte, aan het Ooststrand in Berlijn. Voetjes in het zand, zonnebril in het haar en stoel in ligstand voor een het vakantiegevoel tijdens de lunch. Zomer, zon en strandgevoel midden in een stad, ontspannen muziekje en je dag kan niet meer stuk. De palmbomen en spiegeling van de zon in het water zorgen voor ware oase in de stadsjungle.
Heel bijzonder!! Strandbar Mitte is de eerste strandbar van Duitsland en dit goede voorbeeld deed niet voor niets volgen.

Openingstijden
In de zomer dagelijks geopend vanaf 10.00 uur.

Website
http://www.strandbar-mitte.de/

Adres
Monbijourstr.3
10117 Berlin

Entree
gratis

Summer in de city, in Berlijn moet je dan echt naar de Strandbar Mitte, aan het Ooststrand in Berlijn. Voetjes in het zand, zonnebril in het haar en stoel in ligstand voor een het vakantiegevoel tijdens de lunch. Zomer, zon en strandgevoel midden in een stad, ontspannen muziekje en je dag kan niet meer stuk. De palmbomen en spiegeling van de zon in het water zorgen voor ware oase in de stadsjungle.
Heel bijzonder!! Strandbar Mitte is de eerste strandbar van Duitsland en dit goede voorbeeld deed niet voor niets volgen.

Openingstijden
In de zomer dagelijks geopend vanaf 10.00 uur.

Website
http://www.strandbar-mitte.de/

Adres
Monbijourstr.3
10117 Berlin

Entree
gratis

Vooral bij mooi weer is, voor Berliners het ultieme moment om heerlijk tot rust te komen, de bruche op zondag aan het water bij der Freischwimmer. Der Freischwimmer is een voormalige bootverhuur en bootreparatie werkplaats, gebouwd in 1932. Het complex van verschillende huisjes is idyllisch gelegen aan de oever van “des Flutgraben”. Leuk feitje is dat de ingang zich bevindt naast het oudste tankstation van Berlijn (Aral).

Openingstijden
Donderdag en vrijdag vanaf 18 uur. (keuken is tot 0:00 geopend).
Zaterdag vanaf 11 uur (ontbijt a la carte), zondag vanaf 11 (Brunch)
Maandag tot en met woensdag gesloten. Wel kunt u de plaats afhuren op deze dagen.

Zomeropeningstijden (juni tot augustus)
Ma. - Vrij. vanaf 12.00 Uur, Za. - Zo. vanaf 11.00 uur
Keuken: zondag tot donderdag tot 0:00 uur. Vrijdag tot 1 uur.

Overgangsopeningstijden (maart t/m mei, september t/m oktober)
In deze periode zijn de openginstijden afhankelijk van de weercondities.
Ma. t/m Za. Vanaf 14.00/ 16.00 uur, zaterdag vanaf 11 uur (ontbijt a la carte), Zondag vanaf 11 uur (brunch)

Website
http://www.freischwimmer-berlin.de/

Adres
Von der schlesischen Tor 2a
Bus 265, N 65
U Bahn Schlesisches Tor
S Bahn Treptower Park

Entree
gratis

Vooral bij mooi weer is, voor Berliners het ultieme moment om heerlijk tot rust te komen, de bruche op zondag aan het water bij der Freischwimmer. Der Freischwimmer is een voormalige bootverhuur en bootreparatie werkplaats, gebouwd in 1932. Het complex van verschillende huisjes is idyllisch gelegen aan de oever van “des Flutgraben”. Leuk feitje is dat de ingang zich bevindt naast het oudste tankstation van Berlijn (Aral).

Openingstijden
Donderdag en vrijdag vanaf 18 uur. (keuken is tot 0:00 geopend).
Zaterdag vanaf 11 uur (ontbijt a la carte), zondag vanaf 11 (Brunch)
Maandag tot en met woensdag gesloten. Wel kunt u de plaats afhuren op deze dagen.

Zomeropeningstijden (juni tot augustus)
Ma. - Vrij. vanaf 12.00 Uur, Za. - Zo. vanaf 11.00 uur
Keuken: zondag tot donderdag tot 0:00 uur. Vrijdag tot 1 uur.

Overgangsopeningstijden (maart t/m mei, september t/m oktober)
In deze periode zijn de openginstijden afhankelijk van de weercondities.
Ma. t/m Za. Vanaf 14.00/ 16.00 uur, zaterdag vanaf 11 uur (ontbijt a la carte), Zondag vanaf 11 uur (brunch)

Website
http://www.freischwimmer-berlin.de/

Adres
Von der schlesischen Tor 2a
Bus 265, N 65
U Bahn Schlesisches Tor
S Bahn Treptower Park

Entree
gratis

In de eerste etage van het Palais am Festungsgraben, bevind zich de “Tadshikische Teestube”. Hier wordt op high tea op z’n Sovjets genoten – logischerwijs met wodka. Het publiek is even gevarieerd als de variatie aan thee. Het interieur is rijkelijk versiert met Perzische tapijten, canapés, zitkussens, zilvere lantaarns en alle andere denkbare oriëntaalse toeters en bellen. Na afloop van de beurs van Leipzich was het in de jaren 70 een cadeau van Sovjetbobo’s voor DDR-bonzen. Dat de voormalige Sovjetrepubliek Tadzjikistan sinds 1991 zelfstandig is, drong nooit door tot deze oriëntaalse lounge avant la lettre. Gelukkig maar

Tip: als je in de wintermaanden in Berlijn bent ga dan op dinsdag vanavond vanaf 18 uur worden er speciale thema avonden georganiseerd.

Openingstijden
Ma-vr 17-24u, za-zo 15-24u

Website
www.restaurant-parcferme.de

Adres
Am Festunsgraben 1, Mitte, , S-/U-Bahn Friedrichstrasse

Entrée
gratis