DAY 71- BANGKOK, THAILAND DAY 2

Excellent Dinner At The Crystal Dining Room Last Evening ✔ Enjoyed A Leisurely Day On The Ship  ✔

When we arrived from the ship onto the pier yesterday we were greeted by two Elephants.

We wanted to begin by saying how much we enjoyed yesterdays tour.  Having visited Bangkok in 2008 added to the enjoyment of our tour as we knew what we wanted to see that was new to us along with places we wanted to revisit.  As we mentioned, in 2008 we stayed over in Bangkok since the drive is 90 minutes or more each way and we enjoyed an overnight at that time at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.  


Our tour guide, Audi, spoke English very well.  Our driver didn't speak any English but that was not necessary.  He drove very well. We made relatively good time to and from the city with the drive taking around 90 minutes.  Sometimes the drive can take closer to two hours each way.

The sites that we visited were quite nice and hopefully the photos we posted yesterday gave some sense of Bangkok.  There is so much to do and see in this city that it could take months to see it all.  There are so many Temples and Government Buildings plus major areas of the city. There is the River which is quite unique which we had the opportunity to see in 2008.


As we mentioned we also visit a Jim Thompson store as well as the Jim Thompson Museum.  
Jim Thompson was born in the United States and after serving here while in the United States Army during World War II, he decided to live in Thailand permanently.


He is most known for reviving the craft of hand weaving of silk in Thailand.  He was a designer and textile colorist and he contributed significantly to the growth and worldwide recognition of Thai Silk.


In 1967, Jim Thompson disappeared while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia and not a single valid clue ever turned up.  His famous Thai house remains as a reminder to all that visit the home of his love of Thailand.


Friends told us about Jim Thompson's stores in 2007 so we visited a couple of the stores in Thailand and in Singapore in 2008.  They sell a variety of items made of silk from unique purses and handbags to men's ties.


We enjoyed the tour of the Jim Thompson House/Museum.  The house has several rooms and still has many of the original artifacts that he collected along with furniture.  The tour guide provided a good deal of information to us as we toured each of the rooms in the house.  She pointed out the significance of each piece of artwork and she pointed out some features in the home that were different than a typical Thai home such as the use of ceilings.


Unfortunately, photos of the interior of the house were prohibited.

We had the driver and tour guide drive us around to some areas that we wanted to see before it was time to get back on the highway on our return back to the ship from Bangkok. We drove thru Chinatown and it is quite large with lots of stores, restaurants, markets and the like.  It is busy 24 hours a day.  We drove by the Marble Temple which dates back to 1881 and is made of Italian Marble.  We drove by the Kings Palace which is on 90 acres of land. The Queen lives there but the King has been in a hospital for the past two years.  We drove by the Flower Market which includes several blocks of Flower Markets.  We also drove by several other points of interest including the Royal Grand Palace and the Emerald Temple.


We enjoyed our day in Bangkok and were very pleased having taken a private tour of the city as we could cover a good deal on our own.  For those visiting here the first time around we would recommend doing a ships tour such as the one we did in 2008 where we had a day and one-half of touring time of Bangkok and got to spend the night in the city.  We would also recommend going out on the river as we did in 2008 and also enjoying Thai Cuisine.


After we arrived back to the ship last evening we both showered and got ready for dinner.

These are the dinner menus from last evening.

Before dinner, this photo was taken of us at the Crystal Cove.  Anne Marie has on a new shawl along with a new purses we purchased earlier in the day at Jim Thompson.

Two nights ago we had spoken with Headwaiter, Augusto, and decided to special order some items.  The only choices we had to make was the salad and which appetizer Anne Marie would have.


Anne Marie looking over the menus with our Senior Waiter Salvatore.

We each began the meal with salad as we normally do.  Anne Marie ordered the salad off the menu which was the chopped salad which was accompanied by a wide range of items.  Keith stayed with his standing order salad.


For a second course, Augusto made Keith Tuna Tartare and Anne Marie had the Grilled Crab Meat Tower which was on the menu.  As usual, the Tuna Tartare which Augusto made was absolutely delicious and Anne Marie enjoyed her appetizer.


Augusto preparing the delicious Tuna Tartare.

Grilled Crab Meat Tower

Tuna Tartare

We pre-ordered our entree and we enjoyed Surf and Turf as we had lobster and for one of the few times on the ship we had red meat and went with chateaubriand.  We first began with the lobster and took a photo of the entree but we forgot to take a photo of the chateaubriand so you will have to take our word that we had it.  We both enjoyed both entrees.

One of the other Headwaiters, Frantz, was making Cherries Jubilee for a nearby table so Keith took a photo  of "Chef" Frantz.

To top off the meal, we had cake and have leftover for the next few nights.

The dining room was as quiet as we could ever remember it.  As you see in a couple of the photos there were very few people dining. This is because many of the guests were either spending the night in Bangkok, were dining off the ship in Bangkok, were on tours getting back later in the evening, or they were eating in other dining venues or in their rooms. We understand that room service was quite busy last evening.  This gave us extra time to speak with the waitstaff which is always very nice.  


Some of the staff planned to go into Pattaya later in the evening.  Crystal ran a shuttle to Pattaya which is about thirty to forty-five minutes from the pier depending on traffic.  Those who we spoke with we told them to be very careful as we would our own children.  The crew always goes out in groups which is the right approach.  Pattaya at night is supposed to be a most unusual place and we will leave it at that.


After dinner, we first chatted with some fellow guests in the Crystal Cove, such as friends Allen and Helen and Marvin and then a little while later we sat with Cruise Director Rick Spath and enjoyed a nice conversation with Rick.


Afterwards, we met up with Bob and Glo as they had returned earlier in the day from their overland adventure in Thailand where they were they had spent the last three nights.  Their trip sounded outstanding and they told us all about the trip while we looked at photos on their camera.  We sat outside and the ship was so very quiet it was as if we were on a private yacht.


We slept very well last evening even though we remained docked at the port of Laem Chabang. Since we didn't get to sleep until around 11:30 PM Anne Marie slept in and Keith slept a little later than usual.


Keith was back up at the Fitness Center after working out and ended up putting in quite along workout on the Elliptical Machine.  About ten minutes after Keith began his workout, Brian arrived, so Keith and Brian spoke about what each of us had done in Bangkok.  Like us, Brian and his daughter, Emma, also had a private car through the same land tour operator, A&K.  Eventually, another passenger we know from Keith's Spin Classes, Paula, worked out next to Keith so they chatted for quite awhile.  Keith learned that Paula is the escort for one of the other Travel Consortiums, Ensemble, for the first three segments of the World Cruise.


Afterwards, Keith had some coffee in the Lido Cafe.  Because Keith arrived a little later than normal some of the Lido Deck Stewards thought we had stayed overnight in Bangkok. Keith spoke with a few of the Lido Deck Stewards including Ray.  For those of you who know Silk Road Headwaiter, Sigi, he just returned from his two month Holiday in Singapore. Anne Marie had seen Sigi the other day and then Keith ran into him as he was getting ready to leave the Cafe.  They chatted for awhile and we are thrilled to have Sigi back on board the ship.


We had breakfast in the morning in our room and chatted with our Butler Rao for a little while. It is amazing all that he does. He is always on top of everything and to us it is even more amazing as he takes care of several rooms.    We enjoyed several laughs with Rao.

Afterwards, Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck.


We decided to stay on the ship today as if it was a sea day.  Given the long drive to Bangkok it didn't make sense for us to spend another three hours on the road and if we wanted to go back into Bangkok then we would have just stayed over last evening as we did in 2008.  


Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle to a Shopping Mall in Pattaya.  The drive was 45 minutes each way and the drop off point was located ten minutes by foot from Festival Pattaya.  In the 1960's and 1970's this town was known for providing R&R to our soldiers during the Vietnam War.   It is known at night for being over the top in certain ways between the bars and those who solicit others.  For those who think New Orleans is fairly wild, New Orleans' pales in comparison to Pattaya.   At the same time there are restaurants, and shops for visitors and there are many places to get a regular massage.  We decided to just enjoy the ship other than spending a few minutes at the stores right at the pier.  We didn't see anything of interest to buy.  We did see several fellow guests getting a foot massage but we passed on this opportunity.


The ship was fairly quiet with guests still in Bangkok or in Pattaya. Several people we spoke with in addition to dong touring got various Massages from foot massages, to partial body massages to full body oil massages.  The prices for one hour were quite low with many spending around $10.00.  They all raved about these massages.


During the morning we also caught up with some items including looking over our shore excursions for the upcoming ports of call.  We also had to take care of some paperwork.


We also spoke with several fellow guests and various members of the crew and we caught up what everyone did over the past 24+ hours.


We had lunch in the Lido Cafe and we each made ourselves a nice salad entree.  Captain Glenn and Cruise Director Rick Spath joined us for lunc.


In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis.  It was fairly hot but it was fun playing tennis.  Later in the afternoon, Keith got together with friend Bob.


Anne Marie walked for another hour on the Promenade Deck.  Afterwards, she sat outside by the pool.


This evening we will be dining at the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant and will post all about that tomorrow.


TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....

“If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra

Keith and Anne Marie