Zarir F Bamji?s work as Director of Marketing for a large US based company meant that he has spent a great deal of his working life travelling and staying in hotels all around the world.

At the height of his working life from 1964-1983, he was clocking up around 10,000 travel miles a month, the result of which affected more than just the wear and tear of his passport. ?I had no family life to speak of,? explained Zarir.

Zarir can?t help but smile when people say that they are workaholics; apparently they don?t know the meaning of the word. ?I?m not proud of it, but I even went to work on my wedding day. I just couldn't see the difference in the day really. Reached office at 9 AM, took a couple of hours off around 11 AM, rushed to City Hall in New York, where Mayor Lindsay married us off and went back to office to complete my normal working day. ?

Meeting Zarir in a Patong hotel lobby, he reclines in a chair, cross-legged and looks at ease and quite literally like he feels at home.

?Staying in hotels constantly can get quite sad because at around 10pm every night the lobby used to empty out because everyone went home to their families, invariably leaving me alone to ponder what I was missing out on.?

The Bombay-born Indian promised his wife that he would retire when he was 40 and spend more time at home with the family (which is now Australia), and although he kept that promise, his retirement has in a way been anything but.

Zarir still travels, albeit much less and was in Phuket last month to meet with various hotel and tourism authorities to discuss how to encourage and harness the burgeoning Indian tourism interest in Thailand.

?In order to attract more tourism and investment to Phuket, they need to change their tact, and respond to the cultural differences between the two different types of travelers. For example Australians like the beach while many Indians do not ? they prefer sightseeing, shopping, the hills and mountains etc,? said Zarir.

?Staf need to know how to communicate with guests of different nationalities. Communication is more than just language, you need to understand the psyche of the people,? adds Zarir.

As well as advising Phuket management in how to treat different nationalities he also indulges in a habit that he has picked up while traveling: teaching people English? for free.

Although it was Zarir?s first trip to Phuket, he has been coming to Thailand for many years and thoroughly enjoys it, partly because he can take part in one of his rather eccentric pastimes: correcting wrongly worded English signs? for free.

?Many of the weirdest signs I?ve ever seen have been here in Phuket, one in a leather goods shop professed that all snakes were fake in Thailand. Another one read:
?Laundry ? 50 baht ? 1 kg
No Laundry ? 70 baht - 1 kg.?

Zarir?s obsession with English grammatical accuracy is not just reserved for the Kingdom of Smiles and he recounts one incident in China which I?m sure caused Mrs Bamji once again to be a tad miffed at her husband?s tireless work dedication. He noticed a sign that had words to the effect ?Very sorry this here bad hotel today, we excuse you for our work?

?When I saw it, I was on the bus with my wife about to go on a group tour but just had to get off to correct it and ended up missing my bus because I went about re-writing several other signs in that hotel as well.?

Zarir can remember when his sign-fixing fixation began, more than 15 years ago, ?I was in a hotel when I saw a group of Americans laughing at an incorrectly worded sign and I don?t know why but I became really offended.?

Zarir ponders for a moment and then added, ?Probably because hotels are my home. I went up to them and said, why are you laughing at them? You are in a foreign country and they are trying to speak your language, at least they are trying, why aren?t you trying to learn theirs??

On every trip that Zarir has made since, he has spent a large amount of time, locating incorrect English usage on signs and correcting it.

?One high-end hotel in Patong, which shall remain nameless, took offence when I offered my suggestions,? said Zarir in a perplexed tone, but of course that does not deter him.

Other owners like the aforementioned leather-goods store, took heed of Zarir?s advice and made overnight corrections.

Zarir was also in Phuket scouting for areas in which he could set up a school to teach the poor and impoverished children English at no cost. He is on the look-out for a hotel or company?s premises to donate space, so that he may conduct classes - and also probably correct a sign or two.