Seabourn Sojourn January, 2015 Asia - Mauritius to Malacca
January 14 to 17th We were looking forward to our visits to Madagascar and Reunion, but instead found ourselves dodging two separate cyclones which formed as we departed Mozambique. I had especially looked forward to seeing the lemurs in Madagascar.
January 18th and 19th. We arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius a day earlier than originally scheduled. The port is located on the leeward side of the island and we were spared most of the winds and rain from the cyclones which stayed well to the south of us. We enjoyed an extensive tour of the island on the morning of the 19th.
January 20 to 23rd Sea days traveling across Indian Ocean to the Maldives
January 24th We anchored in Male Harbor and decided to participate in a walking tour of the city which we found very enjoyable and enlightening. Many of the other passengers traveled to resorts on the adjoining islands, but we were interested in seeing the city and its citizens which are almost exclusively Muslims. At the conclusion of the tour we watched fishing boats unload their catch of yellow fin tuna.
January 26th We participated in a tour of Colombo, Sri Lanka while on the World Cruise last year. We elected to stay on board the ship during this visit. Local dancers performed for us on board the ship in the afternoon. The photo link below primarily is from our visit last year, This years' photos of the dancers are also included as well as a couple of photos from the ship as we departed.
January 27 to 29th Sea days on our way to Phuket, Thailand
January 30th The last time we stayed in Phuket was 10 years ago, shortly after the tsunami that caused so much damage to the Island. (The damage was actually very localized, destroying everything in some areas while other parts of the Island were totally unaffected. At the time the media reported as if the entire area was destroyed, which definitely was not the case.)
We took a tour of the island which consisted of a 4 hour bus ride around the island. The main things we noticed were increased congestion with more newer cars on the roads and fewer tuk tuks. Several of the main roads had been improved and modernized. There were many more upscale hotels, especially along the west coast.
January 31st The first time we ventured to this part of the world was on a Windstar cruise from Singapore through the Straits of Malacca to the southern tip of Thailand. I remember passing along the coast of Langkawi and thinking it would be a place we would like to visit one day. This was in 1992 or 3.
We did eventually get to Langkawi in 2005 at the end of an extended trip to Asia which included a trip to Borneo. We stayed for 9 days at the Datai Resort located in the Northeast corner of the Island. This time we were docked on the Island for one day and rather than take one of the extensive tours offered, just rode the shuttle bus to a mall and nearby beach.
We are impressed by the progress that has taken place in Malaysia since our first visit some 20 plus years ago. High rise buildings are in abundance and unemployment rates seem to be very low.
February 1st We docked at Port Klang, a very industrial port without much infrastructure. There were many abandoned half completed housing projects near the port which gave us a totally incorrect image of the country. We joined a half day tour to Putrajaya, which is the new administrative center of Malaysia. Government offices were relocated there in 1999. This is a very modern city and new high rise buildings were in abundance in the distance during the entire one hour drive from the port to the city.
February 2nd and 3rd We were docked in Singapore for two days. On the 3rd there was a major turnover in passengers and crew. We participated in a tour to the Night Safari on the evening of the 2nd. It was crowded and a major disappointment. Very touristy and really a children's attraction.
February 4thPort Klang is where cruise ships dock for access to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. We took a tour to Putrajaya when we were here on the 1st. On this visit we took the shuttle bus to a modern shopping mall. As with all of our stops in Malaysia, it was very impressive to see the progress that has been made in modernizing the county over the past 10 years.
February 5thPenang is a delightful Malaysian city. It is modern and clean. We enjoyed a tour of the area including a butterfly farm and both Malaysian and Burmese Buddhist temples.
February 6th We didn't venture any further from the ship than the market set up at the port on our return day in Phuket after being here two days a week earlier.
February 7th At sea on our way to Myanmar
February 8th to 10th We were in Myanmar in 1995 with Abercrombie and Kent on a tour called the "Road to Mandalay". During that trip we visited Yangon (formerly Rangoon), Pagon and Mandalay. This visit was much shorter and limited in scope, but we were anxious to see what changes had taken place in this country over the ensuing 20 years.
We were docked about an hours drive from Yangon. We were surprised that not much had changed in 20 years in the way people lived along the drive to Yangon. We did see many new motor bikes and a large number of cars and trucks on the road, and ran into traffic jams as we approached the city. Even though the people lived in meager housing they were neatly dressed and seemed of good cheer, which is what we remembered from our previous visit.
The city center was neat and clean with impressive buildings. Noticeably absent were the tanks and military personal that we remembered from 1995 when Myanmar was under military rule. We visited the Shwedagon Pagoda which was as spectacular as we remembered it, but crawling with people. The crowds in part were probably because it was Sunday and many people came with families to worship. We also stopped at a massive market with over 2000 stalls.
We also enjoyed a wonderful tour to the small village of Thanlyin. We started out with a visit to a quiet neighborhood. From there we were taken by trishaws to a village market, and then transported by horse carriages to a Buddhist monastery.
As you can see, I had a wonderful time photographing people, places and things during our three days in Myanmar.
February 11th and 12th Sea days on our way to Lumut, Malaysia
February 13thLumut is a small fishing village. We were anchored for the day and took the tender ashore. It was very hot and humid, with no breeze. We walked about for about an hour and returned to the ship. It appeared there has been an attempt to develop the village into a tourist area, but for the most part it appeared the buildings were unused. There were ferries operating between Lumut and a nearby Island which appeared to have attractive beach areas,
February 14th We were anchored for our stop in Malacca. We remember being here years earlier on a Windstar Cruise. The area was modern and not at all as we remembered it. Once again we were amazed at the development that has taken place in Malaysia. We walked about for an hour or so and managed to get disoriented, so hired one of the local trishaws to take us back to the tender dock.