March 22,
We are maintaining the same south-south-westerly course across the South China Sea. It is getting warmer with a forecast high of 77 degrees today. This morning we had a Scholarship at Sea lecture by Guest speaker Mark Harrington titled “Fighting Terrorism with Computer Technologies” It was very interesting and he has 2 more lectures prior to arriving in Singapore. We then went to trivia where we did our usual.
The afternoon was spent writing the blog and working on pictures, we also sat on the balcony as it was very pleasant. Both Betty and I actually took a little nap out there.
We were invited to the Captain’s Circle cocktail party were we met the new Captain and some of the staff. For some reason we changed captains in Korea. The Cabaret Lounge was filled as the drinks were free. Of course I took advantage of it and had two. It was formal night and I was happy to see that lobster tail was on the menu, it was excellent. We skipped the show tonight and returned to the cabin to watch “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper.
March 23,
Still maintaining the same course and it is also warmer and very humid. The forecast is 80 degrees today. This morning Betty went to a Scholarship at Sea lecture “Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War” by Ambassador Douglas Hartwick.
This afternoon we had a port talk on Bangkok-The Golden Capital. Unfortunately the ship will be docked in Laem Chabang which is quite far from Bangkok. We are going there even though it is a 2 1/2 to 3 hour bus ride each way. We will have about 4 1/2 hours to investigate the city on our own, which sounds fascinating. The bad thing is that it will hot and humid, probably 95 degrees minimum.
Tonight’s evening entertainment was “A Instrumental Showtime” with Mariuz, “Breaking the Music Barriers” Classical and Rock hits on Electric Cello. Well we never heard any rock hits and the instrument looked nothing like a Cello.
Tonight after making a westerly course along the southern edge of Vietnam, we will alter onto various northerly headings as we board a local pilot and navigate the Vinh Ganh Rai, passing the city of Vung Tau on our starboard side and the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve on our port side. Continuing northwards, we will make our way to our berth further up the Song Thj Vai in Phu My, Vietnam.