Brilliant Bangkok.....

One of the things which came with the merger with Hyro Limited was a business in Bangkok, Thailand and as a part of my role as COO of Hyro, I have management responsibility for this business. Over the last eight months (yes it is only eight months since we assumed full management control of Hyro) I have now had need to visit Bangkok three times and I have to say that every time I go, I come away more impressed and more excited about the Asian market and specifically about Thailand.

Bangkok didn't fare too well in the "Asian Meltdown" of the late 90s and over the last few years has slowly been rebuilding and now the signs of economic activity are everywhere. Stand in any high-rise office tower and look in any direction and there are building sites everywhere. The public infrastructure is constantly improving and now the SkyTrain and MRT systems have really eased the traffic pressure (still pretty bad, but a lot better than before). There is a new international airport on the way and there is a lot of work being done on the highway / freeway systems. Bangkok is moving ahead .... fast!

Our team in Bangkok are really kicking some goals. The business there faced a few challenges in 2005 as the former Hyro management has made some decisions which de-focused the team and created a bit of chaos (as well as cost a lot of money). It was really pleasing to see the team there winning some great projects and enthusiastically going about completing them. There is a bit of a buzz in the Bangkok office and I am keen to see where we go from here.....

On the down-side, I have made a commitment to myself that I am going to stop flying "third-world airlines." The flight on the way up we bought an economy Qantas ticket but flew a code-share flight with British Airways. My colleague's seat was broken (it was missing a cushion!) and before we took off, he had the pleasure of having about a litre of orange juice poured all over his head. The cabin crew were tired, indifferent and frankly offensive..... I firmly believe that when you get to the stage in your career that the work isn't enjoyable any more, then you should give it up, no matter how over-paid you might be........