Japan!

Japan was a pleasant surprise, and completely different than all of the other Asian countries that we’ve visited. It was peaceful, calm, quiet. There weren’t horns honking and cars whizzing by. There wasn’t shouting or pushing. There was orderliness and organization. Although there are tons of people everywhere, there was also a group of unspoken rules that the Japanese people clearly and easily abide by. I felt safe and comfortable, even though nobody spoke English and there were always so many people and crowds. If I looked lost for even a moment, someone would come to my rescue, speaking to me in Japanese and pointing in some direction. I really enjoyed the time I spent in Japan and all of the people and things to see.

The first day, the ship docked in Yokohama and I left the ship to explore with some of the girls. We explored the Yokohama area before deciding we would visit the aquarium. We made our way on the subway with surprising success and a fair amount of help from very accommodating local people, even though they didn’t speak a word of English. Once we got to the final subway stop, we grabbed lunch before purchasing our admission tickets to Sea Paradise. We went into the aquarium, which was really great… probably the most entertaining, thorough aquarium I have ever been to. We started off by seeing penguins, polar bears, otters, walruses, and seals. Then we went up an escalator, which was enclosed by aquarium walls and made us feel like we were inside the tank. Once we were upstairs, we saw all the rest of the aquarium exhibits- all sorts of fish, eels, lobsters, GIANT crabs, seahorses, and other sea life. There was a ton to see and we spent hours there. We went to another building to see the dolphins and a beluga whale, and then proceeded to the “Furreal Lagoon” to get up close and personal with more animals. We were able to explore the tide pools and touch starfish, urchins, and little sharks. We also had the opportunity to watch and pet whales and dolphins. However, the best part of the entire day came when we heard Christmas Carols and made our way to a seating area with an open stage portion in the front. Out walked a small lady speaking fast Japanese and dressed in a Santa Costume, and following her…6 penguins dressed up too! The penguins were wearing Christmas colored scarves with pom-poms, and red and white capes. These penguins definitely did not stay within the confines of the staged area, and were all running into the audience and around the premises. Eventually, all of the elf penguins were gathered up and placed on top of giant boxes painted to look like presents. Santa shared a bunch of information that we didn’t understand and then allowed us to all pet a penguin and take a photo with one of them. When the show was over, we took the subway back towards the port, grabbed dinner, and got back on the ship. We went to bed early that night in preparation for our early wake-up the next morning.

We woke up early on day 2, got breakfast on the ship, met up with our friends, and walked to the Subway station. We took the Subway to Tokyo, stood in line for tickets, and walked through the gates of the Tokyo Disney Resort. This resort consists of two parks- Disneyland and Disneysea. Of course we couldn’t justify visiting Disneyland- we could just go there in America! But Disneysea is unique to Japan and cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. Surprisingly, admission was not too expensive (unlike everything else in Japan). The park is divided into seven “ports of call”, and all of the rides are unique to Japan except two. We had a fantastic time walking around, going on rides, people-watching, shopping, eating, and just taking in the atmosphere of this incredible Disney Park. We spent the entire day there, and at the end of the day we split up- half of us went back to the ship, and the other group stayed in Tokyo for the night. I made my way back to Yokohama and the ship, opting to sail with the ship to Kobe, rather than remaining an “overlander” and meeting the ship there. It was only 36 hours from Yokohama to Kobe by sea, so those of us sailing had a free day on the ship, and it was more affordable for me to sail rather than paying for a hotel room, food, and transportation on my own to Kobe.

After one full day and two nights at sea, we arrived in our next port of Kobe. After we docked and I grabbed an early lunch on the ship, I met up with my friend Casey at the port terminal. Casey and I worked at the same camp over the summer and his girlfriend, who also worked there, let me know at the beginning of the voyage that he was moving to Japan and would be near the port. Casey and I got in touch and coordinated a time and place to meet so that he could show me around. I walked into the terminal and it took me about .3 seconds to spot Casey in his cowboy hat and giant TEXAS belt buckle. We took the subway to the neighborhood where Casey lives, talking about life in Japan and reminiscing about camp and all our mutual friends (or enemies). The looks that we got from all the Japanese people, as a cowboy and a blonde, were priceless. We grabbed lunch at a small restaurant (by this point, luckily, my chopstick skills were flawless), and Casey showed me where he lives, after a long conversation convincing the woman in charge of his building that I was not his girlfriend and not spending the night. I removed my shoes, as is customary in Japan, and the woman finally let me into the building. Casey let me use his computer while he opened his mail and packages, and then we left again. We took the subway to Kyoto, where we went to a big park/square. It was a National Holiday that the Japanese honor to recognize the changing of the leaves, so there were a lot of people there. This area had street entertainers, food vendors, women in kimonos, religious altars, HUGE temples, statues, and absolutely incredible scenery integrated with beautiful trees and leaves in all different colors. After spending some time there, we got back on the subway and went to “America town” to meet up with two of Casey’s friends. This area is full of restaurants and shops, and is characterized by a giant Statue of Liberty atop one of the buildings. Despite the name, this town was still full of Japanese people and Japanese speakers. We met up with Casey’s friends, wandered around, watched his friend get a tattoo to commemorate his home school, Texas A&M, and parted ways once Casey’s friends decided to go home for the night. Casey and I went to a little place (I never would have found in on my own) for a Japanese dinner. We ate all sorts of meat on little skewers and drank saki while chatting with all of the people working at this restaurant. Each person working wore a cloth headband tied around their head, and I expressed that I would really like one of these headbands! Casey told me that no matter how many times they eat there, or how many people ask, the employees never give away a headband. Well, after a little more saki and a lot more chatting with the restaurant staff, one of the waiters was tying a blue cloth around my head. We took some pictures and left the restaurant with new friends and a brand new headband! I was ready to get home, so Casey went halfway on the subway with me, then gave me precise directions to get back to the ship. I made my way through the subway stations and various transfers, all the while wearing my new headband, and made it safely back to the ship.

The sound of my alarm early the next morning was not a welcome one, but I slowly trudged out of bed for a class trip that I was going on that day. Chloe joined me and we met with my class to take the subway together to Arashiyama, a small town about an hour away. When we got to Arashiyama, I was smitten. It was a small, quiet, peaceful town, surrounded by sensational scenery and water filled with little boats. We hiked up a mountain towards a monkey colony! The monkeys on this mountain were Japanese macaques, and the mountain is their natural home. The monkeys are wild so it was very important not to provoke them or get too close to them. We walked up to the visitor center to learn more about the monkeys and to witness the unbelievable views of the mountain. The leaves were all changing colors and it was undoubtedly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The colors were indescribable and they covered the entire mountainside. From inside the visitor center, we were able to feed the monkeys through the fencing covering the open windows. The monkeys would come grab on to the fencing, and then we would hold the food out to them. It was amazing how gentle and precise the monkeys were when taking the food from our hands and eating it. Even the huge, dominant male monkeys were still very soft and sweet when we were feeding them. We walked up higher on the mountain to another spot where we could observe lots of monkeys and had fun watching the monkey feeding time. At this time, the staff members play a funny CD of fast-paced circus music, throw food all over, and watch the monkeys run from all over and crazily acquire as much food as they can. In true Japanese fashion, the theme music and presentation made this a very entertaining event. After a few hours of hanging out with the monkeys and exploring Arashiyama, we got back on the subway. We got a bite to eat and went back to the ship.

I was pleasantly surprised by our final international port. The peace and serenity of Japan was a nice change from the insanity that was displayed in India, Vietnam, and China. I’m sad that the voyage is coming to a close but avoiding too much thinking about that. On that note, I’m looking forward to Hawaii and to spending the final couple weeks with my friends before we all go back to our own homes. I am certainly not looking forward to 10 days at sea (our longest stretch yet), but I’ll stay busy with upcoming finals and the preparation for those. Thank goodness for cheap DVD’s in Vietnam, I have a feeling they will get a lot of use in the next week and a half…

China!

China was definitely the busiest port for me so far. We began the trip in Hong Kong, then I traveled to Beijing for four very busy days, and then met the ship in Shanghai. We were constantly on the go, seeing all the sights that China has to offer. Although the trip was exhausting, the language barrier was prominent, and the crowds were overwhelming, it was also the port where I was able to see and experience the most…not to mention great shopping deals!

We docked early in Hong Kong and the view from the ship was incredible. The skyline was just unbelievable. Even though I have seen photos and videos, nothing could have displayed what this view really looks like in real life. There were so many skyscrapers and they were all so tall and architecturally interesting. I was in complete awe and could not stop myself from staring at the city and taking pictures. All of my pictures, however, don’t even begin to do justice to what it really looks like or express how long and wide the skyline stretches. After the ship was cleared through immigration, I took a taxi with some friends to an area called Stanley Market. The drive was really cool, we began driving through Hong Kong, took the underwater tunnel from Hong Kong to the mainland, then drove through beautiful hills and forests, which was a complete change from the downtown area. There was beautiful water and oceanfront, as well and extensive and lush flora. We spent most of the day at the market, shopping and taking photos of the nice beachy area. We ate lunch at a small Chinese place with all locals and no English-speakers, and ordered by pointing at things and hoping for the best. Luckily, my chopstick skills have increased since the first attempt in Vietnam. After spending some time at Stanley Market, we went back to Hong Kong and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the downtown area of Hong Kong. Once it started to get dark, we took the ferry back to Kow Loon Island where the ship was docked. We hung out on the deck of the ship to watch the light show that occurs every night in Hong Kong. At this time, all of the buildings display lights in different colors and designs, and there are lasers from the tops of all of the tall buildings. The Hong Kong skyline at night was just amazing. All of the lights, especially since the Chinese were already all decked-out for Christmas, were really beautiful. Chloe and I left the ship for dinner and drinks with friends, and then came back to wake up for early trips that we both had the next day.

I woke up and met my travel group at breakfast on the ship. After taking a few final pictures of the Hong Kong skyline, we left for the airport. The airport had tons of restaurants and shops, which was nice since we had a few hours before our flight left. After a very bumpy three-hour flight to Beijing, we finally arrived and were picked up by a student at the airport. This student led us to a bus which would take us to our home for the next 4 days, Tsinghua University. This University is one of the top schools in all of China, and has very high academic standards. We stayed in the International Students Dorm, and were all assigned to our own rooms! After everyone was able to drop off their stuff in their room, we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. We ate the meal at big tables with big lazy susans in the middle. The waiters would bring out 10-15 dishes with enough food for everyone, and place them in the middle. Everyone would help themselves and then rotate the piece so that the other people would have a chance to try everything. This was the manner in which we ate every meal in Beijing. For dinner we had the very traditional Peking duck, which was really really good. We walked to campus and sat in a very nice classroom for a short presentation introducing the history and relevance of all of the sights that we would see that week. After this, everyone visited a store back on campus to buy warm clothes. Beijing was FREEZING and we all left the store with gloves, hats, ear-warmers, coats, socks, leggings, and scarves. We all went back to the dorm and settled into our own rooms for the night.

Early the next morning, we woke up to get a very interesting breakfast on campus. Honestly, I still don’t know what I ate, but my meal consisted of all sorts of dumplings and warm milky juice stuff. After breakfast, we had a Tai Chi lesson with a local women…it was interesting, but very cold and most of us had no idea what we were doing. The language barrier was frustrating so we just tried to follow the leader and keep warm! After our lesson, we drove to the Beijing Zoo to see the famous pandas. The entrance to the zoo consists of hundreds of panda statues, and once we entered we were ushered into a separate part of the zoo where the Giant Pandas live. We saw about 5 pandas and had a great time watching them and taking lots of pictures. There was a ton of merchandise and we all left with panda stuffed animals, slippers, scarves, etc. We ate lunch in the same manner that we had dinner the evening before, and then went to the summer palace. This palace consists of many buildings, structures, gardens, and most notably Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. This palace has served as a resort for emperors and empresses since it was built in the mid 1700’s. We walked on the long corridor that curves throughout the palace and gardens, and saw the four pavilions that represent the four directions (north, south, east, west). We were also able to see the famous seventeen-arch bridge and Marble Boat. There were a lot of people trying to sell various souvenirs, and everyone in our group gave in and bought panda hats. These were very necessary because of the extreme cold throughout Beijing, and also because we needed to remember our time at the Beijing zoo with the pandas! We took a bunch of pictures of our group of 15 or so, all sporting panda hats, and then left the palace to go back to Tsinghua campus. Once we returned to campus, we met with a group of students from the school. We split into groups of three and each group had a student lead us around campus. The Tsinghua campus is HUGE so we were unable to see the entire thing, but we walked around the saw some of the oldest buildings, two libraries, and a couple dining facilities. After walking with our guide, David, for about an hour, he took us to dinner at one of the cafeterias. It was similar to the dining facilities on my campus- lots of options, and cards that you scan to purchase food. David bought a bunch of different bowls of food and we all shared the various dishes. We gave David a gift of thanks, took some pictures, and he walked us back to our dorm. A few girls all gathered in my friend Liz’s room and we watched the English-Speaking Competition. This competition consists of Chinese students giving speeches and answering questions about controversial issues and current events in their best English. I was very impressed by the English-speaking skills of these students and we watched it for hours because nothing else on the television was in English.

We had another cold, early morning. I slept through breakfast and woke up to meet the bus and head to Tienamen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world and has hosted many events. It is most famously known for the protests that occurred in 1989, at which time many protestors were killed. Tiananmen Square began its construction in 1417, but portions have been damaged and rebuilt or changed and enlarged. The square consists of a large gate as well as a few buildings and halls. The square itself is a large open space without trees or structures. We went straight into the Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square, which is a huge maze or almost 1,000 buildings and multiple courts. It served as the home of the emperor for years and is now recognized as a World Heritage Site. Although there are maps and displays to help show the layout of the palace, it is still very complex and extensive. We walked through the various buildings and structures with our tour guide and tried to take in everything she was telling us about the square. Aside from all of the buildings and halls and rooms, there is a lot of symbolism and representation, including the colors of the roofs of each building, the use of specific numbers within the construction of the palace, and the layout of everything. The group wanted to move fast with the desire to get out of the cold, so we walked through everything relatively quickly, and eventually boarded the bus to go to lunch. After lunch, we went back out to see the Temple of Heaven. This temple was used by emperors for ceremonies in which they prayed to heaven for a good harvest. Basically this temple is a beautiful building atop a raised platform with very classic Chinese/oriental architecture. We didn’t spend much time there because aside from the temple, there is not much to see. After leaving the Temple of Heaven, we stopped by a gigantic market where they sold all sorts of goods and items for CHEAP! I bought boots, jeans, a jacket, and some clothes, many of which were designer items for anywhere from $5-$20! This was a crazy adventure, trying to bargain with locals and get good deals. After shopping, we went to a crazy acrobatic show, where the performers did crazy tricks with tightropes, jumping through rings, and bicycles- including fitting 14 people on one bike! The show went late so we went straight back to campus when it was over to wake up for an exciting morning!

We finally made our way to the Great Wall of China on our last day in Beijing. It was FREEZING but after hiking the wall for about 5 minutes, we were working up a sweat. Most people know the history of the Great Wall, so I will spare any lengthy historical details. The wall is absolutely surreal, it’s one of those things that has been seen in so many books, movies, and photos, that it doesn’t even seem like it is actually right there in front of you! So we hiked the Great Wall for a few hours; it was SO much more difficult than I expected, but it was an amazing experience and I took approximately a million photos during the process. Once we all got back down off of the wall, we stopped to get lunch and do some shopping at a local restaurant/shop, and then went to visit The Bird’s Nest and Olympic Park from the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. We spent about an hour wandering around (I got EXTREMELY lost trying to find my way back to the bus), and then got on the bus and went to the airport and flew to meet the ship in Shanghai!

I was exhausted by the time we returned to Shanghai, so I tried to lay low on our final day in China. I had a class trip to visit a U.S. company operating in China and that was very interesting. Everyone was happy to have us and very accommodating and hospitable. We were able to see a mall where the company had a store and the architecture and set up of this mall was mind blowing- certainly unlike anywhere I have ever shopped at in the United States! After the trip, Chloe and I went shopping and wandered around with our friend Rachel, and came back on time to get dinner on the ship and await our departure for a quick 2-day trip to Japan!

Vietnam!

I strongly believe that all Americans should make a visit to Vietnam. With such a strong, drastic history between our country and theirs, it was eye-opening and very interesting to spend time in the country. It may seem surprising, but the Vietnamese people were incredibly interested in us and accommodating. We docked in Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of Vietnam, which may attribute to the kindness of the people (I heard that people in the north weren’t quite so excited about their American visitors). This port really made me realize the importance of understanding the history of the countries we visit. I wish I had known more about the Vietnam War before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. Since our departure, I have spent ample time researching the war and beginning to understand the reasons and implications pertaining to it. History and culture display an entire new level of relevance now that I’ve actually been to these places and seen these people.

One nice thing about our stay in Vietnam was that I didn’t really GO anywhere. I spent my nights on the ship, so I never had to plan much or pack a bag or sleep somewhere new, and that’s always relaxing and relieving. After clearing immigrations on the first day, I walked a few blocks to the War Remnants Museum. This museum displays the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective. It includes a number of artifacts and photos, including an extremely heart-wrenching wall of pictures of people disfigured by Agent Orange. This museum brought tears to my eyes and really ignited my desire to learn more about the war that we fought in Vietnam. After this, I walked around Ho Chi Minh City, exploring and shopping and people-watching. We got Pho for dinner- a traditional Vietnamese dish of broth and noodles and various other ingredients, which was very good, although difficult to eat with chopsticks. Luckily, the waiter brought me a fork about 7 seconds into my unsuccessful chopstick attempt. After dinner, we walked through the late-night outdoor market before heading back to the ship for what I thought would be an early morning.

I missed the bus to my service visit the next day; a big mess of meeting in the wrong places and the wrong times and ultimately missing the entire trip. So I went back to bed! I slept in for a couple hours and then met up with a friend to hang out in Ho Chi Minh City for another day. It was a very laid-back today, lots of walking, meeting locals, and learning how to effectively cross Vietnamese streets (general advice: no crosswalks, no stoplights, no signs, and lanes that have no purpose. The strategy is to step off the sidewalk and maintain a steady pace while walking as the cars and motorbikes make their way AROUND you. No stopping and no running). We went to the huge market and bargained the morning away, purchasing all sorts of souvenirs and gifts. We walked to a touristy area and through a park where people were practicing martial arts, engaging in intense badminton games, and running around with their friends and family. This led into another area where a large festival was taking place to commemorate the Asian Olympic Games that were currently taking place in Ho Chi Minh City. This festival had lots of Christmas lights- it was like walking through a fairy land, entertainers, play areas for kids, food stalls, shopping tents, music, and giant inflatable chickens- the mascot for the Asian Olympic Games. Drew wanted to eat at Milwaukee grill and café, named after his hometown and a must-see for him. It was surprisingly good and a nice taste of American food. We went back to the festival to investigate the after-dark sights of millions of little lights and live bands and then made our way back to our floating home.

I woke up early the next day to make a day trip outside of Ho Chi Minh City. I hopped on the bus and took it to The Rex Hotel, to meet with their tourist desk and book a trip for the day. A van picked up my friend and I to take us to the Mekong Delta for the day, and we had a fantastic English-speaking guide named Kha. It took about 2 hours to get to the Delta, and when we arrived there we were immediately swept onto a boat that took us up and down the Mekong. We were given coconut milk and enjoyed looking at the other boats, fishing rafts, and homes on stilts. I loved seeing all the boats and people lounging around on them, wearing rice hats and swinging in hammocks. All the boats have giant eyes painted on the front, to look out for and scare the dangerous animals that used to occupy the Mekong, like tigers or cobras. The boat eventually took us to an island, where we sat down for food and musical entertainment. We were served all different types and fruit and Kha explained what they were and how to eat them. We then walked through the fruit orchards to the other side of this island, where we met a much smaller rowboat that would take us down this portion of the river. Two women sat at either end of the boat, sitting on top of the deck and paddling us down the river (a job that pays a whopping $1/day for all that physical work). I felt like I was the Disneyland Ride “A Jungle cruise”, with all the scenery and flora around us. This boat took us to another remote island which surprisingly was the home to its very own little business. Once we exited the boat, we were able to watch a group of women making coconut candy. The candy was AMAZING and I bought 6 packages to bring home. We saw the entire process, from gathering the coconuts to packaging the small morsels, and we were even able to make some of our own! The women served us tea and introduced us to their python, who was quickly draped over my soldiers for a photo op. The first boat came back and got us and took us back to the main area where it had picked us up. We were treated to lunch at a great restaurant with 8 courses and beautiful décor. Once the van got us back to Ho Chi Minh City, we stopped by the Saigon Square shopping center and discovered the greatness that is cheap DVD’s from Vietnam.

The next morning was an early wake-up for a service visit. We took the bus to the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf, where the children were absolutely elated to see us. After a dance performance from the kids, game-playing, and coloring, we loaded the bus to take the kids to the zoo for the afternoon….from here, the visit took a downhill turn. The zoo was less than adequate for entertaining children for more than 4 minutes, and the double-language barrier made it impossibly difficult to have any control over the kids. Not only were they hard-of-hearing, they also only spoke and understood Vietnamese, and were no longer elated by our presence at all. So I spent the entirety of my afternoon chasing my two assigned children throughout the zoo, and celebrating when we finally loaded the bus and both of my kids were still in tow. I went straight back to the ship for a nap before going out that night.

Our last day in Ho Chi Minh City was also laid-back. Chloe and I visited the post office for postcards and stamps, and were excited to find phone booths with cheap service to America. We both called home, family, and friends for about an hour, paid for our time and purchases, and then decided we wanted to see a new marketplace for shopping. We hopped on the back of two guys’ motorbikes and made our way to a huge market that we hadn’t seen before. We spent awhile at the market but didn’t find anything worthwhile so another duo of men motorbiked us back to Ho Chi Minh City. We had some delicious pizza for lunch and again visited Saigon Square for last-minute shopping. Between me and Chloe, we have well over 100 dvd discs of television shows and movies…all of which cost us about .50/disk. Great deal and a good investment for upcoming long stretches at sea!

India!

India…what a beautiful paradox. From the sensational colors of the women’s clothing, to the beautiful brightness and perfection of the handicrafts sold on the street and in the shop, to the grandiose architecture and structures, India was one of the most eye-catching places I have ever seen...
And from the crippled children begging as they drag their bodies across the floor, to the hundreds of people lining the streets and public areas to sleep at night, to the layer of filth and stench that settled on our clothes and our skin and even throughout the ship, it was undoubtedly the darkest and saddest reality that I have ever seen.

I really, really, really enjoyed India. Although there was a lot of poverty and sadness and disgust, it was such a fantastic cultural experience on every inch of the spectrum. The first day, I just went out in Chennai (where the ship was docked) with some friends to explore the area. We took auto-rickshaws to a bunch of stores to do some shopping, and they were a ton of fun. This is a very efficient way to maneuver such busy and crazy streets, and it was a lot of fun to be able to look out and people-watch as the rickshaw drivers wound in and out of traffic and other road blocks (like cows crossing the street wherever they please- as a sacred symbol in India, they have the right of way!). We got some shopping done but spent more time riding around in the rickshaws trying to get a feel for Chennai before heading out to other cities for the duration of our time in India. That evening, I attended a welcome reception with local students. This was one of the best SAS programs that I have participated in, I loved spending time with the students and talking with them and watching the presentation that they had prepared for us. We all walked in to the reception and were greeted by students dabbing sandalwood paste on our foreheads and adorning us with a type of flower necklace. Inside the reception, there was tons of traditional Indian food, henna tattoo artists, merchants with small stands, and an area to learn how to tie a sari. I ate, had my hand covered in an extensive and beautiful henna tattoo, shopped, and then walked the stage in a lovely sari with a handful of other SAS students. After this, a group of Indian girls took the stage for an incredible dance performance. We were able to witness traditional music, dance, and costumes, and everyone seemed completely blown away by the talent and amazing outfits that these girls were showing us. When the reception was over, we took a bus back to the ship and I went straight to bed in preparation for my 4 AM departure the next morning.

4 AM came way too soon and before I knew it I was on my way to the Chennai airport with a group of other sleepy SAS students. We boarded the plane and flew about 2 hours to New Delhi. Once we were in New Delhi, there was no time to waste and we immediately began a tour of the city. First we went to the Red Fort, which was the capital of the Mughal Empire until the 1850’s, and was then a military camp run by the British until India gained its independence in 1947. The Red Fort is essentially just that- a huge, giant, red fort. The entrance doesn’t even begin to convey how large the fort is and how many buildings can be seen on the inside. After walking through the gates, then the other buildings and total area of the fort can be seen. We spent a good amount of time walking around the grounds and exploring the various buildings before getting back on the bus for a driving tour of the city. After a great lunch, we were dropped off to explore the city streets and do some shopping in the markets and with street vendors. In the evening, we went to the train station to take a train to Agra. There were so many people sleeping on the ground of the train station- men, women, children, and adults, just tons of people curling up with their belongings and sleeping amid the hustle and bustle of a train station. There were also a ton of beggars, accusing us of being rich and therefore obliged to give them money. Many people were taking photos of the people in our group; some were brave enough to come close and ask for a picture of us or to take one with us. One couple even threw their child into the arms of another SAS student and snapped a photo! Our train was delayed a couple hours and then took FOREVER to get to Agra, but around 1 AM we finally got checked into our hotel and went to bed.

It was another early wake-up to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. When we finally made our way through the intense security line, and walked through the multiple gates of other structures of buildings, the Taj stood in all its grandeur before us. I was in awe. It was one of those moments when life seems unreal and my eyes seemed to be deceiving me. The Taj Mahal itself, something I have seen countless times in movies, books, posters, standing before me, while the sun began to rise. I stood in complete disbelief before finally beginning to snap some pictures and make my way toward the fantastic palace. Once inside, my feet content in provided booties (a better alternative to removing my shoes altogether, after watching Slumdog Millionaire), we were able to see the recreated tombs of the emperor Shah Jahan and his wife (whom the Taj was built for), Mumtaz Mahal. These are not the actual tombs, which are built below ground and inaccessible to tourists, but still show the public a visual of where these two people are buried. The actual building that most people think of as THE Taj Mahal is only the mausoleum, there are also two other grand buildings, one on either side of the Taj, that serve as a mosque and the other creates symmetry but was thought to possibly also be a guesthouse. There are also giant gates and other areas where Jahan’s other wives are buried. Jahan planned to build an identical black Taj Mahal on the other side of the nearby river, but never was able to create this after being imprisoned by his son and passing away. There are more hallways and areas to walk through in the main Taj mausoleum building, but nothing too entrancing besides marble walls, marble floors, and some colored stone inlaid to make pretty designs. After lots more pictures and staring at the Taj, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day visiting more sites- Fatehpur Sikri (an old Mughal city) and the Arga Fort. At sunset, we went back to the Taj to see the sun setting and for a final glimpse and photo op. It was much more crowded than earlier in the day, so most of us stayed outside and spent our time there taking pictures and just taking it all in. There were a LOT more requests for pictures from Indian people and other visitors to the Taj, which we found amusing and happily obliged to partake in. We left after the sun set to catch our train back to New Delhi…which was delayed…again, so a handful of us went across the street for some familiar American food while we waited, and were happy to eat Pizza Hut rather than the provided box lunches. The train station this time was even worse, with multiple young people and children begging from us, many of them disfigured. A lot of people were crawling on the floor, due to their lack of feet or legs, grabbing at our ankles, asking for food or money. We gave away our uneaten box dinners but had little else to offer these people. It was sad and eerie, and I had a very hard time witnessing this side of India. Eventually, the train came, and it got us to Delhi in about half the time that the other train had taken. Once in Delhi, we checked into a FABULOUS hotel that I plan on visiting again for much longer than a night. I had an incredible night’s sleep in the comfy bed and was not ready to leave in the morning!

After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, we were all sad to check out, but ready for another day of sightseeing. We stopped by Emperor Humayun’s tomb, which looked like a miniature Taj Mahal. We all agreed that this tomb would have been much more impressive had we not been at the Taj the day before. We took a few group pictures and explored the area, then stopped by another site of ruins (I don’t remember what it was called!) before going to the airport. We had a lot of time at the airport so there was some last minute shopping, and then we all boarded the plane back to Chennai and our floating home.

On our last day in India, I spent the day exploring and wandering with my friend Drew. We did some shopping and lots of driving around in rickshaws, people-watching and just seeing the area. We asked our rickshaw driver to take us to his favorite place to eat and he drove us to a hidden hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant that we never would have found otherwise! We asked him to eat with us and told him that we would pay if he would order for the three of us. We ate rice, shrimp, chicken, vegetables, and some skewers of various meats. It was really good, even though we weren’t sure what we were having! After our lunch and some more exploring and hanging out with Michael, our driver, we went back to the ship and prepared for another week at sea…

Mauritius!

After a week of midterms, Mauritius was exactly what the SAS community needed. We came into port in the midst of the most crystal clear blue water I have ever seen. Customs cleared the ship quickly and most of the students got off the ship immediately. We were in a port that didn’t allow us to walk into the main part of town, so we had to take a water taxi into the visitor-friendly portion of the waterfront. We hopped on the water taxi, completely crowded with students, and slowly made our way across the water to the waterfront, with palm trees and little sail boats and a bunch more water taxis awaiting on the other side. After we hopped off the water taxi, we asked a taxi driver to take us on a tour of Mauritius for a couple hours before we had to be on the ship for an afternoon trip. The guy took us around the city and surrounding areas, explaining everything we saw and showing us some incredible lookouts of Port Louis and the waterfront. After we grabbed lunch, Chloe and I went back to the ship for an orphanage visit that we had planned with SAS. We got on the shuttles, and went to the S.O.S. Children’s Village of Beau Basin. This is a place that provides housing for children whose parents are dead, imprisoned, or otherwise unfit for parenting. The kids live in small houses with a “mom” and a handful of other children. Chloe and I hit it off with a little four-year-old boy and played catch and soccer with him. Three of the other boys that lived in the same house came over and played with us too, and were amazed by the stickers we had brought and absolutely fascinated with our digital cameras. After a couple hours, Chloe and I looked around and realized that none of the other SAS people were there, so we ran out and caught the shuttle just before it left! Once we got back to the ship, we cleaned up for a night out and had a great time hanging out at the nearby bars and pubs and meeting new people.

On the second day, I went on an SAS trip to Ile De Deux Cocos. This was, by far, the best SAS trip I have been on so far. We took a bus to the other side of the island of Mauritius, and then took a glass-bottom boat out to the little island that we would be on for the day. The boat ride was great- the weather was perfect and the views were sensational. The water was so clear and we could see everything through the bottom of the boat. The coral reefs were so beautiful and there were so many types of colorful, interesting fish to look at! When we got to the island, we all put our stuff down and lounged on the beach for awhile until we went back out on the glass-bottom boat for some snorkeling. The snorkeling was so AMAZING! The water was clear, the fish were gorgeous, the coral was unreal. We went back to the island for an incredible barbecue lunch and fruit bar for dessert, and then had more time to relax on the beach and hang out in the water. There was a beautiful villa on the beach that they allowed us to explore and I want to get married on this island and stay there…too bad it would cost $5,000 per night! After a few hours of relaxation time, we got on the boats and went back to the mainland so the bus could return to the ship. I came back and got ready for a girl’s night out with some of my friends in Port Louis.

Saturday was our third and final day in Mauritius. We slept in and then took the water taxi back into the main part of the waterfront. There were tons of shops and restaurants to explore. We had a great time shopping; everything in Mauritius has Dodo birds on it! Mauritius is the only place where the Dodo bird lived before it became extinct, and the Mauritians are clearly very proud of this! There are Dodo towels, stuffed animals, ceramics, pencils, watches, key chains…even staplers! So we bought a bunch of random dodo stuff to spend the extra rupees we had, grabbed lunch, stopped by an internet café, and then got back on the ship shortly before on-ship time. We sailed away amidst the decorations and excitement of the Festival of Lights that was occurring in Port Louis that night. It was a very laid-back, relaxing, fun port, and I think a good place to stop before we get to some more culturally shocking areas like India, which we will arrive in tomorrow morning. Two days ago were the Sea Olympics; everyone competed in various competitions to earn points for their “sea”- the halls we live in. I live in the Balearic Sea and we got third place! This was a big surprise considering how much smaller our sea is than the other ones on the ship. I am really looking forward to India, although I am trying to prepare myself for the shock that I’m sure I will experience. I’m so sad that we are finished traveling in Africa, but I look forward to Asia and the new things it will expose me to!

South Africa!

South Africa was absolutely AMAZING…undoubtedly my favorite port thus far. Rather than coming into an industrial port and having to take shuttles or taxis to the city, we docked at a gorgeous waterfront port right in the middle of shopping, dining, music, nightlife, etc. It only took about 5 seconds to walk off the ship and be in the midst of all sorts of things to do. Table Mountain looms over the entire city and just completes the perfect silhouette of the Cape Town waterfront. On our way in, we saw whales at breakfast, and penguins swimming in the water around our ship! The weather was perfect and the views coming into port were sensational. We spent the day just exploring the waterfront area and trying to make plans for our other days in town. The street running by the water had restaurants, shops, and all sorts of street performers like magicians and musicians. We did a lot of walking and shopping, both at the modern mall (looks just like somewhere I’d shop at home!), and in outdoor marketplaces. They have a cool moving bridge that retracts whenever a ship comes through, and we saw a seal swimming underneath that! Lots of cool waterline in Cape Town! We booked a few trips and met a few locals and had some great steak burgers for dinner before heading out for the night. Cape Town nightlife is crazy and we got home about 2 hours before we had wake up for our trip the next day!

Miraculously, we DID wake up in time for our trip that day, and we got on a shuttle for…SHARK DIVING! We took the shuttle about 2 hours away with a great group of other travelers from all over the world. Once we got to the final location, we were swept into a room for breakfast and a brief overview of our day, and then we hopped on a little boat and went out into a beautiful bay of crystal clear blue waters. There were about 20 people on the boat, but only 5 could fit in the shark cage, so the first group got suited up while the rest of looked out for sharks! Once they threw out the “chum”, it was only about 10 seconds before the first great white came barreling toward it, mouth open, and emerged from the water when they pulled the bait away. We were all a little shocked and very excited, and we watched the first group make their way into the cage and continued to marvel at the multiple sharks coming right next to the boat. Chloe and I got ready to enter the cage next, so we got into wetsuits and booties, pulled on our masks, threw some weights over our shoulders, and climbed into the cage. The water was FREEZING but the excitement of being in the cage outweighed that thought. So we would just hang out in the cage looking around until one of the men on the boat would shout “DOWN!” and we would all grab a specific bar on the INSIDE of the cage to pull ourselves farther under the water and view the shark that they had spotted. They would come SO close to the cage and it was completely surreal. At one point, they pulled the bait into the cage and the shark after it slammed his head into us, right next to Chloe! There was one area of the cage of about 8 inches where there were no bars (apparently for cameras), and the shark just happened to get his nose right in that spot and into our cage, Chloe could have pet him if she wasn’t so afraid of him biting her! We weren’t afraid before that, but we were so scared of all the sharks that came near us after that! Eventually, they pulled us out of the cage so that the next group could get in, and we spent the rest of the time eating snacks and watching everyone else have their turn. We definitely had the best time though, because no one else was run into by the sharks! About 11 great whites came by over the course of the day, but all of them returned multiple times, so there was never more than a 2-minute interval without sightings of a great white. It was absolutely crazy! After we got back to the shore, we had some more snacks and everyone took warm showers and got back on the shuttle to Cape Town. When we got back in, Chloe and I were exhausted and spent our evening watching a movie and eating popcorn- something that both of us love to do and hadn’t been able to in over a month! It was a nice night.

The next day, we woke up early again to meet up with the taxi driver (George) that had driven us out on the first night. He had agreed to meet me, Chloe, and our friend Drew, and take us to a few sights for the whole day for a great price. We started out by driving about an hour to the wine lands, and stopped at a great place called Spier. We walked around the grounds, and saw many different eagles and other birds, and cheetahs that they have at the reserve. After we looked at the animals, we had a wine and cheese tasting. We were poured three glasses of wine and given small portions of three types of cheeses to go with them. The man helping us explained how to properly taste the wine and all the dynamics of the wines and cheeses and why they went together. It was really good and we finished off the tasting with some chocolate truffles that Drew purchased. After that, we found George and he took us into the town of Stellenbosch for lunch. We stopped at this really great, modern café and had lunch, and then walked around the town and did some shopping for about an hour. The town was really cute and I would have spent more time there if Drew wasn’t so tired of shopping with girls and ready to get back to Cape Town. So George took us back, telling us all about apartheid and the “blacks, whites, and coloreds”. We had already made plans for the evening and were short on time, so Drew decided to go back to the ship but Chloe and I wanted to go to Table Mountain so we dropped Drew off and George drove us up to the base of the mountain where we could take a cable car to the top and save the time it would take to hike. We hopped on the cable car with a bunch of pushy tourists and soon we were on our way to the top, while the car rotated and gave us a 360 degree view of the waterfront and everything below us. It was a little cloudy at the top, but we still had a fantastic view of Cape Town…on one side we could see the buildings and the waterfront and the ship, and on the other side we could see the beach and gorgeous natural aspects of Cape Town. When we were done at Table Mountain, George took us back to the ship and we got dinner before heading out for another night on the town!

I had to wake up super early the next morning to catch a flight to Johannesburg for a three-day safari in Kruger National Park. I have always wanted to go there and I was so excited to finally see the park that shares my family name! We arrived via South African Air in the early afternoon, dropped off our stuff at a fantastic hotel, and immediately went out for an afternoon drive in the park. We all got into safari jeeps with 9 people and a guide, our guide was named Stefan and he was great. He knew everything about all the animals we saw and catered to everything we asked for! We saw the sunset in the park and also saw all sorts of deer-like animals including impala and waterbucks, as well as zebras, a white rhino, baboons, water buffalo, and hippos. We went back to the hotel for the most AMAZING dinner I have had since starting Semester At Sea. Everyone went to bed early in preparation for our drive the next day that left at 5 AM. We woke up early for coffee, grabbed our box breakfasts, and hopped into our safari jeeps for a full day in the park. Throughout the day, we saw so many animals- giraffes, elephants, warthogs, crocodiles, more hippos, all sorts of birds (including a hornbill- AKA Zazu from the Lion King), and LIONS! Stefan said it is rare to see leopards, but we wanted to see one…and by the end of the day, we had seen one of those too! We went back to the hotel for dinner again and back to bed for another early drive the next day. At 5 AM, we went back into the park for a couple hours before we would have to leave for our flight back to Cape Town. We saw many of the same animals, but we told Stefan that we wanted to see a male lion and a black rhino. There are only about 300 black rhinos in the whole park, which is HUGE- we didn’t even see a mere fraction of it over the three days, but guess what- we found one! And we saw a male lion! We also saw a family of elephants, a family of hyenas, and giraffes drinking out of a water hole (which is hilarious). Stefan was a fantastic guide and said that it was one of the best drives ever. We seriously saw everything we wanted to see, including the prestigious “big 5”- water buffalo, lion, leopard, rhino, and elephant. After our morning drive, we got on our return flight to Cape Town and arrived shortly before “on-ship time”. I ran by the mall one last time for a few final souvenirs and then got back on the ship. We stood on the deck to see the ship off and waved goodbye to all the people on the dock and a city that I will certainly be back to visit. The view of the waterfront at night was gorgeous and we sailed away to the sounds of cars and ships honking their goodbyes, in response to our horn being sounded as we left the port.

Ghana!

I want to move to Ghana.
I can’t believe what a wonderful time I had there. I didn’t expect that Ghana, of all places, would capture me so much, but it was amazing. The people were great, the culture was beautiful, and the history was interesting. I wish we were able to stay longer, but I definitely plan on going back and spending more time there someday.

When we arrived on Tuesday morning, Chloe and I woke up early to watch the ship come into port. The ship was rocking a lot and everyone was falling over on the decks, which was quite amusing. We were a little late on arriving to port so we went to breakfast while we were waiting, and we saw whales! There were a few of them and we could see them coming up for air and swimming in the water, which was really cool. When we came into port in Tema, Ghana, men in fishing boats were waving at us and everyone already seemed very welcoming. This was the first time that Semester At Sea has visited Ghana so we didn’t quite know what to expect, but we certainly had a warm welcome!

After we came into port and waited for customs to clear the ship, Chloe and I were ready to explore with some of our neighbors here on the ship. We hopped on the shuttle provided by SAS into the capital city of Accra, about an hour away with traffic. We got into Accra and spent some time walking around the streets, people-watching, and looking at the little shops and carts of items. We were shocked to see that everybody was carrying things on their heads! People were carrying food, clothes, crafts, even luggage…with no hands! So we continued to walk around the streets, and were blown away by how friendly and nice all of the people were. As we walked to various banks trying to find a good place to exchange currency, the bank employees would ask what we wanted and make sure we were served quickly and thoroughly, all the while asking us about our trip and what we thought of Ghana so far. Everything just seemed so simple and easy, and no one was in a rush or upset that we weren’t sure what we were doing. So after we got all of that taken care of, we took a taxi to the craft market in Accra. The taxi ride in itself was a hysterical experience. It is like a drive-through shopping center, people on the streets are selling all sorts of things, and if you roll down your window then you are guaranteed some face time with them. I wanted to buy a Ghanaian flag from a particular man who threw the flag in the window of the taxi, and then bartered with me until we agreed on a price- all the while refusing to take the flag back from me, which meant that every time the taxi moved, he would have to chase after us. We eventually settled on a price, but that didn’t mean that he was ready to give up on all of the other people in the taxi! In the end, he thanked us and gave us God’s blessing for helping him out. We laughed and chatted with more people while listening to the great song “Facebook Lover” on the radio until we arrived at the market. The craft market was similar to the souks in Marrakech, but less intense and obviously with different items for sale. Initially, we were swarmed by the vendors there, but when we made it clear that we were just looking, they became much less aggressive and just talked to us and walked us through the market. However, when we did want to buy something, their system was very surprising. At one point, I wanted to buy a bag, but the shop I was in did not have a pattern that I liked. The lady whose shop I was in went to another shop and took all of their bags, and continued to do so until I found one that I liked. When I finally found one, I paid the lady who had been helping me, even though it didn’t come from her shop. She assured me that this was common and that their system of trade and sharing meant that everyone came out even in the end. After we made a few purchases, everyone wanted to take pictures, exchange phone numbers and emails, and assure us that we were all friends and sisters. Even the people we did not buy from were a part of this kind exchange. As we walked towards the outside of the market, a group of college-age Ghanaian guys asked us to come to their shop. Reluctantly (we were all out of money!), we agreed, and we walked to a shop full of drums. We made it clear that none of us wanted to buy a drum, but the men simply gave us each a drum and showed us each some different rhythms, which we picked up quickly. Before we knew it, the four of us were in a drumming circle with about 10 guys drumming, dancing, singing, and shouting. People would stop by and join in, and lots of onlookers came to watch and dance. We kept this up for about half an hour and it was so much fun to feel so connected to the locals and their culture. Before we left, one of the guys, Anthony, gave me an authentic Ghanaian name (Ayine Poka- “God’s daughter”), and told me to close my eyes for a surprise. He clasped a really cool necklace around me neck and said “If you love Africa, you will love this”. It was getting dark and we knew that we had to catch the shuttle back to Tema, so the four of us said goodbye, exchanged contact information, and hopped into another taxi back to the shuttle and back to the ship.

The next day I went on an SAS trip to Kakum National Park. We left early for what is supposed to be a 3-hour drive. However, traffic in Ghana is TERRIBLE, and the tour guide knew it would take much longer than that to get to the park. Since we were on a schedule, the tour guides of our bus and the other SAS buses with us somehow convinced the Ghanaian police to give our buses a police escort for the next half hour or so, until we were out of all of the traffic. This meant that a police officer on a motorcycle drove through the middle of the road with all his lights and sirens on, forcing the traffic on both sides to pull over, and our bright green buses drove through the middle, honking and laughing the entire way. Eventually, we made it to the park, where we walked through the rainforest to a canopy walkway. This walkway consisted of 7 bridges, all connected with platforms and trees in the middle, about 40 meters high. We walked across the bridges, which were very shaky and sometimes difficult to walk on, but it gave us all a great view of the rainforest! After the canopy walk and a great lunch at the restaurant at the park, we watched a bamboo orchestra play. This orchestra was a group of students who played instruments out of bamboo and sang and danced for us. At the end of the presentation, all of the people in the audience were invited to the stage to learn some dance moves and participate in a song. We had fun but none of us had the rhythm or moves that the Ghanaian people displayed! After the bamboo performance, we loaded back on the bus for our drive home. Unfortunately, we were low on gas and the bus broke down. We stopped at a gas station and waited for help, but instead of being an inconvenience, this ended up being a cool extra stop. There were multiple schools around the gas station that were being let out at the same time we were there, and all the children came over to see why were there. We spent awhile talking to the children, taking pictures (they were fascinated by our cameras, trying to take pictures with them, and seeing the photos on the screens afterwards), and giving away candy and stickers. The kids were adorable and were so excited to interact with us, and we got to wait at a cool restaurant with crocodiles (which one man encouraged me to sit on for a photo because he had apparently trained all of the crocodiles), so I guess the broken bus was a blessing in disguise. We were able to steal a bus from another SAS trip that was staying the night in town, and finally got on the road. Unfortunately, this time we did not have a police escort and the drive took hours. Thank goodness the crew on the ship held dinner for all the late trips so we ate dinner and I went straight to bed!

Day three, I went on another SAS trip to see the “castles and slave dungeons” of Ghana. I took this trip for my U.S. South class, to learn about the slave trade and draw connections between the history and culture here in Ghana and that in the U.S. South. The drive was long again, but the castles that we visited were on the coast so it was really beautiful. First, we visited Elmina Castle, and then we drove just about 20 minutes to the Cape Coast Castle. It was really heartbreaking to see the slave dungeons. The stories that they told about these people and the experiences that they went through were just terrible, and to stand where so many people suffered and so many people died was really hard and emotional for a lot of people. The town around Elmina Castle was really cool though, it was on the water and hundreds of people were there on boats and bringing in fish for the day, with hundreds more waiting on land to purchase them. It was very loud and crowded but also really fascinating and interesting to watch. We left the castles early in anticipation of the traffic and, again, took multiple hours to get back to the ship. The trips were really informative and interesting, but it would have been nice to have been informed of the long drives in advance. Had I been aware of that, I wouldn’t have participated in 2 SAS trips in Ghana.

Friday was our final day in Ghana. Chloe and I went back to the craft market with some other friends who wanted to do some shopping. Our experience there was very similar, but the people seemed more aggressive- maybe they were ready for us after having American students come through for four days, but we still enjoyed ourselves and made lots of new friends, sisters, and brothers. The guys that we had been drumming with on the first day found us again and invited our friends to come have another drum circle, so that was fun. I tried to learn how to carry things on my head, but was pretty unsuccessful and I think served only as entertainment for the people we were hanging out with. The Ghanaian locals could not stop laughing at me and trying to give me more things to carry! After hanging out with our new friends for awhile, we said a sad goodbye, grabbed lunch at a fun local placed called “Frankie’s” and got back to the ship shortly before the mandatory on-ship time.

I bought a ton of souvenirs and gifts in Ghana, there were just so much cool, locally made stuff and everything reminded me of someone back home and it was easy to bargain! We arrive in Cape Town, South Africa tomorrow. The ship has been in a rough storm for the last 3 days or so, which has made everyone even more anxious to get off the ship than they normally are. I have never felt so disoriented and frustrated and tired, when the ship is rocking so much all anyone wants to do is sleep, because it’s the best way to avoid getting sick or running into people walking around the ship and we all have gotten used to the boat rocking us to bed each night. I am more than ready to be out of these waters for a few days, it’s very frustrating to not be able to get out of such an uncomfortable situation. I’ve heard that the sunrise in Cape Town is incredible, so I plan on getting up early to see the sunrise and watch us come into port. I have been looking forward to this stop more than any other stop on our trip so I can’t wait to get there and see what South Africa has to offer!