White Guy in Asia (Part Duex)

I have a cell phone in Thailand. The country code is 66 and then my number is 6975 - 9016. Everyone please call me and bother me. It will be appreciated. Keep in mind the 12 hour time difference from the east coast.

Well, after another exciting day at Puumsoft, the boys convinced me to head down to the local racquet club for some tennis. They said tennis, which apparently means badminton. Any who, shuttlecocks or tennis balls it was all the same. After getting brutally embarrassed in short order by two female coworkers, me and Tay Za staged an unpredictable rally in game two. Down 13 - 2, I led the comeback serving for seven straight points. With hope emerging at 13 - 9, Tay Za made some nice plays and finished out the 13 - 0 run for the win. Good times.

They said badminton is an Olympic sport. I believe them.

Since I returned from Hong Kong I have been putting in hours at Puumsoft. The team has first commissioned me to design a new website for their COACH Performance Management software. Additionally, I will more than likely develop a Performance Management portal and then go through the normal SEO procedures on both sites. After we complete these projects, I will be performing a competitive analysis of rival software.

As soon as I could see the islands of Hong Kong from the airplane on the way in I was sure I would love this place. Although 75% of Hong Kong has been declared natural park, the other 25% houses its 6 million people (I took the tour today, ;) ).This results in an urban area unequaled. Last night I went out to a few local watering holes and mixed with the locals. On the way out, I stopped at a typical chinese restaurant here in Hong Kong. Using all the Cantonese I know, I pointed at something appetizing on the picture menu. God knows what it was, but I ate it and moved on. This morning I woke up early, had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to check out the central business district on foot. I then returned to the hotel at 2 for the Hong Kong Island tour. We went up to Victoria Peak, the top of the island, for spectacular views. After we headed around the southeastern coast of the island checking out some of the old fishing villiages (see picture). Next we drove up the coastline checking out the beaches and local markets. I was blown away by the real estate and expensive cars, including a Maybach, many RR's, a handfull of Maseratis, a Ferrari and a Murcielago.

Tonight I am heading out on a booz cruise of the harbor. I mean, an educational and insightfull aquatic tour of the region ;). Its a cruise around the island at night to take in the beatufilly lit skyline and all of Hong Kong's lights.
More soon,






My new Chinese friend, watch out Kyle.

Over lunch today BJ informed me of the Thai national holiday on Monday. He suggested I travel around as this was the only official 3 day weekend on the books. We talked for a while about Angkor Wat in Cambodia and how there are new direct flights to the adjacent city from Bangkok. BJ convinced me to travel, but I refrained from diving too deep into Asia quite yet. Hong Kong seemed a much more viable option . . .

When we returned from lunch, the personal assistant to the company chairman helped me find a flight to Hong Kong. Hotels.com provided a cheap 4 star place to hang my hat and the trip was official.

I haven't even figured out where I live in Bangkok and I am off to Hong Kong. This trip is great.

This morning at 10AM, Tracy from KIAsia picked me up and took me via Tuk-Tuk to Sukhumvit road to catch the subway. From there we walked down Petchaburi road to the Ital Thai Tower for my first day at Puumsoft.

We started with introductions in the conference room between BJ, Eksakul, and Sumalee. BJ, my new boss, informed me that the company had recently finished developing its People Performace Software and was ready to shift gears from developement to marketing and sales. Furthermore, he briefed me on potential options to help Puumsoft and my new membership of the Marketing and Sales team.

Puumsoft is great. The office sits on the 17th floor of the Ital Thai Tower, the 16th largest building in Bangkok. The office includes two other companies owned by the same person, Paul, who is on the board of directors at KIAsia.

My hat goes off to KIAsia and the Kenan Institute in Chapel Hill. My apartment is located in downtown Bangkok and is more than I could have imagined. Lingmei told me that we would be living like kings. I expected nice, but not this nice. Marble, new furniture, a new tv, and high-speed internet access right in my room will certainly make this a tough trip.

Yesterday ended up as a 36 hour long day. The 18 hour flight from LAX to BKK stopped at the airport built on a man made island in Osaka, Japan. The Japanese engineering was very impressive. From there, the Thai Airways flight spent 5 more hours in the air to make it to Bangkok. Needless to say, when I finally arrived in Bangkok, I was exhausted.

Right now, Tracy from KIAsia is on her way over here to pick me up and take me to my first day at Puumsoft.

Cheers,


The view from my balcony.

Well folks,

This opportunity has evolved and arrived faster than I had expected. Hopefully this blog will help curb my habit of failing to stay in touch with people while abroad. I will try to post to this thing a few times a week to keep folks updated on the latest in Thailand.

For those who will receive an email from a mutual friend informing you for the first time of my latest international foray, I apologize. Please berate me with email and yell at me for not staying in better touch. With that said, if you know anyone who knows me, please send them the link to this site.

I am off to the 17th story of the Ital-Thai Tower in downtown Bangkok,

Charles Gillespie
Bally Studio Suites
172 Soi Sukhumvit 20
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Thailand