Well, it was bound to happen.......
Here I am in beautiful Singapore with big plans for the day.
Plan A: Carolyn and I go on our tour, get off downtown, go to the famous Raffles, have a Singapore Sling where they were invented and where Hemmingway, Kipling and Noel Coward hung out.
Carolyn forgot to get her passport and temporarily lost her walled so she missed the bus.
Plan B: I get off the bus after the tour, go to Raffles, have my drink take a few pictures and cab back to ship.
I trip on curb rushing to tour bus, go flying through the air, land on my knees, then chest, then slam my face into the pavement. I am able to stand after being helped up but limping with a busted lip, sore face and ruined sunglasses. Luckily, I was able to get up.
The ladies on the bus cleaned the dirt off my face and hands, kept an eye on me in case I couldn't keep up and offered me a pain pill if I was in distress.
Plan C: Made is back to the ship on the bus after the tour. Got three buckets of ice. Ice my now purple lip and two purple knees. Forget Raffles.
Prologue: Woke up this morning still sore but not stiff and able to move. Room service just brought more ice and I am getting on the bus for Kuala Lumpur.
Lip still swollen, looks like someone popped me in the mouth. Or like my mom used to jokingly say: "He said shut up and you must of thought he said stand up!"
At least I haven't lost my sense of humor......
Monday, March 25, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Koi Samui, Thailand
I had really not planned to post about this stop. It is a resort island, known for its beaches and not much else except the old guys with very young women and lady boys, if you get my drift....
Anyway, I decided to take some pictures from the ship since it is very pretty.....
Then I noticed this.....
I had been at lunch sharing a table with an Englishman who traveled around the world several times. He told me about the pirate drill we were going to have to do when we got off the coast of Somalia.
Everyone with outside rooms closes their curtains, leave their rooms and sit in the hall. He commented we had nothing to worry about unless we saw destroyers sitting out there by us....that meant potential trouble and cause for concern.
So imagine my surprise when I saw three of these ships sitting between us and the shore!!!!
Anyway, I decided to take some pictures from the ship since it is very pretty.....
Then I noticed this.....
I had been at lunch sharing a table with an Englishman who traveled around the world several times. He told me about the pirate drill we were going to have to do when we got off the coast of Somalia.
Everyone with outside rooms closes their curtains, leave their rooms and sit in the hall. He commented we had nothing to worry about unless we saw destroyers sitting out there by us....that meant potential trouble and cause for concern.
So imagine my surprise when I saw three of these ships sitting between us and the shore!!!!
Although this was the supply ship and closer to my camera, there were two others with guns positioned further away. Welcome to our world.......
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Bangkok, Thailand
I have to admit that this was not my favorite stop. It was a long 2.5 hour drive to and from the city and the traffic is absolutely horrendous.
It is, as usual, a mix of new and old......
But that traffic.........
They don't have as many motorbikes as Vietnam so the most efficient means of transportation is a tut-tut. This embellished sort of motorbike usually holds one or two passengers......
However, it is cheap and they will take as many people that can fit as in this one where I counted 6 students jammed into this one tiny vehicle.....
There is the usual Chinatown and Indian areas as well as this flower market....
And this Buddha selling area with shop after shop selling Buddha's for the large population....
Once again we visited a Buddhist temple. I have to admit I'm starting to get templed out but this one held a particularly large one, was a much older temple and the architecture was very different......
In front can be found the Red Swing, a famous landmark in Bangkok.....
We saw the Pavilion where the King received Queen Elizabeth. It is a large beautiful park area surrounded by Thai buildings.........
Everywhere can be found pictures of the royal family who are revered by their people. You cannot lick a stamp with their image on it and whatever you do not drop some money, which holds their image, and step on it to keep it from getting away, that would bring the house down on you. Their pictures are posted on buildings, in front of temples, in the middle of the road, everywhere. And very respectfully in ornate frames....
There were beautiful and very interesting architectural elements throughout the city center, very Thai....
Then we made our final stop at another temple that held a marble one. However we caught a break since this very large temple was holding an induction ceremony for a novice monk and allowed us to take pictures of the ceremony.........
Throughout the city can be found these Spirit Houses in all shapes and sizes, on street corners, in yards, on roofs, wherever they can put them asking Buddha and the spirits of their ancestors to look over them......
After fighting our way back through that horrendous traffic we made our way back to the ship and were happy to get there. Especially since we had been warned of terrorist activity in the area and which became a lot more evident at our next stop!
It is, as usual, a mix of new and old......
But that traffic.........
They don't have as many motorbikes as Vietnam so the most efficient means of transportation is a tut-tut. This embellished sort of motorbike usually holds one or two passengers......
However, it is cheap and they will take as many people that can fit as in this one where I counted 6 students jammed into this one tiny vehicle.....
There is the usual Chinatown and Indian areas as well as this flower market....
And this Buddha selling area with shop after shop selling Buddha's for the large population....
Once again we visited a Buddhist temple. I have to admit I'm starting to get templed out but this one held a particularly large one, was a much older temple and the architecture was very different......
We saw the Pavilion where the King received Queen Elizabeth. It is a large beautiful park area surrounded by Thai buildings.........
Everywhere can be found pictures of the royal family who are revered by their people. You cannot lick a stamp with their image on it and whatever you do not drop some money, which holds their image, and step on it to keep it from getting away, that would bring the house down on you. Their pictures are posted on buildings, in front of temples, in the middle of the road, everywhere. And very respectfully in ornate frames....
Then we made our final stop at another temple that held a marble one. However we caught a break since this very large temple was holding an induction ceremony for a novice monk and allowed us to take pictures of the ceremony.........
Throughout the city can be found these Spirit Houses in all shapes and sizes, on street corners, in yards, on roofs, wherever they can put them asking Buddha and the spirits of their ancestors to look over them......
After fighting our way back through that horrendous traffic we made our way back to the ship and were happy to get there. Especially since we had been warned of terrorist activity in the area and which became a lot more evident at our next stop!
Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Although the formal name is Ho Chi Minh City, many of the people still call it Saigon.
We arrived at the edge of the Mekong Delta...
On our way to the city we passed rice paddies and rubber tree plantations....
Saigon is a large city of contrasts...
It is motorbike central, thousands of them everywhere carrying as much as they can hold......
The old building in front of the blue skyscraper is the former CIA building where the last helicopter evacuating the city took off and was captured by news crews....
This is the Rex Hotel where senior American military leaders would stay when in Saigon....
However now the city center, is a modern mixture of pretty buildings and parks and everywhere is the image of Ho Chi Minh.
This is the City Hall with Ho Chi Minh statue...
This is the post office and requisite picture......
And interestingly this the Catholic Cathedral as well. (That would be a statue of the Madonna instead of Ho for a change!)
Like everywhere else, this is a city of contrasts. Although it has it's high rises and beautiful city center, most of the city where the people live looks more like this.....
We visited another Buddhist Temple with incredible detail.....
This lady was selling incense outside.
Like I said before, the Vietnamese are eager that their guests have a good time and provided fabulous entertainment for our lunch.
These beautiful dancers were absolutely stunning.....
And then they were followed by musicians playing local instruments....
After lunch we were off to the lacquer factory where there was some absolutely stunning artwork but can you imagine squatting all day and sanding this stuff!! I swear I think they have the strongest knees in the world because everywhere people were squatting and having conversations....
Next came the history museum (not air conditioned) and held the relics of Vietnam's earlier civilizations, icons and artifacts of their gods......
We completed our day with a truly unique experience, a Vietnamese water puppet show which is something I have never seen.
There were swans and dragons, dancing ladies and acrobat poppets. It was unique, special and great way to end our trip to Vietnam.
We arrived at the edge of the Mekong Delta...
On our way to the city we passed rice paddies and rubber tree plantations....
Saigon is a large city of contrasts...
It is motorbike central, thousands of them everywhere carrying as much as they can hold......
The city center is very pretty with large parks and beautiful modern buildings. It also holds places that many of us who lived during the Vietnam War will remember....
This is the former American Embassy Building where image of the local people scaling the fence were broadcast around the world....
The old building in front of the blue skyscraper is the former CIA building where the last helicopter evacuating the city took off and was captured by news crews....
This is the Rex Hotel where senior American military leaders would stay when in Saigon....
However now the city center, is a modern mixture of pretty buildings and parks and everywhere is the image of Ho Chi Minh.
This is the City Hall with Ho Chi Minh statue...
This is the post office and requisite picture......
This is the Opera House....
And interestingly this the Catholic Cathedral as well. (That would be a statue of the Madonna instead of Ho for a change!)
Like everywhere else, this is a city of contrasts. Although it has it's high rises and beautiful city center, most of the city where the people live looks more like this.....
We visited another Buddhist Temple with incredible detail.....
This lady was selling incense outside.
Like I said before, the Vietnamese are eager that their guests have a good time and provided fabulous entertainment for our lunch.
These beautiful dancers were absolutely stunning.....
And then they were followed by musicians playing local instruments....
After lunch we were off to the lacquer factory where there was some absolutely stunning artwork but can you imagine squatting all day and sanding this stuff!! I swear I think they have the strongest knees in the world because everywhere people were squatting and having conversations....
Next came the history museum (not air conditioned) and held the relics of Vietnam's earlier civilizations, icons and artifacts of their gods......
We completed our day with a truly unique experience, a Vietnamese water puppet show which is something I have never seen.
There were swans and dragons, dancing ladies and acrobat poppets. It was unique, special and great way to end our trip to Vietnam.
We were all surprised at how much we had enjoyed our Vietnam experience!
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