The Success Chain

Visitors usually travel to Cape Town on their way to other parts of Africa. Those who stay tend to zero in on the city’s beaches, mountain parks, and historic landmarks. There’s also plenty of shopping, food, and entertainment to keep any tourist happy. However, those willing to go a bit off the beaten track will find that touring some of the many vineyards in the region provides a memorable and enjoyable holiday.

Most visitors to the city are aware of the existence of vineyards as it’s difficult to find a restaurant that doesn’t serve local wines. And some will even take time to drive to one of the nearby vineyards to sample the vintage, eat at the restaurant, or even stay overnight in one of the guesthouses.

There are literally hundreds of vineyards in the Cape Penninsula region. Wines of South Africa, an wine marketing and educational organization, put together a map in celebration of 350 years of wine making in South Africa. It details fifteen separate wine tours available in the area.

Some of the more established vineyards include Kevin Arnold’s Waterford Estate, the Meerlust Estate, Thelema, and Franschhoek. Most vineyards offer tours and tastings. Many have their own restaurants with menus designed to complement their wines and still others have guesthouse or even boutique hotels attached, which offer an alternative to the city’s five star Cape Town hotels.

Wine making in the region dates back to the mid seventeenth century. Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape in 1652 with the mission of establishing a garden. in 1655 the first vines were imported from France, Spain and the Rhineland. The first wine was pressed in February 1659. Six acres of the original Company’s Gardens are preserved as part of Cape Town’s botanical garden.

The world is finally going green.  One way this is being demonstrated is in the deconstruction of abandoned buildings in the city of Manhattan.  Many cities around the world have set up energy and conservation programs, such as the desalination plants in Singapore, the wind-energy plants in Southern California, and the energy efficient traffic lights on the island of Mallorca of the coast of Spain.  The city of Manhattan offers a part in the conservation of the environment in the way buildings are now being constructed, as well as destructed.

Green building of businesses and New York hotel suites, restaurants, and apartment flats means that anything newly construct must meet certain standards of energy and water conservation, among other various categories.  This has been a huge step noted and in the spotlight, but now, what is of concern is the tearing down of buildings.  Disposing of waste, the concrete, metal, and wood that would have otherwise been transported to landfills, a challenge for waste management in the past.  The discarded material now accounts for over sixty percent of the solid waste for the city.  About 20,000 tons of metal and steel and stones is produced per day.  And that does not include the 20,000 tons of wood and asphalt and glass that needed to previously be disposed of, moved from one location to the other via small trucks, then bigger trucks.  This causes negative effects in other environmental arenas such as air quality, traffic pollution and landfill limitations.

Demolition done green, is the process of deconstructed the buildings in the manner that they were originally built.  Instead of bulldozing and sweeping it all up, buildings are being meticulously taken apart.  Systematic and orderly torn down.  Construction workers are now taking the buildings apart and putting the various materials into piles.  Piles of material that are sorted at the site, to either be re-used on the spot, or re-used and recycled in other locations.  This has the combined effect of not only saving money, but it reduces the usage of smaller, then bigger trucks…reducing air pollution.  And since materials are being re-used, they are not ending up in the landfills.  It is estimated that ninety percent of the materials can be used to build again. Ninety percent!  That is such a huge percentage.  This is an incredible idea and an incredible achievement for a city already known and experienced in the process of rebuilding.

The next global food industry event will be the Thaifex – World of Food Asia 2009, scheduled for May 13-17,2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. Billed as “the leading trade platform for the food and beverage industry in South East Asia” the event seeks to provide “one-stop” shopping for everything from ingredients to processing technology for food and beverage.

Organizers expect over 2,100 booths featuring exhibitors from across Thailand as well as around the world. Leading food entrepreneurs are confirming their flights and reserving rooms in hotels in Bangkok Thailand to attend the event.

This year’s event will focus on three main areas: “Coffee & Tea,” “Hospitality & Foodservice,” and the all-important “Food Technology.” Innovative and eco-friendly food packaging will be highlighted as will food safety. Special attention will also be paid to “Food Catering” and consulting will be available in “Retail and Franchise.”

Seminars and demonstrations are an important element at the event. Some of the featured seminars include “Growing Trend: Healthy Food,” and “Today’s Market & Challenges in Import/Export.” Large audiences are expected for the Coffee Barrista contest and the cooking competition.

In 2008 nearly 22,000 visitors from 127 countries attended the show, which featured exhibitors from 32 regions and countries.

Surrounding the beautiful and picturesque coast of Spain and its neighboring Balearic Islands is the Mediterranean Ocean. This is half of the two vessels of water that meet and combine to make up the Strait of Gibraltar, the other body of water being the Atlantic Ocean.

Off the coast of the resort towns on the island of Ibiza and the 4 star hotels that the stunning island of Mallorca supports, there is a plethora of marine life that few, if any, of us ever get a chance to see. It is beauty of such magnificence that it is a shame not everyone has the ability to witness and experience it. If more people were able to witness the sheer wonders of underwater life and gain the appreciation of the complexity and interaction between the various species living under the ocean, many more individuals would be compelled to become involved with conservation issues, as the old saying “out of sight, out of mind” certainly holds true with marine life. The sad truth is that humanity in general does not pay much attention to global marine life issues as we tend to view the oceans as vast and almost infinite with the mistaken idea that the vast size of the bodies of water can support any and all sorts of humanity inflicted abuse. Not only that but we also do not actively think about things we do not see on a daily basis, unlike local air quality and issues like it. But protect the oceans we must if these magnificent creatures are to survive for future generations to appreciate and learn from. Every care must be taken to keep the global underwater circle of life intact as even the slightest deviations can have long lasting global implications, not just for marine life but for life on land and thus humans also.

Humans must view the ocean as a close and beloved family member, it is necessary for the entire global environment and the continued existence of the human race and the species in the plant and animal world, such is the symbiotic dependence that is at stake here.

The Strait of Gibraltar has so much on offer with its two bodies of water converging at a very small location, creating a rich variety of marine life to be studied, ogled over and appreciated. There are many tours, for whale-watching, scuba diving and the like, just try to be sure that the boat you step on to is navigated by a captain intent on preserving and protecting those in the sea who have no voice, have no organization of their own.

After the amazing success of the 2009 Dubai International Boat Show, the organizers have announced that they will expand next year’s show even more.  The Dubai International Marine Club and the Dubai World Trade Centre are promising to provide more berths for so-called “super yachts” in 2010 as well as to provide more marina and land exhibits.

The 2009 five-day event saw attendance soar, in spite of the stalled global economy.  Thousands of returning visitors and exhibitors were joined by numerous new participants.  In the wake of this resounding success, companies in the high-end leisure marine industry are already requesting spots for next year’s event, leading to the recent announcement regarding the 2010 show.

In addition to providing the additional berths, organizers are looking to increase the available space for both marina and land displays.  They also plan to provide greater accessiblity by reconfiguring the exhibition area.

The CEO of the Dubai World Trade Centre, Helal Saeed Almarri, issued a statement saying “The Dubai International Boat Show has firmly placed Dubai and the UAE on the world map of the leisure marine industry.” The appeal of the show is its ability to bring together international sellers with regional buyers of these elite products.

Dubai has become somewhat of a playground for the super rich. With miles of coastline, artificial islands, and numerous attractions, the region is ideal for yachts and other leisure vessels.  Those who prefer to stay on dry land can choose between a luxury Dubai beach resort or a five star hotel in Dubai City.

This year’s Boat Show saw a nearly fifty percent increase in super-yachts on display, with nineteen vessels on site.  Numerous super-yacht builders exhibited in the event and were pleased with the response. Next year expect that number to rise again.

The 2009 Dubai Boat Show was held from March 3-7, 2009 at the Dubai International Marine Club.

There are over 2,000 jobs available in Singapore at this moment. And there are not enough qualified technicians from Singapore to fill those positions.  The government has offered scholarships, to the tune of 5 million dollars so far for only eighteen scholarships, to the people of Singapore, and over the next few years that funding will pay off, the positions need to be filled currently.  The goal is to increase the number of individual scholarships to two hundred over the next 5 years.  The leading company in Green Technology, Vesta, has employed people from more that twenty different companies at the moment.  The main form of alternative energy Vesta Corporation provides is wind generated energy.  Solar panels will be added soon, which makes a big difference for companies, the luxury Singapore hotels, the restaurants, and the downtown sector, all have felt the impact…in a good way.  Water bills and electricity bills have decreased for these companies.  Providing incentive financially, what may take years and years to see visually.

The government is providing rebates and reimbursements to those choosing to go green, as far as the re-hab to buildings or the purchasing of energy efficient vehicles.  This has been offered for years and will continue throughout 2011.  Now incentives are being offered to international green and alternative energy and research companies with hopes of their relocating to the city of Singapore, as so many financial companies have done in the past.  Chemical engineering and precise knowledge of electronics makes this a ripe ground for becoming the leading contributors and scientific research that will affect the world for many years to come.  These green jobs are becoming quite attractive, and quite profitable.  Through water conservation and desalination plants, solar panels, bumped up recycling programs and government incentives the people of Singapore will once again become an inspiration to those around the world.  The Green Business Alliance was founded in Singapore.  Protection of the environment is the goal, and with the cooperation and participation of the business joining up, this is history in the making.  To make businesses and the people that support those businesses aware of the dire need for this kind of commitment is the goal, and to provide every opportunity to participate be it in the job sector or the private, will only insure to heal and protect what we all need and love, what is the only and very necessary endeavor at the present time.

The 2009 Singha Thailand Open golf tournament is underway in Phuket, Thailand. This international professional tournament is scheduled to run from March 4th through Sunday, March 8th at the Laguna Phuket course.

This national Open debuted in 1965 and was a vital part of the Asian Golf Circuit. Due to the difficulty of finding sponsors, the tournament was last played in 2005. It returns this year for its 40th run with new sponsors. The restaurants, Phuket best hotels, and other tourist-dependent businesses are excited that the revitalized event will drawn players and fans for years to come.

After the first round, Austrailan Mitchell Brown and Digvijay Singh of India were in the lead. They each posted a seven-under-par score of 63, putting them one stroke ahead of the rest of the field.

Thai athlete, Thongchai Jaidee is a favorite to win the event. Jaidee was victorious at the Indonesian Open a week prior to the Thailand Open. He has earned eleven titles in his career, a record for any current player on the Asian Tour.

Other top competitors include Anthony Kang(USA) and Daniel Chopra (Sweden) and Chinnarat Phadungsil (Thailand).

Sunday’s winner will receive $79,000USD and the King’s Trophy.

Pavartotti’s father could not overcome his nerves in order to sing.  Well known around the cigar company he worked, for having a fine tenor voice.  During WWII Pavarotti’s family moved into a two room flat where the then young man had dreams of becoming a goal keeper for football.  He began is voice training in the church choir. Pavarotti became a professional performer in 1961.  He sang in Barcelona, in the neighborhoods that housed some of the 5 star Barcelona hotels, to the smaller and less well known venues.  One performance considered one of his most fine moments, was recorded later, in 1981 at gran Teatre del Liceu.  Mozart, Verdi, Puccini among others were included in the arias that night.

Luciano Pavarotti became and is still known, for his celebrity status.  He performed for TV and the media, but he is also known for and remembered because of his charitable donations and social work.  He has donated to many charities involved with helping refugees, and his contributions to the Red Cross are an outstanding testament to his character.  The final performance of Pavoratti’s career was held at the the Met, in 2006….However, some publications have his final performance listed as occurring in 2004.  During his last performance, suffering from the pancreatic cancer that finally killed him, Pavarotti lip-synced the show and was received with a standing ovation.  This gentle man with his perfect pitch and his dedication to the betterment of the world over had made him a beloved figure of history.  The last performance in Barcelona, with fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carrera brought new light and an invigorated enthusiasm for the cafes and music hall, and the 5 star Barcelona hotels.  One wonders as one may do, or should, at what may have become, what future masterpieces may have been produced should the creators have not died so young.

Amsterdam is a city steeped in history and culture.  When one visits for the first time, the question is ‘which to experience first’?  Well, the canals may be a fine place to start.  During the day, beautiful…then come the night-time and the canals become magical.  Lit by small lights, big lights, lit in just a grand fashion.  There are many ways to take in the romance and beauty of the canals at night.  There is the tour bus, for those interested in guided and narrated tours of the cultural and historical aspects.  The bus will stop at all the famous museums and points of interest.  It’s a very informative way to experience the city, however, not extremely romantic.  Perhaps the houses, bridges, the city are better remembered during a candle light ride, or on a pedal boat.  On a pedal boat, although one must pedal, one may choose which direction to turn and which small canal to take as a detour.  Much more adventurous and much more memorable.  However it is advised to have a map of the waterways as the canals can be twisting and turning and it is easy to lose track of where you may end up in the city.  If pedaling a boat doesn’t sound relaxing, small boats are available to rent.  And on your way through the city, some prefer water taxis as an option to regular taxis on land.  This is a very tranquil way to get from one place to another.

There are many squares in the city of Amsterdam, close to restaurants and five star Amsterdam hotels.  One such square is Rembrandtplein.  This is an area filled with hotels and clubs and small cafes.  It has long been known as a place for people to go to meet others.  Along with the gardens here, there is monument to Rembrandt and this, along with the social events and opportunities has made this a favorite spot for tourists as well as the locals.  As with Rembrandtplein, the Leidseplein square has many shops and theaters and street performers.  The third such popular meeting place is Munt Square.  Munt Square is surrounded by old architecture and is close to the other two squares as well as many movie theaters and the famous Amsterdam Flower Market.  All three spots support each other as it is easy and relatively quick to walk between the three, thus providing tourists with many options for creating memorable evenings while visiting this colorful city.