The 2nd Asia Cruise starts in Taipei, Taiwan, and our journey will go back to the Philippines as well as new places like Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and finally Singapore. After spending the day in Taipei, we depart in the evening, headed back to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for an overnight. So, I had booked another Tour, “Sacred Fokuanshang” on Day 1 and “Ten Drums Show” on Day 2. Our bus takes us up the hill to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple and Monastery. Featuring the highest standing Buddha in Southeast Asia, it is 36 meters high and is surrounded by hundreds of smaller versions. It is an amazing sight!
Day 2 takes us to a type of creative amusement park recreated from an old sugar cane factory. There are still lots of old machinery, warehouses, and structures that were converted to other purposes. Like the smokestack tower is now a 300+ meter dry slide! We were first escorted into an area to learn to play the drums via our “elementary” instructor. Then a train ride over to the other side, where the main theater is located, for the 10 Drums Show. It was a fantastic show and I would recommend it to adults and children!
As we continue the Asia Cruise, back to the Philippines we go with our first port of call being Currimao. After this port, we have several repeats from my last cruise: Manila, Coron, Boracay, and Puerto Princesa. Currimao is Christmas Day, and as I mentioned in my previous blog, a very Catholic Holiday. My Tour entitled “Laoag City & Paoay Church” with stops at the Sinking Bell Tower and the St. William’s Cathedral. Then we spent a little time at the Marcos’ famous summer vacation home, Malacanang of the North. They were orginally from this area, therefore they built this mansion.
Manila, Philippines, is the next day’s port of call, and as I had already been to the core and heart of Manila, I was looking for something different. So, the NCL Tour “Tagaytay Ridge” was a crazy bus ride to the hills outside of the city. This was Christmas week, so there were lots of tourists, therefore lots of traffic. Thankfully, our police motorcycle escorts kept things moving along to our lunch stop at the Taal Vista Hotel. Aptly named after the Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. A great view and a top-notch buffet lunch were served here! The 32-kilometer Tagaytay mountain range is loaded with extinct volcanoes as high as 2000 feet. This provided a cooler climate than in the city, so it was a popular place.
Puerto Princesa is back on my agenda, and I decide to do something different via the NCL Tour “St. Paul Underground River”. And I was not disappointed! I would have to call it an adventure tour level 3 because it involved a 2-hour twisty road van ride. Then, jumping on an outrigger boat for the 30-minute ride across the high-wave bay. A beach landing concludes that ride and then a short forest walk with wild monkeys.
Finally, you have arrived at the calm, quiet river water entrance to the river. Being a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is one of the world’s longest underground rivers, at a total of 24 kilometers. Our trek is only about 2.7 miles, but it is in complete darkness, with only the headlamp of the guide to see the stalactites and stalagmites. Of course, bats are everywhere, so keep your mouth closed if you look up!! Great adventure, but be aware of the hazards!
Philippines are left behind and we start to explore other countries with the next port of call being in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. This city is located on the island of Borneo. It was a short 3 hour bus ride around the city taking in the major sights like the mosque, markets, and beaches.
Onward we go on the Asia Cruise to another unique port of call at Brunei Darussalam. Located on the tip of Malaysia, it is its own kingdom with the ruler, the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, since 1967. The Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital’s massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan. The tour with NCL “Brunei Culture & Water Village was quite interesting as we spent most of the time in the Water Village. The Water Village is a town built above the Brunei River. It has all the infrastructure you would find in any village, including a mosque and a fire department. We stopped for a break at one home with refreshments and tea served. The final stop was a museum where all the items from the Sultan’s inauguration were stored.
We now head over to Vietnam with our only port of call at Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The cruise had originally had another stop, but it was canceled before the cruise started. I booked the NCL tour “Go Local-Chinatown Then & Now”. I have been to many countries with an abundance of mopeds and motorcycles, but this country is the first place winner! It is amazing how many are being used for everything, including Uber instead of a car. We walk and bus around and enjoy a wonderful lunch at a Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown.
Our Asia Cruise concludes in Singapore, and we actually have an overnight here before debarkation the next day. My flight is a day later, so I can spend some time seeing this famous city. I have booked the NCL Tour “Singapore Island Tour,” which takes us around the city with stops at all the best sights on the first day. Then I booked the 2nd day “City Tour and Transfer” which drops us off at the Raffles Singapore Hotel. The famous drink, Singapore Sling, must be tried at the original Long Bar inside the Raffles Singapore Hotel, where it was created.
What an experience this Asia cruise was and I now look forward to doing it again in November and December 2025. Some repeat ports but also some new ones like more of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. If you missed my Part 1 of my other Asia Cruise, click here to see the previous blog.
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