from Hong Kong to Bangkok

Dear Friends,

As usual, there are too many choices of what to do when, and the blog often gets neglected. On this segment, we started from Hong Kong on the 15^th, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to go to dinner at what used to be the Regis Hotel, now the Intercontinental. We ate in a Chinese Restaurant, and had steamed fish, but my favorite was the hot and sour soup. It was exciting to see Hong Kong, across the bay, all lit up at night (we were in Kowloon). From what I heard, it is no longer a shopper’s paradise; things are expensive. During the day, I took a tour which included the Central Market, some Chinese temples, etc. all quite interesting.

In Chan May, Vietnam I took the shuttle bus in to a resort hotel on the beach, but it was totally isolated, and I remained on the bus for the ride back to the ship. I took some pictures along the way showing a lot of neglect; wherever there is building, there is debris, and it never seems to be collected. However, when I returned to the ship, there were many stalls set up on the dock, and they really had bargains! Shirts, dresses, slack suits, etc. all of silk, and selling for about $5.00 each! I should have been smart enough to get some souvenirs at that point, but I waited, and was sorry thereafter.

That night, there was a St. Patrick’s Day party in the Avenue Saloon which was a lot of fun, singing old ballads,etc. I have some pictures of the event showing what an exuberant party it was!

In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I signed up for a cooking class, and we learned how to make spring rolls, followed by an interesting lunch. First, we went to the Central Market to buy the necessary ingredients, etc. Actually, I had already been to a market the day before while on a tour of the highlights of the City, which included a water puppet show, a history museum, and a ride in a “cyclo”, something like a rickshaw, in the midst of the thousands of motor bikes that are everywhere! I was negatively impressed by all the exposed electric wires that are just above one’s head on many of the main streets.

I barely got back to the ship on time for the Purim Celebration, which was a lovely occasion with everyone vigorously shaking their noisemakers during the reading of the Megillah, every time Haman was mentioned. This was followed by traditional Hamantaschen plus wine, chopped liver, and other goodies. Everyone was most enthusiastic about the occasion.

I have taken a series of pictures, both at sunset and at dawn, which are quite interesting. Somehow, viewing the sun across the water gives an entirely different prospectus, than over land.

Next came Laem Chabang, the port for Bangkok, which is a good two hours away, so instead, I took the shuttle to Pattaya; I really hoped I might run into some trace of Judy May, but when I saw how large the city is, full of hotels, massage parlors, nightclubs, a long beach, and real “honky tonk” I quickly gave up on that idea. Instead, I took a ride from the Marriott to a gem factory, where I took pictures of the history and process of mining gems. Thereafter, I did NOT mean to make any purchases, but in the end, gave into an impulse to buy a birthday gift for Marlyse, as a replacement for a string of pearls that were stolen, when her home safe was taken over a year ago.

Today, I made a late start, went for my sauna and steam bath, and then happened to run into my bridge partner up at Tastes (one of the places to eat on the 12^th deck). We gabbed for a while, and then went to lunch together, and I have been on the computer ever since. We are not playing bridge this afternoon, to make up for the time we socialized instead of reading, etc., but we did say we would meet for “high tea” at the Palm Court later in the afternoon. The ship will leave for Ko Samui in a couple of hours, and then the next stop will be Singapur, where I hope to see Judy Hunt, formerly a ZIWA member! As usual, ZIWA makes the world much smaller.

I will attempt to add a few pictures to this long report.

Fond regards to all. Ann