I know you all have ad blockers and do not “see” the advertisements that adorn a blog page. But seriously guys - we all need a little ad-love as well.

Do you really think Mama does this just for the love of her children? She needs to eat too. So - Pony up, put your hands in your pockets and spend some advertising money on Mama’s blog.

Like we did

You see that? That is us spending our hard-earned money helping Mama pay the mortgage. We put our money where our mouth is. Did you? Will you? You give me a hard time for not wanting my advertisement anywhere near a porno ad -

I don’t see your advertisement there now !

Except for those who think I should eat S**t and die. Seriously people - I have 2 brothers and went to boarding school in England. Come up with something better than that next time I upset you. Whatever my personal feelings about pornography - I do not want it associated with my blog.

And neither does Mama !

She clicked when she should have clacked. I understand that. I may know a lot about luxury real estate, but I have trouble finding the “send” button on my email thingy, so……

Anywho, that is the last I want to say on this.

When the fuss dies down and we have an agreement that no porno ads will be anywhere near ours, I would like to be back to help Mama pay the mortgage. Will you?

Like all bloggers, Your Mama would like some compensation for all our damn time bringing the children all this good real estate pornography.

But what Your Mama doesn’t seem to realize is that there is another kind of pornography out there. A completely different sort of pornography to the sort of pornography she dispenses daily. So when we discovered our advertisement with a porn advertisement straddling it like a……. Well, we don’t need to go there.

Suffice to say we do not wish to be associated with that sort of pornography, thank you. Our ad needs taking down immediately please Mama. We have already written to your server and asked for it to be removed. Now, I have nothing against the other sort of pornography, we just don’t want our blog anywhere near that other sort.

I accept that it may come as a bit of a shock to Your Mama to discover that there is more than one sort of porn, in which case I apologize for ruining your innocence Mama. Cover your eyes when you visit that site

Either that or Your Mama is broke and will take whatever ads come her way, in which case feel free to pop over and spend some money on advertising on her blog. We would hate to see her go.

Either way - we would like our advertisement removed ASAP

your mama’s blog

The Sarojin finally opened 8 months after the tsunami, having employed its existing staff to literally rebuild the resort. Every room is named after a staff member to recognise that effort. That commitment to the locals breeds loyalty. Maybe that’s why so many visitors report that The Sarojin is not just an amazingly beautiful resort but that the staff are exceptional even for Thailand, a country renowned for customer service. Nothing is too much trouble, managers introduce themselves to new arrivals and try to fulfill every strange “farang” request they receive.

Today thanks to the miracle of the fast growing tropical vegetation almost all signs of the 2004 disaster have disappeared. The local authorities have also recognized that coastal vegetation can protect against storms and tsunamis and have developed an extensive re-vegetation program along the coastal strip. Khao Lak, and Phuket Island are well and truly open for business once more.

The Sarojin is about 20 minutes by taxi from the Khao Lak town. The town provides great options for meals, shopping, markets and bars and clubs. The Sarojin is about one hour north of Phuket International Airport, in the Phang Nga province of Thailand.

Many guests at The Sarojin will probably never leave the resort. Which is possibly why The Sarojin has just been named “Asia’s leading boutique hotel” for a third consecutive year. The garden setting provides direct private access to 11km of secluded white sand beach, the sheltering Pakarany Cape, allows year-round swimming and water sports.

The Sarojin has only 56 guest residences (each 95-150 sq m) set in a secluded and sheltered 10 acres by the beach providing all year round swimming and has plunge pools, spa pools, intimate couples baths, rainfall showers, private gardens, spa, fitness and dining tables set in extraordinary locations.

Dining options include both the formal Ficus Restaurant (under a large tree!) or beside the shimmering Andaman Sea at the Edge restaurant. Alternatively for the same price meals can be delivered wherever you want: your own private beach barbecue; pool island pavilions; or in the
intimacy of your private dining sala. Or walk down the beach to a local restaurant: probably not as high class but well worth a look for a cheap lunch and a cold beer.
If you can drag yourself away from the plunge pools and beach recliners more energetic options include diving and snorkeling trips to the nearby famous Similan Islands National Park in the Andaman Sea. Or maybe a Thai Cooking class complete with a market visit to buy your ingredients with one of the resort’s talented chefs.

The Sarojin really has risen from the destruction of 2004 and it just one of the shining examples of the positive side of tourism in developing countries such as Thailand. We kept the best to last: we think the pool should be feature on any list of top luxury swimming pools of the world: 

The course for this year’s British Open Championship is Royal Birkdale in Lancashire and as I understand these things is in perfect condition unless you count the wind. Already the golf pundits are talking up a storm about just how exciting this year’s open should be, even without Tiger Woods.

Lancashire boasts no less than 20 of the UK’s best and most challenging courses, and is jokingly named the “Golf Coast,” of England. A major industry has sprung up around luxury golf properties in the area and visitLancashore.com has a huge list of properties available.

Perhaps the most luxurious property in the area is Knowsley Hall, the seat of the Earl of Derby (no relation, sadly). Cottages are available to rent in the 2,500 acres of rolling parkland, and there are 9 luxuriously furnished bedroom suites available in the main building. According to the Knowlsley Hall website, tours are available and the property is for hire as either a pretty spectaular film backdrop or for private functions and capable of receiving up to 200 guests.

The Knowsley Home Farm operates within Knowsley Park producing quality Aberdeen Angus beef and Suffolk cross sheep. The Estate Woodland gardens provide a valuable ecological resource which are sensitively managed to safeguard the natural flora and fauna. * chokes on coffee * and interested parties can, for the paltry sum of £20, purchase a book detailing His Lordship’s horse racing experiences with Ouija board, a famous British racing Mare. Not a best-seller in the making I feel, but all proceeds go to Racing Welfare.

The NY Observer is reporting that Peter Jackson has possibly bought a duplex in TriBeCa. While Jackson’s name doesn’t appear on the records, several of his people do.

Records indicate an anonymous buyer paid a total of $17.35 million dollars in two separate transactions for the two penthouse units at 54 Franklin Street. And that, according to the Observer, is one of the area’s most expensive apartment deals to-date.

Jackson’s executive assistant and his New Zealand and Hollywood lawyers appear on the records, so it’s assumed that Jackson is the anonymous buyer.

The units were purchased from the developer, Chris Clark. He had only listed the first unit, but got an offer he couldn’t refuse on both. Total square footage hovers around 8,000 square feet, reportedly. Mr. Clark kindly noted the penthouse has a wraparound terrace with views of the New York skyline.

The bigger of the two units has a massive 2,300-square foot living room. Well, darlings, sounds like you could have a regular roller-rink in the living room, with a few bowling lanes thrown in just for fun. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Peter Jackson is, of course, best known for producing mega-hits such as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong. He’s not without controversy, having some disagreements with New Line Cinema over filming of The Hobbit, the prequel to Lord of the Rings. It does appear that those issues have been resolved, however, because Jackson is listed as the producer for the film on IMDB.

Image: noodlepuss (cc)

A beautiful luxury train, to a world-famous destination, through some spectacular scenery: what could be wrong with this scenario; well there is a big flaw.

The luxury Hiram Bingham train runs from Cuzco to Machu Picchu daily: making the 7 hour return day trip in fantastic comfort. The train is run by the well known 5 star rail group Orient Express and this is by far the best train in Peru, quite possibly South America. Although the 112km trip from Cuzco to Machu Picchu is not a long train journey, it certainly rates as one of the most scenic railroads in the world.

The Hiram Bingham train is named for the American professor who “discovered” the site in 1911. In reality the local farmers were always aware of the site and it was they who guided Bingham. Bingham was looking for the mythical Inca treasure: but in fact the Machu Picchu site is really a treasure: just not of the gold Bingham had in mind, and little too big to ship home, luckily for the Peruvians.

The Hiram Bingham train is designed in the style of a 1920’s rail experience with blue and gold Pullman style carriages fitted out in paneled wood with brocade upholstery featuring heavily in the dining cars. The train includes two Dining Cars, an Observation Bar Car and a Kitchen Car to serve the 84 passengers it has the capacity to carry.

The passengers board in Cuzco at around 9:00am and then are served brunch as they admire the spectacular Sacred Valley as the Urubamba River valley has been prosaically re-named. Now there are regular trains running this route which can be had for only a few dollars, and you will certainly get to experience a slice of Peruvian life that the Hiram Bingham Train (no chickens on the Orient Express fleet!). However the Hiram Bingham travels slowly through well-cleaned windows and you will definitely see a lot more of the scenery thanks to these innovations, and the lack of standing passengers.

The day tour arrives at Aqua Calientes around midday. The train can’t reach the actual Machu Picchu site: which is high above the valley floor, and a transfer is required my mini-bus. With pre-booked tickets you skip the tours and a guided tour of the site is included in the price. According to Orient Express:
“After the guided tour, guests are given the choice to wander alone through this fascinating World Heritage site, or to enjoy Afternoon Tea at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, the Orient-Express hotel located right at the entrance to the citadel”

Therein is my problem with the day trip to Machu Picchu. It is frankly an annoying tease.

The site is worth a whole day at least. You could spend a week in Cuzco and not run out of things to do. Machu Picchu is an amazing collection of well preserved Inca ruins, but in addition it is located in one of the most attractive locations in the world. And at an altitude of 2300 metres so you can watch the weather move in from below. Add a few colourful locals and lamas for photographic opportunities.

Imagine if the Pompeii was located on the a mountain ridge, which drops away to two beautiful valleys, and up to two spectacular mountain peaks, Take Pompeii and and relocate in a remote beautiful valley at altitude: take several airplane transfers to get there and then spend only a few hours at the site? Wasting some of that time taking tea? Do yourself a favour arrange your trip to Cuzco to include overnight at the Machu Picchu site. Don’t settle for the movie’s trailer: watch the whole show!

Following the rapid development, expansion and beautification of Mumbai, the authorities have proposed a major development of the airport as well, especially non-aeronautically, and specifically aimed at luxury retail, commerce and hospitality. Almost 132 acres of real estate land have been acquired for this development, mainly around Sahar village, Kurla and Kalina.

In recent years the number of tourists, both Indian and Foreign, visiting Mumbai has increased a great deal. This increase has called for an improvement in facilities, hotel accommodation and entertainment, especially around the airport area, which is the focal point of Mumbai’s tourism. On this massive expansion of land there will be an array of hotels, shopping malls, entertainment centers, offices etc.

The division will be roughly as follows: about 28% (1.6 million sq ft) of the 132 acres will be for retail, 50% or about 2.87 million sq ft will be for hospitality and 22% (1.26 million sq ft) will be reserved for office space. About 3,200 hotel rooms will come up in mainly five and four star hotels.

As airports have round-the-clock activity and high people traffic, with waiting hours, visitors, people from stop-over flights, they are crucial sites for entertainment centers, retail, shopping complexes, hospitality zones and other numerous exchanges.

Not just Mumbai, airports all over the country are set to be upgraded within the next 5 years, with almost 47 projects being currently under process. These projects are expected to generate 78 million sq ft (1,790 acres) for commercial purposes by 2015. Over years, there has been a considerable development in the average annual growth of the airport sector in India. With all these projects, Non-aeronautical revenues are expected to increase from 35% to 54% by 2015. Real estate zones in close proximity to the airports have a great deal of advantage over other areas.

The home is in the Movie Colony of Palm Springs. It’s a replica of a Spanish farmhouse. This baby has 5 fireplaces, guest wings, a studio, two driveways, and is walled and gated. Of course, you can see the beautiful pool in the pics. Who wouldn’t want a pool in Palm Springs?

There aren’t many of these 1920s Spanish-style homes left in Palm Springs. That’s too bad, because they really are a piece of the area’s history. Wood floors, tile, exposed celling beams add to the feel of the house. We’re not a big fan of some of the details, which remind us more of a Southwest decor rather than Andalusian Spanish, as the listing touts. Details! It looks like, in some pics, an old Western movie set. But, we’re not the Spanish colonial connoisseur who restored the place, now are we? (Really, it’s only a few of the details that strike us as odd - not the entire place.)

Still, it is a great part of movie history. Who doesn’t remember all of the stories about Cary Grant? Who hasn’t seen some of his movies? That paints a little more rose-colored view of the house, doesn’t it?

I always dreamed about owning an estate in Palm Springs. It has always held such a glamorous sheen in my mind. So hop to it, children! At just under $5 million, this 1.5 acre place probably won’t last.

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The 360,000-square feet boutique hotel would be designed by Saab, bear his name and reflect his style, a statement released by Tatweer said.

The hotel, which will overlook the world’s first golf course designed by US professional golfer Tiger Woods, will have 89 suites and 14 bungalows in different sizes to cater for a high-class clientele.

‘It is indeed no coincidence that the world’s first golf course designed by the world’s number one golfer Tiger Woods in Dubailand will host the first hotel to be designed by the world’s top designer Elie Saab,’ said Saeed al-Muntafiq, Tatweer’s chairman.

Tatweer has some huge projects in the leisure and entertainment business, including the Universal Studios Dubai. We have to wonder at the outcome and this is an example of Saab’s current range of minimalist bikinis. We can hardly wait.

Just kidding - It would seem Mr Saab is as big a fan of the strapless mini-dress as I am.

Elie Saab Designs