En route to Keelung (Taipei), Taiwan. Arrive on 24-Feb. Kaohsiung is a port city on the southwest coast of Taiwan. The city seems to be trying to become more than an industry/port city. We visited on a Saturday, so traffic was very manageable. Taiwan is the first country I've visited on this cruise that has … Continue reading Kaohsiung

En route to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Arrive on 23-Feb. After I posted the Manila entry, Sandiwang Kayumanggi Filipino folk-dance troupe performed for us on board. They were amazing. The Band Balance Pick Me! Solo Song Purple! The finale involved Tinikling - where the dancers move between two bamboo poles that are being moved and snapped into … Continue reading Filipino Dance

Location: Manila, Philippines The Silver Whisper has almost 300 crew from over 30 countries, yet 40% of the crew are Filipino. So, as we docked in Manila for 14 hours it was wonderful to see all the families lined up to visit their loved ones - spouses, kids and parents. I saw someone's father in … Continue reading Manila

En route to Manila, Philippines. Arrive on 21-Feb. You may remember that the theme of this world cruise is "A Tale of Tales." Silversea gives us a book for every leg of the cruise, and has the creator on board as a guest. They usually give a lecture or two and a book signing. For … Continue reading More Books

En route to Manila, Philippines. Arrive on 21-Feb. Let's get this right out front - Sandakan, Malaysia, is not a town you visit for the wonderful architecture. I compare it to east Berlin after the wall fell: the buildings are left over from the 1950s. Sandakan used to be a huge boom town, but WW2 … Continue reading Sandakan