Islands to Indochina Cruise on the Oceania Riviera
1/23/2024 to 2/15/2024
Page 1 – Pre-trip in Singapore
Page 2 – Embarkation; Ship
Page 3 - Cabin, Shows, Activities; Ports of Call: Muara, Brunei; Kota Kinabalu (Borneo), Malaysia
Page 4 - Ports of Call: Puerto Princesa, Philippines; Coron, Philippines; Manila, Philippines
Page 5 - Ports of Call: Hue (Chan May), Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 6 - Ports of Call: Saigon, Vietnam; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 7 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 1 & 2
Page 8 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 3 & 4
Puerto Princesa, Philippines
This would be my first visit to the Philippines. As we came into port, it appeared that the area was hilly. They also had a large double steeple church in town.
We walked onto our balcony and saw that a welcome was set up for us. The music had started before we were allowed off the ship.
When we left the ship, we were most impressed with the colorful costumes and dancing that was all around us. It was quite a production.
We had four ship tours to take with the cruise package we purchased. This port would be the first of those tours. The tour was called Puerto Princesa Highlights. We had a very pleasant and knowledgeable guide named Jed. She told us that the itinerary had changed. The main place we were visiting that related to the effects of the war on the Philippines had permanently closed.
Our first stop was at the Palawan Heritage Center. The center presents the culture and history of the area through artifacts, dioramas, arts and other methods. It was a small building, so it didn’t take long to see everything.
We next went to a most unexpected place, the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm. Jed told us that the tourism board thought that it would be a good destination for tourists. As we walked in we saw lots of merchandise for sale that had been made by the inmates.
They had a band that played music that the inmates danced to. They really got into it. They obviously enjoyed performing for the visitors. They were very good! I also included a video of some of the performance.
The audience loved the performance. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time. It was quite heartwarming to see these inmates enjoying themselves and showing their skills. Jed told us that prisoners request to be at this prison. In addition to entertaining guests, they also work on the farm and in the rice fields. It is an open prison that is secure by its location. They have nice facilities for the inmates too.
Jed said that the only way for prisoners to escape is over that mountains that have lots of malaria mosquitos. Escape hasn’t been an issue, plus, this is a desirable prison. The prison has a very good rehabilitation program and accordingly a low return rate. This stop was the highlight of the tour.
After leaving the prison, we headed for our next stop, a butterfly garden and tribal village. I have been to several butterfly gardens, but if they hadn’t told us that it was one, I wouldn’t have known it. We didn’t see many butterflies at all, but they had some plants and flowers along with some local small animals and birds on display.
The tribal village part had some locals dressed in native outfits showing some of the skills used in the past. They showed us how they started fire, used knives, used blow guns, spears, etc. They did everything very quickly and it was difficult to understand what they were saying about each demonstration. After the outstanding presentations we had at the Mari Mari Cultural center the previous day in Borneo, this was a major let down.
The last stop was at the Plaza Cuartel, a former military base that is now a war memorial park for 150 American soldiers who were burned to death by the Imperial Japanese forces at the location in 1944 during the Palawan Massacre.
We then walked across the street toward the church. There was a monument to Dr. Jose Rizal who had been executed due to his support for Philippine independence from Spain. We would hear much more about the ophthalmologist and writer in Manilla.
Our last stop was at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The first mass at this was in 1872. It has been rebuilt several times, with the current one being built in 1961.
It wasn’t a particularly good tour. Jed did a good job, but there just aren’t many good tourist attractions in the town. Had the facility related to WW2 still been operating, it might have been a better tour. When we got back to the ship, we talked with several people that had been on the ship’s snorkeling excursion. They were raving how about how wonderful it was. I am still mad at myself for not booking that one instead. Cathy and I both enjoy snorkeling, but I didn’t think we would want to spend the whole day doing that rather than experiencing a new port. I was wrong.
Coron, Philippines
Our second port in the Philippines was Coron. The cruise in was enjoyable with the mountains and islands along the way.
When we docked, we saw more of the stilt houses on water like those we had previously seen.
We also had another welcome reception waiting for us. Unfortunately, we were only able to watch it from the ship since it took a long time to clear for disembarkation.
There were so many boats in the water. Some larger than the others. Fishing is a major industry.
The ship tour we were taking was the Coron Town & Hot Springs. It would give us an opportunity to experience their hot springs and see some of the town. The tours were done with 8 people to a van rather than a large bus. Our guide was Bob. Not his real name. He did a great job and took good care of us.
As the tour began, we quickly understood why we couldn’t take a bus. The roads were narrow, and many were dirt roads.
Bob had the driver pull over so he could show us a fruit on a cashew tree. He said that it wasn’t prime harvesting season yet, so he wanted to make sure that we were able to see one still growing. The cashew itself is at the end of the fruit.
Our first destination was to the Maquinit natural salt water hot springs. I had never even heard of a hot spring with salt water, so this would be a new experience.
We passed through some buildings that included restrooms and changing facilities.
When we got to the hot springs, it was a much larger and nicer facility than I had expected.
We walked all around it, and then walked out on a wooden walkway that led to the ocean. From there, we could see the back of the spring enclosure where the overflow was being released.
I came back to the main pool area to take a dip. Bob told us that the water temperature is around 104 farenheit. When I first got in, the water felt great. However, I hadn’t put on my sandals and the stones on the bottom were making walking very uncomfortable. I came out, put on my sandals, and all was well. I took a few photos from in the pool and then relaxed near one of the smaller pools where the water overflowed. Since Cathy passed on getting in the water, she was able to take a photo of me enjoying the hot spring.
After I had soaked long enough, I got out and dried off. Bob took a photo for us. It was a nice place, and we enjoyed the visit there.
We returned to the main city to have a walking tour. Shortly after leaving the van, we couldn’t believe how many anchovies were sitting out drying. This must be what the fleet goes after.
Everywhere we walked we were seeing large trays of anchovies. Occasionally, we would see a tray of small pink squid.
Near the end of the street, we were surprised at how close to the ship we were.
We got back in the van heading to our next stop. There were so many motorcycle type vehicles on the road.
We stopped at a Catholic church. It had a pretty interior.
While walking around town, Bob pointed out the cross on top of the mountain. There was also a sign with the name of the town on it.
He next showed us a statue of Dr. Jose Rizal, the same man that we saw a statue of in Puerto Princesa. On this statue it proclaimed him as a “Martyr of human rights and freedom”. He is quite revered in the Philippines.
We passed the Coron Coliseum and Recreation Center.
We then came to a dock area where we could see the Riviera nearby.
Next was a cashew processing plant. They had lots of equipment for removing the hulls and sizing the product. They told us about the process needed to boil the cashews to remove the husks off of the nut. There are a lot more steps than I thought there would be.
There is some manual labor involved too.
Outside the building were some items for sale. They had cashews and different flavored cashew butter. We tried the samples provided.
We then returned to the ship. It had been an enjoyable and informative tour. As we were leaving port, we saw more stilt houses and a beautiful shoreline.
Once again, we had lovely weather for this port. We still hadn’t needed our umbrellas, and the temperatures were more moderate than we had anticipated. A good thing!
Manila, Philippines
As we cruised into Manila, we saw that we were going to dock very close to the large city.
Once again, we had a welcoming celebration waiting for us. They started before we were even tied up. With it taking a long time for the ship to clear, they finished their routines before we could leave the ship.
On the other side of the ship, some rowing teams were racing.
Our tour for the day was Charms of Old Manilla through the ship. With our time in port changing from us leaving at 5:00 PM to 1:00 PM, this was the only tour the ship was doing. We booked it originally, but those that booked some of the many other tours offered had those cancelled and moved to this one. There were many frustrated passengers.
As we left the ship for our tour, we were once again receiving necklaces from the welcoming group. They were quite nice and a lovely gesture. The ports in the Philippines were very happy to have a cruise ship stopping there.
We boarded our bus and met our guide for the tour, Mellany. We lucked out again with an excellent guide.
Our first destination was to Intramuros, the walled old town within the city with a population of 13 million. The construction of the wall was started in the late 16th century. We walked through a large open area with old military barracks with canons nearby.
Nearby was the entrance to Fort Santiago that was built by the Spanish in 1593.
Once through the gate, we were in the courtyard with high walls. It was a pretty place with lots of plants. They probably weren’t there when it was an active fort. We came to another statue of the nation’s hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
Moving to a different area, Mellany pointed out the entrance to a dungeon. We didn’t have time to visit it. During the liberation of Manila in 1945, the US Army discovered 600 decomposing bodies. It is now considered hallowed ground.
I liked the statue of a soldier next to a corner enclosure.
While walking to our next destination, I saw a church and clock tower nearby. There was a lot to see in Manila that we didn’t have time to check out due to our shortened time in port.
I asked a security guard if I could take his photo. He was very pleased and gave me a salute.
We next walked to the Church of Saint Augustine, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was completed in 1607 and is the oldest stone church in the country. It has been renovated many times due to war, earthquake and fire but some of the original church has survived.
This is a huge structure with many rooms. It is more of a museum with so much to see. As we walked into the building, we passed by the entrance to the nave. I had to take a quick photo, even though I assumed we would return.
There were so many beautiful objects to see as we passed through the rooms. Mellany did an excellent job of telling us about what we were seeing and why certain things were very special.
Then we came into front of the nave. So many beautiful chapels and objects.
The altar area was quite nice, and I loved the room’s ceilings and chandeliers.
We left the nave and moved into other rooms with interesting and gorgeous decorations and objects. This was quite a place!
After leaving the church, we walked past Plaza Roma. I was able to get a much better photo of the church and bell tower I had previously seen, the Metropolitan Cathedral.
We next traveled to the Manila Hotel that was used as Gen. Douglas Mcarthur’s headquarters during the war. It is now a five-star hotel and quite expensive for the area.
In addition to seeing the hotel, this was also a restroom break. Cathy sat in one of the fancy chairs while we waited to get back on the bus.
Once on the bus, we headed for Rizal Park, named for the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, who we had been seeing statues of in our Philippine port stops. There was a large monument with an obelisk and statues of Rizal in an open area.
We walked over to a different area of the park where there were fountains and reliefs on the walls depicting the life or Rizal.
Mellany then took us to an area close by where Rizal was executed following his conviction of rebellion, sedition and conspiracy in a kangaroo trial. There are statues depicting the scene in 1896. Rizal wanted to face his executioners, but they made him turn away. They shot while he was attempting to turn and face them. You can see the bullet holes on his back.
It had been a very good tour, and we were glad that we were able to see and learn so much in our reduced port time. We were surprised as we were getting ready to leave port that we had a band and dancers wishing us well.
That evening we were eating at Toscana. After happy hour, Cathy stopped by the restroom in front of the Grand Dining Room. When she came out, she told me that she had found someone’s key card on the floor. We assumed that they had probably gone to the dining room, so Cathy turned it in to them. We then went up to deck 14 and checked in at Toscana. Since we had booked a shared table, they sat us at a table with another couple. We had a wonderful dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the couple we had been paired with. While we were having coffee at the end of the meal, the wife mentioned that she had lost her key card several times including that evening. It turned out that the card Cathy found was hers. What are the odds of that happening?
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