Where in the World are Bill and Bob?

Cruising into bay at Ha Long, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is stunningly beautiful. Ha Long, or “descending dragon”, is named for the limestone monoliths dotting the harbor which, according to legend, were created by dragons to guard the port. The local economy is dominated by floating fishing villages and tourism. The stop there was the closest port to Hanoi, but since we had been to Hanoi a few years back, - and since today was an Around the World (ATW) special event - we opted not to take the 8 hour day tour and rest up for the ATW dinner. We took a brief walk around town, then boarded group busses to get 400 guests to the Yung Duc caves for a dinner and folkloric show. 

Brunei, formally Brunei Darussalam, is a tiny oil rich Islamic sultanate (population less than 500,000) on the island of Borneo divided into two parts each surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. Its Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, is one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of over $30 billion; he owns over 17,000 cars, including 500 Rolls Royces, and lives in a $1.5 billion palace with 1,800 rooms. The poor live in “water villages”, structures built on stilts in the Brunei river. We didn’t see him ….but we took a short taxi ride from the port of Muara into the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan to be greeted by modern buildings, beautiful mosques, and lush landscapes. Bill wore shorts, so he had to cover up with a jubba, or ankle-length black robe in order to enter a mosque. Brunei is governed by Sharia law, so don’t mess around! Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque Water villages Royal Palace entrance gate Other buildings

Only an hour by ferry southeast of Singapore, Bintan Island is Indonesia’s plan to become the next Bali, a mega-tourist destination. A tropical climate one degree north of the equator, Bintan has beautiful white sandy beaches, mangroves, snorkeling, rice paddies, a mountain with monkeys and exotic birds, in addition to man-made features like golf, spas, and water features. The natural setting is remarkable, but the infrastructure, particularly construction of the resorts themselves, came to a halt when COVID hit and tourism dried up. We anchored offshore and tendered in to be greeted by Indonesian “royalty”. Bill went for a 4 mile power walk; Bob took a shuttle to one of the (unfinished) resorts and walked on the beach. Five years from now Bintan will indeed rival Bali, but not yet….

The city-state of Singapore, the Lion City, is the financial powerhouse of Southeast Asia with the second highest GDP per capita in the world. Once a British protectorate, it is an independent island country at the southern tip of Malaysia. Rich, developed, multicultural, and crowded, it has the third highest population density in the world and four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. We were here two half days: Day One we took the MRT (mass rapid transit) to the new Marina Bay Area to see the Supertree Grove and park, went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Skypark, and walked around the reservoir to see the Merlion statue (half lion, half fish), the symbol of Singapore. Day Two we took the MRT to Chinatown for massages, street food, and shopping.

Kuala Lumpur, or KL, is the capital of Malaysia, and with a population of over 2 million one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. The Klang Valley (greater KL) has almost 8.6 million people, and traffic congestion is one of its visible effects. Built near tin mines in the late 1850s, KL was founded at the junction of two rivers, the Klang and the Gombak, which transported the tin ore to the Klang port. The twin Petronas towers - headquarters of the state petroleum company - were the tallest buildings in the world until Dubai topped them with the Burj Khalifa. Now KL’s new Merdeka 118 ranks second tallest building in the world.  A ship sponsored tour drove the 90 minutes from the port to downtown KL, where we saw a pewter factory, the royal palace, Independence Square and the surrounding British administration buildings, the old train station, the new national mosque, the Petronas Towers, the Art Deco municipal market, Chinatown, the old train station, and the new tallest building...