Avalon Waterways Announces New Ship for the Mekong River, New Itineraries for 2018

New article on Cruise Critic:

Avalon Waterways Announces New Ship, New Itineraries for 2018

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7737

New article on Cruise Critic:

Avalon Waterways Announces New Ship, New Itineraries for 2018

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7737

Nice article on the changes and improvements being made by Avalon/Globus. Appreciate this sharing. For late January 2018, we will be doing our first visit to Southeast Asia. This will feature Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia, including a seven-day Mekong River cruise on Avalon Siem Reap, plus seeing Angkor Wat, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue/Danang, etc. We will be gone a little over one month for this latest “adventure”. Am planning to do a live/blog with lots of pictures and travel details, etc. These details and this background helps build our excitement!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 190,128 views for this posting.

Almost back from our first trip to SE Asia with Avalon Waterways. Saw this item from the New York Times Travel Section this past Sunday, they have this headline: “36 Hours in Bangkok” with these highlights: “From upstart creative spaces and obscure bars to neighborhoods where a surprising urban tranquillity reigns, Bangkok remains ripe for discovery.”

This profile is a little more about the arts and other specialized options in Bangkok. Not as much for highlighting the top tourism attractions that most first-timers will do. This profile noted: "One of the first Thai words that foreigners learn in Bangkok is farang, or foreigner. And no wonder. More than 20 million farang descend on the temples and temptations of Thailand’s capital every year, making it one of the planet’s most visited cities. You run into each other in hotels and restaurants, in the air-conditioned mega-malls of Siam Square, at the teeming Chatuchak outdoor market and the Buddhist sites of Wat Pho and Wat Arun. Bangkok is vast and fast-evolving, with many remote corners and newly minted hangouts." Nice summary on Bangkok. It is busy, changing and high-energy based on our experienced detailed below on my live/blog.

This story also highlighted this shopping location that we visited on a hot Sunday afternoon with their question about "overloaded Chatuchak market": "Want to rub sweaty elbows with tens of thousands of retail enthusiasts in a 27-acre, sun-seared outdoor market with some 15,000 booths hocking coconut-shell ashtrays, elephant-print pants, jasmine soaps, striped cushions and countless other wares?" Yes, we did visit this busy and large market, but probably not the next time.

Full NY Times Bangkok story at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/travel/36-hours-what-to-do-in-bangkok.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftravel&action=click&contentCollection=travel&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Bangkok/Mekong River, etc.? Am completing a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474