Lowes Travels

Just a couple of weeks after unpacking from our South Africa safari trip, and having gotten over the resultant jet lag, here we were packing again for another adventure. This time we were heading to Southeast Asia to visit countries we’d missed during our aborted World Wonders Cruise in 2020 due to Covid-19.

It was a long-haul flight out of L.A. to Bangkok, arriving around midnight. We had an extra day there to catch up on sleep and get acclimated to the change in weather – hot and plenty humid!

We boarded Viking Orion the next day and smiled as a bottle of champagne and a bowl of fruits welcomed us to our stateroom. I’ll skip detailing our ship’s layout, since all Viking ocean ships are virtually identical and I’ve described them previously. But it was charming when our stateroom attendants greeted us with, “Welcome home Steve and Mona Liza!” It actually does feel like coming home each time we board a Viking ship 🙂

The itinerary for this sailing had two segments; first is Southeastern Asia with stops in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Then the second segment is Far Eastern Horizons, visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, and seven cities in Japan. In total we visited 6 countries in 29 days.

Bangkok, Thailand

The ship was docked two hours away from the sights we were scheduled to see, and we were disappointed at how little time we had to explore this bustling metropolis. It also meant we were mostly capturing images from the bus as we navigated through the busy streets and iconic landmarks.

Fortunately our knowledgeable tour guide with a thick accent filled the long drives with fascinating insights and stories about the rich history of Bangkok, highlighting its intricate temples that tell tales of the past. We saw bustling markets that reflect the local culture and made a couple of stops that allowed us to visit temples and have lunch at a local restaurant to savor the local cuisine.

Thailand features a huge number of Buddhist temples, reflecting the country’s widespread Buddhist traditions. According to our guide, there are approximately 400 buddhist temples just in Bangkok and a total of 40,000 throughout Thailand. They range from small local shrines to grand, ornate complexes called “wats”.

The first temple we visited was Wat Ratchanatdaram, built to the order of King Rama III for his granddaughter, Princess Somanass Waddhanawathy in 1846. It is popularly known as Loha Prasat, literally meaning “Iron Palace”:

The 37 spires of the temple have a metallic finish, giving the entire structure a metal-like look that inspired the nickname “Metal Castle”.

The second temple we visited was Wat Benchamabophit Dusitwanaram, also known as the “Marble Temple” due to a unique architectural feature – the predominant use of Carrara marble imported from Italy – used in its construction which began in 1899 and was completed in 1911:

Inside the temple:

And finally, on the other side of town we had lunch and a quick pose:

Even with only a fleeting excursion, our Bangkok experience ended with a greater appreciation for the warmth and vibrancy of Thai culture. This is definitely a country worth a second visit to gain deeper insight and experience, a couple of hours simply didn’t cut it.

And, an interesting sunset as we sailed away!

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Next up: Cambodia

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