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Today we're back in Thailand in Koh Samui. This is one of Adrian's favourite spots - from when he lived in this area. I've been struggling with a GI issue so decided I wasn't ready for a literal shitshow while stuck on a speedboat or on a coral reef and therefore stayed onboard. I sent Adrian off to enjoy the speedboat trip and snorkeling tour we had booked with friends under strict orders to take lots of pictures and to be in most of them. I'm sure you're more interested in him than our new friends. You can tell from the first few he listens well - a great trait in a future husband!
After taking a local double decker tender (not the ships) to shore, the group transferred to their speedboat, where they would spend the day. Adrian joined 14 others from the ship for this day long snorkeling and exploration tour. Tai le Ne Lagoon was their first stop. The group had to climb 200-300 stairs up and the same number down to get to the lagoon from where the boat stopped. Not everyone made the trek but Adrian certainly did!
After viewing the lagoon the trip carried on to additional small islands for some amazing snorkeling. After the snorkeling they went on to yet another island for lunch!
After lunch they headed to yet another locale to enjoy some time on the beach. Adrian had a great day but arrived back exhausted!!
After taking a local double decker tender (not the ships) to shore, the group transferred to their speedboat, where they would spend the day. Adrian joined 14 others from the ship for this day long snorkeling and exploration tour. Tai le Ne Lagoon was their first stop. The group had to climb 200-300 stairs up and the same number down to get to the lagoon from where the boat stopped. Not everyone made the trek but Adrian certainly did!
After viewing the lagoon the trip carried on to additional small islands for some amazing snorkeling. After the snorkeling they went on to yet another island for lunch!
After lunch they headed to yet another locale to enjoy some time on the beach. Adrian had a great day but arrived back exhausted!!
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Today our hearts and minds are in Nova Scotia. It's hard to be away during such a distressing time. We heard about the wildfires but only just learned that Tina's sister, Deanna and her husband, Stephen and son Ryan, MAY HAVE lost their home in Tantallon. We are so sorry for everyone's loss. We're so grateful Deanna and her family are safe and sound. Fingers crossed their house is indeed okay - such confusion and anxiety for so many people. Take care of each other!
We've heard from David and Tina that there's no internet, so cash only, among other issues.
We're once again reminded to let you all know how much you mean to us and how much we miss you all.
Stay safe everyone!
Lynn and Adrian
Note: A few of you may not know that Tina is more of a sister than an in-law to me - she is married to my brother David.
We've heard from David and Tina that there's no internet, so cash only, among other issues.
We're once again reminded to let you all know how much you mean to us and how much we miss you all.
Stay safe everyone!
Lynn and Adrian
Note: A few of you may not know that Tina is more of a sister than an in-law to me - she is married to my brother David.
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Today is our second day in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and we went on a morning walking food tour with friends Steve and Mary. Our guide, Henry, met us at the cruise terminal and then we took a Grab ride - Vietnamese version of Uber into District 7.
At our first stop Adrian and Steve got to try making the rice pancake. They used a special pot, a screen over a pot of boiling water and the powdered rice slurry was ladled on and spread out to create the pancake, which was then stuffed with either an egg or pork. The pancakes were served with a special sauce and crispy scallions. This dish was followed by a flat noodle dish with fresh veggies, pork, herbs and peanuts.
From here we strolled through the streets on our way to our next course. We passed freshly butchered meat, live fish, chickens and ducks waiting to be purchased and a half pig roasting on the street. Lots of veggie and fruit stands, coffee shops and outdoor cooking stalls.
At our second restaurant we had a fresh rice paper wrap filled with lettuce, herbs, pork, rice noodles and ground beef wrapped in Beetle leaves, lovely fish sauce for dipping as well.
From here we continued our tour with a frozen treat, very ripe banana, coconut milk and peanuts - delish. By now the sun had come out and it was very hot, we took the opportunity to enjoy an iced Vietnamese coffee in a coffee shop with some great fans.
Our second last food option was a rice cake type thing topped with shrimp or pork. These were eaten wrapped in lettuce, with herbs and dipped in fish sauce. By now we were getting pretty full and opted to take some of this back to the ship for dinner. In fact we were so full that we brought our final meal - Banh Mi - a Vietnamese sandwich back to the ship as well. The final photo is of Adrian's sandwich which he enjoyed for dinner with an Aperol Spritz. We had a fabulous morning experiencing the city through it's food.
At our first stop Adrian and Steve got to try making the rice pancake. They used a special pot, a screen over a pot of boiling water and the powdered rice slurry was ladled on and spread out to create the pancake, which was then stuffed with either an egg or pork. The pancakes were served with a special sauce and crispy scallions. This dish was followed by a flat noodle dish with fresh veggies, pork, herbs and peanuts.
From here we strolled through the streets on our way to our next course. We passed freshly butchered meat, live fish, chickens and ducks waiting to be purchased and a half pig roasting on the street. Lots of veggie and fruit stands, coffee shops and outdoor cooking stalls.
At our second restaurant we had a fresh rice paper wrap filled with lettuce, herbs, pork, rice noodles and ground beef wrapped in Beetle leaves, lovely fish sauce for dipping as well.
From here we continued our tour with a frozen treat, very ripe banana, coconut milk and peanuts - delish. By now the sun had come out and it was very hot, we took the opportunity to enjoy an iced Vietnamese coffee in a coffee shop with some great fans.
Our second last food option was a rice cake type thing topped with shrimp or pork. These were eaten wrapped in lettuce, with herbs and dipped in fish sauce. By now we were getting pretty full and opted to take some of this back to the ship for dinner. In fact we were so full that we brought our final meal - Banh Mi - a Vietnamese sandwich back to the ship as well. The final photo is of Adrian's sandwich which he enjoyed for dinner with an Aperol Spritz. We had a fabulous morning experiencing the city through it's food.
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What a first day we had in Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon! WE traveled to the Mekong River Valley fr a boat tour - 2 hours each way! Very long day with hurting backs - but the tour, once we got there was great. Our first stop was a traditional lunch with deep fried Elephant Ear fish and 333 the local beer.
From here we visited the largest pagoda - this pagoda boasts 4 Buddha's - Past, present, future and lady Buddha. My favourite was the future Buddha, also known as the laughing Buddha. This was a lage pagoda with monks in residence.
From here we went to the dock and boarded a larger boat to visit Unicorn Island. Unicorn Island is the largest of the four islands named for sacred animals - the others are Dragon, Tortoise, and Phoenix.
Our first stop on the island was a honey farm, where we had honey tea made with bee pollen, honey, kumquat and royal jelly. From here we continued our walking tour and I had the opportunity to hold a python - which I did mostly because I knew all of you would thin I wouldn't - haha! After the python we boarded small boats to travel down the narrow canals. Four to a a boat with two people paddling one front and one in the back. After our boat tour we had a stop for fresh fruit and ended with a tour of a coconut candy making facility.
The third picture of Adrian with his million dollars is from Hoi Ann - the exchange rate is about $23,000 to 1 US dollar and we had to have a picture of the new millionaire!
From here we visited the largest pagoda - this pagoda boasts 4 Buddha's - Past, present, future and lady Buddha. My favourite was the future Buddha, also known as the laughing Buddha. This was a lage pagoda with monks in residence.
From here we went to the dock and boarded a larger boat to visit Unicorn Island. Unicorn Island is the largest of the four islands named for sacred animals - the others are Dragon, Tortoise, and Phoenix.
Our first stop on the island was a honey farm, where we had honey tea made with bee pollen, honey, kumquat and royal jelly. From here we continued our walking tour and I had the opportunity to hold a python - which I did mostly because I knew all of you would thin I wouldn't - haha! After the python we boarded small boats to travel down the narrow canals. Four to a a boat with two people paddling one front and one in the back. After our boat tour we had a stop for fresh fruit and ended with a tour of a coconut candy making facility.
The third picture of Adrian with his million dollars is from Hoi Ann - the exchange rate is about $23,000 to 1 US dollar and we had to have a picture of the new millionaire!
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Quiet day at sea!
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Today we returned to Hoi An after a few stops on the way. There's a 6 km long tunnel on the way to Hoi An which we took last night. Today we went over the mountain, spectacular views of the beaches, waterfront and Da Nang. Our first stop was for a Vietnamese coffee - delicious, my new favourite. Our second spot was the site of very old temples My Son, the temples were only recently discovered and white there were over 70 originally, time and wars mean there are only about 20 left.
We had lunch in Hoi An and toured a number of historical residences in this UNESCO World Heritage site. I bought a beautiful tablecloth at one spot where you could see them embroidering the fabric by hand. While here we also visited a silk factory - we saw the worms growing, providing their silk and the weaving process. There was exquisite embroidered art on the walls and beautiful silk clothing.
From here we went to Marble Mountain - the. mountain that used to provide the marble for the Marble Village carvers. After taking the elevator up we walked around the beautiful temple and carvings in the cave. From here we returned to the ship, taking the tunnel this time. Very long day we left at 7:30 am and arrived back just after 5pm. Adrian and I both love Vietnam - we want to come back. More photos in the album.
We had lunch in Hoi An and toured a number of historical residences in this UNESCO World Heritage site. I bought a beautiful tablecloth at one spot where you could see them embroidering the fabric by hand. While here we also visited a silk factory - we saw the worms growing, providing their silk and the weaving process. There was exquisite embroidered art on the walls and beautiful silk clothing.
From here we went to Marble Mountain - the. mountain that used to provide the marble for the Marble Village carvers. After taking the elevator up we walked around the beautiful temple and carvings in the cave. From here we returned to the ship, taking the tunnel this time. Very long day we left at 7:30 am and arrived back just after 5pm. Adrian and I both love Vietnam - we want to come back. More photos in the album.
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We arrived in the port of Chan May this afternoon. We're a long way from both Hue and Hoi An. We booked a night market food tour in Hoi An for tonight. We didn't realize that Hoi An is about 2 hours form the ship - thank goodness we wenting searching for a cab early!
We hired a great driver who was able to talk to our guide and ensure we got to the right meet up spot.
The drive into Hoi An was quite pretty and too us through Da Nang as well. We got to see the countryside, the beautiful beaches, rice paddies and oyster farms. On our way our driver stopped in "Marble Village" so we could see the marble statues that this area is famous for.
Our guide for the night market was fabulous - our food tour was what my friend Paul would call "a walk about". We went from restaurant to restaurant each for different food. Dinner was included in our tour so the guide had already preselected what we would try. Each restaurant was family owned and was part of the history of Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site. Some of the buildings where we ate were more than 200 years old.
Our first stop was a restaurant called the White Rose - famous for the dumpling they make of the same name. This family business makes more than 5000 dumplings a day supplying their own restaurant and others in the city. Here we also had a "wonton". Unlike the ones we have at home this was a flat fried wonton wrapper with onions, tomato, shrimp and so on, a bit like a pizza.
Hoi An has narrow streets lined with small restaurants and shops - the whole community is decorated in lanterns, just beautiful at night.
At our second restaurant - also family run, we had a soup with bean sprouts, herbs, noodles, and pork - made a special way by the family. We also had some satay and a pancake. The pancakes were made with pork, and shrimp, and to eat them you use rice paper, place the pancake on it, fill with herbs, cucumber and hot sauce and then wrap like a spring roll, with peanut sauce for dipping.
Our third restaurant was in a building over 200 years old. Famous for its "bread" which it turned out really meant it's sandwiches, served on freshly baked baguettes and stuffed with various meats and herbs and cucumber. We were so full at this point that we skipped our last savory stop.
At this point we stopped for a special herbal drink, with cleansing properties. Absolutely delicious and another well known feature only available in Hoi An. We ended our meal with a banana pancake from a street vendor. The street vendor was near the river. The whole area was lit up in celebration. You could hire a boat and float down the river, the boats had drivers and each had its own lantern. Very special evening in Hoi An. Worth the 2 hour trip each way!!
We hired a great driver who was able to talk to our guide and ensure we got to the right meet up spot.
The drive into Hoi An was quite pretty and too us through Da Nang as well. We got to see the countryside, the beautiful beaches, rice paddies and oyster farms. On our way our driver stopped in "Marble Village" so we could see the marble statues that this area is famous for.
Our guide for the night market was fabulous - our food tour was what my friend Paul would call "a walk about". We went from restaurant to restaurant each for different food. Dinner was included in our tour so the guide had already preselected what we would try. Each restaurant was family owned and was part of the history of Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site. Some of the buildings where we ate were more than 200 years old.
Our first stop was a restaurant called the White Rose - famous for the dumpling they make of the same name. This family business makes more than 5000 dumplings a day supplying their own restaurant and others in the city. Here we also had a "wonton". Unlike the ones we have at home this was a flat fried wonton wrapper with onions, tomato, shrimp and so on, a bit like a pizza.
Hoi An has narrow streets lined with small restaurants and shops - the whole community is decorated in lanterns, just beautiful at night.
At our second restaurant - also family run, we had a soup with bean sprouts, herbs, noodles, and pork - made a special way by the family. We also had some satay and a pancake. The pancakes were made with pork, and shrimp, and to eat them you use rice paper, place the pancake on it, fill with herbs, cucumber and hot sauce and then wrap like a spring roll, with peanut sauce for dipping.
Our third restaurant was in a building over 200 years old. Famous for its "bread" which it turned out really meant it's sandwiches, served on freshly baked baguettes and stuffed with various meats and herbs and cucumber. We were so full at this point that we skipped our last savory stop.
At this point we stopped for a special herbal drink, with cleansing properties. Absolutely delicious and another well known feature only available in Hoi An. We ended our meal with a banana pancake from a street vendor. The street vendor was near the river. The whole area was lit up in celebration. You could hire a boat and float down the river, the boats had drivers and each had its own lantern. Very special evening in Hoi An. Worth the 2 hour trip each way!!
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Today we're starting our few days in Vietnam. Very excited, Vietnam is a highlight for me. Adrian arrives back today too!!
This morning we had a group tour organized by friends Doris and Louie, boat tour of Ha Long Bay and it's famous limestone islands. We visited a pearl farm, did a bamboo boat tour through some caves and then visited a famous and large cave to view the stalagmites and stalactites. We loved Ha Long Bay. Fabulous boat ride - the boat had a crew of 4 plus our guide. Lovely set-up with bench seating inside and an upper sundeck. The cruise offered beer and softdrinks and provided a wonderful lunch as well. The bamboo boats were all rowed by women who also took pictures for us!
The infrastructure around the cave we visited was amazing, beautiful stone walls, steps and walkways and gorgeous flowers.
We were bused tonight to the ship's event, dinner in a cave, and saw that the whole waterfront is beautiful with great promenades and walkways, beautiful trees and flowers, absolutely stunning,
When we arrived we were greeted by a traditional dragon dance. Then on the way into the cave we passed some traditional costumed folks, and some musicians. There were cocktails and drinks before dinner. Dinner was buffet style and we could eat while we were also being entertained. The wine flowed with the meal. At the end of the traditional music and performances they brought in a DJ for some dance music. All in all a lovely evening. (More photos in the album - internet willing)
This morning we had a group tour organized by friends Doris and Louie, boat tour of Ha Long Bay and it's famous limestone islands. We visited a pearl farm, did a bamboo boat tour through some caves and then visited a famous and large cave to view the stalagmites and stalactites. We loved Ha Long Bay. Fabulous boat ride - the boat had a crew of 4 plus our guide. Lovely set-up with bench seating inside and an upper sundeck. The cruise offered beer and softdrinks and provided a wonderful lunch as well. The bamboo boats were all rowed by women who also took pictures for us!
The infrastructure around the cave we visited was amazing, beautiful stone walls, steps and walkways and gorgeous flowers.
We were bused tonight to the ship's event, dinner in a cave, and saw that the whole waterfront is beautiful with great promenades and walkways, beautiful trees and flowers, absolutely stunning,
When we arrived we were greeted by a traditional dragon dance. Then on the way into the cave we passed some traditional costumed folks, and some musicians. There were cocktails and drinks before dinner. Dinner was buffet style and we could eat while we were also being entertained. The wine flowed with the meal. At the end of the traditional music and performances they brought in a DJ for some dance music. All in all a lovely evening. (More photos in the album - internet willing)
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Gorgeous sunny sea day! Adrian and I spend a lot of time on our balcony but I find myself there even more while he's away. This morning I was out for several hours watching the dolphins and the many boats that we passed - last night we passed numerous oil rigs - all lit up at night. Our balcony is a great place for ocean, cloud and star gazing.
Today I managed to get out of my own way enough to attend the first cooking class demonstration offered onboard. We have two guest chefs sailing with us Chef David Deshaies and his wife Ana who's a pastry chef.
The demonstrated how to make Scallop "Gnocchi" and Egg'ceptional Lemon Tart. I got a chance to taste the scallop gnocchi and they were a tad flavourless - the deconstructed lemon tart - as chocolate hazelnut cups with lemon curd, meringue and a graham cracker crumble - looked pretty impressive, didn't get a taste. The chocolate cups were pretty neat - made using an egg cup silicon mold from amazon, filled with water and frozen with a stick - you actually dip the ice (well dried) into the chocolate mixture to create the cups, plan to try when I get home. Sadly, while the ship shared the recipes, they are to feed 100, not all that useful.
The demo was fun though - a couple passengers provided some extra help, including our friend Steve the artist.
Today I managed to get out of my own way enough to attend the first cooking class demonstration offered onboard. We have two guest chefs sailing with us Chef David Deshaies and his wife Ana who's a pastry chef.
The demonstrated how to make Scallop "Gnocchi" and Egg'ceptional Lemon Tart. I got a chance to taste the scallop gnocchi and they were a tad flavourless - the deconstructed lemon tart - as chocolate hazelnut cups with lemon curd, meringue and a graham cracker crumble - looked pretty impressive, didn't get a taste. The chocolate cups were pretty neat - made using an egg cup silicon mold from amazon, filled with water and frozen with a stick - you actually dip the ice (well dried) into the chocolate mixture to create the cups, plan to try when I get home. Sadly, while the ship shared the recipes, they are to feed 100, not all that useful.
The demo was fun though - a couple passengers provided some extra help, including our friend Steve the artist.
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With Adrian away I decided to book myself a ship's tour for today in Brunei. We're only here for a few hours, 11 am-4pm. I chose a mangrove tour with monkeys and a visit to the houses on stilts. The tour didn't begin until 11:45 am - after about 45 minute ride to get to the boat dock, we started our river adventure. Somehow the shaded seat I chose was in the sun as soon as the boat left shore. We were all wearing lifejackets at the beginning but by about halfway through everyone had taken off because of the heat.
Brunei's leader is the Sultan of Brunei. Our guide spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of the country and the Sultan himself. They include no property, sales or income taxes, free education, free medical care, subsidized electricity and water and so on. Brunei's, or rather the Sultan's income comes from oil and gas and they have another 200 years or more of supply. The country also has gold deposits but it's saving these to develop after the oil and gas are depleted. I was thinking we should consider a longer visit when our guide mentioned there's no smoking or drinking allowed here. I bet eliminating those two vices makes free healthcare a whole lot cheaper to provide.
The Sultan is well loved but he does indulge himself in a 1700+ room presidential palace, with a second palace built and waiting for the next sultan and a quite fantastic car collection 600 Rolls Royce alone, some gold plated some with diamonds.
The tour of the mangroves was meant to show us a long nosed monkey of some fame here - while we did spot a couple of monkeys they were too far away for photos.
On the mangrove cruise we also passed by a number of very swanky houses. But many people still live in the traditional stilt houses - now with modern sewer system pipes, satellite dishes, and so on. The groups of houses are interconnected by walkways on stilts each area has its own school and so on. We visited one home where we had some snacks and also got to see inside the house itself. Very elaborate and quite large to accommodate large family. The snacks were delicious, some savory and some sweet, no real idea what they were lovely anyway.
Brunei is 7 times as big as Singapore by land mass but only 500,000 people. 70% of the land remains undeveloped, mostly rainforest. It's a muslim country so I was pretty sweaty by the time we got back to the ship - 32+ degrees here and the seats in the bus were plastic coated.
Brunei's leader is the Sultan of Brunei. Our guide spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of the country and the Sultan himself. They include no property, sales or income taxes, free education, free medical care, subsidized electricity and water and so on. Brunei's, or rather the Sultan's income comes from oil and gas and they have another 200 years or more of supply. The country also has gold deposits but it's saving these to develop after the oil and gas are depleted. I was thinking we should consider a longer visit when our guide mentioned there's no smoking or drinking allowed here. I bet eliminating those two vices makes free healthcare a whole lot cheaper to provide.
The Sultan is well loved but he does indulge himself in a 1700+ room presidential palace, with a second palace built and waiting for the next sultan and a quite fantastic car collection 600 Rolls Royce alone, some gold plated some with diamonds.
The tour of the mangroves was meant to show us a long nosed monkey of some fame here - while we did spot a couple of monkeys they were too far away for photos.
On the mangrove cruise we also passed by a number of very swanky houses. But many people still live in the traditional stilt houses - now with modern sewer system pipes, satellite dishes, and so on. The groups of houses are interconnected by walkways on stilts each area has its own school and so on. We visited one home where we had some snacks and also got to see inside the house itself. Very elaborate and quite large to accommodate large family. The snacks were delicious, some savory and some sweet, no real idea what they were lovely anyway.
Brunei is 7 times as big as Singapore by land mass but only 500,000 people. 70% of the land remains undeveloped, mostly rainforest. It's a muslim country so I was pretty sweaty by the time we got back to the ship - 32+ degrees here and the seats in the bus were plastic coated.
