Taipei, Taiwan

Okay. Taiwan. I’m not even excited to write this blog. Going in I had a bad attitude just because it wasn’t Japan. I wasn’t excited at all to go there and with crappy weather, rainy and cold, I just wasn’t feeling it. We started slow and took our time getting out the first day in port. We did some research thanks to free Internet being picked up from the port, and booked a hotel in Taipei. We ported in Keelung and there was literally nothing there. So, we took a taxi to Taipei, checked in then got dinner. That night we went to Roxy Rockers. It was quite an adventure to get there. After two different cab drivers who didn’t know where they were taking us but pretended they did, Gabi finally spotted it out the window as we accidentally drove past. We all freaked out and probably scared the driver but we made it! The inside was pretty cool. They had hundreds of CD’s lining the walls and a DJ that played some really good music all night. We got a round of these Around the World shots too. I mean we couldn’t not get them. They came out though and they were this god awful green color with foam on top. So disgusting. They literally had like every kind of liquor in them ever including rum, vodka, tequila, 151, whiskey and the list goes on. SO bad. I chased it with my chicken tender. Gah. Never trust a green drink. We lay pretty low that night and then headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we didn’t do a whole lot either. We went back to this hipster district that we accidentally went to the night before and got lunch and shopped around before going back for dinner that night. I sneaked a nap before we went out and then we were off. Ali’s friend from Taiwan recommended this club called Babe 18, so we decided to check it out. Before 11, the cover was cheaper and it was an open bar. When we got there, it was only us, three other SAS guys and maybe five locals. Not too much longer however, the place was swimming in SAS. I think everyone had fun that night until they kicked us out a little before two. I guess when they’re not making money off drinks they close early.

The next day the weather finally cleared up and it was nice out. We drove about a half hour from Taipei to go to the Hot Springs. We went to a natural one first but it was too hot to even touch, and then went to a hotel to use their rooftop one. As nice as it was, it was kind of just like a regular hot tub only made out of stone. Overall though, I’m glad we got to see a different part of the country. It made me see how some people might actually like the place. I think had we had better weather the entire time, and seen this part earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have had such a negative attitude toward it.

Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, China

Moving on to China. My theme of expectations is coming up again. On the whole itinerary, China was honestly the place I was least excited for. I was for sure glad to be going, but I just thought it was going to be boring and cold and just kinda blah. My god was I mistaken. I LOVED China. The cities were awesome, the culture was interesting, the people were hilarious, the architecture was incredible, and I saw pandas. I just can’t get over China! In the seven days we were there, I went to three cities and got to see a little bit of everything.

We ported in Saturday, and true to SAS form, were a couple hours late. We spent the morning walking around Hong Kong and were in awe of the city. It was incredible. The cloud cover kind of took away from it’s full potential but it was amazing nonetheless. There were huge buildings all over on both sides of the river and all around. We didn’t make it much further than the port area before I had to go back for an FDP for my Journalism class. We went to the South Morning China Post for a tour and a talk with the editor in chief. Like the rest of the SAS field trips I’ve been on, it was a bust. At least I made a new friend on it!

That night we went to dinner with Bonnie and Hans. We were all dressed up and we went to this traditional Cantonese dinner where they served us course after course of authentic food including a whole roasted suckling pig—two actually. Everything was delicious. We went out after that and ended up at this rooftop bar with an incredible view of the city. As fun as that was, we all wanted to check out the scene below. Rugby 7’s was going on when we were there so the streets were crazy with people. Lan Kwei Fong (sorry for the butchered spelling) is this street with a bunch of bars were all the night life is. I guess it’s usually pretty busy, but this was INSANE. It was literally like Mardi Gras only instead of half naked people, it was all crazy dressed up rugby fans…so much more intense than Mardi Gras! It was craaaazy. I can’t even begin to describe how packed this street was. There was music playing and people everywhere. Not to mention we were all in heels on this street that sloped down. It didn’t even matter we were having so much fun though. We stayed there for quite a while but I had to get back for my trip in the morning.

The next day I had a flight to Beijing with my SAS group. I was signed up for the University Hosted Beijing Trip. So, we flew to Beijing, went out to meet our bus, and there was no bus. We waited in the airport for three hours while calls were made to Virginia and ISE trying to figure out what happened. Turns out, the University forgot we were coming. Yep. No bus, no plans, no hotel, nothing. Finally, something was set up so a bus came to get us with this tour guide Jessica. They took us to a really nice hotel, The Jade Palace. It had everything—a bowling ally, a pool, a salon, a brothel—so we were set if we weren’t going to meet some students.  We bowled that night and then rested up for our full day in the morning.

The next day we started out early and went to the Great Wall of China. It was awesome and totally different from what I thought. I guess I’ve only seen pictures of certain areas. Depending on where you go, the terrain and quality of the wall varies. The part that we went to was all really steep uphill. The wall itself consisted of 90% stairs varying in size. Some were little 2 inchers, others were about a food in rise and really uneven as ancient rock usually is. The hike was a killer but we made it to the highest point we could go. It was crazy to think little Chinese men could have built all of that! I don’t think it was the wall that kept the enemies out, I think it was the stairs. If I were going after them, I’d be like “screw this man-you win.” We only had a few minutes to savor the view as we had to get down to meet the group again. I thought the hike up was hard, going down all those stairs was sooo scary. My legs were shaking under me and by this point the crowds had come and the wall was really populated. The stairs were small to begin with but with all the people it was nuts. We made it down safe and sound and can now say that we’ve climbed the wall. Not quite as cool as the little kid who can say he pooped on the wall. At one of the first little watch tower things, this mom was holding her squatting toddler with it’s pants unzipped up the crack while the kid did it’s business ON THE GREAT WALL. It was hilarious. I made Frances stand near it so I could pretend to take a picture of her while I got the kid pooping. Too funny. Those pants in general always get me. They literally have a slit from the front waste band to the back waste band so the little babies butts just hang out and they can pop a squat wherever they need to. I saw them all over! At the Summer Palace later that afternoon I saw another little girl going on a plastic bag on the sidewalk. So funny!

We ate lunch at a Jade Factory before moving on to the Summer Palace. As we couldn’t go in, we just walked around the grounds for a while. Nothing too exciting but we did get to see the cherry blossoms. They were beautiful.

We kept going straight through the day and had a roast duck dinner before being sadly informed that we were moving hotels. Of course, it was too good to be true. We went back and got our stuff, then moved to the University Hotel. It was really nice too but we were so far away from everything and everyone else. That night we went to the campus grocery store and got some snacks and drinks and all hung out together in the hotel. After a busy day it was nice to relax with friends.

The next day we jammed a lot in again. We went to the Forbidden City for a couple hours in the morning but our tour guide talked way too much to keep our interest. I really tried to listen to him and I got enough of the history but damn. The guy needs to learn how to keep an audience. So many people were taking pictures of us though. It was too funny. All the Chinese people would just snap a shot without shame or even trying to hide it. Another one of the huge tour groups came up to us and asked to take a big group picture, theirs and ours. Turns out, they were from Iran. Who knew, China’s Forbidden City: bringing nations together. How sweet.

We walked out the gates and crossed under the street over to Tiananmen Square. The square itself was really just a square. But to hear the story from the Chinese perspective was really interesting. We’ve always learned it was a protest for rights and it was peaceful. Our guide inferred otherwise and basically said the victims got what they asked for. By the way, the famous picture of the guy standing in front of the tank was taken from a hotel down the street.
We hit up the Temple of Heaven that afternoon. Again, it was a place we stayed at for far too long. It was really awesome to see but honestly, you can only walk around the outside of a circular building so many times. I would have much rather had the extra time at the Silk Market which was our next stop. We got to look around for a little bit but then had to get dinner quick before going back to the bus to make it to the acrobat show which blew my mind. It was incredible! They way they moved was just insane. There was this one girl who couldn’t have been more than 12 years old. The way she was contorting her body all balanced on one arm was amazing. I couldn’t tell what was arms and what was legs by the end, let alone which way her body was supposed to face. Then there was this juggling guy who did like 12 balls at once, another group of guys who jumped insane heights through hoops and then climbed the poles like no big deal. One girl spun umbrellas on her feet and then there were the bicycles. There was this company of female acrobats who did tricks with these yo-yo type things before and were like background for the other performers. Then at the end, they all did these crazy bike tricks with multiple girls on one bike all balancing while they biked in circles around the stage. At one point, all 12 of them got on one bike. It was crazy! We had an adventure that night trying to find Pizza Hut. It never happened and we just had another night hanging out with everyone in the hotel.

Our last morning in Beijing we went to the zoo! We got to see the Pandas and they were soooo cute. I think that might have been my favorite part. =) The majority of our group all got Panda hats too so we wore them and took pictures with the pandas. We got to see the white tigers and this crazy little monkey too. He was a toddler so he was still honing his jumping and landing skills so he kept wiping out. Too cute. We hit up the Olympic Village after that. We didn’t have time to go inside the stadiums, but we got to see the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube up close and they were really impressive. Too bad one of the lead architects is being held for blogging right now! We had to get to the airport after that and took a fairly short flight to Shanghai were a bus was waiting for us along with a guide who didn’t shut up the entire hour drive to the ship. Flying over the city was awesome though. Of all the flights I’ve ever taken, this was by far the coolest landing. Thank god I had a window! The city just emerged out of no where and all of a sudden the entire ground was covered in huge buildings. It was like an entire city built out of legos-everything was square and in place until we got over the downtown area. We flew over the Bund and the Shanghai Pearl TV tower thing and all the cool futuristic buildings, and our ship! We thought it was our ship but weren’t quite sure until we got there and the location confirmed it. It was awesome! When we got to the ship, it was in the perfect location. Right across from the Pearl and all the beautiful lights.

After showering and waiting for our passports to clear through security, our whole trip group met in the lobby to go out together again. It’s really rare on an SAS trip that the group clicks so well and actually hangs out when they get back. Our trip had some complications that could have been so much worse if our people weren’t as chill as they were. No one caused a problem, everyone was really laid back and we all had a good time together. That night we went to this little hole in the wall bar and befriended the bartender Coco and the owner Vicky. It was Coco’s first time ever bartending as the usual one wasn’t there. She didn’t’ have the first clue what she was doing so I started making the drinks and by the end of the night, there were multiple bartenders stirring up concoctions.

A couple of us moved on to the next club and I had the funniest cab ride of my life. Somehow I got stuck in a taxi with four other guys and I laughed the entire way. Stuck in the backseat with three guys, only one of whom I had briefly met before (the friend I actually knew well was in front, don’t worry mom), they were doing the funniest impressions I have ever heard. I laughed so hard my collarbone hurt. Nothing I can repeat here of course but trust me, you would die if you heard what they were saying. So funny. We somehow made it to Club 97 and met up with the rest of our group. I got welcomed into this group of Chinese girls playing a dice drinking game and they tried to teach me but honestly I couldn’t tell you the first rule, let alone the name. They just told me when I lost and when I won. Our group finally got a table and we had a really fun time. Dot dot dot…..

The next morning Anna, D and I got a slow start. We walked around the Bund for a while and got paparazzied by the Chinese people. Some just sapped a picture, others would ask, some would ask to be in a picture with us, but some were just ruthless. There was one girl with her huge Nikon who literally ran up to us as we were walking and just backpedaled in front of us snapping away. So awkward!

Later that night we all went out on an expedition to find this club. As it was our last night in Shanghai, we wanted to go out! Too bad the taxi drivers had no clue what we were saying, the address we had written down for us in Chinese characters was wrong and we ended up who knows where. We walked from bar to bar looking for the location of really any dance club by this point. Too bad we kept walking into brothels. It was all old white guys with like four Asian prostitutes all over them- soo gross. We got pizza and beer at this little whole in the wall place as we tried to recoup. After hitting up Lady Gaga Bar/sleazy brothel #6, this one lady walked us to this dance club. We had been referred there earlier and as we climbed the steps and heard the music I said “this looks semi-promising!” This however, was interrupted by two American guys who just laughed and said “yea if you like hookers!” So we talked to them for a while and they took us to this real bar. It was fairly empty but we hung out with them for a while and then called it a night/morning.

The last day in Shanghai, Anna, Bruno and I went to the Old City Market. It was so cool. It had all the old Chinese architecture and these stands selling all sorts of weird stuff. They had these key chains with real goldfish inside! So crazy! I did get some pretty sweet bracelets though….and a DQ Blizzard. Yum. We went back to the ship and that night watched us leave one of the best ports yet. The Shanghai skyline, especially at night, is awesome and I was sad to leave.




Oh yea! I need to update on the two days between Vietnam and Hong Kong. The waters were hell. They were so rough it was unbearable. Things were flying all over our room. Causalities included a frog, an elephant and a magnet. The elephant was one of my favorite purchases from India. It was carved out of a single stone and there was a little elephant inside the big elephant. It was so cool! A leg broke off which can be glued back on, but the back thin carvings shattered and that was what really made it special. Too bad. Anyway, the waves. My god. The floor, bed or whatever you were on would just drop out from under you. It was so loud at night I didn’t sleep at all. Ali and I were both wide-awake. Every time we crashed down I could crunch up and cover my head waiting for the lights to shatter on me. The vent in our ceiling fell out. In the guys’ room next door, their bathroom mirror flew off and shattered all over and their lights fell out. It was crazy. It was like the loudest tower of terror ever that just sucked. People would seriously pay to go on that ride only it wasn’t fun at all. I was pretty medicated that whole time to keep my stomach. It was awful.

HCMC, Vietnam

To say it’s been a while is an understatement. I haven’t typed anything real in so long my fingers are fumbling over the keys. Since my last post, we’ve been to three countries (two and a half really) and multiple cities. Vietnam, China and Taiwan are done, and we’ll be porting in San Diego in exactly two weeks. I could probably write enough to fill your time until I actually get home, but I’ll save us all the boredom and try to cover the highlights as efficiently as I can. That being said, you should probably grab some popcorn and get comfy…this is bound to be a long post. For cliff notes and color, check out my Facebook pictures. This is the first of many….

Vietnam

The five of us (Ali, Allie, Gabi, Kim and I) all started out our first day in port serving our dock-time. Due to the tides, we were already hours behind our scheduled port time so we didn’t end up leaving the ship until around 2:00pm.  We checked out the markets and had our first experiences eating authentic Pho and crossing the streets of Ho Chi Minh City .

Everyone talked up the traffic so much in Vietnam, and to say the least, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty crazy and it took a while to get used to just walking out into hordes of oncoming traffic, but after being in Dominica, Brazil, Ghana, and India, I was expecting a lot worse. At least these motorcycle drivers had a method to their madness and would swerve out of your way if you kept walking. The best approach was to just walk. Not even look to your sides. If you looked, you would hesitate, and if you hesitate, you just might die. So, rules to follow when crossing in Vietnam: 1) Don’t look. 2) Don’t breath. 3) Don’t cross with large groups. 3) Don’t go with people who are going to spook and say “oh my god!” or “Look out!”—they’ll get you killed. I think that pretty much covers it.

But speaking of motorcycles, the taxis in Vietnam are awesome. You can either hail a real cab, one of a trusted company unless you want to get ripped off like no one’s biz, or, you can settle on a price and get one of the motorcycle taxi drivers to take you on a much more fun ride to your destination. A few years back a helmet law was passed. Previous to that no one wore them, but to the surprise of the city, the law has kept and everyone has some sweet designer headgear. When you get one of the taxi-bike guys, they’ll give you one to wear. Not incredibly hygienic, but having a clean helmet is the least of your worries when a cracked skull is on the line. And, for the most part they’re pretty stylin’ (except for that fishermen’s hat looking one on my FB).  Anyway, they zip you around as you clutch the back bar and take pictures of your friends—it’s awesome and now I want some form of two-wheeled motorized transportation more than ever. Sorry mom.

The rest of our time in HCMC was spent bargaining and shopping for all kinds of deals. (Dad, you would be proud of my skills and would freaking LOVE the markets. There are zillions of bags of all sizes, shapes and brands. If our attic had anymore room you could do some serious damage.) We had a good time experiencing the culture, getting some great food and seeing the everyday life of the Vietnamese people.

At night, we would usually head over (via motorcycle taxi) to the backpackers’ district. This was a really young and fun area of town that all the foreign, especially Australian, backpackers and travelers would go to. There were hostels and bars all over scattered between travel agencies and little shops. At the beginning of the week we were some of the only SASers there. By the end however, the place was covered is SAS and SASholes. We still had a good time.

Don’t worry though, we did do some of the important things. We took a day and went to the Cu Chi tunnels and it was really interesting. They showed a video before we went down in them and it was so one sided against the US. It was really eye opening. Americans were constantly referred to as White Devils and some other strong terms. I mean, why not-we did kill a ton of people. We got a tour after that and got to crawl through the tunnels and see how the Vietnamese operated under ground. It was all really interesting, especially to see it from their perspective.

Our hired taxi drove us back to the city after that and dropped us off at the War Museum. We only had an hour before it closed but it was honestly enough time. Not only were we through the rooms, but I couldn’t take being in there anymore. We saw Agent Orange exhibits, War Crimes exhibits, Destruction and Devastation exhibits…everything. It was awful. To think that my country did that to these people was awful. We saw picture after picture of innocent children in pieces from bombs, or deformed from chemicals. There was a preserved fetus to show the deformities from A.O. I’ve been to a lot of sad places through my travels. I’ve seen concentration camps, been to war cemeteries, seen children suffering. This museum however, had the most profound effect on me. I separated from my friends and walked through by alone urging myself to keep it together. If anyone asked me, I was going to say I was from Australia or Canada…no way was I going to admit my country did this. And, to think that this same thing is going on today in the Middle East is really disturbing. I wonder if George W. Bush ever took a walk through those exhibits before invading Iraq. Somehow I doubt it.

The day after this museum, we were supposed to go on a service visit to an YMCA Agent Orange orphanage. Our hosts forgot about us though and it didn’t turn out to be the visit we were expecting in the least. Instead of visiting in need children, we literally played hot potato and did the chicken dance with the 30 of us that went on the trip. Not exactly what I signed up for. Honestly, I was slightly relieved. After just seeing images the day before, I’m not sure if I could have handled it.

Overall, we took Vietnam pretty easy. Some of my friends went to Na Trang or Ha Long Bay and part of me wishes I did that just to see more of the country. I heard it was beautiful but I felt like I got a really good idea of everyday life in HCMC and we had a good time. I’d like to go back someday and see the places I missed, but for now, I’m content with my time spent in Vietnam and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Singapore

Singapore was amazing. We were heavily warned about all the strict rules such as no spitting, be careful about how you dispose your gum, no smoking outside of designated areas, and so on, and it was evident that the people there take it very seriously. The city was impeccably clean, even the subway was spotless. It was a modern, bustling city with a gorgeous skyline and gondolas going between skyscrapers as a means of transportation between buildings. It was awesome to see.

We spent the morning in Chinatown and then went to Maxwell Hawker’s Food Center for lunch. Basically, it was a huge food court with three huge isles of food stands that you could choose from. We got a big plate to split and some Tiger beer, the beer of Singapore. It was delicious! We gave up our table to the Global Studies professor and the dean’s wife and went on our way to Little India.

It was pouring when we got dropped off by our taxi, so we darted into this English pub for a Singapore Sling. He didn’t have the ingredients so he made us a mock one that still tasted pretty good. We hung out there for a while and made friends with the bartender, Alex. It stopped raining and we were soon on our way. Kim wanted to get her fortune told by birds so we looked around for a while but eventually gave up. As we had just been in India, this was nothing new. It smelled the same, looked the same, everything. So, we hailed a taxi that just happened to be a Rolls Royce, and he took us to Orchard Street, the main shopping district.

Well of course, Forever 21 called our names and we spent a good chunk of time there looking around before heading off to dinner at this Mexican restaurant run by Indian men. It just happened to be ladies night, so we qualified for free unlimited margaritas, Corona, and Tiger beer. If the food hadn’t been so delicious, we probably would have had a problem getting home. We were so full from the awesome chicken nachos, guac, and amazing salsa, not to mention our main courses (I got bomb fajitas) that it was hard to take advantage of the drink special! I think they were counting on that when they made the offer. Either way, we hung out and talked for a while before going back to the ship.

Once at the ship, we were confronted by HUGE lines to get back on the ship. The cruise harbor was basically an airport for ships. It had all the shops, customs, security, everything. We didn’t know about this and it was a struggle getting through. Our line alternated with another cruise ship’s customs clearance so we ended up being a little late, less than five minutes to be exact. It turns out, we got three hours of dock-time for being late by a couple minutes. That means that we can’t get off the ship until three hours after we’re cleared in Vietnam. We were bummed but understood just figuring we would sleep in the first day, getting off around 11am or so. That was until we found out we wouldn’t even be pulling in until 11am. That means that the ship wouldn’t clear until at least 1pm, meaning we couldn’t get off until 4pm. That would be an entire day wasted for being late due to circumstances we couldn’t control. Ridiculous. We appealed and hopefully we’ll find out tomorrow if we can get off or not. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Aside from that little mishap, we had a great time in Singapore. I wish we had more time as there is a lot we didn't have time to see. That's definitely a port that I hope to get back to someday.

Oh man. Okay. I think I’m all caught up now. I’m probably forgetting a few things but oh well—these last couple posts have been long enough and I doubt anyone is still reading. Hope you all are doing well at home! I can’t believe we’re on day 67 already, well past the half way point. Ah!

Ship Life

Ship Life the past few days has been pretty interesting. We had Neptune Day finally in celebration of crossing the equator. By this time, we’ve crossed over and back a couple times but it just didn’t work out schedule wise. So, last Saturday, the day after India, the crew woke us up at 7:45am banging pots and pans up and down the halls. We got up for breakfast and then the ceremonies began around 8:45.

Our captain, Captain Jeremy, was painted all green wearing a speedo and a hula skirt as King Neptune. Our academic Dean was the goddess/queen and they presided over the ceremonies. As tradition has it, in order to pass from a  something to a shellback, you had to have fish guts dumped on you, kiss the feet of Neptune, kiss a fish and shave your head. A lot of people did the fish guts thing (colored water with some other gunk mixed in), and the fish kissing, while a select few shaved their heads. I was expecting a fair number of the guys to do it, but was shocked with the ratio was pretty split among guys to girls. Some of them had planned on doing it and I wasn’t surprised with those who did. But others just did it on a whim! Like oh, sure! Why wouldn’t I shave my head!? There were a few girls that just stunned me when I saw them bald. Two girls in particular—they’re cousins who had gorgeous long blond hair. Gone. Shaved it. I was seriously standing there holding my ponytail in fear. No way man, no way. Once everyone who wanted it had gone, the festivities were over and we had the day off classes, which was a nice day of recuperation after India.

Another factor of concern around the ship, is obviously the situation in Japan. We heard about it the last day in India and they broadcast the news station Aljazeera for us to keep up with. It was crazy—the top three stories they kept replaying over and over were the tsunami in Japan, the situation in Lybia, and Madison, Wisconsin’s protests over the governor’s bill. You know it’s pretty messed up with Aljazeera has a correspondent covering the story in Wisco. Anyway, the devastation in Japan was horrible. Luckily we weren’t directly affected by it, but it was horrible to see. We had just finished our tsunami unit in oceanography so we knew what these were capable of. And, as the 7th largest in recent history, this was bad. Our hearts went out for all of those effected as we watched the coverage.

Because we were due to port in Japan in a few weeks, we were monitoring the situation closely. At first we thought we might still have a chance of going there, but with the nuclear reactors going off and all the destruction and damage, it soon became clear that we couldn’t port there. If we did, we not only couldn’t go north to Tokyo and the like, but we would probably be interfering with relief efforts. They announced this and kept us waiting for a few days while they figured out an alternate port for us. The options being considered included South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan. I was personally hoping for South Korea, but with the radiation potentially being blown that direction, it was ruled out along with the Philippines, which was declared a no travel zone due to current wars. So, we’re going to Taiwan. Basically another port of China. Kinda bummed but at least Japan is easy to go back to someday in the future when they’re recovered and stable.

On a lighter note, yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day! Allie and I celebrated as much as we could given the ship circumstances and made our Irish ancestors proud. Hope you all had fun at home!

Chennai, India

Oh India. The land where a moped is considered a family vehicle, the smells change from awful to mouth-watering in a matter of seconds, bus capacity is a joke, and cows are a frequent cause for a traffic jam. We explored Chennai up and down and overall, had a cultural experience to last a lifetime. From meditation to auto-rickshaws, we got a taste of it all.

The days leading up to India, we were peppered with comments that to say the least, made us slightly nervous. They prepared us to death with warning about the grime, the smell, the people, the food, everything. We were told horror stories about how people knew of past voyagers who got off the first day, then stayed on the ship the rest of the week. The ship’s crew covered all the carpets (so basically the entire floor of all the public decks) with plastic, and the stairs with cardboard. They closed down all the outside dining areas and the pool deck. They wrapped all the deck furniture with plastic and put away everything from the pool bar. It was like they were preparing for the end of the world. We ported Sunday, March 6th and looked out expecting the worst.

True to expectations, there was a certain cloud of dirt in the air, but what else can be expected from an industrial port loading coal? Dust happens. We ventured out early before we all had to go on our separate trips and took all the precautions they warned against. We nerded it up with the whole passport carrier on the inside of our shirts and were dressed very modestly even with the sweltering heat. We braced ourselves.

What we found, turned out to be very different. Yes, it was a little dusty—driving in the auto-rickshaws for extended periods of time caused a bit of eye irritation—and yes there were certain smells to plug your nose at. But what they didn’t mention was the awesomeness that is the Indian culture. They forgot to highlight all the amazing sights we would see, how traffic weaves in and out in some sort of constructed orchestra, how the disgusting pungent stench would be balanced out by the delicious and fragrant aromas. When warning us about modest attire, they forgot to mention how beautiful the women’s clothing would be. Although some of the younger generation would wear leggings or skinny jeans with a long Indian tunic over, the vast majority of the women wore incredibly vibrant sari’s in multiple styles with millions of colors and patterns. Why couldn’t they have prepared us for this? I thought I wasn’t supposed to like India…but there I went assuming again.

By the time I’m finally posting this blog, we’ve been back on the ship for a week. We’ve already been to Singapore and due to the heartbreaking tragedy in Japan, have switched our itinerary to go to Taiwan instead. I guess, what I’m trying to say is that I’ll try to keep this post shorter than the rest. I want to share my experiences, but I feel like with India, unless you were there, it’s hard to explain. Pictures can’t even do it justice. It’s something you have see, smell, hear, feel, in order to truly slightly understand how my six days in Chennai were.

Breezing over the first day, we went on a city orientation that quite frankly, sucked. We spend five hours on a minimally air conditioned bus with the worst suspension system I’ve ever experienced. Ghana was nothing compared to this. Every time we went over a bump the air was forced out of us making steady breathing nearly impossible. The tour itself consisted of going to an English Fort, two Catholic churches and one Buddhist temple. If I wanted to go see English stuff, I would have gone to England. If I wanted to see churches…well that would never happen so I can just stop right there. The itinerary we were given mentioned nothing of these stops and the trip just should have been renamed “Catholics in Chennai.” Thank god, the temple visit was a least a little reputation saving. We had to take off our shoes to enter and because it was late afternoon, the cement was sooo hot. We walked around for a little while and saw all the worship alters and the sacred cows (I fed one a banana!) and then went back on the bus for the ride home.

That night, we went to the Welcome Reception held at a local hotel for us by some of the University students and other members of the community. They had food for us to try, shopping stations set up, a henna table and then they did a dance performance. The dancers were amazing. They were dressed in full costume and jewelry, as well as makeup. We later learned that the extravagant eyes and lips and to make sure that the audience can see the facial expressions all the way from the back row. It was intense. It must have taken hours to get dressed and ready for that performance and we appreciated it.

From there, we signed out early and a few of us went to a local Hookah bar. Alcohol is uncommon so we indulged in the local social scene at this rooftop place with bean bag chairs and cushioned benches with low tables. We stayed there for a while and then arranged for an auto-rickshaw to take us home.


Day 2

Monday morning was an early one for us as we had to be up and ready to leave at 7:30am for our Art of Living retreat. We got all of our stuff and got on the bus but of course, had to go through the customs at the gate. Each and every time we left or came back, we had to have our passports checked out by the gate security (The night before on our way to the reception, we sat on the bus for 40 minutes before we could even leave the gate waiting for our passports to get checked. Ridiculous. They were so strict there we weren’t allowed to walk through the port and had to take shuttles to and from the ship to the gate.). We waited patiently and then were on our way to make a few stops on the way to the village. We went to Mallalampuram (spelling is awful on that one! Sorry!) and another temple. It was beautiful to see but oh my god it was hot. The sun was just reflecting off all the sand and it was scorching. Impressive, but scorching.  We finally got to the heritage village (I’m not even going to try to spell out that one. Dak something or other), and got a tour and settled into our rooms. Luckily Anna’s room had an extra bed so I got in one with a full bathroom and air conditioning.

We ate lunch and I had my first scare of the trip. The first thing I tasted, my tongue immediately burst into a fit of itches. I had asked him about cashews in any of the dishes before and he said no, no, no, so I made him walk through the line and explain all the ingredients in each dish. He swore there weren’t any nuts so I’m not sure if it was just a reaction to another spice or what but it was quite scary. I stayed clear of the rest of the meal and waited until dinner.

We had our first session with our instructor and learned two breathing techniques and what not. I was so into at that point, giving it my all and really trying to stay with her and do what she said. Some of it was pretty intense and I had to work really hard to keep up.

I had worked up an appetite for dinner by that point and we walked into a traditional Indian sit down dinner in one of the model homes. They set up the low tables and tiny stool chairs all around the center square open courtard in the house. They had candles on each table and we were served on banana leaves. I asked about cashews again and was told there wasn’t anything (via the bobble nod) to worry about. As I was playing with this one thing with my fork, a moved instead to stab another piece and popped it in my mouth just as I overheard the manager saying something about cashews. I spit it out (hadn’t chewed it yet) and after a good two and a half minute freak out, he came over and told me that the thing I had been playing with previously, contained cashews. Awesome. That was in my mouth. Thank god it stayed in the center of the solid piece that I had spit out.  Once again, my meal was over. Between the lack of taste buds for Indian food and the potential death threat, I didn’t eat a whole lot and went to bed fairly hungry.

The morning started early with a sprint around the building and a nice yoga session. After that though, we alternated between the same two breathing techniques (apparently we had to “cleanse our toxins”), her lecturing us, break times and meals garnished with cashews. All the while, we had to sit on the stone floor of this round meditation building on thin straw mats. It was impossible to get comfortable unless you lay down, and it was impossible to stay awake if you lay down. Bad news bears. On top of that, we came back to our room in the evening to find a nasty beady-eyed lizard scurrying around our room. That was pretty much the breaking point. I was hungry, Anna was sick, the lizard was roaming around our sleeping quarters somewhere and we made the executive decision to go home. We left early the next morning and honestly, got more out of driving back via auto-rickshaw for an hour than we would have by staying there for the rest of the time. The culture and sites we saw during the drive made it worth it alone. We went through back villages that we couldn’t have experienced out an air-conditioned bus window/fishbowl. We ate and showered as soon as we got back, followed closely by a nice nap in clean rooms.


Day 4

After eating lunch on the ship and being clean, we went to Spencer Plaza to get some stuff done. We didn’t have any plans really so we let our driver Revi take us to different stores so he would get the commission they gave to drivers for taking SASers there. We stopped by a couple and then asked him where we could get Henna. He took us to this place on the street and we got a mural of artwork done on our arms. It was really difficult to keep them still and not smudged, but it was worth it. We walked into Spencer Plaza. Technically, it’s a mall, but that makes it sound like we wasted a day in a nice shopping center. Spencer Plaza on the otherhand, consists of back alleys, a mixture of stores ranging from high-end to questionable hole-in-the-walls. It was dirty and vibrant and Indian. We got a cultural experience in itself just being there trying to accomplish all of our errands.

I had to buy a cell phone to make my interview call later that night, and that was a task. I had to provide documentation and copies of my passport, India Visa, and have a passport photo just to get my phone and SIM card. I guess in a country where cell phone terrorism isn’t unheard of, precautions to track back the serial numbers are necessary.  It took forever but finally we figured it out.

Later that night, we hunted down the Internet café (only half of the people seemed to know about it), and were able to get on for an hour to upload pictures and do a tri-continent video chat with my roommates, Shehan in Spain, Grace and Cho at home at 250, and Anna and myself in India. It was really fun but I guess they couldn’t see us very well. Anyway, by the time our hour was up, the mall was closed and it was so sketchy to be walking around. The mall was deserted except for a few groups of men walking around. As if Anna and I hadn’t stuck out enough earlier that day, we certainly did then. We found the most populated exit as soon as we could and got a rickshaw to take us back to the ship. It was nice to make it safely home as I could just hear my mom’s voice screaming at me. Sorry mom!

I did some research on the company I was to interview with, and then prepared as much as I could for the phone call to come. I got an hours sleep and then woke up to call Chicago. It was 2:30am my time, and 3:00pm at home and we had about an hour-long conversation and then I got to call home for a bit too. We’ll have to wait and see in April how it went! Wish me luck!

The next day was spent with an SAS trip, University and Indian Home Visit. We got to tour one of the universities and visit with the students. One girl in particular, Sush, was really cool and we hung out for most of the time. They did dances for us and then gave us lunch (minimal cashews this time!) and we had the chance to talk with them and socialize for a while before we went to the home visit portion. The house we went to was really nice, but it was just an older couple that the adults on our trip talked to for the most time. We, the students, just sat there and listened. But we did get to learn how to make those designs they draw with rice flour outside of their doors. It was really hard to even make a straight line!

Natalie and I signed ourselves out early so we could just go straight to T-Nager, another shopping street area, and were walked to an auto-rickshaw when I got chased by a dog! The wild dogs in India are not cute, for starters. They’re mangy and sketchy and not cool. I think it was trying to get my shirt tail but ended up snapping at me. It grazed my leg but thank got didn’t make any contact with skin. It chased me around in circles until the owner came and smacked him. I was shaking for an hour after the incident and would flinch at anything I saw moving from then on.

We got to T-Nager though, and it was like a carnival. The whole street was lit up with neon and flashing lights. The street itself is comprised of regular indoor stores, and then the sidewalks are lined with vendors and stands selling everything from books to clothes to pool toys. It was crazy. In the hour we had to shop (our driver was waiting for us), we got an awesome array of bangles, and found deals on skirts and genie pants. Quite a success before we went back to the ship.

By the time we got back, everyone was meeting in the square to go out. We were starving and had to shower after the day’s activities so we did what we needed to do and then went to meet them at the Hookah bar, Elementz. It was really cool inside. They had all white interior with neon lights around the walls and in the ceiling. It was really sweet and there were a lot of SASers there. We had a good last night before going back with our crazy driver. There were numerous times driving with him that I thought I was going to die even more so than usual. He was hilarious though and had the same laugh as Rifiki from The Lion King. He kept dancing and turning around to talk to us—we’re just like DUDE! THE ROAD! But we made it safe and sound as promised and I’m here typing this today. It really seems though, that the traffic has gotten progressively worse as we work our way around the world. The Bahamas started it off with jam-packed vans, Dominica was next with minimal rules and open containers all over. Brazil was hectic but at least there were lights. Ghana was incredible—between the lack of shock absorbance and no rules, it was crazy. South Africa was civilized but passing was still all over. But this, India. Oh my god. It was nuts!!

The last day Anna and I spent looking for last minute things to buy and what not. We went back to T-Nager but the street vendors were closed for some reason we couldn’t understand. We got a few things including my coolest purchase to date; it needs to be modeled as words don’t do it justice. We still had some time to kill and were hungry so we went back to Spencer Plaza where we once again had Pizza Hut (it was delicious and we had given Indian food a fair try), and got a few last, last minute things. We then got back in our rickshaw for one last ride through Chennai and made it back in plenty of time for on-ship time. Even though this wasn’t the prettiest port to pull out of, we stayed to watch us sail away from India.

As I didn’t go to the Taj on this trip, I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to go back and visit the beautiful building and cities in the north such as Varanasi and Agra. I’ve heard stories and would love to see the totally different northern culture with my own eyes. Until then, I’ll just concentrate on finishing this voyage around the world.

Port Louis, Maruitius

To your relief, this should be a short one. Before I start, when writing this post, I wanted to let whoever is reading this know about the great time we had, but not have it come off as bad as it could potentially sound. Just keep that in mind while reading. Exaggerate what you want, ignore what you don’t. Either way, keep an open mind and use your imagination how you see fit. Mauritius is known as the Spring Break of SAS, and that’s exactly what we needed and what we did.

We were only in Mauritius for a few hours and in that time we didn’t exactly get to explore the island. Being a Sunday, pretty much everything was closed. Not that that really mattered because we had all pre-booked Catamaran cruises. When we finally got cleared, we went out on the landing area to wait for the rest of our group. We had 30 some people in ours, and as the ship’s computers crashed, it took a while for the whole group to sign out. Once we had everyone, we boarded some busses and drove about 45 minutes to the place where we met the catamarans. There were multiple bus loads of kids, and about 6 catamarans all waiting for us. We got on and immediately started having a good time. Let’s just say we had to pack a week’s worth of spring break activities into roughly 6 hours on the cruise.

The water in the mooring field was gorgeous. It was the most brilliant turquoise blue I have ever seen in water. We thought it was super clear until a couple of the guys jumped in and you couldn’t even see their feet below the surface. I’ll have to ask in Oceanography why that is. Once we got a little further out on the water, you could visibly see the line where the turquoise water and darker blue deep water met. It was like the meeting of the waters in the Amazon, only with blues instead of black and brown. A little prettier this time around.

We cruised for a little bit and then all the boats docked together off this rocky island so we could swim and socialize to our hearts content. They had a barbeque for us too which was really good. We hopped from boat to boat and jumped off the sides all day. The water was so clear you could see the bottom maybe 25-30 feet below. It was so beautiful.

But, we couldn’t stay out there all day and eventually had to get back to land. Once on shore, it was a free for all to get on a bus back. On the way there we had organized services with the names of the group “leader” posted. The way back however was a different story. We all just climbed onto whatever mobile thing we could get into, hoping to make it back before on ship time and avoid dock time in India.

Our original group got a little separated but as far as I know we all made it back okay. Brittney lost her ID and Hailey couldn’t find some of her items, but we made it on without a problem and just in time for dinner.

That night was rough to say the least and I was thankful to just lay and in bed and watch a movie with my roommate Ali. The next day was soo funny though. Everyone was just dead. We all looked like we’d been though the ringer and just passed each other in the hall with that look of sympathy and understanding. Due to previous voyages, SAS isn’t welcome to spend the night in Mauritius anymore and after that day, I can honestly say I’m glad we weren’t allowed to. We had a great time and probably could have learned a lot more educationally about the island, but with only a few hours, what can anyone else expect from us. We all wanted and needed a break and that’s exactly what we got. The stories will be comical at the very least to retell, but the pictures…well, those just might have to be kept private for a while. 









As a side note and with a more somber tone, we did have to leave someone in Mauritius. As far as we know, he’ll be okay, but after some “medical problems “(as we’ve been told) he had to be hospitalized. Hopefully he’ll be able to come back, but that’s up to the faculty at this point. We had an all community meeting about responsibilities and expedition behavior to reinforce core values. They just wanted to remind us that while we’re encouraged to have a good time, we need to be responsible for ourselves and look out for our friends. Alcohol was a factor with this incident, but not the only cause. We just need to be aware of our actions and how we conduct ourselves in port. For our own safety, the safety of those around us, and the reputation of the program, we need to act as adults and keep control. I, and the rest of us on the catamarans all had a great time. We might have gotten a little wild and finally let loose, but everyone made it back safe and sound save for the inevitable headache and misplaced items. It’s too bad that the poor decisions of one person can have negative repercussions on us all. With that being said, I hope he is okay and will be able to come back. Like I said, alcohol was only a minor factor in what happened that day, and to have the trip of a lifetime be cut short because of what could be considered chance would really suck.