What a pleasant morning!  After a much needed sleep, I ambled to the Britannia Restaurant for a just-in-time breakfast of oatmeal, banana, plain yoghurt, fruit salad, tomato juice (which I assured was sugar free) and coffee.  Two small slices of brown toast were the only “no-no’s” this morning! 

Rather than a time critical shore excursion, Jo and I decided to take the shuttle bus to Pattaya, a city and holiday destination around an hour’s drive from Laem Chabang.  The complimentary shuttle bus would take us to a resort hotel with pool, sunloungers, waterfall, and a half decent restaurant. There was thus little need to explore further, but Jo wanted to find presents for family back home, which eventually she did.  We ambled along the main road and also the very nice beach. I would describe Pattaya as shambolic, tacky, crowded, busy, vibrant, with fabulous beaches, an abundance of beach shelters where local food can be enjoyed either on rented sunloungers, or plastic garden chairs at no charge. I don’t think it would take long for the coastal city to grow on me. In my younger days, I might have come here like a shot!

We turned around after walking, perhaps a mile in clear hot sunshine.  That was not before indulging in coconut “milk” from a real coconut.

This is vastly different from the awful coconut used in school dinners when we were small.  We explored a few shops and had the lunch I was looking forward to at the hotel where we were dropped off.  I would think they might have done good trade with the shuttle buses arriving approximately every half hour.  It was a different day from the usual. But, I’m back on board now, as the sun sets quickly.  I am enjoying this new “home” far away from the bitter climate of northern Europe.

Another lovely day with a glorious sunset and deep pink horizon.

Queen Mary 2 was scheduled to leave Laem Chabang at 18.30 hrs, and at the appointed time, all passengers were accounted for.  However, divers were cleaning the hull and propellers in readiness for arrival in Australia and their rightly strict regulations.  This work would be complete in time for the revised departure at 22.00 hrs.  I looked out of my stateroom window at around 10 pm, almost immediately after dining alone in the Britannia Restaurant.  Jo had gone to the movies, foregoing dinner after such a heavy lunch.  The Welcome to Thailand sign was still outside on a wall directly opposite my window. But almost immediately, I noticed we were on the move.

We were reversing several hundred yards out of Laem Chabang harbour before turning (I think) around 90° before proceeding south to Phu My.  This move aroused considerable interest for those aft on the outside decks.  I felt it was a dramatic but completely efficient departure as we manoeuvred into position to continue south to Phu My.  Whether the footage I took is worth keeping remains to be seen.  I always have a little sadness when leaving port, even more so after two days.  I really would have liked to have seen just that bit more of Thailand.  But now, there are three sea days to Phu My in Vietnam.  Jo and I are visiting temples and places of worship. This involves climbing 850 steps, but not all at one site.  Below are images taken tonight during our set-back departure.

That’s it for today.  Many thanks for reading,

David, 23.33hrs Sat 19th February 2023. Deck 8 aft, on a gorgeous, warm evening.

Checked and improved slightly, 08.08 hrs 19th February.