My Latest Indian Ocean Cruise

I very recently went on a cruise around the Indian Ocean and it was quite amazing. We (me and my older sister) started out in Port Eliza on the south coast of Africa, but not before taking a chance to check out Cape Town and the incredible table-top mountain. The mountain is one of those place that looks great on TV and then when you actually get to see it live, it completely blows your mind with just how big it is and how great the atmosphere is. It’s somewhere I think I need to go back to as it was all a bit of a blur.

The cruise first stopped off at Tulear in Madagascar which is so green and luscious, as well as boasting some pretty nice beaches as well. Sadly we didn’t get to see much of the island as my sister hand a bit of a stomach bug and so we stayed on the boat for most of the time. On the plus side, thanks to my sisters job, it was a luxury cruise we were on and therefore there was plenty to do on the boat. The next day we set off for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka can only be described as completely mad! Don’t get me wrong the people are very friendly but there is just so much going on that it’s hard to take it all in. The island is very small so thankfully we got to see a lot more of it than Madagascar. We started off in Matara and then took coach trip up to Balangoda where we got to sample some traditionally Sri Lankan curry. This pretty much took a layer of skin off my mouth but when it settled down I could appreciate the flavors, which were nothing like I had ever tasted before but would like nothing more than to taste again!

The cruise then went on to Phuket in Thailand which again had some pretty good food. We decided to hire a moped to travel around the area in local fashion. The roads were not as bad as people had told me they would be in Thailland, but then I guess we were not in a big city such as Bangkok. To be honest I was personally a little bit disappointed with Phuket as the atmosphere wasn’t what I expected, my sister on the other hand said she liked it and “appreciated the culture for what it was”.

From Thailand we went on to Medan in Malaysia which was my personal favorite of the trip. The sea was something else here, a perfect clear blue, but teaming with life and energy with fish of all shapes and colors. We took a little motorboat up and down the coast to see some of the locals. Some of them came out to meet us on their little fishing paddle boats, and although we couldn’t really understand what they were saying, they seemed pretty happy to have met us.

Lastly the cruise went on to Singapore, which is such a nice place. Sadly there is no better word to describe it than ‘nice’. I don’t mean this in a derogatory manner…its actually a positive thing. The food was nice, the people were nice, the scenery was nice and the culture was nice. It wasn’t ‘amazing’ but then places that are amazing often have some big flaws. Singapore didn’t have any that I could spot so it was the perfect place to end our trip