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 Finally, last days of my cruise

Finally, the last entry of my cruise.  Unfortunately, since I last wrote, the terrible incident of the 'Costa Concordia' has happened.  My heart goes out to all those that were on board and I pray that there will not be any more casualties.  Luckily, most cruise ships are very safe and take instructing passengers of safety drills very seriously!  I have been on 5 cruises (Norwegian and Princess Cruise Lines) and will certainly hope to go on many more.

KUALA LUMPUR

Kuala Lumpur, or KL as the locals call, it was a surprise!  It is a bustling city comprised of a remarkable cultural diversity that has created this capitol city.  What I liked most was the many parks and rainforest reserves right in the city....Fabulous!!  The people are lovely, the food is wonderful, and the shopping FANTASTIC!!!

One of many beautiful buildings in the centre of KL

Flowers in bloom everywhere

LOVED this advert for a radio station!!!

The famous 'Petronas Towers'

Unfortunately, the viewing bridge was closed while we were there

We only had a short while there, but next time I would like to go back and visit the 'Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary' (http://www.myelephants.org/)


SINGAPORE
 
Singapore is an amazing city that really dazzles your senses.  Everywhere, there are beautiful visions of lush foliage and beautiful buildings. I have never seen so many varieties of palms and ferns and trees!!!
The food is by far some of the best that I have ever eaten (esp. 'Chili Crab' YUM!!!).  The shopping is almost too much!!  Incredible shopping centres everywhere with the most famous lines as well as wonderful ethnic shops.

'Holiday Inn Atrium' where we stayed!

Wonderful elephant sculptures for charity!  *

*Dollhouse Diaries blog ' (http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com/) has more pictures with an explanation of the worthwhile cause.

Rain is something that you can expect almost everyday !!!

*Not my picture of Raffles Hotel

'Raffles Hotel' at night and in the rain!

A peek inside the Dining Room

What a fascinating place .............but if you are planning to either stay there or to just have a drink, bring along a full wallet  ('Singapore Sling's were invented here and will set you back $28.00 U.S.!)

The infamous 'Skypark' and it really is 'a park in the city'!  Unfortunately, we did not have time to see it but here is a site with fantastic pictures:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289194/Marina-Bay-Sands-resort-opens-Singapore.html

Our cruise ended in Singapore but the first leg of our trip home was a 7 hour layover in Shanghai.....we could not miss an opportunity to see it..................


SHANGHAI
My husband was so excited to get a chance to ride on the famous 'Maglev' (magnetic levitation) train of Shanghai. This site explains it: http://www.smtdc.com/en/gycf4.asp

The Maglev takes 7 minutes to go from the airport to the centre of town (about 30 kim)

Photos from our taxi after train ride

That is not fog but SMOG!

At the base of the white tower is a teeny quaint bar

Traveling along the 'Bund' district which has many beautiful buildings of a European style

Contemporary style also prominent

A great river walk on the Bund

Loved this sculpture!!  Too bad the store was closed!!!

Back to the airport via the Maglev

As we exited, the speed accelerated to 431km/h!!  WOW

I am so glad that we did not miss seeing Shanghai and also trying out the Maglev...great fun!

The trip is still resonating with me....so many wonderful sights and wonderful people .............especially our 5 tablemates on the cruise, who we sat with every night of the cruise. We looked forward to seeing them every night as much as we looked forward to every new location!!

Thanks for putting up with all the pictures.  My next post will show some of the miniatures that I acquired on the trip and perhaps some glimpses of my ideas for my dollhouse.

Hugs,