Kuala Lumpur

I arranged a private guide for our day in Kuala Lumpur.  He picked us up at Port Klang and off we went!  Our first stop was Batu Caves, a Malaysian National Heritage Site and a Hindu religious site.  We climbed the 272 steps to the top, along with hundreds of Hindus coming for the day.  It was an interesting site for us to see!  

We continued into the city of Kuala Lumpur and saw Merdeka 118, the world’s second tallest building, and the Petronas Towers, 88 story twin towers, along with dozens and dozens more skyscrapers filled with businesses and apartments.  We stopped at the Old Railway Station with its Moorish architecture, across the street from the National Mosque, of contemporary design.  We drove through Indian town and Chinatown, stopping at the Thean Hou Temple pagoda, with weddings lined up.  We drove to the gate of the King’s Palace.  We saw the train system at work, the monorail, and a multi lane road system that moves a lot of traffic.  

There was so much!  All interesting, beautiful, tidy, and thriving, with 2 million people in the city and 8 million in the metro area.  We learned that Kuala Lumpur is ranked in the top 8 most-visited cities in the world.  It houses three of the world’s ten largest shopping malls.  It is ranked 2nd in Southeast Asia after Singapore for Liveability and 2nd as a Technology Hub.  All of this has happened since 1990.  Our tour guide grew up in Kuala Lumpur and told us none of the tall buildings existed until after he was in his 20’s.  He is 57 today.  We had a great day and were very impressed by Kuala Lumpur.

Two Days at Sea

We have spent two days at sea, between our stop in Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.  We spent most of today cruising in the Singapore Strait and then the Strait of Malacca.  We saw more ships than we’ve ever seen in one day.  The Singapore Strait is considered the busiest strait in the world, with up to 1200 vessels transiting daily.  The Strait of Malacca is considered the second busiest shipping lane/strait, with 300 ships transiting daily.  Upwards of 30% of global trade is carried through these straits, connecting key world economies.  It’s been an interesting day for us! 

Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

Yesterday we visited Saigon, known as Ho Chi Minh City since 1976.  We took a ship excursion via tour bus, 1 hour from the port into the center of the city.  The city sparkled along the drive, with dozens of large building projects underway, beautiful apartments going up, an 86 story building sits amongst many other skyscrapers, and the Saigon River is important in the city’s design.

We visited Independence Palace where the president of South Vietnam lived during the Vietnam War.  The original Palace was French and bombed during the war.  The new one, Independence Palace, was built after the War in a more contemporary design.  We visited the Central Post Office, French designed by Gustav Eiffel, and saw the Notre-Dame acrosss the street, French built of red bricks from Marseille and Toulouse.  We drove to City Hall, also French built, as was the Opera House.  Papa and I walked down the fancy street in front of the Opera House, lined with French branded stores, and had lunch at Vietnamese House.  It was fancy too, and our lunch was multicourse and delicious.  

Our bus took us to a laquer factory that was quite interesting, and to Chinatown, where we explored the Binh Tay Market, and a Buddhist temple dedicated to a sea goddess.  Our tour lasted about 9 hours, and we were really impressed by Saigon!  The city’s infrastructure is well designed with wide roads and roundabouts, so traffic moves easily, with 8 million motos!  There are beautifully landscaped and maintained parks everywhere.  The best historic places have been preserved, and there is plenty of new construction to accommodate the 11 million + residents.  Our tour guide told us that unemployment is 2%, because everybody finds work.  Saigon is a busy place!

Koh Samui

 We arrived about 1 mile off Koh Samui island by 9 this morning and waited for tender boats to ferry everyone onto the island.  Papa and I walked about the small town of Nathon, shopping in local shops, enjoying cool drinks, and down the beach, before returning to the ship.  We had a very lazy day, working out before breakfast, then reading and enjoying the beautiful view of Koh Samui and the blue green water of the Gulf of Thailand.

Trok Mor Morning Market

After breakfast, we walked to Trok Mor Morning Market, passing Buddhist temples and stores selling Buddha statues.  Trok Mor Market is open daily from 10-5, and was quite crowded on this Sunday morning, selling everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to fresh meats and fish to flowers, prepared food and cooking food, toothpaste and plenty more!  It was interesting to see local people buying for the day.

Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and River Ferry

We walked to the Grand Palace by 9 this morning, and were awed immediately after we entered the gate.  Construction of the palace began in 1782, and it has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) ever since.  During construction, more building materials were needed and the King ordered his men to go upstream to the old capital city of Ayutthaya (we visited yesterday), which was destroyed in 1767.  The king’s men dismantled structures and removed bricks except from temples.  By the end, they had completely leveled the old royal palaces in Ayutthaya, and ferried the bricks by barges to Bangkok, where they were incorporated into the walls of Bangkok and the Grand Palace itself.  The king has lived in other royal residences since 1925, and uses the Grand Palace for official events, ceremonies, and state functions.   It is an incredibly ornate complex of buildings, residences, museums, and temples, with hundreds of murals, statuary, ceramics, and mosaics covering buildings.  I also enjoyed visiting the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. 

We walked to the next block and visited Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple complex.  Wat Pho is one of the oldest and largest wats in Bangkok.  It is home to more than 1000 Buddha images as well as one of the largest Buddha images (151 feet).  Intended as a place of education for the general public, Wat Pho is free for all Thai people.  The craftsmanship is incredible!

We had lunch overlooking the Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun, at Rongros, a Michelin recommended restaurant.  Each of us had prawns, prepared in different ways.  They were delicious.  We walked to a nearby Ghee Gelato House for dessert.

We spent most of the rest of the afternoon, taking a ferry up the river and back down.  The riverfront is lined with a mix of very old stilt houses, mansions, temples, and Thailand’s Parliament, alongside new houses and high rise apartments.  The river is busy with ferries and boats.  We finished our afternoon with a visit to K Panich Sticky Rice, making sticky rice and mango dessert since 1932, and Michelin recommended since 2019.  Was yummy!