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

Yes, I’ve been MIA for quite some time.  A lot has been going on in my life and I’ve been busy.  That’s why I haven’t posted new pics (yes there is a huge back log) or any updates in my life.

Let’s see.  Where to begin.

So I’ve been hanging out with a lot of people, keeping myself busy, and I met a wonderful person, whom I’m in a relationship with now. Yeah.  I’m keep the details to a minimum but I’m feeling good about this.

Also, I’ve resigned from my former job and started a new job at a new company.  I’m actually blogging from France , where I’m receiving training for the new job.  I’m in the southeastern part of France, so I’m hoping to visit a lot of the cities in the area, and possibly Italy during one of the weekends.

Anyhow, I don’t want to jinx myself, but things are going well for me.  Hope the trend continues.

There, finally an update in my life.  And yes, I will post pics when I get back to the States.  I have a lot to catch up on.

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
12/01
Arrive in Nice
Cab to La Bastide de Valbonne (Hotel)
Rest for Night
12/02
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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Impressions
Wow. The air breezing through your hair as we speed through the river. Quite invigorating. However, that’s nothing compared to when you actually get to your destination. You see boats as far as the eye can see. Heck, you may even get stuck in a “traffic jam” of boats. Boats go by your own boat, trying to sell you little souvenirs and other trinkets. Hungry for some food? Call one of the several food boats along the river and they’ll row over to you to offer you fresh fruit or even cook some dishes for you right on the river.

Off to wood carving and all I can say is Amazing. The level of details on the various furniture is amazing. Some items taking up to 8 months to carve fully, the price isn’t cheap, but the level of quality and detail cannot be beat.

Being totally exhuasted from the vacation so far, a nice traditional Thai Massage seemed like a good idea. It’s definitely not a regular massage. They massage you but also stretch your body out in various forms. As the guide book normally say, imagine yoga being done to you. Heck, they will even stand and step on you to help losen the muscles.

Want to check out the sex strip in Bangkok? Patpong is not really the place. Expecting raunchiness everywhere, I was disappointed with the area. The girls dancing on the catwalk seemed bored and they looked like they really didn’t want to be there.

What We Did
Van and Long Boats to Floating Market at Damnoen Saduak
Van to Wood Carving
Van to Clay Pottery
Van to Asia Hotel
Subway to Siam Paragon Mall
Subway to Sukumvit- Massage
Subway to Suan Lum Night Market
Subway to Patpong
Cab back to Asia Hotel

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