February 27, 2016

Port of Call: Langkawi, Malaysia

Follow us on Facebook! The third port of call on our Southeast Asia cruise was Langkawi, an island at the northern end of Malaysia near its border with Thailand. The ship docked at the Star Cruise Jetty, the southernmost tip of the island. We had seven excursions to choose from and, unfortunately, we happened to pick the worst one. It was promoted as an Island Overview. “you’ll visit a functioning rubber estate,” it read, as well as see “working paddy fields with buffaloes”, “quaint Malay Kampungs” and the “Mausoleum of the Martyred Princess”.  It sounded good. But it was more a dreary bus ride than anything. Luckily, the tour ended…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Langkawi, Southeast Asia, Malaysia

February 23, 2016

The Temple of 10,000 Buddhas – Penang, Malaysia

Follow us on Facebook! The second port of call on our Taste of Southeast Asia cruise was Penang. More specifically, the city of George Town on the island of Penang. We opted for one of the ten excursions offered, a trip to the Kek Lok Si Temple, sometimes known as the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, which is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. We assembled in the ship’s theatre in the morning and disembarked as a group to catch a bus for the half hour drive through narrow residential streets until we finally got there. Our first impression of the city was that it was not as wealthy as Kuala Lumpur. Our…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Cruising, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Penang, Kek Lok Si Temple, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Penang

February 21, 2016

The Joy of Cruising

Follow us on Facebook! “They called her the Ship of Dreams. And she was. She really was.” You may remember those words spoken by old Rose in the movie Titanic. The Titanic was spectacular as the movie shows, with gilded dining rooms, gorgeous wooden staircases, luxury suites and more. Of course, not all passengers travelled in such style. They also had a steerage section with bunk beds and much poorer amenities. And much of the more luxurious parts of the ship were off limits to steerage passengers. But the Titanic was doomed! She hit an iceberg and did not have enough lifeboats to save everyone. Nor did the crew have…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Cruising

February 19, 2016

Caversham Wildlife Park near Perth

Follow us on Facebook! When you visit Australia, you want to see kangaroos. Don’t ask me why, but you do. It is the iconic animal of that country and they are very common and you see signs everywhere warning of the possibility of kangaroos crossing, just as in Canada we have signs warning of deer crossing. But actually spotting a kangaroo is not as common as you would think. When we were visiting our daughter and her fiancé in May, we didn’t actually see a kangaroo until we visited the Margaret River area. The first one we saw was road kill. In fact, the risk of hitting a kangaroo in…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Australia, Australia, Western Australia, Whiteman, Caversham Wildlife Park, Australia, Western Australia

February 16, 2016

Mandurah, Western Australia – a modern day Venice

Follow us on Facebook! For Valentine’s Day, my wife and I decided to take a day trip to Mandurah and stay overnight. We had never been there before so didn’t know what to expect. What we found was beautiful city of waterways, canals, parks and restaurants. Getting there is easy. Mandurah is part of the greater Perth area which extends from Mandurah in the south to Yanchep and Two Rocks to the north. The TransPerth transit system covers most of that area. The rapid transit electric trains run in five directions from Perth like the spokes of a wheel. The northern line ends at Butler, not far beyond Mindarie. We usually catch…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Australia, Australia, Western Australia, Mandurah, Australia, Western Australia, Perth, Perth Transit, Australia, Western Australia

February 10, 2016

Sentosa Island – Singapore’s Playground

Follow us on Facebook! On our second full day in Singapore we decided to visit Sentosa Island. We had heard a lot about it as a must-see destination. We weren’t sure what to expect. The description we found on the Internet made it sound like a large amusement park. It is that, but a lot more besides. So hopefully our experience will give prospective visitors an idea of what they will find. We made our way to Chinatown where we boarded the subway, the Purple Line to HarbourFront Station. Exiting the subway, you find yourself in a large shopping mall. There are a lot of them in Singapore! Our online…

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written by Destinations - Posted in Southeast Asia, Singapore, Sentosa Island, Southeast Asia, Singapore, tourism