STAR CLIPPERS
Tiffani’s Blog An adventure to Singapore & Thailand ... Aboard Star Clipper
An adventure to Singapore & Thailand ... Aboard Star Clipper Day 1 London Gatwick – Dubai – Singapore on Emirates Our adventure began with a 1-night pre-cruise stay at the magnificent Shangri-La Hotel near Orchard Road. We were greeted by a friendly doorman with a welcoming smile. Walking through the impressive lobby, we were handed a refreshing lime juice which slipped down easily as we admired the sophisticated décor.
Our host arrived as we checked in and showed us around the hotel, which oozes luxury and opulence. There are several culinary choices within the hotel. Our hosted dinner was in the Italian restaurant – and it was homemade Italian food at its very best, in an impressive setting. Too full for deserts, we set off to visit
the Gardens by the Bay’s Supertrees. The 50-foot super trees made of wire and steel light up at night and are a truly stunning spectacle sitting against the backdrop of Singapore’s central business district. We treated ourselves to a drink at the alfresco rooftop bar, at the top of the tallest supertree, boasting unobstructed views of Singapore’s iconic cityscape. After that, it was back to the hotel for a quick Singapore Sling before bed – well it had to be done… And it was worth every dollar!
Day 2 Singapore After a few hours’ sleep, we dragged ourselves from comfy beds to make the most of the morning we had in Singapore, planning a quick breakfast before heading out to see the sights. But how can you have a quick breakfast in the Shangri-La with such an amazing breakfast buffet? The extensive choice made it feel like an international tour. Singapore is a world-class
cosmopolitan city but, rather than hit the shopping malls, we wanted to see Little India – the buzzing historic area that shows off the best of Singapore’s colourful Indian community with many unusual shops and a vibrant culture. Sri Veeramakaliamman - Little India’s prettiest, busiest and most difficult to pronounce temple – is well worth a visit, with its hundreds of tiny colourful statues on the outside. From Little India to Chinatown, a bustling mix of old and new, with culture bursting out onto the streets and fragrant smells of traditional cuisine. There was no time to sample the street food, but we managed a quick Tiger beer before making our way to the cruise terminal. The check-in process was quick and easy and, in no time at all, we were boarding the Star Clipper - greeted by the Captain Sergey Tunikov, a smiling crew and a welcome cocktail. The sail away was at 7 pm, while the sky was a beautiful shade of blue - lit up with a dramatic storm throwing lighting across the horizon. The haunting music of Vangelis’ Conquest of Paradise fills the skies and sent shivers down my spine. An hour later, we were tucking into our first dinner on board before dancing
the night away in the Tropical Bar until our feet couldn’t stand anymore.
Day 3 Malacca, Malaysia Breakfasts on the Star Clipper ships are always worth getting up for. There’s a choice of continental and full English breakfast options available, with tea and coffee served at the table and my personal favourite – the omelette station. After breakfast, we went to the lifeboat drill and got to meet all of the officers and crew. Before we knew it, we were back in the dining room for our first lunch on board while the ship anchored off the port of Malacca. Known as the “City of Dreams”, Malacca is the oldest city in Malaysia - retaining the influence of all the cultures that settled there including Chinese, Portuguese and English. We headed to the historical Heritage Area of town, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. This was a charming area of town, with red painted buildings and a beautiful
canal. It’s easy to forget that Malacca is, in fact, a huge city, until we ventured beyond this area and found colourful street markets, modern buildings and lots of shopping malls. Naturally, we made a few purchases – clothes, spices and some fake designer goods! All in a day’s work. We were back on board by 5 pm - in time for afternoon snacks, with live music provided by the resident musician Jerby. 6 pm was sail away – never to be missed – as the Star Clipper sets sail towards Langkawi. After dinner, we headed to the Tropical Bar to watch the Star Clipper Fashion Show – where the sports team model many of the clothes from the Sloop Shop and some of the
world’s busiest shipping lanes. We took the opportunity to lay on deck and recharge our batteries after yesterday’s busy day. The afternoon was taken up with a treasure hunt, where we were given a list of things to do. This ranged from collecting the signatures of four of the officers to finding out the cruise director’s shoe size.
clients get involved too. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek and provides some great entertainment – finishing in some classic dances such as YMCA, which gets everyone up dancing and laughing the night away. Then, suddenly, its midnight and the snacks come out... Oh go on then, it would be rude not to.
sampling the cocktail of the day. Later, the entertainment was the popular Frog Race, (wooden, not REAL frogs) which has the sports team displaying their competitive nature as they recruit clients to help them win. Divided into teams, it involves pulling a wooden frog along a bit of string from one end of the deck to the other, and is much more difficult than it looks. I lacked the skill needed to move my frog at any speed, so our team didn’t win. However, we weren’t last either… And
Day 4 Malacca Strait – At Sea Today was our only day at sea – time to CHILL and RELAX as we sailed through the Malacca Strait, one of the
Once this was done, we took our place in the piano bar to sing songs with Jerby and the sports team whilst
then it was time to dance some more! Day 5 Langkawi, Malaysia A quick breakfast this morning as we arrived by 8:30 am at Langkawi – the biggest island in Malaysia and with plenty of tax-free shopping opportunities! Yes, more shopping! But there is much more to Langkawi than shopping and beautiful beaches – with a choice of three organised excursions. The first one was an island tour through rice paddies and rubber plantations, exploring mangrove swamps aboard local boats. This excursion continues with a drive through the countryside to reach a typical village for a lunch stop. From here, you take a cable car and glide over the rainforest past tropical trees and waterfalls until you reach the peak of Gungung Machinchang. There, you will be amazed by panoramic views of many of the 99 islands surrounding Langkawi and out towards Thailand, Ko Butang and Ko Toratanu.
The next excursion is jungle trekking and kayaking in tropical rainforests. The trails take you through Langkawi’s ancient rainforests, with flora and fauna at its best. Look out for different species of monkeys, birds, butterflies, rare birds and much more wildlife. After jungle trekking, you go to the Kilim River and a fish farm for lunch before kayaking through the mangrove forests along small rivers. This provides an opportunity to catch a glimpse of various species of land crabs, lizards, squirrels and if you are lucky rare monkeys. After kayaking, you go by small boat to the Bat Cave, an ancient dark cave filled with hundreds of bats before heading back to the ship. Finally, for the more adventurous, there is the ultimate adventure tour - a jungle trek up 700 steps to reach the first challenge of a series of challenges: a river crossing by a steel rope followed by abseil training. This is followed by a tree-climb and the thrill of a breathtaking 60-metre zip line before facing a 6-metre ravine and the notorious “Postman’s Walk” to get to the other side safely. The expedition continues with a 12-15 metre abseil, a 20-metre traverse climb and then another
30-metre abseil down a sheer rock face. After a hike through the jungle, it’s back to the ship for a well-deserved rest! And speaking of rest, that’s exactly what we did…. With the discovery of a massage parlour, we treated ourselves to a reflexology session. Rejuvenated from our pampering, we then walked along the beach before making our way back to the ship.
Tonight’s entertainment was one of my favourites – The Quiz with the Drum - testing our geographical knowledge. The Cruise Director, Peter Kissner, fired the questions, and then it was a race to run to his drum and come up with the correct answer - which earned you a disc. My pile of discs wasn’t enough to put me in first place, but it was lots of fun and the passengers loved it. Day 6 – Ko Tong, Thailand Our first beach day today, so we were very excited to grab our snorkel equipment and get in the tender boat
which takes passengers to the shore. It was a wet landing, which meant climbing down the ladder into the sea all part of the fun. Ko Tong, known as Monkey Island, is home to hundreds of wild monkeys... A large monkey was sat on one of the Star Clippers kayaks and stared hard at us, wondering what we had in our bags. Looking for food to steal, it was soon joined by more monkeys, who crowded around us in the hope of a free meal. They soon gave up and ran into the trees, leaving us to explore the stunning white beach. The water was incredibly warm - so perfect for snorkelling and kayaking. We enjoyed some fast rides on the speedboat with the sports team as they showed off their water skiing skills. One of the ship’s waiters was on the beach with a cold box full of beers and soft drinks and, of course, we took advantage of this with a delightful Singha beer. Reluctantly, at 5:30 pm, we left the gorgeous beach to go back to the ship, in time to prepare for talent night. Somehow, we got roped into singing Abba’s Dancing Queen... And after the talent show, we became dancing queens once again…
Day 7 - Ao Phang Nga Cameras at the ready today! With photo opportunities as we sailed through the spectacular passage of Phang Nga Bay - famous for breathtaking scenery with limestone cliffs rising out of the emerald green Andaman Sea. Phang Nga is in the marine national park, with lagoons and vast mangrove swamps. There are 40 islands, some reaching an altitude of 1,000 feet and shaped like animals with dramatic sea caves and sheltered, pristine beaches. Intricate stalagmites and the atmospheric lighting from cave openings produce a theatrical effect. We took the speedboat excursion, cruising at great speed from the Star
Bay. We had a walking tour of this fascinating village, learning about daily life and visiting a school, followed by some local cuisine by the water’s edge. From there we journeyed back to the ship through Ao Phang Nga. Once again, we were travelling at high speed and, once again, we were able to marvel at the incredible scenery.
Clipper through picturesque Phang Nga Bay en-route to James Bond Island one of the locations used in the movie The Man with the Golden Gun. We made a brief stop here to photograph the iconic giant rock and felt like we had stepped into a movie set. Our next stop was Koh Panyee Village, a “floating” fishing village established on stilts 200 years ago by Indonesian fishermen, who fell in love with the location. Their descendants are now the only inhabitants of Phang Nga
isn’t a dressy affair, but for those who wish to, the opportunity is there. The main course is a choice of lobster or chateaubriand… Both were excellent. This was followed by waiters dancing through the dining room balancing trays of lit Baked Alaska on their heads while everyone clapped and cheered.
Back on board, everyone was getting ready for Captain’s dinner –where ladies put on their best dresses. It
Day 8 – Ko Miang / Similan Islands Our final day of the cruise and another beach day with a wet landing. Koh Similan is one of the best-known
island groups in the Andaman Sea largely because of the clear blue waters that surround it - and is considered to be among the 10 most interesting dive areas in the world. This is because of the water and the abundant marine life. One of the most striking features here are the huge boulders that surround the western and southern shores. So, once again, plenty of photo opportunities. A snorkelling safari was on the agenda for the afternoon, so back on the tender boat with our gear, where a whole underworld awaited - vibrant reefs and incredible marine life. From under the water to back on deck - we were about to enjoy our last evening aboard the Star Clipper. As is customary after the final meal, all of the crew gather in the dining room waving flags and singing “We are the World” – an emotional moment and time to reflect on the past week. Everyone has made new friends and created memories to take away with them.
Day 9 – Patong Beach Disembarkation day – always a shame, but all good things come to an end. Straight after breakfast, we got on
the tender boat for the short journey to Patong Beach, where our luggage was stored at The Seaview Hotel. We had a stroll along the beachfront here, checking out the local shops for lastminute presents to take home. This was an experience in itself, as we soon discovered that many of these shops have back rooms where they store their fake goods. By lunchtime, we were in a taxi to the Vijitt Resort & spa - 45 minutes away. We had a day room here, as our flight home wasn’t until after midnight. This gave us the opportunity to make the most of the facilities and relax. We had a light lunch near the beach before moving just a few feet to some loungers around the striking infinity pool. Within moments, the heavens had opened to a monsoon, so everyone ran for cover. We ran to the spa where we treated ourselves to a full body massage. The perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon and prepare the body for a long flight. Totally relaxed, we then went for a final cocktail down by the beach… And our final few minutes of Thailand before heading off in the taxi to the airport to begin our journey home. STAR CLIPPERS STAR CLIPPERS