Hong Kong and China

So today we arrived in Hong Kong.
When I got back from breakfast it was time to say goodbye to our cabin steward Julius! It was so sad; it’s strange how close you can get to a person who you only talk to in passing every day. He put up with our mess and was always happy to see us all. We’re all going to miss him so much and I feel sorry for his replacement because we all want Julius to stay. I took a picture with him and got his email in case I am ever in the Philippines.
After breakfast I finished packing up my things to head off on my five day adventure- my last SAS organized trip. Our trip was due to depart at nine thirty so we met at nine in the dining room to get organized. Our trip leader Deb ended up being late so we didn’t actually start until 9:30. The tour guides Esther and Allan came on board to help out. We each had to collect our passports (which are usually kept with the purser), collect a landing and departure card to fill out and get a nametag. When all 83 of the group finally arrived and got organized, we headed to the bus around 10am. We split up into 2 buses, A and B, which we stayed with for the whole trip. I was on bus A! We drove for about an hour to the airport. We didn’t get to see very much of Hong Kong but from what I did see, it was much like any industrial city. There were many tall buildings and lots of smog. When we arrived at the airport we unloaded the buses and headed into the gigantic airport. It was so big, about three times the size of the Toronto airport, which in itself is huge. We headed to the group check in counter and handed in our passports to get our boarding passes.
Well this is where the drama started. The tour guide informed me shortly after this that my Chinese Visa had expired the day before and that I would not be able to enter China. I was upset about this but more angry, because a company in the US had processed all of the visas for the voyage. There was nothing that I could do or could have done in advance to prevent this. I think it happened because I have a British passport. The visa only lasts for 6 months as opposed to the US visas which last a year. I would have had no problem if I had a US passport. Again, it made me so angry because it was out of my control! I had no choice but to stay in Hong Kong and try and obtain a new visa. Esther and Allan were kind enough to help me out. I first withdrew Hong Kong dollars and got a passport picture taken at the airport and then caught a taxi to the Chinese Embassy and visa office. When we arrived it was 12:10 and the office was closed between 12 and2 for lunch. Of course it was lunch time, just my luck.
So I was really losing hope at this point. Allan spoke to some of the workers and they said that to get a visa by the end of the day would be virtually impossible. In any other week, being Thursday I could pick it up the next day but of course, just my luck again, it was a public holiday the next day. If I didn’t get a visa by 5pm that afternoon I would have to sail with the ship to Shanghai the next day and not be able to get off in China. That would suck because I would miss my whole trip to the great wall and everything else I had waited so long to see. Being optimistic I waited in the hope that by some small miracle I would be able to be granted a visa that day. The tour guide left while I waited until 2pm until the office reopened. I called my mom after they informed me that I couldn’t get a visa the same day due to the upcoming Olympics and athletes applying for visas. I was bawling my eyes out having woke her up at 2am Bermuda time when a sketchy looking man wearing a black hoodie approached me holding a cell phone. I reluctantly took the phone only to find Allan, the tour guide on the other line. He instructed me to hand over my passport to this man, who spoke little English, and he would get me a visa by the end of the day. Apparently he had connections in the consulate. Now I was very hesitant about giving a stranger my passport, mainly because the ship had drilled it into our heads not to give our passports to anyone who wasn’t an authority. I’m not sure what went through my head but I took down his name and phone number and handed over my passport. I had nothing to lose! He told me to meet him back at the visa office at 4:30 to collect my passport from him. By this time it was almost 1pm so I headed back to the ship to tell them what happened and to try and get my name on the list of those sailing to shanghai in case the sketchy man didn’t come through.
I talked to the purser who was really helpful and told me that all expenses would be covered because none of this was my fault. We agreed that I would call him at 4:30 when I returned to the visa office to update him on my situation. I also had DKG (dean ken gaither, the executive dean on the ship) on the case. After speaking to the purser I went back to my room and watched my pirated version of grey’s anatomy for an hour. At 4pm I headed back to the visa office (by this time I had spent a fortune on cabs to and from the airport and visa office). I arrived just about at 4:30 and headed to the 7th floor of the building to the Visa office. It was a large room filled with Asian people trying to become legal. I looked around for Mr. Sketch but didn’t see him so plopped down in the floor and did some Sudoku. After a few minutes he walked in but didn’t seem to see me so I approached him. He said that he didn’t have my visa yet so I went and sat back down. I should also mention that I am extremely sun burnt so any movement, especially carrying all my luggage, is extremely uncomfortable.
After a few minutes the sketchmaster returns and hands me my passport. He had a blank on his face so I assumed that he didn’t get the visa and thanked him anyway and started to walk away. He then started pointing at my passport and motioning me to open it. There it was… a new visa valid until July. I wanted to hug the man but restrained myself as he again handed me the cell phone. It was Esther, the tour guide from earlier. She told me that I didn’t need to pay the man and that it would be charged to my shipboard account. She also told me that they had booked me on a flight to Beijing at 7:45. I was so thankful that the tour guides were so helpful!
I grabbed a cab and headed for the airport, even though I was way too early. I checked in smoothly this time and headed towards the gate. I stopped for some burger king on the way to the gate and exchanged my Hong Kong dollar into Chinese Yuan. In the end I didn’t need all the money I withdrew because my visa and flight were charged to my ship board account. I also treated myself to a MAC blush and lipgloss as a reward for the struggle from the day (I reasoned that this was a good reason for the purchase). I then proceeded to the gift shop to pick up some postcards, a magnet and magazines.
I waited for the flight and boarded as soon as we could. In Japan they do not board by seat number, everyone boards at the same time. This makes it quite disorganized but it also means that I had to make sure to board early so that there would be room in the overhead bins to put my luggage. I settled in to a 3 hour flight. When we arrived in Beijing, we were transported the terminal by bus. Once inside we had to walk a virtual marathon to reach customs. Upon arrival there we were greeted by a group of about 200 Australian athletes. The line for visitors was 4 times the length of the line for locals and moving very slowly. After about three quarters of an hour I finally reached the front of the line and had my passport and visa checked. Thankfully this was completed without incident and I headed downstairs to what I thought was the exit. Unfortunately it was only the line to board the monorail. Because of the Olympics, the terminal had just open days before and everything was still in the testing stage. The sign said that the tram arrived every 3 minutes but it took more like 20 until it arrived. When it finally did arrive we all crammed on for the short ride. When we arrived at our destination we all piled out. I headed for the exit because I hadn’t checked any bags. I had been told that I would be met by a tour guide so I looked for someone holding up my name on a sign. He was there and led me to the car. After a half hour ride into the city center we arrived at the Jianguo Garden Hotel. It was almost 1am by this time and I was ready to get some sleep. I checked in and was given a key. When I arrived at the room there were already 2 students there because everyone had moved around rooms. I was very frustrated and after trying 2 more rooms I angrily told the front desk to give me an empty room and we would sort it out in the morning. They did this and I retired to my room to get a few hours sleep.
I was woken up by a 7am wake up call. We were scheduled to leave for the tour at 8:30am so I got up and had a quick shower before heading down to the lobby for breakfast. I was feeling surprisingly refreshed and excited to climb the great wall. At 8:45 we finally left (people are always late or forget something) and headed for the great wall. On the way we drove through the heart of the Olympic village and saw the athlete’s apartments, aquatic facility and stadium.
We finally arrived at the great wall, the Ju Rong Guan section, about an hour later. From a distance we could see a narrow white line snaking through the mountains and as we drove closer it became grander and grander. I didn’t realize how steep it would be, I had seen parts of it on America’s Next Top Model and it was flat. I wasn’t expecting to have to literally climb the great wall. We disembarked the bus and headed for the bathroom. I am becoming quite a pro at using the squatter toilets, unlike many of the other students who still wait in line to use the one western toilet. After this quick stop I headed for the wall with my friend Crystal (coincidentally her last name is Johnson). We began the steep hike with the other 5000 people who also started at the same time as us. I didn’t realize quite how touristy the wall would be. It was like walking in a parade, you couldn’t go any faster than the person in front of you. It was quite difficult to stop for a breather (yes I needed to) or to stop for a photo opportunity (of which we wanted many). About half way up the wall Anna joined us, having been disconnected from her friends by the large crowds. It was a really exhausting experience. Now from what you have read so far it probably sounds as if I didn’t enjoy it but I really did. It was a beautiful warm day and amazing to experience climbing on the great wall. The higher we climbed the fewer and fewer people there were. The wall also became narrower the higher we climbed.
After reaching as high up as we could in the time we had, we began the downward journey. It was quite scary because the steps were very uneven and a single missed step could have sent you tumbling hundreds of feet downwards. There were also no barriers on the sides of the wall! On the way down we also stopped at a souvenir shop half way from the bottom. Here I purchased a ‘I climbed the great wall’ t-shirt and an engraved bronze certificate. When we reached the bottom we browsed the many stalls. They all sold the same things; jade jewelry, jade seals (stamps), t-shirts, magnets and souvenirs. I managed to restrain myself from buying too much and only bought some bracelets and a magnet. Maybe a few gifts too ;) After leaving the great wall we reboarded the bus to head to lunch. I should note that everywhere we went in Beijing was about an hour from each other so inevitably we all ended up falling asleep between destinations (even though the tour guides talked non-stop over the mic). This made us all very groggy upon arrival at each place. Our next stop was lunch at the Dayi Friendship Restaurant. It was part of a government run complex that included a ceramic making factory and gift shop. It is important to mention that most tour companies in China are government run and therefore we ate and visited government run facilities and what the tour guides told us was censored by the government.
The restaurant was a large round table meal complete with lazy susan. They brought the food to us and dishes included rice, noodles, sweet and sour pork, chicken, beef and vegetable dishes. Before I go on I want to talk a bit about the food. I’m not sure whether we ate really authentic food or not, because although it was delicious, it was a lot like the food they serve at Chopsticks or Sung Sing. I was not sure whether this was authentic or whether they had ‘toned down’ down the traditional food when they knew a bunch of foreigners were coming. That is besides the point I guess, because the food was very good, I would just be interested to know if this is the same thing that the locals eat. After lunch we headed to the ceramics demonstration. Here the workers use stencils to glue copper wires to metal urns to form a pattern. After the outline is in place, the space between the wires is filled with ceramic paint. They are then blasted in a furnace. The process is completed 7 times until the paint depth is flush with the copper wire. The end products are beautiful detailed vases which are very expensive because the process is so labour intensive. I ended up not buying anything here but instead wanted to wait to be able to find the vases at a market.
After lunch we headed to the summer palace. It is the largest palace in China and is beautiful. We entered, not really knowing what to expect, and were greeted by gorgeous buildings, the 17 arches bridge and a large lake in the middle. Because the property covers many hundred acres, it would have been impossible to see everything. We took a dragon boat across the lake to the other side. When we arrived there we separated into our two buses and bus A followed the yellow panda embreller (as our tour guide Christine called it). First we stopped at the marble boat. The facilities in the palace were mainly enjoyed by the dragon lady, who was said to come to the boat and watch her own reflection in the giant mirror. We then moved on to a Guinness record holding walkway. It is a walkway which connects many aspects of the palace, while serving also as a gallery. It is the world’s longest art gallery. While we were walking through the walk way we notice a baby with a slit in her pants. We kept watching and asked Christine and she said that most babies don’t use diapers, they simply squat and do their thing through the slit in their pants. It is very odd to see all these toddlers walking around with their little bums hanging out!
We continued through the walkway passing the living area of the dragon lady, dining room and several gardens. There were so many people and groups at the summer palace that it was easy to get lost. Surprisingly, only 2 girls got disconnected from the group. After a fairly short visit to the summer palace we returned to the hotel to get ready for the evening’s entertainment. When I got back to the hotel we had half an hour to get ready. I had to change my room so that I was sharing was someone. They had figured out during the day where I would be going so I packed up all my stuff and moved to another room. The process took a lot longer than it should have but I finally ended up rooming with Kat. As soon as I had dumped my stuff in the new room I had to head down to the lobby to meet the group to go to an acrobatics show. I wasn’t sure what to expect but had heard that it was something I should do which in china. It turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. The stunts that they did seemed to be impossible and are really hard to describe. I have many videos of the acts but everyone was just blown away by how flexible the performers were. After the show was over Robin, Kaitlin, Crystal, Sharon and I decided to go for something to eat. They chose hard rock café and I reluctantly followed! We got into a taxi and showed him the directions in Chinese, which Christine had written out. Well the two taxis had no idea where to go and drove us around in circle for a while. After stopping and asking for directions many times we finally arrived, only to find it was closed for renovations.
On to plan B. We didn’t even get out of the taxi before telling the driver to take us back to the hotel. We had heard there was a night market nearby so decided to check it out and hopefully find something to eat while we were there. I’m not sure if I have already mentioned how cold it was in China. Especially at night, and with no jackets, we were all freezing. We headed for the market and were relieved to find it quite easily. It was quite small but sold everything from crafts, jewelry, jade stamps, purses and paintings to food. The food looked a little suspect (think scorpions on a skewer) so after browsing the market we started to walk back to the hotel and hopefully find somewhere to eat along the way. Well surprise, McDonald’s was the chosen one. It was quite a cultural experience though, because the menus were not in English and the décor was more like that of a gourmet restaurant. We enjoyed our food, although it was much spicier than the American version, and headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep.
On day 2 and our last day in Beijing, we woke up for breakfast and then headed to Tiananmen Square. He we were taught about its history and the buildings surrounding it, but the shootings were not even mentioned (courtesy of government control). There were many people here trying to sell fake Olympic merchandise, watches and t-shirts. We had a group photograph taken and the crowd of locals that gathered to watch and take pictures of us pose was larger than our group of 83 people. After walking across Tiananmen Square we entered the Forbidden City. A large painting of chairman Mau hung above the entrance and was quite scary. When we entered we were given maps and headsets. I went with my friend Crystal to explore. As we neared certain sites the headset was activated and began to tell us about each one. Although I’m still not sure exactly what the purpose of the Forbidden City is although I do know that it was the home of the Emperor and his inner circle, who all had their balls cut off to force them to remain faithful to the emperor. The idea was that they were no longer men, only slaves to the country and would be focused on serving rather than reproducing. Within the forbidden city there were many different halls and exhibitions, as well as displays of art, clothing and antiques. Before leaving the forbidden city we walked through a garden. It was very beautiful but I didn’t feel like it was a real garden because it was simply trees and flowers in a paved courtyard area. After leaving the forbidden city we headed to Wahaha restaurant for lunch.
Once again it was a round table meal with lazy susan. We had the usual for lunch; sweet and sour pork, rice, soup, noodles and various other meat dishes. One of the good things about China compared to my trip in India was that drinks were included. We could choose from coke, sprite, water or beer and could even have a refill. What a luxury!
After lunch I headed downstairs for some shopping. The whole street was filled with fake purses. The fakes here looked more real than the ones in Vietnam but were also far more expensive. After a brief shopping visit we reboarded the bus to head to the temple of heaven.
The temple of heaven is the largest heaven worshipping temple in China. By this point in the tour we were all quite tired of looking at temples which quite frankly, looked all the same. Crystal and I once again headed off on our own to explore. After having a quick look around the temple area we headed back down to the surrounding gardens. These were a gathering place for many locals to sing, dance and play cards and other games. It was fascinating to watch these people enjoying their daily life, far more interesting than the actual temple. We didn’t have too long here but we people watched for a while before headed back to the bus with ice cream. It was now time to head back to the airport to board our flight to Xi’an.
We drove back to the massive Beijing airport and headed to our gate. Our guide, Christine travelled with us to Xi’an. When we arrived in Xi’an it was early evening so before we checked in at our hotel we went for dinner at a hot pot restaurant. One again it was a large round table with a lazy susan. Each person had a small stove with a pot of broth on it. In the middle of the table were beef, lamp, shrimp, mushroom, cabbage, bean sprouts and other veggies. Once the broth boiled, you could put whatever you wanted into it to make a soupy thing. The noodles cooked very quickly, so the trick was to cook everything else first before you put the noodles in. When it was done we put the mixture into a small bowl and added peanut and chilli sauce. It was delicious. One of the surprising things about China, and later Japan (yes I am writing about China after we left Japan) is that soy sauce is not provided. They do have it, but only bring it if you ask for it. I think this is one of the things that has been normalized by westernizing asian cultures. Most locals don’t eat it with their food.
After leaving the restaurant we headed to our hotel. Once again the hotel was very nice. I think that SAS could cut down on the cost of their overnight trips by staying in slightly less fancy hotels. There was no need to be staying in a five star resort when all we were doing was sleeping there! Needless to say the room was very nice. There was a small sitting area and two double beds. After all the day’s activities we were exhausted so Kat and I went straight to sleep.
The next morning we woke up early for breakfast. Like the hotel in Beijing, the breakfast was a mixture of western specialties and asian dishes. I had a combination of fruit, eggs, noodles and pastries. It was delicious but probably not too healthy. First stop on today’s tour was the terracotta warriors. I was very excited for this and had chosen this particular trip because it was the only one that got to see them. When we arrived I was quite shocked to see how developed they were. I half expected to be able to walk around in the pit and get a close look at them but this was not the case. After a short movie about the history of the statues (they were to guard the tomb of the emporer) and their discovery (a farmer digging discovered them) we headed off to see them. The warriors are divided into 3 pits. Pit one is the largest pit. It was filled with warriors that had mostly been repaired and were now intact. There were many types of warriors; infantrymen, cavalrymen, horsemen and kneeling officers. I was fascinated by the detail on each of the statues, which were all life size. There were also life size horses! I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t get very close to them but could still see fairly well from the viewing area.
After leaving pit 1, we headed to pit 3, the smallest pit. There were not many warriors in this pit, only a few that were missing arms and legs. We didn’t stay here long and quickly headed to the second pit. The second pit was filled with body parts and soldiers which were in the process of being pieced back together. Because we were there on a Sunday we didn’t get to see them be built. In this pit were also some completed warriors in glass cases. We had to take our token pose pictures here, before heading to the museum.
The museum told of how the warriors were discovered and how they were being restored. Everything was written in Chinese so we couldn’t understand much. We looked at the pictures and displays. Of special interest were the only two bronze chariots which had been found with the warriors. They were very intricate, but hardly as interesting as our new guide, Alex, had described them. After visiting the gift shop for an ice cream, we headed to the tea room for a traditional tea ceremony. I don’t drink tea so sat outside with some other people and basked in the Chinese sun! After the short tea break we walked back to the bus.
As soon as we walked through the gates of the museum there were people trying to sell us miniature warriors. I was really happy because the gift shop had tried to charge far too much money for the tiny replicas. These men were selling the set of 5 warriors for $2. They kept pulling the boxes out of their shirts! I didn’t know how much they could fit in there until they kept pulling them all out. Almost everybody on our bus bought a box of warriors, some who paid about $20 were disappointed that the better bargainers were able to get them for much less.
After a short drive we arrived for lunch at Qinjitang restaurant. Once again it was a government run facility and we received our shopping cards. Before eating we watched a short demonstration of how silk is made from a cocoon. It was really interesting to see how it is pulled and stretched to become so soft. For lunch, guess what we had? Yep, another round table with lazy susan. And yes we again ate noodles, rice, soup and various meat dishes. We didn’t have long for lunch so I ate pretty quickly so I would have time to look at some silk goods. Bad idea. I ended up falling in love with a silk duvet cover. It took me a long time to pick out which pattern I wanted but in the end chose a beautiful set which is supposed to last me for at least 20 years. Crystal reminded me that I might be married during this time so not to buy a pattern or colour that was too feminine. I had not even thought of that!
After spending way too much money on the set (although I do really like it) we returned to the bus bound for the lesser wild goose pagoda. Once again, yet another Buddhist pagoda. We walked through the gardens and had quick look at the Xi’an history museum. It showcase jade jewelry, artwork and pottery. Jade is everywhere in this area. It is made into stamps, jewelry and anything else you can possible think of. After a short look around the museum we walked back towards the bus. Along the way we came across a small gift shop. In the back corner was a woman who was writing calligraphy. She wrote all our names on rice paper for free!
After waiting in line to get my name done, we hurried back to the bus for fear of being late and getting dock time. It was back to the hotel for a brief change of clothes before heading off to a tang dynasty show and dinner. Alex told us that this was not to be missed.
When we arrived we were seated at tables in front of the stage. I though it may have been a dinner show, where you eat while the show is going on. This was not the case, although they did serve popcorn and ice cream during the show. The show consisted of many different scenes with people playing different instrument and singing in different styles. Some of it was just plain painful. We were all glad when it was over. But unfortunately, the food was not much better. We were told it was going to be a dumpling dinner but there were no dumplings to be seen. We had many courses, from salad and appetizers, soup, spare ribs, and desert. It was ok, but we were all a little disappointing we didn’t get dumplings.
Afterwards Kailtin, Crystal, Sharon and I decided to head to the muslim market downtown. We needed to get our dose of markets in Xi’an. After a quick bathroom stop at McDonald’s and to grab a McFlurry to refuel we were off. There were many alleyways and different shops selling everything including pearls, fake bags, silk robes, watches, jewelry, souvenirs, food and flasks of all things. We were able to bargain with the shop keepers here so we could get things pretty cheap. We headed down one alley and ended up spending a lot of time there. I bought a few bracelets for next to nothing and a beautiful robe as well as some gifts. We then strolled down the main street but didn’t buy much here. It was a great cultural experience to see all the food being cooked and the locals bargaining with each other. The market began to close at about eleven pm so we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel to crash.
The next day was our last day of the trip. I had signed up for a calligraphy lesson with a calligraphy master so woke up early for breakfast. About half of the group boarded the bus for the calligraphy lesson while the other half opted to sleep in and join us later in the day. We arrived at what seemed to be a run-down area of the city. We then entered a small building and climbed many floors of uneven stairs before reaching the calligraphy school. We entered a small classroom with wooden desks and stools. The desks were set with a piece of rice paper, a calligraphy brush and a small bowl of ink. After we all sat down, the calligraphy master entered. She didn’t speak any English so spoke Chinese and Alex translated for us. She first explained the history and different styles of Chinese calligraphy. Next we were told to fold our rice paper into twelve squares. This was quite challenging for some people (why was I not surprised?). After everyone finally mastered the art of folding a piece of paper to form squares we were able to begin our lesson. We learned to write 12 symbols include river, above, below and thank you. The calligraphy master told me that I was the best in the class! After completing the lesson, some people learned to write their name. We then reboarded the bus and headed for none other than the bell tower and people’s square, the same area as the market we had been at the night before.
We opted not to visit another pagoda and go to Starbucks and instead headed to McDonald’s again and then back to the muslim market. I picked up a Rolex and a Gucci watch while some friends bought pearls. We didn’t have long here so headed back to the bus. China has a thing with kites. There were people everywhere selling stings of small plastic kites. Some people bought them hoping to fly them off the ship!
After we left the market we headed to lunch at the dong fang rotating restaurant. When we arrived the platform wasn’t rotating but we complained for long enough and they finally turned on the rotator. Surprisingly, this was not lazy susan style, instead it was a buffet. It had some traditional noodles, meats and vegetables but was made up of mostly western pasta salads, macaroni and deserts. It was good nonetheless and was a nice change from sweet and sour pork! After lunch we headed downstairs to the lobby of the hotel and I really wanted to buy a jade pendant. Because the store was within the hotel, we could not bargain. I decided not to buy it, in the hope that I could find it the next day in Shanghai.
Our last stop before heading to the airport was the museum of the forest of stele. This was an underground museum, much like miniatures of the terracotta warriors. They were constructed to guard the yang tombs of the han dynasty. By this point we were all exhausted so spent most of our time here sitting at the picnic tables eating ice cream. I discovered the most off ice cream that I have ever seen. It was shaped like an ear of corn and had a wafer like shell. Inside was yellow ice cream. The entire thing tasted exactly like cold corn on the cob. It was the weirdest thing!
We boarded the bus for the last time and headed for the airport. It turned out that our flight was quite delayed so we waited a long time in the airport. When we finally took off I was relieved to have an exit seat with extra legroom. The flight was only about two hours. We arrived and boarded another bus for an hour long drive back to the ship. When we arrived at the ship, all the other busses had just arrived too. The line was really long and everyone had overnight bags so it took a long time for the security staff to check all of them. I finally got back into my room at about 12:30am and I dropped my bag and went straight to sleep.
The next day was our last day in China. I was supposed to go on a day trip that left at 7:30am but I didn’t quite wake up in time. I went for a nice breakfast and then went to check my email. My ‘sister’ Ashley came and we decided to go into Shanghai to find an internet café and have a little poke around. The weather reminded me of England. It was bitterly cold and drizzling. We got a taxi and headed for starbucks. Well we didn’t have any luck there but they recommended the coffee bean and they did have internet. We stayed there until our batteries died. After this we headed until the shopping area. It was an area with many winding, narrow pedestrian streets. We bought some last minute pearls. I also bought a fake Ipod shuffle. It was thirty bucks but I figured it would be good for working out so I didn’t have to ruin my good ipod. After a few hours we were cold and wet so decided to have a nice lunch at pizza hut before heading back to the ship. I really enjoyed China, I think it was my favorite port so far! We have been to japan but I have not yet written about it, so stay tuned! xo

vietnam

So I came into Vietnam with great expectations of cheap shopping, friendly people and with lots of money to spend. It didn’t disappoint in any way!
My first glimpse of Vietnam came at 6:30am when I awoke to watch the ship navigate its way up the winding Saigon River. The river was barely wide enough for two ships to pass and I have no idea how the captain guided our huge ship through the winding course of the river. Along the way we passed rice fields, small villages, and many lonely wooden fishing boats anchored alongside the shoreline. Although the weather was not very nice, it was cloudy and raining, it was a beautiful beginning to my time in Vietnam.
On the day we arrived, Thursday, I had an FDP on the ship at 1pm. I was really anxious to get off the ship to go to be measured for a custom tailored dress so it would be ready before we left. Customs officials had been on board since 5am so we figured the ship would be cleared early after our arrival at 8am. If we were able to leave early, I would have a chance of making it back in time for my FDP. After having my passport stamped and obtaining a landing card, we headed for the gangway. Jenna, Leah and I were the first 3 people off the ship. We headed for the shuttle bus, which was scheduled to leave every half hour. Because we were ported in the industrial port, it was about a half hour drive from the center of the city. No taxis were available so the only option was to use the shuttle. We boarded the bus at about 9:45 but it didn’t end up leaving until 10:30. This was a good indicator of how the rest of the trip was going to be in terms of the shuttle service. Continued excuses of ‘we wait til bus full’ or ‘we wait til other bus come’ delayed our departure. By the time we arrived in the center of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) we didn’t have much time at all. We started walking down the main street in search of a tailor. The first one we came to looked reputable so we headed inside. We showed them the pictures of the dresses we had selected and chose the fabric. They then took our measurements and we paid, before being promised the dresses would be ready on Monday morning.
While Jenna and Leah were choosing their fabrics and being measured, I hurried to a nearby market to pick out some fabrics. My mum had told me that they can replicate any clothes that you bring to them perfectly, in any fabric that you choose. I picked my favorite dress and 4 tops to have re-made. After paying about $50 for the fabric (which I am told is reasonable for 10 meters of fabric, I have no idea though) I ran back to Sinva Silk to show them the clothes. I explained to them that I wanted the exact same size and fit of the clothes, just to be made in other fabrics. I figured that even if the custom dresses didn’t turn out, they couldn’t really go wrong with replicating the garments I gave them. When we were finished, about noon, we hopped in a cab and headed back to the port. We had learned our lesson and decided not to risk using the shuttle bus!
After a quick lunch I headed to the Union to listen to Mr. Vecchi, a lawyer in Vietnam talk. The lecture was scheduled for 4 hours but I prayed it wouldn’t last that long. The only reason I stayed for more than 5 minutes was because I had to write a paper about the talk. It was the most boring thing I have ever done and I hated the fact that I could have been out spending my dollar bills instead of listening to him. Thankfully he finished at about 3pm, only two hours after he started. I headed to check my email and found an email from Hanh, a lady my mum had met when she travelled to Vietnam 2 years ago. I had planned to meet up with her and she said tonight was good for her. I emailed her back and tried to call, but in the end had to use one of the dock worker’s phones because my international cell phone didn’t work. We agreed to meet at 8pm for dinner. By this time Leah had come back from her days excursions and wanted to come, and I also invited Jenna and Liz. We hopped on the bus about 7:20 and arrived just in time. We waited a few minutes, and I was a little anxious because I didn’t know what Hanh looked like. I think my mom described her to me as ‘small’. Quite helpful ha!
Well she arrived and recognized us and said I looked just like my mum as everyone does. We got into a taxi and headed to a local restaurant outside the city center. We were the only white people there. That’s a good thing, because you know that the place is authentic! We were a little perturbed when there were pigs roasting on a barbeque at the entrance, but I was excited to try some local food. We let Hanh do all the ordering. She started by ordering a drink for me which was lemon and sugar with soda water. It was quite normal I thought, nothing like the meal that was about to arrive.
First, a platter of the roasted pork arrived. It had a nice taste but the texture was a little off-putting. It had a hard shell-like outside and was tender on the inside. Wasn’t my favorite! Next came a large sea food platter. It had a few different types of squid and some veggies, and I quite enjoyed it. The chicken plate was next, which had almost unrecognizable chicken on it. It was cut very differently from what we were used to but tasted pretty good. They had brought us a wet hand towel and by this time we realized why. The Vietnamese eat with their hands all the time. It’s not a very pretty site to watch but they sure don’t waste any food or leave any on the bone. Next was my favorite dish. Shrimp, about 6 inches long were presented, after Hanh had hand-picked the ones she wanted while they were still living. They were difficult to handle, we had to peel them and take off the legs, but were really delicious once you got in! The last thing we had was a hot pot. It is a burner with a bowl of broth on it and vegetables and raw meats. You put whatever you want into the broth and let it cook for a while then eat it like soup. I enjoyed the meat in the soup but the vegetables looked as if they had been picked from the side of the road. They had think stalks and a strong taste which I didn’t really like. As I have always been taught though, I forced it down as if I loved it so as not to disrespect our host.
After dinner I planned to meet Hanh the next day and headed back to the ship. I was surprisingly exhausted, having not done all that much!
On the second day I woke up early to head out and meet Hanh at ten. After being stuck in traffic on the dreaded shuttle, I decided to hop off and walk the rest of the way. I had no idea where we were so asked some locals until one of them could finally point to where we were on the map. My superior map reading and navigation skills, thanks to much practice in Yorkshire, South Africa and anywhere else my mother happens to be driving, I led myself and group of other students to the bus drop off point. By this time I was very late to meet Hanh and had been unable to call her because of the cell phone issue. Luckily she was still there when I arrived and I hopped onto her motorbike for some local shopping. When I mentioned that I ride a bike in Bermuda she wanted me to drive. That wouldn’t have been a good idea seeing the traffic and lack of order on the roads in Vietnam. First she took me to the post office so that I could mail some postcards. Next we headed off to her favorite shoe store. I was expecting to arrive at a store much like a market stall with millions of shoes in all shapes and sizes. I was wrong. It was much like any shoe store at home, with organized displays and many sizes in each shoe. Although the prices were a little higher than I expected, I found a pair of black sandals that I really liked, so I decided to buy them. For $25, it was much less than I would pay at home, but more than I had expected to be paying in Vietnam. After that we headed to her favorite store. The stores are like stalls on the side of the road with the clothes displayed outside. I knew I really wasn’t going to like much in there but she and the 4 store workers insisted that I try things on and told me ‘beautiful miss’ when I had them on even though half of the things were about 5 sizes too small. I didn’t want to hurt any feelings so I bought a few things. When I said I wanted to go shopping I was thinking like market style or actual stores, but it was a good experience anyway.
After this we went to a photo store so that I could get some of my pictures developed. I have taken so many so far that it would have cost me a fortune to get them all developed when I get home. I didn’t know how much it would cost but I figured it would be less than the 60 cents a print that it is at home. I had selected 500 pictures that I wanted to print. They took the two CDs I had burned the pictures onto and told me to come back in 3 hours. I was nervous about the quality and the price but figured that it couldn’t be that bad.
In the mean time we headed for lunch at Pho Hung. Pho is a Vietnamese beef noodle dish. Once again I let Hanh do the ordering because I would have chosen the most boring thing on the menu. She ordered the restaurant special. It had all types of beef in it, shaved beef, joints, and skin. I only eat the shaved beef and gave the skin to her. She loved anything with fat or skin on it. Once again there was a tray of weeds on the table to put into the soup. Knowing from experience, I gracefully declined when she tried to throw a handful into my bowl. I did add some bean sprouts though to make her feel like I liked the veggies and because I liked them. The food was delicious! The drink on the other hand was not. She ordered sam bong cuc da. I had no idea what it was but when it arrived I was quite repulsed. It was basically ice with ginseng and chrysanthemum. The flower was actually in the drink. I didn’t like the taste of it let alone the fact that I was sucking up petals through the straw. It tasted exactly how a flower smells, a taste that should not be consumed. I forced most of it down and took pictures so that people would believe me when I told them. She said I could eat the flower but I wasn’t going to go that far just to be polite.
After lunch she took me to her hotel and to see her baby Anna. The hotel was off the main streets in the back alleys. It was very small but seemed to be nice. I didn’t get to see any rooms because there were people staying in them. Anna is five months old and so cute. Hanh’s husband is a Bermudian guy who I have known since I was little. Even though I haven’t seen him in about 10 years, Anna looked exactly like how I remembered him looking. I played with her for a little while and took advantage of the internet. At 3pm we hopped back onto the motor bike and headed back to fuji film. The pictures were done and the quality was no different than normal. The price turned out to be very cheap, only 10 cents per print. The photos were very heavy but I headed to the market to do some shopping anyway.
The market is not like anything I have ever seen before. It is huge and very cluttered. They sell everything from fabric, food, fake watches, perfume, DVDs and fake clothing. Needless to say I really enjoyed this and picked up lots of things for very little money. It was very hot and cluttered and I soon became weighted down with bags so I decided to return to the ship. I decided not to do anything that night because I had to leave for my trip at 8pm the next day.
Saturday was spent mostly on a bus, but between journeys at a Cao Dai temple and at the Cu Chi tunnels. We departed at 8am. Our first stop was a local family home where rice paper was being made. Rice paper is a very thin edible film that is used to make noodles and to wrap around vegetables to form something like a spring roll. It was interesting to watch the process of cooking the batter and carefully laying it onto a wicker drying rack. It is then put in the sun to dry. After a short stay here we were back on the road. Our next stop was a ‘happy stop’. When the tour guide told us this no one knew what we were in for but we were soon aware that I was a pee break. They also sold food so I bought some Pringles (yes they are on par to be available in every country we visit). I am starting to get tired of Pringles but feel I must continue with my experiment and continue to buy them in each country.
Our next stop was lunch. We went to a local restaurant for an early lunch before visiting the Cao Dai temple nearby. The food was surprisingly good. We started with noodle soup. We were then served breaded shrimp, rice, noodles and a beef dish. I have a feeling this was not traditional Vietnamese cooking and that they had made it more ‘westernized’ so that we would be more comfortable eating it. After a very quick lunch we headed to the Great temple, the center of the Cao Dai religion and one of the most striking structures in all of Asia. It was a huge building surrounded by gates and gardens. We arrived just in time to observe the noon service. As always we took off our shoes and went upstairs to watch. Although we weren’t told anything about it, it seemed as if it consisted of a whole lot of bowing when a gong was sounded. The entire congregation wore white traditional dress and sat cross legged on the floor. The temple was very intricately designed, with paintings and architecture which didn’t seem to resemble a place of worship but reminded me more of something in a carnival. After taking pictures and observing for a few minutes we headed back out to the bus.
We were now bound for the climax of the day, the Cu Chi tunnels. For those that don’t know, these are an intricate system of tunnels which total about 200km. They would built by the Vietnamese guerillas during the American was in the 60s and 70s. We watched a short movie first to give us a bit of information on the tunnels. There are 3 levels of tunnels; the bunkers at 3 meters below ground, the second level at 6m below ground and the deepest and narrowest tunnels at 8-10 meters below ground. If you didn’t know about them, as the American soldiers didn’t, you would have no idea they were there. The entrances we often tiny hatches the size of textbooks (the Vietnamese are very small people) and are covered by leaves or camouflage. We walked through an area above the tunnels and looked at various features of the tunnels; the kitchen, hospital, weapon making area and viewed the air holes for the tunnels and the place where the soldiers shot out of. We also got to look at some of the weapons that were used against Americans. They are brutal but simple methods of torture. Next we visited the National Defense Sports Shooting Range. We were able to shoot some of the guns that were used in the war. I was very scared to do this but thought this would be a good memory for my first, and probably only time I shoot a gun. I chose an AK 47 because it was the only gun on the list I had ever heard of (I think its in a song or something). I thought it was a hand gun but when I went down into the ditch where the guns are mounted, I found out it was a rifle. I was really scared because it was very loud with other machine guns going off around me. I shot five bullets and had no idea if they went anywhere near the target because I was so scared I didn’t even aim. I kept the shells but quickly hurried back up to the safety of the souvenir shop. I’m glad I did it, but can’t really say that I enjoyed it.
Next was the part we had all been waiting for. We got to go into the tunnels. First we went into the shallowest level. The tunnels had been slightly expanded for tourists but still seemed pretty tiny to me. We had to crouch down and walk almost on all fours. We only went 20m but by that time I was petrified and my legs were hurting from bending down. I don’t know how anyone could stay in there for long, let alone live in there when the area was under attack. I now have a greater appreciation for the soldiers in the war who lived like this. Next we went on to a smaller tunnel. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this but figured I would regret it later if I didn’t. Coincidentally my camera died in the first tunnel so I have no proof that I actually went into the smaller one.
The only evidence I can offer are the scratches on my knees from crawling through the tunnel. This one was much longer (50m) and I was definitely ready to get out by the end. I was very dirty and tired because it was very hot down there and was thankful when we reached the end. I scrambled up the exit into fresh air. There was still one more tunnel than was smaller again. Thankfully we didn’t have time to go into this one so none of you will never know if I would have gone into it or not (although you can probably guess). I really enjoyed experiencing a little of what the guerillas experienced during the war. After washing off in the fountain we were rushed back to the bus to make sure that we made it back to the city on time. After dinner I had a good shower and settled in for a good night sleep in preparation for another early morning.
On Sunday I got up early again to prepare for my 8am excursion to the Delta. After a quick breakfast I headed to the bus. Can, the same tour guide from the day before, greeted me. We headed out for a two hour drive to the delta. Our first stop was another happy stop. This time there were a few shops there too, although I managed not to buy anything. Our next stop was a Buddhist temple. We had half an hour to look around. I took lots of pictures and browsed the gift shop. This was also the site where I used my first squatter toilet. I had been resisting since India but figured I should use one at least once! We headed back onto the bus and headed to a local market.
On the way we stopped at a rice to field to take a closer look at rice before it is harvested. It was quite interesting to see it on a plant, but more fascinating to see the women in traditional dress harvesting it. At the market I couldn’t resist and went straight to the purse store. I ended up bargaining for two bags and was late back to the bus. I was 3 minutes late but the stupid teacher took down my name, which I knew would mean dock time (so I couldn’t get off the ship until a certain time in Hong Kong) but it turned out later than I only got a warning.
Our next stop was where we boarded the river boats to head into the delta. We crossed the river on a fairly large wooden boat with a motor. We then disembarked and got into smaller boats with smaller motors. From here we headed to a candy making plant. They were making coconut candy. The whole process was very simple and hardly mechanized. We were able to try the different flavors before being offered some to buy. We then sat for tea. There was jasmine tea with honey and citrus juice which tasted really good. This is surprising because I usually hate hot drinks. We then reboarded the boats and headed deeper into the river tributary. When we got off the boats we got into horse drawn carriages. Now these were not at all like the ones in Bermuda. The horses were tiny and old and skinny and the carriages were simple wooden carts. I felt bad that the poor horse had to pull 6 of us and the driver. We finally arrived at the restaurant where we were to sample some local fruit before moving on for lunch. When we arrived there was a man with a large python. Although I had done the snake thing in India, I did it again. This snake was much bigger! We then sat down for tea and fruit. We tried local mango, jack fruit, grapefruit and dragon fruit. The grapefruit was my favorite but all of them were good. We then boarded small row boats to head into a narrower section of the tributary to the lunch restaurant.
We had heard in advance that we should go with the vegetarian option. I did and was sure glad that I did. The other meal was a whole dried fish with scales and all! The vegetarian meal was great. We started with spring rolls and fried dough, followed by rice and vegetable stew. The food kept coming and we ended with noodles and soup. I was very satisfied when we reboarded the large motor boats to head back across the river to the bus. On the boat they gave us coconuts with straws so we could drink the milk. I didn’t really like it though!
I was glad to get back onto the bus. We had a two hour ride back to the ship and I slept the whole way. I must say that being on the bus for long periods of time means lots of sleep but also means lots of time to look at the people who drive by on their motor bikes. I have found the people in all of the countries we have been to fascinating. I like the scenery and food too but I by far prefer to watch and talk to the people. Most of my pictures are of people when I’m trying to capture their essence!
We arrived back at the ship a little bit late, about 5:15 and I had arranged to meet with Hanh at 8pm for dinner. I did a quick change and headed out for some shopping before we had to meet. I first went to a store that was selling DVDs. They were 12000 dong each, about 75 cents. I bought way too many but don’t regret it one bit. They assured me that I could test them on the ship and bring them back the next day if they didn’t work. I bought a bunch of individual movies but also but some TV show series. I got friends, greys anatomy, private practice, the Disney collection, one tree hill, sex and the city, the OC and desperate housewives among others. I am really excited to watch them after we leave Japan and have lots of free time at sea. I then headed to the dress store to check on my dresses. I was told they were not ready but when I was leaving the seamstress arrived with them. I tried them on, and although they are not quite what I have imagined, they turned out ok. Many of the girls who got dresses made hated them. I also decided to get a suit made and shipped home. I was measured for it and chose the fabric! I think it is a good investment for the future even though I don’t plan on wearing a suit in the near future.
By this time it was almost 8pm but I wanted to run to the night market before I met Hanh. It was much like the indoor market during the day except outdoors. I didn’t buy anything and just walked back to meet Hanh. She had just arrived as I showed up and we walked to a nearby restaurant that she said was her favorite. It turned out to be excellent. We started with lotus salad! They then brought all the meats to cook at the table. Hanh ordered wild boar, squid, shrimp and vegetables. I enjoyed everything except the squid! It was very different from the steamboat we went to in Mauritius because the food was very spicy and there were different sauces to dip each thing into. It turned out to be only $18 for both of us even though we once again had tons of food. After this we went downstairs to a local ice cream store. I tell you Hanh could really eat. I was stuffed from the meal but she ordered a platter of ice cream with 10 different flavors and sauces. I tried to eat as much sherbet as I could, and to be honest it was very good, but I couldn’t manage to eat all that much!
After eating almost the whole platter we ran back to the bus to make sure that I was able to make it onto the last bus. I got back at about 11pm and played all the DVDs on my laptop. Out off all of them that I bought, only 3 didn’t work. I was quite impressed!
For the last day, I woke up early and headed back into the city at 10. I did some last minute shopping. I bought I watch I had been eying, traded the DVDs and bought a few more. I also went to a glasses store and bought some glasses. Even with the lenses, it was much cheaper to buy 3 pairs than it is to buy one pair at home. And they had way more styles to choose from! As I was walking back to the glasses store to pick them up an hour later a lady handed me a flyer for her spa. I decided to get a quick pedicure for $5. It turned out to be pretty nice, they massaged my feet and served tea. I wanted to get a massage but I didn’t have time! After picking up my glasses I returned to the ship in time for lunch before heading off on my afternoon trip to the war remnants museum.
We left at 1pm and drove out of the city to the home of a UPI photographer during the war. He talked to us all about his experiences during the war and showed us some of the photographs he had taken. He had won many awards like the Pulitzer Prize for his pictures and many were also published in American newspapers during the war. It was really interesting to get to ask him questions about how he felt being an observer in the war and to hear his personal opinion about the war. He has travelled all over the war and met many dignitaries including the Clintons. On his property was also a memorial that he had constructed dedicated to all the journalists and photographers who had died during the war. One piece in particular was a statue made out of thousands of bullets. To this day he drives an American jeep that was used during the war. I bought some of his famous photographs and got him to sign them and write the date and location they were taken. I think it’s a really good souvenir to take home, not something that everyone can buy at a store.
After leaving his home we travelled to the war remnants museum. I wasn’t really sure what to expect because we had been warned that the images were gruesome and shocking. Because we didn’t have much time I went straight into the photograph displays. Many of the images were so shocking that I will never forget them. The damage that was done to the people and the country is not something that will quickly heal, although remarkably most Vietnamese people have moved on from the war. Many of the American students said that they were ashamed to be American in that situation. I think I would feel the same way but we have to remember that the brutality went both ways and that the museum was only telling half of the story.
After our short visit we headed back to the ship. I asked to be dropped off in the city to have a last look around. I was planning on getting something to eat but quickly decided it was probably easier to just return to the ship and eat there. I had an early night and by the time I awoke on Tuesday morning we had already departed HCMC and were well on our way down the Saigon River.
I really enjoyed the time we spent in Vietnam and feel that I got to experience their local culture trough spending time with Hanh and the war photographer. I was quite a relaxing port for me, which is good considering China will be quite stressful I think. We arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow and I will spend 5 days travelling to Beijing and X’ian. Until next time… xoxo

malaysia

With only 3 days at sea between India and Malaysia, we didn’t really have much chance to get settled back into ship life. As bad as it is, I didn’t even unpack everything from my bag! In global studies we had only talked about Singapore and a little about Georgetown and Penang Island where the ship would be anchored. This left me a little in the dark as to what to expect when we arrived. Nicole, Kerry, Leah and I had previously planned a trip to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, for the middle 3 days of our 5 day stay. We arrived on March 18 at 8am. Because the port is under construction in Penang we had to anchor in the harbor. It was our first time doing this and the first time we had to tender to shore. This is quite tedious because the tender only comes every half an hour and you inevitably just miss one as it is leaving. It meant a lot more planning ahead.
On the first day, I went on a tour of Penang Island with Semester at Sea. Although we were supposed to leave at nine thirty we did not end up leaving until about 11 because of the tendering situation. We boarded a bus and travelled to the Khoo Kongsi clan house. Although it was not far from the port I managed to fall asleep on the bus. I am becoming quite talented at falling asleep on anything that is moving whether it be in class on the ship, in a rickshaw in India, a bus in Malaysia (various times), any plane I am on and even a boat in the Amazon. It may be convenient during long bus and plane rides but it is quite frustrating when I am trying to take in a country where we have just arrived. The clan house looked to me like a temple but it was beautiful. It was built in traditional style with many colours and the details were very intricate. The walls were carved with images and symbols. There were 3 rooms, one which was used as a memorial to the dead, the great hall and another small room. It was really hot here (36 degrees and verrryyy humid) and everyone was ready to go after a few minutes. We boarded the bus once again and headed for the Kek Lok Si, or the temple of a thousand Buddhas. It was a very long uphill walk to get to the base of the temple. It was a narrow pathway surrounded by small shops selling t-shirts, souvenirs and fake designer things. When we finally reached the top (the base of the temple) there was a pond filled with turtles. There were more turtles in this one pond than I have ever seen in my life. They were the kind that are overgrown pets. The temple was split into many different levels and was really colourful and bright. We had a look around the lower levels first which had many statues of Buddha and other characters. There were water features and plants throughout the temple and especially incense burning everywhere. When we reach the highest level, there was a small gift shop, where you could pay a few extra Sen (cents) to go up the tower. I did this and started walking. There was a small spiral staircase which took you up the five floors. The walls were covered with tiles with Buddha on them, some painted, others made of gold, silver and bronze. Im guessing this is where the name of the temple came from. From the top there was a gorgeous view over the city of Penang and into the woods behind the temple. After returning to the bus we headed to the Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant for lunch. It was a Chinese restaurant that served many dished from spring rolls to noodles and friend rice. Everything was seafood with a little chicken. Beef did not seem to be as popular in Malaysia, probably because of the strong Hindu following there.
After lunch we headed to the snake temple. A little background is necessary first. We had been told in global studies that the temple was filled with drugged snakes that hung from the rafter and adorned the altars. They had said there were nets that kept them from falling down on the people and that there were all shapes and sizes of snakes. So when we arrived I was shocked to see only two small snakes wrapped around a candle stick on the altar. They looked dead and did not move a muscle. The temple was very small with not much to see. When we walked into the adjoining room there were many more snakes there. They were on the rafters, above the windows and also in a large cage with trees. There were 2 men who were taking pictures of visitors holding a large boa constrictor with a small green snake on their heads. I was petrified when I first walked in but thought to myself ‘when I am ever going to be in the snake temple in Malaysia again’ and decided that if I didn’t do it I would probably regret it later. So there I went, standing frozen waiting for the man to put the snake around my shoulders and on my head. When he did I was so scared I stood there freaking out. I forgot that I had to smile for the picture, so when they prompted me the picture turned out horribly and I look like someone had just stood in front of me naked! As soon as he took the picture I was like get them off get them off! Once they were off me I was fine watching other people do it after me. After leaving the snake temple we went to the botanical gardens. These were not too exciting for me except that there were tons of monkeys roaming around with the visitors. We stayed there for a little while looked at the flowers and trees before heading back to the bus. From there we came back to the ship, having to skip several sites we planned to visit because we had left late. Overall it was a good way to get a feel for the island and to spend my first day there.
When we got back to the ship I made a quick change before heading out for dinner and a night on the town with friends. We decided to have some street meat for dinner so we stopped outside a hotel for chicken satay. They are so good, especially dipped in the spicy peanut sauce. Kim, Zach, Ben and I sat for a while on the plastic tables drinking local beer and eating chicken satay. After that we walked around the corner to Momo and Slippery Senorita clubs. They had a live band at one and DJ at the other. We danced the night away until 11, when we had to go back to the ship in preparation for our 4am departure for the airport.
After packing quickly and getting 3 hours sleep, we headed to the union with all our bags. Because the tenders only run until 1am, we had to tender to shore with an overnight trip at 4:30am. Our flight wasn’t until 8am but the only other choice was the pay for a hotel for the night. After having some chocolate croissants and orange juice we boarded the tender at 4:30 and headed for the mainland. We had previously booked a taxi to the airport so we hopped in and were on our way. Needless to say we all fell asleep even though the drive was only half an hour long! When we arrived at the airport the AirAsia check in counter was not open so, surprise, we went back to sleep in the lounge. After checking in and realizing that seats were not assigned we went through to the lounge and waited for the plane to board. During these two hours we shopped in the duty free store and had a breakfast of sausage roll and tuna sandwich (better than having noodles at 6am I thought). When they announced that the plane had arrived everyone ran into a line so we followed. We waited in the line until the plane emptied and then boarded immediately. The plane had leather seats and was quite comfortable. We took off shortly after and slept on the 50 minute flight to Kuala Lumpur. When we arrived in KL we ordered a van to take us and Cory and Lauren, who were also staying at our hotel, to The Federal Hotel in downtown KL. This took about an hour and guess what we did? Yup we slept some more. When we woke up we checked in and headed to our room on the 6th floor. For the price we were paying we were surprised to enter and see that it was a king size bed with a single bed and not much else. We named the vast open space the ‘dancefloor’. Seeing as we hadn’t slept much the night before, we decided to nap for two hours before heading out to see the sights. Well two hours turned into 4 and it was 2pm before we left the hotel again. We jumped in a taxi and headed to little India. We first had a late lunch at a café and people watched. We had club sandwiches and soda! After lunch we walked down the main street and browsed the small market, stores and street meat stalls. Having just left India, it was hard to believe this was supposed to be Indian. We still aren’t sure if we were just lost or if we actually did see little India. After a disappointing time there (although we did enjoy the Ringgit store, the equivalent of the dollar store) we headed to the more touristy Central Market.
This was more of our style. Everything was for sale there from crafts to clothes and foods. We spent a while here and I bought a few souvenirs. Although the shopping was much better here, I was glad that we were able to go to a more cultural market to experience that too. We headed back to the hotel at 8pm and ordered chicken and beef satay from room service for dinner. The other girls got ready to go out but I was still suffering the effects of India so decided to stay in and get an early night. It was great to be able to use the internet, especially skype during our stay and to make phone calls home.
On the second day we had planned on getting up at 9:30 and heading to the Petronas towers, formerly the tallest twin towers in the world. By 11:30 we were all awake and getting ready. We didn’t arrive at the towers until 12:45 only to find out that they were sold out for the day. We decided to wake up early the next morning to try again. We headed into the attached mall to shop and have lunch. When we walked in the stores were all very expensive such as Coach, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel among others so being on a student budget we decided to have lunch at the food court and then head out to China town.
China town was far more successful. There were 2 intersecting streets that were closed to traffic and filled with vendors selling sun glasses, CDs, DVDs, bags, belts, t-shirts and souvenirs. We spent a long time here browsing the stalls but I didn’t buy much because I think most of the same things will be much cheaper when we get to Vietnam. The market closed about 4pm when the police arrived so we took a taxi to the central train station, KL sentral. After some tricky driving by our taxi driver (we reversed up a street and did numerous U-turns) we arrived. It was like a mall in itself with many restaurants and stores. We walked to the monorail station and purchased tickets for under a dollar. When the monorail came we boarded and it travelled high above the streets as it winded through the city. It was much like the monorail in Disney World and Las Vegas. We got to see the KL tower and Petronas towers and well as look down on the whole city. When we got off, we took the short walk back to our hotel through the winding back streets.
We had a relaxing late afternoon as we all got ready to go for dinner and a night out on the town (I was feeling much better by this time). We decided to go to a small traditional Japanese restaurant attached to the hotel. When we arrived and starting asking the waitress about various dishes on the menu, her reply to most of them was “no more”. Having some fairly picky eaters among us, we left the restaurant after discovering there were no spring rolls or dumplings. We headed down the side street next to the hotel to check out another Japanese restaurant and a thai restaurant. After much contemplation and debate, we decided to go to the Western restaurant at the top of our hotel (I wanted local food but was outvoted). The restaurant had a great view and revolved so we had a breathtaking view of the city from the 18th floor while we ate. The food was quite expensive and disappointing as well. I had cream of mushroom soup and a noodle dish, one of the only local selections on the menu. We ate with Lauren, Kendall, Jon, Anna, Kevin and another guy who were also staying at our hotel. It was a fun evening but the food was less than impressive. We had a small argument with the hostess when she objected to us crossing our credit card numbers off the receipts. They don’t agree that only the last 4 digits are needed. We had been instructed to do this on the ship to prevent fraud. We finally settled our bills and returned to our room to finish getting ready to go out.
When we got to the room and laid down from being so full, we all got tired and decided not to go out but instead to stay in and watch movies. We had to get up at 6:30am to go to the towers to get tickets anyways so we decided that if we were to have a hope in hell of making it out of bed that early that we should get as much sleep as possible. After skyping for a while, we finally went to bed around 1am. After the wake-up call at 6:30 I was the only one to wake up and get ready. At ten to seven I woke the others up and told them I was leaving in half an hour with or without them. One by one they got up and got ready and we were out the door and in a taxi by 7:15. We arrived at the towers at 7:45 only to find the line already very long. We wanted to go up the towers at 9am but figured since that was the most popular time, that we wouldn’t get it so didn’t bother waiting. We went back to the hotel for breakfast before heading to the Lake Gardens. There was a buffet and an a la carte menu. We decided to eat from the menu after finding out that the buffet was 15 dollars. After laughing at the waitress when she told me the price, she lowered it to 28 ringgits, the equivalent of nine dollars. We enjoyed the breakfast which included western foods as well as noodles, rice, chicken sausages, fruit and other local delicacies. After breakfast Nicole wasn’t feeling well so Kerry, Leah and I headed to the Lake Gardens.
Our taxi driver dropped us off at the world’s largest covered bird park but this didn’t really appeal to us so we went to the Kuala Lumpur orchid garden instead. It was very beautiful but more like a nursery than we had imagined. After a quick walk around here we waited for the small shuttle bus that went all around the gardens. Because we didn’t have too much time, we decided this was the best way to see as much of the gardens as we could. After paying the equivalent of a few cents we hopped on. It was quite a disappointing trip to say the least. We saw more restaurants than garden and it seemed that it acted more as public transportation for the locals than for sightseeing purposes. Nonetheless it gave us a good look into the rest of the gardens that we couldn’t go to. Although lonely planet had recommended this as a not to miss site, I beg to differ. It was hardly the beautiful natural environment that you picture and was more a space for locals to bring their children to play and to practice tai chi.
After taking a taxi back to the hotel we packed up our stuff and headed to the airport. We had a state of the art taxi, complete with DVD player, leopard print fabric on the doors, racing seats and steering wheel and tissues coming out of the ceiling. Once again we all fell asleep on the ride and I managed to get some pretty entertaining pictures of the others passed out. When we arrived at the airport we checked in to our flight, having avoided a young woman who was trying to get us to take her bag onto the plane for her. After a two hour wait we finally boarded the plane and headed back to Penang. Guess what we did on the flight? Yup, we slept again!
When we got back to Penang we took a taxi back to the ship and Nicole, Kerry and I headed to a bank machine and money changer. It was a good opportunity to get some money changed into American and Vietnamese dong for future ports. We then headed back to the port to wait for the tender.
We arrived back at the ship at 6pm and decided to meet for dinner and a final night out at 7. After a quick shower and change I was feeling fresh and ready to go again. We took the tender to shore and looked for a taxi. We wanted to go to a steamboat restaurant, where you cook your food at the table on a barbeque style grill. The taxi driver took us to a restaurant that looked a little questionable so we walked around until we found a good place. We arrived at restauran Golden, which was filled with locals and no tourists, so we figured it had to be good. Joseph the owner came out to personally greet us and show us how to use the steamboat and cook the food. We had no idea what we were doing at first so it was a little bit of an adventure. Inside there was a large buffet of raw chicken, beef, pork, seafood, sausage, noodles and vegetables. We picked what we wanted to cook and headed outside to our table. The apparatus was already set up and featured a grill surrounding a vat of broth in the middle. We were instructed to butter the grill before cooking on it. Vegetables went into the broth and meats on the grill. Although we were not sure what to expect the food was delicious. We stayed for over an hour and ate far too much. We just kept putting more food onto the steamboat and eating it as it cooked. My favorite was an orange coloured chicken and the pre-cooked chicken satay which was the best I tasted in Malaysia. We really enjoyed our authentic meal here and thanked Joseph endlessly telling him we would recommend the restaurant to all our friends. We left a large tip and then headed for the door. As we were walking out Joseph chased us and asked us where we were going. We told him we were going to walk to Momo, a local bar a short distance away. He insisted that he drive us because it was too dark and dangerous for us to walk alone. We were very grateful when we saw where he drove us, through dark streets and quite alleys. We arrived at the bar a few minutes later, a journey which would have taken probably an hour to walk.
We had a great time at the two bars, Momo and Slippery Senioritas (we called it slippery susan’). We made sure to leave at 12:30am in order to make sure we were back at the dock at 1am for the last tender. The tender was packed with people coming back from the bar so as you can imagine, it was pretty much chaos. Well we finally made it and I headed for my cabin and hopped in to bed. I planned to get up fairly early the next morning to go to an internet café with Nicole and Kerry.
Well I woke up at 11:30 when Nicole and Kerry called to say that they were going to go to the internet café later in the afternoon. We met up for lunch at 12. It was a really good lunch as the food always is when we are in port. The cheeseburger days and pizza days are always in port and I haven’t even had one yet!
Anyway I went back to my room and lay down as I wasn’t feeling to hot from the night before. At 1:30 we headed to the union to meet the group for our orphanage visit. We didn’t end up leaving until about 2pm when we boarded the tender to head to shore. Once there we took a short bus ride to the St. Joseph’s Orphanage. When we arrive I was expecting a poor and run down place like the ones we had visited in other countries. It was exactly the opposite. The facilities were immaculate and modern and the children were well dressed and clean. Many of them spoke some English and all were polite. We were first told a little bit of information about the school and the children. They are split into grades and girls and boys go to class and live separately. There are 4 full time staff and the orphanage survives on donations alone. After the short introduction we were allowed to spend the rest of the time interacting with the children. Many played soccer, catch and others coloured, played with play dough and talked to the children. We gave them gifts of hair clips, pencils and stickers. I sat with Lauren, Leah, Rebecca and Marissa and we coloured and played play dough with a group of 3 girls. After a while other girls joined us and we played catch with a squishy ball.
Just before the trip was scheduled to leave me and Leah decided to head out into the town to pick up some last minute supplies before returning to the ship. We walked to the happy mart and picked up snacks. From there we wanted to get something to eat. We walked for a while but because it was Sunday there was not much open. We decided to get into a trishaw and ask the driver to take us to a good restaurant. He dropped us off at a busy street and we walked along. There was plenty of Indian food but I didn’t think my stomach was up for that again! In the end we ended up wandering back to the ship early. We boarded for the last time at about 5pm.
When we got back I changed some money into dong (for Vietnam) and mailed some postcards. We then went to dinner on the ship. I was not feeling well so after dinner I just relaxed until nine thirty. Then we had an Easter service led by some of the students who lead the bible study group. It was a really good experience and I was able to see that religion can be funny and light and not so serious and stuffy. I really enjoyed it and there were lots of people there and it was really encouraging to hear the testimonies of some of them. I went to bed around midnight. We are three days away from Vietnam now and I am really excited for it. I cannot wait to experience the markets and all the historical sites I have been told about! Until next time …xo

India

Well we have just left India and I have a lot to talk about! Most of my experiences there were so amazing it is hard to describe them and put them in words. The contrast and diversity of the country was so apparent.
On the first day we arrived the ship was cleared at about 10:45am. We rushed to have our passports stamped by Indian officials and receive our landing cards. Because our flight to Delhi was leaving at 12:40 we had to rush to get off the ship in the first bunch. We ended up having to pretend we were part of the trip organized by Semester at Sea because they always give them priority in disembarking the ship. I met with some other people going on my independent trip to take auto-rickshaws to the airport. These are three wheeled tiny cars essentially, which go about as fast as a 50cc scooter. The drivers are so skilled, but it is very scary riding in one because at every moment it looks like you are going to hit another car! My friend Mason and I were the first rickshaw to leave the port. We agreed on paying 100rps (about $2.50) to get to the airport, a trip which should have taken about 40 minutes. Instead our driver took us on a half hour detour in the wrong direction. When we arrived deep in the heart of Chennai he told us to switch into another rickshaw. The drivers of the rickshaws are very manipulative and also find reasons to stop, take the long route or to increase the price during the ride. We finally arrived at the airport at 12:30, only ten minutes before our IndiGo flight was scheduled to leave. We went into the terminal where we were told that we were in the international terminal and not the domestic terminal. We sprinted to the domestic terminal which was about 200m away only to find that the check in counter was closed. We begged them to let us in so that we could stay with the rest of our group. They checked us in quickly and ran with us to security. Despite warnings they barely checked our bags, and I continued to the pan with a full water bottle in my bag. We were the last people to get on the plane and the rest of our group was very relieved.
The IndiGo flight was very much like any in the West with a few noticeable differences. The first being that the stewards and stewardesses were very friendly but also very demanding. When it was time for food or to land, they woke everyone one up to ask if they wanted something to eat. This was a surprise to me because if you are sleeping normally, they just pass you by! The second and maybe the biggest difference was that no matter how short the flight was they always served a full meal. This usually meant rice or naan, with two different curry dishes accompanied by a bottle of water and a desert. The service was also very good, they came around to pick up the trays about ten minutes after they had finished distributing them. This was convenient for those of us who were trying to get some sleep on the flights.
After the short flight to Delhi we were greeted by our tour guides and given fresh floral necklaces. We boarded a large bus and headed out for a tour of Delhi. Although we visited many places and it is impossible to name them all, some of the major sites that we visited were India Gate, the memorial to all the soldiers that died in the wars. We also visited the presidential palace and national parliament. These were huge buildings that were surrounded by well manicured gardens. We drove past all of the embassies. One thing that was very cool for me was to see many people just relaxing or sleeping in the public gardens. At the monuments where we were able to get off the bus, many people were begging and trying to sell us souvenirs, chips, henna, and ice cream. Little did we know that this was just a taste of what the rest of the trip was going to be like. After the afternoon bus tour we checked into our ‘rustic’ hotel, the Ashoka International Hotel. The rooms were very basic, with a bed, couch, TV and air conditioner. At first glance the room looked normal but on further investigation, the air conditioner did not work and the bed was quite uncomfortable. The bathroom thankfully had a western toilet and shower. In the shower was a large bucket. No one was quite shore what the bucket was to be used for but it only got in the way. Picture me in a limbo-esque position trying to get my head under the showerhead while standing behind the bucket. We were suggested not to drink the tap water so we brushed our teeth with bottled water. After dumping our stuff and quickly refreshing ourselves we headed out again for dinner. We went to a lovely restaurant in Delhi. Being unsure of whether women were allowed to drink beer, all the girls ordered water. Only after the waiters questioned why we didn’t want to try Kingfisher. We were relieved and all tried the beer, which they serve at the House of India, and liked it very much. They began by brining naan with a variety of sauces. We were all starving so were eating as if we hadn’t eaten in days. As we kept eating, the food kept coming. Chicken, curries, vegetable dishes and more kept coming until we were all stuffed and had to waddle out of the restaurant. After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before our early departure the next morning.
At 4:45am the phone rang for our wakeup call. I took a freezing cold shower because we couldn’t figure out how to work the faucets. As I limboed over the bucket in the freezing cold water at 4:45am, I thought, what the hell am I doing here? At 5:30 we met in the hotel ‘lobby’ to board the bus to go to the train station. When we arrived, we found that many people were sleeping on the floor. The same happened on the streets where many people sleep directly on the pavement and others sleep under makeshift tents on cots or foam matresses. Even at 5:30 in the morning, many people were awake and cooking over open fires on the sidewalks. The train station was the home for many people and even at the crack of dawn, was bustling like I would have thought it would at noon. The train station was fairly dirty with many people and children begging once again. We boarded the train at 6:15 for a two and a half hour ride to Agra. When on the train, we got good views of the countryside we were passing through. We were once again served a full meal on board. After arriving in Agra and battling the beggars at the train station there, we once again boarded a bus headed for the Taj Mahal. When we arrived we boarded a battery operated bus that transported us close to the entrance and we paid our $20 entrance fee and were given a bottle of water and a pair of shoe covers. Our group split into two and we started walking towards the gate of the Taj. The gate is self was so big and elaborate that it could have been a monument alone. As you walked through the gate, the Taj came into view. Before arriving at the Taj, I wasn’t that excited to see it. I figured it would be a large beautiful building and not much more. Well was I ever wrong. When our tour guide told us the history behind the building of the Taj I now saw it as the most extravagant expression of love. When his wife died during childbirth the king promised her two wishes; that he would never marry again and that he would honour her memory with a memorial. It took 22 years to be completed and is completely symmetrical, right down to the water features and gardens that surround it. The only thing that isn’t symmetrical is the tombs inside, as it was originally built for only one. When the husband died, he was also buried there, although not in the center, making it unsymmetrical. The husband’s wish was not granted to have a black duplicate of the Taj built after his death. Every detail and tiny stone in the structure is especially placed, with the floral designs made of semi-precious stones from Africa, Saudi Arabia and Asia. Each one is hand sculpted and embedded into the marble. After spending about an hour marveling at the structure and taking lots of pictures, we headed back to the bus. From here we went to a silk carpet making factory. We learned how each row of silk is aligned to form the pattern on the carpet. Each small carpet can take a month to make! After learning about the process, guess what came next. Yes, the salesmen emerged and began trying to sell the carpets. Surprisingly to me, although they were very beautiful, many people bought carpets of all sizes. Some were large and needed to be shipped back to the states. Upstairs there was a silk scarf shop. This was of more interest to me and I bought a few beautiful scarves for next to nothing. We then reboarded the bus headed to a five star hotel for a buffet lunch which was delicious.
After lunch we again hopped on the bus for some more sightseeing. We visited the Agra Fort which is made of red sandstone and is huge. It served as the home of the president and also the place where he was later imprisoned by his son after being overthrown. The grounds also housed the public forum, local market and a temple. Again, much of the detailing was semi-precious stone imbedded in white marble, as well as gold, which has since been removed.
After leaving the fort we were all very tired and opted not to drive for an hour to see another fort. Instead we visited the marble art showroom, where the ancestors of the people who detailed the Taj now produce marble crafts. They showed us how they shape and embed the semi-precious stone into the marble, just as is done in the walls of the Taj. We then browsed the gift shop but everything was too expensive for us to buy anything. Because our train did not leave until 8pm we had some time to kill. Someone suggested to the tour guide that we visit a local market. Well we were in for a surprise. The bus dropped us off at a real local bazaar. There were cows roaming the streets and vendors selling fruits and meats on the street. There were some stores selling local clothing and saris. Although it was a good way to experience the culture, it was not what we had in mind. When we reboarded the bus, we explained to the driver that we wanted to visit somewhere to pick up souvenirs. He then took us to the India Art Bazaar. This store had everything you could possible want to buy, from scarves and saris, to pillow cases, jewelry, woodwork and art. Although it was quite expensive, a few people bought saris but most just picked up some t-shirts.
Our next stop was a local store where we could buy authentic tea. Not being interested in tea, I headed next door to a small store and picked up the same t-shirts that everyone else had purchased at the last stop for half the price. I was quite proud of myself, Nana would have been proud. I picked up some Pringles (which I am discovering are a universal food staple, as they have been available in every country so far) for dinner and headed back to the bus. Our last stop before heading back to the train station was to return to the hotel where we had lunch. Some people browsed the stores there for postcards and magnets while others used the internet. It was a good place to kill time before heading to the train station.
After an exhausting train ride, we finally arrived back in Delhi and were transferred to the hotel where we crashed, to be ready for another early morning the next day!
On day 3 we were headed to Varanasi (pronounced Waranashi by the locals). We woke up early for our flight at 8:30am. After a quick ‘full American breakfast’ of friend eggs and toast, we were headed back to the Delhi airport. After another short flight to Varanasi, where we of course, were served a full meal, we landed in Varanasi. I half expected the air to smell like smoke and decomposing bodies when we landed but this was not the case. After exiting the airport, we boarded a huge bright orange bus to travel to hotel India. When we arrived it was clear that this was a step up from our last lodging. Before exploring the rooms we settled down for yet another buffet lunch at the restaurant in the hotel. It was much smaller than the 5 star hotel we ate at in Agra. By this point the food was becoming quite tedious. Don’t get me wrong I like India food but when you eat it all the time it somewhat loses its appeal. The typical meal consisted of several curries, rice, naan and a vegetable dish. Although all meals were included in our trip, drinks were not. That meant we had to be slightly ghetto and fill our glasses from the water bottles in our backpacks.
After a quick lunch we split up into pairs and were given our room keys. On first glance our room was great. There were two single beds, a sitting area, a TV and a fully functional bathroom (with hot water but no mirror). We were told that we had the afternoon to ourselves and that we had to be back at 4:30. I decided to lie down for a few minutes to read. I threw myself onto the bed only to find out it was as hard as concrete. That ended my reading before it started so I headed downstairs to meet the group to walk around the town. Some people wanted to go to internet cafes and bank machines so myself and two others decided to head to the ‘mall’. We were pointed in the direction where there seemed to be a lot of people coming back. We kept walking amid stares and annoyance from rickshaw drivers and finally arrived at the ‘mall’. It was a small street market which was absolutely packed with locals in saris and lunghis. Needless to say we were very out of place. It seemed like some sort of festival as lots of people were just sitting around when presumably they should have been at work. We wandered for a few minutes through the stalls but most were selling fruits and vegetables and street food which we were specifically told not to eat. I felt very uncomfortable because people were continuously staring and gawking at us so we decided to turn around and head back towards the hotel. As we walked away from the market we were hassled by many rickshaw drivers but one in particular followed us all the way back to the hotel. You think it would have been better for him to wait for some people who would actually want to get in and then pay him, instead of pedaling alongside us when we repeatedly said no.
When we returned to the hotel we decided to visit the small gift shop located on the property. The owner and his wife were very friendly and called us their ‘babies’. We sat on a couch in a room that was about 6 feet square filled with pillow cases, saris, tunics and pashmenas. He showed us pictures of his family and the guestbook of past visitors. Because he was so friendly we felt obliged to buy something but after hearing the prices, which were much cheaper than anywhere else we had visited, I picked up two pashmenas for a total of five dollars. I then headed upstairs to our room and read my book on the couch. I have never done so much reading! I have read three books since being on the ship, as well as doing a bit of my reading for class.
At 4:30 we boarded the big orange bus to head toward the Ganges, or the Ganga as it is called in the local language. Because the prime minister was to be visiting the next evening, the streets were packed with people and vehicles and security was high. When we encountered this congestion the bus pulled into a parking lot and we all boarded the rickshaws. These were the manual ones that must be pedaled. I felt sorry for our driver who looked to be about 70 and skinnier than me. Not only did he have to pull our weight but also the weight of the inefficient bike. Every time we stopped in traffic we thought he was going to have a heart attack when he had to start from a dead stop again. The traffic was so bad at one point that the group of 12 rickshaws had to turn around and go down a different side street. The streets we went down were only wide enough for two rickshaws to pass. The open shop fronts filled the air with spicy aromas and entrepreneurs watched as we passed by. Children waved and screamed from windows high above the street and loved it when we blew kisses to them. When we finally got stuck in too much traffic to pass by, we dismounted and walked the rest of the way to the river. The closer we got to the site of the aarti (ceremony for releasing the ashes into the river) the more people were trying to sell us postcards, henna sets and jewelry. We stood for about half an hour to absorb the atmosphere. It is hard to put into words the feeling of the city but it really was fascinating. At 6:30 every night hundreds of people come to the steps of the river and there is a musical ceremony. Many people also watch from rowboats on the river. We boarded a row boat and headed out to see the smaller of the two crematoria. I was shocked to learn that the bodies are covered in cloth and then placed in the fire. It is in the open air, on the edge of the river. The relatives then collect the ashes for the ceremony.
For those who don’t know Varanasi and the Ganges are seen as very holy places in the Hindu religion. Many people bathe in the river to cleanse their souls and to be cremated there means that you are going to rest in peace and join with the Gods. People come from all over India to die in Varanasi, and there are special old houses where the people can stay until they die. Everyone is cremated with the exception of five groups of people. Pregnant women, children under 5, holy people and people who die from leprosy or another disease that I can’t remember, are not cremated. Their bodies are lashed to large boulders and sunk in the middle of the river. Because cows are so sacred, when they die, they are simply put into the river and float until they sink. It was quite scary thinking of what was in the water that our boat was floating on. After seeing the crematorium we rowed back to the site of the aarti to listen to the chanting and music. It is a very moving and emotional experience. People buy and release small floating candles into the river so it is a very beautiful sight at night.
After getting virtually eaten alive by mosquitoes the size of large birds we headed back to the shore and walked slowly back to our rickshaws, contemplating all that we had just witnessed. I have never seen so many people with physical deformities before. It seemed as though every 3rd person was missing a limb or two and begging in the hope that you would take pity on them and give them something. It was hard to say no and walk past them, especially for the children. We rode the rickshaws back to the big orange bus and then were transported back to the hotel. Guess what we had for dinner? Yep, you’re right, a buffet of curry, naan, rice and vegetables. I didn’t eat much this time besides naan and sauce. It was about 8:30 by this time and I went back to my room and did some reading. We had another early morning on Saturday so I decided to hit the hay around 11. A bunch of people from our group went across the street to a local wedding. Had I known people were going, I would have loved to do that. We have been told that weddings are one of the best ways to get information about a culture. We have also been told that if we see any weddings in Malaysia, that we should crash them!
On our last morning we woke up at 4:30 to meet at the bus at 5:15. I had a wonderful hot shower, and didn’t have to limbo over a bucket this time. When we met on the bus, a lot of people were missing. Some of us went and knocked on doors and made calls to rooms and more people showed up. By 5:45 we were in danger of missing the sunrise on the river and left without 4 people. We drove to the river and once again boarded a row boat, only without the bugs this time. As the sun rose, we paddled towards the larger of the two crematoria. They work around the clock and people just bring the bodies of their family members to be cremated soon after they have died. Because it was overcast, we didn’t actually ever see the sun rise but it was beautiful to see the people bathing in the river and worshiping their ancestors by lifting water out of the river and then letting it fall back in. Many people were washing clothes on the shores of the river too. I find it quite odd and rather repulsive that people swim, bathe, wash clothes and even drink the water that has been polluted by so many dead bodies. I guess the power of spirituality is so strong that none of that matters.
After returning to the hotel to pick up our luggage and have a quick breakfast we headed off to the place where Buddha gave his first sermon. We first visited a historic temple in Sarnath before heading to the site of the sermon. A large stone monument covered with gold had been built on the site and there were many Buddhists praying on the grass in front of it. Surrounding the site were many small brick monuments whose name escapes me and the site of a temple where Buddha used to meditate. Not being a history buff myself, I was somewhat bored during this part of the tour but was able to appreciate the historical importance of these sites.
After leaving the gardens, we went to a silk factory. Some members of the group had been the day before but it was really interesting to see how silk products are made, thread by thread. Once again there was plenty to buy, but I held back the urge. Some people bought ties, wall hangings and even bead spreads. I am saving my money to get clothes in Vietnam! After a short bus ride we stopped at a local hotel for, you guessed it, another buffet lunch. This one was not as good as the eight thousand we had already had and as soon as we finished we wandered into the town for our last taste of Varanasi. Some of the guys in our group spent 50 cents to have a blade shave, complete with head, back and face massage from the roadside vendors. Many of us watched as it looked as if they were being beaten by the barber, when in fact, they were only being massaged.
After lunch we headed for the airport, which was very busy because of the arrival of the prime-minister. We survived several power outages before boarding our flight to Delhi. Here we had a two hour lay-over before flying back to Chennai. When we arrived in Chennai it was almost midnight and raining. I hopped into a rickshaw with two girls who were on another trip. After bartering with the driver and forcing him to take us the most direct route back to the ship, we arrived safely, although exhausted! I dumped my bag and washed my feet, which were very dirty from the “dusty country” before crawling into bed.
The next morning I woke up at 8:30am in order to make plans with friends for the day. In the end I decided to head off to Spencer’s Plaza with 5 friends. We left the ship and walked along the long dusty road to find a rickshaw. About half way there two of the girls realized that they had forgotten their landing cards so had to go back. The other 4 of us got rickshaws and bartered with the drivers to get a good price. Originally they tried to tell us that Spencer’s Plaza was closed so that they could charge us a higher price to take us further. Eventually we told them to just go there and if it was closed when we got there, we could go somewhere else from there. Well surprise, when we got their it was open. We headed into the indoor market with 4 floors. There were millions of little stores selling souvenirs, pashminas, saris, cameras, ipods and anything else you could ever need (except postcards and magnets). We met up with the other girls at Subway for a quick sandwich before splitting up into two groups. The three of us browsed some stores near the food court but then decided to return to a store we had been to earlier with good prices and good quality silk products. I picked up some pashminas, wallets and a purse and paid for the items. As I was paying an interesting situation played out.
As I looked out of the store front, I saw the other worker ripping down pashminas and throwing them into the store. I naively asked if they were closing, which is when the second shopkeeper ran out too and pulled down the metal gate. When we tried to run out of the store, they would not let us leave. They turned off the lights and told us to get down and be quiet. I know this sounds like a kidnapping but scary, as it was at the time, looking back we were told to do these things for our own safety. After one shop keeper looked out into the hallway and saw it was clear he told us to run as fast as we could to the nearest exit. Still not knowing what was going on, we did as we were told, leaving our purchases in the store. When we got to the exit, many people were gathered and there were many rumors about what had happened. Fire, gunshots, fights, anything you could think of. After a few minutes the shopkeeper came out to tell us what was going on. He told us that there had been a fight on the fourth floor between two groups. Because we were on the bottom floor, they had thought the worst and had done everything they could to protect us. He told us that we had left our stuff in the store and would be able to come back in shortly to get it. It was surprising that he was so honest, given the precedent in India. After a few minutes everything was safe enough to return to the store and finish paying and then to receive our purchases. Although the stores all re-opened, we did not feel comfortable and decided to head to another outdoor market. We were only here for a short time but had a chance to go to the grocery store to pick up some staples (Pringles) and to also browse the stalls. Most were selling children’s toys, shoes and bindis (the dots to go on women’s foreheads). After finally finding an Indian flag, we headed back to the ship in a rickshaw.
At 3pm, 5 of us headed to the Missionaries of Charity orphanage, the brainchild of mother Theresa. I was not prepared at all for what I was about to see when we arrived. 90% of the children had severe physical and mental disabilities. The ones that could come outside were mostly in wheelchairs and the ones that couldn’t come outside were confined to cots are laid immobile on plastic mats. Many were unable to move at all so we sat on the floor massaging them and smiling and talking to them. It was very hard to see this and many of us broke down. To think that every day they must depend on somewhere else to move them, feed them, change their clothes and bathe them made me very appreciative. We spoke with Helen, a European worker at the orphanage. She told us a little bit about the organization and her role within it. At around 5pm the children were having dinner so we helped to feed some of them and play with the others who were not being fed. At 5:30pm visitor hours ended and we had to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to the children and we wondered what they did when there weren’t strangers to come and play with them. It was a really sobering way to end my experience in India, and a fitting way nonetheless. My visit to the orphanage effectively served to sum up my whole Indian experience; I loved the experience, but I did not love India, although I am very glad and grateful that I was able to experience it.

Sea Olympics

So I know I usually don’t write while we were at sea but I want to say a few things about the Sea Olympics. They were supposed to be held the day after we left South Africa but were moved due to the threat of rough seas. Turns out that it was good because we didn’t end up leaving until a day late anyway. The Sea Olympics was on Saturday, March 8 but started well before that. Prior to the competition day, there were 3 captain’s challenges. The first was to make up a dance or skit. I am in the Yellow Sea, the best sea. We did a stomp routine with chanting and ended up coming second! The second challenge was a trivia challenge for our sea captains to test how well they know each other. We didn’t place in that round but did make it to the final round. The last challenge was to tell a story in less than 5 minutes and 22 seconds about something on the voyage this far. We did a skit that incorporated singing, acting and chanting. We ended up being disqualified because apparently our skit was inappropriate.
The actual Olympic day began early at 8am with a yellow sea breakfast. We all sat together and ate while we painted our faces and decorated ourselves with yellow. At 9am the opening ceremony began and we marched in 3rd. Each team entered with a cheer, which we were judged on. We ended up coming third for our entrance. At 10am the events began. Everyone was allowed to participate in 3 events as long as they didn’t overlap. Events included scavenger hunt, photography competition, pie eating, ping pong, flip-cup, trivia, simon-says, bowling, uno, scrabble, Pictionary, poker, mash potato sculpting, synchronized swimming, wet clothes relay and lip sync. The yellow sea led the competition for much of the morning but in the afternoon other seas started gaining on us. We didn’t win many events, I think only one, but we placed in most of the events. Going into the lip sync competition it was neck and neck between the yellow sea, the Caribbean sea and the Baltic sea. Although our lip sync was really good and well choreographed, it wasn’t as entertaining and funny as the other teams. We didn’t place in that event and subsequently ended up coming 3rd overall. We were all really happy with that because although we were competitive, we were laid back too.

I participated in the scavenger hunt. We had to find and take pictures of 26 different things and people around the ship. There was a team of ten people from the yellow sea and we split up the list. There were things like a picture with your favorite crew member, a picture with the dean, with the global studies text book, on the treadmill, and your sea captain cheering on the team. These things were all very easy to find so points were allocated based on originality and creativity. Some of our pictures were quite funny and I will post them when I get the chance. For the favorite crew member picture we took a picture of our steward tucked into a bed with a student vacuuming around him. We ended up coming 2nd out of the 10 teams which was really rewarding. The hunt took all day, simply because we had to think of original ways to capture each image. It was really fun and I got to meet some new people from my sea. I think overall the sea Olympics was one of the best days of the voyage thus far. We will arrive in India tomorrow but until the next post….xo

Mauritius

WOW AM I EXCITED THIS THING IS WORKING AGAIN!

Today is March 5th and we left Port Louis Mauritius last night. I am not sure how much I want to say about Mauritius because I had a really mixed experience. Our group of friends decided to rent a beach villa in Flic-en-Flac, a popular beach town. We had 13 people and therefore had difficulty finding a place to stay. After searching every website and contacting just about every person who lives in Mauritius we finally found Sandy, a renowned chef. When we arrived she picked us up at the ship, with the other 50 people who were staying in her accommodations. We drove to Flic-en-flac, about a forty minute drive and arrived at her home. We enjoyed drinks while we paid and waited to be driven to our villa. When we finally left, we drove to a nearby apartment complex. On first sight the villas looked average. They were by no means five star but they seemed to be ok. We were split into two groups, with two apartments, one with 6 people and the other with 7. I was in the six person. Our apartment was fine; the bedrooms had air conditioning, it was close to the beach and had all the amenities we needed (pretty much just a fridge).
At 3pm, three of the group, including myself left flic-en-flac to return to the ship. I had a field program that evening called ‘multicultural evening’. Nicole, my friend also on the trip, and I headed into the waterfront area of Port Louis to kill time before the evening began at 7:30. We had a bite to eat at McDonalds, just to see if it really is the same in all countries and then headed into the shopping area. There were all sorts of designer shops selling fake Lacoste, Abercrombie and others. We were tempted but I wanted to hold off until Vietnam. We decided to sit at a little café on the waterfront and have a drink. The weather in Mauritius was the hottest yet, but in the evening it was a comfortable temperature, which made it nice to sit outside and people watch. At six we returned to the ship to get ready for our FDP.
When we arrived at the colonial estate, we were lead to a large room where tables were set up around a dance floor. We took a seat and ate appetizers while dancers performed Indian, Chinese, Creole and Oriental dances. Between dances, the buffet was opened to enjoy different course. After the appetizers we had a salad bar followed by the main course. The food was delicious and definitely the highlight of the evening. Although the dancing was nice, there was no commentary so we didn’t know what we were watching. I felt that the evening was enjoyable but didn’t really follow the program that we had originally signed up for. Afterward we headed back to the ship and decided to sleep there and head back to the villa in the morning.
After a good breakfast on the ship Nicole and I head back to the villa. When we arrive at 10am everyone is still sleeping. We wake them up and all put on our bathing suits and head to the beach. The beach was pretty but the sand was very rocky. It looked similar to Bermuda because the water is turquoise but the beaches were a lot narrower. The distance between the water and the park beyond the beach was only about 12 feet in some cases. We laid out on the beach for a while, between swims. The sun was so strong that I needed to put on more sunscreen every half an hour. We all got very hot very quickly and took lots of swims to cool off. Around lunch time we wandered further down the beach for some lunch. There were many lunch wagons and ice cream trucks parked at the beach so I decided to try a kebab. It is a sub sandwich filled with shaved chicken, sauce and vegetables. It was delicious. I also had an Appletizer, which I was happy to find in Mauritius after loving them so much in South Africa. After lunch we moved our things into the shade. The whole beach was covered with families who had camped for the day, because it was Sunday. They had brought everything from chairs, to small stoves and tons of food. It was much like cup match in Bermuda, but they didn’t have generators! All the locals were playing music so it was really nice to sit and read while listening to them play.
After returning to the villa, we took turns in the one working shower (the other tub had a large hole in the bottom). It was refreshing because the water was freezing cold! We all got ready for dinner and an evening out before having some cocktails. At around seven we headed to Sandys house for complimentary dinner and drinks. Everyone who was staying with her was there and it was nice to not have to buy food and cook for ourselves.
After dinner we headed downtown to Shots, the most popular bar. It was pretty much all Semester at Sea kids, which was really fun.
On the third day we woke up late as a result of the previous late night and lounged around for a while. Some of the group headed out to an adventure park but a few of us stayed behind. We headed into the town to find an internet café. After making contact with the outside world again, we headed to a roadside stand for some vegetable samosas. They were very cheap (four for about 30 cents) and were so delicious we ended up going back for more.
After returning to the villa we just spent the afternoon relaxing, a well needed rest for the constant rush of semester at sea life. In the evening we once again headed to Sandys for dinner. After dinner Leah and I decided to head back to the ship because we had excursions early the next morning. After walking a mile in dresses with our huge hiking bags we finally found a taxi. Although he charged us a ridiculous price, we made it back to the ship in one piece and were please to feel the air conditioning and comfortable beds.
Although many people were really upset with the service we received from Sandy (compared to the price we paid), I did not feel as strongly. Although the villas themselves were not what we expected (roaches and mice were staying there too apparently) I think they made up for that with their welcoming hospitality. They drove us to and from the ship and cooked breakfast and dinner for everyone. Despite the less than satisfactory living circumstances, I think that we all enjoyed ourselves and the time that we had to just relax.
On the last day in Mauritius, I had an excursion to the Terre de Paix children’s home. I almost missed the excursion though because I took a water taxi into the waterfront to post some letters and go to a bank machine. I headed back to the dock at 10:45 to catch the water taxi, figuring it would take me 15 minutes to get back to the ship, leaving time before my trip left at 11:30. Well I was wrong. The water taxi that we took was deathly slow. From the sound of the engine you would have thought it was going about 300 miles an hour, but in actual fact, I probably could have swam faster than we were moving. We finally arrived back at the ship at 11:20 and I sprinted onto the ship to pack my bag and grab my ticket for the tour. I made it to the bus on time and we headed for Terre de Paix.
Terre de Paix is a non-governmental organization that survives on government funding and donations, which provides schooling and housing for young people (from pre-school age up until 18) who have either failed in the public school system or who have social problems with their families. When we arrived, the children we on their lunch break and we played soccer with them. They then taught us how to play the national instrument, the Ravonne, which is like large round, flat drum. When played properly it makes all different sounds. Although several of us tried to play it, none were very successful. At one o’clock, when classes resumed, we were broken into small groups. I was able to attend art class. I was really surprised to see how good all of the students were at art. I was slightly embarrassed when the wanted me to draw for them, and the leaf I drew ended up looking more like a bar of soap! After we rotated, I went to the pre-school class. We played play dough with the children and gave them stickers. One little girl, Geraldine, was fascinated with my camera and took pictures of everything. None of the children spoke any English but this wasn’t a barrier, we communicated through songs, smiles and touch. After school ended, the children were all picked up and we stayed behind to speak with some of the teachers. They said that because most of the children came from troubled backgrounds, there were always misbehaved and difficult to manage. I did notice this in art class when one girl in particular, Kelly, would not do what the teacher instructed. She kept leaving during class and wandering around outside. I could see that this was frustrating to the teacher who had to constantly watch her.
Although most of the children live at home with their families, nine teenage boys live at Terre de Paix. They must take care of themselves, cook and clean, and are mentored by youth leaders. These are the children that have family problems. Younger children and girls in the same situation are looked after in foster homes by the teachers and other community members. When the boys turn 18 they must have a court hearing and return home. If they are unable to go home, they will live with three other boys and support themselves. It was sobering to see how these boys lived- with everything they had fitting into a shared wardrobe. Despite this though, they were all happy and lively and seemed to be proud to show us their home.
Before heading back into Port Louis, we went a local beach near the school. It was nice to see a different part of the coastline, but I really didn’t need to see another beach. The boys who lived at the school came with us on the bus and were really excited when we bought them popsicles at a corner store! After dropping them off back at the school we drove back into Port Louis and back to the ship. I really enjoyed the trip because I got to meet some new people but also because I was able to gain insight into the other side of life in Mauritius, which was not apparent in the touristic beach town of Flic-en-Flac.
For the last night Leah, Kara and I headed out to the waterfront one last time for dinner. We decided on Pizza hut, as Mauritius will probably be the last port for a while where we can eat Western food. It was pretty good and after eating we wandered back to hop on the water taxi back to the ship. Although I enjoyed the time we spent in Mauritius, I would rather have spent the time in South Africa or the countries we are yet to visit.
We are now on our way to India, which I am really excited but a little nervous for. I think this will be our first port which will be a big culture shock for us. Until next time…xo