Sara's latest entry
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hey everybody.... apologies for the delay in blog updates. I know I said I would tell you all about Vietnam back in December, but time has escaped me and I've been far too lazy with this whole blog thing. Anyway, I'll get typing and hopefully I'll be able to round up some of the things I've experienced over the last few months.
After a bit…
Vibzz Haaang on. You get points by using your Oyster card? Looks like a mkrietang ploy from tfl if you ask me. Stroke of genius.And also, once you've signed up, you can kiss goodbye to any privacy. There may be some times when you don't *want* every journey you make to be put on the internet forever.I think this needs to be thought through a bit. Personally, I liked your idea better, Rob.
re: Now theres a claim to fameMuhammad We are going to see the people who are going to cahnge the rules of the game time to time in Industry. There are some who will follow these rules and solve some of the customer problems.We need people who can think of customer problems and solve it, inseatd of building the company on the Sand, just because someone loves love something and start building, etc..We need to see what kind of problems is faced by current customers and what kind of problems customer might face in future.Btw, working strictly 9 to 6 will not allow you to succeed, rather you will earn your bread and butter.Regards,Yash
re: photo from 01 September 2009Takeshi Enjoyed the essence of this post, Vijay.In fact, we somtiemes wonder (especially when we're approached by the obsessed with multiples & valuations' kind of people) if we're doing the right thing in building up our company with the good old approach' manage costs, get sales aim to get a positive cash flow going!We're convinced this is the best way; don't focus on the exit/acquisition/IPO it it is to come, the opportunity will present itself (is that a line from a movie?)We've also got some angels/advisory board members who are all people who have been there / done that and have followed similar approaches to building extremely valuable businesses. The probability of success is simply higher with the weathered' (if you like) approach as opposed to the hit or miss' approach the valuations game seems to be fostering. Of course, proponents of the latter will (correctly, at times) argue that one might under-capitalize on opportunities with a conservative' approach. Obviously, a lot of this has to do with the temperment & backgrounds of the founder(s) as well!CheersLux
re: photo from 10 July 2009Michele I bought this book last week in Vientiane for I love Lao cooknig for many years and like to have authentic receipes to try out more authentic dishes. And it is great. Not only the warm hearted story of the Boat Landing and it's people, also the descriptions of ingredients and ways to substitute things you can't buy in Germany (my home country where I am now and tried the first dish Luang Prabang fried rice yesterday delicious) are helpful and unique.
re: Luang Prabang, LaosAnkur When I started my first cnpamoy, two folks from the traditional business lines were directors. They expressed a certain degree of shock when we presented them with a profit on the first year, with zero debt and only enough capital to buy four machines and a printer.They said they always believed in the kosher-3-year law that any business needs to be given three years to make a profit.Of course there are excesses in the other direction too. One such traditional businessman invested a couple crores setting up a 80 seater call center complete with machines, call equipment, internet lines etc. and got this manager to try and get him business. Because of the traditional thinking he didn't bother about the mounting losses, or with things like utilisation rates or any metrics believing that it would take three years. He had to let it go at less than book value (luckily the property appreciated enough for him to recover a little bit)A lot of people get complacent when you tell them building businesses take time. an interesting thought is to ask that all people take loans to build their businesses even if it's a personal loan and you already have the money. The idea is: the loan must only be repaid by cash flow from the business. (any intermediate payments made by you are added to the cnpamoy's loan) If in X years the cash flow has not paid off the loan, you need to get the heck out.After running a startup for seven years and not really going places, I've seen a little bit of the other side how inertia can take a toll on business.
re: Macy'sQurotulaeni How to begin planning a sdonboarwing trip?I'm looking for a place as close to NY as possible but besides that I don't know the first thing about booking a sdonboarwing vacation. How much do the rental fees and the lift tickets usually go for, just a ballpark number.I also wanted to maybe go with a group of students for a day to refresh my memory, how much do you think that would cost?Thank you. I've been sdonboarwing before but I didn't plan the trip last time.
re: Maori Cultural NightJenelle his holidays in vauoris Asian countries. Asia Travel News, Asia Travel News, Asia Travel News // From meditating in some ashram in India to snorkelling in Thailand you can do anything you wish to a, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't
re: photo from 31 August 2009Ruan Merveilleuses aussi vos photos du jairdn botanique!! Quand on ouvre l'onglet comment vous dire!!!! C'est un flache de beaute9 qui nous interpelle!!! Vous allez revenir tout muscle9s. Mais LES VOYAGES FORMENT LA JEUNESSE!!!!!! En tout cas nous ici, c'est super reposant et on en prend plein les yeux derrie8re l'ordi!!!!! C'est bien aussi de vous voir en photo! Audrey samedi ta grd me8re arrive, et je vais inviter Claudine et Janine, pour leurs faire partager votre merveilleux voyage!!!! Monique est en vacances chez son fre8re. Elle verra apre8s. Grosses Bises!! profitez bien!!!!!
re: Kyoto, JapanSyah I bought these for a trip to Montana. These are built well and seem like they will hold up. I like the dfnfereit cards so the kids can switch it up often. I am only letting them be seen when we are in the car. We have a commute even from home, so we will get lots of use out of these.
re: Nagasaki, JapanBernardo Dean, I am a National Park freak I love to visit them. I have also run 33 marathons, hope to hit 50 in the next year or so. Also, I dont hldray drive anymore, I ferry and bus to work. I totally believe in preserving the environment for my children and yours. I read a disturbing article in the Economist a couple of weeks ago. It turns out that visits to the Parks are declining at a rapid rate (for the first time in 20 years). Its not because of high priced gas, its been happening for 15 years. The reason for the decline is mostly because of Eco warriors who have limited park access, blocked improvements, kept trails and roads from being developed etc. Heres the problem, the Parks have done more for preserving our natural habitat than any other government action. They were set aside, however, for people (general public) to travel to them, not for a few Eco activists . Now it looks like the parks will eventually lose much of their support and maybe even eventually go away because we are making it harder and harder to visit. We need to find a happy medium where families are encouraged to visit, accessible trails are established and lodges etc are updated and made available. Today, if you want to stay in a Park lodge you have to book 2 years in advance because no new facilities and no upgrades to existing facilities have been done for so long.
re: photo from 10 July 2009Sampreeta Eric, thanks for foiwollng my blog. My aim is to educate as many people as possible about how to overcome their own obstacles as I have, travel outside their comfort zone, and travel the world!!! Looking forward to sharing our own stories and reading more about yours! Keep on keeping on!
re: photo from 01 September 2009Rakesh Eric, if you can tell me how I can possibly pack all of that crap in one bag, I will be your blog buddy for life. Between my cremaa bag (Gorilla bags ROCK!), computer bag, and carry-on bag (which has to hold my computer now that they only allow you to have a single personal item and a carry-on, and the cremaa bag doesn't fit in there), I have no room for clothes.
re: The King of HollywoodDimas Hi Boyd,I've enjoyed diinoverscg another travel blog for baby boomers. Reporting on it from an economic slant should help many boomers who need to watch their pennies. My motto is go when you can, do what you can afford, but most importantly just go. You're proving that traveling on a budget is doable.
re: Rarotonga from the airDayane This is a smart blog. I mean it. You have so much knowledge about this issue, and so much poasisn. You also know how to make people rally behind it, obviously from the responses. Youve got a design here thats not too flashy, but makes a statement as big as what youre saying. Great job, indeed.
re: The Bay BridgeAnyapa Well done Sylvoosh!!I love the article, and i love the new blog, Mazel Tov -מזל טוב!!I wish you and the woefdrnul Travelworks family' lots of luck! you are trully the most efficient, the most professional and yet the friendliest travel agency i've ever worked with, you get the job done, you are the BEST!!
re: The highest point on the island