Travel Cruising Asia

A floating hotel was the perfect base for a five-destination extravaganza, writes SABINA COLLINS

Cruising from Hong Kong to Shanghai via the Philippines instantly sounded appealing. But I have to admit, I thought the time may drag. There’s only so much strolling and reading you can do, right? Luckily, Holland-america’s Volendam vessel offers yoga, Pilates, gym, swimming and tennis, plus chess, twice-daily trivia (we loved emcee Tino!), movies, cooking classes, whisky tasting, cocktail hour, shopping and shows – so we were busy every second!

As for the destinations themselves? Read on!

Hong Kong

WWE hhadd a spare evening i before the cruise started, so we caught a tram up to Victoria Peak for sweeping views of the harbour and city – said to be one of the three best night-time views in the world. The tram has been in operation since 1888, taking tourists and local residents to the top of the town.

Philippines

Ffor bbusy capitalil Mmanila,il we chose an old city tour. Self-guided exploring is encouraged, but don’t miss the ship’s departure time! We visited Rizal Park, one of the largest urban parks in Asia, where six million people gathered to see Pope Francis for an outdoor mass in 2015. It’s dedicated to Jose Rizal, who fought for independence but was executed by the Spanish in 1896. A re-enactment in statue form is quite chilling. We also peeked inside Manila Cathedral (although there was a wedding on so we had to tiptoe!) and onward to Fort Santiago, a storied citadel and former military prison.

Taiwan

I didn’t know much about Taiwan, but it turned out to be the most colourful country on the trip, especially the Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung with its giant tiger and dragon pagodas. You walk into the mouth of the dragon and out of the tiger’s mouth for luck, which we did. In Tainan, the ancient capital, we saw Chihkan Tower, which was built during Dutch occupation. We visited a Confucius Temple and then a modern 50,000-seat dragon-shaped stadium that’s fully solar powered. The bamboo-inspired 509-metre Taipei 101 building juts above the city skyline. Lunch was a delicious fishy feast at 100-year-old restaurant Tu Hsiao Yueh.

Japan

Our first port of call was Naha, the capital of Okinawa, where people live to a ripe old age. We walked through Gyokusendo Cave, and saw traditional Okinawan Eisa dance, music and drums at the cultural centre. Then came a sobering visit to the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, where WWII’S Battle of Okinawa took place, and we met atomic bomb survivor Inosuke Hayasaki at our final stop in Nagasaki.

China

Captain Frank van der Hoeven wanted to be a ship’s captain since he was seven. It’s his passion and you feel like you’re in good hands as he guides the 60,000tonne Volendam down Shanghai’s Huangpu River to the cruise terminal. We gathered our luggage, said farewell to new friends and boarded a bus for a tour covering Shanghai’s amazing modern skyline, The Bund pedestrian precinct and shopping at Nanjing Road. On floor 121 of Shanghai Tower, the world’s second tallest building, is an observation deck. I had to hold my breath walking on a section of glass flooring!