Excursion in Thailand! My cruise aboard Viking Venus us coming to an end - today will be my last tour from the ship... Overnight, I'd only slept in short spurts (probably because I was VERY hydrated). I was awake by 0530 (no alarm) and spent time reading, doing puzzles and completing Duolingo exercises. At 0730, I went to breakfast (beans, eggs, sausage, potatoes) at the World Cafe. During this time, I learned about a shuttle that was going to nearby Pattaya - unfortunately, there will be no time to use it before we depart the ship in the (early) morning. Viking Venus docked at Laem Chabang, the final port of our voyage, by 0700 this morning. One (final) point of annoyance for passengers took place around the time we arrived - the Captain decided to do a hull inspection in the harbor (prior to departing for Australian and New Zealand waters) and this restricted access to the ship for the rest of the day (until 1800). The ship was actually going to go back out to see while we were on the excursion! Sort of shaking my head on this one because there is so little flexibility left on the last day... We also learned that many of the points of interest that might normally be included on a tour were closed due to a recent Royal death. Oh well - those are the things no one can predict. At that point, I felt grateful that I'd been on my tour and made my way to the departure area. Once off Viking Venus, I had to walk through a huge terminal building to locate my bus. I arrived at the bus for my excursion, “Panoramic Bangkok”, at 0815 and we departed about 15 minutes later. Our guide called himself “Steve” and gave everyone fish pendants ("for group cohesion"). Our driver (“Wan”) looked like he could be my Thai friend's (Bob W’s) brother! In the initial states of departing the Port, we learned some phrases in the Thai language: “sowati” (hello) and “harpoon” (thank you). The bad news at this point was that we still had a roughly 2.5 hour drive to Bangkok. I tried to pass the time with scenery watching - it was interesting (like we'd seen in Hong Kong) to see the drivers on the left side of road. Meanwhile, Steve told us about the Thai perspective of the "Thailand versus Cambodia conflict" - he claimed that it was all about natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand. He mentioned local fauna (e.g., crab monkeys can swim!) and lots of cows, walking in ditches. I saw SO MANY birds. Surprisingly, since Thailand seemed so modern in every way, the road quality was not good. Steve also talked about the origin of the Bangkok name. At 0945, we were given a 10 minute bathroom break (the bus stopped at a rest area along the Expressway) and, shortly after that, we passed the city's (huge) airport. We arrived in the downtown area at 1120, with Steve noting the many Muslim landmarks describing their part in the community. All during the drive, we'd been seeing flags at half staff and this initiated Steve's final discussion before the bus stopped anywhere. Thailand was currently in a mourning period because of the recent death of the King’s mother. As a result, much of the cultural, religious and historic locations I encountered today were only seen from the window of our bus. Examples include: Railway Station, Wat Traimat (Golden Buddha inside, funeral taking place), interesting skyscrapers, Chinatown markets, the Chan Phraya River, Wat Phra Kaew (houses an Emerald Buddha), the Grand Palace (closed for mourning), City Wall (small sections) and the Democracy Monument. It was tough to get photos because bus didn’t stop. We finally (1145) got to stop at Wat Ratchanatdaram (Royal Temple) and spent time walking the grounds. Steve talked happily away but I was able to get to a badly needed bathroom break. When I rejoined our Bus 6 group, Steve led us through a blessing (overseen by a Buddhist Monk) of flower offerings for the King’s Mother - this ceremony was quite moving. We next visited an Amulet Market and climbed the Iron Tower (67 steps) for a city view. Throughout this time period, I was constantly surrounded by pushy Boomers (ugh). When I got free from them, I bought a strawberry smoothie from a vendor on the temple grounds (I also got some Baht, the local currency, as change). The drink was good but I barely made it to the bus just before the deadline (1215). Our next stop (1230) was at the Royal Princess Hotel, where our tour allowed us time for an included lunch at the Princess Cafe. Unfortunately, the full Thai food experience that I hoped to have was marred by a mad free-for-all in the “lines” when every Viking Venus bus (and some from Viking Orion) arrived at the same time. There were (apparently) selections of American and Thai food but one had to correctly choose the appropriate line and hope that pushy Boomers weren't making their way in the other direction. I was not successful, Instead, I tried a local beer called "Chang Classic" (meh) and managed to find a table by myself, In the end, I was glad to get a bit of Thai noodles for my meal. One of the hardest parts of the whole experience was the extreme noise and complaining people. After finishing my "meal", I killed time by walking around in the hotel and sitting in a quiet chair away from the other passengers. Following out departure from the lunch venue (1345), our sightseeing itinerary continued with the following activities: driving the Royal Way, checking out an Italian Marble Palace and a stop at Wat Benchamabophet (made of leftover marble from that Palace). While at the latter location (1355), we got to get up close to a Golden Buddha, marveled at intricate art work, learned about “rain drums” and took a tour of a “Hall of Buddhas” (many different poses). After Steve had stopped talking to our group, I walked the grounds and found more statues. During this window, the rain started again so I returned to the bus early (1430) and we departed about 10 minutes later. Our tour of Bangkok was finished with a stop at a Gem Store - these commercial rackets featured at almost every port on the cruise but the nearly 450 grandmas on the trip with me approved. We stayed the shop until 1530 and then boarded our buses. We made our way back to the Expressway and began driving south. At 1710, we got another 10 minute bathroom break at a rest area and then resumed our 2+ hour trip back to the Port. After arriving at the Laem Chabang Port (1800), we encountered a HUGE line to board (grrrrr) - Viking Venus, apparently, was not fully ready for passengers... Due to some lucky breaks in choosing lines, I managed to get back on the ship by 1815. Once n my room again, I did laundry, weighed bags (with scale procured by Felix), completed an onboard experience survey (paper), submitted an excursion survey (online) and finished packing. My last required admin tasks were to thank (and tip) my stewards and visit the Wintergarden to pick up passport. Fortunately, this last task wasn't too bad because the rest of the passengers had been more proactive than I had. At 1945, I went to dinner (pizza, pasta, veggies) at the World Cafe. I stayed in the area until 2030, saying some farewells, and then went back to my stateroom. There was just enough time left for me to complete the last two steps of my disembarkation procedures: bag labeling and leaving them outside my room. Fortunately, I was able to turn out my lights just when I'd planned (2100) - hoping I'll get some genuine rest. It’s been a wonderful vacation so far but it’s not over. I’m ready for the next destination, Angkor Wat, and have a 0200 wake-up to depart the ship!
