Nothing to report today. No photos either!
Diane
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Day 88(April 2) Hue, Vietnam
Words to come later.
Not sure why but they had colored lights in the bus 
The fun dragon bridge- you can see it’s head on the far right 
Beach on stormy day- normally it’s full of people 
Fish farms 
The rice fields come right up to the village 
Temple ruins 
Diane at temple 
Bombs dropped on the temple -
Day 87(April 1) Cam Ranh, Vietnam
We had rain today, luckily it was during the bus rides and transit times and not when we were off the bus seeing the sights. The other interesting item of note was that we docked in a military installation and were informed- strictly no photography until we were off the base. They were doing training exercises so we also saw submarines in the bay.
It was my first time seeing the beautiful green rice fields and with the mountains and rain clouds in the background it was wonderful.
We saw more temples, of course, as well as a local market and local home during today’s excursion.
Rice Fields with storm clouds- the flat spots are caused by wind 
Rice grains 
Past, present and future Buddha 
Market vegetables 
market household items 
Fresh fish at the market 
Dried fish and products at the market 
Seamstress at the market 
Diane at Vietnamese coffee shop- I took the picture because of the giant flamingo statues in the field 
Vietnamese white coffee which I loved- it is made with condensed milk but you can see there isn’t very much because the color is still very dark 
lobster farms in the bay as we are leaving -
Day 86(March 31) Siagon, Vietnam
Our excursion was titled “Mekong River Delta” but really it was a boat ride across the river to a village on an island, followed by a 10 minute ride in a sampan, lunch and a boat ride back across the river. Jennifer and I were expecting a leisurely cruise among the river and delta greenery to celebrate her birthday.
It wasn’t what we expected but still a fun experience. Before we got to the river we stopped at a couple of temples. One had a lady Buddha, a reclining Buddha and a laughing Buddha.
Lady Buddha 
reclining Buddha 
laughing Buddha 
We had this wonderful snack in the village They sang Happy Birthday to Jennifer in the village while we had a snack 
Jennifer and Diane in Sampan 
Elephant Ear Fish for lunch- it looks like a mosaic 
Our lunch with Elephant Ear Fish- the waitress picked the meat off the fish and made a spring roll 
Location on river as we were leaving- it was developed and industrial all along the entire river- that’s why we didn’t have the delta cruise experience we expected 
Birthday dinner group Jennifer birthday dinner song 
Jennifer birthday dinner birthday cake and ice cream -
Day 85(March 30) Siagon, Vietnam
Jennifer and I got up early to go back to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. It was pretty fun and it wasn’t nearly as hot but we didn’t see the sunrise because the sun was covered by clouds. We did really like the TukTuk ride to the temple as there were hardly anyone on the roads, it was cool, the birds were calling and it was calm. It wasn’t part of the tour and we did it independently
On the way back on our TukTuk ride it was much busier and when we past a group of bicyclists we’re pretty sure one of them dropped off the paved road onto the dirt. No one stopped.
Right after we returned from our sunrise trip to Angkor Wat, we left for the airport to fly to Siagon, Vietnam.
We were super excited when we returned to the ship and discovered we were in time for a Vietnamese Cultural Show.
Sunrise TukTuk Ride to Angkor Wat 
Guardian of the bridge to Angkor Wat Much more traffic on TukTuk Ride FROM Sunrise AngkorWat 
Jennifer with TukTuk and driver in front of our hotel 
Large Budda in Siem Reap airport Vietnamese Cultural Show- the music is from hitting rocks- I did not video the performers- just took a photo that’s why you don’t see the performers moving. The person in the middle is the one using rocks. -
Day 84(March 29) Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Today was a long, hot yet amazing day. We got to visit Angkor Wat. The most amazing thing to me was that this temple is still being used for worship. It has been in continuous use for over 1000 years. People come from all over the country to worship. They were getting ready for the 2025 Cambodian New Year happening on April 14th and were setting up small buildings and stages to get ready. It’s another temple that has changed religions between Hindu and Buddhism.
We had our picture taken so that our ticket had a picture of the ticket holder- apparently they used to have folks that would trade tickets so they could get in without paying!
We visited Banteay Srei temple with it’s intricate carving. It’s known as the Women’s Citadel because they believe that the women did the carving as they had the best carving skills.
Then a visit to Angkor Wat, lunch and a visit to the Angkor Thom complex.
Our guide said we saw in one day what most folks take two or three days to see.
Monk on street 
full motorbike 
Banteay Srei Temple 
Banteay Srei Temple doorway 
Banteay Srei Temple closeup 
Diane at Banteay Srei Temple 
Yep it was hot 
Jennifer drinking coconut water at village we stopped at to see handicrafts 
Guarding the bridge to Angkor Wat 
Jennifer at Angkor Wat 
Entering temple complex guarded by statues on each side of the road 
Bridge Statues on other side of road 
Temple with Buddha faces on four faces of each tower 
close up Temple with Buddha faces on all towers- there is a face on each of the four sides of the tower 
Ta Prohm temple complex 
Tree overtaking one building in Ta Prohm -
Day 83(March 28) Sihanoukville, Cambodia
After we arrived at Sihanoukville, Cambodia we left for our Angkor Wat overland tour.
- Day 1(March 28)
- Fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Dinner and Traditional dance show
- Overnight FCC Angkor by Avani Hotel
- Day 2(March 29)
- Visit Banteav Srei, Angkor Wat
- Lunch
- Visit Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm Temple
- Overnight FCC Angkor by Avani
- Day 3(March 30)
- Sunrise visit, on our own, to Angkor Wat
- Fly to Siagon, Vietnam and board ship
Between all the travel and logistics, we didn’t check into our hotel until about 3:30pm and then at 7pm we had dinner and a show. I had time for a massage before dinner.
Diane and Jennifer with show dancers. I wore the caftan I purchased earlier in the trip. 
Decorated elevator door at the hotel - Day 1(March 28)
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Day 82(March 27) Bangkok, Thailand
More temples today- Wat Phra Si Sanphet (royal temple of Ayutthaya), Wat Mahathat and the Imperial palace. We also had a delicious lunch at a Michelin star restaurant(Krungsrj river Hotel) during the excursion.
Wat Phra Si sanphet Diarama 
Wat Phra Si Sanphet- royal temple of Ayutthaya 
Sign at Royal temple of Ayutthaya- apparently more than one person has moved these artifacts around to take pictures 
Wat Mahathat diorama 
Wat Mahathat 
Stone head from a Buddha statue in tree at Wat Mahathat 
Close up of stone Buddha head in tree 
Sales of lottery tickets are everywhere 
It was a large buffet lunch at the Michelin star hotel restaurant with soup, salads, main dishes and desserts. These were my choices -
Day 81(March 26) Bangkok, Thailand
I brought hours and hours of projects to keep me from being bored in my down time. That was a mistake as I have very little down time, I’m not bored and I”m just going to take them back home unfinished. This blog entry is quite late as I’ve enjoyed my many excursions. For the next few blog entries I”m going to post a few pictures and very little words so I can catch up. Later I’ll go back and add more words
Highlights of Bangkok excursion today- Golden Buddha, the Grand Palace with the emerald Buddha, and a boat ride on the canal. You are not allowed to take photos inside where the emerald Buddha is.
Close up of Golden Buddha 
Spaghetti strands of wires- some are electrical, some are internet, some are cable and some are just extra wire 
Sample rules & regulations for visiting a temple 
The story of the Ramakien is shown in wonderful panels of art at the Grand Palace. Here’s one small part of it. 
Guard at a temple at the Grand Palace 
close up decoration on a column at the Grand Palace 
The mermaid statues where we exited the river boat -
Day 80(March 25) Ko Samui, Thailand
Today I was scheduled to go on a highlights tour of Ko Samui but instead I just stayed on the ship for most of the day. I was worried I was getting a cold/flu but after lots of rest and fluids I was fine.
In the afternoon, I took a tender to Ko Samui, took a very short walk around town and then took the tender back to the ship (after purchasing a t-shirt).