I want, I want!!

Ok, I may be a bit too old for these things.... but they look great!!!

This article is published, courtesy of the FT:

Five battery-operated robotic hamsters costing about $10 each have become the must-have toy of Christmas 2009, with parents in North America and the UK snapping them up as soon as they arrive on retailers’ shelves.
Zhu Zhu Pets, sold in the UK as Go Go Pets, are the hottest toy of the season, according to Jerry Storch, chief executive of Toys R Us, the retailer, a phenomenon on a par with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the smash hit of Christmas 1987.
The interactive hamsters, Mr Squiggles, Patches, Chunk, Pipsqueak and Num Nums, respond to touch with squeeks and noises, and can be set to run about randomly in “explore” mode, or to “coo and chirp” calmly when held.
They also react to separately sold accessories that include a toy house, a bed and a small car with sound effects such as teeth cleaning and toilet flushing noises, televison sounds, disco music and yawning.
Mr Storch said initial demand for the toys was so strong that Toys R Us had not listed them in its Christmas toy catalogue to avoid disappointing customers.
“Word of mouth alone stimulated demand to the point that if we advertised it would only be bad for business,” he said.
Walmart, the largest US retailer, kept the hamsters off its shelves until this weekend.
The range – which includes various separately sold accessories – was launched this summer by Cepia, a small company based in St Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 2004 by Russell Hornsby, an entrepreneur whose previous success was a battery-powered sprayer.
Mr Hornsby said the hamsters spent only between 30 seconds and three minutes on the shelf before being bought.
He had shipped about 6m units and expected to ship another 6m by the end of the Christmas period. He estimated sales of $300m to $400m in the coming 12 months as the product range expanded.
“It’s not just hamsters,” Mr Hornsby said. “We are bringing out the clans: chipmunks, squirrels, hedgehogs, rabbits ... We have all sorts of cute things coming.”
An active secondary market for the hamsters has developed on Ebay, with Mr Squiggles and Num Nums changing hands this week for more than $20.
Jon Diver, managing director of Character Group, which distributes the toys in the UK, said “sell-through has been quite incredible” and that extra supplies have been air-freighted in from China.

Holiday - Day 8 & 9

Not in the best of moods as my back / leg doesn’t show any sign of improvement, not to mention that this otherwise fantastic holiday is coming to an end.
Yesterday morning I went for the second threesome... and I wish I hadn’t bothered. I don’t know if the massage is to blame but last night my pain was so intense that I could barely walk. The situation was definitely worse than the day before.
After a good night’s sleep, this morning I went to the local hospital to see if they could do something about it. They gave me some strong painkillers and obviously recommended seeing my GP once I get back to London. I’m not exactly looking forward to a long-haul flight with such an intense pain in my back so the stronger the painkiller the better.
The weather has not been very good over the last couple of days so – rather than wasting a trip to the beach – yesterday afternoon I did a little bit of DVD shopping. Today the weather seemed to be considerably better so I ventured all the way to Surin beach. It goes without saying that as soon as I settled down the sun disappeared behind thick clouds, never to show again!
A few goodbye drinks to be had tonight in Bodega, the Offshore bar on Nanai Road, Mai Thai bar in Soi Eric etc...

Holiday - Day 7

No messing about, I’m going to give it to you straight... today I went to a ‘massage parlour’ and had a superb threesome, involving myself and two Thai ladies. There you go, I said it!! It was the best threesome that I’ve ever had... probably because it was the first?!?! Plenty of action – it lasted over 2.5 hours (you never knew I had so much stamina eh?!)... awesome satisfaction for all concerned with lots of ‘oooohhh’s and ‘aaaahhh’s..... not to mention the odd ‘f@ck’ for good measure... and a little bit of pillow-biting for the kinky among you!
Ok, before you report me to the Interpol, let me give you the full picture. As my lower back / left leg is showing no sign of improvement, I decided to have another massage, following the one that I had last week in Bangkok. This particular massage parlour was recommended by Jen, a friend of Sefton. Jen is the nice Thai lady that rented me a motorbike for my holiday.
Just very close to Jen’s office, there’s this little unassuming massage parlour, which from the outside is not different to any of the hundreds of parlours here in Patong. However they don’t provide any dodgy massages (thank Buddha for that), but what they're good at (allegedly) is treating people with back problems. As I’m at the end of my tether with this pain, I decided to go down this avenue.
I had two ladies pummelling my back and my legs for 2.5 hours, which was very painful indeed – to use a technical term, they beat me to a pulp! If you consider the the total bill came up to 750 Thai baht (roughly 15 squid), it is definitely a bargain. I can’t begin to think how much a 2.5 hour-long massage would set me back if I had it in London. In fact, even in Leeds or Newcastle you can’t have someone beaten to a pulp for such a small figure! Said that, in those cities you could probably find someone willing to do it for free on a Friday night if you tell them that the ’victim’ is an Italian hailing from Surrey.
There was a lot of pain involved in all honesty, hence all the noises, the pillow-biting and the odd swear word mentioned in the first paragraph above. Was it worth it though?! The honest answer is.... I don’t know (yet). I may have a better indication tonight when I try to go for my usual post-dinner stroll. Fingers crossed!

Holiday - Day 5 & 6 (Part 2)

More Surin beach pics:

Holiday - Day 5 & 6 (Part 1)

From today I’ll have to stop referring to my 'favourite' beaches in Phuket.... as there are just too many of them! Today I went to Surin Beach, about 10km north of Patong, just past Laem Singh beach. Surin has always been famous for its crystal clear water. In fact the water is so clear that it makes Patong beach look like Blackpool or Brighton
There are lots of little restaurants and stalls lining Surin beach, serving both Thai and western food. I got a bit thirsty and got myself a very big fresh coconut. In fact to be honest with you, I didn’t even have to leave my sun lounger as they can bring it to you. Very lazy I know!
What I like about this beach is that – although it is packed with sunbeds and parasols as far as the eye can see, there is quite some distance between each parasol so you don’t have the dreaded Torremolinos effect. And I love the extra large wooden sunbeds (available for 100 baht) that they have here.
Last night my friend Jaroon took me to a new bar that opened only 2 months ago in Patong, very close to the Jungceylon shopping centre. This bar is called Bodega (http://www.bodegaphuket.com/) and is just off one of the main arteries (Rat-U-Thit Road). It’s a kind of tapas / lounge bar, with a very relaxed atmosphere. They have some very nice paintings on the wall and decent live music, although not of the eardrum-breaking variety that you get in so many bars in Patong. And for once it was nice to hear somebody singing pretty well – Simon Cowell would have the mother of all field days if he listened to most of the live acts in Patong!
This bar is run by a truly nice and welcoming couple, Robin and Amy Donovan. Robin is a great bloke from Bournemouth, whilst his wife Amy, also born in the UK, has a nice Sith-Ifrikan twang. My friend Jaroon informed me that Amy is one of the leading members of Chicky Net, a social network for expat women in Thailand (http://chickynetphuket.ning.com/). It’s amazing to see how you can build up a loyal clientele base in just two months, a clientele that wants to chill out in a laid-back environment as not every tourist in Patong is after Thai girls (or ladyboys!). Bodega certainly gets my vote and I will certainly pay them another visit before the end of my holiday.

The first two pics below were taken in Surin, whilst the latter two refer to Laem Singh beach.