SE Asia, 2026
In January, 2026, I took a 14 day cruise on Princess Cruises, to South East Asia. It started and ended in Singapore, and went to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. I flew to Singapore and arrived the day of the cruise. I took the ship's transfer to the pier. I was travelling with a group of friends. One of them had worked with me, at Princess Cruises. Another had worked in a different department, at Princess. Her brother was on the cruise. They had two friends travelling on the same cruise, one of whom I had met on another cruise. We reserved a table for dinner each night. I joined them for dinner most nights, but I chose to eat at the buffet some nights.
Day 2 was a sea day
We arrived in Phuket, Thailand, on Day 3. I took a ship's excursion, where we were driven to the old town. We had some free time to explore the old town. We then drove to Wat Chalong Temple, which was very nice. We then went to Cape Promthep.
We arrived in Langkawi, Malaysia, on Day 4. I took a 'Langkawi On Own' excursion, because I did not like any of the other excursions that were offered. I thought we would be dropped off in the middle of town, and I would be able to walk around and do some exploring. Instead, we were first taken to Eagle Square, where there was a giant statue of an eagle. Then we were taken to a modern shopping mall and given some free time for shopping. Finally, we were dropped off at an area of town that had restaurants and duty free shops. It was a Friday, which is a holdiday in Malaysia, so most of the shops were closed, and I did not want to go to any of the restaurants. Most of the people on the tour were annoyed that there was nothing to do, and we ended up sitting on some benches, killing time till it was time to go back.
We arrived in Penang, Malaysia, on Day 5,where I took a ship's excursion. We went to Kek Lok Si Temple, or the temple of 10,000 Buddhas. There were a lot of steps. There was some construction going on in the dome, so we were not able to climb to the very top, but we did get pretty far up. It was very nice. Then we went to Wat Chayamangkalaram Temple, or the Reclining Buddha Temple. This was much smaller, and did not take a lot of time. It was very nice too.
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Day 6. The port was a long drive from the city, so I took a ship's excursion. We first went to Batu Caves, which is a temple inside a cave. There were about 272 steps to the top. There were hand rails, so it wasn't too bad. There were also landings after each flight of steps, where you could pause and catch your breath. Each flight of steps was painted a different color. There were a lot of monkeys, and if you were not careful, they would grab things from your purse of backpack. I saw a monkey grab a bottle of soft drinks, open the top and drink from the bottle. We then went to see the Petronas Twin Towers. We did not go inside. We had a nice buffet lunch at a hotel, and visited the National Museum after lunch.
The next two days were sea days, as we slowly made our way to Vietnam.
We arrived in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on Day 9. I again took a ship's excursion. We went to a local market, which was very colorful, and we had some free time to shop for souvenirs. We then went to Truong Son Craft Village. We saw a musical presentation, so demonstrations of how the various crafts are made, and had lunch. We then went to Po Nagar Cgam Tower, which had some steps and several temples. We visited Hon Chong Promontory. We finally went to Long Son Pagoda, which had about 200 steps, that went past a statue of a Reclining Buddha, and finally took you to a statue of a Seated Buddhe. Rubbing the elbow of the Reclining Buddha is supposed to bring good luck.
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Day 10. Here too, the port was a long way from the city, so I took a ship's excursion. We took a tour of the Presidential Palace. We the drove past the French Colonial Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Opera House. After lunch, we drove through colorful China Town, and visited the Thien Hau Temple. Finally, we visited the Cho Benh Thanh Market where we could shop for souvenirs.
Day 11 was another sea day.
We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, on Day 12.The port was more than 2 hours from the city, so I took a ship's excursion. We visited the Wat Phra Kaew, or Grand Palace. This is a really large complex with several beautiful temples, one of which houses the Emerald Buddha. Photos are not allowed inside the temple of the Emerald Buddha, so I had to take one fron the outside. The area was very crowded and easy to get separated from the tour group. We then visited the Wat Traimit Temple, or the Golden Buddha Temple. This is the largest solid golden statue of a Buddhe, in the world. This statue was covered in plaster to keep the gold hidden, and everyone forgot about the gold. Years later, when they were moving the statue, it fell, and the plaster cracked, revealing the gold.
Day 13 was another sea day, which gave us time to pack and get ready to disembark.
We arrived back in Singapore on Day 14. Flights were much cheaper the following day, so I spent one night in Singapore. I walked to the metro station at the pier, and took the metro to my hotel. I then took the metro to Merlion Park, to see the Merlion Statue, a half-lion half-fish statue, spouting water into Marina Bay. I then visited Gardens by the Bay. They have a free light show at night.
