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Asian Cruise December 7-29, 2018
Part II: Singapore to Singapore
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - Singapore
Today was the end of my first leg but the beginning of my second and my first task was to go into the Orchard Road District (the famous shopping area of Singapore) to pick up a friend of mine who would join me for the next ten days. After a late breakfast among others who were staying on the ship - while some 1,000 would leave and another 1,000 join - I then walked off the gangplank and into the large terminal building, passing through immigration, exchanged some USD into Singapore dollars (almost equivalent to the Canadian dollar rate), hooked my phone up to the terminal wi-fi to see if there were any urgent messages and then asked someone about a taxi. I explained to a young woman who was checking in new passengers where I wanted to go and asked if she knew how much it would cost. She offered to use her Grab (an Uber-like) app to fetch me one. I agreed and a taxi was there in seconds having bid on the ride at $12, though he added two more dollars to the fare when it went through a toll on leaving the cruise ship dock area - which may or may not have been legal. I arrived at my friend's hotel and while he checked out, I walked to a mall nearby to do some shopping in a heavy downpour using an umbrella I borrowed from the hotel. The humidity was crazily high here so I was glad we were not staying. We then got a taxi from the hotel back to the cruiseship terminal for $11 - and no toll to pay. We grabbed a late lunch from the pizza parlour on the top deck and the next two days were spent relaxing and traveling East toward Borneo.
The below photo is of Singapore port from my balcony and shows a fancy new triple-tower complex with the top bit shaped like a boat. I was told there is a great bar up there as well as an infinity pool, but frankly we did not have time to visit Singapore as we were obliged to be onboard by 3:30 and my friend had to go through the (boring) lifeboat drill and safety assembly spiel. Nonetheless, the tours available for Singapore were tempting and as a result I may have to return some day. Among them were visits to the 82-hectare botanical gardens, home to over 12,000 orchids, including 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids, the Raffles Hotel - unfortunately now closed for renovations -, Chinatown, the Sri Marimman Hindu temple in Little India, and Gardens By The Bay, a 250-acre horticultural park showcasing over 250,000 rare plants housed in domed conservatories, super trees standing 16 stories high, the world's largest indoor waterfall as well as an Observation Deck located 650 feet above the ground and offering panoramic views. There were also tours featuring Singapore's War Sites, a river cruise, and a zoo where they offered breakfast with the orangutans. A newer tour was to locations featured in the recently released movie “Crazy Rich Asians!”

Friday, December 21, 2018 - Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia
I should first explain the photo of the bird below which was not photographed in Malaysia but rather on the way to Malaysia. I was working in my cabin when I saw three birds fly past the balcony floor-to-ceiling windows. Thinking they may be terns, I took up my camera with its long lens and waited for them to fly by again - birds being creatures of habit. I got a very good shot and was able to identify it right away as a brown booby having seen them before in other parts of the world. The photo to the left of it is the Malaysian flag.
I had first heard of Kota Kinabalu from a former colleague who went to climb Mt. Kinabalu back in the 1990s. At 4,095 metres high, this is the highest mountain in Sabah, one of Malaysia's 13 states and, along with Sarawak, located on the large island of Borneo. In fact it is the highest elevation between the Himalayas and Papua New Guinea. In total, Malaysia encompasses 127,317 square miles and has a population of 29.72 million (2013 stats). The population of Sabah is 3.5-3.8 million (according to our guide). Its capital is known as KK among its 500 to 600 thousand inhabitants. Magellan visited in 1521 and in 1704 the Sultan of Brunei at the time gave Sabah to the Sultan of Suluh to thank him for his help during a rebellion. Then in 1763 the then Sultan signed a treaty with the British East India Company granting trade concessions and tales of headhunters and pirates became lore.
Baron Overbeck and his associate Alfred Dent gained control in the late 19th century. The fishing village of Api-Api became the administrative capital and was named Jesselton after the owner of the North Borneo Company, Jessel. During World War II, the town was captured by the Japanese and destroyed by allied bombs. It was then completely rebuilt and named Kota Kinabalu in 1968. When Malaysia became independent in 1963, it fused the British colonies of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo with the federation of states on the Malay Peninsula. Nine of the 13 states have hereditary rulers and the King, who is the Head of State, is elected from among the nine princes for a 5-year term. Malaysia's prosperity has largely stemmed from rubber and tin, but also oil, timber and natural gas. Its per capita income has soared since independence.
The eleven states on the peninsula contain 40% of the land but 86% of the population. The Eastern Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak are not only rich in resources but also highly distinct ethnically and culturally. There are 32 tribes in Sabah (35 according to our guide), yet the Malays are a minority among Chinese, Filipinos and other nationalities. Fifty percent of Malaysians are Christian, while 30-35% are Muslim. We were also told by our guide that 95% of KK lies on reclaimed land.
The ship only offered four tours - as climbing the mountain was out of the question due to its distance from the port - none of which seemed terribly exciting. Yet had we not taken a tour, the only other option was to take a shuttle to the nearest shopping centre, which seemed a rather boring option to us. All four tours highlighted Borneo culture and its one (or perhaps there were several?) cultural villages. As I was keen to photograph orangutans (which means “people of the jungle”) and especially proboscis monkeys, both of which are difficult to see in the wild due to thick jungle, we opted for the tour to the Lok Kawi Zoological Park, which as zoos go was not bad. Our first stop, however, was to Sabah Heritage Village, part of Sabah Museum. The village showcased a number of traditional houses from several tribes, inside of which women were selling traditional beaded jewellery, and men dressed up as head-hunters (photo) gave tourists a chance to pop a balloon by blowing pellets through a blowgun. Looking now at the map of the museum complex, I see that we only saw a small part as the “43-acre Sabah Museum Complex...officially opened by the King of Malaysia, Ke Bawah DYMM Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Agong Sultan Ahmad Shah on 11th April 1984...encompasses the flagship multi-gallery main building, science and technology center, a sprawling ethno-botanical garden, two heritage villages” (only one of which we visited) “and an Islamic Civilization Museum.” We were given only about an hour to see everything, so after a cursory visit through a couple of the heritage village buildings, we headed for the Museum, which featured head-hunter implements and skulls, as well as a number of mannequins in traditional ethnic clothing (hence the hat below) and a large exhibition about the reigning prince of Sabah, including numerous photos of him meeting heads of states from other countries.
We were then whisked away through countryside to Lok Kawi Zoological Park, a 280-acre area containing mostly rescued animals and birds, where we were given about an hour and a half to see everything: three species of deer (Chital, Kijang and Rusa); a large hornbill; a few endangered pygmy elephants; a sea eagle, who did not seem at all happy in such a small cage; a pair of sun bears; a non-endemic Sarawak tiger all on his own, pretty much asleep; a pleasant group of four or five Orangutans, who seemed quite happy to play and pose for us; feeding Proboscis monkeys, who were quite aware of our cameras pointing at them through the glass and were not happy about it - they are so-named after the Dutch with their big noses - the male has the longer pendant nose while the female's is more pointed and sticks straight out; a type of porcupine; a small horse; two types of cattle (Ankole-Watusi and Tembadau); an emu; and Gibbon monkeys up in the trees and hence impossible to photograph. There was no extra time to explore the botanical garden which was also part of the Park. Our guide was Yamin, who giggled a lot but seemed to enjoy his job.
Sunday, December 23, 2018 - Nha Trang, Vietnam
We were planning on having not too taxing a day given that tomorrow we would leave the ship and go overland, and in any case I had already explored Nha Trang last week, so we decided to do our own thing and hoped we might have a beach day. Nevertheless, the presence of heavy clouds precluded that idea, and instead, after all the tours had left, we left the ship around 10:30 after hearing the announcement that tender tickets were no longer required to go ashore (Nha Trang has no berth for ships our size to dock at). Upon our arrival at the pier, we took the free shuttle to the recommended hotel with wifi, sat and had a coffee, and caught up on e-mails and Facebook, etc. We then wandered through the damp and puddled streets on foot over to the market for a look and back to the beach for a look, then sat in another cafe and had a beer until it was time to catch the last shuttle back to the pier and join a very long line of passengers waiting for the last tenders back to the ship. So as to make the wait not seem so long, the crew provided water and freshly baked cookies. At least it was not a humid day, nor did it rain, but the sun never did come out.
Monday, December 24, 2018 - Phu My - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Siem Reap, Cambodia
It was a long trip into Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) from the port of Phu My, so our guide, whose name sounded like “Near” entertained the 19 of us on this special tour with an introduction to his country - much of which information I had heard before, during last week's tours in Vietnam. However, the new information I retained was that Vietnam's number one crop is rice and Vietnamese eat a lot of it, consuming up to three meals of rice a day. A starch, it is converted into sugar, and as a result, diabetes is the number one illness in this country - and, he added, also in China. Vietnamese coffee is another special commodity and the more expensive option sold in Vietnam has been - ahem, shall we say - filtered through live weasels' digestive systems. Near was a bright and cheerful guide and told us that Vietnam was number one in many things. However, he did mix up some of his English. He started talking about leprechauns in Vietnam at some point and my listening radar perked up, and I questioned it, saying to myself, “Leprechauns? ....in Vietnam? Had they left Ireland and migrated, tired of eating potatoes and wanting rice instead?” Fortunately, Near also heard himself say leprechauns, or perhaps he saw my eyebrows rise, and corrected himself quickly by laughing and saying “sorry I mean to say not leprechauns but peppercorns.” I don't remember why this word came up but he had probably being telling us that Vietnam was the number one producer of peppercorns too.
Our first visit, once we had reached Ho Chi Minh City, home to 91 football fields, 86 swimming pools and 256 gyms, apparently, after a ride lasting at least an hour and a half (80 km), was to the Thien Hau Temple, located in Cholon (Chinatown), once upon a time filled with brothels and opium dens. Considered one of the city's most revered Chinese temples, it houses an image of the sea goddess who, legend has it, travels on the clouds and rescues seafarers from storms and shipwrecks. Next, we had a short photo stop outside Reunification Hall, a palace that housed South Vietnam's president until the fall of Saigon and now serves as a museum for Vietnam War relics. Then we visited the National History Museum of Vietnam, a French colonial style building, where we viewed a variety of Buddha statuary from various countries and watched a performance of Vietnamese water puppets at its theatre. One of the photos below shows the three puppeteers who earlier had been manipulating the wooden puppets attached to long poles while standing in the water behind a screen.
After that, we were driven to Minh Phuong Lacquer factory, where the manufacturing process was explained to us. We were then given time to peruse their products ranging from small boxes to large pieces of furniture, and buy some, if tempted. Next was a brief photo stop at the red-brick Roman-Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, completed in 1880 and the largest church ever built in the French empire, I read, boasting two 190-foot tall bell towers. There was no time to visit inside, however. Located on the same square was the Main Post Office, built between 1886 and 1891 by the architecture Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame) and the largest of its kind in Vietnam - though, unfortunately, once again, we were not given the time to visit it. To me, a look inside this building and the church would have been more interesting than the lacquerware factory, but we were given no choice in the matter. Our final stop was the Grand Hotel on Dong Khoi Street - a famous shopping street - for a buffet lunch and entertainment by musicians and dancers. The women entertaining us were all wearing the lovely ao dai, pronounced “ow yai,” the traditional Vietnamese long silk tunics worn over silk pants. After lunch, we tried to find these in the stores around the hotel but had no luck at all. Then we headed for the airport with photo stops en route of the Rex Hotel, home of “Friday Night Follies,” the town hall - also in French colonial style - and the Bitexco Financial Tower, which, upon its completion in 2010, became the tallest building in Vietnam. It managed to keep this status for a few months until January 2011, when it was surpassed by another tower. According to Wikipedia, “Vietnam's first non-rooftop helipad is on the 52nd floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower... extend[ing] 22 metres out from the main structure. It is strong enough to carry a helicopter up to three tons of weight.” Yet in reality, we were told by our guide, it is not possible for helicopters to land on it, as the rotor blades would cause turbulence and crack the windows of the building. Nonetheless, it was probably thought to be a great idea at the time!
We arrived at the airport in time to board our 4:00 flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. The ship had arranged for agents to procure Cambodian visas for us on arrival so we handed over our passports and photos and were told that our passports would be handed back to us at the hotel in the morning. The flight was about an hour and we arrived at dusk at a very modern airport, financed no doubt by the tourists who had been coming to see Angkor Wat since it was opened. Our local guide Rino (pronounced Reeno, and not rhino, he hastened to add) greeted us, took us and our luggage to our bus and provided a spiel about his city for the 15-minute journey to our hotel, the 5-star Sokha Angkor Resort, which was festooned with Santa Clauses, reindeer and fairy lights galore, not to mention a huge Christmas tree and parcels in the atrium. Oh Holy Night, we realised, it was Christmas Eve!
Tuesday, December 25, 2018 - Siem Reap - Angkor Wat, Cambodia
The flag of Cambodia, which you will see below, has three horizontal bands of blue, red (double width) and blue, and a depiction of Angkor Wat in white centred on the red band. This shows how important Angkor Wat is to Cambodia, formerly known as Kampuchea and whose official language is Khmer. We were finally here at the highlight of the entire trip and one that had been long on both our bucket lists. We were about to find out why this area was so popular and whether it was worth all the hype.
Just before leaving the hotel after breakfast and getting our passports back, I noticed the beautiful lotus seen in the photo below in front of our hotel. A few minutes later we were to see water lilies in the moat around Angkor Wat. We were told that one difference between a lotus and a water lily is that the lotus stays open all day while the water lily closes up mid-afternoon after opening around mid-morning. Again, we had Rino as our tour guide all day and he did a very good job. On our way to the Angkor ticket centre, he told us that the name of the town we were in, Siem Reap, is Khmer for “Siam defeat” Siam being the old name of Thailand. Siem Reap was the Khmer capital for years before it was invaded by both Thai and Cham (in Vietnam) people and witnessed quite a few wars over the years. Developed tremendously by tourism since, it now has more than sixty hotels to accommodate the mass of tourists. The original name of “Norkor” meaning “Holy City” evolved into “Angkor”, which we could see from various banners around has been a UNESCO heritage site for 26 years now - ever since 1992. Rino also told us that 92% of Cambodians are Buddhists.
At the Welcome Centre, the Angkor Visitor Code of Conduct was proudly displayed and from it I noted the following information: “Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire (9th to 15th centuries) and [was] once the largest city in the world. Today, Angkor is still an active spiritual site for Buddhists and citizens who engage in daily worship, prayer and meditation. Angkor is also a living site where over 130,000 inhabitants have lived for many generations. The APSARA National Authority has been responsible for the conservation and sustainable development of Angkor since 1995. One of our goals is to harmonize tourist experiences with public safety and respect towards our community. This official Visitor Code of Conduct was designed to support this goal. It was developed in cooperation with local communities, visitors, tour guides and restoration teams.” And then, “To enhance your experience and to preserve Angkor for generations to come, we kindly urge you to observe the following points.” I now summarize: 1. dress code (no revealing clothing, respectful dress); 2. no touching or sitting on the monuments, no removal of archaeological artifacts and no graffiti - no bringing of backpacks, umbrellas, tripods or high heels into the temples; 3. “As Angkor is a sacred site, loud conversation and noise and other inappropriate behaviour in Cambodian culture is considered to be offensive and may disturb other visitors. Please keep calm and be respectful” (more about this later); 4. no entering restricted areas; 5. no smoking or littering; 6. no giving of money or candy to children as it encourages them not to attend school and to beg; 7. ask if you wish to take photos of monks; women should not touch, stand or sit too close to monks. At the bottom too, it mentioned that drones were not permitted, and especially “Any act of looting, breaking or damaging Angkor, or exposing sexual organs and nudity in public area is a crime punishable by law” My goodness, I thought. There must have been a history of such incidents if that reminder was needed.
We lined up to have our photos taken so that we could be issued with our tickets, which were then encased in plastic and hung round our necks. The one-day pass currently costs US$37.00 while a three-day pass is US$62.00 and a seven-day pass, US$72.00. We were obliged to show these passes each time we entered one of the sacred sites, of which there were nine, according to the brochure we were given at the time. In fact, we were to see four of them today, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. We had a long day ahead of us, but the sun was shining, the air was warm, and to my mind there were few better ways for me to spend Christmas this year.
Our first temple was Angkor Wat itself, a 12th century construction and the largest religious building in the world, apparently, composed of sandstone, lava stone and wood. By some people, it is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We all stood under the shade of a large tree as Rino talked about the history and symbolism of the site - sadly none of which I retained, if truth be told, as I was busy people watching, photographing and enjoying the moment and indeed the fact that I was finally here! As repairs were being made to the original bridge over the moat to the sacred site, a floating bridge had been erected for tourists to use, and the water lilies in the moat, open in the morning, were very photogenic. As I crossed the water to the complex, I photographed a bright pink water lily with a red dragonfly on top and another feeding insect beneath, as you will see here.
There are several stages at Angkor Wat to discover because, after all, the entire area is 208 hectares (500 acres). We entered from the west and climbed up to a raised sandstone terrace located at the end of a causeway. Giant stone lions greeted us at either side of this terrace. As we looked straight ahead, at the other end of the causeway we could see another entry gate with three towers of varying heights as a partial collapse had taken place at some time. This entry tower in fact prevented us from seeing the iconic five towers of the central group, representing classical Khmer architecture. Stepping into the entry tower, we were presented with a statue of a standing Vishnu with eight arms. In fact this Wat (temple) encompasses a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu symbolism. It was built during the twelfth century by King Suryavarman II as a huge mausoleum where he could be worshipped after his death and which he dedicated to Vishnu - hence the statue.
Next we arrived at a courtyard encompassing walls with friezes of dancing women (devatas), more stone lions and more seven-headed serpents, which we were told was Naga, the protector of Buddha. In fact this serpent and its long body ran along both handrails of the main path through the open area of the complex. Rino pointed out a library on the way - a solitary, empty building in its own space. We then came to another set of towers and walls and climbed up to the first level. Here monks were sitting ready to provide blessings to those who asked. In the centre was a large (empty) swimming pool with stairs for climbing in and out. The second level which we came to next had plenty more reliefs and the crowds were thick, so thick, in fact, we decided not to climb up to the third level. Had we done so, apparently we would have had a panoramic view of the temple itself and the jungle that surrounds it. Instead, on level two, my camera was attracted by a troop of dancers in elaborate costumes posing for photographs with tourists for money (was that even allowed?). Granted, they were not children, as mentioned in the Code of Conduct rule number 6. But perhaps the greatest annoyance were the large groups of tourists - of a certain nationality - who were posing for their own selfies, and consequently sitting on parts of the sacred temple and shouting - yes shouting at each other! Clearly, they had neither read nor been told about the Code of Conduct - notably rule numbers 2 and 3. This was very disturbing to the rest of us and really distracted from the holiness and sacredness of the site. It is a pity, but whether their tour guide was to blame for not instructing them about the rules beforehand, or whether it was their own ignorance in that travelling outside their country meant adopting a different set of manners than when at home, we are not sure. In any case, their “inappropriate behaviour” was indeed “offensive and...[certainly did] disturb other visitors.” As we stood dumbstruck by this behaviour, we apparently missed going through many corridors lined with exquisite bas relief. Surely Angkor Wat is worth a second visit then, perhaps in the low season, if there is such a thing?
Coming down from the top area with our guide, as we were heading out on the left hand side where there was a pond, I noticed an animal approaching the water. I rushed toward it to photograph it, then felt a little silly as I then noticed a host of these animals on our pathway out. They were long-tailed Macaque monkeys, which caused no mischief to us, though I read later in other accounts when trying to find out their species, that they could be quite naughty, stealing things from tourists. They were quite cute, especially the younger ones, horsing around, climbing the palm trees in the compound and eating bananas that someone must have given them. The only other creature I saw was a rather large, fat millipede, lying in the middle of the much-worn path on our way out. Our guide led us to the exact spot where iconic photos of Angkor Wat reflected in the water have been taken. My own photos look rather dull in comparison I think and we photographers in the group wished later that day, as we saw a rather spectacular sunset, that we could have returned to Angkor Wat at dusk to capture the same view with the oranges, reds and yellows behind the dark towers and reflected in the same water. Sadly, it was not to be.
We headed back to the meeting place, under the shade of the same tree we had stopped at before entering Angkor Wat, and whose interesting bark I photographed. We had time to refresh ourselves and photograph the various vendors as we walked back to the bus parking lot. Below, you will see men selling rose apples and cutting up durian - that evil-smelling, large fruit so loved by certain Asians, but which is prohibited from Philippines Airlines flights!
As we drove from Angkor Wat to our next religious site, Banteay Srei, a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and located 25 km north-east of Angkor Wat, we passed a couple of villages, countryside and farmland, as well as schools, and children in uniform on bicycles or on foot heading toward these schools. Rino explained during this time that 75% of Cambodians are farmers and they grow ten different types of rice, which is harvested only once a year as the water in this area is insufficient for more than that. The wet season in Cambodia is July to October and only 20% of the land in Cambodia can manage two crops a year. Essentially, this is possible only in the area of lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Cambodia exports one million tons of rice to Europe (Sweden, Germany, Norway and Switzerland for the most part) and farmers are paid about $0.25/kilo. He also listed cassava, corn and cashew nuts among other crops grown by Cambodian farmers.
The whole area of Angkor is something over 400 km2 and Banteay Srei, our second temple was built during the reigns of two Angkorian Kings, Rajendravarman (944-968) and his successor Jayavarman V (968-1000). The varied colours of the sandstone from which it was carved (pink, red, orange, green and black), and the still very visible intricate carvings as well as its smaller size made it a pleasant visit as well as a photogenic one. It too included a moat or pond filled with water lilies. At the opposite entrance there was a musical group under a tent playing for money and I noted they had a picture of their king and queen in ordinary western dress suspended from the tent roof in a place of honour. We then turned to our left and took a walkway which followed back around to the front and ended up at an area of souvenir stalls where the two hand puppets shown in the below were on sale. Unfortunately, on exiting the shops and waiting by the bus, we were accosted by three or four boys asking for a dollar. We refused them since they really should have been in school at the time and, in any case, we were only respecting the Code of Conduct rule number 6.
As it was time for lunch, we were driven back to the centre of Siem Reap and to the Tara Hotel, where we were provided with a buffet lunch and offered Angkor Beer, so of course we had to try it!
Our first visit in the afternoon was to Ankor Thom which, with a total surface area of nine square kilometres, consists of a square, each side of which is about three kilometres (1.9 miles) long. An 8-metre high laterite wall around the city encloses an area of 145.8 hectares (360 acres). It is therefore larger than Angkor Wat located 2 kilometres to the south. To reach the North gate of Angkor Thom, we drove along a causeway over a moat. It was very elaborate, in any case, with 54 stone god heads (asuras) on our left and 54 stone devil (devas) heads on our right. Each row of heads was holding a Naga as if they were having a tug-of-war. From the 1970s to the 1990s, some of these heads were stolen so they have been mostly replaced and the new substitute heads are noticeable due to their lighter grey colour. There were a couple of boats manned by municipal workers in green vests collecting lake weed in the moat. The North gate by which we entered Angkor Thom had four clear faces, facing North, South, East and West.
The Bayon temple is located smack in the middle of Angkor Thom and originally a French group assisted in its reconstruction at the beginning of the 20th century. With no wall or moat of its own, and built in the late 12th or early 13th century by the Khmer people, it was the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. According to our guide, Bayon used to contain 49 towers, each 23 metres high and containing 216 images of the face of Buddha. Now only 37 towers remain, as many have toppled over time, and consequently only 200 smiling, serene faces can be seen. I have since read that these do not depict Buddha but rather Jayavarman VII. We'll probably never know for sure which theory is correct. The temple has four entrances, at the North, South, East and West, yet is oriented toward the East. Rino hinted that we might become confused as to where we should exit, as the complex was large. He suggested we find the sun, as it was nearing the end of the day, and exit by the opposite (East) gate as this was where our bus was parked.
A large panel at our entry to the Bayon Temple informed us that the current safeguarding of it (2017 to 2022) was a joint project between UNESCO and the Government of Japan. Apart from pretty unimpressed human guards checking our visitor passes, the complex was also once again guarded by stone lions and 7-headed stone Nagas. Several municipal workers were also sweeping the main stone path leading toward the towers but their work was never-ending as it was mainly dust and dirt they were sweeping, and the visitors walking over it soon stirred up more dirt and dust. Here, too, there were some magnificent, large, wall-size carved stone friezes. Below is a shot from the eastern gallery displaying a Khmer army on the march with archers shooting arrows from howdahs poised on the backs of elephants. My mind, momentarily distracted from the huge toward the tiny, drifted to watching bright red dragonflies flitting about and I managed to catch one, digitally speaking, twice, once on a flower growing out of the rocks in the complex, and another closer one on the rocks itself. Luckily, I was in an isolated area away from the other (specific nationality of) tourists. The latter were all up on the upper areas, obnoxiously posing and shouting once again! I had become separated from my friend at some point and figured I would do best to go back to the main East entrance and watch him come out eventually and head toward where the bus was parked. In the meantime, a local wedding couple was standing on the path in front of me (quietly) posing for official photographs, with their photographers, costume adjusters and lighting paraphernalia. I watched them for a while and my patience was rewarded as I finally captured a shot of the two of them without their entourage - not an easy feat. Note their gold jewellery and his baggy trousers! Then, still not seeing my friend after half an hour and becoming rather anxious, I sent in our guide to have a look round while I waited, and eventually my friend shouted my name from behind me, having recognised my Tilley hat (I knew it would be useful at some stage). He had exited at what he figures was probably the North entrance, forgetting where we were supposed to meet, and had looped right round the edge of the temple complex until seeing me. Luckily, he was only five minutes off the official meet-back-on-the-bus time.
Next we were driven to a spot where we transferred to a smaller van so as to visit our next ancient site, the Ta Prom temple, also referred to by some as the Tomb Raider temple as it was the featured background of the original movie and, later, video game. In fact, Ta Prom is a modern name for this temple as it was originally called Rajavihara and was built in the 12th and early 13th centuries in the Bayon style. Buried in the jungle up until only a few years ago, the temple is characterized by the long roots of trees - for the most part, silk cotton trees and strangler figs - growing around, over and among the ruins. I had in mind the iconic photo with tree roots pouring over the face of a Buddha but our guide told me either that it no longer existed or had been removed or perhaps it was in a different temple. Perhaps I am thinking of the one in Wat Mahathat in Ayyuthaya, Thailand. However, there were many photos of trees combined with ruins to take and you will see some of them here - once again made somewhat difficult by tourists insisting on posing in front of them so that my patience was required once again.
The temple was originally planned by King Jayavarman VII (once again) in 1186 as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found, in the midst of the jungle. It seems incredible to think that it was once home to more than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), while a further 80,000 people living in the surrounding villages provided them with services and supplies. Its conservation and restoration are due to the Government of India in partnership with the APSARA. Restoration consists of adding wooden walkways, platforms and roped railings around the site to protect it from further damage by the influx of tourists. However, it also means the placement of large, thick metal poles to hold up the brick structure, and this fact, although practical of course, rather unfortunately ruins the ancient feel of many a photo.
On the way back to our hotel, Rino talked a little about local politics (or as he amusingly called it “polisticks”) notably his father's experience during the time of the “Khmer Roo” (also his pronunciation). At the hotel, we had time to have a shower and change for our Christmas Dinner. No turkey, no Christmas pudding and thankfully no silly paper hats or Christmas crackers either. Instead, we were presented with a variety of edible options from another international buffet - this time exclusively for the 19 of us - located poolside, with more fairy lights, Christmas wrappings and ribbon, an ice-sculpture of a Khmer female, and...drumroll please...our own exclusive Apsara Dance Show. The dance troop consisted of about six women and three men, together with their musicians and a singer, performing tales from local folklore.
I seem to remember that the music was rather monotonous - not unlike Indonesian, Vietnamese or Thai music played by similar instruments - but the costumes were pretty, the dancers were attractive and the most fascinating part was all the hand and foot movements. Apparently, there are over 500 different gestures involved in this kind of dancing, and my photos really do not do the dancers justice. I have no idea why I did not think of videoing them instead of merely taking photos. It would have made much more of an impact on you, I am sure. Moreover, I too would have enjoyed watching it again.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018 - Siem Reap, Cambodia | Bangkok - Laem Chabang, Thailand (The Land of Smiles)
We had an early breakfast as we were being picked up by Rino one last time to take us back to Siem Reap airport for our outgoing flight to Bangkok (aka Krung Thep, which means “City of Angels” in Thai). This flight also took about an hour. We arrived in Bangkok 11ish and were greeted after customs and immigration by our new guide, a woman this time. She asked us to call her Ratty, immediately making me think of The Wind in the Willows. Ratty started by explaining that Bangkok is just the short name of this city. Its long (ceremonial) name is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit and is the longest place name on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The ride to our first stop, a restaurant, for, guess what, a buffet lunch - this time without entertainment - took a while, due to traffic, during which Ratty talked about the Royal family of Thailand, which prior to 1939 was called Siam. The latest dynasty has been the Chakri, comprised of a succession of kings all called Rama. The King and I's King Mongkut was Rama IV and he ruled from 1851 to 1868. This family's succession has gone from father to son or half-brother or uncle or nephew. The present King Rama X was born in 1952 and has been king for just over two years, his father (Rama IX) having died at the age of 88 in October 2016. Large posters of the current king and queen were displayed all over the city - on billboards, on the sides of large apartment blocks, etc. Whether it was because their subjects were proud of them or it was due to efforts by the palace's marketing department, I'm not sure.
We were asked not to take too much time over lunch as we were to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo, which were not only very crowded with tourists, but the large bus also had to wend its way through stop-and-go traffic once again. We were surprised to discover that the dress code for Bangkok's temples was stricter than that of Angkor Wat as the ship's excursion office had not warned us. Relaxing our dress from yesterday, most of us were in shorts. We were told we had to cover all of our legs up to our ankles. The guide's assistant ran off to borrow clothing for us - loud cotton pants for the men and even louder wrap-around skirts for the women. Someone took a photo of us in these gaudy costumes but unfortunately did not do us the courtesy of e-mailing us the result. So they will probably appear some day somewhere on Facebook attracting much laughter and ridicule.
The complex of the Royal Palace, the former home of the royal Siamese court comprised of ornate and elaborate courtyards and golden, multi-tiered towers and spires, is considered the city's most spectacular landmark. Inside this complex sits Wat Phra Kaeo, aka the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, revered as Thailand's most sacred house of worship. It houses an immense jade (not emerald) carving of a seated Buddha in yogic posture, clothed in gold, and about 26 inches tall. It has three different costumes, depending on the season, which are changed by the King or by an appointed member of his family. During the summer (from 21 March) it wears a stepped, pointed headpiece, a breast pendant, a sash, a number of armlets, bracelets and other items of royal attire, all of which are made of enamelled gold and embedded with precious and semi-precious stones; during the rainy season (from 17 July), a pointed headpiece of enamelled gold studded with sapphires and a gold-embossed monk's robe draped over one shoulder; and during the winter (from 12 November), a gold headpiece studded with diamonds and a jewel-fringed gold-mesh shawl draped over the rainy season attire. Its story is interesting. It was found in Northern Thailand in 1434 and was originally covered in stucco. Lightening struck at some point causing the stucco to chip on the nose revealing something green. The stucco was consequently removed and this jade figure was found inside. The statue was frequently moved around Thailand by various rulers over the years, but was finally installed at its current location in 1784, where it has remained every since.
Shoes must be taken off to enter this temple, and in the same way as most treasures of this world (St. Mark's in Venice comes to mind, the Sistine Chapel is another), photos were not allowed - a pity, as the brief view I had of the inside was pretty spectacular. However, one other photographer on our tour suggested I take a photo of the Buddha with my long lens from outside the temple - which was allowed. You will see the result above. Otherwise, over the entire complex there was a great deal of gold, as you can see, and photography was tricky due (once again) to the masses of tourists. I either had to aim my camera high over people's heads or be very, very patient as I awaited that one millisecond when a tourist was not posing in front or beside something I wanted to capture digitally.
Among this set of photos you will also see the flag of Thailand and one of the soldiers guarding the palace. At the end, on our way out of the crowded city streets once again, I managed to get a photo of the elaborate electricity wiring system here. I also noticed it in Vietnam, but never managed to get a good photo of it. The monk you see was walking past our bus as we sat waiting for the last of our group to get on board, and the final photo is a shot of buildings in downtown Bangkok. One of them looks uncannily similar to a building in London, England, don't you think? It was a long drive southward to the port at Laem Chabang and was already dark when we arrived. However, the terminal was pretty empty so we were able to reboard our ship without any further delay.
Thursday, December 27, 2018 - Ko Samui, Thailand
Located on the southeast in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Samui is Thailand's second-largest island after Phuket, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of about 70,000 (2012). Although we had tried to reserve a tour to Ko Samui from the ship on our return from Bangkok, we found out that the tour we wanted was booked up, so we ended up doing our own thing, which cost far less as it turned out, and got us away from the crowds. We had seen enough sacred temples and Buddhas for a while (although the island does boast a 39-foot one); we were also uninterested in seeing performing monkeys (climbing coconut palms to pick the fruit) or riding elephants - also on offer! Again, as the ship was at anchor, we waited until all the tour passengers were off the ship and no tender tickets were required before going ashore. Arriving at the pier off Nathon Town, we haggled with taxi drivers for a fair price to get to the beach. We eschewed both Chaweng and Bophut beaches as those were the two that ship tours were going to and instead opted for Lamai.
I do not remember the name of the resort we chose to hang out at, but we found an unoccupied orange umbrella, two loungers, ordered drinks during the noon happy hour and swam in the sea, before changing money and ordering a later lunch at the hotel's restaurant also located on the beach. There was one older German couple near us lounging on the beach but that was it, apart from two local ladies who stopped only once to offer us pedicures, which we refused. Otherwise we were unhassled and we felt quite safe leaving our things by our chairs when we went into the ocean. The taxi we found on the road behind the hotel got us back to the pier in time for the last tender, and in fact, as we were among the last, a special local boat was hired to take us back - about three times the size of the tender boat. It was a lovely day, not humid and not too hot, followed by a gorgeous sunset which we toasted whilst sipping evening cocktails on our balcony.
Saturday, December 29, 2018 - Singapore | Vancouver, Canada
The Republic of Singapore, a sovereign city-state and island country located one degree (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, is comprised of one main island and 62 other islets. Since its independence, land reclamation projects have increased its size by 23%. In 1858, Stamford Raffles established Singapore as a trading post of the British East India Company. When the company collapsed the same year, the islands passed to the British Raj and became a crown colony. Japan occupied Singapore during the Second World War. In 1963, the city-state gained independence from the UK by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia. However, in 1965 it separated, due to ideological differences, and became a sovereign nation. Despite its lack of natural resources, it managed to developed very quickly. Not only is it a trade hub, it has also become renowned for banking, education and technology, among other things. It is the world's second busiest container port after Shanghai, has been ranked as the world's most expensive city to live in since 2013 and is a tax haven.
Alas, all too soon we were back in Singapore after another leisurely day at sea, having taken the time to pack and participate in one last trivia game. After tucking into our ultimate breakfast together (at least for this year), we exited the ship, went through customs, picked up our luggage and caught a negotiated taxi to the airport. I checked into my flight, we said our goodbyes, and I went to the Singapore Airlines lounge to work on e-mails before taking my “2018 World's Best Airline” Singapore Airlines flight to Hong Kong. Arriving in Hong Kong, I went to the Star Alliance lounge there to work on some more e-mails and then took my Air Canada flight to Vancouver arriving several hours later. Yet, magically, it was still the same day and even five hours before my flight had left Hong Kong. Once again, I had managed to fly backwards in time and rejuvenate myself, arriving just in time to join a family gathering. My jetlag would catch up with me later...
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