At age 43, Howie Snyder has put aside hard-nosed business to help direct and promote a new holistic spa on the Thai island of Koh Samui.
"Off the east coast in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Samui wasn't affected by the tsunami," he says, stoically besuited for a day of wheeling and dealing. "And yes, despite the fact that it welcomes 900,000 visitors a year and is home to a higher concentration of spas than anywhere else in Thailand, it is still paradise."
Howie likes to do something different every few years. At age 18, he left Rochester, N.Y., for China. "I have my mother's heart and my grandfather's Gypsy soul." Then, laughing, "I guess this makes me the archetypal wandering Jew."