Oriental originals: exotic discoveries in southeast Asia.

• Author: Lehrer, Laurel F.

JEWELS of colored lights glistened on the surface of the smooth water of Hong Kong harbor as the Golden Princess slowly slipped away from its moorings in the early evening darkness. A two-week adventure in Southeast Asia was beginning for me aboard this 28,000-ton Princess Cruises, ship.

The next day, the ship anchored near China's port of Whampoa, gateway to Canton (or Guangzhou as the Chinese refer to it). Along the 70-mile route to Canton, tree-lined streets were landscaped with subtropical flowers. Workers were busily constructing new homes and commercial buildings, while farmers tended fields of vegetables, pineapples, and rice.

For an interpersonal experience, I visited a kindergarten where effusively animated youngsters rode half-moon-shaped rockers in a rainbow of colors, rolled wide hula hoops, and climbed an outdoor castle-like playhouse. In the school's auditorium, six adorable little girls charmed the audience by singing and dancing to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

For lunch, passengers of Golden Princess were treated to Cantonese cuisine in the spacious dining hall of the prominent Dong Fang Hotel. The tasty 11-course meal included such delicacies as sauteed shrimp with cauliflower; fried scallops with cashew nuts; sweet and sour pork with pineapple; mushrooms with string beans; fried, sliced white chunks of grouper sprinkled with sesame seeds; and white fried rice with peas. Most exotic was a soup ladled from a hollowed-out black winter melon. While chopsticks were at each place setting, spoons and forks were furnished upon request to the less skillful. Beverages included orange soda, beer, tea, and Evian water.

Outside the hotel, the city's multi-lane roadway was throbbing with bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and fully occupied buses. To reach a trade show on the opposite side of the street, I traversed a wide footbridge from which I had an excellent view of urban life.

Modern skyscrapers contrasted with older, smaller buildings. Ancient Chinese architecture was resplendent in the rooftop decorations of the former domicile of the Chen Clan Family. Once used as a temple and school, it is now a fascinating museum.

Roof peaks were a veritable treasure of colorfully glazed figurines, dragons, artistic flowers, trees, and finely executed geometrical patterns. Majestic, thick wooden doors, painted with classical Chinese warriors, opened to the courtyard of semi-tropical flowers and shrubs, including an unusual stone-carved balustrade.

Inside this 19-building complex, rooms were decorated in traditional Chinese style. Some doors were so intricately carved as to be lace-like. Showcases displayed superb ceramic vases, carved ivories, and fine jade sculptures.

To salute a man who is revered in modern Chinese history, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was constructed. A commanding statue of this revolutionary leader and former president of the Republic of China faced toward flowering gardens and the lush green lawns of Yue Xiu Park. This landmark building, now used as a theater, could accommodate 5,000 people.

Leaving Canton, Golden Princess then streamed across the South China Sea toward Manila, capital of the Philippines. Because my time was limited in visiting this country. I left the crowded city and, instead, ventured along the southern coastal road, passing weather-beaten fishing villages precariously perched on stilts over water. My destination was Tagaytay Ridge, 2,250 feet above sea level, from which I could look down into Lake Taal. Through the morning mist, an island appeared in the center of the lake. It was a small crater, reputed to be one of the world's lowest volcanoes, which contained a secondary lake, thus creating a strange natural phenomenon of a lake within a lake.

In this locale, I sampled Buco, a lavender-colored ice cream made with whole fresh coconuts and refreshingly served in half a carved-out coconut. Scooping up slivers of coconut meat with this ice cream was a tasty treat, indeed.

Along the road back to Manila, housed in a stone church at Las Pinas constructed in 1819, was the world's only bamboo pipe organ. Exquisite tones resounded from its 900 bamboo pipes.

Traveling on the streets of Manila and throughout the outskirts of the city was a hybrid form of automotive transportation called a "jeepney." This popular vehicle combined the motorized front of a jeep with the body of a small bus or van and accommodated local citizens at economical rates.

It was interesting to observe how this vehicle was created at the Sarao Jeepney Factory in Las Pinas. Each unit on the assembly line was decorated differently with bright neon-colored designs and odd names, such as Ambassador of Good Will, Peacemaker, New York Roadster, Native New Yorker, and Revolution.

From the deck of Golden Princess, Manila harbor was a scene of much activity. The palm-fringed curve of a public park along Manila Bay was an oasis of greenery from which residents studied the ship. In the distance, several modern buildings of moderate height punctuated the horizon. On the pier, happy Filipino members of the crew were proudly shepherding wives, children, and...