World Cruise – 2024

On May 1, 2024 we docked at Singapore, our last port of call. Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island coumtry and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude north of the Equator, off the southern end of the Malay Peninsula. It is bordered by the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the state of Johor in Malaysia to the north. It has approximately 6 million people located in its 284 square miles. It was established by the British as a trading post in 1819 and colonized by the British in 1867, until after World War II when it joined the Malaysian federation. It became an independent state in 1965.

In the morning we took an excursion into the city to see some of the highlights of Singapore. Our first stop was at the National Orchid Garden which had a spectacular display of thousands of orchids and other tropical plants.

Then we drove through the city and passed some of the older colonial government buildings, as well as many new highrise structures, including the Marina Bay Sands Resort, a brand new three-tower complex that features a rooftop swimmimg pool and an observation deck.

Our next stop was along the city shopping area that features the Merlion which is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It is widely used to represent both the city-state and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.

Our last stop was a visit to Chinatown, a maze of narrow roads with many restaurants with traditional fare, including a locally popular chili crab. We also visted the 1827 Sri Mariamman Temple.

That afternoon we returned to the Seabourn Sojourn to begin the task of packing all of our luggage and getting ready for our disembarkation the next day. It was a bit sad saying goodbye to many new friends we had met on our “home away from home”.

On May 2, 2024 we left the Seabourn Sojourn early and were transferred to a local hotel where we had a room until later in the day.

We spent that day on our own and decided to visit the Gardens by the Bay, which is a nature park covering 250 acres in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens. The largest is Bay South Garden which is 130 acres and includes the Flower Dome, the largest glass greenhouse in the world, and the Cloud Forest that features trees from around the world and a large rock formation and waterfall.

In the afternnon we returned to the hotel and were transported to the Singapore International Airport for our 20-hour flight back home, which included a 3-hour stop in Tokyo. It was a long peaceful flight, a perfect ending to our four-month journey around the world.

We left Laem Chabang, Thailand on the evening of Apr 28, 2024 and spent the next two days at sea on a 850 nautical miles (955 miles) trip to Singapore, through the Gulf of Thailand, the South China Sea, and eventually the Strait of Singapore.

It was our last sea days on our cruise and there were many activities, as well as time to relax and enjoy being with many new found friends. One of the highlights was the final art show during which the artists who participated in the water color and beading classes (including Nancy) displayed many of their projects under the guidance of the artists on board — Tim and Young Mi McKay

On the morning of Apr 27, 2024 we docked at Laem Chabang, Thailand, the port for Bangkok, for a two-day visit of the capital city of Thailand. Bangkok is the largest city in Thailand with a metropolitan population of 11.2 million people. The city is known for its many ornate Buddhist shrines, its vibrant street life and traffic, and the boat-filled Chao Phraya River which feeds its network of canals.

On our first day we took an excursion into Bangkok where we initially visited the Rattanakosin royal district, home to the opulent Grand Palace and its sacred Wat Phra Kaew Temple, along with numerous other shrines and statues intricately designed and decorated.

The Grand Palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (now known as Thailand) since 1782. It was built to serve not only as the King’s residence but also as the site of administrative offices.

The Wat Phra Kaew Temple is located on the grounds of the Grand Palace. It is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The figurine of the meditating Buddha is a 15th-century statue, made from one solid piece of green jade, clothed in gold and diamonds.

After our visit to the Royal Palace complex we took a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River where we passed a number of temples and then stopped at the former government complex (before the Royal Palace was built). Included in this area was Wat Arun (the “Temple of Dawn”), a Buddhist temple that has existed since at least the 17th century.

We returned to the ship that night and started planning for our excursion the next day which would take us back to Bangkok.

On the morning of Apr 28, 2024 we headed back into Bangkok to see some additional sights, which started wih a trip to Talat Noi, an historic neighborhood that was located next to Bangkok’s Chinatown. It is a maze of narrow lanes lined with old houses, fancy coffee shops, and mechanic workshops packed to the ceiling with greasy engine parts, which are used to service all of the tuk-tuk’s in the city. We enjoyed walking through some of the markets in this busy neighborhood.

Then we went to Wat Pho, one of the biggest temple complexes in Bangkok. One of the highlights is the Reclining Buddha that is 46 meters long and covered in gold leaf.

Among the other temples in the complex are four chapels that contain 394 gilded Buddha images, long lines of golden statues from different parts of Thailand sitting in the lotus position.

We also saw the Golden Buddha in the Temple of Wat Traimit. The Golden Buddha is a gold seated Buddha with a weight of 5.5 tons. At one point in its history this statue was covered with a layer of stucco and colored glass to conceal its true value, and was discovered only when the statue was moved to a new location and the stucco was cracked and fell off the golden statue.

After lunch we boarded our bus and drove around some of the government buildings in Bangkok before leaving the city and our two-hour drive back to Laem Chabang, our ship, and another beautiful sunset for our sailaway from Thailand.

On Apr 26, 2024 we anchored off the coast of Koh Kood, Thailand. Koh Kood is located in the Gulf of Thailand and is about 350 kilometers from Bangkok. It is an unspoiled tropical island paradise on which our Seabourn Sojourn crew created a beach barbecue party. We experienced white sand, swaying palms and gentle waves, along with a great lunch and tropical drinks, including one served to us by Farid, our favorite server on board. The scenery was fantastic and we had a very relaxing day enjoying the sun, a ride on a swing, and the nice breezes. In the evening we sailed away into a beautiful sunset.

On Apr 25, 2024, we docked at Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which is located on a peninsula in the country’s southwest on the Gulf of Thailand. This coastal city of approximately 90,000 people has grown in parallel with the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, which began in June 1955. It is the country’s gateway to direct and unrestricted international sea trade.

We started our day with an excursion to Phnom Penh, the nation’s capital and most populous city, with a population of approximately 2.8 million people. After a long bus ride to Phnom Penh, we had a nice Cambodian lunch before beginning our tour of the capital.

Our first stop was at Wat Phnom, a centuries old temple complex on a hilltop. The complex featured Buddhist shrines, a stupa (a dirt burial mound faced with stone) and gardens.

After viewing this complex, we stopped at the Mercado Central in the city that is a gigantic market selling food, clothing and many other local items.

Our next stop was the Royal Palace, the official residence of the King of Cambodia and the Royal Family since the 1860s, which sits right in the center of the city surrounded by a high wall. The iconic Royal Palace features pavilions adorned and painted with yellow and white colors. The yellow represents Buddhism and the white represents Brahmanism. The Silver Pagoda was built in 1902 and renovated in 1962 in the style of the traditional Khmer architecture. It has a floor that is covered with 5,329 silver tiles that weigh over 5 tons. Inside is a series of lavish Buddha statues made of precious metals.

We then visited the Independence Monument built in 1958 to memorialize Cambodia’s independence from France, and saw the Norodom Sihanouk Memorial, a monument commemorating the former King Norodom Sihanouk who died in 2012 and is survived by his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.

Our last stop was at the Tuol Sleng Museum, formerly a high school. The five buildings of the complex were converted in 1975 (after the Khmer Rouge won the civil war) into a prison and interrogation center, and the classrooms were converted into tiny prison cells and torture centers. Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng. They usually were former Khmer Rouge members and soldiers accused of betraying the party. Many were tortured and killed. In 1979 the Vietnamese army uncovered the grissly site and it was opened as a museum memorializing the brutal actions of the Khmer Rouge.

On Apr 24, 2024 we left Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and sailed on the East Vietnam Sea toward Sihanoukville, Cambodia, a distance of 498 miles. The day was another relaxing day that we needed after the very hot days in Vietnam. Nancy participated in her water color class and painted an oriental lantern.

Later that night we attended dinner in the restaurant which was holding a formal night. We took a picture of the water color instructor, Tim, and his wife, Young Mi, the beading class instructor (they are the couple on the right), along with a couple from Calgary, Ian and Denise, that we had met during our journey. We also took a picture with Farid, who was our favorite waiter for breakfast and dinner.

On Apr 22, 2024 we docked at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City covers an area of 600 square miles, stretching westward from the South China Sea to the Cambodian border. The downtown section of Ho Chi Minh City is still known as Saigon. It was the former capital of South Vietnam before 1975, and the reunification of the country. Ho Chi Minh City’s population is approximately 9.3 million people. It is the largest city in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In the morning we left on an all-day excursion to the Mekong River Delta, a 2-1/2 hour drive south of the city. The Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia at a length of approximately 2,700 miles. It exends from the mountains in Tibet through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and into Vietnam before it empties into the South China Sea.

Along the drive we past many cities and towns with shops and houses (or shacks) along the way. It portrayed a different Vietnam than we had experienced in Hanoi, Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City, where the economic development of the country over the past 20-30 years was so evident. It showed the economic disadvantaged Vietnam. But when we got closer to the Mekong Delta, things changed as we were entering into a more rural part of the country. The sides of the road were filled with rice fields farmed by local farmers. Our excursion took us off the larger highway and onto smaller roadways and eventually onto dirt roads. We finally made it to a nice resort on the Mekong River Delta where we had a fabulous Vietnamese lunch before boarding a boat to travel on the Mekong River and see another section of the Vietnamese population, the farmers and fishermen.

We stopped at a small town where we were able to see how the local people process rice to make popped rice and different candies, as well as creams made from locally produced honey. We also visited the home of a Vietnamese elder who had many old relics in his home, including a traditionalist altar dedicated to deceased relatives.

When we returned to the Seabourn Sojourn that afternoon, we quickly changed clothes as we were invited to a special event for the World Cruise participants, a special performance of the Vietnamese Bamboo Circus at the Saigon Opera House. It was a spectacular presentation that we thoroughly enjoyed, after which we drove back through the brightly colored streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

On Apr 23, 2024, we took an excursion in Saigon to see some of the local highlights of the city. Our first stop was at the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.

From there we went to the Minh Phuong Lacquerware Workshop where we got to see some local workers creating some very fine, delicately decorated, lacquer boxes.

Our next stop was at the Presidential Palace, now known as the Reunification Hall, made famous when a North Vietnamese tank crashed through its front gates on April 30, 1975 signaling the end of the Vietnam War.

We continued on through the city passing the Post Office, built by the French in the late 1800’s and still used today, as well as churches that were built by the French during their occupation of the country.

Our next stop was at the Thien Hau Pagoda, a 200-year old Chinese temple, that is located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It was adorned with Buddha statues, and incense burners throughout. After visiting the temple, we headed back to the ship, through the heavy city traffic.

We returned to the ship, and as the day started to fade and the sun set, we got ready to attend an 80th birthday party for our new friends, Julie and Bernie, while also saying farewell to our captain, Capt. Kyriakos Karras, who was leaving the ship at the next port for a well deserved vacation.

On Apr 21, 2024 we headed further south in the South China Sea, from Da Nang toward Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a distance of approximately 500 miles. It was nice to have a sea day to rest after a busy, and very hot, time in Hanoi and Da Nang. The ocean breezes felt good, and the sunset was beautiful.

On Apr 20, 2024 we docked at Da Nang, Vietnam, the fifth largest city in Vietnam. Da Nang is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam and is the largest city in the region. It is within 100 km of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Hue and the Old Town of Hoi An.

We took an excursion that took us initially through Da Nang on our way to Hoi An. As we drove along the coast, we passed rice fields, and a large number of hotels and resorts, both local and international. The area has become a large tourist destination for travelers, primarily from South Korea, Taiwan and other parts of Vietnam, offering a beautiful coastline and beach, and sunny weather most of the year.

Our first destination was the Tra Que Vegetable Village, a vegetable farm on which we were able to see a local, government-sponsored vegetable garden that was being worked by a number of local farmers. The vegetables harvested from these small gardens are used either by the families, or sold to the local hotels and restaurants for their many vegetarian meals.

Then we traveled into Hoi An, an ancient town that has been well preserved as an example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. We walked through the old town and visited a silk processing shop, the Hoi An Museum, and the Phuc Kien Temple built in honor of Thien Hau, the Godess of the Sea.

Following that we had a traditional Vietnamese lunch and walked through the old town some more, before heading back to Da Nang. On the way we saw a dragon decorated bridge, and stopped at a local beach where we could see the Marble Mountain with a large Buddha statue in the background, and some local round fishing boats. We also stopped at a marble statuary store and saw some immense Buddha statues.

On the morning of Apr 19, 2024 we left Ha Long Bay, Vietnam and headed south to Da Nang, Vietnam. a distance of approximately 560 miles.

Vietnam is a country occupying the eastern portion of mainland Southeast Asia. It extends approximately 1,025 miles from north to south, and is about 30 miles wide, east to west, at its narrowest part. It is bordered by China to the north, and Cambodia and Laos to the west. It has a population of approximately 101 million people.