Islands to Indochina Cruise on the Oceania Riviera
1/23/2024 to 2/15/2024
Page 1 – Pre-trip in Singapore
Page 2 – Embarkation; Ship
Page 3 - Cabin, Shows, Activities; Ports of Call: Muara, Brunei; Kota Kinabalu (Borneo), Malaysia
Page 4 - Ports of Call: Puerto Princesa, Philippines; Coron, Philippines; Manila, Philippines
Page 5 - Ports of Call: Hue (Chan May), Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 6 - Ports of Call: Saigon, Vietnam; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 7 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 1 & 2
Page 8 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 3 & 4
Post-Trip in Bangkok – Day 1
It was time to leave the Riviera and head for our three-night stay in Bangkok. With us having to take the shuttle bus to the gate to meet up with Pat, we weren’t sure if there was a terminal building there or how it would work. Using WhatsApp, I kept in touch with him to let him know what was going on.
We were supposed to leave the ship at 8:30 AM, but they called us about 20 minutes earlier. When we walked onto the dock, it was total mayhem. It isn’t a large dock area to begin with. There was a tented area on the dock with all the luggage with people searching for their stuff.
Then there was the matter of finding which bus to get on. We had to find ones that said Transfer to Gate, since there were numbered busses doing tours, transfers to the airport or transfers to the ship’s post cruise hotel stays. We finally found our bus, but it was almost full, so we moved to the next one that was still empty allowing us to sit on the first level. These weren’t the easy on-off shuttle busses. They were two story busses that had a small area for riders on the first level with an area where luggage would be stuffed. Most people had to go to the upper level with their hand luggage. Not convenient at all! The other luggage was shoved in the normal luggage compartment, but it was smaller with people also on the first level. The luggage was a challenge and it slowed down the process. When we finally got to the gate, there was nothing there but the gate. Since this was more of a commercial port, they didn’t have a terminal to wait in for private transers. They did have a small, tented area where everyone was crowding in to get out of the sun. Thailand was the hottest country we had been in so far with high temperatures in the 90’s, so getting out of the sun was most desirable. We found a tree that provided some shade while waiting for Pat. We had told him to be there at 9:00 AM and we were early.
When he arrived, we had the challenge of fitting our luggage into his SUV, since he had his two young daughters with him. He had told us the previous day that they would be joining us, but there would be no problem getting the luggage in the car. Even with one of his young daughters using part of the back seat, he was able to fit our luggage in. He put their suitcase on top of the car. His youngest daughter sat on Pat’s lap while Kiki drove. The kids were a pleasure. They were very cute and never said anything.
On our drive into Bangkok, Pat told us about what we were seeing along the road, as well as things we might do while in Bangkok that wouldn’t be on the tours we were taking. Pat and Kiki were just a lovely couple. They took great care of us and helped us to enjoy our visit to Pattaya and our drive into Bangkok. We were staying at the Peninsula Bangkok hotel (https://www.peninsula.com/en/bangkok/5-star-luxury-hotel-riverside).
The lobby area was decorated for the Chinese New Year.
We arrived around 11:00 AM. To our pleasant surprise, our room was ready for us. The desk attendant told us that we had been upgraded. That sounded nice! When we stepped into our room, we were blown away with the corner room on the 33rd floor with windows looking out to the city and the Chao Phraya River, the River of Kings.
The king-size bed was very comfortable and there was plenty of seating in the room.
When we checked in, we were each given a very fragrant small flower arrangement. They smelled good the three days we stayed in the room.
We also had a fruit snack on the coffee table. There was a pamphlet on the table showing us the different fruits that they might offer us. It was a nice touch.
We had a Nespresso machine area and a hallway leading to the bathroom. Closets and a makeup area were in the hall.
The bathroom was quite large with double sinks, a tub and shower.
We were very happy with this hotel. It was quite different than the Marina Bay Sands in that it felt more like a luxury hotel since it wasn’t crowded and felt very refined. We went down to see what options we had for lunch. There was outside dining by the river or inside dining. The dining room also had seating just outside on a balcony, with nice views of the back of the hotel and across the river.
Since the dining room was so pretty, we decided to eat there. It was a good choice. I ordered Shrimp Pad Thai and Cathy had Nasi Goreng. We had never heard of Cathy’s, but it sounded good. When the orders arrived, they looked outstanding. My Pad Thai was wrapped in a noodle basket. Once opened, I could see all the goodies. We both enjoyed our lunch very much.
After lunch, we went back up to the room to make plans for the rest of the day. We already had reservations for dinner and had a few hours to do some exploring. We decided to take a hop-on-hop-off river cruise that would give us a preview of some of the places we would see on the next day’s city tour. We looked out the window and saw a long tail boat speeding by. We would see more of them soon.
One of the perks of staying at the Peninsula was that they had shuttle boats that would take guests to the IconSiam mall nearby or across the river where there was another boat terminal where commuter boats stopped. That was where we were headed.
There were a couple of HoHo boats, but the one we wanted was referred to as the blue boat.
They had different levels of tickets. The whole day ticket that would allow us to get on and off to see sights was only 200 bahts or $5.50 each. Since we just planned on taking a single trip to the end of the line and back, I purchased the 60 baht or $1.67 single tickets.
We knew that the weather in Bangkok would be in the 90’s for highs every day. On this day it was 90 degrees, but the humidity was only 35% and there was a mild breeze, so it was very comfortable for the open boat tour.
The first building we saw was our hotel. We could see the area where our room was high up on the left side with the three windows.
A few hundred feet away was the IconSiam mall where we would be having dinner.
There were lots of things to look at on the river. We were enjoying the ride.
We passed by Wichaiprasit Fort that looked like large ship. It is the Royal Thai Navy Headquarters building.
We could see Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, approaching. In 2010, I saw Wat Arun from the river, but hadn’t been able to walk on the grounds. I regretted that for 14 years and was looking forward to finally being there the next day. I was glad to be able to get a nice photo from the boat this time. Last time the sun was behind it and ruinied the photo.
Continuing up the river, we came to a temple.
The end of the line was near the beautiful Rama 8 bridge with its glistening gold cables.
When we stopped at the dock, the boat mostly emptied. An agent was asking to see tickets for those that were still on the boat. She was telling me something in Thai that I didn’t understand, but we finally communicated. Apparently the one-way ticket was just for one way not the return. I had to come up with 60 more bahts for each of us to get back to the hotel. Still a bargain for the river cruise.
We headed back south and were seeing things on the other side of the river. In some places there were stilt houses.
We could also look back at Wat Arun and see the other four satellite prangs sticking up. I learned that they were prangs not stupas, which have pointed tops. Prangs have tops that look more like corn cobs.
We were able to get a glimpse of the Grand Palace area from the river too. We would be there the next day.
A nice looking long-tail boat passed slowly by us. These boats have large car motors on them. A shaft extends out of the motor with the blades on the end. The props come out of the water and can be aimed in any direction. I first saw them in the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun.
We next saw the Royal Seminary. It was built on the grounds of the first all Thai girls school.
Close by were some other waterfront residences. Everything on the river is not made for tourists.
A little further down the river, we came to the Holy Rosary Church. It dates back to 1769 when Portuguese Catholics resettled after the fall of the ancient royal capital, Ayutthaya. The current church building was built in 1897.
The last building we saw on the cruise was quite unusual, as is the name, King Power Mahanakhon. It is a 79-story mixed use building that draws your attention.
The cruise had taken about an hour and a half. We were glad we had taken it. We were ready for three more days with tour guides showing us the sights. After resting up a bit, we headed downstairs to the hotel’s waterfront bar. The location was wonderful with nice views of the water activity. I was also able to take some photos of the open area behind the hotel.
We decided to head over to the IconSiam mall early on the hotel’s shuttle boat. It just took a few minutes to get there. I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. Some people were watching the water show, but there were also groups of recent school graduates walking around with their friends and families taking lots of selfies.
When I turned around, I saw a photo I had to take of a building with reflections and beautiful lighting from the setting sun.
Inside the mall was even more crowded. It is a very large high-end mall. There are many food venues too, which were jam packed with people. I have never seen a mall with so many people in it, even at Christmas time. The one photo I did take was in a quieter area out of the mainstream.
We went up to a higher level where it was much quieter. This was where we were going to have dinner, Blue by Alaine Ducasse (https://www.blue-alainducasse.com).
It is a Michelin restaurant and we thought it would be a great way to celebrate our first night in Bangkok. Since we arrived early, they took us to the lounge to wait. It wasn’t long and they sat us at a table right next to the window. It is a lovely restaurant and we liked being able to look out at the river.
The restaurant had a set menu which worked out very well. There were several pre-items before the amuse-bouche. All were just outstanding. I’m not going to say what they were, since the names don’t mean much when the food is this fancy.
The bread tray was out of this world. The French butter made the bread even better.
Then the delicious main items were served. Wow, so good.
While the meal was going on, the water/light show started again. We had good seats for it.
The desserts were a great finish to an outstanding meal. It was also very reasonably priced for a Michelin starred restaurant.
When we returned on the shuttle, we stopped next to the bar area we had been at earlier. It looked quite nice with the torches and other illumination.
When we returned to our room, we checked out the illuminated city below us.
It had been a most enjoyable day. We needed to get a good night’s sleep, since tomorrow would be a very busy touring day.
Post-Trip in Bangkok – Day 2
We started the day with a delicious buffet breakfast at the restaurant next to the river. I had to take a photo of the hotel from there, since it looked so nice.
We were starting our tour at 8:00 AM, since we had a very full day ahead of us. We were using Tour with Tong (http://www.tourwithtong.com) for the next three days. Our guide for those days was Onn. He was a great guy and so knowledgeable about all the places we would visit. We were very lucky to have him for our Bangkok tours.
When we met and introduced ourselves, he had difficulty saying Cathy’s name. He was calling her Katy instead. So, Cathy was Katy for the next three days.
One of the things that was on our itinerary for the day was a long-tail boat ride. Onn recommended that we do it first since the canals would get very crowded later in the day and make it difficult to even get a boat. We drove up the river not far from where our HoHo boat ride turned around, but we were on a tributary of the main river. The boat we were taking had the same festive paint job as others we had seen.
We had the boat to ourselves. Onn would take lots of photos of us during the three days, which we did appreciate. I will only use a few of them in the rest of the review so you don’t get sick of seeing us.
It was fun riding on the river seeing what was there. There were some stilt houses as well as the Royal Barge Museum very close to each other.
We weren’t planning on going to the museum on our tour, but I was glad we were able to see a little of it from the boat.
There were interesting buildings and lots of temples along the river.
On one dock we saw a young monitor lizard sunning itself.
During our time in Thailand, we saw many displays of the Thai king and queen. This one was particularly nice.
At one point the boat captain had to pull over to clean his prop. They get stuff on the prop that must be cleaned off periodically. He was filing it down also, so he might have hit something with the prop. It didn’t take too long, and we were cruising again.
We turned around and returned to the dock where we started. The boat was going much faster on the return trip. More fun!
The SUV was waiting for us. Our driver, Naris, would always jump out of his seat to open my door behind him. I had to ask to please not bother with it, but he was persistent. Our next stop would be the highlight of any Bangkok tour, the Grand Palace. It is visited by 8 million people a year. Construction of the palace began in 1782, with buildings being added by successive kings. We got our first view of some of the buildings behind the tall white wall.
As we entered the grounds, we saw the main palace building that is now used for government functions.
On the other side of the path were porcelain covered prangs.
We walked over to the entrance to the main temple area. It was a narrow entrance and lots of people were entering with us. The wall paintings were beautiful, but there was no way to get photos with the big crowd.
Our first destination was to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We loved the ornate porcelain coated monkeys and demons on the golden stupa.
There are so many gorgeous things to look at in this area. Our enrichment speaker on the ship told us there is so much eye candy that it will overwhelm us. Having been here before, I knew she was right. I was enjoying Cathy seeing this amazing place. The temple’s exterior is just breathtaking.
There were crowds waiting to go up the steps to get inside the temple to see Emerald Buddha. The enrichment speaker had a complete session on the travels of the Emerald Buddha and how the country in its possession thrived and was kept safe. We got in the line and were there seeing it in all its splendor. I was quite surprised when Onn told us we could take photos of the Buddha. Fourteen years ago, it wasn’t allowed. The Buddha was in its winter decorations, so only the emerald face was showing.
Below is a photo from Wikipedia that was submitted by Supanut Arunoprayote that shows all three seasons’ decorations. From left to right they are summer, rainy and winter.
As we left the temple, we admired the temple’s gorgeous decorations.
We could see more eye candy waiting for us outside this temple.
The huge Yaksha demon god statues are a very popular photo opp. The brightly colored porcelain inlays make them so beautiful.
There are just so many amazing things to look at. I will try to put in my favorites, but there are still too many. While walking around Onn would point out statues, Buddhas and even doors that were at one time in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya that we would be visiting the next day.
In one area they had a miniature Angor Wat displayed. It is there, because at one time that part of Cambodia was part of Thailand.
As we left the temple area through the same narrow hallway we entered from, I was able to take some photo of the beautiful wall art.
Even outside the main temple area, the buildings were so beautiful.
This one small building looked nice from a distance, but as we got closer, there was so much intricate detail covering the whole thing.
We walked closer to the Grand Palace and could see the elephants guarding it.
As we were leaving the Grand Palace, we passed by more beautiful buildings. We had only been there for about an hour and a half but could easily have spent many hours there enjoying this truly amazing place.
We drove to another temple close by, Wat Pho. It is one of the oldest ones having been established in the 6th century. The entrance has large concrete guards that are referred to as the Giants at Wat Pho.
The main attraction at this temple is the reclining Buddha that was built in 1832. It is in a long narrow building with openings in the wall that are not large enough to take a full-size photo of the statue without taking it from the foot end. Once again, the place was packed with people. I had to shove through the throngs to get the photos I wanted.
The bottom of the feet are quite pretty.
The wall art behind the Buddha was beautiful and something most people weren’t even seeing, since they left after seeing the front of the Buddha.
There were lots of beautiful buildings and stupas on the grounds.
There were also buildings that had lots of different Buddhas next to each other. Another had a very tall standing one.
We then went to the most sacred building in the complex, the ordination hall. The beautiful elevated seated Buddha is thought to have come from Ayutthaya.
It was lunch time. Onn wanted us to go to a Michelin starred restaurant that was close by. Unlike most Michelin restaurants, this one was a bargain. The three of us ate for a total of $20.
After lunch we were going to a temple I had been waiting 14 years to visit, Wat Arun. We had a good look at it from the previous days boat ride, but this would be much better. On the way there, we passed by a monument with four elephant heads.
When we entered the grounds, it was so much better than I had expected. Even after visiting the Grand Palace, this place was most impressive. The temple was founded in 1656 and main prang built in 1851. The central prang is around 250 ft tall and is encrusted with colorful porcelain. The four satellite prangs are decorated with shells and porcelain. Although they look very tall in the below photo, they are less than half the height of the central prang. I was glad I was able to get photos from the river the previous day to show the whole complex, since it wasn't possible when in the grounds.
All the structures are so beautifully and intricately decorated.
I was glad that I had my longer lens with me so that I could get photos of the elephant heads on the main prang and horses on the satellite ones.
Onn asked if I wanted to climb up on the main prang. Absolutely! There were lots of other people already on it, some having photos taken.
After climbing up and gaining some elevation, I could look across the river and see some of Wat Pho and Grand Palace. I could even see some of the Rama 8 bridge we saw the previous day.
From this elevation I had a different view of the other prangs.
We came to the steps leading further up the prang, but they were blocked off. Probably a good thing since they did get pretty steep. From that vantage point I was able to get a better photo of the elephants near the top.
It was time to leave the prang area and see other parts of the grounds. I would have liked to stay there much longer, but we had seen so much there, and we still had more to do. We checked out a few more buildings before getting back in the car.
Since Onn had noticed that I liked large Buddha statues, he had one more place he said that I needed to see. He was taking us to the Pak Nam Temple where the largest Buddha in Bangkok is located. It is 226 feet tall or about 20 stories tall. The traffic getting into the temple was terrible. We eventually just got out of the car and walked the rest of the way while Naris parked the car. As we got closer, we could see the Buddha’s head. Now that is a big Buddha!
Onn took our photo next to it, but it looked much larger than the photo shows, since it had to be a wide angle shot.
We walked to a different area of the grounds to hopefully get a different angle on the Buddha. On the way we went into a temple with a Buddha. We weren’t Buddha’d out yet, although we had seen so many.
From outside that temple, I got better photos of the big Buddha. I was glad Onn brought us there.
On the way to the parking garage, we saw a large stupa. Onn asked if we wanted to go in it. He said was very nice. Cathy and I looked at the stairs leading up to it and told Onn we were done for the day. We had an awesome tour, but we were ready to get back to the hotel and chill.
With the 1 ¾ hour drive to Ayutthaya the next day, Onn asked if we wanted to start earlier 7:30 AM. We said we would try to be in the lobby around 7:45 AM. He said they would be there early if we were.
When we got back to the hotel, we had a different fruit on the coffee table. It was a plango, a cross between a plum and mango. We liked it.
Outside the windows, we could see lots of activity on the river.
Since we had a very full day, we decided to eat in the downstairs restaurant. The meal was great and they had very good live music during dinner.
After dinner, we walked around the grounds. The pool area was closed but I wanted to get night photos of it. We also saw the hotel’s Thiptara Thai restaurant that we had made reservations for the next night.
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