Cruising to Nowhere

Cruising to nowhere is not something new to anyone anymore. People usually associate this to gambling ship.  However, last Friday, we had an unforgettable experience of cruising to nowhere which I was hesitant & skeptical in the first place when I was told on the phone of this short trip. Out of my wildest dream, we were actually boarding on the Star Cruise Pisces – one of my wish was to be in any of the Star Cruise liners no matter of its size. I did not even know of this till I was stepping into the cruise but merely knew that  the whole family would be on board a cruise to nowhere for a night.

 Star Cruise Pisces docked at Swettenham Pier (source from the Star)

It was seriously a mad rush for us to check-in considering the fact I was working and little piggy was in school for that day too. The Friday evening traffic & the rush hour were adding up to the stress level of the possibility of missing the boat with regret. I could not believe myself to be on board the well known liner though I have been to similar one once  many years back (a smaller one indeed). A fully sponsored trip by my father in-law for the whole family of the Choos was in fact cherished in silent as the shown of affection in Choos are usually hidden in their own ‘closets’. I’ve got lots of high anticipation as well as my son. For the 1^st time, he went to buffet line to get something back for his mamy & I was totally moved by his offer.

 the 3 little piggies

Cruising in the 12 storey,  177m long liner felt as if you were actually holidaying in China. This is because out of the 600 staffs from around 40 different countries, most of them were Chinese citizens.  Plus, there was  this strong feeling of similarity to Genting Highlands as you were offered a string of entertainment outlets plus a not to be missed casinos. Honestly, I wanted to capture beautiful pictures for this intended post but my skill of photography was not at passing level yet & it was also very dark outside preventing me to capture some panoramic  view.

Meanwhile, little piggy was really excited to have all his close family members with him, having companion from the cousin brothers, having so much freedom of choice on his own food selection, having fun filled splish splash time at the mini pool on level 10 & eventually to be able to overnight with his favourite cousin brothers too. One of the brother who is now 12 was smart enough to bring the younger one out exploring the facilities and also to the extend of knowing how to use the access card to purchase goods on board. No cash transaction on board except the use of the access cards that also act as the cabin key card. 

 My key card or access card

Excited kids in the small cabin

A sign of I love U or I love this ship?

A truly happy grandma to have all the grandsons there

While there are various services & outlets on board, most of the later part in the evening especially  after YY went to bed was actually spent in the ktv lounge where even my mother in-law also chilled to hear his son rendering some old tunes. The best part was I could even walk back to the small cabin for a quick shower before returning to join them. It felt so much like a home with convenience and with no worries of getting drunk. Oooops! I was not really drinking though.

The cruise experience was indeed not enough. It should be perfect if the trip was at least 2 nights. As we rushed to disembark, little piggy missed out to bring home his old water tumbler. As such, he formed his imagination that he should be going back to the cruise this Fri & to search for his missing tumbler. 

In short, while each cruise line may have its claim of differences, you can be assured that your experience onboard Star Cruise Pisces coupled with the people whom you bring along will definitely be as pleasant and wonderful as what we had – short vacation without compromising on the value of fostering the family bonding.

P/S: I won some from the casino, betting on baccarat. Don’t ask me how much but it’s significant to make me happy ;)

 

Valley of Nine Villages – best ever China trip.

Some saying goes that if you have not been to JiuZhaigou, you’ve not visited China. How true is that was never my concern at all until last autumn. Having done that made me nod with agreement it is the best place for holiday I’ve ever seen in China. A package tour was initiated while on another holiday in Hainan during Chinese New Year. It all started from a convenient chat while the bus stopped at a petrol kiosk.

Finding the right agent for JiuZhaigou’s trip wasn’t easy and posed a major challenge back then. Malaysian travel agents were noticeably reluctant to take the business due to the recent May 12 Sichuan earthquake and the risk of bringing their customers there. However, nothing could stop us from making this happened.

The 8 days trip covered various sightseeing areas in Chengdu, Mt Emei & Huanglong but my favorite is the JiuZhaigou National Park. The cool temperature & high altitude (less than 10 degree, more than 2000m above sea level) of the valley prompted my travelmates to gear up with lots of handy stuffs including oxygen & all kind of medication from east to west. The best thing about them is that they NEVER compromise on comfort. Thus, walking & rushing for public buses in the park is totally a NO. We got ourselves private bus with own tour guide for a day tour of the park – also declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.


Entrance to the park.

Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-colored lakes as per the pics below.








On top of that, colorful various types of trees were captivating to the eyes as they turned to brown, yellow or even reddish though some still maintained green.





Very strong down stream flow of waterfalls are also an attraction here.







Behind is the Tibetan village

Under such a cold temperature of less than 10 degree on daylight, we spotted a couple shooting wedding photo. See what the bride was wearing - sleeveless. Salute!



Lodging was not even a compromise! After an eye-opening, panoramic tour of the day, we returned to a very classy luxury resort to spend the evening & to relax the soul at Jiuzhai Paradise Resort.

I shall be waiting with anticipation to return in future if there is any invite again. It’s truly a place not to be missed and a place to be preserved for the next generation.