Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi is an island located approximately 25 miles off the mainland of Malaysia in the Andaman Sea. Part of an archipelago made up of 104 islands Langkawi has a population of about 65,000. Traditionally thought to be cursed the Prime Minister declared it a duty-free province in order to attract visitors and began transforming it into a tourist resort in 1986. In 2007 it was designated a UNESCO World GeoPark. Noted primarily for its population of native eagles, found mostly in the forested mountains.

We chose not to get off the ship at this port, no need testing the legendary curse. J



Some of the 104 islands as we sail away.

 

 

Next stop Phuket, Thailand.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, another very modern city and former capital city of Malaysia, is known mostly for it's tallest building, the twin Petronus Towers.  On the right in the following photo, at 1482 feet the Petronus Tower was the tallest building in the world from 1997 till 2003.  It still is the tallest twin structure in the world.  Also in the photo below, on the left is the Menara Tower, the 6th tallest telecomunications tower in the world.

 

 

 

The Petronus Towers were featured in the 1999 movie "Entrapment" staring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones.

 

 

Fun with the iPad.

 





 

Tickets to go to the top of the Petronus Tower were sold out for the day so we settled for the next highest Menara Tower.

 

 

Views of the city from the top were impressive.  Reminded us a little of Atlanta.

 

 

We also visited the Central Market built in 1888 and old China Town.

 

 

Not sure what some of these fruits are.

 

Or what is done with these flat dried ducks.

 

We are sure the mysteries will continue in our next stop, Langkewi.



Singapore

Singapore a city state at the southern tip of the Malaysian Peninsula is a modern financial powerhouse in Southeast Asia.  With a population of 4 million and located only 100 miles north of the equator it is a hot tropical paradise.  It has earned the moniker of a "Fine City" due to it's high fines ($1000 for littering) and other unruly activity.  It is covered with trees and maticulous landscaping.

 

 

 

 

It is trying to become the Las Vegas of Southeast Asia with the construction of many new elaborate hotels and casinos, one of which is the Marina Bay Sands, constructed in 2010.  It boasts an impresive infinity pool over 300 long at the top of this 57 story building.

 

 

We did not get to do much sightseeing in Singapore, fortunately we have been here before.  We spent a fair amount of the day looking for a laundry mat to clean our clothes.

 

 

Singaporean fast food.

 

 

If you are following our itinerary you will know in Singapore we are completing the first phase of are trip.  Having flown on 14 flights during the past 16 days, we are now trading airports for seaports.  The Costa NeoRomantica will be our home away from home for the next 21 days.

 

 

One thing for sure this ship is quite different from the massive NCL Epic we were just on in December, with it's capacity of 4,500 passengers, it dwarfs the 1,800 capacity of this ship.  One other thing we noticed, with it's primary Italian occupants, age and body type appropriate swim wear is NOT regulated here.  This is the most "family friendly" photo we have to post of the pool area.

 

 

Nevertheless we are having a good time.

 

 

Next stop, Kuala Lumpur.



Philippines

The Philippines located in the western edge of the Pacific Ocean is an archipelago made up of over 7,100 islands with a combined population of more than 92 million.  Manila is the capital with more than 12 million people.  Manila's skyline reminded us of many big American metropolitan skylines.

 

As with most of the places we have been so far one of the first things I notice is the traffic and types of vehicles.  Narrow over crowded streets are the norm in Manila.

 

 

Colorful local buses or "jeepneys" are a common mode of public transportation with a fare of 8 to 10 Philipino Pesos (about 20 cents).

 

 

 

Motorcycles with colorful covered sidecars are also very popular for short individual transport.

 

 

 

We stayed at the Taal Vista Hotel in the community of Tagaytay about 30 miles south of Manila.

 

Tagaytay is a resort area located along the northern ridge of the Taal Volcano basin.  Taal Volcano is considered an active volcano  located along the "Pacific Ring of Fire".  It was originally formed during four major eruptions occurring 150,000 to 500,000 years ago.  There have been 33 recorded eruptions since 1572 resulting in a death toll of from 5,000 to 6,000 people.  The last major eruption was in 1911 claiming over 1,400 lives.  The most recent eruptive activity occurred between 1965 to 1977 killing about 100.  Ongoing seismic unrest has been occurring since 1991.  We did not feel anything while we were there.  View from our hotel, a bit hazy.

 

 

Stock aerial photo of Taal Volcano.

 

 

We decided to take a closer look, along with hundreds of other curious tourists.  That first required descending from the ridge down a steep windy road to the lake.

 

We passed dozens of these signs.

Fortunately the rainy season is June through August. 

 

 

The views along the way were great.  The structures in the water are fish farming operations.

 

 

Once to the lake we boarded a motorized outrigger.

 

 

Once reaching the volcanic island we boarded horses.

 

 

 

They were small Philipino horses.

 

 

 

It was a rough dusty ride up to the crater ridge.

 

 

But we had a good time.  Can't say the same for the poor little horses or guides who walked the whole way.

 

 

The view from the top was great.

 

 

Looking into the Taal Volcano crater you see an instance of an island in a lake on and island in a lake on an island in the ocean.

 

 

We had a great time in the Philippines.

Our next stop is Singapore