2nd place in the FINAL!

Today was the day that we got to compete in the final of this year’s edition of student entrepreneur of the year in Sweden. With a chance of proceeding to the main event in NY, stakes were quite high to say the least, and competition was fierce..

No not at all! The other two contestants were lovely, we had a great time and it was a lot of fun to exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs.

All three finalists, Absoluteapartment, Verendus and Blåbärsgården, got to present their companies in front of a jury of 8 who then proceeded to question us, our ideas and intentions. We couldn't have had more different companies if we had tried but all of us had an unique idea, and we went for it. 

All in all, it was a great day, I learnt a lot, got some really good ideas from a few of the jury members and the presentation was very good if I may say so. I also scored a few more apartments for the rest of you to book! =)  I might also buy a few Blueberry bushes..
In the end, we winded up in second place, the winner Verendus was already doing amazingly well, the idea and the brilliant company might actually win the whole thing. I wish Dick Petersson the best of luck in NY and thank Entreprenörskapsforum for a great day!

Final in the Student Entrepreneur!

Wow aren't we proud!

Absoluteapartment made it to the final of the Swedish edition of the GSEA competition for Global student entrepreneurs. This is naturally a great honor and I couldn't be happier! 

It's thanks to all of our wonderful hosts and guests that we came all this way, and I hope we will go a lot further. Our aim is as always set as high as possible so if we somehow would manage to win the Swedish edition (after all, it's only us and two other great companies left..) then we will be of for the Global Final in NY in early November. 

Keeping our fingers crossed that we will get the honor of joining the other companies over there even though we are more then happy to be top 3 in Sweden.

Best of luck to all the participants!

Twitter!

I'm in love with twitter, hence I need to spread the word.
It's such a fast and effective way of communicating, gets me the latest news way ahead of even web based newspapers plus I get to check in on a lot of my friends.
That is how I stumbled upon the Curators of Sweden, an amazing idea that you can read about here and follow here. Many other countries and cities have now followed suit and I love it. The idea of getting to know a country by following people from different parts of Sweden, with very different backgrounds is amazing. Yes, naturally, it's a kind of commercial and it works, it gets people curious about the country and the fact that we so far have seen everything from the daily life of a female truck driver to a sheep farmer and a librarian really says it all. If you use twitter, don't miss this!

Absoluteapartment obviously has an account as well; however I'm afraid I can't find the time to tweet both professionally and private, (I'm after all still a med student who also run a company..) so the account is just linked to our Google+ and to our Facebook page. In the future I hope to do more, just need to find some more time for this amazing form of microblog.

"Winter" in Hua hin

As you may have noticed, there has been a lot said about Stockholm lately. That's fine, there is heaps to do in Stockhlm, hence a lot to recommend. But as I usually spend December/January in Hua hin in our house there, I'd like to give you a taste of what a winter without snow can be like.

When people think of Thailand they usually think of Phuket or one of the many wonderful islands around it. Some think of Koh Phi phi, Koh Samui or Koh Pa-nga with its full moon parties. Some think of amazing dive waters or secluded beaches. Me, I think of Thailand as my second home. I think of getting out of the taxi after a long flight and then drive, entering our house. I think of the getting there late at night, eloping 1m of snow in Sweden to arrive at 25 degrees and going for the first swim in the pool. I think of the first morning, waking up and taking a couple of seconds to realize that it's not a dream. I'm actually there, in paradise.

When it comes to Hua hin, I am simply at ease. It's a town that can make anyone feel comfortable, no matter what age you are. It just has something to offer everyone. I'll share some of my personal favorites with you here, making it a tad bit easier for you if you are heading over!

 

Where to stay?

Well for me it’s easy, I obviously stay in our house (you can to, if we're not there!). But I think you should consider the location of your stay carefully when you decide to go. First, what are your needs, wants and budget? Do you want  a private pool or hotel breakfast? Do you want to stay at the beach or do you want to be able to relaxed dinner on your private terrace? Do you want to stay in town or are you ok to pay a tuk tuk around 150baht to get there, just to be able to enjoy not having to listen to the 24h traffic?

Absoluteapartment offers a wide range of places to accommodate most tastes. But we have our priorities set straight, our guests want private swimming pools mostly. They want to be able to have maid service, massage, meals etc a phone call away. And they want the comfort of a home away from home. To me that is what we are offering. No matter if you choose to rent one of our places or to rent from someone else, we do think a house is the best way to experience Hua hin!

Fishing- Catch and release

This is an expensive trait in Hua hin, god knows why, but it’s also fun and if you love a good struggle, do it! There are 2 main locations, depending on budget but check out Fishing lodge and Greenfield.

Hua hin Safari & Adventure Park

4WD, paint ball, elephants and much more. This is where I head out if I'm staying for a long time and need some excitement; I especially recommend a game of paintball with your friends, much more exciting than a round of golf.

Beaches

Main Hua hin beach: Big, lots of tourist and big hotels. Go horseback riding, relax, rent a kite board, and have fun!

Takiabi beach: More relaxed, less people and friendlier. This is where I'd go with children who aren't the youngest but not big enough to tackle the wind and waves at the main beach.

Military beach: Some Thais on vacation otherwise deserted. Private, cheaper, no hawking and no sun beds. Very nice!

Kao Tao (turtle beach): Small, clean secluded. A paradise if you are with small children!

Markets:

Several different, most famous is the Night market, in the center of Hua hin where they sell clothes, food and jewelry. Most is fake but quite descent quality! Fruit markets are scattered around town at different days, one is up by soi 114 and has good prices on anything that you can eat!  

Elephant riding

Heaps of places around town, most include a quite boring elephant show however..

Restaurants in Hua hin

Ahw, well, by now, if you have followed us for a while, you know that I'm fond of food. Hua hin is as well, lucky me! As usual when it comes to Thailand we are very keen on empathizing that you shouldn't miss out on the local markets, the local hawkers, the fruit carvers and all the rest of them. The best local food is usually found in the smallest most modest places, but there are exceptions.

Local, cheap and good

Not being fluent in Thai, I will try to describe the locations instead..

On your way to monkey mountain, at the very end of the main beach in Hua hin, you find a small and simple sea food tavern. Actually you will find lots of them, but to get to this one, walk on the beach and pick the last possible place. I dare say they serve the best seafood in Hua hin! Don't miss the crab!

The market at Soi 114, serves anything basically, cooked fresh, and lots of other things to buy to in terms of fresh fruit, sea food and deserts.

The market outside Grand hotel has lots of good half restaurants (egg hawkers with a few tables and chairs), some of the best sweet corn in Hua hin and much more.

If you walk the night market street from the beach and upwards, you get a large restaurant at the second intersection to the right. It looks kind of shabby but the food is excellent!

On the parallel street to petkhasem, next to the railroad, walk from the station towards the south and you'll find plenty of ok cheap restaurants filled with Europeans that spend the winter in Hua hin. One that stands out is Kim’s kitchen, they do excellent basic Thai food at outstanding prices and they deliver!

Up market but definitely worth it

Coco 51: At Soi 51, towards the beach, really really nice, good food, relaxing beautiful setting. Lie music during the evenings and good atmosphere.

Hilton: Roof top restaurant, very good, very pricy.

Brasserie de Paris: Naresdamri road, at the waterfront. Good food!!

Along Naresdamri road, towards Hilton you also have a little dock side restaurant, I wouldn't call it upmarket but it isn't cheap so it gets to be here anyway. However, it's really cozy, very relaxed, good place for children and the seafood is good!

Sofitel: Several restaurants, beautiful settings.

Marriott: Great for special occasions, their buffets at the beach for thanksgiving for example are stunning. Great service and so beautiful.

Above all of these I’d like to really stick my neck out and say Dusit. Their Monday all inclusive buffet could be the best in Thailand in terms of value for what you get. For 1200Baht you get not only the hotels selection of red, white and sparkling, but mainly a really good buffet that goes all the way and include anything from Fresh oysters and roe to different steaks and seafood. Do leave room for the large dessert section and then finish with a large cheese platter. A place that holds anything from a chocolate fountain to Oyster for 1200baht is excellent value!

Night life in Hua hin

In general one can say that Hua hin nightlife is quite calm and more focused on late night diners that continue until the wee hours but there are exceptions.

Sun set cocktails

Above all, literally, is Hilton. Take the elevator up to the sky bar, enjoy a cocktail while the sun sets over Hua hin. Great view in all directions, good service and perfect cocktails.

Sofitel, nice charming atmosphere, at the beach you can see the last of the sunbathers leave the beach while sipping a cool drink and having some nibbles of good Thai cuisine.

A bit later..

Depending on your type of scenery but Soi Binthabat is the definite bar mecka of Hua hin. Naturally there are lots of lady bars but this is simply the Thai scenery. A few places that are better than other according to us is the Irish bar O’Neil’s, good music, good atmosphere and descent food and beer selection. Hua hin Brewery has a relaxed outside seating area and a good nightclub inside. A must for the late crew but ok for the rest as well if you sit outside. El Murphy’s stand out when it comes to live music, their band is the best in town for sure, but come early they stop playing around midnight and tip heavily, they don't earn nearly as much as they should!

To get a good idea of where everything is, please use this Great map of Hua hin Bars that HHAD has created.

A love letter to our hosts!

Without our hosts, we would be nothing. Simple as that.

We tell them as often as we can what an amazing job they are doing and how important they are to us, but we can't say it often enough so let’s publish a love letter here as well!

You put up your private apartments for rent to make some extra money. Some of you are students trying to get by University without being forever in debt, some are travelers that want to give back to other travelers and some are single parents. Actually, a bit surprisingly, a lot of you are single parents, our biggest group of hosts! You simply let your apartment the week that you don't have the kids to afford to keep the apartment after a divorce, now that's just great! Some of you hosts let your apartments during the summers to afford your own vacation. And all of you are unique, responsible wonderful persons who complete strangers into your homes!

What makes up a great host is a hospitable attitude. That is the base, the fundament on which we stand. You need to like travelers. You need to be confident enough to open up your own home to stranger. You need to make them feel at home in a new city with basically no knowledge about it or the country for that matter. You need to have laid out some ground rules for the apartment, what needs to be done prior to departure and what may not occur while they stay there. You need to point them to the closest metro, grocery store and bus. And you need to like travelers of all kinds from the smallest babies that arrive sleeping to the elderly couple that need help with their luggage because they might all like to stay in your apartment

But you our wonderful hosts go beyond that. You check arrival times, help with travel advice and book taxis for your guests. You greet them at all hours of the day and night, smile in place, keys in hand. You have left coffee & tea for your guest to when they arrive, made dinner reservations, booked ferries, arranged for baby cots and strollers. You have planned anniversaries, bought roses and decorated. 

Truly amazing things that trickle back to us via our guests. That is what we call above and beyond. So again, thank you to all the hosts at Absoluteapartment, you are what we are made of!

How we got started

When I had made it around the world, worked for a few years abroad and at home, learnt Spanish where it is supposed to be learnt (Madrid and Malaga), trained to become a chef, worked as a manager for a Swedish softball club and travelled some more, I got accepted to Med. school. That came as a surprise, especially to me. I was so sure that I would never get accepted that I had kind of given up that dream. This also meant that I had to start staying in Sweden for longer periods. I did however sneak away as often as I could. By the end of the second semester I knew that I had to find some other way to make money but to work night shifts at restaurants. I could barely stay awake during the days and my studies were suffering. My only asset was my apartment so I decided to advertise it via some agencies. It worked alright, but it still took so much time and energy going through the requests that mostly didn't generate any rental, endless phone calls with the agencies about anything and everything plus the fact that they took more than 30% of my income. I decided that this wasn't going to do it. Things were just too complicated. 

One night over quite a lot of wine, I spelled out everything that was wrong with the situation. What I would do better. What was missing and what was dumb. I went quite far and on the metro on my way back home, I wrote it all down. If none of the agencies would provide me with what I wanted then I was going to do this myself. Next morning I called up a friend and set up several meetings with programmers and signed all the registration forms to start up my own business. This was in October 2008. It should have taken 2 months to set everything up and build the website. It took almost 2 years. But when I launched www.absoluteapartment.com in July 2010, one month ahead of the medical conference, and the bookings started to accumulate I knew I had made the right choice. We were up and running. Actually we hit the ground running. And we haven't stopped yet!