Happy Easter!

April 8, 2012

HAPPY EASTER!!! 

(Picture was in Hong Kong - I am celebrating Easter on the ship!!)

Shanghai

April 6, 2012

I walked around the city and explore Shanghai. The view is amazing with so many unique sky scraper buildings. I walked around "The Bund" area which is along the water front. Then walked down Najing Road which is full of shopping. (The ship traveled from Hong Kong to Shanghai, but we had the choice to travel by land or get on the ship). 

I had an FDP at night for my theatre class. We were supposed to go to an opera, but it got cancelled. We ended up going to a a contemporary Chinese comedy at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. The whole thing was in Chinese, so it was pretty boring for me, but all of the Chinese were laughing non-stop, so it must have been hilarious!! 

The Bund Area. 

The building on the right is the one that looks like a crown. 

April 7, 2012

In the morning, Daphne and I went to the top of the building that looked like a huge bottle opener. We had time to kill before our FDP in the afternoon. I had another FDP today for my Art History class. This was at the Shanghai Museum, located in the center of Shanghai in People's Square. Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art. The museum's style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land. 

Hong Kong

April 1, 2012

I loved Hong Kong! I had an FDP in the morning for my Creative Writing class. It was a poetry reading and discussion with Bei Dao on the ship. A little about him:

"On August 2, 1949 Zhao Zhenkai was born in Beijing. His pseudonym Bei Dao literally means "North Island," and was suggested by a friend as a reference to the poet's provenance from Northern China as well as his typical solitude.  Dao was one of the foremost poets of the Misty School, and his early poems were a source of inspiration during the April Fifth Democracy Movement of 1976, a peaceful demonstration in Tiananmen Square. He lived in exile from his native China after the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. His awards and honors include the Aragana Poetry Prize from the International Festival of Poetry in Casablanca, Morocco, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has been a candidate several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was elected an honorary member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Bei Dao was a Stanford Presidential lecturer and has taught at the University of California at Davis, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and Beloit College in Wisconsin. In 2006, Bei Dao was allowed to move back to China.  He is currently Professor of Humanities in the Center for East Asian Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong."

He talked to us about his life, about how he was exiled from Beijing because of the poems he was writing. He has only been to Beijing one time in about 20 years because his father was sick. While he would tell us about his life, we would read poems from that period in his life. I then met up with went with Turner, Sarah, Sam, and Austin to eat lunch. Then we went to a German bar for happy hour. After, we took the metro to see Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha. It is a large bronze statue that was completed in 1993. The statue symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. It was a long journey with a metro ride and a 45 minute drive through the mountainous coast.

Hong Kong coast line.

Happy Hour

12,968km from the US- Statue of Liberty.

Austin, Sarah, Sam, Me, and Turner

The girls!!

McDonalds!!! So happy for American fast food!!! 

Hong Kong @ night.

VIETNAM

Our welcome to Vietnam (everyone wears these rice hats).

A view down the River while the ship was docked.

March 25, 2012

I went with Gabby to the Ben Thanh market. This is a huge building that is filled with many vendors selling much of the same items. You have to go from place to place trying to barter, which is exhausting and makes for a long day. We had to learn how to cross the streets packed full with scooters. You just have to inch out and keep going, don't hesitate, stop or back up, they navigate a path around you. It is quite thrilling. Gabby and I wanted to get some lunch, and so we took these bicycle things (not sure what they are called). When we got off, they got into a fight with us about paying. We negotiated a price in the beginning and then when you get off they hassled us for more when they see you have more money with you. There were a lot of issues in this port with people got locked into their taxi cabs until they gave the cab drivers all of their money. One guy got drugs put into his drinks and he went crazy angry and got into a lot of fights and then got arrested and broke the handcuffs- He did not get kicked off the voyage, but was not allowed to get off of the ship in Vietnam. Another guy drove a scoter and broke his femur in 2 places. (Okay- enough about the interesting facts of topic on the ship about Vietnam extravaganza's...) After lunch Gabby and I went to get some groceries. 

Riding the cycling bike contraption!

March 26, 2012

On our drive to Tay Ninh, the headquarters of Viet Nam's most interesting indigenous religions, Caodaism, our tour bus got pulled over by the police. Our guide and drivers acted like this was no big deal! They said they just had to give the police some coffee - it was basically a bribe. If they didn't, they would have to go through the government with the ticket. I am not sure if the bus did something wrong in the first place to get pulled over or if they just pull people over randomly! Anyways, Caodaism is the product of an attempt to create the ideal religion through the fusion of the secular and religious philosophies of the East and West. The result is a colorful mixture that includes elements of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, native Vietnamese spirits, Christianity and Islam. The main tenets of Caodaism include belief in one God, the existence of the soul, and the use of mediums to communicate with the spiritual world. The Great Temple is one of the most striking structures in all of Asia, with its rococo extravagance. We observed a portion of the 1200 service. This was one of the most interesting experiences, a place where people were worshiping, but yet a tourist attraction all at the same. There were natives that were guiding us to take pictures of certain things, but yelling at us that we could not take pictures of others. We walked around the temple before the service and then went to the balcony to observe. This was interesting because just as many people were watching as were worshipping. 

Taking your shoes off on the street.

The Rococo style.

After lunch, we departed for Tay Ninh to go to the Cu Chi, famous for its 200- kilometer network of underground tunnels. These tunnels were created and used by the Viet Cong forces during wars against both the French and Americans. From the mid-1940s onward, the tunnels were used as a base from which the Viet Cong could launch strategic attacks and then seemingly disappear into thin air. The tunnels had well-hidden entrances and thick roofs, which were capable of withstanding the weight of tanks and the impact of bombs. Unknowingly, the Americans even built a base camp on top of an existing tunnel network and suffered extensive casualties before they discovered their mistake.

A bathroom stop along the way! 

Getting into a tunnel

A trap for animals.

March 27, 2012

I took the shuttle that SAS provided from the ship to the Rex hotel. They had free wi-fi there, and so I was able to use internet. Then I went to the market for some more shopping. Today was just a day of relaxing. It is apparently very easy to get married in Vietnam, and so there were a few couples that tied the not! They did this as a joke, but they have started dated on the ship and got married. The marriage does not count in the US unless they turn the marriage certificate over to the US Embassy, which they do not plan on doing.

March 28, 2012

The Mekong Delta was an area of marshlands and forest. Gradually marshlands were reclaimed, and a canal network was built for the cultivation of rice, fish, soybeans, maize, peanuts, tobacco and melons. The My Tho area is famous for its coconut palms and fruit orchards (mangoes, longans, bananas and citrus fruits). The boat trip took us to to one of the islands in the Mekong Delta to see a traditional farmer's home and fruit 

orchards where we sampled some exotic tropical fruits - I tried some dragon fruit. We stopped at a factory that makes coconut candy. Lunch was at a local seafood restaurant in My Tho where they put a whole fish on our table.  

Scooters!

Rive at the market.

The lady on the left is holding elephant ear fish. They are cleaning meat.

Fish in the market that are still alive. After this, I became so disgusted and had to plug my nose because the stench in the streets was overbearing. 

The fruit that is white with black seeds and a pink pealing in the Dragon Fruit that I tried.

The canoe ride in the canals with the ladies rowing us.

The bigger boats we took to the islands.

The coconut factory - Heather this reminded me of making taffy at Christmas time! 

The fish that was served for eating.

Enjoying some coconut water on the ride back to our tour bus.

This is a very small percentage of what a street would look like (taken from the tour bus). I was not brave enough to take a picture walking on the streets because people had gotten their camera snatched from them when scooters drive past them. 

Beer towers at Barbeque Garden for dinner.

Grilling my meat - Just Kidding!! My food did not need grilled ;)

March 29, 2012

The last day in Vietnam, we went to the War Museum. This was overwhelming to see such gruesome pictures. I had to take a step back and realize everything I had been seeing relating to the Vietnam War. Putting together everything I saw in the Cu Chi tunnels with the traps and materials they used was finally sinking in. It is hard to imagine for our generation since we did not experience the war first hand. After, Daphne and Colleen and I went to get manicure and pedicures. So great to relax and get the dirt off our feet from the past few ports that never seemed to come off!! Then we went shopping and had some dinner at a local cafe. We took around motor bikes all day today and it was a thrilling with how many scooters are on the roads. A perfect last day! 

Singapore

March 22, 2012

Such a clean and developed country/city. (The only other places that are both countries and cities are Vatican City and Monaco). When we disembarked the ship, we went through immigration that was much like walking through an airport. Singapore was such a different port than any place we have been so far. They are supposed to have more technology than the US and are a look into the future. They have very strict laws. No chewing gum, smoking, durians (a tropical fruit that smells badly), jay-walking, vandalizing. These are subject to fine (usually 1,000 dollars), caning (they literally take a cane and hit you with it), and jail. When getting off the ship, I went to a Starbucks to use free internet when we got off the ship and after we went shopping. We were told Singapore is known for its shopping and restaurants. Then we went to Raffle's Hotel, because they are the home of the original Singapore Sling. After, we went to the Clark Quay Waterfront area where there are a lot of restaurants and bars.  It was a great day to feel like we were in a city that was more familiar to us! 

The Raffle's Hotel

Me, Daphne and Colleen in Long Bar

Clack Quay Waterfront

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Would have been amazing to spend a night here!