Day 6 - Thailand 2 - Nov 30th

Laem Chabang

Having been to Bangkok before, we had opted for a shorter tour than the whole day tour to that major city.  Several people from the “Diamond Cats” were just getting  a coach to Pattaya beach and we weren’t sure when we got up (at 6am) whether or not we’d be joining them.  After a quick snack, we managed to buttonhole the tour staff and they cheerfully checked that there was space on the tour we wanted and simply altered our incorrect tickets.  Phew!  We are so glad they did as Paula had done us proud and selected a tour that is probably going to be one of the trip highlights.

We set off promptly at about 7:45am with our guide “Moo” and we passed through Pattaya and hooked a left, straight into the Nongnooch Gardens, a 500 acre privately owned resort site that is obviously very popular and also well organised. We arrived early and had 20 minutes to wander around an area that was totally dominated by various sculptures made out of small terra-cotta plant-pots. Then it came alive... For 50 Baht (about $US) you could have your photo taken with a monkey, bottle feeding a baby tiger, sitting on a pair of elephant’s trunks, with a macaw or three and so on.  Some great photo opportunities if you weren’t paying either. This was just in a tiny compact  area of the 500 acre site and even though we weren’t hungry, we would have liked to have wandered around the food area just across the way.

Back on the coach for a two minute drive through to the next area which was a mass of stalls but we didn’t get much time before we were ushered into the large tin shed with tiered seating and fans blowing a cool mist.  This was for the cultural show.

Over the years we have obviously seen a few cultural shows but this has to be one of the very best.  With local dancing and movement with a cast of over 30, this was no tin pot little tableau.  The back-drop changed at least 5 times with different aspects of Thai culture with references to Hindu as well as local traditions.

The front stage then was suddenly taken over by a small gang of workers who quickly erected a boxing ring and we were treated to a demonstration of kick boxing of two rounds.  This was not without humour as one of the ringside worker/supporters got whacked at the end of round one and the referee at the end of round 2.  An exhibition of sword fighting, then stick dancing then a display of fighting whilst sitting on decorated elephants followed by smaller elephants effectively dancing, made this a fast moving show and it was over all too quickly.

We were then shepherded through to the outdoor arena for the elephant display.  The Princess tours had VIP seating at the head of the arena and we were encouraged to buy small bunches of bananas to feed the elephants.

The display was just wonderful, with elephants doing everything from throwing darts at balloon targets, kicking large soccer balls, riding tricycles, playing basket ball, to a very impressive display of tee shirt painting! One managed to draw a picture of a tree, another a bunch of flowers. 

Several members of the audience were invited to participate by lying on mats, and the elephants walked up and stepped over them.  Two audience members then laid down on their backs, the elephants tapping them on their stomachs with trunks, then with a front foot!!!

We just loved the display.  Paula held out two bananas from the bunch.  An elephant took the offered bananas and before Paula could reach to the floor to peel off another couple, the elephant beat her to it and took the whole bunch!

Just five minutes to check out the stalls and back onto the coach to Pattaya and the “factory shop” stop.

This turned out to be a jewellery factory.  Oh dear.  Forty five minutes here in a large modern air-conditioned building with dozens of ‘helpers’ always means the same thing. They want you to buy their expensive jewellery.  At this point, all the guys went off the idea as did most of the women.  If it had been a local market or even 45 minutes to wander up and down a street, no problem.

Princess, their tour companies, coach operators, taxi drivers etc  tend to spoil a lot of these trips by taking you to places like this.  I have never yet met a man who enjoyed them and the 45 mins would have been far better spent back at the gardens where there was much to see.

Nevertheless, the factory selling aside, this was a great trip. The journey through the area was fascinating as the towns seem to spread for ages with hundreds of small businesses lining the roadside.

I love the Thai people.  They seem kind, somewhat relaxed and smile a lot. They encompass various religions quite happily and when the name was changed from Siam to Thailand, the word means “Free Land” and this could just as easily be “Peaceful Land”.

There was a little bit of shopping at the terminal and I bought a belt – with an MG buckle!

Dinner was a full table but so far, we feel that maybe the food on the Dawn was a little better.  After, we went to the full Bobby Borgia magic show and enjoyed it, but an excess of ice cold water at dinner probably didn’t agree with Paula’s internals...

Another day at sea ahead before Vietnam, so after an early start to the day, fairly early to bed.  

Days 5 - Thailand 1 - Nov 29th

Koh Samui

We woke before the alarm and the ship was still on the move for our first of two stops in Thailand. This was the first tender port and that meant first of all, a queue at the Wheelhouse Bar for our bus tickets for a Princess tour, then a wait in the theatre before our group was called.  When we got to the top of the gangplank, with Col & Jude and two others, there wasn’t enough room on that tender for us.  We heard on the two way radio that the tour was six passengers short.  What we didn’t realise was that it was us!  We were then shuffled to the other gangplank for the next shuttle, so by the time we arrived at the pier, the rest of the coach had been sitting waiting about 15-20 minutes. Not our fault.

Col & Jude managed to score a seat at the front, which was great for Colin as he isn’t the best of travellers.  We were at the very back, with the washroom to the left so we could only look out to the right through a window that was less than clean.  Thailand, like Singapore, drives on the left, the same as Australia/NZ and the UK.

From a dodgy start, this turned into a good half day tour, with the first stop at “Big Buddha”.  We checked our attire just to make sure we conformed to the notice (see pic).  Our guide explained the significance of the Thai colours, hand positions, days of the week of your birth etc., and at the top of the steps, we were invited to pray to Buddha, then strike the bell(s) for our wish to come true. I was sorely tempted to do my best Hunchback of Notre Dame impression, but I do respect the various religions, particularly Buddhism.  On the water’s edge were 3 colourful statues.  

On then to another temple complex, which seemed to encompass 3 different religions on the same site.  Very photogenic and colourful.   Stop 3 was a quick drink stop at the Beverly Hills resort on the cliff top, at the south eastern end of the island.

The last stop was to see the trained monkey (or two) harvesting cocoanuts.  Not a very thrilling stop, but the picture should show why we were advised to use the “Happy Room” at the Beverly Hills! (Thai terminology was quite quaint. If the “Tide is In” or “You are at High Tide” you’ll need to visit the “Happy Room”.)

On our return to the pier at about 1:15, we deemed it too warm to walk into town, so it was straight onto the colourful local tender boat, rather than a ship’s lifeboat, back to the air-conditioned sanctuary of the ship.

Dinner at 6pm was our first official fixed dining with waiter Freddie (Mexico) and Oscar (Peru) as our waiters. We raised a glass to our much loved absent friends.  Sad that they weren’t with us to continue the previous table experience.

We expected great things from the Thai chicken curry, but we all agreed that it was not very good at all... Shame.

The evening show we chose was the full Tom Briscoe (comedian) and we enjoyed it.  I hopped into bed about 10:25 just as Paula checked our Princess tour tickets for tomorrow and found that they had supplied Vietnam tickets by mistake.  So, out of bed; got dressed again; down from floor 11 to the front desk on deck 6 - where of course, they know nothing whatever about the tours.  I did manage to get a meet time and we vowed to get up early tomorrow morning to see the tour staff, to try and get them changed.  We shall just have to wait and see.  Maybe there will be nothing interesting to report tomorrow.   Some may well say that that the way I write, there is nothing interesting any day...  

Day 4 - All at sea Nov 28th

A good night’s sleep meant a slightly late join up with the buffet queue.  Those obviously new to buffet dining seem to wander around in a bit of a daze, probably overcome with the sheer variety of food available and queues were evident at most stations.  People were often going against the flow and then dilly dallying over selecting the exact piece of frizzled bacon out of the 100 or so identical pieces available.  Something you get used to.  The Dawn Princess carries just under 2,000 passengers and the Diamond some 700 more – a high percentage of whom are going to use the two buffets, so it is inevitable that it is going to be busier, particularly at the busy times.

The food options are slightly more in number and I was pleased to see that the corned beef hash and baked beans were on.  I could never understand the Dawn as whenever the hash was on, the beans were not! The scrambled eggs were livened up with mushrooms and Swiss cheese and I suppose it was appropriate that we sat at a table with two Swiss ladies. Oscar would have been pleased, as there are about 100 Swiss on board.

We had another wander around the ship but it was quite warm outside and we eventually ended up at Skywalker’s Nightclub at the rear of the ship, for the first official “Diamond Cats” meeting.  What a great venue. I am not too sure how many were there but I do know there are 95 on the list for the first lunch in a few days time.

Our first Trivia was late afternoon and we had enough for two teams, but we still didn’t win even if we’d combined our scores...   A swim in a rear pool (30 degrees?) then Tom Briscoe’s comedy half show with Bobby Borgia’s magic for the other half, before drinks at Ros and Arnold’s suite and then to dinner together with Col & Jude plus Ken and Barb. Ros had organised a table for fixed dining as getting a table organised for “Anytime” was so much of a hassle.  In fact, it was far from “Anytime” with so much messing about, that a fixed dining time was easier.

This was our first formal night but as I had forgotten my black trousers, a bow tie seemed inappropriate with pale slacks.  It might have helped if I had consulted my packing list and checked off the items, rather than relying on memory.

The clocks are back 1 hour again tonight, but tomorrow is our first stop – Thailand, so an 11pm bedtime (old time) should make up for an early start.

Day 3 - We're away cruising! Sept 27th

After a fairly erratic night as the bodies tried to get used to the 5 hour difference, we went down to the buffet a bit later than intended, so it was a bit busier.  Spotting potential cruisers wasn’t too difficult, as there is always that glow of anticipation prevalent! Back to the room to shower and pack and to the lobby to check out. Oh dear. From a very slick check in, with no queue, check out was just the opposite. A slow queue then as an honest soul, I declared that we hadn’t signed for our breakfast that morning, so had to wait whilst the receptionist rang through to the buffet and confirmed we had been clocked in for breakfast, so that meant the final bill had to be reprinted...  It took just over half an hour in total.

A taxi to the Marina Bay Sands convention centre to check in, where the there was a constant stream of taxis, slowing up the arrival area. Another total fare of $10.  We thought that maybe we’d be able to go up to the hotel (it’s the one with the massive surfboard structure as its top level – hopefully, a photo attached) but the Convention centre is across the road and we opted to check in instead.  We handed over our luggage and there was no queue for the “Preferred Check In”.  That is us...  To the desk, sign a form and we were given a shuttle bus ticket.

We only had to wait 5 minutes and the bus took about 30 minutes to transport us to the pier, at one of the many container terminals.

Most people know that Singapore is the largest container terminal in the world.  When it takes a further 10 minutes driving AFTER arriving at the port gates to get to the ship, and you can traverse the average NZ town in less than 5 minutes, you’ll get some idea of the size.  Incidentally, from our Singapore hotel window, even though I could only catch a glimpse of the water between the various tall buildings, I counted 76 ships in the harbour.

Embarkation was a breeze, getting our cards issued and official card photo’s taken at the foot of the gang-plank, then straight up to deck 11 to dump our carry on stuff in the cabin, before heading for the Horizon Court buffet.  Similar to the Dawn Princess as far as food is concerned, but with an extra dining room tacked on at the rear, extending outside to the rear  deck.

We then wandered through the ship, trying to get our bearings before the lifeboat drill, but I’ll leave the ship observations for later.

Singapore did its usual trick with a shower at sailaway time and we met up with just a few “Diamond Cats” before the evening buffet.

After unpacking and realising that I’d left my black (semi formal) trousers in Auckland plus a couple of polo shirts, we just relaxed before the theatre’s introductory show 9:30pm to 10:15pm.  Our cruise Director – Warren Smith, who was also our director on the World Cruise, compered the short show, featuring the dancers and a comedian, Tommy Briscoe.

No Alana and Alana nor a suitable spot on deck 7 for a late night coffee and dance, so early to bed – 11pm is not exactly early though. The first full day at sea tomorrow.   

Off again - Days 1 & 2 - Singapore - ups and downs

Day 1 – Up to Singapore

 

Well, it soon came around, as we didn’t have the luxury of a 14 month build up this time, so we just ambled out the door at the very respectable time of 9:20am, lugging just one case each (but very carefully this time to protect the shoulder...) onto the shuttle trailer for an easy ride to the airport.  Check in at Singapore airlines was very quick, so by 10:40, we were all set and ready to go.  Auckland airport is one of the better ones around, but the food choices on the public side seem to have been reduced in recent times, so we opted for a Subway; so exotic!

Part of the reason for doing this particular trip was to see if Paula could cope with a ten hour flight. Well, to cut a long story short, ten hours in economy class on any airline, (bearing in mind the seats were designed by Fred Flintstone - for pygmies), should be warning enough.  So although we have no complaints about the airline itself, we were able to compare it to Air New Zealand.  With ANZ, the entertainment system is active (or most of it), as soon as you get on and your headphones are on your seat, ready.  Singapore’s system isn’t active until you are at cruising altitude and they collect the headphones about 45 minutes before you land.  Airline seats, particularly if you are tall are rarely comfortable, so we were both glad to arrive in Singapore on time at 7:pm.  Day time flights we feel are tougher on the system as it is difficult to sleep when you aren’t tired.

There was no queue at immigration, possibly because quite a few people were either engrossed in duty free shopping or were in transit anyway.

We walked to the luggage carousel - which hadn’t even started moving, leaving Paula in charge whilst I called at the washroom. By the time I was back – two minutes at most, the luggage had arrived and we were straight out the door, where the efficient co-ordinator pointed us to bay 6, where a taxi was waiting and off we went. A $7.80 taxi ride to the Grand Mercure Roxy hotel, where I hopped out of the taxi, carrying two backpacks, but left my briefcase with the computer in the cab!  Fortunately, the taxi driver noticed it so no problem. A friendly and speedy check in, with a scratch and win card giving us a 5% discount!  We headed to the 14^th floor to a clean, comfortable room, with all mod cons, so by 7:45pm we were happily settled in our hotel room and the luggage arrived a few minutes later.

We weren’t exactly hungry, but we needed some fresh air.  It was about 30 degrees, so we just wandered across the road to the market and then into the Parkway Shopping Centre, which was air-conditioned, grabbing a coke from McDonalds.  The Parkway has an excellent hygienic food hall with an amazing variety of stalls. NZ’s shopping malls all seem to have identical food outlets so it was refreshing to see such local variety. With the 5 hour time difference, we fell into bed at the surprisingly early local time - but 2:30am NZ time for us.

 

Day 2 – Singapore and a downer - Saturday November 26th

A reasonable sleep and we ambled down to the hotel’s buffet breakfast.  Continental for Paula, full for me – of course.  A good variety of food on offer and it was all fairly fresh, with a mix of European and Asian offerings.  Pats of Lurpak butter too.  The coffee machine was way too small for the numbers and appeared to be more suited to an office than a restaurant and the toast machine needed two runs to put any colour onto the bread.  Just as we were at the end of our meal, Ros and Arnold from our World Cruise table appeared, so a happy reunion and we sat back down again for a catch up.

The hotel, in addition to the “Scratch & Win” on our promotional booking, also offered a free City tour on the Hop on Hop off bus.  We had to use a taxi to get to the “Eye”, (the modern version of the big wheel, as seen in several cities these days) which was again, about $7.80 and boarded the Green route on the hop on bus.  We are great fans of these hop on buses, but they do vary.  The European ones have a multi language commentary with headphones, but this had  alive commentary.  Unfortunately, the combination of a guide where English is very much their second language, a very fast paced commentary and a second rate sound system and my own somewhat deteriorated hearing, means that I pick up about one word in ten and have to try and fill in the gaps or ignore it altogether!  The Green route took us to the top of Orchard Road where we hopped off and made our way down the street - just as the heavens opened...

Anyone who knows this part of the world at all knows that the weather tends to be very erratic.  We dived in and out of several arcades and for something to eat, we found a bakery with an amazing variety of breads, rolls and cakes.  We opted for a couple of rolls at about $2.20 each, one with bacon, spring onion and cheese, one was a sausage rill with e local sweetish pastry.  McCafe supplied the drinks but I had to go back to the bakery for a repeat order.

We’d had enough by then and headed down the street ready to catch the bus.  We saw it coming as it rained  and we realised we’d have to run to catch it. Just as I tapped on the window for them to reopen the door, Paula slipped and fell, banging her head on the pavement at the same time as hitting a vertical railing, grazing the top of her head... The guide hopped of the bus and help[d get Paula on board and was most concerned. Fortunately, it was more a graze than a cut and she wasn’t knocked out.  As soon as we got back to the eye, another taxi back to the hotel and I managed to chip some ice off the fridge door, so wrapped in a flannel we had an ice pack of sorts.

Although Paula was a bit shaken, she managed a lie down and I went to the foyer at 4pm for a mini meet and greet with a few other cruisers, including Col & Jude, also from our Dawn Princess table.

Later, we staggered over to Parkway and managed a Thai meal  - Paula with chicken and noodles and I had a tasty Tom Yum soup total cost, just under $20. There were plenty of dishes elsewhere in the food hall cheaper.

Early to bed again, ready to join the Diamond Princess tomorrow.  Woohoo!

 

 

 

   

Away again in a few days!

This cruising lark is getting addictive!  We had booked Singapore to Sydney Nov 27^th to December 16^th, on the Diamond Princess, not long after we returned to NZ, but as we hadn’t invited any friends to Christmas dinner, nor had we received any invites (all say aaah!), a few days ago, we opted to stay onboard, so now we spend Christmas Day in Akaroa (Christchurch), followed by Wellington and Tauranga, where we may well meet family and friends, before landing back in Auckland, just 15 minutes from home and without those tiresome airport queues.

 

I am not at all sure that I can keep up the daily blog again, but with a different (and newer) ship, at least we’ll enjoy that experience.

 

For those who read the earlier blog, my shoulder is now well on the way back to normality having had an injection for bursitis and weekly or twice weekly physio treatments.

 

Our cruise director for this trip is once again, Warren Smith, but apart from Warren on the staff, we have no idea who we’ll be meeting again other than Colin & Jude, Ros and Arnold, from our original dining table.  It really does make it so much better knowing at least a few people before boarding.  This time, we have the any-time dining option, so it should be interesting to see how that works out, as the second sitting dining before, was a highlight of the day, chatting to such great friends and catching up with what everyone had been doing.