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!