Friday, March 25, 2011
Inside the Cu Chi Tunnels
I have NO idea how the Vietnamese soldiers stayed in these tunnels. They're ridiculously small and my thighs killed after squat walking for just 10 minutes.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Goodbye Vietnam
The days tend to run together so I'm not going to go into too much detail about Ho Chi Minh. All you really need to know is that there are a ton of motorcycles and if you want to cross the street you just have to step out in front of thousands of oncoming motorcycles and keep moving while pretending as though you're Moses parting the red sea and praying to God you make it to the other side. I'm alive though, so that's good!
There is a ton of touristy shopping to do in Vietnam. There are also a lot of tailors that can custom make dresses so my friends bought some for the ball at the end of the voyage. North Face is EVERYWHERE! But it's all mostly fake and bad quality, however if you're lucky you can find the real stuff!
The second day Hannah and I were on our own so we explored and walked all over the city! We went to Highlands Coffee for lunch which is the Vietnamese version of Starbucks and can be found on every corner. We shopped, walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Diamond Plaza (a mall with a bowling alley and bar at the top!) and everywhere in between! The post office is a beautiful building with amazing paintings on the ceilings, touristy shops, old phone booths and everything you could ever want in a post office! It was quite the outing! That night we met back up with everyone and went out to dinner.
The next day we went to the Vietnam War Memorial Museum which was an amazing experience. It was interesting to see the views of the Vietnamese. The first floor had a ton of pictures of protests all over the world which showed how controversial the war really was. It basically felt like....England hates the US, Cuba hates the US, Germany hates the US, Vietnam hates the US, the US hates the US. It was kind of weird. Outside there were many US fighter jets and tanks. Upstairs there was an Agent Orange exhibit talking about the side effects of this chemical that the US sprayed all over the fields of Vietnam. It affects the development of babies and can lead to disfigurement and many mental and physical disabilities.
Yesterday, I hopped on to a service trip with my friends. We went to a school for deaf children which was one of the first schools in Ho Chi Minh to cater towards the education of deaf children. The kids were about 6 years old and did a little performance for us. Then we got into small groups to interact with them and color. Many of them were super excited to get on our bus and go to the zoo. They would draw pictures of a bus with people in it and then point to each person in our group. It was a really neat experience! We took them to the zoo which was much different from an American zoo. The animals seemed overfed...they were all pretty fat! The elephants were in an outdoor enclosure where you could get close enough to reach out and feed them. Of course the kids were trying to feed them everything from crackers, to Capri Sun containers to m&m's. It was a great time but the kids definitely tired me out!
That night we went to the Japanese restaurnat close to our ship to get some Japanese food in since we won't be going there. It was very yummy but the service was terrible. (Seems like a common trend in Vietnam!).
Today we went to a coffee shop for the majority of the day to get some internet time in. It was fabulous! I wasn't quite sure what to do when I had the internet right at my fingertips. Maybe this means I won't be on my computer as much when I get home!
There was barbeque dinner tonight with ribs, corn, potato salad and amazing desserts. It's for the parents who are having a reception on the ship. Its been neat seeing parents around with their kids but it makes me miss home that much more!
I'm super excited for my trip in China. It's going to be awesome!
As for now, I need to get some work done during these next two days on the ship! Projects, projects, projects!!!
Later 'Nam!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Day 1
My initial impression of Vietnam is...AWESOME. Followed by lots of frustration...
This morning around 8 I was out on deck looking out on the banks of the Saigon River as the ship made its way to our port. It was like deja vu and all I could think about was going up the Amazon. But this was so much more interesting! I've never seen a river so busy! It was like a highway of boats and large container ships, each having somewhere to be. There were colorful boats and an ultra fast airplane looking ferry boat. A huge containership registered in Singapore was heading in the opposite direction we were coming from.
As I looked out to the banks of the river it was like I was in the middle of the jungle in Forrest Gump. The vegetation is so tropical and lush. I was surprised to see a vast number of skyscrapers being built a few miles from the riverbank. It was interesting because right on the river there were many broken down houses with small boats outside. There looked to be quite a bit of poverty in this area. And then in the background of these houses were these huge futuristic apartment buildings where I'm sure the middle and upper class is living.
We docked at 11AM and everyone was as excited as ever. But a few lucky students were probably the most excited they'll ever be to get off the ship. Semester at Sea does what is called Parent Trips where parents of students can fly to Vietnam and meet their children in Vietnam. They stay for the five days we are here in a hotel and go on many trips with their children. Everyone was saying they were a bit jealous of those getting to see their parents. As I descended the gangway from deck 5, I had a birds eye view of students being reunited with their parents with hugs, kisses, excitement and tears. It was really kind of an emotional sight....and I'm not going to lie, it made me homesick for a while there. There were students meeting with their boyfriend/girlfriend and meeting friends too. It was really cool to see. A large group of Vietnamese women dressed in traditional clothing and rice hats holding a "Welcome to VIetnam Semester at Sea" banner distracted me from the scene and the shouts of the trip leaders that the buses for trip HCM 04 to Cu Chi tunnels were boarding and leaving ASAP. So I quickly found the bus and hopped on. This trip happened to have parents on it which was kind of cool and exciting and sad all wrapped up into one....I MISS EVERYONE!!!!
Anyways....A 2 hour bus ride took us through the busy, motorcycle congested streets of Ho Chi Minh City. There are coffee shops, Karaoke bars, seamstress shops, billiard halls, and motorcycle shops every single block! We went down the main shopping street which had all the big stores again....Louis Vuitton, Polo Ralph Lauren, etcetera. The whole atmosphere of the city was really neat. I enjoy the oldness of it but it's also not dirty and smelly.
Finally after an hour or so we got to the restaurant where we had lunch. There was so much white sticky rice....I was in heaven! We also had this pear looking fruit with chili salt on it. The combination of the sweet fruit, with the bit of salt plus the kick of the chili's was the most perfect combination I have ever tasted. Delicious! Seaweed and tofu soup was also served....I ate the broth. Some shrimp eggrolls were delicious followed by some sort of other chicken and fish dish with vegetables.
After lunch a 15 minute bus ride took us to the Cu Chi tunnels. It felt as though we were in the middle of the jungle there. The first thign we did was walk into the jungle. We were that we were currently on top of a network of underground tunnels and that an entrance was nearby. We had to find it! It literally looked like nothing ws there. But sure enough our tour guide James knew exactly where it was. He uncovered this wooden plank which was probably about 2 by 1.5 feet. He lifted it up to reveal a hole where the Vietnamese soldiers would go into the tunnels. The guide then jumped into the hole, lifted the wooden plank above his head so his arms were straight up, shrunk down and disappeared into the hole. He was magically gone! This was how the Vietnamese would launch attacks on the US and then look as though they magically disappeared. The US even once unknowingly built a base on top of a network of tunnels and suffered many casualties because of it, until they finally realized their mistake! Everyone was able to try going into this hole which led to the tunnels. It was a tight fit for some....one girl got stuck...and then I got to do it and it was SO COOL!
After that we walked through the jungle to different "exhibits." We saw many torture devices which looked very frightening. We also saw these fake termite mounds which the Vietnamese used as a way to disguise air holes for the tunnels. We went to many different bunkers. One was a kitchen with a fire and the chimney was piped a few kilometers away and went through multiple chambers. This makes it so that when the smoke does come out, it doesn't rise into the air but rather just keeps low to the ground.
Next we went to these tunnels which had been enlarged a little for tourists to go through. They were SO small and really cramped. It was about a 7 to 10 minute crawl through the tunnels which go many stories under the earth. At one point one girl was like "Remember those miners...?" and we all told her to shut up and keep moving!! It was really hot and a little scary but also a once in a lifetime opportunity!
By this time, we had to head back to the ship. When we got back I found my friends and we went out to find dinner. We found this restaurant right by the port...literally 100 steps away. We were so excited and saw some life long learners had followed us there. The menu we got didn't have any prices....yikes, never a good sign. The exchange rate here is 256,000 Dong to 1 USD so we figured it couldnt be too bad! We sat down and ordered drinks from our waitress that spoke some English. She then apparently wanted us to immediately order food because she stood at our table the entire time we were looking at the one menu we were given. We decided to get 4 dishes and share. I really wanted Pineapple Fried Rice but they didn't have it. And then they didnt have so many other things. It was frustrating. The next thing that happened was the Life Long Learners came up to us and said to be careful because they were being charged for things like using napkins. Ridiculous!
We ordered spinach, chicken, noodles, and some tofu dish. What came out was not spinach...they told us it was cabbage but it definitely wasn't that either. So then we were still hungry and wanted more noodles. But the dish that came out wasnt the same as the one we ordered. Of course trying to communicate to a bunch of waiters, cooks, and then the restaurant manager in English didnt work out so well. We left the noodle dish and finally they figured out what dish we wanted and brought it out to us. In the mean time, our chicken had arrived. It was placed onto the table and I was the first one to say "You guys go first" And then Kerry (who's vegan) said "Get that chicken away from me." We just laughed and then she was like "No really, get it away, there's a chicken head staring me in the face!!!!" I looked at the chicken and sure enough....the head was on the plate. GROSS!!!!
We got the bill which ended up to be about $6 a person. But they didnt give us all our change back....we really didnt care since it was so cheap. But it was the principle of the matter. And then we finally got it back, wuickly left, without leaving a tip because we received such awful service. Honestly it wasn't anyone's fault and was probably just the language barrier. But we were fed up! We got back on the ship to take a breather. I am exhausted!
That's it for now...I'll be walking around the city tomorrow and we'll see how that goes!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Fruit Stand
This place had the best fruit ever! And they made fruit juices from their drinks. Sooo delicious!
Botanic Garden Bathroom
Cleanest bathroom I have ever been in...and an open-air bathroom too! So cool!
Bendy buildings!
I really liked these buildings....all the architecture in Singapore was awesome! This photo really doesn't give it justice though.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Singapore
7:30 AM rolled around and I was actually awake and at breakfast before any of my friends! For all of you that know me....the early morning hours and breakfast don't work out too well! But as I was enjoying my breakfast, the MV Explorer was pulling into the beautiful harbor area! We could see skyscrapers, Hard Rock Cafe, monorail trains and another cruiseship docked in the harbor.
Once we cleared immigration and got off the ship, it literally felt like we were in an airport. There were little terminals for big cruise ships and there was advertising for Norweigen Cruise Lines everywhere! They were advertising for America like it was some exotic location. Pretty funny! I immediately noticed how clean and fresh everything was. The entire port area was spotless! Immigration took a while plus it felt longer than it actually was since we wanted to squeeze every ounce of fun out of the day and felt like the immigration officers were holding us up! When we finally made it through we didn't know what to do or where to go. The building that we were in was really large and had tons of stores in it and looked much like a mall. We finally found some other SAS'ers and made our way out a back entrance where we found a taxi. It probably wasn't the best entrance or first impression of Singapore, as we were walking through throngs of smokers. We got into a really nice cab which took us to Orchard Road. This is the main shopping area of Singapore. It is very similar to Michigan Avenue or Rodeo Drive. There is an interesting combination of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and cheap cell phone booths, electronics stores and restaurants. After realizing that we most likely wouldn't be going into these stores we checked out one of the shopping centers aka malls which have entrances like the stores do, right on Orchard Road. We walked around there for about 15 minutes and found.....STARBUCKS! Believe me I wanted an iced vanilla latte SO bad. But decided that I should probably enjoy the local food. We were hungry by this point and found what is known as a Hakerstall (sp?) center. These are basically food stands that are in permanent structures with some plastic tables and chairs around it. You sit at a table which has a number on it and then one person saves the table while the rest go look at the different foods. When you order the food you tell them your table number so they can deliver the food to you. We didnt realize this process until after we had ordered, but the way we did it worked just fine! The food was delicious and a little bit spicy! I also had a soda...had no idea what it was but found out it was Root Beer flavored....yuck!
After this, Stephani really wanted to go to Little India. I really didnt understand why considering we just came from India....but we went anyways. We took a taxi there and our driver was AWESOME. He said that Singappore has a large Indian population. We told him we had just come from India. Then he goes "OHHH so you know what they look like!!!" And then cracked up in a hysterical laugh. It was the best taxi ride yet! Little India was sooo much different than India! And a lot cleaner too! We walked around there for a while and ended up catching up with Kerry. She was starving so we stopped into this Indian restaurant and cured her desire for Indian food.
After that we went to the Singapore Botanic Garden. It was absolutely beautiful. There was an orchid garden, evolution garden, and many others! The whole place was so well cared for and there were many little water gardens too. It began pouring while we were walking around....the first time we've felt rain since Dominica. We then decided to go to the gift shop while the rain passed. We also ate at the little restaurant in the garden which had.....french fries!!! And the ketchup was really good....it tasted very tangy which was pretty cool! We needed to catch a taxi from there so they had this nifty little system where you press a button for a taxi which lights up a sign on the main road indicating that a taxi is needed. A taxi would come within 15 minutes. But sometimes people would cut us in line and take our taxi which was really weird and confusing. It was a pretty awesome and efficient system that they had though!
Next we went to a place called Holland Village (I think...) which had a bunch of stores and restaurants. It was fun to walk around but of course we were hungry again. So we stopped at another hakerstall place which was incredible! We stopped at this fruit stand which made juice from their fresh fruits. I had a pineapple, apple, watermelon combination which was absolutely incredible! And also got a slice of pineapple which was THE best pineapple I have ever had. We got a big bottle of Tiger beer to share as well. Tiger beer is award winning....but to me it tasted just like Coors Light....nothing special!
By this time it was late and we had to get a taxi back to the harbor. We needed two taxis for the majority of the day because there were five of us and only four could fit in each taxi. Unlike India, we actually have to wear seatbelts! And cramming 5 people into a car is illegal. So Kerry and Brittany got one cab and Me, Hannah, and Stephani got another. Except our driver was really old and couldn't hear. Instead of taking us to the Singapore Cruise Center, he took us to the River Cruise area and was trying to convince us this was the right place. We were so frustrated. At this point Brittany texted us wondering where we were. We finally got another cab and took it to the Cruise Center where we met up with Kerry and Brittany. They were in this grocery store which had....Tostitos and Queso imported from the US!!! Being the awesome Americans we are, and craving nachos more than ever, we paid and made our way back to the ship where we enjoyed a lovely dinner of plain pasta, chocolate cake roll, pineapple juice, tostito corn chips, queso and salsa. What a nutritious dinner! (Sorry mom!)
When we were walking back to our ship, a new cruise ship had pulled up next to ours and it is absolutely GINORMOUS compared to ours!!!! It looks incredibly nice in there!
Apparently many kids trated Singapore much like Mauritius and there were a bunch of kids coming onto the ship drunk. I heard a story from a guy who said Singapore immigration questioned him if all American college kids were this drunk and obnoxious all the time. They wanted to know if this really was a study abroad program or not. He quickly tried to reassure them that not all American kids are like this....not sure how much that worked. Immigration was definitely mad at many of our fellow students. It's so sad to leave such a bad impression of America on a country when we leave. I feel like I have a red stamp on my forehead screaming "American college student. Beware!" It's really annoying!
Overall Singapore was incredible! The architecture is breathtaking and even though its a city full of skyscrapers, they all look amazing and add some spark to the city. It's not a very claustrophobic city at all. The taxis are clean and the drivers are nice. People don't look at you crazy and thehy are very helpful. It's pretty easy to get around and everything is clean, the air quality is great and everything is well organized.
Some things I noticed about Singapore were that they are really into Montessori schools and advertise their preschools like they're colleges. The signs for preschools are huge and really nice! Apparently the school system here is one of the best in the world. People here also felt like they had a purpose. They weren't lazily napping on the sides of the streets or constantly bothering you. They seemed to be on a mission and had places to go! I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city.
I guess that's all for now...it seems like I had more to say...Singapore was awesome and if given the opportunity, I would love to come back. There seems to be so much more to explore in this city!
No word yet on our mystery port!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Destination: Unknown
This morning as I stumbled my way to my 8AM class, I sat down to the sounds of people chattering about Japan. At first I thought it was just talk of the ongoing devastation in Japan and the possibility that we won't go to our intended ports of call, Kobe and Yokohama. I then realized that it was more like a buzzed excitement coming from my classmates....it was too early in the morning for them to be this talkative. As I began to wake up a little more I realized that we weren't going to Japan at all! But how did everyone know and was this just another rumor flying around the ship that got started overnight?!
I decided to investigate and checked my email. I found an email from Chris titled Kait's Trip to Japan....interesting.
I was directed to the semesteratsea.org website where I found this message:
ISE Cancels Call on Japan; Alternative Port to be Announced in 48-72 Hours
March 14, 2011: The Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE), in consultation with our shipboard administration, has resolved to cancel the Spring 2011 Semester at Sea voyage's call to Kobe and Yokohama, Japan on April 4 and April 7 respectively. This decision follows our careful assessment of the conditions in Japan which raise serious concerns about health and safety as well as concerns that our visit would impede relief efforts currently underway. Our assessment also takes into consideration a recent travel warning for Japan issued by the U.S. State Department. Currently, ISE and senior voyage officials are evaluating alternative ports in consideration of safety, logistics, and maximum value to the academic and field programs. Thank you for your patience during this complex process. A revised voyage itinerary will be announced on the SAS website in the next 48-72 hours. Participants who have signed up for ISE-sponsored field trips in Japan will be reimbursed.
The ISE and SAS people were apparently busy late yesterday as we SAS students were sleeping the night away! I can't quite believe the news. I was very excited to go to Japan but am very thankful that SAS and ISE has made the decision to keep us safe from the ongoing tragedy taking place. It would have been a neat experience to help in the relief efforts. I am excited to find out our port of call after China....at this point, Destination: Unknown!
According to Dean Dan, three contenders are out there right now but suggestions are being taken. The countries are, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Phillipines.
Out of those I think I would pick South Korea. At first I said no way to it, but now that I think about it...considering all the crazy things happening between North and South Korea, I doubt I'd ever be able to go there again! The Phillipines would also be interesting as the majority of our crew is from the Phillipines. This could potentially create a better understanding and relationship with our crew and would expose us to the country that they grew up in! Now if I had my choice....I'd choose Australia but I think it's a tad bit far!
The next day or so will be full of all sorts of surprises! ISE and SAS as well as faculty and staff are working really hard to make sure we are committed to our new port and that we get the most out of it!
Our Voyage Tshirts are now wrong....as they sport the Japan flag....but it will be a cool story to tell and will be a reminder of how Mother Nature is the ultimate itinerary maker and breaker!
As for now, we are on our way to Singapore. We will be there from 8AM to 9PM tomorrow March 16th.
I'll keep everyone updated about our mystery port!
Please keep the people of Japan in your thoughts and prayers...
Goodnight everyone!
Mv Explorer Technology
So today has just been full of all sorts of blunders with technology and I'm really just using this post as a way to vent!
It IS a wonder that we even have the capability to email, surf the net, and call home but really it would be nice if these capabilities actually WORKED!
-Today it took around an average of about 5 minutes per webpage to load
-To look at individual emails can take up to around 1.5 minutes for them to load
-Internet explorer repeatedly crashes
-Phone lines are down/ don't work/ or people hear silence from one end or the other
I'm really kind of fed up with it and would really like to be able to just check my email in 2 seconds or call up someone knowing that the phone will work, or not spend countless hours on computer homework when i could have spent a third of the time on it!
You think you're going to have so much more time on the ship to do things for yourself but really you just spend twice the amount of time waiting for things to work so really....you don't gain any time at all!
I realize this blog makes me sound like I don't appreciate what I have on this ship....but I really DO. Frustration just builds up a little bit!
So a message to parents/friends/future SAS'ers.....have patience!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Kerry and I Covered in Fish Guts!
I don't know if this was actually fish guts but it sure did smell AWFUL!
Another part of Neptune Day is shaving your head. I would NEVER do it...but Kerry did and she rocks the look!
55 people shaved their heads with 18 of them being girls!
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