Jan 19, 2020 - Bangkok

Sunday, January 19 Up an at it early for the trip to Bangkok. There is a haze in the sky, most of which is typical for this time of year, and some from pollution near Bangkok. This is the cooler season, but the 90 degrees and high humidity doesn’t feel like winter to me! It was a 2 ½ hour drive to Bangkok, most of it on freeways. We passed industrial and farm land, including ponds for fish farming. Our guide, Sam, gave us a lot of the history of Thailand, including the long succession of monarchs. Thai means ‘free’ and this was the only...

Jan 19, 2020 - Sailing away

Thursday, January 16 Time to board the ship! I had a lazy morning at the hotel before catching a taxi at 11:15 for the cruise center. It was quite a busy place and I began my line standing for the day. First a line for security, then a long line for check in, then a quick trip through immigration, and on to the ship. I found my inside cabin and it looks quite cozy with all the needed comforts and equipment. No couch in this room, but I will manage. The TV entertainment system has a big selection of movies. I had a good lunch at the buffet,...

Oct 14, 2019 - Khon Kaen

Monday 14th Tony is up for the dawn to take photos, but it is not as spectacular as he had hoped. The moon is setting too, and that looks really cool. Tony goes for a wander, and sees the neighbours have a visitor already, a street hawker with his scooter loaded up. It looks like he is selling herbs and veges, dozens of plastic bags are hanging off the bike. Breakfast is not a patch on yesterday, coffee, bananas and toast – the cook is still away. We head away mid morning, taking the long way home around the Ubolratana Dam. On the way we...

Oct 12, 2019 - Dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner... BATMAN!

Saturday 12th Oct Lots of visitors come to the house during the day, various coloured squirrels (grey, brown, white, black), come to entertain us when they get their daily half-apple and half orange, but they are very shy and will disappear at the slightest movement. There is a beautiful black and russet Greater Coucal, he looks like a crow, but is actually a member of the cuckoo family. Geckos and sparrows add to the noise, especially the geckos. We are off on a roadie today, that takes us a good 100km away to Phu Pha Man, where the bat...

Oct 11, 2019 - Thailand

Friday 11th Oct Pick up from the hotel is around 9am, the same driver and vehicle again, Joanne and Shane are with us as they are on our first flight to Bangkok. On the way out to the airport we see that Siem Reap is building a “London Eye”. The flights are with Air Asia from Siem Reap to Khon Kean cost AU$563 ($611), we are thrilled that our bags are tagged all the way to Khon Kaen, so we don’t have to worry about picking them up in Bangkok. As we pass through duty free we decide to grab some alcohol now, a bottle of Jim Beam for Tony...

Jun 12, 2019 - Bangkok

PATTAYA - BANGKOK After breakfast check-out Pattaya & proceed towards Bangkok by Road (2 Hours), en route visit Biggest Gem & Jewellery Factory. On arrival at Bangkok visit Golden Buddha, Reclining Buddha & Orientation Tour of Bangkok City. Proceed for Lunch. Check in at the hotel and rest of the day free for rest/shopping at your own. Overnight at hotel. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Day 4 BANGKOK – SAFARI WORLD – MBK MALL DROP After English breakfast proceed for full day tour of Safari World with Marine Park. Enjoy Orangutan Show - Sea Lion...

Jun 10, 2019 - Pattaya

Thailand tour MUMBAI – PATTAYA Arrive Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport & proceed for Immigration followed by baggage collection & customs. Meet our Representative at arrival and proceed to Pattaya. Enroute enjoy breakfast at Sriracha Tiger Zoo and enjoy the Tiger and Crocodile Show. Later proceed to Pattaya by Road (approx. 45 mins Drive). Arrive & proceed for Lunch Free time for rest. Evening enjoy Alcazar Show. Overnight at hotel. Day 2 PATTAYA – CORAL ISLAND – NONG NOOCH VILLAGE After English breakfast proceed to most...

Mar 31, 2019 - Bangkok - we go 5 star

After a lazy breakfast at one of the local places, we catch a taxi to our new hotel. By the way, Bangkok has changed a lot in the last few years, taxis are modern and clean, very few tuk tuks around, and the traffic is organised (sort of). Our new place is rather swish, a one bedroom apartment style, 2 bathrooms with the one in the ensuite having a japenese style one that needs an instruction book. Comes with a butler available 24 hours a day. We have breakkfast in an exclusive dining area (available 24 hrs), afternoon tea every afternoon,...

Mar 30, 2019 - Kathmandu to Bangkok

Flight to Bangkok today. Everyone said we had to be at the airport 3 hours before departure. I had heard the same thing when we were in India and this had proven to be true so we arrived 3 hours before departure. Breezed through check in and quickly through immigration so plenty of time to have something to eat, have a coffee and do some reading. With about an hour to go the notice came up to move into the actual departure area. This is when it became interesting. There were separate lines for men and women to go through security. The men's...

Feb 26, 2019 - Ko Samui, Thailand

Reader Alert: Since the uploading of pictures from the ship is excruciatingly slow, there will be disconnect between journal postings and photo uploads. So please check back as photos are added to previous entries. Today is our first excursion ashore on the island of Ko Sumui in Thailand. We took in a lengthy tour that brought us to the Big Buddha, which was BIG. A respectful presentation at a temple includes covering ankles and shoulders and adopting a quiet presence. Almost creating an international incident where I intervened when a...

Feb 25, 2019 - Embarkation and good-bye to Bangkok

Today we transfer to the our ship. The day is all rather relaxed, with a 10AM departure from Bangkok and a 3 hour drive to the port. Our past experiences for embarkation usually consisted of cramming 1000 people into a Spartan "waiting area" with insufficient seating, ventilation and washrooms for a long wait as they people are slowly called to embark, but not allowed to enter their suites for another couple of hours as housekeeping madly turns over 600 cabins in record time. Only to await another hour or so while they sort and deliver your...

Feb 24, 2019 - Walkabout, leisure time - The Food Edition

Hi All: Today was a bit of R&R. I know, a little silly to say when you are on vacation, but we needed a bit of unstructured time after travel and two days of touring. Finally adjusting to the time difference, we woke late and had tea in our room, which has become our habit. As the heading suggests, I thought I'd do a bit of an in-depth review of our culinary adventures thus far. Breakfasts are included and is a fantastic buffet. The advantage of being in a city that is the crossroads to the world, even the hotel buffet is a cross cultural...