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Doin' All The Asia
  • Laura Folk

Doin' All The Asia

A 55-day adventure by Laura Read more
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  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Valentine's & Dinner w/Officers

    February 14 in Brunei ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We were in Brunei today - decided to skip it (visit #3). It's Valentine's Day. We spent some time in the Atrium Lounge with our bartender, Sindi.

    Then dinner with officers. We were with Alvina- Assistant General Manager, and Frederick, Executive Housekeeper. I hadn't met Frederick before, since he just returned to the ship after 2 months vacation.Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Kota Kinabalu - Mangroves & Monkeys

    February 15 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We had a long bumpy ride to the river where we boarded a boat to go through mangroves. The main attraction is Proboscis Monkeys. Supposedly we saw them- but most of the monkeys we saw were jumping through the trees - so we didn't see noses. It was very enjoyable - and hot. I got a mild sunburn on my arms- glad it's not bad.

    We did see a baby crocodile sunning on a branch. We had a Malaysian lunch. Then back to the ship    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Puerto Princessa-One More Time!

    February 16 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Started the day by doing the laundry - which in our case is counting everything, logging it on the list, and rolling it to stuff the bag. (I'll do some undies later).

    Then a real treat- Zoom with Pat, Tom, Jim, & Sue. I shared some of the local panorama, and had a quick catch-up.

    We got off the ship and took a tricycle to the SM Mall, where I was able to get some Robitussin - yes, the cough is back. Really back. We had a bev, and I got snacks for our amazing steward, Kris- and some "genuine Philippino junk food" to bring home. Then a tricycle back to the ship in time for La Cucina soup. That stuff's been keeping me alive.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Bye Bye Boracay

    February 17 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Back to Boracay for the fourth time. Took the tender, got the necklace, bought the shuttle ticket, went to D'Mall and a peek at the beach. Then to lunch at Jeepney Stop-Halo Halo for me- Philippino dessert with milky ice, fruit, jello, ice cream, and coconut milk. It was pretty tasty. Wayne had a replay of the yummy fried lumpia we had there last time.

    Will- our Cruise Director showed up. Fun to see him. Then back to the ship. Still coughing up a storm. We had dinner in Crossings - and Aktur- Judy's favorite waiter, took care of us.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Manila -The World 's Largest IKEA

    February 18 on the Philippines ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Yes. Really. We went to the Mall of Asia and The World's largest IKEA. (You can Google it!)

    We were joined by Dennis and Jane, who've been with us on a couple of other cruises. We had a great time looking at all the stuff - a few items that were geared toward the Asian market, including a kiddie spoon and chopstick combo, (I got one for our Chinese bartender Sindi who's expecting a nephew) and a sushi paddle that stands up on its handle so you don't get rice all over the counter.

    The Mall of Asia is 3 huge buidings- with a 2-level carousel, a Pokemon headquarters, and all the sores with all the things.

    The taxi back to the ship was a minor adventure - there are lots of ports along Manila, and it was difficult to identify the correct route to our ship. I could see the ship, but we overshot it by about 2 km- stopped at another port, and they aimed us in the right direction. I had a lung-rattling coughing spell that didn't want to end. The poor driver kept wanting me to drink water, even offering me his own thermos. Needless to say, I couldn't think about drinking anything - I was focused on breathing.

    Back aboard, we went to La Cucina where I had my life-saving soup. I hung out on the stateroom, and dinner was a quick one in the buffet.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Sea Day at Anchor - Currimao

    February 19 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Decided to stay aboard. I hate packing so much, that I decided to get most of mine out of the way today. The hardest part right now is separating out what I'll need for our 2 days in Taipei, and onboard the plane.

    I discovered that the perfect gift I got for Sindi's nephew was a bust. I opened the container and it was empty. Someone took the spoon and little chopsticks out before I bought it. I'm so sad.

    We had dinner in Le Bistro. Escargot and Hoki (fish) for him, goat cheese croquettes and beef tenderloin for me. Delicious. Marquis de Chocolat for dessert.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Last Day- Packing is a Pain

    February 20 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We were inport- Kaohsiung. We decided to focus on getting the packing done, and spending time with friends. We also did some goodbyes with crew members who helped make our trip memorable.

    Our drinks waitresses Sindi and Shayne took some pictures with Wayne, and we shared some wine with Jane & Dennis.

    Dinner at Cagney's - the Lobster Bisque and Grilled Seafood for Wayne, and Crab cake and Petit Filet Mignon for me. I had a bite of Wayne's Marquis au Chocolat. Pretty darn good.

    Final packing and suitcases in the passageway...and to bed.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Departing NCL Sky- Keelung ->Taipei

    February 21 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We had "The Last Breakfast" at Crossings, and then were escorted off by the General Manager 's secretary. We got the VIP treatment because of B2Bs and organizing the Cruise Critic get-togethers.

    We took a taxi ($50) to the Grand Victoria Hotel in Taipei. What a lovely hotel. Our room is spacious with bunches of amenities - cookies, water, and a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. We also got drinks coupons. After a nap, we went to one of the hotel's restaurants for soup. I had a delicious shrimp wonton soup- huge shrimp wrapped in wonton. I could only eat 4 of the 6, so Wayne helped out after finishing his beef soup with large chunks of beef. I was entertained by a young woman at another table who spent her entire meal taking selfies of eating her food.

    Quiet evening watching British Scandals on HBO.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Taipei Adventure

    February 22 in Taiwan ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We had another interesting East/West breakfast. Mine included a tiny chocolate croissant, some noodles, and a shrimp.

    We took a taxi, planning to see the Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Shek memorials. Our day turned into so much more, thanks to our driver, Maggie Kao. She took us to Duong Street, and walked us through the market street. She took us to a famous local restaurant where we had very traditional food. I had a garlic chicken soup, and we all had their signature dish Daami- a combo of noodles, bean sprouts shrimp, broth, and spices. Maggie made it a very special day for us.

    After we got back to the hotel and rested for awhile, we were to the Miramar Mall, across the street from the hotel. We walked through lots of stores, saw many familiar brands, and got more to eat. We saw Krispy Kreme, and Wayne indulged. After doing a couple of laps through the immense food court, I was getting discouraged because all the food was huge. Great big bowls of soups, large servings of fried chicken... I finally found a place called "Mini," which not only had small portions (although the menu plates included five or so, to make up for the smaller size) but they also had appetizers. So I ordered crab cakes and cheesy fries. Both were delicious. I ate half of each, and Wayne finished them off.

    We decided to head back to the room, but picked up a small scoop of Hagen Daaz each.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Taipei ->Hong Kong

    February 23 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    We had another lovely breakfast, then finalized packing before checking out. It was raining, so we decided to hang out in the lobby. Lunchtime happened, and memories of the soup in the hotel restaurant inspired us to head upstairs for a rerun. While my chopstick skills have improved immensely, those shrimp wontons were really slippery - but I persisted.

    The concierge ordered a taxi for us, and we arrived at the airport about 4. We checked in for our flight, but couldn't check our bags for 2 more hours. As we were looking for a place to hang out with all our luggage, one of the other Cathay Pacific agents came up with a brilliant idea. There was an earlier flight to Hong Kong - so he took us back to the counter, and the nice young lady rebooked the first leg.

    We settled in to the lounge, and enjoyed beverages - stomachs still full of soup, we just had a couple of small cookies.

    The flight from Taipei to Hong Kong was uneventful. My stuffy right ear cooperated with the help of the air-equalizing earplugs I got yesterday at a gadget store in the Miramar Mall. We went through the Hong Kong immigration and security checkpoint - and for the first time, my thread snips were confiscated. Whatever...

    We settled in to the lounge (Thank you Chase Sapphire Priority Pass!). There's a 2 hour limit, but the very nice lady at the desk said we could check in again when our 2 hours are up. Our flight at 3:20 am will be the last until 7 something in the morning. Oops- text from Cathay .. make that 3:50.    Read more

  • Laura FolkDoin' All The AsiaTraveler

    Hong Kong ->JFK->Home

    February 23 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    We caught a cab, saying Farewell to our luxurious hotel, and headed for the Taipei airport. It was too early to check our bags, so we started wandering, looking for a place to hang out. A Cathay Airways manager asked us what help we needed. We told him we were fine- just looking for a place to sit until we could check our bags. He told us to wait a minute- looked at our tickets, and told us he could get us on an earlier flight to Hong Kong. That was fine with us.

    We ended up with about 6 hours in Hong Kong. Thanks to the lounge pass from my credit card, we had a few hours, and then were able to extend.

    The flights were blessedly unremarkable, with a transfer at JFK- Immigration and customs were quick...

    ...and then we were home.    Read more

    Trip end
    February 24, 2025
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