Australia08

I booked the Kanchanaburi and food tours through Viator. I no longer have access to the actual tour operators names, but the Kanchanaburi was listed on Viator as “Private Tour to Bridge Over River Kwai and HellFire Pass including train ride.” It cost $298.02 for 2 people. The food tour was listed as “Bangkok Backstreets Food Tour with 15+ Tastings - A Chef’s Tour.” It cost $118.00 for 2 people. Hope this helps!

Thursday, February 15 - A beautiful Mekong morning. I put on my robe and headed to the coffee bar right on our floor to grab a warm cup of coffee as I sat to enjoy the view. Breakfast at the Sky Bar, then out to visit Caí Be. The main source of income for the local residents is derived from traditional handicrafts. First, we saw a woman creating the rice paper used in making spring rolls. Next, we watched workers making coconut candies (and we sampled the finished product). It was very interesting to view the method of popping rice, then using the popped rice to make a type of “rice krispy treat.” Finally, we tried the distilled “rice wine.” Then followed that up with the more expensive “snake wine” which had been steeping in a jar containing King Cobra snakes! We then had a chance to buy some of the local products before heading back to the ship for lunch.

February 14, continued - Sorry about my last post. I had written about the entire day, but when I started adding the photos, the wifi here on the ship seized up and half was deleted. I also noted that the photos I took of the “disappearing” tunnel entrance were out of order so I’ll try straightening that out now. Then he reappears about 30 ft away. Excellent demonstration of how the VietCong could not only quickly disappear, but also suddenly come up behind an unsuspecting GI. The “booby traps” that were demonstrated also made one realize the dangers inherent in fighting in this region. After leaving the Cu Chi tunnels, we traveled about 30 minutes to our riverside restaurant lunch location. There we enjoyed Lotus Root Salad with Pork & Shrimp, Grilled Chicken with Sticky Rice, Deep-Fried Catfish with Tomato Sauce, Sautéed Water Spinach with Garlic, Steamed Rice in Lotus Leaf, and Ice Cream. Our view at lunchtime After lunch, it was still 2 1/4 hours to My Tho, where the Viking Saigon was moored. We quickly boarded and the captain set sail. HERE WE GO! At 6:00 pm we had our safety meeting and some general information about the next day’s schedule. Dinner followed at 7:00. A local Vietnamese musical group provided entertainment after dinner using traditional musical instruments. Very enjoyable. Almost everyone went to their rooms following the music, but Mike and I went up to the Sky Bar to have a nightcap and enjoy the moon over the Mekong!

Wednesday, February 14 - Breakfast at the Sheraton Saigon, then on the bus for a rather long transfer to the Viking Saigon. The traffic leaving HCMC was very light because it is still the Tet holiday. We traveled for 2 hours to the famous tunnel network around Cu Chi. This tunnel network facilitated the VietCong control of the rural area. It is said that at the height of the war, the tunnel network stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. Around Cu Chi there are about 250 km of tunnels. We had the opportunity to walk (bent over) through several tunnels. Our guide rated the difficulty of the tunnel to give us an idea of whether we wanted to try walking through or not. I went through 2 of the tunnels. Of course, today, there is some light provided. It is well worth your time to try going through at least one of the tunnels. As we walked through the paths, our guide pointed out depressions where US bombs had fallen (an attempt to collapse some of these tunnels). We also saw demonstrations of “booby traps” created by the VietCong to kill unsuspecting GIs. Some of these were quite brutal. It is understandable that the guys in the military who were assigned to fight in this area had the constant worry about what was around each corner. After out visit to the Cu Chi tunnels, we drove for about 30 minutes and stopped by lunch at a local riverside restaurant.

Tuesday, February 13 - Breakfast at the hotel, then off for a morning tour. First, we went to the Reunification Palace, also known as Independence Hall. Since we had just recently finished watching the Ken Burns’ Vietnam War series on PBS, the views of this building and its interior 1960s architecture were compelling. I especially like the fact that for all of the state rooms identified, there were period pictures with the South Vietnamese leaders of the time pictured. The bunker rooms in the basement were especially evocative of the war years, filled with 1960s era communication relics. On the grounds were tanks similar to the ones that rammed the gates here on 30 April 1975. Mike and I vividly remember watching on tv the final hours of escape by Americans and some South Vietnamese from the city at that time. Our guide, Kong, related the history of his on family. His father was a South Vietnamese soldier, his uncle was a North Vietnamese soldier. After the end of the war, his father and uncle never spoke with one another again. His uncle, who had lived in a more northerly village had been recruited by the North Vietnamese, and after the war, he became a higher up Communist leader in his village. Kong’s father on the other hand, was sent to a re-education camp for 5 years and died not long after that. Because he was the son of a former South Vietnamese soldier, Kong was not able to go to college (somehow, those children could never pass the entrance exams). Luckily, he was able to finish high school, which enabled him to eventually take night school classes in tourism and English when opportunities became relaxed during the 1990s. After we left the Reunification Palace, we traveled to the Saigon Post Office which was built by the French in the 1880s. The colonial design both inside and out is quite striking. From the outside of the post office, Kong pointed out the former CIA building from which the final helicopters rescued Americans and some South Vietnamese at the end of the war. The Post Office exterior The Post Office interior The cream-colored building behind the Katinat Coffee Shop is the former CIA building Across the street from the Saigon Post Office we could see Norte Dame Cathedral, built by the French. Well, we kind of saw it - it is currently shrouded by scaffolding as it is undergoing some reconstruction. Our next stop was a lacquerware shop. Normally, I don’t like these “shopping” stops, but this was a bit of an educational stop where we learned about the steps in creating this Vietnamese art. I especially liked seeing the pieces made with duck egg shells. Of course, we still didn’t buy anything, but it was interesting to watch the craftsmanship. We were given about an hour and a half break to have lunch on our own or just rest at the hotel. At 2:00, we headed out for our afternoon tour. Our first stop was the Chinatown temple. It was very crowded since many people go to the temple to make incense offerings to the goddess for good luck in this new year that was just beginning. It was very smoky with all the burning of incense and candles. I was especially intrigued by the spiral incense hanging from the ceiling that would burn for about a week. Again, I think that it has been very special for us to be here at this time of year to see so many of the Tet celebrations. Our final afternoon bus stop as at the Central Market, an area filled with hundreds of small stalls. To me, it appeared that most of these were just small t-shirt stalls, inexpensive leather goods, some handicrafts - it was difficult to tell whether the items were “made in China” cheap stuff or what. It was stifling inside the building so Mike and I looked for the first opportunity to exit, just to walk outside in the fresh air. After we almost completed a circuit of the outer perimeter of the building, we noticed a tea/coffee shop and decided to go inside. One of the baristas, gave me a menu with English translations. After I asked her for her favorite, which I chose, Mike and I enjoyed a chilled Jasmine, lychee, and oolong tea drink - fantastic! So if you are like us and don’t like another shopping stop, go across the street from Door 3 of the Central Market for a refreshing drink. Can’t wait to sample another tea drink from a similar shop before leaving Vietnam! Kong had suggested that we go to the Rex Hotel to see where the Western media hung out while reporting on the Vietnam War. From the top of the hotel, the bar provided a signature drink to remember the 5 o’clock news conferences where journalists soon came to question most of the information they were receiving about the progress of the war - these news conferences were soon nicknamed the “5 o’clock Follies.” After having our drink and enjoying the views of the Tet revelers below, we headed back to the hotel briefly stopping to watch more holiday festivities. This evening, Viking provided a welcome dinner here in the hotel. There were lots of Asian and Western choices at a huge buffet. Tomorrow, we will be leaving the Sheraton here in Ho Chi Minh City, and completing a bit of touring before finally getting to the Viking Saigon and starting our Mekong River cruise.

Monday, February 12 - It was an early morning in order to breakfast prior to our transfer to the airport for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Our sunrise breakfast at the Peninsula Lots of walking at the airport, depending on where your gate is located. There as quite a back up at the immigration desks leaving Bangkok. I’m not sure if that was due to the Chinese New Year travel crunch or just always busy. By the time we got to our gate, it was almost time to board. Our assigned seats were 33A and 33B - another reason I hate to have Viking determining our flights. There is no choice when completing these river cruise extensions though, so we had to use Viking air. Since we were on Vietnam Airlines, we were able to apply our Delta Skymiles number, which identified us as SkyTeam elite+ and Mike was able to ascertain that there were seats nearer to front of the plane in row 10 so we could embark and disembark faster (also got the board with Sky Priority), so you should check to see if the Viking flight is part of a sky alliance network and you might be able to get better seats. Once we reached Ho Chi Minh City, we were met by our Viking host, Kong. He narrated our trip into the downtown area (only took about 30 minutes). The Saigon Sheraton is nice - not as nice as the Peninsula in Bangkok, but with sufficient room. I like having an iron and ironing board, too, since most of my clothes are quite rumpled from the long hours in my luggage. After organizing our luggage, we headed out for a walk and an ATM stop. We passed a craft beer location and figured we’d enjoy some Vietnamese IPA. When we got ready to pay the bill, the server offered a handful of red envelopes to choose a “gift” (we learned this red envelope gift is for good luck in the new year). Mike’s envelope card just wished him a happy new year. Mine entitled me to return for up to 4 beers during the next 2 weeks! May have to go back to at least sample one more!! Kong suggested a couple of places for dinner. We took his advice to book ahead since many places are closed due to the Tet New Year celebrations. When we booked with the concierge, I decided to ask him for suggestions about what we might order. The young man at the concierge desk was fabulous! He took us over to the computer and called up the menu for the restaurant we were planning to visit and went through the menu with us, identifying many traditional Saigon dishes, or traditional Tel holiday dishes. He even wrote down some of his favorites on a “cheat sheet” to take with us. His suggestions were spot on. My favorite dish was a pomelo salad with prawns, but all the other dishes were super, too. I’d really recommend that you find someone to ask about the best dishes to order when choosing a Vietnamese restaurant since the English descriptions aren’t always very appetizing. After our dinner, we walked by the Opera House and the main walkway leading down to the river. Since this is only the third day of the Tet holidays, everything is lit up, there are flowers and people everywhere, along with musical stage events. The place was packed. It is so much fun to be here during the holiday!

Later on Sunday, February 11 - Our tuk-tuk tour this afternoon was lots of fun. We had a parade of 12 tuk-tuks. Quite the sight. We headed to the Jim Thompson house, first. He was an American who worked for the OSS during WW2 and decided to stay in Bangkok after the war. He had been trained as an architect and designed this home by connecting Thai homes that he moved to Bangkok and pieces. The house was not only unusual in design, but it was filled with beautiful Asian artwork, much of it antique. He became interested in preserving the craft of silk-making that he saw in Bangkok, and he linked these local artisans to major markets throughout the US and Europe. After our visit to the Jim Thompson house, we joined our tuk-tuk drivers again to go to the Flower Market. He walked all the main Flower Market street and down several of the alleyways with a myriad of flower stalls. We were amazed to hear that market is open 24-7. We made one last journey to the hotel before saying goodbye to our tuk-tuk driver. It was 6:00 pm and Mike and I decided we wanted something light to eat so we headed back over to ICONSIAM since there are so many food establishments to choose from. I had read about a restaurant called Ginger Farm Kitchen, a farm to table establishment which prepared Thai foods in a more natural, organic way. The original restaurant has been Michelin recommended and ICONSIAM has one of the chain. It was a great choice. Mike decided to check out their crispy pork in order to compare it to last night’s success. I had a chicken and cashew dish. We both shared a spring roll appetizer with two delightful sauces. Once we returned to the Peninsula, we couldn’t resist a nightcap at the hotel bar - a great way to end the evening. Off to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow.

Thanks for your comments. The heat actually hasn’t been that bad. Yes, it has been in the low 90s for daytime highs, but we’ve chosen to eat outside for breakfast in the mornings and it hasn’t been bad at all. We grew up in the St. Louis area and summers there can be brutal. This certainly hasn’t been much worse. That being said, the guides have told us that this is the best time to be here. I looked ahead at the temps later this week in Ho Chi Minh City and it looks like it will be in the high 90s there. That may certainly be tougher! I’ll keep you posted.

Sunday, February 11 - Our morning tour took us by bus to the The Grand Palace. Built in 1782, the Grand Palace spreads over 218,000 square meters. Grand Palace is an apt name since the buildings are all lavish works of art. Some buildings are covered in yellow, green and blue porcelain tiles, some are covered in glass mosaic, some covered in gold mosaic tiles, some have large lacquered mother of pearl inlay doors and cabinets, and beautiful murals can be found everywhere. It is truly a feast for the eye! One of the highlights was the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha wears one of three different raiments which are changed based on the seasons. Right now, the Buddha is wearing the winter raiment. No photos could be taken in theTemple of the Emerald Buddha. But the following photos show the outside of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and some of the artistic design in the construction of the temple facade. After leaving the Grand Palace grounds, we used tuk-tuks to travel to the UNESCO site, Wat Pho, where we visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The Reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. It is modeled around a brick core, and finished in plaster and gold leaf. The soles of the Buddha’s feet are mother of pearl inlay. Behind the Reclining Buddha is a row of 108 bronze monks’ bowls. Visitors may purchase 108 coins and drop one in each bowl for good luck. Some other photos from Wat Pho: After exploring the grounds of Wat Pho, we headed back to the bus and returned to the hotel. We had time for a quick break before heading out for an afternoon tuk-tuk tour.

Saturday, February 10 - This morning was an early morning for us since we needed to be in the lobby for our first included tour by 8:30 am. Breakfast here at the Peninsula is at the riverfront terrace cafe. There is seating inside and out. We chose the outside dining. Our tour was a boat ride to Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn. It was established by King Taksin after the fall of the Ayuthaya Kingdom. Besides the temple, there was also a royal palace established at this location. The temple is quite beautiful and visitors are able to climb up to admire the ceramic decoration close-up. After leaving Wat Arun, we sailed along one of the canals that the city of Bangkok is known for - it is often referred to as the Venice of the East. It was a rather large canal. I had been hoping to be able to travel on some of the smaller canals, but we did see several temples along the way and also the area where the royal barges are docked (also open as the royal barge museum). When we started back to the hotel, the skies finally opened up and it poured. We lowered the curtains on the boat to prevent the rain from pounding in. The rain let up and started again several times before we reached the hotel. I found it interesting that the local tour operators who are handling this Viking extension have several optional tours to offer. Two were shopping excursions this afternoon, a dinner cruise tonight, and a tuk-tuk tour to the Flower Market and the Jim Thompson House tomorrow afternoon. Many of the other Viking passengers were a bit miffed that we did not know about the existence of those optional excursions until told about them today. Arranging for the additional funds seemed to be the sticking point for many. They will take US dollars, but many people hadn’t worked that into the calculations of how much to bring. They will take Thai bhat, but that entails taking out more ATM funds at a rather steep rate. Personally, we use ATM cards that return any added fees to us, so it doesn’t matter, but others did not. And the local tour company does not take credit cards. Does seem like Viking might include information about this in advance of the trip, since these same optional tours seem to be on offer to each Viking group that does the Bangkok extension. We are going to take the afternoon tour tomorrow, but we weren’t interested in the shopping trips or the dinner cruise tonight. Instead, we decided to take the afternoon off and enjoy the room. We did some reading, some email, and we both dozed a bit. The hotel has been leaving a different fresh tropical fruit on our coffee table each day (today was fresh dragonfruit), so we made some coffee and indulged. Then about mid-afternoon, they showed up with a small plate of chocolates. I’m totally sold on the hospitality of the Peninsula Hotel! About 6:00 pm, we decided to walk over to the ICONSIAM for dinner. We had seen a restaurant called Kam’s Roast - a branch of a Hong Kong Michelin starred restaurant that sounded good. I had roast duck and crispy pork. Mike had char siu pork and roast duck. The duck was great, but the crispy pork was the winner. And, of course, as soon as we returned to the hotel, our turn-down service was complete (slippers by our bedside, along with fresh water bottles and fresh fruit). Even my robe had been retied from wearing it this afternoon. I could really get used to this service. Our evening walk up the hotel driveway One of the shrines at the entrance to the Peninsula Hotel

Friday, February 9 - Today, we transitioned over to the Peninsula Hotel. But first, we headed up for breakfast, then walked over to the ICONSIAM to find the K Bank ATM to replenish our bhats, and called a Grab Car to take us the short hop down the street to our new hotel. We had been treated very well at the Millenium Hilton, but our first hours at the Peninsula were great. Our room is referred to as a deluxe king, but is laid out like most Jr. Suites. I again have a nice deep soaking tub - yay! I always miss that on the Viking ships. Again, we have a nice river view, just not as high up as at the Hilton. I had booked a Bangkok Street Food tour prior to leaving on the trip. It was to begin at 4:00 pm in ChinaTown, so we got some basic instructions on using the Peninsula Hotel ferry to get across the river and bought tickets to ride the public ferry up to the ChinaTown pier. Then it was just a short walk to the Shanghai Mansion Hotel where we were to meet our tour. We got there with plenty of time to have a drink at the hotel terrace bar before our meeting time. The tour was great. It was billed as having 15+ tastings - we had 19! It was a combination of street vendors, small shops and restaurants. It was really well—run. We had a traditional tour guide, Bew, who stayed with us the entire time, explaining the ingredients and history of each tasting. There was also an assistant guide who ran ahead to make sure our tables, or seating arrangements were set up so there was no waiting in lines. This was especially important since our tour was on the Friday night prior to the beginning of Chinese New Year. ChinaTown was packed with people. Bew did a great job in keeping our tour together (btw - there was only 8 of us on the tour - a nice manageable size). At least three of the places we stopped were Michelin recommended spots. All of the foods were wonderful. I’ll include just a few photos of the foods we tried since I failed to get shots of everything. After we finished the food tour, we “grabbed” a GrabCar back to the hotel. I’m really glad that I added that app to my phone before leaving home. It works just like UBER and it is very economical. Even with the crowds, we were back to the hotel in just about 20 minutes. Then time to check email and have a nice cup of chamomile tea and a bath before bed. Another great day!

Thursday, February 8 - We were up very early to have breakfast and meet our tour guide, Pring, in the hotel lobby at 7:00 am. We were off and out of the city before the traffic was very bad. It is a two hour drive to Kanchanaburi where many of the sights for the WW2 Thai-Burma railroad was built by slave labor of the Allied POWs as well as forced labor of the native population. Along the way, Pring pointed out the fields of sugar cane - nearby, we also saw the sugar factories. Fields of tapioca and sweet corn were also pointed out as important cash crops. It was interesting to see the large portraits of the king and queen hanging from overpasses as we drove through different communities. Our first stop once we reached Kanchanaburi was the JEATH War Museum - J (Japanese), E (England), A (America and Australia), T (Thailand), and H (Holland). Mike and I have always been very interested in WW2 sites. Both of our fathers were in the war - my father serving in the Pacific and Mike’s father serving in Europe. During our travels, we always make a point of visiting any historical sites connected with the war. We’ve been to Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, the Trinity site, Auschwitz, Potsdam, the Normandy beaches, Pearl Harbor, El Alamein, the Air Tracking station in Malta, Churchill’s War Rooms, various war sites in Berlin and Munich, Schindler’s Factory, Dachau — ok, I think you have the idea that we are pretty serious about our WW2 sites. It seemed obvious that if we were going to Thailand that we would go see the famous Thai-Burma railroad. The JEATH War Museum is run by the Buddhist temple. It consists of a reconstructed hut similar to the ones the POWs lived in, obviously quite primitive. The hut was filled with photographs taken during the time of the building of the railroad. There was also a large map that really helped to show exactly how the railroad linked Thailand to Burma (the Japanese needed this rail link in order to supply the troops they had in Burma, since supplying them by sea was difficult). The final railroad as 415 kilometers long. Construction started in September of 1942 and was completed in December of 1943. More than 16,000 POWs and 100,000 impressed laborers from India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, and Thailand died during its construction. The Buddhist message to visitors is that the maintenance of this museum is not to focus on the hatred among human beings, especially the Japanese and Allied countries, but to arn and teach us the lesson of how terrible as is (so very Buddhist). Also the museum holds many artifacts that had belonged to the prisoners. Our next stop was the Commonwealth Cemetery, holding the gravesites of military from Great Britain, Australia, and the Netherlands. The landscaping in the cemetery was beautiful. It reminded us of the beautiful landscaping we saw at the El Alamein Cemetery in Egypt, although there the landscaping utilized desert plants, while the landscaping here in Thailand utilized tropical plantings. Our guide, Pring, did such a good job in organizing our trip and keeping us on schedule. Our next stop was the train station to catch a ride on the line originally built by the prisoners. Pring knew to have us join the train one stop before most tourists joined the train right at the River Kwai. That way, we had great window seats on the left hand side of the train. This enabled us to have the best views of the river and of the wooden bridges further up to line. We rode for about an hour. After we passed the wooden bridges, we exited the train at that station in order to walk across the wooden bridges, viewing the original wood and rails (now given extra metal and concrete supports). We walked to the Krause cave situated right next to the train line - now a temple with Buddha, but previously used as a primitive hospital for workers. Pring had our driver pick us up and drive us to the last stop on the line where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. Then it was off to the Hell’s Pass Interpretative Center. This a a relatively new museum run by the Australian government. The museum has a very modern display and a 10 minute video describing the particular difficulties in cutting through the rock in this area. The workers had to work for 18 - 20 hours a day with simple tools. Visitors walk down about 150 steps to the railroad bed (now just a walking path with a few railroad ties remaining embedded in the soil. Walking through the rock railroad cutout was an emotional experience, just recognizing the suffering endured by those forced to work under inhumane conditions. There is a memorial as once leaves the rock cutout. We chose to turn around and return to the museum at that point, but the trail continues for those who wish to follow more of the original rail line. At this point, we headed back toward Kanchanaburi, although we did stop in the National Park to visit one waterfall. Back in Kanchanaburi, Pring wanted to take us back to the Bridge across the River Kwai that we’d crossed earlier in the day on the train. Now we walked across the bridge as the sun began to set. It was quiet and beautiful and gave us a chance to reflect upon all we’d experienced during the day. Then it was off on the 2 hour journey back Bangkok. Definitely, a great tour for anyone who likes WW2 history. Back at the Hilton, we decided we still weren’t hungry after the huge lunch we’d had, so we headed up to the 31st floor outdoor bar for a drink. Great way to end the day, especially when we found out that Hilton Honors members got 25% off all food and beverage tabs. Wow - and the drinks weren’t that much to begin with. This was our view while we were having our nightcap.

Wednesday, February 7 - We’ve started on our Viking Mekong adventure. We have already arrived in Bangkok for our pre cruise extension, starting in two days. We always like to come early to get over jet lag. Since we arrived in Bangkok near midnight, we were ready to go to bed immediately. I think that has really helped with the jet lag since I feel great today. I did take one melatonin before going to sleep so I think that helped me to sleep soundly until the alarm rang this morning. Our flights over (Seattle to Inchon and Inchon to Bangkok) were both delayed, but they build so much time into flight schedules these days, that we still arrived on time or early on both flights. The service on the first flight, a Delta flight, was satisfactory, but even in Delta One, the attendants seem to want to feed you and be done. The service on the Prestige class Korean Air flight was much more attentive. We were thanked for flying them multiple times. Both flights included lie flat seats which as much appreciated, especially on the second fight where I slept soundly for 3 hours after dinner. And the dinner on the Korean Air flight was better, too. The bibimbap was sooooo good! We are staying at the Millenium Hilton Bangkok for the first three nights until we move to the Peninsula for our Viking arranged room. We usually stay at Hilton properties in major cities since we are Diamond members and usually end up with upgrades. And yes, Hilton upgraded us to an Executive room. We have a lovely view of the Chao Phraya River and a nice, deep soaker tub. When we arrived at the airport last night, we collected our bags and I called a Grab Car - very quick. And since it was after midnight, there was very little traffic and we had a relatively quick ride to the hotel. This morning, we had a late breakfast in the Executive Lounge, then took a walk to check out where the Peninsula Hotel is, then stopped at the Iconsiam Shopping Center. It is filled with high-end stores and scads of restaurants. There is even Porsche and Maserati “stores” - yes, there are cars on display. We also took some time to stroll along the riverfront. Since today is officially our get over jet lag day, we had no sightseeing planned. When we arrived back at the hotel, we went to afternoon tea in the Executive Lounge and will go there for cocktails this evening. Then it is early to bed for us since we have an all day tour to the River Kwai tomorrow to visit the Kanchanaburi War Museum and Hell Fire Pass.

Maybe things have changed, but in January 2023, we used UBER from EZE to the Buenos Aires Hilton with no problem. It was approximately $10 and we had the ease of not having to have local currency. I do remember that we were told a particular door to use. It was not the main door where all the taxis were but we had no problem. The car info make and color as well as the license plate seemed easy to find - plus on the UBER app we could see him arriving since we were standing outside the door by then.

We flew into EZE in January 2023 and just used our UBER app. Driver was there in no time. We went to the Buenos Aires Hilton which isn’t that far from the port. I’d have to go back to see what I paid but it seemed very reasonable. And no need to worry about having local currency.

Do they also have product too? I wouldn’t want to add to my packing.

No root touch-ups? What does one do on a month long cruise?

Clay, thanks so much for posting. I love following your live trip reports! Safe travels.

Get it in writing. I was questioned about information I was given previous to my cruise (on a different topic). Once on ship I was told Viking couldn’t assist me. I told them I had it in writing that I had been told they could. Passenger service rep said she needed to see it. Luckily I’d made a copy and brought down the hard copy email for Viking onboard rep to see and she immediately said she would honor the request.

On the Octantis last February, we had no problem making reservations each morning for the Restaurant or Manfredi’s. I think most people on the expedition ships want to stay in their expedition clothes so they tend to eat in the World Cafe where the food has more options than the ocean ships. We, too, prefer sitting down in the evenings and being served. We ate in the Restaurant or Manfredi’s every night but one.

Vietnam recently changed their Evisa process to include multiple entry visas. Also, for Vietnam you state the dates you will be there. Yes, it is only a 30 day visa, but you establish the dates, not based on when you apply.

Be careful that the promo code really works for a cruise that far out. Yesterday I tried to book using the Thanksgiving promotion because the October 2024 date appeared to take the promo code. I called to see if there were better rooms and was told the Thanksgiving promo doesn’t apply to the October 2024 cruise, only the March 2024 cruise. When I went back online, it still took the promo code, with the green checkmark next to it when I put in the October cruise (green usually indicates a “go” to me). When you go to the choose a room page, it still shows the Thanksgiving promo. However, when I called another Viking agent he said there was a tiny black star next to the March date, not next to the October date. That made the difference. Seems a bit deceptive to me but at least I found out before completing the booking because we specifically wanted the included Silver Spirits since it is a longer cruise with a lot of sea days. Just be sure the promo applies because in my experience, the good promos seldom apply to cruises more than a year in advance.

We were on the Octantis for the Antarctica expedition in January in a DV2 and had 2 pairs of the nice binoculars. We were encouraged to take them with us everywhere.

The end of August, we were at the Delta JFK lounge. They were running 2 lines to get in - the Delta One line and the credit card line. They took the Delta One line first. We were in the Delta One line which of course was much shorter. We got in pretty fast. That was the first time I saw the segregated lines.

Codeshares are difficult to understand. That’s why we book our own seats using the class of.service category we desire.