Halong Bay in Vietnam

I am just back from a holiday in Vietnam. We only went to Halong Bay in the time we had. It was worth it in every bit.
The negative side of the trip was seeing rubbish in an UNSECO site. It was clear from the floating remnants of Rubbish on the water. That Vietnam is a developing country.
On board the junk we were right near beside the engine room, but on a positive note, the engine was off at night only it was used to generate electricity. The cockroaches were good company in the shower, but I did not see much. They did get into the toiletries, so when you leave it might be worthwhile to hake your bag out on the bed so you can see them against the white.
On the positive side, the wildlife was fantastic. You could see the sea eagles catching fish. The caves such as amazing cave was beautiful especially with the coloured lights inside. The food was good and included in the price, so was the kayaking.
Basically it was not expensive. We spent about 500 dollars for the junk trip which included the caves, food and kayaking for two nights. The price also included two night stay in a 3 star hotel in Hanoi and a taxi to the airport. Beer and food in the tourist area of Hanoi was also cheap when compared to Thailand or Malaysia..  Overall it is a worthwhile country to visit and the trip to Halong is well worth it.

Dow Drops 512 points!!!! Economic Depression is around the corner

Today I woke up to the news that the Dow Jones Index dropped 512 points and I am asking what the hell is going on. Gold is at 1661 per oz and the Dollar is at an all time low. Three Eu countries have received bailouts and now there is talk of Italy and Spain defaulting. The papers are pointing out the drop in the Dow was based on the Italy and Spain may having to face the fact they need bailouts. But we also make the point about Washington and how they had too much "jaw jaw". In my view Gold is near to its fair value. I had back in 2008 predicted that it would hit about 1700. It seemed to get there faster thanks to the politicians in Washington and the wars which are creating debt in America and turmoil in the world.
Even after yesterdays dip in the Dow Jones the Asian Markets are following the same pattern. In my view it is the start of the chain reaction for a double dip recession. That is nonsense we are on the way for a depression. This reminds me so much of the Weimer and the Stock Market crash when prices were too high in shares and they just crashed due to a so called " price adjustment" Germany printed more money which created hyper inflation and gold was more valuable as a payment source for war reparations. Doesn't it sound all too similar to what is happening now?

Creating E-Book Covers

My Ecover Maker

When I first started out publishing e-books. I found it hard to know where to start. I usually had to go to various websites to gleam the information needed.

What was most frustrating was trying to design a cover fr my e-book. I tried various free online websites, but I found most of them were hard to use or lack the flexibility in how you wanted to layout your cover. For instance on doing a quick search, this website came up. On a quick look I found it was a little hard to follow.

They are selling a full version on a monthly basis and they do offer a free version. I find with free version they do not give the freedom to design as you want.

However I found an excellent solution to his problem. Everyone has a camera of one sort or another. Everyone has Microsoft office. In Microsoft office you have the publisher which allows to create leaflets and documents. I found that taking a photo which you have taken yourself and adding it to a blank page on publisher, then add a text box is just as easier than spending hours on the Internet looking for a cover maker. Especially if you are just starting out, I find using publisher as the cheapest and easiest option.

Provided by the computer training specialists.

Reflection

Dear Reader,

I just published my sixth e-book today. It took me 4 years to write up and to finish. I still feel it is an uncompleted work. It was based n my experience in Saudi for the year that I worked and lived there. As I look out the window here in Kuala Lumpar and reflect on those times. I realize I left a few stories out of that book that I should include and I know I will include them at a later stage.
I don't know how I lasted so long or completed my contract in Riyadh. Especially when all around us the Western teachers seemed to be losing their heads.
I feel I need to add more about life outside of the professional environment and I feel I will. I found it funny how two western Caucasian colleagues were almost forced by the religious police to pray at the mosque, even though they protested they were Christian. Or the art teacher who would not teach to save his life, but us classroom teachers ended up doing it and made a damn good job of it.
This is only the tip of the Iceberg I have so much in me to write and publish that this is only tip of the iceberg.