Port Blair, Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands, an archipelago of about 752 islands more than 600 miles east of India, are a Union Territory of India. We docked at Port Blair on Ross Island. Instead of taking the shuttle to town to see the market by foot, four of us opted to hire a cab right at the pier. The driver took us on a 30-minute ride through the center of town, passing the market place. It is hard to describe how crowded the streets were with people, tuktuks (motorized vehicles holding 4 people and a driver), and sacred cows.

After a hair-raising ride over half-paved narrow roads, with the taxi’s horn being the most important safety device, we arrived at the Andaman Island Resort. You must not think resort as you know it. The beach is brown sand, broad, lined with palm trees, and home to sea serpents. Although we didn’t see any of the snakes, the thought of them and the probable bacteria count of the water were enough to keep us cool, dry and safe on land. We sat at a small table, under coconut palms, watching the cows wander the beach, the road, and the water.

Many crew and passengers from the ship joined us at the resort, and we actually had a fine day. The taxi driver returned just as he said he would two hours later and drove us back to the pier and our ship.

Port Kelang, Malaysia

In Malaysia, we chose not to go on a two hour bus ride from Port Kelang to Kuala Lumpur, a large city with the famous two towers connected with the skybridge. Instead, we rode 20 minutes on the shuttle bus to Klang and a brand new, ultramodern, 5-story shopping center. It was hot and humid outside, and air conditioned and pleasant inside. After checking at 2 opticians, we found on the third floor, one who could repair Jerry’s broken sunglasses while we waited. He was so happy to have new ear pieces and adjustment to the nose piece.

The next stop was a factory outlet store, FOS, where Jerry found a lightweight red and black Tiger Golf shirt. The shirt was the right size – get it? So he bought two identical shirts. Next we had to buy 4 AAA batteries to operate the free FM radios and flashlight we were given in Singapore. The radio was free, but the batteries were $1 each. With very little Malaysian money left, we returned to the ship for lunch. Before we reached the ship though, with our remaining money, Jerry negotiated the purchase of a keychain with a bottle opener and a keychain with nail clippers. What a day for $20 US.

Singapore

We had planned to repeat last year’s visit to Singapore and ride the hop-on/hop-off bus because it was so enjoyable. But, we decided to change the plan and have a different experience.

The ship this year docked right in town beside a large shopping mall. We walked from the ship directly into the Mall, changed currency and bought a phone card. But it was already late in the Eastern US, so we couldn’t call most of our family. We did talk to some of our children and siblings who we knew would be up late. That finished, we headed off to the train station also right at the Mall. We boarded a very modern, spotless and fast subway to Little India.

On the recommendation of Prat from Cruise Critic roll call, we went right to Komala Restaurant, only to find that it was closed for renovations. Luckily, there was a sign telling us of a temporary location a couple of blocks away and around the corner. We climbed to the second floor of a building and bravely ordered the Indian meal we had been craving. We shared a plate of assorted dishes and each had a masala dosai. Anything we told them we liked, they rushed to kitchen to bring seconds. We rolled out of there stuffed!

Back on the subway, we went to Chinatown, where we had eaten last year and missed a famous Buddhist temple, which is one of the highlights of Singapore and not meant to be missed. We quickly found the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple and then a couple of blocks away, the Buddhist temple we missed last year. The Buddhist Temple was large and wonderful.

We walked around the shops and stalls, checking out statues, fabrics, jewelry and clothing, but bought nothing. Back to the subway station and the train returning to the ship. Another good day ashore.

Bangkok, Thailand

We made a good decision canceling our ship’s tour to see Bangkok on our own and booking the Highlights of Bangkok tour. The elevated seating and huge windows of the bus provided a perfect view of the sights as we passed them on our 90-minute ride to the city. Included on our route were Chinatown, The Golden Buddha temple and the Flower Market, where people were buying marigolds, lotus blossoms, roses and other flowers to use as offerings at temples and shrines. We passed such areas on foot in other ports and know the delightful smell of the blossoms.

After the bus ride, we walked through the Grand Palace grounds after making sure that everyone was properly attired with pants to the ankle and no revealing tops. The tour company provides sarongs and pull-on trousers for anyone who is not properly covered. Since the ship had said that only knees had to be covered, many people had to wear sarongs and the guide kept changing his mind about my Capri pants. The Grand Palace is a breath-taking complex of buildings, monuments and temples over several acres set on the river.

One side of the complex is anchored by the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We removed our shoes and walked through the Temple and saw the 30-inch tall Buddha made from a single piece of jade.

Neither words nor photos can convey the intricacies of the designs or the abundance of gold throughout the complex. It is one of those places that just has to be experienced.

We left there and walked to a pier where we boarded a long boat for a cruise up and down the Chao Phraya River, part of the reason that Bangkok is called the “Venice of the East.” As we left he Palace, the skies turned black, and we heard roars of thunder, certain we would get drenched. But we were lucky and had no rain. We past hundreds of homes built on stilts lining the river banks. We stopped at a temple where the catfish are sacred and cannot be fished, so hundreds of catfish come up to the boat to be fed pieces of bread. Then we went to the beautiful hotel for an outstanding Thai buffet lunch. There we were told that we had missed 60-mile an hour winds and driving rain in a thunderstorm. Lucky us to have been at the Palace before the rain and the hotel after the storm.

We rode back on the bus to the ship, happy to have such a pleasant experience and memories of Bangkok.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Tuk Tuks

The reason you have never heard of this city is that there is nothing to see except streets lined with garbage and tuktuks, motorized bikes pulling a carriages that hold four people. The 90 degree temperature, humidity, dirt, noise, air pollution and smell limited our stay in town to about 30 minutes. We took the shuttle bus from the ship to a Seven/Eleven, walked three blocks down the main street, harassed the entire way by tuktuk drivers and vendors selling postcards and tourist items. We never made it to the missable public open- air market. The quality of air made it difficult to breathe (since I had undiagnosed pneumonia at that point.) We returned to the Seven/Eleven to wait in the a/c for the shuttle bus to arrive for the return ride to the ship.

In fairness, some people hired a tuktuk and went to a good beach, they said.

For us, Sihanoukville will be a lasting memory.

Vietnam

We were up early in the morning, had breakfast on the ship, and were off on a ship’s tour to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Unlike last year’s visit to Ho Chi Minh City, this time we headed away from the city. We quickly rode out of the area of tall buildings to small towns and rural areas. After an hour and a half on the bus, we arrived at the dock, where we boarded an ancient wooden boat to take us across the river. We passed barges loaded with sand to be used in cement for construction, fishing boats, and floating structures that people live in. Once across the river, we had tea and delicious tropical fruit at an open-air hut with teak tables and chairs. From there, we walked through jungle to a candy factory and sampled outstanding coconut candy, still warm from cooking with a charcoal stove. We saw a bee hive where honey was gathered for sale and then we boarded really ancient small canoes that held 4 passengers and 2 rowers. We had to step very carefully in the center of the boat to keep it from capsizing. We also had to keep our hands off the edge and inside the boat because there were so many boats passing in the narrow passageway between the bamboo and other plants growing along the canal. As soon as we were on board, the Vietnamese woman rowing at the bow, handed me another oar and indicated I should row! So I did. Coolie hat and all. We arrived at the end of the rowing boat ride where a wonderful lunch was awaiting us. We had spring rolls, noodles with bok choy and other vegetables and sticky rice for dessert. We had no problem devouring it all without dropping one grain of rice off our chopsticks. Then it was back on the ancient boat to re-cross the river and return to the bus for the ride back to the ship.

We are both so glad to have the opportunity to return to Vietnam and see a different perspective of the country and its lovely people.

Hong Kong

This year the Tahitian Princess was docked right in Hong Kong Harbor, right next to the Star Ferry Terminal. We were off the ship and onto a ferry. We went back to the Po Lin Monastery because it was so special for us last year and we were not disappointed. There has been a lot of construction at the village by the Monastery, including a new tram station which could make the trip shorter. We preferred retracing our path, though, so we took the ferry to Lantau and bus number 2 from Mui Wo to the village. Those 2 rides take nearly 2 hours.

Once we arrived at Lantau, the bus was waiting for the 50-minute ride up and down the steep slopes and around corners of the mountain. The narrow roads barely accommodated the passing of one bus in each direction and the edge of the road was the edge of a cliff. We walked through the ongoing construction to the world’s largest bronze seated Buddha. We climbed the 250 steps to the base of the Buddha, walked all around it, and through the museum inside the Buddha. Going down the steps was much easier.

We walked through the Temple and past golden Buddha statues, where people were lighting incense and praying. The Monastery serves lunch family style in a large restaurant, so we purchased a meal ticket and sat down to a fabulous meal. There was so much vegan food that we were unable to finish all they served to us. And we ate with chopsticks and a ceramic Asian spoon. We made a bit of a mess but we did it!

After lunch, we walked back to the Temple, where we heard chanting being broadcast. The monks and others at the service were chanting and drumming. At first we listened on the first floor where the monks were, but then we went upstairs to a large empty room. There was a sound system broadcasting the sounds from below and filling the room with marvelous, reverberating sound. As we headed back to the bus stop, the chanting faded in the background.

While riding on the ferry back, we saw the skyscrapers of Hong Kong silhouetted against the bright sun. From the ferry, we walked to Nathan Road, the 5th Avenue of Hong Kong with 50 % more people crowding the streets and sidewalks. From there we walked back to Ocean Terminal and the Tahitian Princess, but the day was not over.

After dinner, we were on the open decks just in time for the nightly light show, when a dozen of the highest skyscrapers on the Hong Kong side are programmed to flash neon lights and spotlights in changing designs and colors up and down the buildings and into the night sky. What a farewell to a magical city.