'6,000km of incredible sights': YouTuber travels from Singapore to Japan by sea

UK travel blogger Emma Le Teace always had a fascination for Asia, but wasn't sure if a cruise was the best way to explore the continent.

But when she saw that cruise line brand Royal Caribbean International was sailing from Singapore to Tokyo, she knew it was time to book those cruise tickets.

Emma described the trip as "6,000km of incredible sights", and the cruise, Spectrum of the Seas, took her to four countries in total.

With the cruise ship docked in Singapore, that meant a 13-hour flight from the UK for the travel blogger.

On Oct 24, Emma posted a 25-minute long video on her YouTube channel Emma Cruises about this adventure by sea.

She only had one day in Singapore and opted to visit the usual tourist attractions within Gardens by the Bay such as the Flower Dome and Sky Trees.

After this mini pitstop, it was time to head up to the cruise ship and disembark off to the first stop in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Dealing with the heat and humidity in Nha Trang was a challenge for Emma.

"I couldn't tell if it was tears or if it was sweat dripping down my face at times," she said.

On the cruise line excursion, Emma was introduced to local Vietnamese architecture, crafts and music.

Her itinerary was laid out for her, which can be a positive but the issue is, of course, flexibility.

"That is the compromise though when you take a cruise line excursion. You're not on your own schedule, you're on everybody else's," she explained.

Views of Hong Kong

Next destination was Hong Kong and Emma would have two full days to explore the city.

Hop on hop off buses can divide opinions among travellers, but Emma has absolutely no issues with them.

"They're a great way to cover a lot of ground," she said.

During her short stay in Hong Kong, Emma experienced the famous Star Ferry and funicular railway up Victoria Peak.

The Star Ferry travels between the Kowloon Peninsula's southern tip to Hong Kong island, and has been doing so for over 120 years.

Despite it being busy and hot, Emma enjoyed this segment of her trip.

The funicular railway heads up The Peak and the views from the top were simply "spectacular".

Public toilets in Tokyo

Going to the toilet can be quite the experience in the Japanese capital. And it wasn't because they were free to use.

Emma even labelled these public toilets as the best in the world.

From heated toilet seats to music for privacy, these toilet seats have it all.

With an integrated bidet, there are numerous ways to "customise" the use of these toilet seats such as adjusting water temperature.

Emma was certainly not kidding when she said how much these Japanese-styled toilets impressed her as she checked online how much it would cost to install them at home.

"It's actually not as expensive as I thought it would be [but] I'm not going to be buying one, for sure," she admitted.

Another atypical aspect of Tokyo life Emma appreciated was the 7-Eleven stores.

That's because the ATM machines found within these convenience stores accept foreign cards.

As a tourist, this can be extremely useful should you ever be strapped for cash in Tokyo.

Although English isn't commonly spoken, Emma did not have much issues communicating with the local Japanese.

Hands gestures was the way to go and she appreciated the Japanese people's general politeness.

ALSO READ: Curious about the $2,670 Disney Cruise coming to Singapore? Here's what to expect for adult passengers

amierul@asiaone.com

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