SOUTHEAST ASIAN CRUISE – TAIWAN, PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM, VIETNAM, AND SINGAPORE
We voyaged on a Christmas and New Year’s cruise to Southeast Asia on the Norwegian Spirit. We visited the countries of Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei Darrusalam, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. The ship embarks at the Keelung port. We spent the night before in Keelung and explored the area of the Rena’i district. We lodged at the Keebe Hotel in Keelung. Since we arrived at the hotel quite a bit early before check-in time, the concierge was able to store our luggage at no extra charge until check-in time. The hotel has a complimentary breakfast buffet. MiaoKou Night Market Time to board the ship! Beautiful holiday display table decorations. Now it’s time to eat! Our oceanview cabin. Our first port stop is in Kaohsiung (two days). On the first day, we took the local transit to the Dream Mall and spent some time there. On the second day, we took an excursion that brought us to the Taiwan Cultural Park, the East Gate Tower and Meinong Village. In the theater, a dance troupe performed beautiful, indigenous dances. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture any footage, as filming or photography of any kind during the performance is strictly prohibited. East Gate Tower Meinong Village Next port stop is in Currimao, Philippines. We took an excursion to Vigan. It was my first time to ride a “kalesa”. Got to have a halo-halo dessert when visiting the Philippines! Of the times we’ve travelled to the Philippines, this is our first time to visit the SM Mall. The mall had beautiful and festive holiday decorations. Time to boogie! Cool looking tricycles (tut tuts). For the first time, I finally tried taho! It looked refreshing but after my first sip, it was too sweet for me. So hubby gladly took it and drank it all up! In Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, we took a cruise excursion to visit the Tun Mustafa Tower, and the Mari Mari Cultural Village which included a meal and show. Our next excursion in Brunei included a visit to the Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosque, a water village and the Royal Regalia museum. In Vietnam, our excursion took us to a local market, a home that made rice paper, a temple, sampled Vietnamese coffee, and drank fresh coconut juice. Our final stop and disembarkation was in Singapore. We had an amazing time at the Gardens by the Bay with all its beauty of flora and fauna. There is no fee to view the gardens. To enter the dome or greenhouse, there is a separate admission. We then walked around and did a little sightseeing in the city, visited malls, ate at local eateries and met family. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Katong Singapore. The staff is very hospitable. Their breakfast buffet is huge with many food selections to choose from. The Downtown Core is so beautifully lit at night. Changi Airport
We spent our Christmas 2024 and New Year’s 2025 on the Norwegian Cruise ship, “Spirit”, to the Southeast Asian countries of Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darrusalam, Vietnam and Singapore.
Weather in Taiwan was cold and rainy due to a cold front from Siberia, but once we travelled more south, the weather became very warm and humid.
Thanks for watching!
0:00 Introduction
0:49 Taiwan
4:46 Philippines
8:59 Malaysia
9:40 Brunei Darussalam
10:13 Vietnam
10:50 Singapore
#Asia #philippines #cruise