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.