Asia Cruise - from Singapore - 131101

Singapore is a city state at the lower end of the Malay Peninsula, only around 100 km North of the equator. Today the city is one of the most important ports and trading centres in South East Asia. Singapore has a population of over 3 million, including first and foremost Chinese, Malaysians and Indians. Europeans and other ethnic groups round off the city of many nationalities and four official languages. Visitors will notice the spotlessly clean and well-kept roads and squares; Singapore is also one of the safest cities in the world. Some interesting buildings dating from the colonial era have been placed under preservation order, including several former British administrative buildings and Raffles Hotel, whose guests included many authors. From the southern shore of the Singapore River visitors can take a boat trip around the river and Marina Bay. Sights include: the shopping street Orchard Road, Chinatown, Little India, Singapore River, the Botanic Gardens, the zoo and Fort Canning.

Visitors to Thailand's largest island can look forward to paradise beaches, a varied landscape, a bustling provincial capital and a wide variety of recreational activities. It's no wonder that Phuket, with its 215,000 inhabitants, is South-East Asia's most popular holiday island. The island's beauty lies in its magical coastline. There are gently sloping white sandy beaches with still waters and precipitous headlands with thunderous crashing waves. The town centre of Phuket is a popular destination for shopping. Sights include: Thai Village, a Thai-Folklore village with a cultural performance featuring traditional Thai dancing, sword-fighting and Thai boxing, Thalang National Museum, the Wat Phra Thong temple with a partially-buried statue of Buddha.

From the West Coast of the Malacca peninsula (West Malaysia) direct on the border with Thailand, is a group of islands including the main island "Palau Langkawi". Visitors are enchanted by the long, palm-lined beaches and dreamy little sandy coves that hide the odd secluded fishing village. The jungle further inland is a sanctuary for many species of birds. Another rarity is the almost 100 metre-high island of bats. A trip to the island capital of Kuah with its beach promenades and shopping arcades is well worth it. Incidentally, Langkawi is a duty-free free trade area. A visit to the marble tomb of the Malayan Princess Mahsuri is also a must.

The island of Penang is also a federal state on the west coast of the peninsula. It is Malaysia's most famous destination, and hardly needs an introduction. Georgetown is known not only as a city full of history, but also for the long beach at Batu Feringghi with its lovely hotels and the expansive view of the sea. The island is connected to the mainland by the Penang Bridge, measuring 13.5 km in length, making it one of the longest bridges in Asia. Sights include: Fort Cornwallis, which today is home to an outdoor museum and acts as an open-air theatre, Penang Bird Park, the Orchid and Hibiscus Garden, the leisure park at Bukit Mertajam and the small but extremely interesting butterfly farm just North of Batu Feringghi.

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and is situated on the island of Java. The city is a fascinating mix of various cultural influences. The old town with buildings from the Dutch and Portuguese colonial periods is well worth seeing. This is also where you will find the National Monument at Merdeka Square. The Central Museum has an excellent anthropology section and exhibits sculptures from the pre-Hindu era, among other things. The Portuguese church with the huge Dutch pump organ (1695) is also well worth a visit. The modern Istiqlal Mosque in the town centre is one of the largest in the world. The antiques market in Jalan Surabaya (Surabaya street) and the many batik factories in the Karet district are also must-sees. In the South-East of the city is Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, a theme park covering 100 hectares which provides an insight into the (at times very varied) cultures of the 26 Indonesian provinces. Each province is represented in Taman Mini by a scale model house in the respective traditional style. Inside the houses are exhibitions of traditional costumes and handicrafts from the various regions. The majority of the houses also provide cultural tours - an events guide is available at the tourist information office. The Jakarta cultural centre is one of the largest in South East Asia.

Semarang is the capital and the most important port in the central province of Java. The town is also a centre of the economy and tourism. A visit to the world-famous Buddhist temples of Borobudur in the Provinz Yogyakarta is well worth it. Excavation of the temple began only in 1814 and in 1983 it was declared a national monument by the president in office at that time.

The Indonesian port of Surabaya on the North-Eastern coast of Java is also called the "city of heroes" on account of its turbulent past. Today, this metropolis with a population of over one million is an important production and trading centre and the second-largest city in Indonesia. From Surabaya it is easy to reach the tiny neighbouring island of Madure, which is famous for its legendary bull races. Sights include: Surabaya zoo, the harbour of Kalima, the martyrs' memorial and Kayoon flower market.

Benoa is a traditional fishing village in the South of Bali. At the entrance to the port is the Pura Sakenan temple . It is linked with the pilgrimage of the Buddhist saint Dang Hyang Nirartha and is particularly important during the Galungan Festival celebrated every second year.

Komodo is one of the Lesser Sunda lslands, a part of Indonesia as yet almost untouched by tourism. It could have been the set for the film "Jurassic Park", with its prehistoric animals the Komodo dragons and its unique landscape of craggy mountains, grasslands and forests with dried-up riverbeds. There are no roads and only a single village. Not far from Komodo are some of the most beautiful islands with a huge diversity of plant and animal life and fantastic areas for snorkelling in untouched coral colonies.

The relaxed atmosphere of the outback dominates in Darwin too. The nearby wilderness of Cockatoo National Park boasts cave paintings and aboriginal art, rock formations that are more than 20,000 years old, and the dense lush Australian rainforest with many many waterfalls.

Cairns, the capital of the "Far North" region is full of that tropical lust for life. As the secret "backpacker capital" of Australia, it has an almost magical pull on young travellers thanks to the seemingly limitless recreational activities it has to offer. It is far easier to reach the Great Barrier Reef from here than from central Queensland. The crystal-clear waters, palm-lined islands and sandbanks attract divers and snorkellers in particular, making the two offshore islands, Green Island and Fitzroy Island, hugely popular holiday destinations. The outer reef loved by divers is around 50 km away. In the near vicinity are untouched sections of coast and a mysterious wilderness of rainforest backed by a high mountain range.

'Whitsunday Island is the largest in the group of 74 islands discovered on Whitsunday in 1770 by Captain James Cook - hence the name. While you can only camp on the main island, the other islands are renowned for their exclusive holiday resorts and hotels, the majority of which are at the top end of the price scale. A snorkelling or diving trip to the fascinating coral reefs, which can also be viewed from the underwater observatory, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Brisbane or 'Brissie', as the city is familiarly known to Australians, is on the east coast of southern Queensland. Beautifully sited by the Brisbane river, it has many sights, lively shopping streets, a huge variety of restaurants and a very broad and ambitious cultural programme. Sights include: the Botanic Gardens, the Lone Pine Sanctuary with its Koalas and Kangaroos, Brisbane City Hall, the pedestrian area at Queen Street Mall , Roma Street Parkland, South Bank Parklands, the viewing point at Mt. Coot-tha Lookout, with its fantastic view of Brisbane and the suburbs.

Melbourne is an Australian metropolis founded by settlers in 1835. Unlike Sydney or Hobart, Melbourne was never a prison colony. The city has an individual tradition with beautiful architecture and enchanting art and culture. As well as the settlers, you will also encounter the indigenous people of Austrialia, the Aborigines, in the city. Melbourne has a large number of shopping, cultural, sport and recreational facilities, making it extremely attractive to visitors. Sights include: the city's tram system, the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne University, the Convention Centre and Carlton District Crown.

Melbourne is an Australian metropolis founded by settlers in 1835. Unlike Sydney or Hobart, Melbourne was never a prison colony. The city has an individual tradition with beautiful architecture and enchanting art and culture. As well as the settlers, you will also encounter the indigenous people of Austrialia, the Aborigines, in the city. Melbourne has a large number of shopping, cultural, sport and recreational facilities, making it extremely attractive to visitors. Sights include: the city's tram system, the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne University, the Convention Centre and Carlton District Crown.

The seafarers' town lies at the mouth of the Derwent River at the foot of Mount Wellington. The capital of the smallest Australian state (Tasmania) was founded in 1803 as a prison colony. Nowadays, Hobart's image is shaped by houses from the colonial era and spacious parks. The town is also home to the 'tasmanian devil'. Sights include: Anglesea Barracks, the parliament building and the "Cascade" brewery.

Dunedin, the Gaelic name for the port city of Edinburgh, is famous for its historic buildings. The city's architecture is mainly Victorian, Edwardian and Flemish in style. The second-largest city on South Island with a population of roughly 120,000, was founded by the Scots in the mid-19th century. The city centre is at the "Octogon", an eight-sided town square surrounded by lots of cafés and museums. Sights include: the oldest university in New Zealand with a stylised clock tower, the Dominican Prioriat, the whisky distillery, and Otago Early Settler Museum.

Christchurch is the British town that isn't in Britain! Even today, the town, founded in 1850, uses the slogan "A Touch of English". This influence is unmistakable in the town centre in particular. Numerous shops, cafés, parks and gardens shape the town's image. Sights include Christchurch Cathedral (founded in 1881), the clock tower with a panorama view of the Southern Alps, the Zoo, the Wizard in front of the cathedral and a city tour on the nostalgic tram.

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is surrounded by an untouched mountain landscape. It has excellent shopping facilities, a professional theatre and cafés and restaurants to suit every taste. Wellington is just two kilometres wide and, as such, can be easily explored on foot. 'Te Papa', New Zealand's National Museum, is located directly by the harbour. The city is home to both the parliament building and many historic buildings and museums that bring New Zealand's history to life.

'The harbour town of Tauranga lies 200 km South-East of Auckland at the Bay of Plenty. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century on peninsulae connected by bridges. The bustling focal point of the town is the beach promenade with the Coronation Pier, from where pleasure boats and ferries set off for the neighbouring town of Mount Maunganui, which was built at the foot of a 232 metre high volcano, from where you can enjoy a fantastic view of white beaches and the harbour. Tauranga's greatest attraction is the Tauranga District Museum and Historic Village, where you can see 85 reconstructed and restored buildings from the time of Colonialism, including a Maori village, a pioneer settlement and military barracks dating from the territorial wars. 5 km to the East of Tauranga, Kiwifruit Country, a Disneyland-style funpark is also a great magnet for tourists.

With a population in excess of 1 million, Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasmanian See. It got its nickname the "City of Sails" on account of the "thousand ships" moored in its harbour. The city spans an 11 km wide sound of volcanic rocks and is a paradise for watersports fans. To the North of Auckland, Leigh Marine Reserve provides plenty of opportunity for every imaginable kind of underwater activity. The main cultural attraction is the Auckland Museum.