Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia

Nha Trang is considered the Miami Beach of Vietnam. It is where all of the Vietnamese go for some beach time. This was our first visit to this southern port located just north of Cam Ranh Bay. Although I used to fly into Cam Ranh Bay forty years ago during the Vietnam conflict, beach going wasn’t a common activity at that time. We negotiated for a van and went sightseeing with Nilda, Larry and Dodi. There is a long promenade along the waterfront which was very well maintained and looked like a great place for a long seaside stroll. We visited the Long Son Pagoda which houses a lovely temple and is watched over by a giant white Buddha. There are male and female monks who give guided tours of the Pagoda. We passed over the Cai River and saw lots of stilt houses built out over the water. It was quite a shanty town. We saw some Cham ruins. For twelve centuries, this area of Vietnam was known as the Kingdom of Champa and they, like the neighboring Khmers who built Angkor Wat, built towers and temples to honor their Hindu deities. There are several pretty well preserved towers in Nha Trang. We went to the local market which was very interesting but it was necessary to dodge motor scooters, buses and taxies to survive since many of the shopping stalls are set up right in the street. We went to what is reputed to be the nicest resort on the beach for a bowl of pho—the Vietnamese national noodle soup dish. Since this is a vacation resort, the place is full of fancy spas—although I don’t know how most Vietnamese could afford the prices.

Regent Cruises had arranged for a special event for all of the passengers to have a lunch on the beach of the Summer Palace. There were boat races by some Vietnamese fisherman. These odd boats are round shaped vessel constructed of straw and not nautical at all. There is no pointy end and it looked to be somewhat difficult to maneuver these baskets through the water. There was local entertainment and all of the women were dressed in beautiful ao dais, the long silk dress worn over long silk pants. The conical straw hats are still in fashion and not just for people toiling in the rice paddies. Lighter skin is a highly valued commodity in Vietnam and women especially go to great lengths to avoid contact with the sun. They wear long gloves and hats at all times and in the cities they cover their nose and mouth with medical masks—mostly to filter out the pollution but also in an effort to ward off suntans. In the last ten years Vietnam has moved from a bicycle society to motor bikes. While you see very few private cars, there are cyclos everywhere and I do mean everywhere. Some times it feels like you are playing a giant game of dodge balls—with the dodge ball being a 500cc motorbike.

As we sailed away that night we had an outdoor cocktail party for our guests. We were pretty nervous about the weather as there had been major rain storms in the area. But it just turned out to be a perfect velvety warm night and most of the staff and guests lingered long past the end of the party. We had found some cute magnets and silk gift bags in Nha Trang which we gave to our passengers as party favors—a small memento of our visit to Vietnam. Since all the cabin walls and doors are magnetic, these gifts are also practical. Our walls are covered with maps, art work, memos, pictures, name lists, phone numbers and invitations all held up by magnets. Many people also decorate their suite doors with magnets and trinkets picked up along the way.

Sai Gon is now called Ho Chi Minh City by the Communist government in Hanoi. The southern Vietnamese ignore the bureaucrats from the north and go about their free market lifestyle which must confound all of the Karl Marx followers. Not only do the locals call the city Sai Gon but we were informed that it is two words not the westernized one word. In the late 1980s the government instituted economic reforms known as doi moi which was a move away from the socialist type economy and towards a more market oriented system. Also the U.S. has ended its economic embargo and has welcomed Vietnam into the world of trading partners. So Sai Gon reflects all of this new energy and is one of the busiest, most chaotic cities in the world. There are basically no concessions made for pedestrians and crossing the street is a death defying challenge unknown to westerners. The few traffic lights are mostly ignored by all two wheeled vehicles and there are no over or underpasses to get across the wide boulevards. We have on occasion had to jump in a cab just to cross a major intersection. A few corners do have traffic police whose job is to safely shepherd us foreigners through the chaos. The locals just walk across the street, looking neither left nor right and assuming that the vehicles will avoid them. That is a great leap of faith as now it seems every motorcyclist is in deep conversation on a mobile phone with scant attention paid to mere pedestrians. We visited the Ben Thanh market and a silk shop which produces beautiful stitched pictures that may take months for one person to complete a single panel of this artwork. We stopped by the Rex Hotel which played a prominent role during the war years as it was the base of US operations. At the end of the day, the news correspondents were given press briefings in the conference room at the hotel. This was referred to as the “five o’clock follies” after which the correspondents would repair to the rooftop bar to discuss the real progress of the war. Kevin’s brother Michael spent time in Sai Gon during the war. When visiting Vietnam several years ago, he said that he didn’t recognize the Rex without all the sandbags and barbed wire.

Laem Chabang is the port for Bangkok. On previous cruises we have always had an overnight stay here so that passengers can spend time in the capital city. But with just a day visit, we opted not to take the 2 hour bus ride into the city. The ship offered a shuttle into Pattaya. This beachside resort town has quite a sleazy reputation and its main focus is the sex tourism trade. It is said that you can get anything you want in Pattaya. In recent years the Russian mafia has tried to grab a share of the profits but the Thai government is trying its utmost to keep them out of this lucrative market. All up and down the beach you will see many older farang (foreign) men hanging out with young girls or boys. There are a large number of transvestites who ply their trade also. Generally you can spot these boy/girls by their Adam’s apple. Other than that the main attraction here is diving. This area of Thailand was not impacted by the huge tsunami which decimated large parts of the western side of the country several years ago.

Our next stop was the island of Ko Samui. This is another favorite place of ex-patriots who are attracted to the beach scene and the inexpensive cost of living. We hired a taxi and headed up to the northern part of this large island. There is a new resort just recently opened where we had lunch and enjoyed the lovely seaside ambience. We later walked the village of Na Thon from top to bottom checking out the scene and an internet café. The local means of transport seems to be a contraption composed of a motorcycle with a large square box attached to the side in which you can load supplies, luggage or people. They seems pretty unstable to me, but it certainly works for these folks and is much cheaper than a truck or van.

Singapore marked the end of the current segment, so we had a number of passengers who left and some new ones join our group. We were greeted upon arrival by a grand tropical downpour complete with thunder and lightning. We have gotten to know Singapore over the last eight years and have come to appreciate it more and more. Especially after having just traveled through the teeming metropolis cities of China and Vietnam, Singapore presents a sense of order and calm. We enjoy Sentosa Island, the river dining scene, Chinatown and the botanical gardens. The food stalls located all around the city have some of the best food in Asia. We attended a ship sponsored special event at Chijmes. This gothic building was originally a convent of the Holy Infant Jesus for missionary nuns. On one side of the convent is located the “Door of Hope.” This is where people used to leave unwanted baby girls who were taken in by the nuns. The building has now been changed into a warren of chic restaurants and shops surrounding the church-like main building. We were served local taste treats amid entertainment such as a Chinese dragon dance and a chamber orchestra. I had a henna tattoo painted on my arm by a local artist and we were able to try our hand at batik. We took the subway back to the port. This is a simple, user-friendly, spotless mode of transport around the city and we enjoy using it. Because of the downpour, the ship had to cancel the sail-away deck party and the lightning chased us out of the pool.

Port Kelang was our only stop in Malaysia this cruise. The port is an hour’s drive away from Kuala Lumpur by taxi. We tried to take the train into town, but all in all it was easier to hire a taxi. So we set off with Sharleen to do some sightseeing of the capital city. KL is famous for the twin Petronas Towers which dominate the skyline. (KL is Kuala Lumpur not Kevin LaGraff). We tried to go up in the towers but it would have been a seven hour wait and we had other things to do and places to see. There are some beautiful old British Colonial buildings and many mosques. Malaysia is predominately Muslim and that is reflected in the dress and architecture of the city. We stopped to see the Sultan’s palace and other important monuments before being dropped off at the Central Market near Chinatown. Our ride back to the port was made more exciting because the driver seemed to be nodding off. Kevin had to keep talking to him to make sure he stayed alert.

Cruising up the Malay Peninsula we arrived in the beach town of Phuket. This is another resort area which is populated by ex-pats and vacationing Thais. We spent the day on a power boat touring the famous Ao Phang-Nga National Park. The large park is composed of more than forty islands and dotted with limestone karsks. There are also hugh mangrove forests throughout the park. Taking advantage of the stark beauty of the vertical karsks, several movies used the area as a location. Two James Bond movies feature these eerie looking rock growths. We saw numerous caves which are home to thousands of swallow birds. The locals harvest the nests to make the traditional specialty of bird’s nest soup. We visited one of the fishing villages where several thousand people reside permanently and make their living from the Andaman Sea. They were fortunate in that they escaped the mighty tsumani which just several miles away, on the other side of Phuket Island, was the scene of death and destruction and sorrow.

It took us almost two hours to reach the park area traveling at about 50mph in the high powered boat. I can’t say that is my favorite type of boating—the boat had three 200 horsepower Yamaha engines which were very, very loud. Since it was quite windy, the ride was very rough and several people ended up with back and neck problems due to the constant slamming into waves. It was certainly exhilarating and we were happy that we got to see the park. After all the bouncing around we were dropped off at a gorgeous island where we swam, were entertained by local dancers and musicians and sampled many different Thai dishes. Kevin thought it was one of the better excursions we have done in this part of the world.

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