Probably the most used cruise port in Thailand is Laem Chabang, which is about a 2 hour ride away from Bangkok. However, Pattaya is an excursion from Laem Chabang and not as far as Bangkok. Pattaya is also a port itself though used more for military ships, small cruise ships and yachts. Pattaya is often thought of as a port of sexy bars for the sailors and ex pats who gather there in the high rise beach side investment properties. Many go their to lose their fortune, as a day visit it is a very colourful and interesting place. We stopped in Laem Chabang as a stop on a world cruise of the Arcadia, and we visited Pattaya to see a dear old friend and movie stunt coordinator who had retired there.
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Whilst Pattaya and Bangkok have immense attraction, a far more relaxing day can be spent experiencing traditional Thai village life here locally on Thailand’s east coast. Visit fruit orchards, gem mines and oyster and orchid farms. It is also a great place for swimming, snorkelling. You can see elephant performances, and local dancers in a far more real setting.

Thailand features in the seventh book of the CSCI series. But, although I know Bangkok, Pattaya and Laem Chabang I decided to set it in Phuket where I spent some very happy times.

I dig into these memories and add research when writing the cruise novels. I am currently arriving, in my head, in Phuket on a cruise which may be based on a similar one that you might take. There has already been an unexpected loss of life and the investigators have purpose during a mission to try and rescue money still trapped on a ship from book one in the series Cruise Ship Heist. In this novel, book seven in the series, Cruise Ship Murder Reunion, the CSCI team have already met up with a school reunion and their plans to take the money off the ship in Mumbai are already under threat. All the novels can be read as stand alone books, and some love to  start a series a way through vecause the writing inevitable gets better. However, after six books, I revisited the novels and produced second drafts so they are all feel like they have the experience of half a dozen books, because they do. This is the planned route.

Singapore       School Reunion meets at Raffle day 1

• MIAMI             Agents morn loss in Miami         day 1
• Singapore       School Reunion meets at Raffle   day 1
• At sea              agents arrive hotel Penang        day 2
• Penang            Agents join ship Malaysia           day 3
• Phuket            Thailand              day 4
• At sea                                       day 5
• At sea                                       day 6
• Hambantota    Sri Lanka             day 7
• Columbo         Sri Lanka             day 8
• Cochin            India                   day 9
• Cochin            India                   day 10
• At sea                                      day 11
• Mumbai          India                  day 12