Gao and Mumbai

Prepared July 22, 2012 at home Kona, Hawaii

April 6, 2012 at sea eastern Indian Ocean enroute to Mormugao, Goa, India:  So Many Lectures, So Little Time

Silver Whisper departed Kochi, India about 11:00pm and sailed northward up the coast of India.  It would be about a 30 hour cruise to Mormugao, the port for the Indian province of Goa, which was our next stop.

J & E used most of the day to complete and post the account of their overland trip to Dien Bien Phu and northwestern Vietnam.   This included using a hand-held portable scanner to scan maps of the little-visited region of northwestern Vietnam and of the battlefield.

Sea days are often enlivened with lectures by notable people, especially authors or academics whose disciplines are of interest to the literate, well maybe semi-literate, cruise audience.   On this cruise, lecturers had included James Bradley, "Flags of Our Fathers", and Bill Bryson, ""A Walk in the Woods", and numerous others.  Usually, J & E had forgone these lectures because they conflicted with bridge, but today two lectures were in the morning, while bridge was in the afternoon. Both lecturers were speaking on interesting topics.  Diana Preston was to speak on the sinking of the Lusitania, based on her book "Willful Murder? - The Sinking of the Lusitania," and Philip Hurst on modern India's geopolitics, "A Tiger with a Bomb: India Facing the Future."  The lectures normally last 45 minutes, are profusely illustrated, and keep one's attention, even in a darkened theater. (Well, for most guests anyway; on occasion, there can be heard light snoring.)  Lectures also can provide background knowledge for the area where we are cruising and going on shore tours, as Mr. Hurst's did on India. 

One additional aspect of the lecture program is that cruisers can invite the lecturers to lunch or dinner, and it gives you an opportunity to raise related topics and ask further questions.  All-in-all, it is a very positive aspect of the cruise experience, and on long cruises with numerous sea days provides for an interesting intellectual experience not often associated with the halcyon life of cruising.

We were again sailing in pirate waters.  All of the Indian Ocean  north of an east west line of latitude from the coast of Mozambique west south of Diego Garcia to the longitude  of Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari),  India is currently considered pirate waters, called the "Extended Risk Zone" by international maritime authorities.  (See Chart)  So even though sailing well within 200 miles of the Indian coast, the ship was blacked out and extra watches and security were in place.  It was, as a minimum, good training for the ship's crew, for the upcoming crossing of the northern Indian Ocean from Mumbai to the United Arab Emirates and on to Safaga, Egypt.

April 7, 2012 in port Mormugao, Goa, India:  India's Christian Enclave

We were docked at Mormugao by 8:00am, but both of us decided not to go on tour (we had been in Goa in 2009 and toured extensively), and the port area of Mormugao has very little to offer.  Mormugao is a major coal port -- need more be said.  We stayed on board and worked on the blog, read, and played cards.  E won again, and it was getting very tiresome for J.

Mormugao from Seaward

Self-Propelled Coal Barges, Mormugao, India

Focusing on the port city of Mormugao does not do justice to Goa.  Goa was a Portuguese colony from the 16th through most of the 20th Century and the Vatican of Asia during that time.  There are three major 16th Century cathedrals and other important historic sites related to Roman Christianity spread in Asia and Africa.  Also, there are the normal number of tourist beaches and resorts.   But not around the port!

N.B. -- If any of you desire to see images of the the catherdrals or the dead saints entombed there, let me know and I will add them to the blog.  They are from a earlier visit in 2009.

That evening, after sailing for Mumbai, the Captain hosted a special Asian dinner for World Cruise guests.  It was, of course, exceptional, adding even more weight to J's ever-expanding waistline and other body parts.  So you can appreciate the meal, we have scanned the menu, but no images.  J was too busy eating to take any pictures.

Captain's Asian Dinner Menu

All this on the last day of Lent, and near the most holy site in Asia!

Bacchus wins again!

When we returned to our room, we found that the Easter Bunny had visited, and we had received an Easter basket with E's annual chocolate rabbit.  Surprising new knowledge, Indian rabbits can swim and climb  aboard cruise ships.  Let's hope the pirates don't find out.  Actually, the basket was from the Officers and Crew of the Silver Whisper.

Easter Basket and Orchid

The Orchid was our "house plant;" it traveled most of the voyage with us.

April 8, 2012 in port Mumbai, India:  A Day at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya


We were not participating in an organized tour of Mumbai and intended to spend the day at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Western India Museum, and still normally referred to by its original English name (Prince of Wales Museum).  (Interestingly, the city's English name, "Bombay," seems to have been largely replaced in the local English vernacular by the new Indian name, "Mumbai."  But, it is easy to see why the Museum's new Indian name has not really caught on.)

We did not go ashore until about 10:00am, because the Museum was a short taxi ride from the pier, and we did not want to find ourselves outside a locked museum and the subject of unwanted attention by Mumbai's street people.  Walking up the pier, we passed the INS Viratt (R22) one of the Indian Navy's aircraft carriers.  (It was formerly the HMS Hermes.)  Then, we passed row-on-row of newly-imported Japanese and Korean trucks and buses until we reached Green Gate and the taxi stand.  Gone are the days of the yellow and black Ambassador taxis with their Sikh drivers who took you where they wanted to go.  In new Mumbai, the taxi is a new, clean Marrudi/Suzuki, with a driver who takes you to your requested destination at a prearranged price and even offers to return for you at your convenience.  See, change does happen.

After a short drive through the old Imperial Bombay section of Mumbai, best known to Western tourists for the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel, we arrived at the Museum to purchase our ticket.  In the long- cherished tradition of Indian bureaucracy, it was not "a" ticket but three tickets, and the lines were so complex that if it were not for the help of a retired Indian Army Sepoy (now museum guard), J & E likely would still be in line (probably the wrong one!).

Museum Tickets -- General Admission, Camera Pass, Audio Tour

Note:  Convenient string to attach Camera Pass to camera.  Provided WITH ticket!

The Museum is sited in a large garden near the Gate of India, and the garden (The Crescent) is still maintained as originally designed.  The building itself, designed by George Wittet, is considered a model of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture typical of British India in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  At the core of the collection are the donations of Indian miniatures by Seth Mavji in 1915, the Major Art collections of Sirs Ratan Tata and Sir Dorab Tata, and the antiquities collection of Sir Akbar Haydari in the 1920s and '30s.  The Museum's collections contain over 50,000 pieces of art and artifacts.

Needless to say, we had to limit our viewing to a small number of even the items currently on display.  We chose those from the 42 items which were described in some detail in the Audio Guide.  Since J had his Camera Pass (with string), he was allowed to image some of the interior and art works.

Central Hall, Key Gallery

Hindu Statuary, Key Gallery

Ivory Box, Mughal Tradition, 1903

J & E spent most of their time in the Miniature Painting Gallery.  The Museum's collection of miniature paintings is one of the best we have ever seen.  It encompasses most of the Indian schools of miniature painting from the 14th to the early 19th Century, including numerous examples from the Sultanate and Mughal periods.  No imaging was allowed in this Gallery even if you had a chitty (with string).  But you can view some of the Museum's finest miniatures and other items at www.themuseummumbai.org.  The web site   also will give you access to many other galleries of the Museum's collection.

About three hours into viewing the collections, and long before we had finished the 42 Curator's Choice items on the audio tour, we were suffering severe museum fatigue,  Also, the Museum's main spaces are not air conditioned, so it was getting very hot.  A stop at the museum shop for J's de rigueur t-shirt (Gate of India with stamp), and we returned to our waiting taxi.    The taxi was both on time and in the place where the driver said it would be, so with a short drive by the Gate of India and the Taj (accompanied by numerous attempts to entice us to visit tourist shops), we returned to the port and Silver Whisper.  Then, it was lunch and a long nap.  Culture is very tiring.

Across the Bay of Bengal and on to Cochin

Prepared July 16, 2012, at home Kona, Hawaii, USA

April 2 to April 4, 2012 at sea Bay of Bengal and eastern Indian Ocean:  Lazy Sea Days

After departing Penang Island, we cruised northwest up the Straits of Malacca and around the northern tip of Sumatra, then turned west southwest across the Bay of Bengal around the southern tip of Ceylon and into the western Indian Ocean.  Taking a northern course, we passed west of the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula (Cape Coromin) and reached Kochi, formerly known as Cochin after three days at sea.

During these longer at-sea passages, cruise passengers mainly focused on various on-board activities -- bridge, lectures, entertainment, and, of course, eating.  But, any type of unusual sighting at sea creates a great deal of interest.  These sighting events usually involve fauna (air- or seaborne) or other ships.  Both fauna and ships engender a great deal of speculation by the passengers.  Regretfully, on this cruise, we seemed to sight more unusual purpose-built ships than we did fauna.   So, there are no pictures of whales or albatrosses!

Oil Exploration Support Ship -- Bay of Bengal

On the evening of April 4, as we rounded Cape Coromin, Captain Corsaro, held an all-passenger security meeting to discuss precautions to minimize the threat of piracy while we were cruising in the Indian Ocean.  The major impact on passengers was the need to darken ship, thereby keeping the stateroom drapes closed from sunset to sunup.  Of course, the ship took other actions, but these were not discussed with the passengers.  However, the passengers spent a good deal of time and effort speculating on what they might or might not be.

April 5, 2012 in port Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India:  Welcome to the New India -- Watch Out for the Goat!

Silver Whisper docked at the cruise ship terminal on Willingdon Island about 9:00am.  Since this was our third visit to Kochi in the last six years, we did not really want to return to the same tourist spots.  Instead, we hired a private car to take us to the Le Meridian Hotel in the Kundannoor District of Kochi to make other Starwood hotel reservations.  We did not leave the ship immediately, but waited for the ship's tours to set off before disembarking.  J & E are not fond of queues, especially consisting of cruise passengers in a hurry to get to the front seat on the tour bus.

Tour Buses at the Ready, Kochi Port

Our driver/guide met us on the pier with a new white Toyota, and we were off through the port area, over the causeway and into the streets of Kochi to the hotel.   Kochi's metropolitan population is approximately 2 million, and the city seems to be built around innumerable water features.  This is a nice way of saying that the city is situated in a very large coastal swamp.  However, the traffic wasn't impossible, so we accomplished our mission at the Le Meridian very quickly and had a tea in the hotel's lounge, while the hotel manager confirmed reservations.

The minimum car hire was for four hours, so our driver/guide suggested that we see some sites that we had not visited earlier.  Since he was a Roman Catholic, our tour was an introduction to the history of Christianity in southern India.  Our first stop was St. Francis C.S.I. church in Fort Kochi.

St. Francis C.S.I. Church, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala, India

St. Francis (originally St. Bartholome) is the oldest European church in India, and
Fort Kochi is the oldest European settlement, established by the Portuguese in 1503.

St. Francis has served the denomination of the imperial power of the moment.  It has been Roman Catholic, Dutch Reform, Anglican, and is currently Church of Southern India (C.S.I.).  The building dates to 1779, but it has been rebuilt and renovated many times.

Interior, St. Francis C.S. I.

Altar, St. Francis C.S.I.

Baptismal Font, St. Francis C.S.I.

There are numerous tombs inside the church and on the church grounds.  The church grounds include the Dutch Cemetery that records Dutch possession of Kochi for 200 years until it ended in 1795 when Kochi became a British possession.  Probably the most famous person  originally buried in the church was the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, European discoverer of the sea route to India.  He died at Kochi in 1524, on Christmas eve, of malaria and was buried in the church until his remains were repatriated to Portugal in 1539.    His gravestone is part of the interior floor of the church.

Vasco da Gama's Gravestone, St. Francis C.S.I

To preserve the early gravestones of other Portuguese and Dutch imperial functionaries, they now line the interior walls of the church, with the Portuguese notables' gravestones along the north wall of the church, and the Dutch on the south wall.  We guessed that the more recent occupants of the church did not want the Catholic and Protestant spirits to have an opportunity to squabble over theology, so they separated them.

Portuguese (North Wall) and Dutch (South Wall) Gravestones, St. Francis C.S.I.

From the church, we were driven to the park at the tip of Fort Kochi.  Our guide wanted to show us the Chinese Fishing Nets.  The local story is that when the Portuguese saw the Chinese in Macao using these nets, they brought the design to Kochi and built the nets along the coast near the fort.  Will the theft of intellectual property never cease!

The fish nets work using the balanced fulcrum principle, like a teeter totter, with the seaward nets balanced by landward stones.  There were probably many more in the past, but now there are about 6 in the immediate Fort Kochi Park area, which seem to provide some fresh fish, but more entertainment for visitors to the park.

Chinese Fishing Nets



Catching Fish -- It Really Works!
Fish in bottom of center net.

Fresh Fish Anyone?

Fort Kochi, and the surrounding area, is also a free range zoo, typical of Indian settlements from village to  mega cities.  The Fort Kochi peninsula seemed to specialize in goats, who spent most of their time caging food from tourists.  But there was no shortage of other beasts ranging about.

"Got a Hershey Bar?  I'm Tired of Coconuts."

The Fort Kochi area has many 17th, 18th and 19th Century Residences built by the Portuguese, Dutch and the Raj, during their 450 year sojourn in southern India.  Many of those buildings are architecturally interesting, and a number of them have been preserved by converting them to boutique hotels or guest houses for tourist.

Dutch Trader's Residence Converted to Boutique Hotel

(Note the restored Ambassador parked in front.  Who would of thought! )

The Splendor of the Raj.  It is Good to be the Raj.

As we were leaving Fort Kochi, we saw the return to port of an Indian Navy patrol ship.  Kochi is a major Indian naval base, and headquarters for the Indian navy's Indian Ocean Fleet.  It was reported while we were in India that an Indian naval unit had engaged a pirate vessel and sunk it. Seems that the Indian navy learned law of the sea from the old Royal Navy, not the U.S. Navy and NATO, who are too busy filling out forms and consulting lawyers to deal directly with treats to freedom of the sea.  Maybe the USN could engage the pirates with paperwork and lawyers and bore them to death!

Indian Navy INS Sharada (P55) Returning to Port

Our tour's next stop was the Santa Cruz Basilica, the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Alleppey, part of the city of Kochi.  Regretfully, there was a diocese conference underway, and the Basilica was closed to tourists.

Santa Cruz Basilica

Our next stop was the residence of the Bishop of Alleppey, which dates in part to the 1500s.  Although the residence is off limits to the general public, the grounds are not.  The grounds of the residence where used as a botanical garden by the Portuguese, so many interesting and economically important species can be found among the plantings.

Bishop of Alleppey's Residence

(If you can't be the Raj, maybe try Bishop)

Pepper Tree

(This may or may not be pepper.  J didn't make notes.)

After visiting the Bishop's garden, it was back to the Silver Whisper and lunch on the pool deck, then a nap and a lazy afternoon of reading and playing "Spite and Malice."  Eloise won, as usual.

Before dinner, the Cruise Director, Fernando, arranged for a dance troop from the local Katakali school to perform.  Katakali, or "story play," is a form of folk dance that evolved from earlier Sanskrit dances  originally associated with Hindu temples.  These dances are now known only in Southern India, which did not suffer the tender mercies of Islamic (Mogul) invasion.

Katakali dance takes the form of a drama, think opera, with the content delivered in face and hand expression, masks and colorful costumes which define the characters.  The dramas seem to concentrate on four universal themes -- love, death, truth, and power.   Many of the plays have their origins in the Ramayana. From the western audience's perspective, the makeup, masks and costumes, are truly spectacular.  If you are interested in the Katakali dances go to this web site www.kathakalischool.com.

Katakali Dancer in Costume

 Elaborate Dance Costume

Kathakali Dancers Presenting Play

(Regretfully, No English Captions)

Curtain Call, Everyone Namastes

After a much edited and shortened one-hour performance (Westerners' attention span is not up to four and five-hour dance performances, no matter how colorful the costumes or loud the music), we left the theater and returned to our suite to watch a movie.  At 10:30pm, we sailed for Mormugao, India, the port for Goa.

Shadows of the Pukka Sahib

Prepared May 20, 2012, at home Kona, Hawaii, USA

  


April 1, 2012 in port Penang, Malaysia:  Tea at the E & O

In the early morning of April 1, Silver Whisper entered the South Channel between Penang and the Malay Pennisula  and began to maneuver and dock at Swettenham Pier on Penang Island.  By 8:00am, the ship was tied up and cleared to disembark.

Butterworth Container Port and Local Junk from South Channel

Penang was the British Empire's original toehold in Southeast Asia, and along with Singapore, it made up the Straits Settlements.  Although it is now overshadowed by Singapore as a trading and shipping center, it is still the major port at the northern entrance to the Straits of Malacca.  Penang Island  and a small area across South Channel on the Malay peninsula make up the province of Penang.  It feels more Chinese than Malay and is, in fact, the only Malaysian province with a Chinese majority.


Since we had been in Penang before (the most recent time in 2010), we decided not to go ashore on a tour or walkabout.   A leisurely morning was spent on board the ship, and after lunch, we left the ship to join other world cruise passengers for a World Cruise event  -- Tea at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel in George Town.  The Eastern & Oriental Hotel dates from the 1880s and was established by the Sarkies brothers who, based on the E&O's success, opened the now much more widely known Raffles hotel in 1887 at Singapore two years after the E&O.  Like the Raffles in Singapore and the Peace in Shanghai, staying at the E&O on your grand tour east of Suez was de rigueur.  So, the guest book is full of the late 19th and 20th century social and political elites.  To drop a few names Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Sun Yat-sen, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Noël Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, Hermann Hesse, and Lee Kuan Yew.

Eastern & Orient Hotel Street View

Eastern & Orient Hotel Oceanside View

For the short ride from the Swettenham Pier to the E&O Hotel, we were put on trishaws and sent out into the afternoon traffic of George Town.  It was a real thrill to see Honda and Toyota turning lights at eye level.  Being pedaled through the streets by a Tamil who appears to be less than a week from his next incarnation, makes a good case for cruelty-to-humans laws stronger.  Think tuberculosis and smoking!  The short trip was made in convoy with about 25 other trishaws containing other world cruisers.  It was a scene that could only be described as bazaar!  Two non-Asians in a trishaw is an overload,  two world cruisers in a trishaw after months of overindulgence onboard ship is way beyond overload.  Anyway, after passing under the guns of Fort Cornwallis, and by the offices/go-downs of the trading companies, and many banks, we arrived, sans car grill emblems on our bodies, at the E&O Hotel and were escorted by the staff and with drumming to a large banquet room.  (In earlier times, guests might have wondered if he or she was going to be served!)

All Aboard the Trishaw

E picked this one because she liked the flowers (plastic)

Trishaw on the Road

Note convertible top - down in this Image

George Town Clock Tower Roundabout

George Town City Hall (Part)

George Town Police Station

Reception Line at E&O Hotel

The tea was a testimony to why traveling in large groups can lead to food poisoning.  Tea was poured from large (~5 gallon) samovars that gave forth very weak tea, while the scones could have been used as weapons in a street riot.  Think of the E&O's tea as tourist bus "rest stop" offerings.  The good news is that all of us seemed to survive the experience with no ill effects.   Unknown to us, the "tea" included another cultural show with Chinese, Malay and Indian dancing accompanied by canned music played on a hyperactive sound system.  One advantage my fellow passengers with hearing aids have in a situation like this is that they can just turn them off!  Unfortunately, some had to suffer.  Gamalong and gongs at 90db are not for the weak of heart.  But, this too was survived.

Let the Culture Begin

Malay, Chinese and Indian hybrid dance. 

After free time, mostly in the hotel's gift shop, it was onto a tourist bus for the 10 minute ride back to the pier.  After re-embarking, we had a late afternoon sailing and a course set to cross the Bay of Bengal, around the tip of India, and on to Cochin, India.


About a half hour out of Penang, the Captain announced that the executive chef, Jean Marie, had acquired an exceptionally large fish to be served at dinner.   If any of us wanted to see it before it was carved, it was on the pool deck.  Of course, armed with a myriad of the latest in digital camera technology, the passengers rushed to the pool deck to photograph the fish.

April Fools!!!

Thailand and Through the Straits of Malacca

Prepared April 23 and 24, 2012, Gulf of Aqaba and Aqaba, Jordan and Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

  

March 28, 2012 anchored off Ko Samui, Thailand:  A Day in the Sun or Not

After an overnight cruise from Bangkok, we anchored at mid-morning in the Bay of Thailand off the small island of Ko Samui where we were joined by the M/V Europa.  Unless you wanted to lay on the beach or snorkel, it was a port visit without much to visit.  (When the local shopping guide's main item to purchase is pirated copies of Western CDs and DVDs, you know you are in trouble.)  Except for some Buddhist temples and a few tame elephants to ride, there just wasn't much to do. These were not an  attractive set of options to J and E, and coupled with the long run into shore on the ship's tender (in rather choppy water), we voted to sleep late, stay on board working on the blog, and reading.  About 6:00pm, we uped anchor and sailed for Port Klang, Malaysia.

Oh Great!  Now Two Cruise Ships' Passengers Looking for Something To Do

M/V Europa, Hanseatic Line

Thai Long-Tailed Fishing Boat Off Ko Samui

In fact, we were in such a low activity mode, we did not go to dinner in the dining room, because we would have had to dress formal, but went to the La Terrazza, the ship's Italian restaurant.  (J still had to wear a suit, which he claims has shrunk in the closet since the beginning of the trip.)  However, the formal gods struck back and gave J a night of communing with the commode.  Not a cruise experience to be recommended!

March 29 and 30, 2012 en route to Port Klang, Malaysia:  Here a Ship, There a Ship, Everywhere a Ship!

Our course, through the South China Sea, around Singapore, and into the Straits of Malacca, took us through some of the most heavily-trafficked sea lanes in the world.  Since we had little to do but play bridge and listen to excellent lectures by guest speakers, J photographed passing ships and created a mosaic that would give an idea of the variety of ships and their density in these sea lanes.  All of the photos were taken within the daylight periods on 29 and 30 March as we passed near Singapore and entered the Straits of Malacca.

Shipping Off Singapore

The ship's doctor, hearing via the ship's ever-active rumour mill of J's upset stomach, asked J to come in for a consultation with him.  The doctor pronounced that J had a case of gastritis (caused by hyperactive acid glands) and gave him some anti-acids, and sent him on his way.  Actually, the condition had passed by this time, but the long-term effect was that J was more prone to missing meals and less prone to over eating.  Sadly, it did not help the suit problem. 

On the evening of March 30, we had dinner with Fernando, the cruise director, and 7 other guests.  Dinner with Fernando in The Restuarant is always a great evening, because Fernando is a skilled raconteur and has many stories of his 30-plus years at sea on cruise ships.  He is also a diplomat and keeps even the most potentially hostile guest in a non-combative mood.

March 31, 2012 in port Port Klang, Malaysia:  A Birthday Party

Docking at Port Klang at 8:00am, we decided to sleep in, have a late breakfast, and stay on board.  Kuala Lumpur is a 30-minute shuttle bus ride from Port Klang, and we decided a bus trip was not in the cards.  Besides, we have visited KL several times and could not think of a single reason to suffer 60 minutes+ on a shuttle bus.  Picky, Picky.  We spent the day reading, working on the blog, chatting with friends, and generally lazying about.  We did bestir ourselves to the point of attending an excellent classical piano concert in the early evening.

Tug Along Side, Port Klang, Malaysia

Tied Up, Port Klang Cruise Terminal

At 7:30pm, we were off to a cocktail party (more club soda) and dinner to celebrate our bridge friends' (John and Pinky) birthdays.  It was all-in-all an entertaining evening at a table for 12 in the dining room.   Dinner and conversation continued into the late evening and we did not return to our room until about 11:00pm.  As a famous diarist said, "and so to bed."

A Fete in Bangkok

Prepared April 20 and 22, 2012, the Red Sea en route and in port Safaga, Egypt

Note:  Images to be added after return to Kona, May 2, 2012.

March 25, 26 and 27, 2012, Bangkok, Thailand:  Yes, Eloise, There is a Shangri-La

After an uneventful flight from Hanoi, we arrived at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, cleared immigration, picked up our luggage, passed through customs, and were met by our A&K guide in the airport's reception hall.  Then, it was into a van for the 30-minute drive to the Shangri-La Hotel on the Chao Phraya River in the very heart of Bangkok (at least tourist-Bangkok).  The drive only took 30 minutes because it was Sunday.  On a workday, it could have taken an hour or more.

Because we have been in Bangkok so many times, there was very little tourist talk.  The guide did tell us about the after effects of the monsoon flooding that occurred in October and November of 2011.  It was the worst flooding in Bangkok's recent history.  Both the driver's and guide's homes were made unliveable by the flooding, and they had been relocated to a Red Cross shelter, living there since November.  Government support, other than the shelters, has been limited to about US$25 per person, period.  The strain of being driven from their homes and living in shelters has proven too much for the elderly, and many have sickened and died.  Our guide's mother recently passed away, mainly from illness related to stress caused by the flooding.  Although the water levels have returned to normal, there are still problems with clean-up and reconstruction.

Arriving at the Shangri-La Hotel, we were escorted by the duty host to our room, and checked-in.  Our room was in the new Krungthep Wing and was way too POSH, with a view of the Chao Phraya River and the Somdet Phrachao Taksin Bridge.  In the near-melting heat of dry-season Bangkok, it was a real pleasure to stand by the window and watch river traffic from an air-conditioned room.  Note:  Environmental awareness has not affected the Thai tendency to confuse air conditioning with refrigeration, so every inside space in the city is super-cooled to polar bear comfortable.

View of the Chao Phraya River from the Shangri-La

Since we had flown in from Hanoi, we arrived before our fellow World Cruisers, because the Silver Whisper was to dock at Klong Toey Port at 12:00pm.  Passengers could not leave the Silver Whisper on reserved buses until mid-afternoon, arriving to check in at the Shangri-La about 2:30pm.  We were reunited at an afternoon high tea with all our Silversea friends.  Everyone told us what had happened on the ship, while we described our off-ship tour in Vietnam.  Basically, they reported that the Silver Whisper had spent a vast majority of the six days that we were ashore, sailing (from Ha Long Bay to Chan May/Hue, and Nha Trang, along the coast of Vietnam) in a South China Sea fog bank.  On the other hand,  Bangkok, well into its hot/dry season, was sunny and very hot.

For the 60-plus of us on the World Cruise, the evening began at 5:30pm with cocktails. Arriving at 6:00pm, J and E made a big dent in the club soda, while most of our fellow travellers did the same to the champagne.  A multi-course,Thai-themed dinner was served at 7:00pm in The Garden Gallery, and was followed by traditional Thai Classical dancers.  We thought that both dinner and dancers were excellent.

Jerry and Eloise at Dinner, Thai Style

Photo by Norman Rafelson

Thai Classical Dance Troop

Sleeping in on the morning of the 26th, we finished breakfast from a large buffett about  9:30am.  J & E had agreed to join Don and Kat on a special shopping expedition to find fabric for a quilting project in which Kat participates at home.  Checking with the concierge, we were directed to walk a short distance from the hotel to a street of tailor shops near Wat Suanphlu, which specialize in suits and dresses made within 24 hours.  Luckily, it was a very short distance, because by 10:00am, central Bangkok was already an oven.  We found an Indian tailor, who was just opening and was glad to sell us shirting fabric.  The whole time, however, he was eyeing Don and J sizing them up for suits.  Never happened!  We shortened the trip back to the Shangri-La by using another entrance and walking for about 15 minutes through the hotel's various lobbies, connecting passageways, and arcades.  In Bangkok, climate consists of outside "fry," and inside "freeze."  We decided that freeze was much better than fry.

Checking out of the hotel at 12:00 noon, we took the shuttle back to the Silver Whisper at about 12:30pm, arrived at Klong Toey Port at 1:30pm.  It was good to be back on the ship, and after unpacking, largely done by E (J has been declared packing/unpacking challenged), we rested the remainder of the afternoon and were in bed early.  We seemed to need more sleep to help recover from the past seven days' adventures, which had been very strenuous compared with the cruising life aboard the Silver Whisper.

Decorative Stone Inscription -- Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

The next day, Tuesday, March 27, we were to sail at 4:00pm, giving us a short day in Bangkok.  We took the 9:30am shuttle bus into the Central World ("The Largest Lifestyle Shopping Destination in Bangkok") arriving at about 10:15am -- not bad timing for Bangkok traffic on a work day.  It seems to us that Bangkok traffic is less congested now that the Skyway is fully operational.  But, it may just be optimistic observation.  The Central World is probably most famous as the shopping center that the Thai Yellow Shirt demonstrators tried to burn down in 2009.  After walking around this eight-level temple to manon, we are not sure whether we were saddened or pleased by the failure of their arson attempt.  Anyway, it is now totally restored and back in business selling things.  We, of course, followed in the cult of the shopper and purchased.  But, not too much -- cards, the new John Burdett novel, "Vulture Peak," and only one thing from Jim Thompson.  J called this a lucky escape!  Of course our friend, the Hotel Director Norman, captured some of our shopping center time on camera.

Shopping at Jim Thompson, Central World, Bangkok

Photo by Norman Rafelson

We returned about 1:00pm to the ship for lunch, and a nap.  Later in the afternoon, we watched the ship get underway for its two-hour transit down the Chao Phraya River to the Gulf of Thailand.  Then, it was south to the resort island of Ko Sui, and a day at the beach for those who like "fun in the sun" (not us).

Buddhist Temple, Chao Phraya River Bank

New Bridge Over Chao Phraya River

Vietnam: Part 4

Dear Reader:  Because we are returning to Kona in a few days, we will upload images for this post after we return on May 2, 2012.


Prepared April 16 and 19, 2012, the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea en route, Safaga, Egypt


March 23 and 24,  2012, Sapa, Lao Cai, and Hanoi, Vietnam:  The Night Train to Hanoi

Having recovered from our day's touring with a nap and tea, we, well mostly E, packed our bags, and at 6:00pm we checked out of the Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa, collected our box lunch (or would it be dinner?), climbed back into the SUV, and started down the mountain road to Lao Cai.  We were headed for the Lao Cai Train Station to take the "Victoria Express" along the Red River valley to Hanoi.  By the time we neared Lao Cai, darkness had fallen, but the route was the same that we had traveled the day before.  Arriving in Lao Cai at about 7:00pm, we were taken to what appeared to be a very inactive, local hotel and were seated in the lobby.  The hotel bordered the same plaza where the Lao Cai Train Station is located.

The reason for the visit to the hotel lobby was that Lao Cai Station did not open for passenger boarding until 8:30pm, and for the Victoria Express train at 9:00pm.  On the 207mi (333km) route between Lao Cai and Hanoi, passenger trains (at least express trains) seem to run only at night, leaving Lao Cai and Hanoi in the evening and arriving at the opposite end of the route in the early morning (~5:00am).  Also, the Victoria Express is not like the E&O Bangkok-to-Singapore train, but two private cars, which are attached to the 9:30pm Vietnam National Railways (VNR) express train to Hanoi.

So, we sat in the abandoned, marble lobby of a spookily quiet Lao Cai hotel, and with our guide, Thuan, shared our excellent box lunch -- ham and cheese sandwiches, fruit, pastries, etc.  Finally, at 9:00pm sharp, the Station gates opened, and we boarded the Victoria Express car for the trip to Hanoi.  The Victoria Express special rail car was, in fact, not that special.  It was a standard VNR sleeper car that had been renovated, repainted, and a fancy bathroom added outside our compartment by removing an end unit.  Nice, but not the E&O.  Our compartment was intended to sleep four with two pull-down bunk beds, but A&K, our travel agent, had booked an entire compartment for the two of us.  (No bunk beds, thank you, A&K!)

By the time we boarded, our side-by-side lower bunk beds were already made up.  Since we did not want to go to bed immediately, we sat on the edge of the beds and played cards, Spite and Malice, which E won (as usual).  The train departed exactly on schedule, and after we moved out of the Station and into the darkness, there was nothing to see from the compartment window except the occasional light.  After giving up on cards, we decided to go to bed; it is fortunate that neither J or E are over 5'6" tall, because anyone taller would have had a difficult time fitting into the bed.  As long as you were shortish, they were comfortable!

The 7 hour 40 minute trip to Hanoi (~27mph) was smooth, and there were a minimum of stops.  At 4:30am, the car steward  woke us with coffee (Nestle Instant).  We arrived on time at 5:10am at the Hanoi Railways Station on Le Duan Street.  Thuan was there to meet us when we stepped down from the train with our luggage; he had been on the train in another car.  Originally, we were scheduled to go for a pho (noodle) breakfast at a local restaurant, but by mutual consent, we agreed to have the car take us to the Metropole Hotel, where we checked in and had breakfast in the Club Lounge.  (Enough ethnic is enough, sometimes.)   We had survived the night train to Hanoi with very little wear except for a lack of sleep.

March 24 and 25, 2012, Hanoi, Vietnam:  Hanoi Revisited

Finishing our early light breakfast at about 6:00am, we were escorted to our room and shown its amenities, of which there are too many to mention.  Then, it was a hot shower, and a long morning nap to make up for the sleep that was lost on the train.  When we finally awoke and got organized, we went down to the Club Lounge for a second breakfast.  Yes, a second breakfast!

Since J and E had lived on-and-off in Hanoi from 1997 to 1999, we decided to just do a walking tour of part of the old city near the Hotel Metropole, and visit two museums, the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution and the National Museum of Vietnamese History.  After a couple of false starts (J's directional sense failing completely), we found the museums, which were located only a block or two from the hotel.  Getting lost is a good way to turn a short walk into a longer walk.

The Museum of Vietnamese Revolution is located in a restored, French-built government office building.  It contains 29 separate exhibition halls displaying artifacts of the Vietnamese uprisings against French colonialism, the wars of independence and reunification against the French and Americans, and the nation-building efforts since 1975.  Materials displayed are a small portion of the collection which is, in effect, the Vietnamese national archives.

Because the museum was closed from 11:30am to 1:30pm, we selected certain galleries to visit and concentrated most of our time on viewing materials from the French period up to the victory at Dien Bien Phu.  Early exhibits documented the nearly continuous uprisings against the French in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  Many later exhibits complemented what we had seen at the Dien Bien Phu battlefield and provided more material on the political background to the fighting that was not described at Dien Bien Phu.  There is a great picture of "Tricky Dick" Nixon touring Dien Bien Phu's fortified camp in February 1954 with the French Expeditionary Force's brass hats.  Proving once again that losers stick together!  Promptly at 11:30am, we were escorted from the museum by the staff.  Vietnamese do  not miss lunch -- museum visitors or no museum visitors!

We walked across the street to the National Museum of Vietnamese History.  Breaking with Vietnamese tradition, they do not observe the two- hour lunch break.  The building was purpose-built as a museum by the French in th 1920s and is a very attractive structure.  It's collections are essentially archaelogical and anthropological and are very well-displayed and captioned in three languages -- Vietnamese, English, and French.  We spent about two hours viewing the collections, which included a number of exceptional pieces from Vietnam's pre-French colonial periods, especially Cham and the early Vietnamese kingdoms.  A special exhibit in honor of the Year of the Dragon (2012) featured gold artifacts from the museum and on loan to it that contained dragon images.  It was a world-class display.

On our way back to the hotel, we walked past the restored, late-19th Century, French-built Opera House.  Across the street from the Opera House is the newly-constructed building for the Vietnamese Stock Exchange; final touches were being added as we passed--installation of a mini-bull.  Probably, it is a mini-bull because they are only expecting small bull markets.  When we reached the hotel, we decided to have hair cuts -- they are too expensive on the ship - however, at the hotel, they were about what we pay in Kona, not cheap!  And, J went for a massage to see if this would relieve the pain in his leg after the previous day's 250 steps experience.  Actually, it did help a great deal.  Then, there was lunch in the Club Lounge and a short nap.

Our next walking tour was one of our favorites in Hanoi.  An evening stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter.  It is a great place to observe the local scene:  Young lovers, couples with small children, old soldiers, retirees, pets walking owners, all come here to take the air.  In the center of the lake is a small tower dedicated to the spirit who lives in the lake and guards Vietnam.  At the south end of the lake is the  Ngoc Son Temple, where many people come to make offerings and pray for good luck.  Walking at a moderate pace and following the sidewalk around the lake, it took us about 45 minutes to complete the circuit.

The Old Quarter and surrounding part of Hanoi has not greatly changed in 15 years.  Most new construction has been intentionally located in other areas outside the built-up portions of the older Vietnamese and French quarters.  This gives older areas a much more uniquely Vietnamese feeling than the new, high-rise developments, which could be anywhere in Asia or for that matter anywhere in the world.

Returning to our hotel, we played cards and packed for our flight the next morning to Bangkok.  At 6:00am, we were awakened, ate breakfast, and checked out of the Hotel Metropole.  Our guide and driver picked us up at 7:00am, and we arrived at Noi Bai Airport by 7:45am in plenty of time for the 9:30am Vietnam Airlines flight to Bangkok.  In Bangkok we were to rejoin the Silversea World Cruise contingent for a special event at the Shangri-La Hotel.  However, the luxury and urban excitement of our old friend Bangkok would not compare to the historical insights and natural beauty of northwestern Vietnam, which we had experienced over the last few days.