Day 76 – George Town, Malaysia

Viking Sky overnighted in George Town, but Tim and I had previously cancelled our excursions for this second day here. Instead, we relaxed on the ship and caught up on chores.

Tonight, we had a fortuitous mix-up in restaurant reservations, and we ended up at The Chef’s Table instead of Manfredi’s. As it turned out, tonight was the last night for the Thailand menu, which we had not tried. Since we’ll arrive in Thailand tomorrow, this was perfect timing.

The Thailand menu was described this way, and it was delicious:

Modern Thai Cuisine: Tastes from Four Regions

Thailand Menu, With Descriptions of the Five Courses Pictured Below

Amuse Bouche, First Course, Soup, Main Course, and Dessert

Because we had missed Dr. Babcock’s lecture on the “History of Thailand,” Tim and I watched it on Viking TV when we returned to our stateroom. This turned out to be an evening devoted to Thailand.

History of Thailand

I only had a passing knowledge of Thailand, part of which was gleaned from “The King and I.” I therefore found it amusing that Dr. Babcock finished his talk with a clip from that movie.

Thailand, the Rice Bowl of Asia, is a Buddhist country that was formerly known as Siam. It was ruled by an absolute monarchy before becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932. I learned that unlike most countries in Southeast Asia, Thailand was never colonized. Although Thailand was always willing to trade with European countries, it resisted being anyone’s colony. Thailand has also been fully engaged with the West and developed ties with the United States after World War II.

I’m looking forward to our visit to Thailand.