Bangkok, Thailand

[Jim's tour]

March 27th I awoke prior to the alarm clock, and we watched the sun come up and our arrival in Thailand. We were being escorted by a small ship with a manned 50 caliber machinegun on its bow.

Arriving in Bangkok the traffic is horrendous - 11,000,000 people. As usual our driver handles it with ease only this time I noticed and our guide pointed out no horns honking. I don’t recall hearing 1 horn for the entire 8 hour tour. This was very unusual from our latest tours. About this time our guide informed us that we would not be seeing the Golden Buddha. Great! I was looking forward to seeing 5 ½ tons of solid gold in the shape of one of the world’s largest statues of the Buddha. She explained that a new temple was being built for it on the same site. A quick drive-by of this location and we could see it was almost finished. Driving through the Chinatown district we see at least a million flowers for sale. The sidewalks are crammed with umbrellas - underneath are small tables covered with flowers.

Wat Pra Keo - known as the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, this is one of Buddhism’s most magnificent monasteries and one of the most celebrated sites in all Thailand. Although it was about 95 degrees and 95% humidity it was being celebrated in abundance today. This is one of those places you have to see to believe. At the heart of the monastery is a chapel containing a Buddha carved from a single piece of emerald-green jasper, perched atop a gilded pedestal. To enter the chapel - no shorts - legs covered to within 5 inches of the ground ( they supplied tie-on skirts and shawls for those who were not covered enough ) - no hat - shoulders covered - and shoes removed. No pictures in the chapel. We could take pictures through a doorway from outside the entrance. I didn’t know if I would like digital cameras at first but after a few years using different ones they are great. I can set mine to an ISO of 3200, which I did and got a fairly good shot of Buddha and then entered the chapel. Next was the Grand Palace - we could not enter the palace. The king does not live here anymore but it is used for royal ceremonies and state occasions. The Wat and palace take up about a 2 city block area and armed guards are posted throughout. It is very difficult to describe this place in text. We spent about 2 hours here and just skimmed the surface.

From there a short walk down the street and through a market to the river where we boarded a boat for our river cruise. Our boat was about 8 feet wide and 30 feet long - inboard engine. Some of the other boats on the river looked familiar - our guide said they were called the James Bond boats. One of the Bond movies was filmed here. These boats are about 20 feet long and narrow. What makes them different is the way they are steered and propelled. The engine, which most of the ones I saw were 4 cylinder turbocharged gas fueled, is mounted on a pivot near the stern above the hull. A long pipe is mounted forward that the driver holds for steering and throttle then behind the engine is a long shaft that terminates at the prop. Very fast - I had to shield my camera as we were splashed a couple of times. Heading south on the river we slowed and turned around at Wat Arun. Our guide gave us another history lesson - we took pictures and then we head north. Bangkok is hailed as the “Venice of the East” so up river about a ½ mile we turn into one of the canals. Our guide and her assistant start passing out pieces of bread and stating that it is not for us, although it smells very good and I getting hungry as it is about 1 o’clock now. Soon she says we are going to feed the catfish, but we can not feed them in front of the temple that is now on our left. As soon as we pass the temple she says “Now” and we all tear our bread into bits and through them in the water. The catfish are hungry - in about two seconds they are swarming on the bread. Turning around we head back to the river and continue north to the dock of the hotel where we have lunch.

Back on the bus we are heading for our last stop - the dreaded shopping, at least in my opinion. We pull into a parking lot that is gated and guarded and about the size of half a basketball court. There are marked places for about 30 cars - all full and in the middle 5 places for busses - all full. Pulling up to the door we exit the bus and are warmly greeted at the door which next to it is a uniformed guard with an AK-47. Inside we are individually assigned a personal shopping assistant. First I am led through the jewelry making factory of about 40 workers. On to the store. I’d guess about 15,000 sq. ft. it could easily be more. Sue always says “Diamonds and Gold” - that’s what I tell my personal assistant. Diamond aren’t big in Thailand so this department was small but that means not many choices. Couldn’t find anything that I thought she might like but out of curiosity I pointed to a piece I estimated at 3 to 4 hundred dollars. How much? For the forth time he tells me how cheap the labor is in Thailand and announces 2 thousand something. NO! Again he says labor is cheap while I look around to see at least 100 employees in this store and recall about 30 in the parking lot trying to keep traffic flowing ( most busses had to leave to be called back by guides when needed ). I thank him and ask “where is the exit”. He points. Now I am entering the cheap area - T-shirts trinkets etc.- evidently I was not the only one that did not care for the prices in the big store - I could not even see the floor. It took me 5 minutes to go 30 feet it was so crowded. I spent about 30 minutes outside till the rest of the group was finished shopping then the bus was called. Traveling a different route we arrived back at the port in about 2 hours. Overall a good day - some of it could be eliminated, but for $100 I didn’t expect it to be perfect.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Ok folks, I’m officially a wuss. The heat and humidity have knocked me completely. Plus I’m still recovering from the 3 hours of bus ride on the Viet Nam trip; it bumped and swayed all the way… a real killer for my bones.

Yesterday was Sihanoukville, Cambodia. This port is about 3 hours away from Phnom Penh - no tours there were offered. We docked right next to the old fishing village; the new city is about a mile away.

We chose to ride the shuttle into town. We left a little before 10 hoping to beat the worst of the heat. The minute I stepped off the bus I was surrounded by TukTuk drivers all wanting to give us a tour. We finally worked through that crowd and decided to just wander up the street a bit - one TukTuk driver stayed next to us the whole time trying to convince us to ride; he must have burned a fair amount of gas before he finally gave up. We walked for about 30 minutes and then decided maybe a tuktuk might be a good idea…it was HOT. We booked a hour with a nice young man that spoke pretty good English . He took us up to a temple and then around town. That was plenty of time in the heat for me and after a quick stop in the MiniMart we came back to the ship.

The MiniMart had potato chips!! I ended up buying 5 little bags; who could resist Garlic Softshell Crab, Hot Chili Squid, and Seaweed flavored chips?? I also got some cheese chips and a bag of original. Believe it or not they are made by Lays (Pepsico). I wonder what would happen if I went into King Soopers and asked them to order hot chili squid potato chips?

Back at the ship we had a quick bite of lunch and then I lay down to read… an hour and a half later I woke up. The rest of the day was just about the same except I did go to the Cabaret Lounge for the Folkloric show which was very good and lasted about an hour. The costumes for this one were especially beautiful.

Today is a sea day - we have nothing planned. Tomorrow is Thailand but we have been notified that we will port far from Bangkok so I am going to cancel my tour; I can’t face 5 hours of bus rides right now. Jim is still planning to go on the tour to Bangkok.

Saigon

The name was officially changed to Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 but most people still call it Saigon. When we woke up at a little before 6:00 we were already in the river heading toward the port. Along the side of our ship we saw mostly jungle. About every ¼ mile there were about 4 or 5 small fishing boats anchored in a row perpendicular to the shore. It was just getting light and on some of them we could see people up and what looked like a small fire for cooking breakfast. Since these small wooden boats have a unique shape, we took lots of photos. Further up the river we encountered more large ship traffic. Getting closer to the port the captain announced that we were being assigned a different docking spot and that the new spot was still occupied. Both events would delay our arrival slightly. We were putting along near our dock - we knew it was our spot because of all the buses and about a dozen ladies dressed in traditional Vietnamese clothing were lining the dock holding balloons. Soon the freighter pulled out and we moved in. Next the chimes rang and the captain announced the gangway was open and that the captain and the first officer of the freighter had apparently gotten into an altercation and one of them was forcibly removed from the ship. Now there was a rush to get tour groups going to try to keep to their schedule.

Our tour, which was scheduled for all day, was for the Mekong Delta. Although the bus ride was about 1 ½ hours long it was very interesting; lots of all types of businesses jammed together. Each one about 10 feet wide and 25 feet deep with a house behind. Some of the houses were 3 stories tall and very beautiful. Traffic was crazy even though 90% was scooters. Our guide, Thimh (Tim), told us they are not scooters or motor bikes, they are all called Hondas no matter who manufactured them.

We finally made it to the delta and boarded our small boat for a short ride on the river. The bus had an attempt at air conditioning - now it is really hot and humid. At least there was a slight breeze while on the river; we didn‘t know it at the time, but that was our only relief from the heat until we got back on the bus. Getting off the boat at a garden area we walked for a while then were served a local variety of fruits accompanied by local musicians and singers.

Then we boarded sampans, which hold 4 people and 2 paddlers and traveled very narrow canals for about ¼ mile. Getting out at a different village we were treated to tea and candied ginger. Next we walk on a path through the jungle for a while to the restaurant for lunch which is still pretty much surrounded by jungle. Lunch was all local foods and included elephant ear fish and big sticky rice balls that looked like a dinosaur egg. More beautiful gardens surround this area.
Back in the river boat we head for our bus which has been moved to a close location by our guide so we have a better chance to get back to the ship on time. Same route back and just in time - 15 minutes to spare.

We spent the evening on the balcony watching the shoreline go by until it got too dark to see.

Beijing Part 4

We traveled about 30 minutes on the bus and then had lunch in one of the smaller villages. This place was a huge tourist stop… an enormous souvenir shop with a restaurant. The food was the same as we had had all along but it was fun looking around the shopping area. I’m just not a great shopper for souvenirs… I used to buy them but after a couple years they just become dust collectors.

After lunch we went to the area of the Ming Tombs. There are 13 tombs throughout the area built by emperors of the Ming Dynasty. We visited the grand tomb of changling built for Emporer Yongle in 1427. The actual tomb is in the hillside behind the structures and you don’t go there, but the main building had been turned into a museum and was interesting… anyway I love the ancient Chinese architecture.

After this we did a leisurely walk down the Sacred Way. A stone pathway lined with statues and stone animals… another great photo op!

This was pretty much the end of the tour. We headed back to the hotel. Many of the people were heading out to dinner and shopping but I didn’t have one ounce of energy left so we stayed in and hit the bed early as we had to meet the bus at 6:30 in the morning for our return to the airport.

Alarm clock at 5:00 am and bag outside the door by 5:30... Aaack, but we did it and then had a bite of breakfast… then on to the bus. The airport went quite smoothly although I did give in and use a wheelchair (as did a couple others) - a good thing… I’d still be walking. It was a loooong way to the gate.

We landed at the Hong Kong airport, claimed our luggage and then boarded the buses for the ship. It was a good hour ride to the port, but all we really saw were huge apartment buildings and many bridges. They welcomed us back onboard with a glass of fruit punch… we headed back to the cabin and doctored ours with a shot and sat on the balcony to relax. The night ended with the light show on the Hong Kong harbor as we sailed away.

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE THIS HAS BEEN.

Cruisephobic - you asked what place I would return to so far. I think I would like to actually see Shanghai. We didn’t get to see it as we left for the overland tour. Easter Island would be my choice as a complete getaway from people. I’d like to rent a little house overlooking the sea and spend a couple weeks… then I’d miss King Soopers and it would be time to go home.

Beijing part 3

[Jim wrote this section to give me a break]

We got up early and had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then boarded the busses. Leonard said that since we were all so good at being on time, we could have a quick stop at the Olympic center. The temperature was a little cooler this morning because of wind out of the north last night which also eliminated some of the smog and the sky was bluer. We saw the “Birdsnest” and the water sports building. It was a long walk and we didn’t have much time so pictures were on the fly. Back on the bus heading to the “Great Wall”.

There are 5 circular highways that encircle Beijing for better traffic control. Once we were on the 5th ring, even during rush hour, the traffic wasn’t too bad. Soon we were in the countryside and could see the mountains. Leonard pointed out the village where he grew up and said he used to ride his bike to the Great Wall in 30 minutes.

10 minutes into the mountains we could see some of the Great wall. What a sight. We are actually looking at the Great Wall with our own yes - not a picture, not a video shot from the space shuttle, and not in a movie. Traveling on into the mountains for about 20 minutes we stop at the Ba Da Ling area of the Great Wall. Leonard said construction started over 2,000 years ago and continued off and on until about 1,000 years ago. It is approximately 4,473 miles long. A lot of what we saw had been restored but we did see some that had obviously not been touched. Leonard said we could go left or right from here. Left was a tougher climb but less people. Looking to the right the wall is covered with people. We were allowed 2 hours before our meeting time.

We went left. Quite a few steps up to the first tower - a moderate incline up the stone walk - then some stairs up to the 2nd tower. Sue was having a difficult time at this point. Knowing that this was the highlight of the trip for her, I decided to urge her (with help from me and the railing) to the next tower. This was a very steep incline with just a few steps into the next tower. We made it and Sue was ultimately glad to come this far. Back to the meeting area with time for shopping where we purchased our “I climbed the Great Wall” T-Shirts. Next was back on the bus - time for lunch.

Beijing Part 2

Lunch was at the Regal Palace Theatre Restaurant and was made up of typical foods; first cold dishes, then hot, then soup and then fruit. Way too much food. I tried a bit of almost all the dishes - most I liked… some not as much as others.

I think I’ve forgotten to mention that while we were all planning for very cool weather - it was hot; almost 80 degrees. We were all a bit too warm in the clothes we had packed. So the lunch and beer were a nice break. Afterwards we headed for the Temple of Heaven which was only about a ten minute drive away.

The Temple of Heaven was built in about 1440 and was where the emperor would go to pray for a good harvest. The architecture is unique in that it is round instead of rectangular. When we got to the site, Leonard told our lost guy to stick with him like ‘white on rice’ this time! I really liked this site, especially the old trees and gardens. The temple any many of the other buildings are built only with wood (no nails, etc). The supporting columns are cut from one tree - that is why they are built in tiers; no tier can be taller that the available trees. After a couple hours here, we headed back to the hotel for a freshen-up and then it was off to a special dinner.

Dinner was at the Quanjude Restaurant for Beijing Duck. I was expecting some quaint small restaurant… this place was huge; two stories and packed with people. Again, it was served in the same courses; cold, hot, main, soup, fruit. Way, way too much food here and it was almost all duck, except for a few vegetables. Deep fried duck leg with wild pepper, diced duck with cashew, sweet and sour duck… you get the idea and those were only the pre- main courses. Then the chef rolled in a cart and hacked up the ducks tableside. This is the Peking duck we are used to - only far better than I’ve ever had at home. (Peking / Beijing… same thing different pronunciation)

While we were eating a lady in full costume came out and went up to several tables (not ours). She was surrounded by photographers and a TV camera. Naturally I had to run over and get pictures too. Our guide said she was an opera star.

We finally waddled out of the restaurant and went back to the hotel for another early start the next day.