Volendam Memories

[Vict0riann]

Out next country was Cambodia. I had planned to stay on board, but we decided eventually to take a HAL shore excursion. I was pleasantly surprised by the country, and of course, we had our own special "parking space"!

 

 

Baby and friend:

 

 

Monks at a Buddhist temple:

 

Edited March 16, 2014 by Vict0riann

[Vict0riann]

Fishing village in Cambodia:

 

 

Water buffalo herd:

 

 

Monument to the fruit of Cambodia - predominantly the Durian!

 

Edited March 16, 2014 by Vict0riann

[POA1]

These are really amazing photos. Thank you for sharing.

[Vict0riann]

These are really amazing photos. Thank you for sharing.

 

Thanks, POA1. It was all done in the pursuit of science, of course!:D

[OldBoot]

Thank you for posting all your amazing pics. Loved the one of baby and friend! I feel like such a sheltered traveller looking at your exotic itinerary. In Hong Kong, when the holiday was over and the people packed the streets again, did you join the throngs? Any claustrophobia? :)

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Popcan & Vict0riann,

Just AMAZING. Thank you for your unselfishness in taking time to post so many pic. I would look at your pictures all day long... Are you using very expensive cameras? Long Zoom?

Thank you!

[General Max]

Thanks for the link, Vicroriann. I enjoyed the memories. I also liked the picture from the roof of the Rex hotel. We had two cans of Coke up there for $10 US and spent about one hour up there overlooking the flower festival below.

[Vict0riann]

Thank you for posting all your amazing pics. Loved the one of baby and friend! I feel like such a sheltered traveller looking at your exotic itinerary. In Hong Kong, when the holiday was over and the people packed the streets again, did you join the throngs? Any claustrophobia? :)

 

For crossing a street in HK, a crowd is good. Safety in numbers! We didn't find the crowds too bad, everyone was on holiday and good-natured. There were a lot of touts flogging "copy watches" and tailor-made suits, we ignored them, and we tried to get out early enough to avoid the crowds at places like the Peak Tram. When we first arrived, our car had to take back streets to the hotel, as a lot of the streets were "pedestrian traffic only". The weather was perfect, though, so everyone was in a good mood and enjoying the party.

[bberbs]

If you don't count Paquet's Rhapsody aka Statendam IV, Volendam was our first HAL ship.

 

Well, you are the first person on cruise critic that also sailed on Paquet lines, and the MERMOZ!! Wow, we sailed the Mermoz around 1981.

 

Ann - your photos are WOW!!!

 

Bobbi

[popcan]

Popcan & Vict0riann,

Just AMAZING. Thank you for your unselfishness in taking time to post so many pic. I would look at your pictures all day long... Are you using very expensive cameras? Long Zoom?

Thank you!

 

 

I always think that it's more about what's behind the camera, than the camera itself! ;)

 

Whatever you are using, work within its limitations, get a few pointers from the digital workshop onboard if you like, and you can get great results!

Edited March 17, 2014 by popcan

[popcan]

On to Cambodia:

This was one of our favourite stops. We did this "on our own", taking the free shuttle in to the central market, and winging it from there.

After walking around the amazing fish market, we hired a tuk tuk driver for the rest of the day. He was excellent, and I have his email if anyone wants to try him. Here's a few glimpses of what we saw:

 

 

The main market, where the shuttle drops you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to one of the temples near the ship:

 

 

 

 

...More to follow below

[popcan]

more Cambodia

 

 

 

 

 

Our Tuk Tuk Driver, "PacMan"

 

 

Fishing village:

 

 

 

 

In the Russian part of town:

[popcan]

a few more from Cambodia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[popcan]

Bangkok:

 

We didn't stay overnight - but if you want to "do" Bangkok, that's probably a good idea. It's such a long drive in from Laem Chabang, (up to 3 hours in traffic) that it doesn't leave much time for much of a tour.

We did manage to see the Grand Palace, built in 1782, and the Emerald Buddah within. A long-tailed boat ride through the canals, and Wat Arun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[popcan]

Bangkok cont'd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vict0riann]

We enjoyed lunch in Bangkok, and then the long-tailed boat ride on the klongs.

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by Vict0riann

[popcan]

Thanks for filling in with the additional pics Ann! Keep em coming! :)

[Vict0riann]

Wat Arun - The Temple of Dawn

 

 

Another view of Wat Arun - DH and DD climbed up with Popcan and his DW, I chickened out!

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by Vict0riann

[cashmeremypuppydog]

Keep them coming...

[Vict0riann]

We had two days in Laem Chabang, the port of Bangkok, so the second day, a lot of people who did Bangkok the first day went to Pattaya and the Sanctuary of Truth. I was tired from Bangkok, so I took a sea day instead! Popcan went to the Sanctuary of Truth, which he has described on a separate thread. Evidently very impressive, and a work in progress like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona!

 

The next day was also a port day, the island of Koh Samui, Thailand. The sea was beautiful, the town was cute, and DH and DD went on a tour with others from the roll call, which included elephant rides. I just went into the town.

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by Vict0riann

[Bellair]

Many thanks for sharing the great pics of your cruise.

Wonderful seeing how the Volendam is progressing.

We travelled on her recently from Los Angeles to Sydney & the video links are below of the islands we visited.

Well done.

Bellair

[Vict0riann]

Back again! That was basically the first half of our cruise - 14 days Hong Kong to Singapore. The day in Singapore was "turn-around" day, and the first day for the next cruise. Around 300 people stayed on. We did not have any plans for the day, but we decided to take a taxi to one of the stops of the riverboat ride on the Singapore River, as we were going to have three more days in S'pore at the end, and we thought this might give us some ideas of what to do the next visit. It wasn't a very long ride, but an interesting viewpoint, and after it, we took a taxi back to the pier area, and spent a few hours in the HUGE mall attached to the Harbourfront - it's called Vivo City, and is evidently the largest in Singapore, we learned later. One could easily spend the whole day there. We had a nice lunch in a restaurant in Vivo City, "Madame Kwan's", I think it was called.

 

The "bumboat" on the Singapore River.

 

 

The Merlion - symbol of Singapore:

 

 

The Marina Bay Sands complex - unbelievable!

 

Edited March 20, 2014 by Vict0riann

[erewhon]

Thanks for sharing more of your photos.

 

Friends recently had a very enjoyable stay at the Marina Bay Sands hotel.

[Vict0riann]

The first stop of the "second leg" was Melaka, Malaysia, a tender port. There were some problems using the town's ferries as tenders, and at the end of the day, the Captain apologized for the confusion. We were greeted ashore with colourful pedi-cabs, and a very interesting town, with a Portuguese history, and a large Chinatown.

 

[/url

 

The Malacca River:

 

 

Entrance to a Chinese temple:

 

Edited March 20, 2014 by Vict0riann

[Vict0riann]

The next port was Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. We explored on foot. We visited Fort Cornwallis, in a lovely parklike setting; lots of birds!

 

 

We walked all around the town, the old British Colonial area, the Chinese and Indian districts, (we had lunch in a Chinese restaurant), and finally enjoyed exploring the Clan Jetties, built over the water. It was a successful, long, hot and tiring day!

 

The South Indian mosque:

 

 

And the living is easy - on the Clan Jetties:

 

Edited March 20, 2014 by Vict0riann