and this time, I mean business...
Filed under: business Author: Villy
It's been a long time between postings for me but with good reason. I've actually been quite busy with the two projects I've been working on.
The first project is starting a packaging business in Thailand. We are now the primary distributor for APS machines and materials in Southeast Asia. Automated Packaging Systems is a large privately held company based in Cleveland Ohio that sells bag-on-a-roll packaging machines. They are the dominant player in their space in both the US and Europe. We just had a visit from the newly hired APS Asia-Pac representative and I he seems to be quite happy with what he sees so far. I also just hired a sales manager with 6 years experience as well so I think we're well on our way. We're have a big show coming up in June called ProPak Asia that I'm busy preparing for now. If that goes well, I think we should get a ton of leads.
The second project is still confidential, but involves outsourcing sewing from the US to Thailand. This is definitely a multi year project but it's definitely headed in the right direction.
Since both projects involve completely different people and companies, it takes up a pretty significant portion of my time. I'm glad it didn't take me too long to find something to do here though.
The first project is starting a packaging business in Thailand. We are now the primary distributor for APS machines and materials in Southeast Asia. Automated Packaging Systems is a large privately held company based in Cleveland Ohio that sells bag-on-a-roll packaging machines. They are the dominant player in their space in both the US and Europe. We just had a visit from the newly hired APS Asia-Pac representative and I he seems to be quite happy with what he sees so far. I also just hired a sales manager with 6 years experience as well so I think we're well on our way. We're have a big show coming up in June called ProPak Asia that I'm busy preparing for now. If that goes well, I think we should get a ton of leads.
The second project is still confidential, but involves outsourcing sewing from the US to Thailand. This is definitely a multi year project but it's definitely headed in the right direction.
Since both projects involve completely different people and companies, it takes up a pretty significant portion of my time. I'm glad it didn't take me too long to find something to do here though.
One of the things I've always wondered was whether or not the American diet was more likely to make you fat than the Thai diet. In Thailand it is far more common to eat smaller portions more frequently during the day instead of sitting down to a huge meal. Food is readily available at small restaurants and street vendors and is both high quality and inexpensive. Portions are sized such that you can order 1-2 items. Currently I'm a not so svelte 186 lbs. (none of it muscle). My goal is to get to 172. So in the grand tradition of blogging about way too personal stuff (e.g. starryeyes posting about an herbal tea laxative), I've decided to post my weight loss progress (or regression) for all those interested. | ||||||||||||||||||
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4 Wat-ings and a factory
Filed under: sightseeing - wat Author: Villy
Despite the traffic jams, countless modern malls, bustling open markets that pop up within hours, and crowded side walks where vendor and pedestrians fight for space...it is possible to escape to a peaceful and tranquil WAT (Buddhist temple) in just minutes. If you open up a map of Bangkok (one with icons of tourist sites to visit), you'll notice countless WATs are sprinkled throughout the city; each infamous for something – their location, how fast they can grant your wish, or the type of Buddha (tallest, longest, etc.) that is housed in the temple.
In our attempt to be typical tourists in the city, Villy and I decided to visit a handful of Wats with the help of a local tuk-tuk driver. Although the experience is worth a try, I don't recommend using a tuk-tuk as your regular means of transportation – it is basically a small 3-wheeled vehicle that is a cross between a motobike and horse carriage. The cabin is open and would be considered a pleasant ride if we were in Napa Valley with light traffic and lots of fresh wine air; in Bangkok, this is quite the contrary since we share the road with many cars and exhaust fumes. But the ride is cheap and even cheaper during government subsidized days to promote tourism...our entire trip (4 Wat visits) was suppose to cost us 10 Bahts ($0.31 USD!!) as long as our tuk-tuk driver could take us to a gem factory to collect his free gas coupons. A deal worth paying and even tipping on (which is not a norm here). It's too bad our tuk-tuk driver abandoned us on our 3rd Wat stop...after the gem factory visit, of course. Those must have been some amazing gas coupons!!
Click on photo below for more photos.
In our attempt to be typical tourists in the city, Villy and I decided to visit a handful of Wats with the help of a local tuk-tuk driver. Although the experience is worth a try, I don't recommend using a tuk-tuk as your regular means of transportation – it is basically a small 3-wheeled vehicle that is a cross between a motobike and horse carriage. The cabin is open and would be considered a pleasant ride if we were in Napa Valley with light traffic and lots of fresh wine air; in Bangkok, this is quite the contrary since we share the road with many cars and exhaust fumes. But the ride is cheap and even cheaper during government subsidized days to promote tourism...our entire trip (4 Wat visits) was suppose to cost us 10 Bahts ($0.31 USD!!) as long as our tuk-tuk driver could take us to a gem factory to collect his free gas coupons. A deal worth paying and even tipping on (which is not a norm here). It's too bad our tuk-tuk driver abandoned us on our 3rd Wat stop...after the gem factory visit, of course. Those must have been some amazing gas coupons!!
Click on photo below for more photos.
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| 4 Wat-ings and a Factory |
I just notice that I had our blog was set to only allow comments for people with Google accounts. I have changed the setting to allow anyone to comment so comment away!
Foreign fast food in Thailand
Filed under: food Author: Villy
Thailand was never conquered by a foreign power but they appear to have definitely stopped off for a bite. Walking around the city the last couple weeks we have noticed a ton of foreign fast food restaurants in Thailand.
So far we've only stopped off at two, and even then only really for novelty reasons but the longer we're here, the more I'm sure our bodies will begin to crave the preservatives we've been missing.
Click on the gallery below for more pictures.
So far we've only stopped off at two, and even then only really for novelty reasons but the longer we're here, the more I'm sure our bodies will begin to crave the preservatives we've been missing.
Click on the gallery below for more pictures.
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| Foreign Casual Food |
Arrival in Thailand
Filed under: Author: Villy
After about 19 hours in the air and 6 hours in various airports, we finally arrived in Thailand. We got in about midnight local time and in grand Villy and Janis tradition, immediately went out to eat in Chinatown. One of the great things about Bangkok is you can find food at pretty much any time day or night.
The travel was for the most part pleasant and uneventful. Our flights were booked far below capacity so we were able to stretch out and sleep on the plane. One particular highlight was the Sakura lounge in the main building of Narita airport. That lounge is so nice that if I could book a trip with a 1 month layover in Narita, I would. The lounge has private bathrooms with showers, free massages, free food (snacks, udon, Japanese curry) , and free drinks (beer, wine,. It also has comfortable seating, and free wireless access. The day I lose my platinum status on American (probably around 12/31/2008) will indeed be a dark day.
We are staying with my uncle's house initially then moving to the home my parents just built about 10 minutes away from my uncle's house once we get settled.
Click below to see some pictures...
The travel was for the most part pleasant and uneventful. Our flights were booked far below capacity so we were able to stretch out and sleep on the plane. One particular highlight was the Sakura lounge in the main building of Narita airport. That lounge is so nice that if I could book a trip with a 1 month layover in Narita, I would. The lounge has private bathrooms with showers, free massages, free food (snacks, udon, Japanese curry) , and free drinks (beer, wine,. It also has comfortable seating, and free wireless access. The day I lose my platinum status on American (probably around 12/31/2008) will indeed be a dark day.
We are staying with my uncle's house initially then moving to the home my parents just built about 10 minutes away from my uncle's house once we get settled.
Click below to see some pictures...
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| V&J Flight to Thailand |
Welcome to our blog!
Filed under: welcome Author: Villy
As promised to many, we will be maintaining a blog of our travels and experiences chronicling our move to Thailand. As most of our friends are new to blogs, I'd like to make a couple of suggestions.
First, get yourself a good RSS (really simple syndication) reader. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox provide built in RSS readers although I find them to be less than ideal options. You can instead use an online RSS reader such as Google Reader, my personal favorite. Once you have your reader, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog by pasting http://boriraj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into your feed reader.
If we're the only blog you're looking at, you can also go the old school route by just using http://boriraj.blogspot.com/
Second, don't be afraid to comment. Other than our family, friends, and fetishists into pudgy Asian guys, nobody else will be reading our blog. We have configured it in such a way that it won't be picked up by search engines. That being said, I wouldn't recommend posting your SSN, email address, and bank account numbers.
If you have any questions on blogging or RSS, just drop us a line. We have time on our hands...
First, get yourself a good RSS (really simple syndication) reader. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox provide built in RSS readers although I find them to be less than ideal options. You can instead use an online RSS reader such as Google Reader, my personal favorite. Once you have your reader, all you need to do is subscribe to our blog by pasting http://boriraj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into your feed reader.
If we're the only blog you're looking at, you can also go the old school route by just using http://boriraj.blogspot.com/
Second, don't be afraid to comment. Other than our family, friends, and fetishists into pudgy Asian guys, nobody else will be reading our blog. We have configured it in such a way that it won't be picked up by search engines. That being said, I wouldn't recommend posting your SSN, email address, and bank account numbers.
If you have any questions on blogging or RSS, just drop us a line. We have time on our hands...
