Bangkok and Sihanoukville

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Our Bangkok experience is special as Regent has invited those of us continuing on to England to participate in an overnight trip. Boarding buses, we take the 3 hour trip into this metropolitan city and have an elegant lunch at the Royal Princess Hotel. Then it’s off to the Grand Palace or Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang, home to the Kings of Siam since 1782. Off limits to all but royalty until the present monarch, residing in nearby Chitralada Palace, opened it to the public and charged admission to defray maintenance costs. Gold covered surfaces of temple icons are everywhere and the centerpiece of the royal chapel is the Emerald Buddha, carved from a single piece of jade. Next is the obligatory stop at the gem factory with its western style display cabinets and available sales people offering their jewelry and Thai silk. A Thai dinner at the Peninsula Hotel completes a warm but fascinating day before we recline for the night in Regent style luxury on the 23^rd floor overlooking the river and the city. After a buffet breakfast of oriental and western foods, there are a lot of Chinese and Japanese visitors also, we embark on water shuttles from the hotels pier for a river tour. Included is a stop at the Temple of Dawn, decorated cement edifice, views of the vestiges of the floating markets where small boats pull alongside displaying wares of fruit and other products. A highlight is the feeding of catfish with bread from the boat, a frenzy of water activity as the fish wait in anticipation for our specific type of watercraft. Returning to the hotel we enjoy the city architectural landmarks. Then it’s back to the Laem Chabang Port through the frenetic traffic, passing through EZPass toll gates and by rest stops that are virtual mini-malls with fast food and clothing outlets. We have noticed more KFCs than McDonalds here although both proliferate along with Starbucks. The increasing number of container burdened trucks foretells that one is nearing the port and the mountainous stacks of containers depict the successful economy.

Our next port of call is Sihanoukville, Cambodia where we experience the efforts of an emerging economy to attract tourism. While the local urban area offers few of the opportunities we’ve experienced in other metro areas, our tour to the Ream National Park offers less. After an hour bus ride through the rural countryside we board motorized launches, manned by a park guide, for another hour of river cruising. Alighting from the craft we pass through a charming, but basic, village with receptive residents who willingly display their homes and school and continue for an hour and a half in heat and humidity through the forest. We emerge at a rustic resort to choose between purchasing a cold beer or accepting the proffered cold water. After a short rest we board the buses for an hour long return to the ship. Once safely on board we effect a departure for our next port of call.

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