Feb 3, Taipei, again

Left the hotel this morning at 10:30. Singapore airport is as clean and efficient as the rest of the city. Flight to Taipei left a few minutes late. Arrived Taipei at 6pm. Our flight to LA leaves at 11:45pm. So we have lots of time.
We've had dumplings and fried rice, beer and soda. We paid 14,000 Taiwanese things to upgrade to Business Class for the flight to LA. $500 USD I think. Things in Taipei are a lot less expensive than Singapore.
Beautiful airport here as well, just had an amazing chair massage and now we're waiting for the flight.

Feb 2 Singapore....my new favorite city

This is the most incredible city ever. It's spotlessly clean, littering is punishable by death (okay, that's a slight exageration), gum chewing is against the law, and they fine you for everything (thus it's nickname.."a fine city") from having standing water on your property (no mosquitos) to spitting on the sidewalk. Speed limits are only suggestions but they have the lowest accident rate in Asia. Alchohol is outrageously expensive. We think that how they keep the rowdiness in check. A singapore sling at Raffles is $27 US. Beer is $10 a bottle.
Water everywhere, this is the busiest port in the world. The infrastructure is state of the art and the architecture is the most beautiful I've ever seen. We visited Little India,

Chinatown,

where the regular people live, and dry their clothes,

the Merlion (half mermaid, half lion, the symbol of Singapore),

walked over incredible bridges,

 went to the Botanical gardens

and the zoo where we rode a tram at night to see nocturnal animals in their habitat. We saw a bat that was almost a foot long hanging from a tree about 6 inches from our faces, lions, tigers, and yes, bears. Flying squirrels, hippos, rhinos, coyotes, and otters. Not necessarily in that order.
That was all yesterday. Today we walked to the river and took the water bus to the Marina to see the Marina Sands Hotel (three tower buildings with a large surfboard/boat looking structure on top)

and the Art/Science Museum that looks like a lotus flower.

We walked over the helic bridge and rode the Singapore Flyer.

It started to rain so we had lunch at O'Leary's Tavern where the decor is sports and the owner is from Boston. We had burgers and the check was $140.
Break this afternoon and back out tonight.
So tonight we walked from the hotel to Merlion Park, across the river from the Singapore Flyer and the hotel. There was a light show from the hotel that was amazing. Walking along the river on both sides is lined with shops and restaurants, lots of people, feels very safe.

We stopped for pizza and declared the end to an amazing vacation.

Singapore tomorrow

Day two of uneventful, relaxing, smooth and calm at sea. Just put the luggage out in the hallway and set the alarm. We're meeting our pick up person at 9:30am for transfer to the hotel. The same 14 of us that arrived in Hong Kong together. We have become quite friendly with some of the group. It's a small ship with 450 people it seems you see everyone every day.
Singapore is an island microstate at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. It has been independent since 1965 and is the busiest port in the world.
Can't wait! Good night everyone.

Jan 29 Floating Market

Todays tour was a trip to the Floating Market. On the way we stopped at a traditional Thai house and coconut plantation. Located on a klong (canal), and made entirely of teak. large living area, shrine, kitchen, dining table, bedroom for the wife, it seems the husband sleeps wherever he wants to.
On to the floating markey by longboat. A longboat is a long (duh) narrow boat that seats 6-8 people and is powered by a car engine and steered with a long handle attached to a propeller in the rear of the boat.

The ride was about 45 minutes through the klongs,

really fast and then slower when the wake threatened to swamp us. It was an exciting ride and the floating market was amazing. All the vendors are in boats and sell everything from fruit and vegetables, hats and souvenirs to noodle soup.

When the boat is near the dock customers sit alongside and eat the noodles passed to them with their feet hanging over the side. When the boat is away from the dock they use a long handle with a scoup on the end to collect the money (baht) and send the food back. Interesting thing about Thai money, they have no coin, only paper. Actually in Vietnam there was no coin as well and the paper was a new type of currency with a see through plastic section. Some of the old currency is apparently still around and we were told to be careful not to take it from anyone. Back to the market, lots of people and hot as hell.

Couple of my favorite photos from today.

Thailand has three seasons, hot, hotter and monsoon. We're in hot season now. The humidity is also very high and we're all drooping at the end of a tour. Buses are all nicely air conditioned though and they pass out lots of water and cool wet towels. All in all we're being well taken care of.
After the market we made a stop at a wood carving place. This is one big unfinished piece.

Amazing stuff, lots of furniture and life size elephants and buddhas. What does one do with a carved wooden lifesize elephant?
On the way back to the ship we passed miles of salt flats. They sell the salt that they, what? mine, farm, gather, collect? I don't know but after they "get" it they sell it in large bags by the side of the road.

Back to the ship for a nap.
I haven't mentioned the food but it has been exceptional. The service has been incredible, the crew is amazing, the entertainment is good and we love the ship.
Usually on a cruise you see other cruise ships either on the ocean or at dock. Until a couple days ago we had seen none. In Hanoi the Seabourne Pride was docked and then today in Bangkok the Oceania Nautica came in behind us. Tidbit.
Move the clocks ahead 1 hr tonight. They said to move them at 2am, shouldn't we be moving them when the ship crosses the time zone? What are the chances that's at 2am?
Next two days are at sea. Then we arrive in Singapore and transfer to our hotel.

Jan 28 Grand Palace and Venice of the East

This is our 5th or 6th "Venice of the East", not counting the one in Florida. There are canals and boats so I suppose it qualifies.
We took the tour bus to the Grand palace.

An amazing place, built by King Rama I in 1782 and enlarged by subsequent monarchs. There are over 100 buildings.

The current King of Thailand does not live here, but at Chitlada palace a short distance away. We didn't see that. Strict dress code, Bob had to wear long pants, bare feet not allowed but you have to take off your shoes to enter Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Go figure. Wat Phra Kaew's claim to fame is a 31 inch Buddha image carved from a single piece of jade. No photos allowed so you'll have to take my word for it.

These folks are dipping the flowers into the water and dripping it on their heads. Forget why.

And this guy is cutting the
grass with clippers wearing a uniform.











After the Palace we got on a boat. The Chao Phraya River was pretty rough and it was high tide so the trip was interesting.

She looks like she thinks she might not make it.....not sure what she's selling.









They first took us to feed the catfish in front of a temple. These catfish are protected from being caught by virtue of the fact that they live in front of a temple. Point of interest....every male Thai over the age of 12 becomes a monk at some time (of his choosing) in his life. Some of the catfish are reported to weigh over 10 pounds. No wonder, tourists feed them bread all day.
Next stop to see the Royal Barges, capitalization seemed indicated here. The Royal barges are long, fantastically decorated boats used in ceremonial processions on the river, The largest is 164 feet long and requires a rowing crew of 50 men, seven umbrella bearers, two navigators (seems like overkill), a flagman, two helmsmen, a chanter and a rhythm keeper. Must be something to see.
Lunch was next.

This is the restaurant.








Val will be glad to hear that we really liked it. So, assuming it was authentic Thai, we can have it again. While we were lunching it started to rain, came down in torrents and we had to get back on the boat. They kept us there as long as they could and used the umbrellas from the outdoor tables to help but by the time we were back on the boat we were pretty wet. It wasn't bad considering a couple hours earlier we were so hot we were looking for rain.
Next stop, in the rain, was Wat Arun, Temple of dawn. The 269 foot "prang" (Khmer-style tower) was constructed during the first half of the 19th century. Boat back to the bus, which was late due to traffic, then back to the ship.
Dinner buffet was English. Fish and chips, bangers and mash, roast beef and yorkshire pudding. Yum!
Early day tomorrow, our last tour leaves at 7:30. We're going to the floating market.

Jan 27 Arrive Bangkok

Sailed up the Chao Phraya River to the center of Bangkok. Another example of small ship flexibility. We're docked at Khlong Toey. The trip up the river was beautiful and diverse. We saw tankers and tugboats, small fishing boats, naval ships (who knew Thailand had a navy?), river ferries and barges full of rice.

It's warm (high 80's) and muggy. It's also a little overcast or smoggy, we're not sure.
The stilt houses by the side of the river are built on cement filled 5 gallon pails stacked into pilings. It was suggested that if we get invited to a local stilt home we should take the life jacket from our stateroom.

There are temples everywhere on both sides of the river. Bob said he feels like he's back in Florida, "a church on every corner".

We all plan to take the shuttle bus to the center of Bangkok later and check it out. Tomorrow we have an early tour to the Grand Palace, former home of the King of Siam (King and I king), and the next day to the Floating Market.
So the trip to the center of Bangkok was hot and long. The traffic is incredible, it took 45 minutes to make a 30 minute trip, then it took 1 1/2 hours to return to the ship. From the dropoff point we walked through an outdoor market, mostly clothes and mostly for teens. we were in the shopping district, not really our thing but it's still amazing to think we're in Thailand. Back to the ship for an early night for an early tomorrow.

Vietnam Wiring

All over Vietnam we saw this in every city. The wires, electrical, telephone and cable all look like this. They don't know which ones work and which ones don't so yhey just run new ones when they need to. At a home you will see wires that leap from this mess and go to all the floors.
It's amazing and as you can imaging it's driving Bob crazy!

Jan 26 At Sea

Smooth sailing. Temperature in the high 70's. Just gorgeous.
Went to free t-shirt bingo so we could get, you guessed it, free t-shirts. Old fashioned bingo, paper cards you punch the numbers through. There were only 2 games, a $50 and a $75 game. About 20 people, not a big bingo crowd. They served champagne as well. Well, Bob won the first game and Sue won the second. We took the winnings and converted it to Thai baht for the next few days.
We arrive in Bangkok tomorrow afternoon!

Jan 25 Tour to Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City has 9 million people and 7 million motor scooters. Our tour this morning was designed for us to see them all. Short bus ride to the Reunification Hall, formerly the Presidential Palace. This is the site where tanks of the North Vietnamese army crashed through the gates in April 1975 which ended our involvement in Vietnam. We call this the "Fall of saigon", they call it the "Liberation of Saigon". The war we call the Vietnam war? They call it the American War.
Next we went to the Post Office, a beautiful building designed by Eiffel. The French influence which is everywhere in Vietnam did produce the most beautiful architechture.
So now a cyclos ride. This is a three-wheeled pedi cab and we had a 30 minute ride through Saigon traffic (remember the 7 million motorscooters?)

We ended our cyclos ride at a museum. You know us and museums. Blah, blah, blah. There was a cute child though, and his father insisted I take the picture with his hat on.

Next best thing at the museum was a water puppet show, complete with fire breathing dragons. Very cool, the puppets were controlled by people behind a curtain and the sticks controlling them were underwater.
Last stop, laquer factory. Interesting if you like laquer. Designs made with eggshells, paint and mother of pearl. Nine layers of laquer, lasts forever, ok can we go back to the ship now it's freakin hot.
Sail away from Ho Chi Minh at 4pm. Back down the Saigon River to the South China Sea. Winding and leaning and leaning and winding.

As we approached the end of the river the pilot left us. At that point it was so rough the pilot boat was sending spray to our balcony (deck 7). It stayed a little rough through dinner and the show, it was nice to fall asleep to and when we awoke this morning you would think we were in port, it's so smooth.

Jan 24 Ho Chi Minh City

Around 4am this morning we started up the Saigon River from the South China Sea. The Saigon River winds and turns its way to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The captain warned us that the stabilizers would be in and the speed and turning of the ship would cause doors to open and close and a back and forth leaning of the ship as we worked our way the few mile to the center of the city. Only a ship of our size (or smaller) can make this journey. the contrast of the fishermen and the city in the background as we made our way to the port was amazing.

 We docked around 9am and our Journey to the Mekong Delta started.

We took the tour bus to the Mekong Delta, a 1 hour or so drive through rice paddies and motor scooters with as many as 5 people on them, the whole family.

We boarded the boat on the Mekong Delta (that's where the swai fish we eat comes from) and were served fresh coconut juice (milk?, I'm not sure).

Our first stop was the coconut factory where they make coconut candy in various flavors. Chocolate was the only one we understood but it was very good and we bought some for everyone to try. I know....you can't wait.

Our next treat was a ride in a horse drawn wagon. This one was a surprise, the seat was hard, the road was bumpy and the poor horse didn't look up to the task but we all made it.

The locals were trying to share the road with us and it got a little congested, but they love to wave a smile. Most of the women you see are wearing hats and masks and gloves to protect themselves from the sun.

Next stop was a sort of cultural tea house. We were served tea with honey, fruit, some of which I'd never seen, and a few local musicians played and sang for us. There was also a dragon that was performing for the new year. The New Year celebrations just goes on and on. They shops and offices are closed for 6 days to celebrate. The decorations and flowers are incredible everywhere we go. This is where i got one of my best children photos. She was just beautiful and her mother was thrilled that I though so.

Ok, so we're not done yet. Now we have to get on these boats that our tour guide described as roll boats.

He said "you know, roll roll roll your boat". We knew but hoped he was having a language problem. Four people per boat, "don't stand up at once or you'll go swimming with the rocodiles" and the roller (rower) propelled the boat like a gondolier. Of course I shouldn't know that having NEVER been on a gondola. The trip was quite beautiful, through the jungle on the river, passing many empty boats as they return to pick up more tourists.

Back to the big boat back to bus. Next stop was lunch at a beautiful open air restaurant. We had the most beautiful food, delicious too. I'm beginning to think I like Vietnemese food better than Chinese food.
Returned to the ship, we're in this port overnight. We had a barbeque on the deck with a traditional group performing songs and dances of Vietnam. The weather is perfect.

Countryside by bicycle

 Little later still this morning, wakeup call for 7. Short bus ride to pick up the bicycles. Really!
Amazing ride, around 2 hours, rice paddies,

boats, everyone is home because today is Tet New Years Eve. Tomorrow is New Years day. Most things are closed but there is not much traffic which is good cause we're on bicycles and don't want to die.

We stopped at the house of a former Viet Cong, although we are now in South Vietnam. He was very proud of his water buffalo and the Ho Chi Minh shrine in his living room.

There was a wooden plank that apparantly became the bed at night with the addition of a rice mat. Quite stark. The cooking (and a lot was going on because of the holidays) is done in the back of the house on an open fire in a shed type building. They were preparing meat and chicken and vegetables.
Many places on the streets there were small fires where they burned offerings like phony paper money and paper pictures of items like boots, as well as flowers. All for prosperity in the new year.
We all survived the bike ride and the bus took us to Hoi An on the river.

 Beautiful city with an incredible market and a temple with incense coils hanging from the ceiling that burn for a month when they are lit. We had lunch in a restaurant there and it was really very good, Lots of lime and lemon grass, we had beef and chicken and shrimp, rice and dumplings and clam broth soup (well I didn't have that but Jo really liked it). Dessert was fruit and a wonderful mango, maybe papaya sorbet.
Stopped at marble factory number 3. I'm beginning to think they import all this stuff from China. Marble statues 15 feet tall. Jade jewelry and figurines and clean Happy Rooms which is why we stop there.
Walked on China Beach, put my feet in the South China Sea.

 It was a little chilly.

Ship sails at 7pm, tomorrow is a sea day then Ho Chi Minh City.