We decided we would need a holiday to get over this holiday as our alarm went off at 5am again after a good, but short, night’s sleep. It didn’t take us long to get ready, and it already felt strange doing so in the spacious surroundings of a hotel room rather than our little cupboard aboard the ship.
Our international buffet breakfast wasn’t too bad, largely because we recognised toast and eggs cooked in various ways. The amount of melon on offer seemed to have multiplied again overnight. The offerings weren’t great, but they were acceptable, although I still don’t understand the presence of noodles and other spicy meals at that time of day (or indeed at any time of day).
I went to check out, and we waited for the coach to be brought round. Pleasingly, everyone was on time, and we set off a few minutes early.
Our first stop today was Phra Pathommachedi, home to the tallest stupa (tower) in a temple in Thailand, located in Nakhon Pathom about two hours away. These Buddhists really know how to market their temples, each one seemingly boasting its own unique selling point. This one did at least look impressive from a distance.
The coach parked next to a Happy Room, and we all eventually followed the guide up into the temple grounds. He was paranoid about us getting lost, which was impressive given it turned out to be a very easy circular route around the building.
Max showed everyone how to pay their respects to Buddha with blessings. Karen and I weren’t entirely sure how we felt about doing so and opted to watch instead. To be truthful, it also seemed like a money-making idea for tourists, as it involved a couple of donations along the way.
We weren’t allowed into the tall tower, which made me curious as to what might be inside. Instead, on the outside we saw the Buddhas representing each day of the week and what they stood for. Karen was keen to have her photo taken with the Buddha representing the day she was born (Saturday). There was me thinking she was a Wednesday child – full of woe. In case you were wondering I was a Monday child – fair of face (man a true word).
Back on the coach there was another Happy Room stop after a couple of hours, before we were taken a further hour to Si Racha for lunch. This seemed a fairly pointless stop, given we were only seven miles from the ship. What made it worse was that it was yet another “international” buffet that felt very regional in nature.
Karen had a little plain rice while I tried some rather poor slices of deep-fried chicken. Not soon enough, we were finally taken back to the boat and returned to our cupboard — but not before Max gave us lots more sweets, dried and fresh banana, and a small elephant ornament as a keepsake We gave him the top rating on our feedback for his efforts over the two days.
That was the end of our first overnight excursion. It had been very expensive but, despite everything, we had enjoyed it. It was a tiring adventure. I would have liked more time at some places and less at others, but that’s the downside of having someone else organise the trip. I can’t envisage us wanting or needing to go back up to the Kwai again, so we were very glad we had done it.
A quick turnaround in our cupboard saw us head back up to the Lido buffet, where we grabbed what was left for lunch.
The ship was very busy and the only table we could find outside was near the only designated smoking area on board. We had a couple of cocktails before heading up to the Crow’s Nest for some proper hot drinks.
After changing for dinner, we headed to the usual dining room where, once again, we were given a buzzer to wait for a table — though it went off within five minutes. I had the chimichurri, which was rather lovely if quite spartan. Karen had lasagne but said it wasn’t anything special.
We avoided the electric violinist on the World Stage and took our drinks to the Rolling Stone Lounge instead. Each night their various “sets” have a theme, which I believe is decided by Head Office. Tonight’s effort was called On the Floor. It should really have been called In the Bin. It played to none of the band’s considerable talents and it was clear they were getting no pleasure from the songs. Anyone seeing them for the first time wouldn’t have bothered coming back. They came across like run-of-the-mill pub singers doing covers, which was unfair on them.
The set ended at 10pm and by then we were both absolutely shattered, so we headed back down to the cabin. Karen later said I was snoring away before she’d even turned the lights out.
