Exotic ports of the Orient - cruise in southeastern Asia - includes tips on taking travel photographs

PSA Journal, Dec, 1995 by Grace Ertel, Donald Ertel

Ho Chi Minh City, Brunei, Borneo--all evoke images of far away places only the adventurous would attempt. When we found a Princess Cruise hitting all these ports and more, we decided now was the time to explore these exotic places without the hassle of individually applying for visas.

Best of all, retiring each night to the comfort of an air-conditioned cabin without packing and repacking makes it even more appealing. The world seems to be expanding for those who require a modicum of comfort along with their adventure.

Our cruise on the Island Princess began in Hong Kong, long known as the shopper's paradise, and proceeded to Canton, China; Manila in the Philippines; Kota Kinabalu in Borneo; the small kingdom of Brunei; Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; Singapore; Kautan, Malaysia; and ended at Bangkok, Thailand.

Canton offers a glimpse of mainland China which continues to lure the western traveler. A brigade of 16 escorted buses takes passengers from the port to the downtown section through some rather exciting traffic--motor bikes and bicycles carrying everything from live chickens to whole families darting in and out among the buses, trucks, and cars. We marveled at the highly skilled drivers.

Lunch at a five-star hotel provides a sampling of authentic Chinese food before the visit to the Temple of Sacrifice and the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial. However, most memorable is the visit to a school where children are engaged in many activities and a choral group performs beautifully.

Manila holds a lot of history for Americans as is seen in the number of reconverted U.S. World War II jeeps called "jeepnys" which serve as minibuses carrying commuters all over town. According to our guide, "The Spanish gave us our religion and our architecture, the Americans, our English language, and as to the Japanese, perhaps that accounts for all the kamikaze drivers you see."

The Malacang Palace on the Pasig River which formerly housed those in power--the Spanish aristocracy, the American Governor General and the Philippine President--has been beautifully restored with a splendid collection of native art and priceless relics. We learned that Imelda Marcos' huge collection of shoes is now stored below and no longer exhibited.

The next stop, Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah is called the "Land Below the Wind" as it's near the equator on the island of Borneo. We took the "Last Train to Borneo" tour where an old British open-air train leads through the back country past small villages and farm land of the interior. Many of the houses are built on stilts. This helps keep poisonous snakes out.

Our guide Geoffry, from a family of former head hunters, still has his great grandfather's collection of 42 heads. "Headhunting stopped in the 1950's," he said. "Before that a man had to provide the bead of an enemy as a dowry before taking a wife. Today two live water buffalo serve the purpose." The journey ends at a beach resort where members of a local tribe entertain with some ethnic folk dances such as the "bamboo dance."

The very small Islamic monarchy of Brunei on the Northwest end of Borneo seems unlike any other country we've visited. In 1929 this tiny sultanate was found to be literally floating over a sea of oil and natural gas, and today the Sultan of Brunei's $25 billion make him the wealthiest man in the world. It's rumored he is currently planning to take a third wife which the Muslim religion permits.

The people of this kingdom with free education and universal pensions also do well. Brunei is the world's second wealthiest nation with a yearly per capita income of $60,000 US for every man, woman and child. In answer to one visitor's question of "How do I become a citizen," the guide related, "You must study the Koran and pass a difficult test."

With every family owning about three cars, the roads can get a bit congested. Visitors are asked to honor the local dress code which requires knees and shoulders to be covered. To enter the main mosque which is named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei, we must remove shoes and some are given long black robes to wear.

This most magnificent gold-covered edifice built in 1958 at a cost of $5 million symbolizes the strong Islamic faith of the citizens most of which are Malays. Since Brunei residents prefer white collar jobs, much labor is imported from Indonesia and the Philippines. In a lagoon beside the mosque sits a replica of an ornate 16th century barge of "Mahligai" which was used to stage colorful religious ceremonies in the past.

Some of the other attractions in the city center are the Royal Regalia Building (formerly the Churchill Memorial Building) which houses the Royal Chariot and the nearby Brunei History Center which shows the genealogy of the Sultans and the Royal Family. You probably won't see the splendid Royal Palace on the Banks of the Brunei River as it's open to the public only once a year during Hari Raya. It's said to contain a mere 1,888 rooms.

The Grand Tour in Vietnam enables you to see a bit of the countryside before reaching the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, an amalgam of cities and towns the central part of which is still called "Saigon." Tenders take passengers ashore from the Island Princess at Vung Tau, a port resort city about three hours' bus ride south of Saigon. Meanwhile our cruise ship slowly makes its way up the Mekong Delta to meet us later at Ho Chi Minh City.