hwanch

2008.12.03

Impressions
After work, we checked out Juan-Les-Pins, a small town southwest of Antibes.  Like yesterday, most of the stores seem to be closed.  It really feels like a ghost town here.  I’m told it’s like this during the winter, but i don’t get how restaurants are closed by 7:30 PM.  Don’t people go out for dinner here? We ended up going to an American bar style restaurant.  Great. I come all the way to France to have American food…

What I Did
Car to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Car to La Bastide de Valbonne
Car to Juan-Les-Pins with coworkers for dinner at Eagles Cafe (American food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne
Enjoy some wine by the fireplace at hotel lobby

2008.12.01-02

Impressions
So I landed in Nice, France and took the cab to my hotel.  I’m in a small town called Valbonne, and I finally know what a REAL small town feels like.  My hotel seems to be in the middle of nowhere.  I also checked out another small town further south called Antibes for dinner, but most of the stores seem to be closed.  Things here close real early.  (Oh by the way, since this trip is mainly for work, my trip blogs will be short.)

What I Did
Day 1
Arrive in Nice
Cab to La Bastide de Valbonne (Hotel)
Rest for Night
Day 2
Cab to Sophia Antipolis office for work
Cab to La Bastide de Valbonne
Car to buy groceries at Champion Antikes supermarket
Car to Antibes with new coworkers for dinner at Resturaunt Le Palanquin (Thai food)
Car back to La Bastide de Valbonne

2008.01.25-26

Impressions
Vimanmek Teak Mansion, a nice look into how the King of Thailand used to live. Pretty magnificent Palace. Definitely worth a visit, but it didn’t hold too much meaning for me. Maybe I’m just templed out.

What We Did
Shuttle to Airport- Depart ChangMai, Arrive in Bangkok
Cab to White Palace Hotel
Cab to Vimanmek Teak Mansion
Cab to Lad Phrao – Modifications to Suits
Subway / Sky Train to Siam Paragon Mall
Sky Train / Subway to Rama 9 – Dinner w/ Byron’s Relatives
Subway / Sky Train to Lad Phrao – Pick up Suits
Cab to White Palace Hotel
Van to Airport- Depart Bangkok

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo album for this day.

2008.01.24

Impressions
Cold. The highest point in Thailand is cold. Being unprepared for the cold weather here, I was not feeling too good. Also, either due to altitude or something, I was feeling sick.

The National Park is nice, and I would have enjoyed the beautiful gardens and water falls a lot more if I wasn’t feeling so sick.

One thing I have to comment on: ChangMai is dirty. From the peak, you can clearly see where the smoggy purple haze ends and where the nice blue sky begins.

What We Did
Van to Doi Ithanan National Park
Van to ChangMai (Old City)
Walk to Pantao Monastary
Walk to Watchediluang Varaviharn
Walk through Old City Wats
Walk to Diamond River Side Hotel
Walk to Riverside Resturaunt – Dinner by River
Walk to Night Market
Walk to Diamond River Side Hotel

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo album for this day.

2008.01.23

Impressions
I rode on an elephant’s back!!! It was an amazing experience. When I first saw these magnificent creatures, I was in awe at their sheer size and beauty. Seeing them up close and they are even more amazing.

Riding on the harness seats placed on the elephants back is amazing, but I got to actually ride on the elephant’s bare neck while the trainer took pictures for us from the ground. It was an exhilarating experience.

What We Did
Van to Elephant Camp
Van to Umbrella Making at Bo Sang Village
Van / Pickup Truck to Doi Pui – Meo Hmong Tribal Village
Pickup Truck to Wat Pharathat Doi Suthep Temple in Chang Mai
Pickup Truck / Van to Diamond River Side Hotel
Walk ChangMai Night Market- Dinner
Walk to local bars in area
Walk to Diamond River Side Hotel

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo album for this day.

2008.01.22

Impressions
Brrrr. It’s cold in ChangMai, at least compared to Bangkok.

Dinner time. Wow. We were expecting a nice local dinner so we were surprised to see the lovely Lanna style houses, bridges
and river. Where are the tables? No tables? Not for Lanna dinner. You sit down on mats on the floor and eat while watching the various Lanna dancing in the center of the wide open area.

ChangMai Night Market, just another touristy night market.

What We Did
Check out Marlin Hotel Resort
Van to PJ’s Auto Shop
Van to local resturaunt- lunch w/ PJ and Oil
Van to Lampang – Missed elephant riding
Van to ChangMai
Check in to Diamond Riverside Hotel
Van to Khum Khantoke – Lanna Dinner and Show
Van to Diamond River Side Hotel
Walk to ChangMai Night Market
Walk to Diamond River Side Hotel

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo album for this day.

2008.01.21

Impressions
Ruins were nice but nothing special.

PJ’s wedding banquet was nice. It felt more relaxed than the one in Bangkok. We had tons of fun eating and goofing around with each other. PJ and Oil looked more relaxed today than yesterday as well.

What We Did
Van to Sukhothai and Ruins
Van back to Kamphaengphet and Marlin Hotel Resort
Van to PJ’s Wedding Banquet
Van to local bar
Van to Marlin Hotel Resort

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo albums for this day.

2008.01.20

Impressions
Wow. It’s cool seeing weddings for different culture. In Thailand, you get blessed by monks and pay respect to guest and all that wonderful stuff. Very ceremonious. But it’s long. The Bride and groom spent the whole day in ceremonies and it lasted literally half the day.

After the wedding, it was off to PJ’s home town of Kamphaengphet but we stopped buy Ayutthaya on the way. The ruins were nice and so were the elephants walking around everywhere. However, seeing the elephants also made you sad because they did not seem happy, as they were forced to carry tourist all over the place.

Near Kamphaengphet, we stopped off at a local restaurant to grab some dinner. Nothing too special. Just your average Thai restaurant serving serving normal Thai dishes like using chicken, pork and water beetles. Yes, you read that right. As gross as that sounds, Pat, Ed and John had enough balls to try some fresh water beetles. Either that or they were too dumb to realize that that was not chocolate.

What We Did
Check out Asia Hotel
Van to PJ’s Wedding
Van to Ayutthaya and Ruins
Van to restaurant near Kamphaengphet
Van to Kamphaengphet and PJ’s family Autoshop
Van to and check into Marlin Hotel Resort

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo albums for this day.

2008.01.19

Impressions
Walking through the market, learning about which ingredients we will use and how to buy them straight from the markets. Then we’re off to learn to cook. If you don’t really know how to cook, this is quite an experience, as you try to mix various ingredients and cook a dish for yourself. Better hope that it comes out ok because you will be forced to eat your own dishes later.

Weekend Market. Another market to visit, right? Nope. This is THE market to visit. Tons of trinkets to buy and some stuff you won’t find elsewhere, well at least not easily.

What We Did
Sky Train to Blue Elephant- Cooking class
Sky Train to Asia Hotel
Sky Train to Chatuchack Weekend Market
Subway to Lad Phrao Central Mall – suits and glasses
Dinner w/ Byron’s Relatives
Subway / Sky Train back to Asia Hotel

Edit: 2008.03.09- Added a link to the photo album for this day.