Use Agoda for best hotel deals - President Solitaire Hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 11

The sofa overlooking the pool

The hallway of the Solitaire Suite

                                                                      The 4 poster bed

Fresh from a recent trip to Bangkok, I managed to book a very good 4 star hotel from the internet using the portal Agoda. This was my second foray into Internet hotel bookings using Agoda this year and both times the hotels selected were within my expectations - and budget. The beauty of the portal is that it gives alot of past guests comments on everything from cleanliness of hotel room, services, facilities, accessibility to the MTRs or underground trains,breakfast spread etc. etc. so its like I am prepared mentally for what to expect.

This hotel called President Solitaire is located in Sukhumvit Soi 11, and it is very close to Na Na  BTS station (Sky train). Outside the main road of Sukhumvit are the multitude of street vendors,bars, restaurants catering to every kind of entertainment, if you know what I mean. In the small road off Sukhumvit (called Soi) there are many spas, foot massage joints, restaurants and smallish hotels so the locale is very international.

This hotel deal which I booked was for roughly S$ 100 per  (RM 243) night for a suite. Upon arrival, I was promoted to the 'President Suite' with a huge ensuite jacuzzi. This was definately a plus point for me. Service check-in was a breeze, the breakfast spread was very decent and there was plenty of solitude because there are not many rooms per floor as in other major hotel chains, so its very quiet, and in the heart of Bangkok too. The adjoining Amana Spa provides excellent service, and the Hot Stones 2 hour package (at S$ 150) is highly recommended.

Will I stay here in the future ? Most definately.

 

LMFAO - Shuffle Dance

Teenagers and youngsters are shufflin' to this latest dance, called the Shuffle Dance. Can you shuffle ??

Space - the final frontier

Everyone needs his 'space'

As I was doing my katas (karate patterns) in the area leading to the small garden in my house, I was struck by how premium 'space' has become in land scarce Singapore. At the moment there are 5 million inhabitants in our 'garden city' and if the Government has their way, they want to increase the population to 6.5 million in our small island of barely 850 square km. Currently, the density is 5,882 per square km.That is almost 6 THOUSAND people in an area about 2 and a half football fields by 2 and a half foot ball fields. Of course, you can build upwards, but people are land based, so thats a lot of people you will meet if you walked (in theory) for  every one km either  one of the 4 ways. In a simple mathematical terms, 850 square km translates to 850 million square metres, and divide that by 6 million, then each one has in theory 141 square meters to do his or her own 'thing'.

Looking at it, that is barely 10 meters by 14 meters each person or 30 feet by 42 feet each person.

Its still not too bad, but it sure feels that there are alot more people in Singapore, and adding to increased competition and stress.        

Hallelujah Chorus by Handel

The text is taken from the verses in the last book of the Bible, Revelations. Appreciate the music which is timeless.

6 weeks left to a marathon, and I'm in bad shape, will I give up ? Hell no !

Struggling towards the finish line last December

Fresh after the last year's year end marathon (December), I decided that one of my goals is to complete a European marathon, so when the opportunity came, I signed up for the Copenhagen Marathon which will commence on 22nd May 2011 (Sunday) which is barely 7 weeks away. I am at present, still struggling to do decent 10 Km run. However, I am determined to try my best to train up and be ready for it, in seven shorts weeks. Can I do it ? Its mind over matter now.... any encouragements from readers or discouragements also I am prepared to read.     

Dream big and achieve them

 Seeing my no-hopers Wolverhapton Wanderers beat yet another big name team, this time, Aston Villa gives me hope that even when they were bottom of the Premier League, they still had the self-belief to pull themselves together and beat, the following top teams recently, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, draw with Tottenham and now Aston Villa.

  Suffice to say, that the gap between the top and bottom teams in terms of skill,strategies and motivation is very small indeed.

Go Wolves Go !   Get out of the Relegation Zone !!

My Life Views Now

At this stage in my life, I would like to take a step back and look at my life, and question what this life means to me and to my loved ones. I have lost my beloved parents just 3 and 6 months ago, and this is the time to really analyse and 'play' the game of Life (if it can be called that).

How do I want to be remembered ? Will I make a mark in society or just be another of the many nameless, faceless digits in the cogwheels of society.

What do I want to leave for my family and those who matter to me?

I believe that to leave a mark,or an impression, one has to have a life vision, a passion for what he is doing, and not be afraid of failures,setbacks or whatever society or people may think of him.

How do I want to be viewed by others is not for me to decide. However, my own views of how I would like myself to be (in an idealised way) is listed below. It sounds egotistical, I am afraid, but people on a mission have to be clear minded in everything they engage in, and the most important 'game' is Life.

My proudest achievement is yet to be bestowed, is to be as good a father as possible. To inculcate the best values such as honesty, integrity, hard work,thrift, planned goals and grabbing opportunities to my children. That is normally a lifelong task so I will not be able to savour the success in this lifetime.

Another goal is to be a dedicated husband to my wife.

A visionary and fearless leader for my business, again that is a work in progress.

Someone who gave a good part of his time and money to helping those in need.

A sportsman, and a gentleman.