In each of these ports we took a full-day shoreexcursion with visits to native villages, a lunch, native performances and travel on some very rough roads.
Getting Bangkok under my belt would have given me the opportunity to take a shoreexcursion to Ayutthaya, the ancient Thai capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, when we were in Bangkok, and the chance to knock Hanoi (and the Colonial-era Metropole Hotel) off my bucket list.