Mariner - Bangkok to Hong Kong, 2/19 -3/19/19

[RachelG]

I think you were smart to stay out of the water!

[Gilly]

I agree with @RachelG !  If it's the same place we found ourselves at the end of our tour in Sihanoukville, then I quite understand your caution.  The levels of development in a place where the simple disposal of rubbish appears to be a challenge were a concern and I remember blogging about it too.  Sounds like things have not changed, which is sad.

 

I was also interested to read of the local boats used instead of the ships tender.  You might recall the hoohah in one S E Asian port (Langkawi?)  last year when Navigator's tenders were all taken out of action because of the "stuff" that became entangled in their propellers (including one whole tyre wrapped around the shaft)  I wonder if Regent decided to take pre-emptive action this time!?  

 

Loving your adventure and yes, looking forward to a couple of days at sea 😉

[WesW]

Thanks for Georges and you continued posts and wonderful photos Jennifer.

 

When we visited Cambodia last, a friend said remember, "Cambodia is the land that God forgot," she was precisely right.

Edited February 28, 2019 by WesW

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks for your lovely pictures and comments. I very much appreciate when someone takes their valuable vacation time to take us along with them. 

[Boatmans Lady]

Very late to this, but thank you for taking the time to blog and add photos.

 

Did no-one ask the people talking over the guide and on the phone to politely be quite as you couldn't hear what was being said?

I think I might have had to day something.

[forgap]

We had a much needed sea day yesterday and we anticipate another today.  Our CC meet up was small but allowed lively conversation.  Activities were abundant throughout the day, none of which we took advantage except for a brief “drive by” for wine tasting.  Instead, we had a long lunch in Compass Rose and a longer nap in our cabin.  

 

 

There are many lovely nooks and crannies on Mariner and it never seems crowded.  The only exception was after the Captain’s reception last night when it seemed like everyone emptied into the lounges and later into Compass Rose.  

 

My impression that we have a multinational mix of passengers was correct with US passport holders in a slight minority.  Canadians and Brits are well represented and other passengers span the Globe.  

 

For those interested, John Barron will only be on Mariner until late March.  He then takes a break and I think he said he goes back to the Explorer.  His plum assignment in the future will be on the Splendor. 

 

We are having great weather, blue skies and not too hot.  The sea is a bit choppy but Mariner is very stable.  

[EAGLESLOVER]

Thank you for your posts and pictures.  Sorry we will miss John Baron on our upcoming cruise, but happy we will see him on the Splendor in 2020. Enjoy the rest of your cruise 

[Hambagahle]

10 hours ago, Boatmans Lady said:

Very late to this, but thank you for taking the time to blog and add photos.

 

Did no-one ask the people talking over the guide and on the phone to politely be quite as you couldn't hear what was being said?

I think I might have had to day something.

I would not have been particularly polite with these people.  They were really inconsiderate!

 

I am really looking forward to meeting John Barron - I have read so much about him and what a great job he does as CD.  We are on the 14 march 2020 Splendour sailing so I hope he will still be on board then...

Edited March 1, 2019 by Hambagahle

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

On 2/23/2019 at 4:55 PM, cruiseluv said:

 

On 2/23/2019 at 2:53 PM, JMARINER said:

🙂

14 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

I would not have been particularly polite with these people.  They were really inconsiderate!

 

I am really looking forward to meeting John Barron - I have read so much about him and what a great job he does as CD.  We are on the 14 march 2020 Splendour sailing so I hope he will still be on board then...

 

Gerry

We think John Barron is the best. Can’t wait to finally meet you and your DH!

sheila

[Hambagahle]

Reciprocated, Sheila!   This meeting is well overdue!

Gerry

[forgap]

What a difference oil money makes!   We arrived in Brunei this morning, a land of manicured lawns, golf courses, lovely homes, and palatial public buildings.   The capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, is about 30 minutes from the port.  The citizens of Brunei benefit from the oil revenue - no taxes, free mediacal, free education, subsidized housing, low cost loans, etc. 

 

One of the Sultan’s palaces:

 

We chose a tour of the Mangrove River and the Kampong Ayer - a large collection of stilt house villages on the river.  Brunei’s dense jungle is deforestation-free. Approximately 80% of Brunei is virgin rainforest. Most of the jungle remains in the same condition as it has for thousands of years.

 

 We loaded onto wooden boats and headed down the river.  Our first sighting was a crocodile quietly waiting for his next meal.  Perhaps he was hoping one of us would fall overboard.  

 

Our next sighting was a group of proboscis monkies high in the tree canopy along the river.  We also saw many white egrets and a fleeting glance of a stork-billed kingfisher.  

 

On we we went to the Kampong Ayer.  The houses are interconnected with bridges and walkways, wooden and concrete, creating contiguous areas. Thus, accessibility among many villages are possible by foot.  Common utilities are available in Kampong Ayer, which include electricity, water, telephone lines, internet access and television services.  We were invited for tea and sweets in one of the compounds.   The house is a long series of rooms and they were blissfully airconditioned

 

 

Kampong Kat

 

On the way back to the ship we had a nice photo op of the OMAR ALI SAIFUDDIEN MOSQUE - the dome is 24 carret leaf gold. 

 

 

[mrstanley]

Who will the Cruise Director be on the March 28th cruise from Shanghai to Tokyo????

[forgap]

Last night was the Beatles Dance Party and it was as raucous and wonderful as we remembered on each of our cruises.  There is nothing like old and young alike having a ball dancing and singing to the iconic hits!  

 

We arrived in Kota Kanabolu, Borneo this morning.  

 

We had a very early departure for an 8 hour excursion to Kanabalu Park.  Kinabalu Park is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO as one of the most important biological sites in the world with more than 4,500 species of flora and fauna, including 326 bird and around 100 mammal species, and over 110 land snail species - none of which we saw!  Well, we saw lots of flora!  

Mt. Kanabalu is impressive.  It is a giant surrounded by lesser giants.  It is so huge it is actually humbling.  

 

Before Christianity and Islam became the dominant religions of the island of Borneo, animist beliefs dictated that when a person died, their spirit rose to the peak of Mount Kinabalu. At 4,095 meters (13,435 feet) above sea level, it's one of the highest mountains in Southeast Asia.

 

Our “hike” was less impressive than the drive.  The drive was two hours from the port and about 1 hour and 15 minutes of it was up a steep incline.  The hike was actually a nature walk with some very unsteady footing but not at all strenuous.  We heard some birds, but I didn’t add to my life list.  Our guide, however, was very knowledgeable which added to the day.  

One cultural tid bit.   Headhunting was part of the betrothal ritual.  If a man wanted to marry, he had to prove his abilities by killing a rival, and presenting the rival’s  head to the woman’s family.  This obviously decimated the male population and the British successfully changed the marriage deal from a head to a live water buffalo.  Hence, the population of Borneo increased. 

 

[Hambagahle]

Great photos, especially the first one!  Thanks!!

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Forgap- wonderful photography!

Thanks. 

Sheila

[RachelG]

Hopefully your lunch on the excursion was better than the one we had 2 years ago, which was basically inedible. I agree about the hike.  Not a real hike, just a walk-in the woods.

[forgap]

3 hours ago, RachelG said:

Hopefully your lunch on the excursion was better than the one we had 2 years ago, which was basically inedible. I agree about the hike.  Not a real hike, just a walk-in the woods.

Lunch was at an old hotel near to Mt. Kinabalu.  I wouldn’t say it was inedible but it was not great.  It was more like a cafeteria line with Asian flavors.  One funny thing was we had one knife for a table of 10.  We passed it around as several of the stir fries needed to be in bite size pieces so as not to make a spectacle of ourselves as we ate!  

 

Today we have a sea day as we sail to Vietnam.  Seas are calm and the sky is blue.  

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

Lunch was at an old hotel near to Mt. Kinabalu.  I wouldn’t say it was inedible but it was not great.  It was more like a cafeteria line with Asian flavors.  One funny thing was we had one knife for a table of 10.  We passed it around as several of the stir fries needed to be in bite size pieces so as not to make a spectacle of ourselves as we ate!  

 

Today we have a sea day as we sail to Vietnam.  Seas are calm and the sky is blue.  

Sounds like the same place we ate.  We were the last group to arrive.  Only thing left was rice and some horrible stewed mutton that was mostly fat.  And yes, we had the silverware shortage too.

[RJ2002]

Great pictures!

[forgap]

Good Morning, Vietnam!   We have a long day planned today to visit the Cu Chi tunnels - 2.75 hours each way due to traffic rather than mileage!  

[forgap]

Beautiful sail in!

[forgap]

We have spent the last two days in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) which means that we have spent the last two days in traffic!   Saigon is growing by leaps and bounds which means more and more people, motorbikes and cars.   

I always claimed that Georgia, with its roots in NASCAR, had the worst drivers and the worst traffic.  I am humbled. It was chaotic, it was pandemonium, there were only suggestions of lanes and direction.  We tipped our bus driver equally to our guide as I believe he had the hardest job!  

 

We have a sea day tomorrow and I promise I will catch up on our visit to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta.  We had two early starts and two very long and hot days.   My fellow passengers look like a scene from a zombie movie, myself included.  It seems that everyone went to bed at 8:30 last night as we had to wake up at an ungodly hour in order to board busses again at 7:30 this morning. 

 

Pictures tomorrow!  Everyone seems to be on the Internet now.  First time this cruise that I have had any difficulty.   The Internet is much better than last year when I had to sit by a cracked door to get any signal.  

[WesW]

Thanks Jennifer for your Borneo excursion reports (and Rachel) we will be in Borneo in about two weeks and will now choose a different excursion.

 

Believe Georges and you will soon depart for Atlanta, safe trip home.

[GOARMY]

Have been following this Thread, from the perspective of previous personal experiences in Vietnam (1968-1969) in a very-different environment; and several later cruises with my wife about 40-45 years later to other countries in the general area.  No, not directly back to Vietnam.  Malaysia is a favorite. 

 

What great pictures! 

 

Hope we see John Barron in the immediate future aboard Explorer this Fall; and aboard Splendor about a year from now.  John and Ray Solaire are our favorite Regent CD's.

 

Continued calm cruising, and keep the photos coming. 

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

[forgap]

Saigon and the Cu Chi Tunnels

 

This was a very long day, in part because going through Saigon takes about an hour and a half from the port and then on to your destination.  Saigon has a European feel with large, tree lined boulevards with ground level store fronts, street vendors, and, as mentioned before, thousands of motorbikes.

 It is not unusual to see families on one bike, or bikes loaded with an assortment of goods for transport.  

 

The Vietnamese also ride bundled up often with what looks like a table cloth around the lower torso, jackets and gloves, and face masks, hats, and helmets on the upper torso.  A guide said that keeping skin from tanning is the ultimate priority for most people.  

 

Adding to the congestion are new suburbs sprouting up with many high rise apartment complexes and town home communities under construction.   

 

The Cu Chi  tunnels are administered by the Vietnamese army.

 It is the only site in Vietnam where civilians are allowed to use guns as firearms are restricted to the military and the police.  The sound from the shooting range certainly added to the atmosphere of what the Vietnamese/ American war must have been like.   

 

The tunnel complex symbolized the srategy the Vietnamese used to fight the war.  They hid in plain sight.

They set traps to kill patrolling troops. 

 

They recycled whatever metal they could find to make more weapons.   Even their shoes (made from rubber tires) were constructed so that it would look like the tracks were headed in the opposite direction, thus misleading the American troops.  The biggest irony, however was the the 23rd army battalion unknowingly set up their base over the tunnels.  

 

The tunnels themselves were a long network of claustrophobic paths, many of which led to the Saigon River.  They have been widened for the tourist experience but even our bit of an experience was difficult and back breaking and not one I would want o experience again, never mind live in for an extended period of time.  

Hot and tired, we had a lovely lunch by a river and then slogged back to the ship.