20250427 Regent Seven Seas Voyager Cruise Bangkok to Dubai, Day 6, Koh Samui, Thailand

Regent Seven Seas Voyager Bangkok to Dubai Day 6 - Koh Samui, Thailand - more temples!

Our tour today was initially titled Ancient Temples and Monkeys. When we booked this excursion, it included seeing trained monkeys that pick coconuts. Just before the cruise, we received notice that the monkeys were no longer part of the tour. On the tour, our guide told us that they have been banned from seeing the monkeys for ten years now. Way to keep up with the times, Regent.

On a similar note, the Regent app wasn't working at all. We went to the help desk and were told, "Yeah, it doesn't work on this ship - the ship hasn't been restrofitted to make the app work." Seriously. It's 2025. Regent is really failing on many fronts as far as we're concerned.

Second, the internet sucked in Thailand as Thailand blocks Starlink. OK, not Regent's fault. We've sailed from Thailand as I write this and the internet still sucks. Viking's was bad, this is worse. And, it's billed as the fastest internet at sea. As an IT professional who has sailed multiple cruise lines, I can tell you that is a lie, and Regent's internet is easily the worst I have ever experienced on a cruise ship. And, we are now on Starlink. The Regent misses keep on coming.

With the monkeys gone from the itinerary, that left us with three temples to visit. 

Our tour started on the west side, and worked toward the lower dot, traveling counter-clockwise to all the dots and back to the port

We went to the theater at 10:45, ahead of our scheduled 11:00 tender departure. Unfortunately, Regent had to rely on a local ferry company, and they were not efficient. Our ferry didn't leave the ship until after 11:30, meaning we will be late getting back to the ship and will miss the first team trivia, one of our favorite activities.

Our first stop was a temple honoring a mummified monk. Yes, it was as weird as it sounds. He was there, in a glass box, on display. We walked around the area and took a few photos of other highlights.

He's in the glass box

Yeah, that's not creepy

He left and then returned to the monkhood

I kind of want one of these vehicles

Ashes of locals kept here - they go on in both directions

No idea about these three

Our next stop was a refreshment stop for a soft drink. It was a quick stop with not much to see.  The next stop made up for that as we stopped at the mixed Chinese/Thai temple complex.

There was a school here, and a Chinese and Thai temple - the Wat Plai Laem temple complex

The laughing Buddha

A temple for the principal Buddha

A statue of Guanyin, a goddess of mercy

The principal Buddha

A reclining Buddha

A cat in the temple is making the most of it and emulating the reclining Buddha

The carvings on the doors were incredible

This pigeon was aspiring to be greater

This is a crematorium

Our final stop was at what is locally known as "Big Buddha".

We climbed the 80 steps to the base of Big Buddha

Looking out from the top

Looking at Guanyin in the distance

The steps to Big Buddha

This recycled Predator was in the town area near the Big Buddha

On the way back to the dock, we passed the Four Seasons - the venue used to film the third season of White Lotus

On the ferry back to the ship, we caught a profile of Voyager

Back on the ship, Arlona captured a fiery sky from the Observation Bar

We went to Compass Rose, the main restaurant, for dinner. Last night, we were disappointed in our meal at the specialty restaurant, Chartruese. Tonight was quite the opposite, as dinner was absolutely fantastic. So, the main dining venue gets a vote of approval.

Tonight's entertainment was magician Zlwin Chew. He was entertaining, but we had seen most of his effects before, typically on cruise ships.

We are time-traveling tonight, moving ahead one hour to align with Singapore time. We will be at sea tomorrow, and that's a good thing, as it has taken me a really long time to get this post together because of the horrible internet. With the time change, it is effectively after 1:00, and time for me to go to bed.