Maxine and Ray's trip 2022

 Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French Colony of Cochin china and later the Independent Republic of South Vietnam from 1955-1975. On July 2, 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province and was officially named Ho  Chi Minh City.   In the years since the Vietnam War, the city has prospered. We have been very impressed with the cleanliness of the city, and all the modern amenities. There are now 100 million people in Vietnam, and ten million living in Ho Chi Minh City. The lovely view of downtown  Ho Chi Min City from the fifth floor outdoor dining deck area of our cruise ship. There are several passengers on the boat who were here serving in the military during the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War). There are many sights and museums dedicated to that period of  history. We have been told by other passengers that sadly, many of these  museums highlight the atrocities t...

 Sihanoukville is situated on a peninsula of the Gulf of Thailand on the coast near the border to Vietnam. It is a principal deep water port of Southern Cambodia. It is also known for it's white sandy beaches. The city only dates back to 1955 when the new port was constructed from the undeveloped jungle.  The city is quite clean, and there is a long sandy beach in the city with a nice wide paved pedestrian walkway for a few miles. However, the city is quite plain since it's construction was fairly recent, and a lot of the funding was from Chinese investors, especially for casino development. There are virtually no historical or ornate Cambodian style buildings.  It was quite strange that there are also many partially constructed concrete high rise buildings that appear to have been abandoned mid construction. Apparently a building boom started with a lot of Chinese investment around the year 2018, then construction abruptly stopped about the time of COVID and has not resu...

 We returned to drop anchor in the waters just outside Ko Samui Island again, but went by speedboat to a nearby island, Koh Ma Island to snorkel. There was some colorful coral and about a dozen species of colorful tropical fish. It was not good as snorkeling in the Maldives, bur was still a very fun day.  Ko Mah Island is pretty but quite hilly, with a lot of steep rugged rocks going down to the shoreline. We parked our boat on the beach and had a nice Thai curry lunch in a casual restaurant on  the beach. There were several small resorts on the sandy bay where we had lunch. Looks like a nice place to relax and look out over the bay. We are now headed to Cambodia.

 We are three days in Bangkok since it is an embarkation stop. It is a very clean city, with lots of modern high rise buildings, and constant traffic. There are shopping malls, and restaurants everywhere! There are also many elaborate Thai style buildings and temples  all over the city. They have done a wonderful job of preserving and restoring the historical sights. Our first day began with a visit to the Golden Buddha Temple. This magnificent statue is made of  five and a half tons of solid 18 karat gold and dates back 700 years to the Sukhothai period. During the time of the Burmese invasions the statue was covered in plaster as a protective disguise.  As time passed it's true composition was forgotten.  It was in the 1950's  that it was dropped while being moved, and some plaster broke off , revealing it's gold composition. We visited this statue 45 years ago when it was housed in a small modest temple in a Chinese neighborhood.  Private funding ha...