Good Morning, Vietnam!

So Vietnam was a very emotional place for me.  I know that things dealing with wars and conflicts move me, I cried the whole time I walked through the Holocaust museum in DC, I was moved by the Korean war monument etc, but the last thing I thought would happen was that a country would affect me so much because of a war I knew very little about.  It is very hard to explain, especially with the inhuman nature of the internet and computers, but when I get back I can try over a cup of coffee or tea, just let me know.  Though maybe a shot of whiskey would be more appropriate...

Vietnam is very beautiful, full of lush jungle and rivers.  The first day I did a city orientation of Ho Chi Minh City (formally called Saigon).  We saw many important buildings, a history museum and a Water puppet show.  The next day we went to the Mekong Delta and rode in boats on the river, tasting many exotic fruits and playing with pythons.  The third day we shopped and took it easy.  Vietnam has found my weakness for North Face backpacks and TV on DVD.  The forth day we went to the Cu Chi tunnels, which were south in the Mekong Delta area as well.  The last day I got stamps and took it easy.  We had a BBQ on the ship which was delicious.

Two days of travel and then Hong Kong!!  This is what Hong Kong and mainland China look like for me...

Sunday March 29: Traipsing around Hong Kong
Monday March 30: Traveling to Beijing
Tuesday March 31: The Great Wall!
Wednesday April 1: The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, other places I can't think of right now and an Aerobatic performance.
Thursday April 2: The zoo, the Birds Nest and the Water Cube and traveling to Shanghai
Friday April 3: Suzhou (really old gardens that Marco Polo went to when he was in China)

That is what my schedule looks like... All that and then two days and then JAPAN!!!!! Ciao!

and tigers...

So Thailand.  This country was kinda my spring break in a way.  I did not do a whole lot of touristy things while I was here.  We explored a lot and such, but I didn't visit much, it was very low key.  But when you are visiting so many different places, I feel like you might need a bit of a break from the monotony of tours, so I took it in Thailand.  Don't get me wrong I love tours, but I had an amazing time in Thailand taking it easy.  It all started with a trip to the Tiger Zoo where I got to hold a baby tiger and feed it while a person took my picture.  It was pretty fabulous.  I also eat some McDonalds and it was the best I have ever had, except their coke, that is better in the states.  The next three days were spent in Bangkok where we went to Jim Thompson's house. He exported silks and made quite a name for himself and then disappeared.  Very interesting story, and he had a beautiful house and an exquisite art collection.  We also took a cooking class so get ready for some delicious Thai food when I get home...  The last two days we spent in Pattaya.  Pattaya is apparently known for its night life, which I was unaware of until we went there.  It is kinda like a low class Las Vegas, sans casinos and many more bars and clubs.  I maybe sang karaoke...  So that is basically it.  Thailand was beautiful, I loved it, and it was nice to spend one port kinda low key.  I still saw a lot, but also in a way I took it easy.  Not going to be the case in Vietnam, which we arrive at in the morning!  My schedule there is really quite full, and looks like this...

Sunday March 22 City Orientation of Ho Chi Minh City with include water puppet performance
Monday March 23 Mekong Delta Day Trip
Tuesday March 24 hopefully exploring the city and getting things tailored and/or made
Wednesday March 25 Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple
Thursday March 26 shopping around the city and picking up clothing before starting the journey to China

We only have two days between Vietnam and China so there will not be a lot of recovering time, especially since I have classes both of those days also.  Oh well. Just about six more weeks and I will be back in the states.  I miss everyone!!!!  Ciao.

India: The Gilligan's Island of Travel

So India was amazing, truly amazing.  Before each port they have lectures on what to expect and such to get us ready for going out into the world (literally).  For India it was mostly about getting sick from the food and the poverty.  Well I ate everything, including some things that they warned us not to... oops.  I did not get sick so there!  The poverty was not such an easy issue, it was hard seeing trash and begging children everywhere you go.  The hardest part was not giving them anything, since they probably are working for some kind of gang or organization (if you have not yet seen slumdog millionaire, I suggest you watch it, cause not only is it an amazing film, but it is also a very accurate depiction of poverty in India).  But besides that India is a beautiful country.  The first day I was there I went on a city orientation of Chennai which was very informative.  We visited an Anglican Church, a Hindu temple and a Catholic church which happens to be one of the only three churches in the world to have remains of one of the twelve apostles (St. Thomas).  Then after the tour, I went to a welcome reception where I got henna done on my hand, ate delicious food, watched a classical Indian dance presentation and got to socialize with students from the University of Chennai.  It was wonderful.  The next three days was my excursion to Delhi and Agra to see the city and the Taj Mahal.  I truly understand why the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the modern world.  The last day in India I hung around Chennai, shopping and such.  One of my friends on the ship knows a girl that lives in Chennai and we went out with her and had a delicious lunch.  After shopping and almost missing our on ship time, we returned safely to the ship and oooooed and awwwwwwed over our purchases.  Classes have been keeping me busy since leaving India, but in two days we will be in Thailand!!!  Here is my supposed schedule for that... 

Sunday March 15: Going to a Tiger Zoo and Mini Siam
Monday March 16: Day trip to Bangkok
Tuesday March 17: possibly in Bangkok also...
Wednesday March 18: Pattaya (I think I am spelling it right)
Thursday March 19: return to the ship to leave for Vietnam.

The time from now until after Japan is going to fly.  We only have two days at sea between Thailand and Vietnam, Vietnam and China and China and Japan.  These next few weeks are gonna fly.  I am excited!!  Ciao.

I am hungry... for INDIAN FOOD!!!!!!

I tried to post this last night, but apparently it did not work, so here it goes again...

So in just a few hours we will be pulling into port in India!! If you can't tell I am so very excited for the food. Everyone says that this is the port that you will get sick at. Well bring it on, I am ready.

So Mauritius... It was beautiful. Mark Twain was so right. I went snorkeling and on a catamaran. The water was beautiful, and so were the fish. We saw dolphins, though we didn't get to swim with them... We got back a little before we had to be on the ship, so we walked around a bit and explored the water front, which was basically two small shopping centers that were mostly closed. We did get to take water taxis which was a neat experience.

The day after Mauritius was the Sea Olympics. Apparently this happens on every voyage. Each deck is divided into seas and all the seas compete in different events through out the day. The events range from everything, human knot, pictionary, sudoku, mashed potato sculpting, and synchronized swimming to name a few. I didn't actually compete in any event, but I did help choreography the synchro act and was basically the manager of it (running errands and in charge of music and such). My sea didn't do so well in the competitions but we had a lot of spirit. All in all it was a pretty fun day!

Midterms were this week, well it isn't really a week, but they were around this general time area. There aren't really weeks on the ship, cause we have classes on "weekends". It keeps me busy, and on my toes, especially trying to figure out what day it is. But I know what day it is today, THE DAY BEFORE INDIA. Here is my India schedule:

Thursday March 5: Chennai City Orientation and a Welcome Reception
Friday March 6- Sunday March 8: Traveling to New Delhi and the Taj Mahal
Monday March 9: Exploring Chennai and going shopping

So that is what is up with me for the next few days. It is pretty exciting to go see the Taj, I will take lots of pictures. Next stop: Thailand (well technically Singapore but we can't get off the ship, it is just to refuel).