The Ritz-Carlton Luminara was yesterday sailing at sea on our way to the port of Phu My, Vietnam.  Lunch at Haesu Bit.  Sushi Chef Joe. Sashimi and sushi My meal of yellow-fin tuna and hamachi sashimi, ikura-unagi-tobiko sushi, fried truffle rice, miso soup, , green tea, hot sake, cold beer and Nikka Day whisky. End of meal in Haesu Bit. Picked up an ice cream cone. This is my third time in less than a month at-sea between Thailand and Vietnam.  Tomorrow, Ho Chi Minh City,  We were supposed to have stopped at the Thai island of Koh Kood, but the captain decided to skip this because: Koh Kood isn't inherently dangerous but   recent concerns stem from reports of occasional gunfire from the nearby Cambodia border conflict   (late 2025), leading some governments (like the UK's FCDO) to advise against travel, though locals say tourists are unaffected and the border issue is distant, with risks mostly related to natural factors like  mosquitoes  and gen...

  We are in the port of Laem Chabang.  Nothing much to see. Lunch of truffle hamburger and beer in Mistral. Today we were supposed to ride a bus for at least two hours to get to a hotel in Bangkok.  We were assigned to the St. Regis.  The cruise line paid for the transport and hotel cost, but any drinks and food were at our expense.  We thought better and stayed on board.  I've only been to Bangkok 25 times or so, and stayed at the St. Regis twice.  This hotel actually won a Readers Choice award last year.  Here are some excerpts of  my posting of 21August2016. View from my suite. While there is a mass transit stop just outside the hotel, there is nothing else of any relevance nearby.  I mostly reported on a my experiences at a rooftop restaurant a couple of stops away, Zense. After I used a  $20 BTS SkyTrain ten times, the cost was only around $5. A photo from my table. My initial reaction to this restaurant was one of leeriness. ...

We spent Day 3, 1January2026, of this Ritz-Carlton Luminara cruise moored off Koh Samui, Thailand. Never been there, and have no particular wish to see a fisherman's village, Wat Khunarum, Secret Buddha Garden ( right ) and Chawan Noi Beach (below). Also too because we would need to catch a boat to the pier.  And Koh Samui would still be 19 miles away. Oh yes, and the cost is $339/person. According to the write-up:  Koh Samui's charm extends beyond its sun-drenched beaches, etc.  They believe in siestas.  Temperature is supposed by be 82F, but it feels like 90F on our veranda. Wikipedia  spells the city as Ko Samui, but locals just call it Samui. Off the east coast of Thailand, and is the country's second largest island after Phuket, Is beginning to approach 3 million tourists annually. Was not troubled by the great tsunami of 2004, and actually had a boom, for visitors avoided Phuket, located on the west side. The top global events in 2026: January 11:  Go...