river procession

The last day in Bangkok, a last post about Bangkok.  At least I'm not too many days behind, right?  Big sigh of relief on that.

Our Wednesday in Bangkom started off easily enough.  I was up early, Conrad was not.  No matter - we intended on a late breakfast anyway, and so it was.  After breakfast,

we had time to go bob around in the pool, and then go and make ourselves pretty for an afternoon out with J-J and Vanda. 

They had driven up from Sattahip to take us to a late lunch and to see a spectacle.  We were really curious about what we would see.

We ended up at a restaurant on the west side of the river, a place owned by an actress from White Lotus. 

Honestly?  The location is what makes it.  The food was fine, it was food.  I liked it enough, but it wasn't anything unusual compared to what we had been having.  And I know, it doesn't have to be - I guess it's the Thai equivalent of a place here that serves American classics.  It was fine.  The mai tai was, well, I don't know what it was.  And in a plastic cup.  So weird.  We eventually had a very modest NZ white, and there were glasses for that, so serving cocktails in plastic cups was a jarring choice.

We ate, then collected along the front of the riverside deck along with everyone else.  It was after 3:00, and the show was underway.  The show?  A dress rehearsal in full uniform and costume for a river procession to be carried out by the royal family early next month.  But even for this, there were crowds watching on bridges and along the river.  I can see why.  Pageantry like this is always fascinating - why were all the men at the front of the boats in pink, what was the singing/chanting saying (or was it just to keep the strokes in time?), were there women involved?  We saw two or three dozen boats go by, taking lots of shots but eventually just watching.

Once that was done, it was time to head off.  So much traffic!  Vanda had had to park blocks away at a hotel, so we had the walk there to contend with.  At least there were some nice sights to see! 

We invited them to come back to the hotel for a drink, and they accepted.  That was a nice little last hurrah with them.  They were lovely hosts while we were there.

Conrad and I had the evening to ourselves and no plans.  We didn't want to shower and wander far afield - we really weren't that hungry.  So we took ourselves back downstairs to La Scala for a light meal of burrata and pizza with truffles.  A cocktail each, a glass of wine as well.  It was a nice and easy way to end the trip.  The staff were so lovely.

So yes, our last full day in Thailand featured very average Thai food and then Italian food at dinner.  Funny how that works out.  But it's ok.  We had a great day of it no matter what, and spending it with friends watching something very Thai (and that happens only rarely) was a cool way to go.

Mekong Delta

One week ago we had our last day as a group in Vietnam.  One whole week.  Wow.  I write this poolside in Chiang Mai, our second stop after Ho Chi Minh City, a day before finishing the trip with a handful of days in Bangkok.  In some ways time has really flown.

A week ago we all boarded a bus and set out for a couple of hours away, stopping on Cai Be in the Mekong Delta region.  Our guide, Anne, had roots in the area, so we were in good hands.  Yes, I dozed off on the bus.  It’s one of my best qualities, napping in vehicles.  A real skill.

From bus to boat.  We boarded in Cai Be and set out for an island nearby.  There we disembarked and had a leisurely stroll around the island, stopping to admire gardens and homes and plants and handicrafts.  And yes, take a lot of photos.  So here you go…

Back on a smaller boat then, only a few of us on each one, to be paddled to another point.  I’ve lost track of when we were on which boat and whatnot, but we did end up in a small village - Cai Be again? - where we saw various products being made, sampled them, and bought a bit.  Mostly candy though I have a plastic bottle of potentially dubious rice wine.

Souvenirs purchase, it was time for lunch, a short walk down the road at Le Longanier.  A lovely place, but I do wonder about the celebration of colonial times in the name and design.  That is at odds with what we otherwise saw about Vietnam history.  Anyway, nice little lunch, and I had my one and only coconut of the trip as my beverage.  The fried whole fish was impressive, and I appreciated that they took the flesh off to make rolls for us.

From there it was back to the bus and a long ride back where, surprisingly, I did not nap.  Back at the hotel, we had time enough to freshen up and then go over to our new friends at The Alley, this time luring four of the group to come with us.  Pre-dinner drinks, and what good ones they were.  The others were delighted by the bar, and we we treated them to a round of drinks.

I don’t have much to say about the last dinner in Vietnam.  The restaurant was sort of French but included Vietnamese influences as in the tasty yam soup with shrimp.  The main, though, was a chicken breast that was, well, fine but unexceptional.  Fine.  Maybe a bit of a letdown after so much good Vietnamese food, and not enough of a break from Vietnamese food to be enjoyable as something else.  Ah well.

And then it was back to the hotel to pack.  We had an early check out for a morning flight, and things to get done.  Vietnam had essentially come to an end, save for an airport experience the next day.  What a good trip it was.