Saigon is now officially Ho Chi Minh City but the locals call it Saigon anyway. It very much resembles Paris; not too surprising since much of the architecture is from the French colonial period. It is a study in contrasts: an old city, filled with young people, ancient traditions and unbelievably chaotic traffic mostly led by motorbikes. It has to be seen to be believed. Here are some photos.
Joe
Quite a few photos here including street scenes, outdoor markets, and of course, Temples and Pagodas. Cambodia and Thailand are studies in contrast. The beach resorts we visited are first rate. Not so much the villages and small cities outside the upmarket tourist areas.
Joe
Mary Anne and I visited Singapore’s aviary–the largest in South East Asia. Here are some photos taken while we were at the aviary as well as a few taken in a man made rain forest.
Joe
Flamingos by a waterfall
We docked in Singapore this morning and we will be here in this very modern city for 3 days. Here are a few photos.
Joe
Here are some photos taken at Penang and Langkawi, both part of Malaysia. They include a shot of Kek Lok Si Temple, cable cars that Mary Anne and I took for a ride up the side of a mountain, a farmer’s roadside market in Penang, a scarecrow in a rice paddy, a woman working in a Batik factory and others.
Joe
Here are photos from Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. They include pictures of the National Mosque, Mary Anne visiting the Mosque, Butterflies from a Malaysian butterfly farm, the Petronas Twin Towers, Melaka (Independence) Square, and Mary Anne with friends from the cruise. Also includes footage taken at the Aquarium.
Joe
Orange and White Butterfly
Mary Anne in Kuala Lumpur
Mary Anne visiting the National Mosque
Butterfly on a Leaf
Footage taken at the KL Aquarium
Some photos of life on the Island of Java including Borobudur Temple, the largest in Indonesia; traditional Javanese dancers; a Javanese coffee shop, and Mary Anne posing with a friend from the ship by a statue of a young Buddha on a cow.
Joe
Exotic Bali
Well Bali certainly turned out to be exotic. We are now on our way to Java, Indonesia and expect to arrive tomorrow morning. Here are some photos of some of the sights from Bali. They include shots taken at the Royal Court of Justice, Rice Paddies, the Port of Benoa, a woman carrying produce on her head outside the Holy Besakih Temple and a woman carrying her wares on a beach.
Joe
As we left Hamilton Island setting sail for Darwin, the ship’s captain married a young couple at sea. As pictures were being taken after the ceremony, the bride indicated that she would like some of the photos to show the gorgeous sunset in the background. At first this appeared to pose a bit of a dilemma since the sun was setting on the opposite side of the ship from where the pictures were being taken. Not a problem for the Crystal Serenity officers and crew, though. The Captain ordered the ship to circle around; the photos were taken and we then we proceeded on our way.
And speaking of photos, here are some taken in Darwin, in the Northern territories in the Australian Outback.
Joe
