September 29, 2024
Fellow Residents Farewell Bike Tour in Belfast
Today over 45 of my fellow residents did a bike tour through the streets of downtown Belfast for a final farewell to the City that has been our home base for the last 4 months. Can't wait to join up with this crazy crew tomorrow! Current plan is I fly tonight to Dublin, getting in at 6 a.m. and then I take the 2 hour bus ride to Belfast, arriving around 9 a.m. I then need to hang out with other residents till our 5 p.m. loading time at the cruise terminal. Hopefully boarding will go smoothly and we are set to sail away before 11 pm.
There are 97 of us on the manifest set to sail tomorrow out of Belfast. You should recognize several of the above from prior blogs!
We just relaxed on the Island of Koh Chang, Thailand. It's one of the largest Thai Islands in the Gulf of Thailand and it has a dense, steep jungle & National Park covering the interior of the Island, which extends off shore, to coral reefs. The coast line is dotted with beaches and villages. This was a tender port, so we decided to stay on the Island for 3 nights, to be able to experience the nightlife. Turns out, it is low season, so nightlife was pretty sleepy. However, we did find a new favorite night time activity! Any Guesses?!?
Love Sea Days ! I got a much needed haircut and color. Think I'll be going shorter, but giving this a whirl! Can you see the back in the mirror? The bangs and side volume, is what drives me nuts in the heat and humidity!
Wat Bang Kung Temple was a quick stop along the way to the Train Markets . What makes this unique is the Temple is completely enclosed by roots of four giant trees (a banyan, bodhi and others). From the outside, it looks like nature has swallowed the building. Inside the chapel is a golden Buddha image, that locals still visit to pray. It was quite active during our short visit there. The Temple dates back over 250 years and survived the Burmese invasion.