By STEPHEN SHORT

arhad Vladi boasts a distinctly unconventional occupation: he sells islands. In more than 25 years in the business, he has sold 620 of them in over 30 countries. His clients have included actor Tony Curtis, the family of the former Shah of Iran and tycoon Richard Branson (who owns two).

When TIME tracked down Vladi a fortnight ago on his mobile phone in Harrods (he had stopped in London, en route from Hamburg to Halifax), he was overseeing the sale of what he called the only privately owned island in New York City, a 2-hectare plot somewhere between Central Park and LaGuardia airport. An advertising agency eager to make a giant billboard out of the island is paying $3.5 million, he says. "Not your conventional deal," chuckles Vladi, "but then not much is in this business." For example: Vladi's clients come to him, rather than vice versa, though he does advertise several islands that can be rented.

Born an Iranian-German and raised in the port city of Hamburg, Vladi, 52, now holds Canadian citizenship. He stumbled into his career while studying for a doctorate in economics at the University of Hamburg. In 1971 he spotted a newspaper item on the $2,000 sale of an island in the Indian Ocean. "I knew from that moment I wanted my own island," he says. He wrote a newspaper in the Seychelles about his intent to visit and purchase an island. No deal. Cheapest on offer was Cousine, which at $100,000 was beyond his means. Undeterred, he returned to Hamburg and persuaded a local businessman to purchase the island, sight unseen, from a smattering of photographs Vladi had shot. The man paid him a 5% commission. Vladi Private Islands was off and running.

"The island business is jumping," he says. "It's one that's recession-proof, partly because they don't build islands anymore." Asia's economic contretemps hasn't directly affected his business, he says, which usually involves selling as many as 35 islands a year for a total of up to $40 million. Most of them are secondary properties, competing for money that usually goes into vacation homes and condominiums.

Owning an island is not an exclusive preserve of the rich, says Vladi. "If you can buy a car," he says, "you can buy an island." Technology has made insular life cheaper and easier. Prefabricated houses, cellular phones, solar energy and new desalination processes have reduced the relative advantages of living on the mainland. And with prices starting at $30,000 for 10 hectares in Nova Scotia, who wouldn't fancy a chance to refute John ("no man is an island") Donne.

Vladi is frustrated, however, by the restrictive policies on foreign ownership of islands that some Asian countries maintain, although he is cheered by reports that the Philippines and Thailand may soon release 50 islands each onto the market. Japan has flexible laws on ownership, but prices are high, which tends to limit purchasers to corporations. His current bargains include Balaki, a 3-hectare dot in the Philippines going for $900,000, and D'Arros Island Atoll in the Seychelles, a 272-hectare haven whose owner is asking $15 million. Vladi says he deals only with countries that are politically stable, keep a registry of deeds and are able to guarantee unrestricted ownership. He ranks properties according to their suitability for development, their supply of water and electricity and their proximity to other islands and the mainland. After a sale, he can arrange an island manager to run the place so owners can relax.

Vladi says his restlessness will never allow him to settle down on one of the two islands he has bought for himself, in the Seychelles and Italy. But he appreciates the emotions ownership can evoke. "I've seen grown men weep when they have to give them up. It's never pretty, but it means more business for me. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have to phone New York."

ON THE SCREEN

SEE VIEW Now that Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport is history, Cathay Pacific Airways is catering to those who already miss the spectacular, white-knuckles descent over Kowloon. The airline has produced a commemorative video, Kai Tak: The Final Approach, which it's selling for $25 through its inflight boutique and at its ticketing offices in Hong Kong. While the 15-minute film (available in either VHS or VCD format) ultimately is more about Cathay than Kai Tak, it does contain some nice archival footage of the old airport. The grand finale features a pilot's-eye view of a landing filmed from the cockpit, although aviation buffs may wish for more of this thrilling but not forgotten journey.

SHORT CUTS

LOG ON AND SAVE Dragonair is now posting travel discounts on its Internet website, enabling prospective travelers not only to check out the airline's deals on its all-inclusive tours, but also to confirm seat availability and make bookings online. The service is offered in English and Chinese for flights out of Hong Kong and Taipei. Current promotions include a four-day trip to Beijing for $537 a person and a Guilin weekend special for $346. For more information, go to www.dragonair.com and click on the "special offers" button.

CUT-RATE TOURS The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons warns against tours to Poland offering plastic surgery operations that the group feels are underregulated and unsafe. Since 1995, more than 20 Britons a month have taken advantage of the two-week "health holidays." A facelift package including airfare, hotels and recovery time costs roughly $4,500, or half the price of a similar operation in Britain.

DETOURS

Dingshu, in China's Jiangsu province, is famed for the delicate, unglazed teapots its factories produce from the area's rich purple clay. Located 250 km northwest of Shanghai, Dingshu (also known as Jinshang) is home to several enterprises that keep this Ming Dynasty artform alive. The most famous is Factory No. 5, on the shore of Lake Tai. Designs range from traditional Buddhas, dragons and bamboo patterns to more contemporary depictions of flattened tin cans and military tanks. The town also is host to China's largest earthenware museum, as well as an abundance of natural attractions, including caves, canals and bamboo forests. You can get to Dingshu from Shanghai by hired car (Suzhou is en route) or by bus from the city of Wuxi.