Real World Chonburi Started on Monday

We had a full itinerary on Monday as the team started the project. We first went to the Port of Laem Chabang where we met with the Managing Director and his leadership team which included over 30 people. Following lunch, we traveled to Pattaya City Hall where we met the energetic Mayor of Pattaya. We noticed the Press for the first time at this meeting taking photos and video of the meeting. Our final meeting of the work day was the Smarter Cities Challenge – Chonburi Kickoff that was led by Kittipong of IBM Thailand, Chonburi Governor, Pattaya Mayor, the Port Managing Director and our team. Also present were many of the Pattya City Department heads. The media attended this session in great numbers and our team enjoyed celebrity status like we’ve never seen. Our day ended with a Celebration Dinner at the Pattaya Hilton featuring more fabulous Thai cuisine and dancers from the local school.

Lunch with the IBM Thailand team

Since Monday we've been very busy interviewing stakeholders at both the Port of Laem Chabang and Pattaya City discussing the Smarter City Challenge project. Of course the enjoyment for the day is when we go out for lunch. The servers in Thailand put all plates in the center of the table for everyone to share. I commented at lunch the other day that I always seem to be the one eating the most. One of the Port of Laem Chabang staff responded with "You like to eat, and you don't mind if you get big!"