Cruise Map - Holland American "Noordam" Southeast Asia

 

Friday 8 November 2024

 Getting To Hong Kong: With a 5 am limo pickup, we needed to be very well-organized the night before. Still, a few things were overlooked, but I think we covered nearly everything. It’s always surprising how much traffic there is at that hour. Quick transit through security, leisurely breakfast, and still at the gate with time to spare. Relaxing, the way we like it. An easy 4-hour or so flight to Vancouver, where transition to our departure gate for Hong Kong was quick and smooth.

Saturday, 9 Nov: There’s no way to dress up a 13 or 14 hour flight. The plane was full, so there was no spreading out. 3 meals broke up the monotony. Finally, tired and a bit sore, 26 hours after leaving home, we were in the very comfortable Hong Kong Sky City Marriott Hotel, and happily crawling into bed.[Larry: the flight was so monotonous that I watch movies that I wouldn’t admit to; the most restful respite and physical relief of stretching, was the washroom lineup – the longer the better]

Sunday 10 November 2024

 Hong Kong - Boarding the Holland American Noordam:  This hotel is just what we needed to recover from the trip here. The room is large, clean and comfortable.

The view from the picture window includes part of the airport and some of the other airport hotels, a large freight terminal of some kind, and a large body of water with small, rugged islands. A mist hangs over everything and it’s all surprisingly quiet. 
    Breakfast was delicious and leisurely. It is perhaps the largest buffet I’ve ever seen, with nearly anything I could imagine to eat and attentive staff everywhere. We took our time, enjoying samples of many types of food and a couple of cappuccinos each. Back in our room, we still had a couple of hours to organize our stuff and our thoughts before leaving for the port. 

    Fortunately, the concierge warned us that the Hong Kong taxis only take cash so Larry hit the nearby ATM before we left for the cruise port.  It was a rather amazing trip of about 40 minutes through very dense residential areas and between tall rises of rocks and trees. 

 All of it was on fast-moving highways with frequent spaghetti-like interchanges.  The driver has obviously done this many times and navigated smoothly.  The only glitch was that he dropped us at the wrong spot, [which wasn’t advised by Holland American in any case] and the staff had to direct us a little way along to our ship’s section of the terminal.  

    The boarding process had many steps, but was very smooth and efficient and we were in our staterooms before noon.  

The view from our balcony was amazing.  H.K. is a very busy place – many cargo ports and at least this one cruise port, as well as the local traffic on the bay.  We could see many tall buildings, backed by mountains.  It’s warm and humid and the air continuously hazy under grey, overcast sky.

    Our sail away party began at 4, around the pool, with music, line dancing and laughter – and drinks of course. A light rain sent us to our stateroom balcony to watch the changing scenery as we left the port and eventually came into open sea. We were still struggling with the 13-hour time change, so had a quick dinner and turned in early.

Photos of the Day

Monday 11 November 2024

 At Sea: We enjoyed an early coffee in our stateroom, then a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. After several days of being the only person in sight wearing a poppy,

today there were many of us. At 11 am there was a moving service of remembrance, at which poppies were given to everyone who wanted one. Many people there were wearing Canadian ones. A couple of people with Canadian poppies were also wearing their medals. After lunch, I went to trivia (no joy at all), while Larry attended an information session about Viet Nam and its culture. I joined him partway through it and we stayed for information about tomorrow’s destination. It was “dressy” night, so we got togged up and enjoyed dinner with 2 other couples, then a great dance show in the theatre. Clocks go back 1 hour tonight, so we can get some extra sleep if we want. [Larry: so that makes the time the same here and there - but 12 hours different]

Tuesday 12 November 2024

Halong Bay (Quang Ninh), Vietnam:  We were awake in plenty of time to go to the front of the ship and enjoy the passage among the many, many small but very tall islands as we entered the bay.

It’s hot and hazy, but looks like it’ll be a clear day. Soon, we were docked near the city. We enjoyed breakfast in our stateroom, where we had a great view of the Sun Wheel (a huge Ferris wheel) and the cable car that runs across the bay from one part of the city to the other, as well as the suspension bridge that does the same. Soon, a huge Celebrity ship pulled up to the other side of the pier, blocking our views quite effectively. The dock area became a chaos of busses, cars and

 pedestrians as people gathered for their morning excursions. After lunch, we joined a tour group (amid similar managed chaos), to sail among the islands and climb through the amazing

Thien Cung Cave. It involved a lot of steps, up and down, but these caves, with huge rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites are truly awesome. We took many photos, but none will begin to do justice to the reality.

Emerging from there, we sailed much closer to many of the strange and unique islands that dot the bay. Again the photos can’t do them justice. Legend has it that they are the result of a dragon that landed here and thrashed about. Or died and fell to pieces. It was unclear. Our guide was enthusiastic and eager to share much information but I often could not understand him. He did 

point out the tiny fishing boats, and explained that whole families live on board. It’s been their way of life for at least 100 years and it’s a precarious existence. They are mostly illiterate and innumerate. Children, now, are required to go to school and only see their families a couple of times a month. We also saw and heard about the devastation caused by a typhoon that struck here in September of this year, wiping out whole neighbourhoods, damaging boats and taking all the gondolas off the huge Ferris wheel. Back from the tour, hot, sweaty and tired, we rested for a while; then we went to an early dinner. Again, we enjoyed the company of two other couples. The show in the theatre was an amazing tenor from Australia, singing songs from famous musicals. After enjoying that, we turned in early. It’s still not entirely clear to our bodies that time has flipped and day is night.

Photos of the Day

Wednesday 13 November 2024

 Halong Bay, Vietnam:  The first stop on today’s expedition was the local market.

It’s huge, with food on the lower level and clothing etc. upstairs. There were many stalls offering seafood so fresh it was still alive and butchers offering fresh meat. 

As well, beautiful fruit and vegetables were displayed like art. We were given samples of local cashews that were crisp and delicious. We drove out into a more-sparsely-populated area, where we visited a traditional family home in a small neighbourhood that was down a pleasant lane from the main road. We were offered corn on the cob and sweet potatoes, with tea, which we enjoyed in the courtyard. The house was small, tidy and clean. 

The major stop of the day was the Yen Tu Monastery, a pagoda and Buddhist temple. We climbed many steps up to it, through beautiful gardens. There were interesting sculptures, ponds, and plaques, and wind chimes provided lovely background sounds. 

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a pearl factory. They seed oysters and then place them in protected places in Halong Bay for a couple of years, then harvest the pearls. Of course, there is a large sales area, showing wonderful jewellery with white, cream, gold and black pearls. Prices were in Vietnamese dong, all in the millions. We resisted. As we drove through the city and countryside, signs of the recent typhoon were everywhere – missing roofs or roof tiles, mangled commercial signs, structures that seemed to be severely compromised. We also heard a different version of the dragon legend: A mother dragon and her children blockaded the bay against Mongol invaders in the 11^th century and decided to stay rather than return to heaven. It was a hot, humid day and we were happy to get back on board the ship. After, let’s face it – a nap – and dinner, we took in the evening entertainment, a magic show. The magician even acknowledged that some of the audience were there because their partners dragged them to it. I felt vindicated. Once again, we were out cold pretty early.

Photos of the Day

Thursday 14 November 2024

At Sea: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARRY!!! Of course, we were awake far too early, so we had coffee in our stateroom and checked out our next port of call on the TV, while we waited for the dining room to open. Shortly after we got back from breakfast, a steward delivered

 

a birthday treat for Larry. When our room was made up, a birthday cake made of towels was on the bed. Bingo was fun, but I didn’t win anything. Same with Team Trivia, though we only lost by 1 point. As part of our celebration of Larry’s birthday, we broke out our complimentary bottle of California champagne for happy hour, before going to dinner at the specialty restaurant, Canaletto. It was delicious and the service was terrific. Larry even got another birthday cake and round of Happy Birthday. We ended the evening at one of the bars where 2 musicians were presenting music from the 70s.

Friday 15 November 2024

Da Nang, Viet Nam: Sunrise was a bit before 6 am and by 5:30 we were on our balcony, enjoying the brightening sky. We didn’t see the actual sunrise because a poorly-timed mountain intervened.

We pulled into the port shortly afterward and at the same time our breakfast arrived. We docked in the midst of a busy, noisy container port. Amazing to watch how it works. Then there was a process to get the ramp attached to our ship for going off and on.

About 35 busses were lined up, waiting for passengers. It was blazing hot out, though our guide pointed out that this is the cool season and no locals swim in this cold weather. We drove through Da Nang to Hoi An, an hour or so away.

Our first stop was a silk factory, where we saw how silk is taken from cocoons and spun into thread, then woven. There were also several young women embroidering pictures, using silk thread. In another area, intricate wood carving was going on. Then we moved on to the older area of Hoi An, and walked through a very busy market.

We stopped at a temple and a very old house that reflected the many cultures that have played a role in this area. We stopped for coffee and apple pie (I know, not very Vietnamese, but it did have a sort of local twist) and while we were there, we negotiated with one of the street vendors for a few things. She had to go and retrieve the exact things we wanted and we had to pledge to stay ‘til she returned. We continued wandering through the market area, dodging motorbikes and fending off vendors.

At our meeting place, we watched an artist produce lovely paintings, sitting on the sidewalk. We were near the Marble Mountains, and stopped at a showroom where we saw many wonderful works of art produced from the marble. Our final stop of the day was a long, beautiful beach that was a favourite R&R spot for American service people during the war. We were hot and tired and very happy to return onboard after an interesting and busy day. We headed straight for the swimming pool to cool off and the hot tub to relax. After a peaceful drink in one of the bars, we enjoyed another great visit over dinner with a couple from Perth Australia, and early to bed.

Photos of the Day

Saturday 16 November 2024

 At Sea:  A quiet, restful day. Early coffee and a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. After lunch things picked up a bit with trivia for me (not even close!) and a couple of interesting lectures for Larry. I joined him for a bit of the first (History of Cambodia) and all of the second (Asian megacities). The afternoon team trivia was a whole ‘nuther story – we were on a real roll and ended up winning the tulips!

Another dinner with interesting people to chat with and an evening music show. This is the first night we’ve stayed up to a normal bedtime.

[Janice's Tulip Trivia Award]

Sunday 17 November 2024

 Phu My, Viet Nam: We were awake at 4, in spite of the later bedtime last night. At 6 am (6pm at home) we had a great zoom call with Shari & Terry, Wes & Sarah, Rosemarie and Bill, & Bruce. Seems that all is well at home. Then ready for a 7:00 meetup to go ashore. We were in the theatre a few minutes before 7, only to discover that departures had been moved up. We were rushed through and off the ship into a bus. The problem was that the gangway had been deemed unsafe and was going to be moved – so they rushed as many people across it as possible? Hmm. Someone asked, “Did someone fall off it?” Happily, the answer was “no”. We had to wait awhile anyway, since a few people in our group hadn’t gotten off before they closed the gangplank. Once we were on our way, we began to learn how the ordinary people of this southern area of Viet Nam live. The main mode of transportation is the motorbike or scooter, referred to by locals as a Honda, no matter who manufactured it. We saw them all over Viet Nam, of course, transporting individuals, whole families and all kinds of goods. Many streets and roads are too small to accommodate anything larger and they’re economical. Public transit exists but is very inefficient. Our first stop of the day was a large pagoda 

where prayers for peace were being chanted responsively and many people were in attendance. Our guide explained that this was a temple for a local form of Buddhism, represented by dragon symbols.

We were invited to take off our shoes and hats and go inside, and then we wandered the grounds. The people were very welcoming, smiling bowing and waving to us. 

An oversized golf cart-type vehicle loaded with kids, continuously circled the grounds, with chanting, and a lot of grinning and waving. It was a lovely, warm experience. We drove along streets lined by small businesses. The electricity grid is vey visible and somewhat alarming-looking, but apparently it works. Our next stop was a different kind of temple. 

This one is a local religion that combines elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity (specifically, Catholicism). 

 

Next we visited a rice wine distillery. It has been run by the same family for many years and now includes the young grandchildren of the owner. We saw the whole process --- cooking the rice, then cooling it. Loading it into huge wheeled containers to ferment, and then distilling it over

open fires, before bottling it. There were no free samples, apparently at the request of the cruise line, but some people bought bottles of the wine. We enjoyed a snack of pineapple, tiny bananas and water;

 

next, we visited a rice-paper making business, in the home of the lady who creates it.  Rice paper can be eaten alone, or used to wrap food like spring rolls, etc. 

We next visited a house that was built about 150 years ago and is now home to the 7^th generation of the same family. Most Vietnamese do not follow a religion, but nearly all do worship their ancestors. They have altars in their homes and celebrate the anniversaries of the deaths of ancestors. At every stop, we encountered vendors offering many different types of goods – tee shirts, “silk” scarves and robes, fridge magnets, bags, etc. In fact, we saw the same ones several times, as they followed us about on their “Hondas”. Our final stop was a large shopping centre. We wandered around a modern supermarket that resembled those at home. The distinguishing feature for locals is the set and fixed prices. No haggling. This is apparently being encouraged by the government, though local markets are still more common. Back onboard the ship, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a restful afternoon. These excursions, walking around in the heat and humidity, often on very rough sidewalks or paths, are tiring. A few people are sporting injuries from falls, but we’ve avoided problems. We were seated on the upper level of the dining room for dinner, which felt rather posh, and then we took in another magic show in the theatre. Amusing, but still not really my thing.

Photos of the Day

Monday 18 November 2024

 At Sea:   A nice quiet day, starting with breakfast in our stateroom. I had no joy at Bingo or trivia, but enjoyed playing both. We learned a bit about our next few ports of call and enjoyed an evening dance performance. It was Orange Day*, so everyone was colourful for the evening.

*[ From Holland American: "Pack your best orange outfits and accessories to show off on the dance floor. Wear your wild wigs, giant hats, boas and bowties—whatever you want, as long as it’s orange! Enjoy live performances from our amazing bands, indulge in craft beers, classic cocktails, and Dutch-inspired appetizers. Celebrated one night on each cruise, we give a nod to our Dutch heritage, a la King’s Day, during the Holland America Orange Party." 

We didn't do all that, but we did wear orange to dinner. ]

Tuesday 19 November 2024

 Sihanoukville, Cambodia:  This smallish city is our only stop in Cambodia, and is known for its beaches.

We breakfasted with a young couple from Toronto, then joined our group for a relatively-brief tour of the city. The first two stops were beaches and they certainly lived up to their reputations. A drive through busy, sometimes chaotic, streets brought us to a local market. It is huge and very busy, with all kinds of interesting stuff for sale. It was a real challenge to re-group and get back on the bus, but everyone made it. 

Our last stop was a Buddhist monastery or pagoda, where we saw many monks going about their business, and several lovely buildings. Our guide told us a brief version of the genocide by the Khmer Rouge, which he was fortunate to survive as an infant. He lives in Siem Reap, a 9-hour commute each way from here. He said there is only about 1 cruise ship a month here, and he only comes a few times a year to lead tours. 

Back on board, we relaxed in the air conditioning and enjoyed ice cream cones.  Spent the evening in the Billboard On Board lounge enjoying the piano music and singing  of Megan and Gabriel.

Photos of the Day

Wednesday 20 November 2024

Laem Chabang Thailand:  When we got up at 6, we could see many kinds of boats – small fishing boats at first, but as we neared the port, more and more cargo vessels of various kinds. Our tour departure was at noon, so we got to watch the activity on the docks before we left. We shared a breakfast table with several interesting people, from Michigan, California and Australia. Eventually, it was time to go ashore and head out toward the countryside. In town, the traffic moved at a snail’s pace, along streets with varied businesses packed together and the usual wild array of wires hanging overhead.

It gradually thinned out and eventually we began to see fields of tapioca and other crops.  Although rice is a major crop of Thailand, it is not grown in this drier part of the country. Our guide, “Ex” (for Expert), told us about the history and culture of the country, which is largely Buddhist. Much of it was very positive, like full acceptance of the LGBTQ community, but some left me uneasy, seeming to confirm unsavoury rumours I’ve heard about this country. Women seem to have little status here, and although we saw evidence of exploitation, “Ex” spoke as if women were being “protected” by being kept out of positions of influence.

 Our tour continued with a visit to a very nice restaurant for a buffet lunch;

then, we moved on to view the
laser Buddha. It’s a huge image, etched in gold on the side of Chee-Jan Mountain - quite beautiful and amazing. 

 Next up was Wat Yansangwararm, a large museum/temple, where we saw examples of works of art from several countries and civilizations in the area, including many of the terra cotta warriors from China. We travelled then, to a huge temple complex, where we visited another museum-type building and a wax museum. On the way back to the ship, we drove along a beautiful beach, as the sun was approaching the horizon. We could see all the spots where the lively night life would be happening in a few hours. Once again, we were caught in traffic, and it was a slow trip back to the ship. After a rest and showers, we enjoyed a decadent late dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.

Photos of the Day

Thursday 21 November 2024

Laem Chabang, Thailand:  Sanctuary of Truth tour – It was a civilized 9 am start, after a leisurely breakfast. The drive to and through Pattaya, to the Sanctuary of Truth, was quite long, much like the day before. And then the bus had to navigate a series of narrow alleyways to get there and park in a tight little space. These drivers are awesome.

But what an amazing place! It is all hand-carved teak and uses no nails. And it’s huge and full of detail. The king of the time commissioned it in the 1980s and artisans have been at work on it ever since, adding to it and repairing or replacing parts that wear out. That king was determined to do what he could to make Thailand, and ultimately the world, a better place. To that end, he articulated the 7 truths that are represented in the Sanctuary. We walked through it for about 45 minutes, hearing the explanations of the truths and how the carvings represent them. It was like an illustrated sermon. Very interesting and welcome.

We drove along a different, quieter beach in Pattaya, with several 4- and 5-star hotels, but still lots of crowded little businesses tucked between familiar names like Starbucks, KFC, McDonald’s, and Burger King. Eventually, we were driven up a steep street to the base of the steps leading up to

the Big Buddha. It’s another very impressive site, and there are also panoramic views over the city to the ocean. The final stop of the day was a huge souvenir bazaar, offering everything from candy to furniture. Lots of people brought large bags of stuff back to the bus. We arrived back at the ship hot, tired and hungry, and soon found our way to some food on deck. Today’s guide was a woman and she shed a little light on the “lady boys” who were mentioned several times yesterday with a sort of wink, wink, nudge, nudge tone. She told us they are very beautiful and she can’t begin to compete, and that they are holding a world contest here very soon. All of which led us to think they’re talking about drag performers. Kind of a relief. Trivia was really peculiar today, with shifting teams, but I did come home with a tulip, so Yay! [ 2 tulips; now with 3 - now sought after on teams! ]

Photos of the Day

Friday 22 November 2024

Nathon, Ko Samui, Thailand – Our ship was too large to dock in Nathon, so we were tendered to and from shore on large local boats. Our last expedition of this voyage was a visit to 4 Buddhist temples on this island in the Gulf of Thailand. We feared that we were templed-out already, but this tour was interesting and we learned a lot. The literature warned us that this would be a physically-difficult tour, but it wasn’t. We travelled in an 8-passenger Toyota van, with a skilled and helpful driver. It rained quite hard for a while early in the day and remained cloudy all day, which kept the temperature moderate.

First stop, Wat Khurmaran, honours a beloved monk whose body is on view in a glass box. At the next stop, our guide told us the story of Buddha, as it was depicted on the walls. 

Next was a busy place with a Buddhist shrine and also one to the Indian gods. Finally, we visited Wat Phra Yai, where a towering Buddha 

sits atop a long staircase. We decided not to climb up, but just to admire from benches below. Back on board we had a very late lunch on deck and I played trivia. Yesterday the team had 9 and had to break into 2. Today there were just 2 of us. Go figure. We didn’t exactly embarrass ourselves, but who could beat a team with a perfect score? So no tulips today. We had dinner with an interesting couple from London ON, and then enjoyed Megan and Gabriel’s music for awhile. Suddenly, the kitchen and serving staff were everywhere, handing out chocolate treats, which we enjoyed as we made our way to our stateroom, where we found even more chocolate treats. Turns out it was CHOCOLATE SURPRISE night!

Photos of the Day

Saturday 23 November 2024

At Sea: Of course, much of our attention today was on getting ready to leave the ship on Sunday morning. I did play Bingo and trivia, but no prizes today. I cashed in a scratch & win ticket for $5 and another for a $5 credit on a slot machine. I have no idea how to use a slot machine, but an attendant walked me through losing my $5 in about 2 minutes. [where was I with a camera for that event] There was a fun fair on the pool deck with popcorn, ice cream, lemonade and games. We watched the fun for awhile and enjoyed the treats, but the line-ups for games were long, so we skipped that part of it. We enjoyed the company of a couple from Oklahoma at dinner, and then spent the rest of the evening in Billboard On Board, enjoying the music of Gabe & Meghan.

 

Photos of the Day

Sunday 24 November 2024

Singapore: Our large bags had been collected at bedtime, so we just had carry-ons when we left our stateroom for the last time and went off in search of a breakfast table in the Lido. Somehow, we lost track of each other, so we each grabbed a quick breakfast while I sent him a text and he sent me an email, neither of which was seen until hours later. Fortunately, we both decided to try our stateroom and we found each other in the elevator lobby. Larry’s passport didn’t register properly or something, so he took awhile getting through immigration, but we were still early for our pick up in the meeting area. Our driver, S.T., found us in all the chaos and off we went for a curated day in Singapore. First stop – the botanical gardens,

 

where we spent most of our time in the National Orchid Gardens. It’s really spectacular! 

 

Next up was an amazing cable car ride from a mountaintop to a nearby island and then over the island from end to end. We had wonderful views of the city and the old harbour and the recreation areas on the island. Our lunch break was in Chinatown, but we chose a Vietnamese restaurant. 

While we were in the area, we visited a huge, elaborate Buddhist temple, where a well-attended prayer service was being held. 

We then drove to the Sky Garden and went up the 54 storeys to visit it. Before long, it started to rain and everyone was moved inside, but we’d see the views and gotten some photos, so the timing was OK. From there, we went to the Gardens by the Sea, where the rain had caused the tours to be suspended, but we walked around for a bit, then sat and watched all the visitors enjoying themselves. We had driven through much of the city, but our last stop, to see

 

the Merlion (a combo with the body of a mermaid and the head of a lion, that is the symbol of Singapore), yielded more surprising views of how the city surrounds the water. We drove through Little India and the Muslim area before heading to the airport. It was a great day, but it was very hot and humid, so we were tired out. Changi Airport is a real treat, compared to any other airport we’ve used. We found comfortable seats to relax in until we could check in. Then checking in, getting boarding passes and checking our bags was a real snap, with no line-ups at all. A quick pass through immigration brought us to the departures area, where we found lots of high-end shops and choices for food and drink. We chose the Heineken World Bar. It wasn’t crowded and service was quick. Quick, but not good with a very strange waitress. We didn’t encounter security until we got to the gate. Although the flight was crowded (including about 40 high school girls on the Singapore women’s football (?) team, heading to Spain for a tournament with their 10 or so adult coaches and chaperones), we were surprisingly able to  sleep through much of the 13 or so hour flight to Frankfurt. Of course, Frankfurt Airport offered up its usual challenges. There seems to be a strong bias against assisting travellers. We had reservations at a lounge, and it took us close to 2 hours to find it. However, it was a nice retreat for a few hours. 

Photos of the Day

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