SE Asia and China Cruise—Day 4 (Bangkok)

March 17, 2012—Bangkok

We all woke up early, got ready, and went up to the buffet for coffee and breakfast.  The ship was scheduled to dock in Laem Chabang at 7:00am and we needed to be in the Wheelhouse Lounge for our scheduled excursion.

After breakfast, we went back to the cabin and standing on our balcony watched the ship dock.  The approach was a little different as the ship had to swing around, then back into her berth area, then moved sideways to the dock.  We had a clear view from our balcony of the bridge’s starboard wing and could see the captain and staff captain as they maneuvered the ship toward the dock.  The skill it takes to move such a large ship with such precision amazes me.

We then headed down to Deck 7; as we entered the Wheelhouse Lounge, we were given stickers and ushered to the Princess Theater where we were given another sticker indicating our bus—we were on Bus 6.  From the Princess Theater, we were taken by bus number off the ship, through the terminal, and finally boarded our bus for the long ride to Bangkok.

It took about 2 hours to get to Bangkok from Laem Chabang.  Our tour guide introduced herself, saying we should think of her as our mama and to stay with her since Bangkok is very crowded and we didn’t want to get lost.  She said her name was “Toy” and referred to herself as “Mama Toy” saying she would take good care of her children (us).  During the drive, she told us about her country, its history, past kings, the current king, the people, and the places we would visit—she was very knowledgeable and friendly.

We stopped once at a Shell Station (yes, there was a Shell Station), not to get gas, but for a bathroom stop.  The line for the ladies room seem to move much slower than the one for the men (don’t they always).  When we got to the front of the line, we found out why.  The toilets were not western toilets, but were (as one woman called them) “squatty potties.”  Having been to Japan, Turkey, and other countries before, I didn’t have any problems, but I think that some of the other ladies weren’t quite sure how to manage (but I assume they figured it out).

Our first stop was the Grand Palace.  Unlike Buckingham Palace, the King no longer lives in the Palace.  The people who are native to Thailand could enter free, but foreigners had to pay and our tour guide passed out all our tickets, then escorted us inside.  The weather was extremely humid and within minutes, we were all sweating.  We spent about an hour walking around and Mama Toy filled us in on each building and what it was used for previously.  The grounds and buildings were incredible and there simply is no way to describe them.  I did get plenty of pictures; unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside where the Emerald Buddha was housed.

When we got back on the bus, we were handed cold wet washcloths sealed inside individually wrapped plastic.  It was great to be able to wipe some of the sweat off and thankfully, our bus was air conditioned. 

Our next stop was a river cruise.  Mama Toy explained how many of the people in Bangkok lived on the river in very poor conditions.  As we cruised down the river, we saw modern buildings and very small “shacks” as well as temples.  Bangkok seemed to be a city of contrasts—both modern and primitive, both rich and poor, ornate temples next to dilapidated shacks.  We stopped at a riverside temple where we were handed bread and told to feed the fish in the river as a way to “give back” which would help ensure our progression to heaven.  Mama Toy tried to explain that we had achieved good “points” since we were all human beings; since we were also successful and prosperous enough to be on Diamond Princess, we must have done good deeds in our previous lives.  To ensure that we continue to progress, we needed to “give back” to get enough points to someday enter heaven.  Apparently, feeding the fish in the river at this temple would provide us all with a few good points.  So of course, we all threw our bread into the river as instructed. 

After the river cruise, we got on the bus and went to Wat Temple.  We had to climb quite a few steps to get to the top, and when we did, we removed our shoes so we could enter.  Inside was housed the largest gold Buddha in the world, weighing over 5 tons and was made of 18 kt gold.  

We stopped for lunch at a Ramada.  Mamma Toy had told us we would be stopping at an international hotel for lunch and that this hotel was called Ra’-mada (with the emphasis on the first syllable, and all the vowels pronounced as a short “a”), so we thought this was the name in Thailand.  It wasn’t until we pulled into the hotel and saw the sign that we realized it was a Ramada Hotel and you could hear everyone saying, oh, a Ramada and laughing.

Lunch was a buffet and the hotel was serving a total of 20 busses—all of us on the same tour from Princess.

Then it was back on the bus for our next stop—shopping.  In many cases, cruise ship excursions direct passengers to specific stores, and this excursion was no exception.  We stopped at a jewelry factory.  Outside, there was a nice garden with stone elephants.

Inside, there was a museum with displays of gemstones in various stages—raw stones, polished stones, and finished jewelry.  Since I actually like geology, I thought it was interesting even though I had no desire to buy any jewelry.  There was also another large Buddha on display—this time a white Buddha in the Burmese style.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.  At the end of the museum tour, there was a very large gift store.  We had been told on the bus that the elephant is considered lucky in Thailand and that Thai elephants are smaller than African elephants.  Since they were considered lucky, I bought a small elephant—not a live one of course, just a small souvenir.  

Finally, it was back on the bus for the drive back to Laem Chabang.  We arrived at 6:00pm and since we were all sweaty, headed back to the room to freshen up and take a shower.  Since we didn’t make reservations and the high humidity had pretty much drained us, we skipped going to the Pacific Moon for dinner and simply went to the buffet.  I did stop by and spoke to the headwaiter, David, to let him know that since we hadn’t made reservations, we were not coming.  He said we didn’t need a reservation since he was holding our table, but I told him to release it and we were going to the buffet.  I did make a reservation for the next night.  Our waiter, Jerry waved at me, and I waved back and indicated that we wouldn’t see him that night.  The buffet was OK, but I really prefer the dining room.

After dinner, I went to the where I met a new bartender, Richard.  Angelo had moved to the Lobby Bar.  Richard is from the Philippines.  I asked him if he would be able to make a drink if I told him what was in it, and he said of course.  I was finally able to have an Island Swizzler, the drink that Devenish had created for me on the Sapphire!

After the long day in Bangkok, I was back in the cabin by 10:30 and asleep by 11:00.