Before I talk about my trip on the wonderful Star Flyer, I would like to thank the Star Clipper group for donating this wonderful 7 days cruise in The Andaman Sea to The Porthole Annual Golf Classic held the first Monday in March in southern Florida.

And I want to thank Porthole Cruise Magazine for their great effort in putting together a golf day for the last 8 years.

 

The proceeds of this event, which is held in memory of my sister Linie Hilderink, who died of breast cancer in 1996 in The Netherlands, goes mainly to breast cancer research. Over the last 8 years over US$700,000 has been raised.

 

The Star Clipper like its sister ships The Star Flyer and The Royal Clipper is a true sailing vessel. They are the mega yachts of the seas with their sails being raised and lowered all the time. It is most spectacular and impressive when they raise the sails at night as you sit back and listen to the music from the movie 1492 by Vangelis playing at full blast.

 

The cruise only goes for one week, which was just enough for me. It is not a big ship, with a capacity of only about 175 guests. There are no casinos, no big entertainment organized each night, no discos and there are no cinemas. It is just simply not that kind of cruise.

However it is a very relaxing cruise. Each day you stop in a port or on a remote island, where you can either snorkel or swim. There are banana boats and catamarans and kayaks available and you can water-ski. You can also go scuba diving or there are offshore daytrips available as well. Or you can simply laze around in the net at the front, which is the most wonderful feeling. If you are feeling energetic you have to climb up the first crow’s nest for the experience and an amazing view. Don’t worry; you are all harnessed in, so there is no danger at all!

 

There is an opportunity to take photos of The Star Clipper in full view, when they take you around the ship in their tender a couple of times. Fabulous! You just keep clicking. Each night they organize lectures about the history of sailing and the areas they sail through. The best and most spectacular part is to sail through the Malacca Strait. This is where you can take a tour by speedboat to James Bond Island. The island is very touristy, but you have to put that aside and just go along for the ride. Not too be missed!

 

We also stopped for a day at Malacca in Malaysia. I had been there about 10 years ago and it certainly has changed for the better. Malacca has a very interesting history involving the Dutch, Portuguese and English. It is a terrific city for antique shopping, especially Jonkers Street.

 

We disembarked in Singapore. As The Star Clipper is such a tall ship, we had to dock in the cargo harbour. You certainly can see why Singapore is one of the biggest ports in the world it was huge!

 

Before I embarked on The Star Clipper, I stayed at The Evason in Phuket, which was very special. The Evason is about 2 hours taxi trip from Phuket Airport. It is at the southern point of Phuket at Rawai Beach. It is a great spot with three beautiful pool areas and they have their own little island, Bon Island with all the facilities for a perfect beach day. There is a boat to and from the island every 30 minutes. The Evason has all the ingredients for a perfect holiday. Starting with a swim and gym in the morning, and treatments at the spa centre during the day.

 

We did go on an elephant ride for an hour, it was so much fun. However it was very sad to see the monkeys chained up though. They can learn a lot from both Melbourne and Singapore Zoo. We actually went to Singapore Zoo on the last day of our trip and it was absolutely spectacular and really worthwhile seeing. In all the times I had been to Singapore, I had never been to the zoo. It takes children to get you there! Like Melbourne, it is set in a beautiful park. And soon they will open an Australia section.

 

In Singapore we stayed at the tallest hotel in the world, Swissotel Raffles, formerly Stamford Plaza Hotel. It was very comfortable and very central. And of course we went up to the top floor bar to sample one of their great cocktails. I had a mint cocktail, which was absolutely delicious. All I can say is thank God it was happy hour.

 

Ria