The 2009 Koh Samui Regatta was another successful lifestyle event with 32 boats competing in 5 different racing classes from countries as diverse as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia. Entries and spectators from all across regoin have arrived on the island to enjoy a week of top flight sailing, with extravagant parties planned at various locations after each race.

As the final event on the AYGP calendar, the Samui Regatta is seen as one of the season’s highlights with close races and plenty of action. This year Neil Pryde and his Welbourne 52 Hi Fi arrived having already claimed the AYGP Skipper and Yacht of the Year awards, but another eight top racing class yachts remain keen to make their mark and claim the coveted Waterford Crystal trophy.

Samui Villas & Homes along with Dhevatara Properties are proud to support this year’s Koh Samui Regatta as Island Partners. SVH has been involved with the event since its foundation in 2002 and continue to support a range of initiatives that promote the island on an international level.

“We would like to congratulate the organizing committee and thank the skippers and crews for their continued suport of this ever growing event,” said Marc Ribail, SVH Cheif Operating Officer. “The regatta definitely is the island’s biggest sporting event and it also fits well with our corporate responsibility program as a green acticity.”

Samui Villas & Homes are Koh Samui’s largest and most reputed villa management and estate agent agency and along with Dhevatara Properties have won several awards for their achievements in the resort property sector in Thailand.

About Samui Villas & Homes

About Samui Villas & Homes Co., Ltd. has grown into Koh Samui’s market leader in the luxury property services sector since our inception in 2001. we work in all aspects of the property market, from the brokerage of raw land, off-plan and completed residences, to project and rental management, our knowledge and understanding of the industry is comprehensive.

About Dhevatara Properties

Dhevatara Properties is synonymous with elegance and fine hospitality. Creating exclusive contemporary spaces inspired by stunning surroundings. Dhevatara has designed and built villas in prime beachfront locations on the island of Koh Samui, either for purchase or rental.

For more information visit www.samuivillasandhomes.com and www.dhevatara.com

Technorati Tags Regatta, sailed, Samui, strong

Medical tourism, also called medical travel, health tourism or global health care, is the process of traveling to another country to receive quality health care from highly skilled physicians and surgeons at a fraction of the cost available in the United States, Canada, and the U. K.

With soaring health care costs, and many being unable to afford health insurance, Americans are traveling in large numbers overseas for surgery. In 2007 over 750,000 Americans traveled overseas for medical treatment, and with the current rate of growth, that number is projected to reach 6 million by 2010.

If the health care reforms being debated in Washington in 2009 aren’t implemented, and costs for health care and insurance continue to rise well beyond the rate of inflation, larger numbers of American workers may find themselves being without insurance and being unable to afford surgery except to opt for overseas health care.

For the middle-class uninsured, and for insurers and employers looking at surgery and transplants for as little as 10% of the cost in U.S., even with the added costs of travel and hotels added on, overseas health care is a viable option.

While many of the large U.S. insurance companies are beginning to look at overseas surgery on a case by case basis, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina is offering attractive options for patients who choose lower-cost overseas hospitals.

Medical tourism, a $20 billion industry in 2008, has become especially popular with Americans, Canadians, and U. K. citizens faced with pricey hospital treatments in their home countries.

Frost & Sullivan, an international business research and consultant, with long experience in Malaysia, reports that medical tourism in Malaysia is estimated to reach $590 million by 2010.

Some of the best destinations for medical tourism are Malaysia, Thailand, India, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, and Argentina. While medical treatment is the primary purpose for traveling to a foreign country, an additional week or two for recuperation in a vacation paradise is also appealing.

For those unwilling to travel to far away destinations for medical treatment, San Jose, Costa Rica, in Latin America, the self-proclaimed international capital for cosmetic surgery, costs less than half the U.S. and most of their doctors were trained in the U.S. and Europe, and speak English.

What About The Quality Of Care From Overseas Healthcare Institutions?

In the United Sates, The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, is the body that accredits and certifies hospitals and health care providers. This accreditation is recognized nationwide as the gold standard of quality that certifies that a hospital or health care provider made the commitment to meeting stringent performance standards.

Recognized by the World Health Organization, the International division of Joint Commission, Joint Commission International (JCI), is active in over 80 countries and is considered to be the gold standard to certify international healthcare institutions to insure that they meet the standards of quality healthcare.

With accreditation standards comparable to the U.S., patients are ensured of standardized healthcare practices, regardless of whether a facility is located in the United States, Malaysia, or Costa Rica.

Technorati Tags American, Costs, Healthcare, Medical, option, Soaring, tourism

Gosh: just imagine what a liberation that must have been to go back from international accepted English education to your kind of village education in your village language… Independent Malaysia yes, advanced Malaysia? Compared to neighbour Singapore that became independent from independent Malaysia: far from…

50 years of Malaysia of which 22 years ruled by the strong man Tun Dr Mahathir. Now this Tun brought Malaysia back from the village onto the international map. Unfortunately his successor Abdullah wants to go back to the village. What did his successor do for Malaysia? let’s quote Abdullah’s favorite sentence: "DUNNO"…. I am sure that’s not English but some old, wise Malay proverb…

Technorati Tags: Mahathir | Malaysia | Asia | Mahathir Mohammed | Tun dr Mahathir | Tun dr mahathir mohammed | dr mahathir | Tun Mahathir | Dr Mahathir Mohammed | Tun Mahathir mohammed | Mahathir muhammad | Generasi Mahathir | Doktor Mahathir | Singapore