Normally a relaxing day at sea was a busy day sitting in presentations for the upcoming ports
Category: Asia
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 6 [Hakodate, Japan]
A visit to Hokkaido island including a fort based on a western design and a gondola ride to the top of a mountain.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 5 [Aomori, Japan]
A wonderful visit to Hiroaki Park and castle as well as the Nebuta Wrasse museum in Aomari.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 4 [Sea Day]
A busy day at sea learning about the next two destinations and some Japanese.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 3 [Yokohama, Japan – Cruise Embarkation]
I used the free morning to explore Yokohama on foot. I walked through Chinatown and a few parks. I got to see the massive robot at the Gundam factory from a distance. I walked through the historical western styled houses used by foreigners before returning to the hotel and boarding the ship. Luckily the ship fit under the Yokohama Bay Bridge and we were on our way to hopefully see cherry blossoms.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 2 [Arrival in Yokohama, Japan]
Planes, Trains and (no) Automobiles. I arrived in Japan today (by plane) then took the train to Yokohama (Narita Express). I explored Yokohama in the afternoon and enjoyed the sunset at Osanbashi Pier.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 1 [Flight to Japan]
Flying on my [sarcasm] favorite [/sarcasm] airline to Japan.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises – Day 0 [Check In]
Checked in for the flight to Japan, packed, and completed the required COVID testing.
2023 Diamond Princess Asia Cruises [Japan, South Korea, Taiwan]
Starting the year off by booking 3 cruises in Japan to South Korea and Taiwan.
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 18 [Hong Kong, China to Houston]
This morning I woke up early and checked out of the hotel shortly before 6:00 AM. My flight is at 9:05 AM – so under normal circumstances I would generally be at the airport by then. I took a quick taxi to the Kowloon airport station (45 Hong Kong Dollars). The Cathay Pacific check in…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 17 [Hong Kong, China ]
This morning I attempted to wake up early. I went to breakfast and took a few pictures of the Victoria harbor before attending the lion dance at the hotel at 10:00 AM. The show was quite good, but was more a party for the hotel managers and workers. I was still glad to see the…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 16 [Hong Kong, China – Day 13 and disembarkation of cruise]
This morning I had a quick breakfast in the buffet and disembarked the ship. I took a taxi to the hotel for only 100 HKD. I decided to stay at the Sheraton in Kowloon as I was upgraded to a large 800 sq ft harbor view room. The view from the hotel was so nice…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 15 [Hong Kong, China – Day 12 of cruise]
This morning the ship arrived at 7:00 AM. It was dark, so I didn’t bother setting up the timelapse. Since the museum I wanted to go to didn’t open until 10 AM I rested a while before going out. The weather was quite foggy and dismal as well. One of the malls organized a free…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 14 [Sea Day – Day 11 of cruise]
Today was an easy day. I had breakfast in the main dining room. I went to the origami class today and made a samari hat… Though it was a bit too small for me. I had lunch in the main dining room with a bunch of the other solo travelers. I visited the bridge viewing…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 13 [Ha Long Bay, Vietnam – Day 10 of cruise]
This morning I woke up early to set up the time lapse videos of the sail in to Ha Long Bay. I set up the new GoPro on the starboard side and the old one on the port side. The scenery was quite amazing. The visibility isn’t wonderful, but I guess that adds character to…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 12 [Chan May, Vietnam – Day 9 of cruise]
This morning the ship arrived in Chan May. I was a bit disappointed how small and desolate the area was. I packed my bag of laundry. Because I’m Platinum I don’t have to pay the $19.95 I had a tour from the ship to the Imperial City of Hue. The bus ride was over an…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 11 [Nha Trang, Vietnam – Day 8 of cruise]
Today was the only tendered port of the cruise. The ship was scheduled to arrive at 9:00 AM. I had scheduled a private tour through Viator that was to start at 9:00 AM. I set up my GoPro for a timelapse video as entering the harbor was quite scenic. The ship anchored very near to…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 10 [Phu My, Vietnam – Day 7 of cruise]
This morning we arrived in Phu My, Vietnam. This is the port for Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City), however since I have visited Saigon before I decided to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. The bus ride to the tunnels took us through Saigon, so the trip was over 3 hours each way. Once we…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 9 [Sea Day – Day 6 of cruise]
Today was the second sea day of the cruise. I rested in the morning and woke up in time for lunch. The menu in the main dining room wasn’t too appealing, so I got some pizza and made myself a tuna salad sandwich in the buffet. I was lazy most of the day. I went…
2020 Singapore to Hong Kong Cruise – Day 8 [Sihanoukville, Cambodia – Day 5 of cruise]
This morning I arrived in Cambodia for the first time. The ship arrived on time, around 9:00 AM. I got the first shuttle bus to the port gate. We were instantly mobbed by locals with taxis looking for passengers. I quickly found my tour guide and was told there were 4 more passengers on my…