Hawai'i & The Final Days

Hawaii was a great last stop on our journey. In many ways it seemed
like a baby step back into America, but in other ways it seemed just
as foreign as some of the other countries. I found myself so curious
about the ways that Americans behaved, and continued to view the
passersby through a very observant lens. After the ship was cleared,
Annie and I set off to see the Pearl Harbor memorial from our ship's
location in Honolulu. We joined some other SASers and took a cab to
the memorial. It was really interesting to go to the museum, and I'm
glad I sacrificed a few hours of beach time to see an important piece
of American history. At the museum I think I learned more about Pearl
Harbor than I had throughout all of the years of history classes. The
coolest part was going out to the Arizona Memorial and seeing the oil
tears rising from the wreckage, and the colorful little fish swimming
around. After Pearl Harbor we went to Waikiki Beach to get some sun
in, but stopped at Duke's for lunch. It was so nice to have American
food again. I had a huge plate of nachos. After a few hours of lying
on the beach, one of Lauren's friends from DU who is a Hawaii native
came and picked us up for dinner. Then we went back to the boat to
change and spent the evening hanging out with Andy and a few of his
Hawaiian friends.

The next day I had to wake up early to go skydiving! I spent most of
the morning hanging around the skydiving building and only a few
moments actually skydiving. I think it was one of the best ways to
finish out Semester at Sea. We drove to the North Shore of Oahu, and
the weather could not have been more beautiful, though it would have
been really cool to go through a cloud while freefalling, though there
weren't any. I was strapped tightly to the licensed skydive master, so
I felt much safer. I didn't have to worry about anything except not
chickening out at the last moment. The small plane we flew up in was
maybe the scariest part of the whole experience. The view, however,
was fantastic. As we circled repeatedly gaining altitude until we were
up to 14,000 feet, the panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, pristine
beaches and lush forests was breathtaking, although that could have
been the altitude as well! The hardest part was watching the first
diver, an older man who was licensed, so not going tandem, jump out of
the plane and just float, or rather, fall away from the plane. Then I
sat on the edge of the plane with my hands crossed across my chest, we
leaned forward and soon we were tumbling into the air! I hadn't
expected to turn somersaults in the air, but we definitely did a few
before the mini stabilizer parachute went up. The following minutes of
falling and then floating once the parachute went up were absolutely
amazing except the harness felt like it was going to pull my legs off.
Landing was no big deal and soon enough the whole thing was over! I
was so glad that I paid extra to get photos and a DVD of my skydive,
so I will always be able to relive it!

After I went back to the boat, I rode the bus to Waikiki to meet
Lauren and Andy. Then we headed to Diamondhead, a volcanic tuff cone
where we took a hike up to the top to take in the view. After we
returned to the bottom we enjoyed a Hawaiian Shaved Ice before heading
back to the boat.

Overnight the boat sailed to the big island of Hawai'i. We were ported
in Hilo, but there was nothing impressive about it. I immediately set
off, with Zach, Zach and Kyle to rent a car then headed to a sports
bar where Lauren was watching the Broncos play. We had a delicious
Mexican lunch next door before heading to the other side of the
island. On our way through the island we stopped at the Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park, but it was overcast with low fog, so the
visibility was very poor. We walked around the park for a while,
checking out lava tubes and a steaming lava field, before heading on
our way to Kona on the other side of the island. We took another stop
at a black sand beach called Punalu'u and wandered around. Here we
befriended local Hawaiians who were having a picnic and joined in a
game of throwing javelin-esque sticks at another stationary stick,
trying to pierce the standing stick. When we finally got to Kona we
checked into our hotel, where we had a one-bedroom apartment. Lauren
and I settled into the bedroom, changing into our suits and heading to
the beach. We caught the sunset and watched surfers enjoying the
fading daylight's waves. Next we went to dinner at the Kona Brewery
which was delicious, and I had nachos… again! From there we met up
with a bunch of other SASers in Kona and enjoyed our last night on land!

The next morning I had a delicious acai bowl for breakfast and we
headed back to the boat, this time taking the route that went over
Mauna Kea. The road was super bumpy, but I still managed to fall
asleep on Zach's shoulder a time or two. When we got back to Hilo we
returned the rental car and went back to the boat.

That night, before we left Hilo, we were called into the Union. Here
we were told that a large swell was approaching the Hawaiian islands
and we would be going back to Honolulu instead of beginning our
journey to San Diego. The details weren't clear yet but it was so
exciting to get another day, except for the looming finals that would
start in two days.

Back in Honolulu, Casey, Stephen, Brad and I ventured out for a good
breakfast and ended up at The Original Pancake House, which started in
Portland! I had amazing macadamia nut pancakes, and tropical juice.
The rest of the day I spent studying, knowing I couldn't afford to
spend a day unproductive at the beach with finals the next day. We did
go out for dinner, to Duke's in Waikiki. The next day we didn't set
sail until nearly 3:00PM so I actually took some of my finals while we
were still in Hawaii.

The rest of the voyage was bittersweet and busy, filled with long
nights of studying until finals were over, which were then replaced
with long nights of spending all my fleeting moments with the friends
I had made. It was so sad to be packing up, and all of my treasures
refused to fit into their allotted spaces. The last fun event on the
ship was the Ambassador's Ball, which included a very nice dinner and
a fun dance!

I will never forget the places I went, the friends I made, the social
issues I saw face to face, the poverty and injustice faced by many of
the citizens of the countries I visited, and the many things I learned
about myself along the voyage. Semester at Sea was the most incredible
experience in my life to date, and I am eternally grateful for the
opportunity to experience the world in such a wonderful way.

Stephanie@Sea

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and
avoid the poeple, you might better stay at home"
-James Michener

Japan

Arriving to Yokohama, Japan was certainly bittersweet. Japan would end
up one of my favorite ports, but alas, it would be the last foreign
port on my journey around the world. Our boat ported in Yokohama. We
decided to spend half a day exploring the city before moving onto
Tokyo. Carrying our large backpacks we disembarked the MV Explorer and
went through a very stringent immigration checkpoint, which included
digital fingerprinting and having our picture taken. Casey, Stephen,
Cat, Missy, Andrew and I ventured out into Yokohama, which was a very
calm and clean city. We wandered into a complex that had Starbucks,
Cold Stone Creamery, various bakeries and some retail shops where we
grabbed a snack. It was evident from the beginning that Japan would
not be a cheap port. We had plans to go to the Landmark Tower, but on
the way there we encountered a small theme park and couldn't pass up a
ride on the roller coaster. After that, we continued our walk to the
tower. Once we found it, we headed to the 69th floor in the fastest
ascending elevator in the world! Once inside the observatory, we saw
beautiful views of Yokohama and even caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.

Next Stephen, Casey, Cat and I bought our train tickets to Tokyo,
which was only a 25-minute train ride from Yokohama. We found our way
to the Yokohama subway station. It was all very overwhelming—the
packed station, the array of different veins in the underground
structure leading every which way, the bustling crowds, the language
barrier. It didn't help that all the subway maps were written in
Japanese. Finally, we figured out which line we needed to be on,
bought our tickets, and went upstairs for a delicious pizza lunch. I
really loved grabbing pizza at every opportunity throughout the
voyage. After lunch, we found our platform after some asking around
and jumped on the train to Tokyo! Our first views of Tokyo were very
exciting. There were lots of big buildings and shops and restaurants
on every corner. The weather and look of Tokyo reminded me of Portland
with the trees changing color and the grey skies.

Our first mission in Tokyo was finding our hotel so we could drop our
bags off. We arrived at Tokyo station and couldn't figure out which
subway line we needed to get onto that would take us to our hotel.
After asking a bunch of people who pointed us in different directions,
one man caught our drift and personally walked us to the correct
subway station, showed us how to buy our tickets, and put us onto our
subway line. I was surprised at how kind this man was, but soon found
out that many of the Japanese people were ready and willing to help us
find our way around.

We found the correct subway station to get off the train at for our
hotel in the Akasaka neighborhood in Central Tokyo. Once we were out
of the station we again looked at the passersby and put our best
"helpless lost tourist" faces until a woman with perfect English
stopped to ask if we were lost. She quickly directed us to our hotel,
which was only a 5-minute walk from where we stood outside the subway
station. We had plenty of restauruants around us and we were very
central. Once we arrived at our hotel, it was already mid afternoon.
We looked around our surrounding area and then decided to start
getting ready for our first night in Tokyo! Most SAS kids were going
to be in Tokyo the first night, but none of our phones worked in
Japan, so we all decided we would meet up at a club called Camelot in
Shibuya. Casey, Stephen, and I got ready early and went our for a
delicious sushi dinner. I had to breathe out of my mouth the entire
time because of the overwhelming smell of fresh seafood, but my
vegetarian rolls were delicious. Our waiter was an adorable older
Japanese man who, using limited English and enthusiastic hand
gestures taught us a few Japanese phrases. It was a great first
dinner. By the time we were back outside, the already crisp Fall air
had become quite a bit cooler, and I was happy to have a jacket with
me. In so many of the countries, jackets and sweaters were left
untouched, save China… where the more bundled the better was the
underlying theme.

We hopped onto the subway to find our way to the Shibuya station,
where we would get off. We were pretty unsure where the club was from
there, so we found a group of Japanese students who showed us where to
go. We apparently chose the right night to go to Camelot because it
was "ladies night" which meant free admission for all of the girls!
Pretty soon all of our friends began showing up and everyone danced
all night. It was so much fun! We even made new Japanese friends to
dance with! The subway was closed by the time we left, so we took a
cab back to our hotel where we got about an hour of sleep, but not
before a delicious "midnight" snack of some McDonald's. This would be
the first of many Japanese McDonald's meals.

At 6 am, Casey and I woke up and went to the Tsukiji Fish Market,
which was only open from 5 – 8 am. We walked around looking at all of
the fresh catches and watched the fishermen bring in their fish from
the port. It was very interesting to see all the types of fish people
bought. The market didn't even smell bad because everything was so
fresh. All of the Japanese people carried around small straw baskets
that they would take their purchases home in. We then went to
Starbucks for a yummy breakfast and back to bed when we got to the
hotel. It was nice to use the internet at the hotel, and Stephen had
brought his computer so I took the chance to get in touch with friends
and family via Facebook and Skype when I woke up.

Once we were a little more rested, we prepared for our day of
exploration. We went back to Shibuya and walked up and down the busy
streets and went in and out of small shops and malls. Then, we found
our way to Yoyogi Park. This may have been my favorite part of Tokyo.
The park was filled with all different types of people – old to young,
children playing, people practicing dances and plays, dancers,
families strolling around – it was so much fun to watch everyone's
activities. Here, we met some guys from the US who were shooting a TV
show all around the world that is a play on different countries'
stereotypes. It is called 2x and will be on TV in 2012. We watched
guys dressed up as Godzilla and the power rangers do many stunts. They
even took a picture with us, so who knows, maybe we will be movie
stars in 2012!

After the park, we headed back to the hotel because we had planned on
meeting Missy and Andrew at our hotel that afternoon. We got ready for
the night. We decided to eat at the Italian restaurant that was inside
our hotel and sat down for what was a really great dinner. I had
tomato-gorgonzola gnocchi, YUM! Then, we headed to the Tokyo Ice Bar!
Many SAS kids made reservations in advance, so there were about 10 of
us all together at our time and about 10 more of our friends who came
in about an hour after us. Upon our arrival to the bar, we were suited
up with warm capes with hoods and pockets to keep us warm. I was
wearing sandals, so I was able to get some boots as well! They were
full on hiking boots that I'm pretty sure would fit an NBA star. The
outfits were so hilarious. Once we were suited up, we entered the bar
that was fully made out of ice, from the chairs to the bar to the
glasses. Fun techno music played throughout our time there. We were
allowed one free drink with our admission, so I ordered the "polaris"
which was a very pretty turquoise color. We had so much fun taking
pictures and dancing around in the bar, but then it began to get very,
very cold!!! After an hour, we were asked to leave because the next
group (more of our friends) had arrived. We all went to a diner to
wait for the other group to be finished so that we could all go out
together.

When they were finished, we met up once again and decided that the
best thing for such a big group (about 30 of us in total) was to do
karaoke!!! Right down the street we found Big Echo and rented out a
room for an hour. The room consisted of a U shaped red couch, a table,
and a flat screen TV at the front of the room. We were given huge
songbooks to pick songs out of as well as 2 microphones. We sang
everything from Spice Girls to Jimmy Buffett to Taylor Swift. It was a
blast! I had so much fun listening to people sing. When our time was
up, we went to an apartment that one of the groups were staying in and
hung out there for a bit before going to another bar down the street
in Roponggi. It was very small and hot in there and it was getting
late, so we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we had to check out, so we packed up all of our
things and headed to the Imperial Palace in the Ginza area. First, we
walked around the gardens of the palace, which were huge and also had
many great views of the city and Tokyo Tower. I couldn't figure out
why, after 45 minutes of walking, we had found no signs of the Palace.
We joked about what if we accidentally weren't at the palace. Then,
after stopping a tour guide, we realized that was precisely what had
happened, and we were in the Imperial Gardens, not the actual palace.
It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be…we couldn't get very
close because it was heavily guarded, but we did get a few good
pictures.

After all of our sightseeing was over, we decided to head to the train
station where we jumped onto a bullet train headed for Kyoto. The
train took about 3 hours and was so much fun – that thing really moved
quickly! We sat back and ordered lunch aboard the train and each took
a little nap. Before we knew it, we were in Kyoto. When we arrived, it
was dark and rainy—very Portland-esque. We walked to our hotel,
checked in, and went to dinner inside the hotel. Another group was
staying in our hotel, including some of the girls I had grown closest
to on the ship. We met up with them and just hung out in the hotel
that night. It was nice to have a relaxing night and stay dry and warm!

The next morning, we got up early, went to breakfast, and began our
tour of Kyoto. One of the girls had a travel book that took you on a 5
kilometer walking tour, so we followed that around to many temples,
famous streets, parks, and to see Geishas. I loved Kyoto. It was what
I imagined Japan to be like – traditional and beautiful. Also, the
leaves were in the midst of changing colors for fall, which was very
beautiful. We had so much fun wandering throughout the old town and
seeing all of the great sights.

We walked from our hotel to Gojo-zaka where we visited a temple before
climbing Chawan-zaka, or Teapot Lane, which was literally filled with
teapot shops. At the top of the hill we came to Kiyomizu-dera with its
unmistakable pagoda rising against the skyline. We paid an extra 300
Yen to descend into Tainai-meguri another entrance with spectacular
views and extended sightseeing. After we left we walked down the hill
to Sannen-zaka a cute street lined with old wooden houses, traditional
shops and restaurants. Here we ate pizza at a cute restaurant
overlooking a beautiful Japanese zen garden.

We continued to shop our way along the route, but eventually we split
up into shoppers and non-shoppers. Eventually we arrived at Ishibei-
koji, which the walking tour said was perhaps the most beautiful
street in Kyoto. The cobbled alley had traditional Japanese
restaurants and inns on either side. The intermixed geishas didn't
hurt the feeling of being in traditional Japan. Next we walked almost
directly across the street to Kodai-ji, walking up a large flight of
stairs. While we were up on the hill we also visited Ryozen Kannon, a
memorial the worl'd's unknown perished soldiers of WWII. Unfortunately
the memorial was closing right when we arrived but we did pop in to
take a picture of the large Buddha statue behind the memorial before
we left.

A few minutes later we found ourselves in the middle of Maruyama-koen
park, home to Kyoto's most famous cherry tree, which wasn't in bloom
in late-November. As we were cold and hungry, we didn't stay at the
park for too long. Then we walked downhill into the grounds of Yasaka-
jinja, another huge plaza with many ornately decorated pagodas and
other traditional Japanese buildings. We went back to hotel to pick up
our bags and then got on train for Kobe

That evening, we got onto yet another train bound for Kobe, where our
ship was ported. Kobe was a great city – it was like a smaller Tokyo!
We got back in the late evening, got ready and went to a bar called
Second Chance that was giving SAS kids all you can drink for $20. It
was ridiculous. The bar was tiny and so many kids were there, but it
was still really fun.

The next morning I was determined to go see one of the beautiful
castles that were located near Kobe. Two of my girlfriends from the
boat agreed to champion the last day in port and maximize our Japanese
experience. Lauren, Annie and I headed out on the train from the boat
(The train station was attached to the port terminal where our boat
was docked). The train line weaved around the edge of mainland Japan
where we passed many bridges that connected to the other Japanese
islands. When we got to the Himeji stop we got off and had lunch at a
French bistro where I had corn chowder and a delicious pastry. From
the restaurant we walked about half a mile to the castle. The castle
was built in 1346 and was a combination of beautiful stone and
woodwork. The castle was still in great shape and much of the detail
work is intact.

Everyone was sad to leave Japan because it was our last foreign port,
but I'm glad that I was able to see so much of the culturally rich
nation.

Stephanie@Sea

Hong Kong, S.A.R.; Beijing and Shanghai, P.R.C

November 11, 2009:

Hong Kong, S.A.R.

First of all, there is only one thing I disliked about Hong Kong, and
that is not having more time there. With the magnificent towering
buildings, plethora of designer stores, beautiful beaches, bustling
nightlife AND English speaking citizens, there was really nothing to
dislike about Hong Kong. We were strongly encouraged to wake up and
watch the ship sail into the port. I woke up at around 7AM and went to
the 7th deck to see the ship pass many of the small islands that are
part of the Greater Hong Kong area. Immediately I saw the huge
skyscraping buildings. Just about every big name electronic company
had it's name plastered on a waterfront building in Hong Kong, or
Kowloon across the water, where our ship ported.

As part of the trip that would take me to Beijing, the Great Wall and
Shanghai, the daytime of my first (and only) day in Hong Kong was
spent taking a tour of the city of Hong Kong. As we exited the ship,
instead of walking down the gangway, we used an airport like walkway
that went directly into the mall. At first glance, I noticed only
designer names, and we were in the children's area of the mall: Chloe,
Burberry, Dior, Gucci, etc. When we boarded the bus we were quickly
introduced to the fast-pace of life in Hong Kong. We took the 1.6-mile
underwater tunnel from Kowloon Peninsula to Hong Kong Island. Our
first stop was Golden Bauhinia Square, a lookout point where we could
take pictures of the skyline and the water. Next was lunch at a
traditional Chinese restaurant, East Lake Seafood Restaurant. Although
they made concessions to the vegetarian needs of myself and other
members of our tour group, I didn't feel very comfortable or find the
food very appetizing.

After lunch we visited the Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road in Hong
Kong. The coolest part about the temple, built in 1847, was the hive-
shaped incense that hung from the majority of the ceiling space in the
temple. Next we visited Victoria Peak. We took a tram up to the peak
of the 1810 ft. mountain, which is the tallest peak on the island.
When we got to the top we took lots of pictures, and then, after
spotting a Starbucks, changed our focus to enjoying a little piece of
America in Hong Kong.

Our next stop was the Aberdeen Fishing Village. At first glance I
wondered why they had called it a village, as we boarded small
motorized boats to tour the harbor. We were instructed that only ten
"your size people" could fit into each "sam pen" boat, a simple
reference to the difference in height and bulk we saw in Vietnam, and
again in China. Once our tour began, I saw that these boats are the
homes for their owners. The driver of our boat was very funny and
pretended to race the other boats, encouraged us to yell at the slow
drivers, and insisted on taking only Asian tourist-style pictures
holding up a peace sign. Soon our ride was over and we continued on
our tour.

Next we visited Repulse Bay Beach. The beach here was absolutely
beautiful. The swimming areas are blocked off, which our guide told us
is due to high shark populations in Winter. After walking along the
beach we visited the Kwun Yam Buddhist shrine complete with dozens of
statues and a beautiful bridge over the water. A mosaic fish statue at
the shrine was the object of our attention, as we tried to throw
coins, alongside Asian tourists and residents, into the fish's mouth
for good fortune.

Our last stop was a small market. I got a few trinkets, including a
magnet that says Portland Street in English and Mandarin characters.
Apparently it is a street in Hong Kong. The bus took us back to the
boat and we changed and got ready for dinner.

As we pulled into the port that morning, I noticed the sign for
California Pizza Kitchen, which is where we decided to go for dinner.
After a delicious meal of pizza, which I have had in every country
(except India, where I had to settle for shipboard pizza), we headed
outside to watch the light and laser show the waterfront buildings put
on every evening.

After dinner we headed out on the ferry for Hong Kong island. We met
up with more SASers while enjoying drinks on a set of stairs
overlooking the water. Next we headed to Lan Kwai Fong, a popular
district for restaurants, shopping and nightlife. I had a great time
hopping between bars and pubs, happy to be off the boat once again.

November 12, 2009:

Hong Kong, S.A.R. and Beijing, P.R.C.

The next morning I finished up my packing, grabbed breakfast and
headed to meet the group that I would travel with to Beijing, the
Great Wall and Shanghai. We boarded the busses and took the hour ride
to the airport. The drive was really beautiful, as we island hopped,
crossing bridge after bridge. The Hong Kong airport was something in
itself, with just as many brand name stores as we had seen lining the
streets of Hong Kong the day before. I even found a Nike sweatshirt
that had a University of Oregon logo on it! Soon, with magazines and
snacks, I was prepared for the three-hour flight to Beijing. The best
part of the flight was the stretching and exercise routine played on
the small overhead TVs. Upon arrival, it was clear that the 80-degree
day in Hong Kong would be our last warm day for quite some time, as we
met the 0 degree Celsius air. There was snow on the ground and I
quickly pulled on the sweatshirt and jacket I had strapped to the
outside of my backpack.

As we drove to our hotel I was reminded of home so much, where winter
evenings are cold and dark, and the temperatures low. Upon arrival to
the Hua Yu hotel in Beijing we dropped our stuff and headed out for
dinner on our own. We wandered down a nearby side street, with a
recommended destination in mind, but stumbled upon another Chinese
restaurant where a bunch of our guy friends were eating. We walked
inside and our whole group sat at one big table with a huge glass lazy
susan in the middle of the table. The owner of the store, a small
Chinese woman spoke VERY little English, but we communicated through
hand motions. The restaurant had three very overweight resident cats,
which the woman spoke to and scolded like children, which was very
funny. After a dinner of rice and veggies, what I would eat for the
majority of my stay in China, we headed back to the hotel. I settled
into my bed, with the head all the way turned up, to watch a little
TV. Soon I made the discovery that none of the channels were in
English, and went to sleep.

November 13, 2009:

Beijing and The Great Wall of China

Our first stop the next morning was the Silk Market. Although the
shopping stop was initially for a later part in our trip, the frigid
temperatures had encouraged our guides to rearrange the schedule, and
I am so glad they did. We were instructed that this was the shopping
trip to get warm clothes for our upcoming visit to the Great Wall,
where it was 10-15 degrees colder. Some of the kids in our group had
brought a single sweatshirt as their outerwear, so some people had
some serious shopping to do. I bought gloves, the most ridiculous and
oversized earmuffs, a puffy vest and a hat all of which came in very
handy on the Great Wall. After we were all back on the bus, we were
detained in the parking lot for a long time, which our guide told us
was due to having to re-register our plans with the government.

Our next stop was Hutong, a Beijing neighborhood of narrow alleys
joining traditional courtyard Chinese residences. We had lunch served
by a family, and ate in the upper floor of their house, which was very
special. They gave us each a gift of a Chinese knot. After lunch we
took a rickshaw tour through some of the hutongs, stopping to point
out particular architectural features on the buildings. Next our
rickshaws took us to the Drum Tower where we heard the drummers sound
their beats signaling the time. Then we left on our drive to the Great
Wall of China!

We took the "speedy way" to the Jinshanling base of the Great Wall,
and the ride was about two hours. The first view of the Great Wall was
through steamy smeared windows, but was nonetheless very exciting!
When we arrived at the base of the Great Wall we hurried up the steep
slope where the bus let us off, and took sunset pictures on the Great
Wall. We got off the Wall for dinner and the bus drove us to another
part of the Wall where we would be sleeping. We hiked for about 45
minutes in snow and ice, under a magnificently clear sky filled with
more stars then I have ever seen before, to the watchtower where we
would spend the night. We enjoyed Nan Jing beers and talked outside of
the tower, sitting on the Wall for awhile, but eventually I got so
cold that I decided I would try to sleep.

We were each provided two sleeping bags and two sleeping mats, but
these accommodations were far from sufficient. The amount of clothing
I was wearing made it extremely difficult to maneuver my way,
especially with my Uggs on, into an Asian-sized sleeping bag. Zipping
up the sleeping bags was difficult as well, and the choice between
using clumsy mitten-ed fingers or clumsy frozen fingers was a toss-up.
It seems as soon as I had positioned myself, semi-comfortably into the
sleeping bags on the hard stone floor, I had to use the bathroom. I
debated whether or not it was worth it to get out of the, not warmth
per se, but certainly warmer environment of my sleeping bag, but I
feared that I would wake up in a panic later in the night and not be
able to remove myself from my mummified state in time to rush outside!
Actually going to the bathroom was an experience in and of itself. I
took my pump-operated flashlight and peered out of the tower in one
direction, but found CRAZY people who had actually decided to sleep in
the open. The other direction was clear, so I proceded that way. To
say that the steps were even, or the stones secure, would be a blatant
exaggeration. The stone steps were covered in ice and wobbly, and each
step was about two feet higher than the one below it. Once I had
descended the stairs, I faced a new obstacle: trying not to slide down
the icy slope. Eventually I found a sufficient stone handhold and peed
on the Great Wall of China. Thanks to all of the water, Coke and Nan
Jing, and a fear of the anxiety if I woke up and needed to go
immediately, I repeated this lovely adventure every hour or so for the
remainder of the night. The general strategy of our group was a cross
between giant spoon train and puppy pile, all of us trying to retain
any escaping heat from one another. Sure enough in the middle of the
night, after a brief bout of sleep, I woke up practically underneath
one of my sleeping neighbors. Soon enough the morning came. We learned
later in our trip that the temperatures that night were close to 10
degrees Fahrenheit.

November 14, 2009:

The Great Wall of China and Beijing, P.R.C.

Our guide, Serena, woke us up, encouraging us to look at the beautiful
sunrise. We were all nearly paralyzed with cold, but managed to roll
our mats and sleeping bags, gather our things and begin our truly
treacherous hike along the Great Wall to Simatai. The next 3 hours
were spent in a constant rotation between picture taking, careful
walking, time spent on our backs or backsides after slipping, and even
some crawling on all fours. The snow and ice made for an interesting
hike, and the purpose of the wall was clear. If the stones were so
uneven, the Mongols would have to look down, and the Chinese could
shoot them with arrows, etc.

The sights from every angle and every step along the Wall were
absolutely magnificent with terraced farms in the distance, as well as
peak after peak of the mountains that were topped with watchtowers and
the Wall connecting each tower. I took lots and lots of pictures,
knowing I may never get another chance to see the Great Wall.

Finally we reached the end of our hike, crossing a dammed river on a
iron suspension bridge. I purchased a "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-
shirt, and had a metal engraved with my name and the date I conquered
the wall. Next we got in line for the zipline off the wall to Simatai
where we would have another traditional Chinese meal. After lunch we
boarded the busses for our two-hour drive, which I spent napping, back
to Beijing.

After returning to the Hua Yu hotel, we quickly showered and headed
back to the Silk Market. After a short shopping trip, where I bought
metallic Ugg boots, to replace my regular black ones that I ruined on
the Great Wall; who knew they weren't hiking shoes! For dinner my
friend Alex and I ordered PIZZA from a restaurant in the building of
the Silk Market. As we were in a hurry to get to our acrobatic show, I
ate my pizza in a few stuffed subway cars between frantic dashes up
and down stairs, through hallways and turnstiles, through which we
were thankfully guided by Serena. When we arrived at the acrobatic
show the ten people who wanted to attend the show were shown to the
seats Serena had arranged for us, in the third row! The show was
really amazing and very entertaining, complete with crazy stunts like
twelve girls on one moving bicycle, or a man doing a headstand on a
hand-operated bicycle, which he rode on a tight wire. After the show I
went back to the hotel, completely exhausted.

November 15, 2009:

Beijing, P.R.C.

The next morning we woke up early, as we had a great deal of
sightseeing to do during our last day in Beijing. First we bundled up
and visited the Forbidden City, which was mere blocks from our hotel.
To say that it was freezing in the wind-tunnel like complex would be
such an understatement. The wind was absolutely biting, and the
temperatures near or below freezing. Although our guide gave us the
whole talk on the Forbidden City, I was so cold and so focused on
getting through the tour that I absorbed very little. What I did learn
is the Forbidden City has over 8000 rooms! The buildings were all very
beautiful and looked very traditional. Many of them had ornate
decorative trim that was very colorful.

Next we used the underground tunnels to cross the street to Tiananmen
Square, where again, I was too cold to be able to appreciate my
surroundings. I took pictures and then hurried along to where we would
meet the bus. The bus took us to lunch at a Peking Duck restaurant.
This was by far my favorite meal of the trip. We were given very thin
pancake-like wraps, and plum sauce, to make little wraps with
vegetables, rice, noodles, etc. Everyone else really enjoyed the duck,
and I enjoyed the most vegetarian-friendly Chinese meal of my entire
trip.

After leaving lunch we headed to the Olympic venues from the Summer
2008 Olympics in Beijing. We visited the Bird's Nest, and got to walk
around in the stadium. We were unable to go inside the Water Cube, as
it was under construction. After a quick ice cream cone break from the
KFC that was across the street from the Bird's Nest.

Next we continued to the Summer Palace, which was set beautifully on a
nearly completely frozen body of water. We took the tour of the
palace, and I enjoyed a local treat of candied fruit, although I don't
know what the fruit was called. It tasted like a mix of apple and
strawberry, and was red with a hollow white center. After the Summer
Palace we were done with our itinerary but had extra time since we had
toured the outdoor areas so quickly to get out of the cold. We were
given the option to shop some more or see a Kung Fu show. I decided to
attend the Kung Fu show, which was really more like a play with some
Kung Fu scenes. Although I didn't completely understand the plot, it
was still very interesting. The story centered around a young boy who
is supposed to become a monk, but rebels, but then proves his worth by
breaking stone and metal, and then becomes the head monk. After the
Kung Fu show, the bus picked us up, then those who were shopping, and
we headed to the train station.

Upon arrival to the train station, which was huge and unheated, from
what I could tell, we put our stuff into a pile and went to find
dinner. McDonalds was the best of all options. I ordered an ice cream,
French fries and a Coke from a picture menu. The language barrier was
huge in all of China, but most surprising in the train station and at
a Western restaurant chain. We took our dinner back down to the area
where our stuff was, ate, and prepared for our overnight ride to
Shanghai. Soon enough the train was boarding, conveniently at the same
time as the train across the platform from ours, so a mass of Chinese
people, peppered with Americans pushed through five turnstiles, up
stairs, down escalators, and up more stairs to platform 6. The stairs
were next to car number 52, but we were in car number 4, so I enjoyed
the nice walk to our sleeper car.

Each car had maybe 15 compartments, each housing 2-4 beds. The car,
compartments and beds were very clean. Each bed had two pillows and a
duvet, a TV, reading light and ventilation controls. I was so
relieved, since I had heard nightmares about sleeper trains in India
and had no idea what to expect. After a few hours of socializing, I
retreated to my top bunk and fell asleep.

November 16, 2009:

Shanghai, P.R.C.

We were woken up the next morning by the intercom announcing the first
of two stops and then an hour later by the announcement that we had
arrived in Shanghai. We gathered our stuff and met the tour guide on
the platform, boarded the busses and returned to the ship. I had
positioned myself at the front of the bus and ran to the line, to
avoid waiting in the line outside in mid-50 degree rain that reminded
me so much of Oregon. Once onboard the ship I showered and changed,
then had breakfast at the Piano Bar. It took them four tries to get my
breakfast burrito without ham, but I am grateful it did take so long,
or else I might have missed the fabulous announcement that we would
not be leaving that night, but rather the next day at 2:00PM. I would
get to have a night in Shanghai!

We left the ship in hopes of riding the elevator to the top of one of
the huge buildings that filled Shanghai's skyline. We decided on the
Shanghai World Financial Center building. Which we soon learned was an
excellent decision. We arrived, and rode the elevator to the 100th
floor of the 1,622 ft. high building. We learned it was actually the
second tallest building in the world, and the highest observation deck
in the world. Also, the building had 91 elevators! We took pictures
and looked around on the observation deck, but it was cloudy and we
only got glimpses of the streets below and other buildings in the
skyline. Both Shanghai and Hong Kong had the massive skylines that I
expected, but Beijing was not the ultimate city that the others were
despite the capital's large population.

Because it was so dreary outside, we decided to stay inside the SWFC
until dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Blue Frog, which served
delicious food, including veggie burgers and sweet potato fries, and
enjoyed some happy hour drink specials. Around 9PM we went back to the
ship with intentions of changing and going out that night, but I was
so exhausted and fell asleep seconds after returning to my room. I was
disappointed when I woke up, but we had a nice relaxing evening, and I
was still recovering from the post-Birthday cold.

November 17, 2009:

Shanghai, P.R.C.

The next morning was the last portion of our stay in Shanghai, but
there wasn't really enough time to explore. My friend Nicky and I
decided to go off the ship to get internet. We ended up going back to
the SWFC and having donuts and tea while using the WiFi. I got to talk
to some of my girlfriends from home which was such a nice experience.
I tried to talk to my mom, but she couldn't get a good enough
connection, which was sad. It made me realize that I have been missing
home, and all the comforts that it provides, like constant and easy
contact with your friends and loved ones. After unsuccessfully trying
to change my remaining yuan currency back to USD, we took a cab back
to the boat, and our China experience was over. It's hard to believe
there's only one more foreign port left to go on my journey around the
world!

Stephanie@Sea

Vietnam

In our preparations for arrival in Vietnam there were a number of very
emotional presentations by some of the faculty, staff and life long
learners who were alive during the Vietnam War. I started then to
realize how little I had been told about the Vietnam War in school,
and how little I knew of it. Someone brought up how it was hard to
think about Vietnam as a country, with the war standing there. But I
didn't see it that way at all. Thanks to a high school friend from
Vietnam and stories from past SAS students about how wonderful Vietnam
was. I can honestly say that Vietnam has been a country to me all
along, rather than a war. Entering a country where so many people's
parents and grandparents had been, although in a completely different
context, made it a very interesting port to experience with the rest
of the shipboard community.

November 3, 2009:

The morning we arrived in Vietnam, we were again strongly encouraged
to wake up and see the ship come in. When I got to the 7th deck to
check out the surroundings, I definitely agreed with the
recommendation we had received. To get to our port in Ho Chi Minh City
we had to sail up the Saigon river. We sailed right beside small
fishing villages and hundreds of small fishing boats. The delta was so
lush and green and the whole trip up the delta was very pretty.

Once we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, I took the SAS shuttle into
downtown Ho Chi Minh City with two girlfriends, Annie and Lauren. We
were dropped off in front of a very nice hotel that was across the
street from a very pretty park. We decided to wander around for a
while with the eventual goal of finding a tailor's shop and going
shopping. Our first struggle was crossing the street. We had been
given a very interesting lesson on crossing the street the night
before. It equated to "close your eyes and walk at an even pace". So
what did I do upon entering the street, I ran. Luckily there weren't
even any cars coming, but I had to fight the same temptation each and
every nerve-wracking time I crossed a street in Ho Chi Minh City. We
wandered for a while in one direction before realizing we needed to
turn around.

Finally we got hungry and decided to stop at a Pho restaurant. Pho is
the special brothy noodle dish unique to Vietnam. The only vegetarian
things in the restaurant were rice and flan, so I had them both along
with a delicious strawberry, pineapple and guava smoothie. Next we
wandered across the street to Ben Thanh market. We wandered around in
the market for a long time, and hardly seemed to see any of the huge
indoor market. We kept seeing these tank tops that said "same same" on
them. Finally we stopped an asked one of the persistent shopkeepers
what the shirts meant. She pointed at each of me, Lauren and Annie
individually, "same, same, same," before turning over the tank and
reading, "… but different". We each bought one, in a different color,
along with a Tiger Beer tank top. After buying some fun jewelry and
complete seasons of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl (for $20
together), we decided to continue our search for a tailor.

That morning we had gone into a few shops, that each refused to do a
dress in such a short amount of time. I was starting to lose hope that
we would find a tailor shop that would be able to make the dresses we
had in mind from the magazine clippings we had brought with us. On our
way to look down another street we stopped at a produce shop, noticing
a particularly hairy fruit that one of the dean's aboard the ship had
recommended we try. We bought a few of them and the owner taught us
how to peel back the hairy, spiny skin and access the sweet grape-like
fruit. He even took a few pictures for us, although he, like many
other Vietnamese, refused to take a picture of three people. Our
interport student had accidentally misspoken and told us not to take
pictures of tree, which confused the entire audience. She soon caught
her mistake though and explained that when you take a picture of three
it is very bad luck for the person in the center, who is believed to
die very soon after the picture. As we continued on our way, we were
so lucky to find a tailor shop not two blocks from the market. After
explaining our dresses, getting measured and picking out fabrics, our
dream dresses were well underway! How exciting!

We were all feeling pretty exhausted and remembered the salon and
massage place that was next to the lunch restaurant and decided to
head there. Lauren and I decided on manicures, pedicures and massages,
while Annie got a facial instead of massage. My manicure and pedicure
were very nice and normal, but my massage was a little bit different.
First of all, the language barrier makes the already semi-
uncomfortable pre-massage conversation nearly impossible, so I simply
guessed the amount of clothes I was supposed to remove and got onto
the table. Things were going great, and I was feeling very relaxed.
All of the sudden the tempo of the massage changed significantly and
the small Vietnamese woman was pounding on me with what, without any
exaggeration, I believe was all of her might. Moments later, searching
for greater leverage or power, she climbed up onto the table with me,
at which point she decided to use my butt as a seat while she
continued to pound on my back. At this point I wanted so badly to
laugh, but held it together. The massage continued nicely, with
slightly less force. Later though, I was awoken from a semi-asleep
state by her once again standing on the table, this time she quickly
transitioned from standing on the table to standing on me. I had
walked on other people's backs before, but never had the action
reciprocated, so this was a very interesting experience. After the
massage was over I had my nails and toes polished and I waited for
Lauren and Annie to be done. There were other SASers in the salon who
I hadn't met before, so it was fun to sit and talk to them. Settling
the bill was the best part of the experience, since all of services
together cost $18. Once we were all ready together, we realized we
were late to meet our friend Aly and her parents who had flown to
Vietnam from Oregon.

After wandering for a while, who knew there is more than one Gloria
Jean's Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City, we found Aly and I met her parents
for the first time. Aly's parents had to go back to the tailor for a
second fitting on their suits; the four of us girls went to be seated
at the restaurant. The restaurant we planned on eating at was just
around the corner from the tailor shop where Aly's parents were
continuing their fittings. It happened to be the restaurant that the
U.S. Diplomat who had spoken on the ship that morning most
recommended. Once we got to Lemongrass, the hostess told us it was
full, but showed us to the other location of Lemongrass, on the 14th
floor of the Palace Hotel, which was beautiful and so nice. It was
really nice to have dinner with parents, even though it just made me
miss my parents. After dinner we went back to the boat to get ready
before going out for the night.

We met up with other friends from the boat who were all headed to the
same club, which was recommended by SASers from past semesters,
Apocalypse Now. It was that evening that I rode on my first
motorcycle. We continued to ride them for the remainder of our time in
Vietnam, and a ride nearly everywhere around the city was $1. We got
to Apocalypse, but there weren't many people there yet so we headed to
a Circle K we had spotted earlier for some drinks and then back to
Apocalypse Now. The night was so fun, and the Semester at Sea kids,
and crew, truly TOOK over the club.

November 4, 2009:

The next morning I decided to show up to the bus of a trip I hadn't
signed up for that was going to the Mekong Delta. On the trip we
visited "the lifeblood of Southeast Asia". The Mekong river runs from
Tibet through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. On the trip we
took a long bus ride to the river. On the way to the river, we stopped
at a Cao Dai temple. Cao Dai is a unique religion that many Vietnamese
practice, which worship gods, goddesses and figures from history. The
temple had Jesus, Krishna, Buddha and John F. Kennedy painted
alongside others above the gigantic shrine. When we arrived at the
river, I purchased a grass straw pointed hat, which probably saved me
from a nasty sunburn. Then we took a boat ride on the river, which was
HUGE. We visited an island in the delta, and saw the village life. We
saw the villagers making coconut candy, and saw the jars of snake wine
with dead snakes coiled on top of one another, fermenting. I declined
the invitation to try the snake wine.

We continued to another part of the island by donkey cart. There we
were presented with a plate of tropical fruits including dragon fruit,
pineapple, guava, small citrus fruits and some that I couldn't
identify. In the small covered area where we were eating there were
huge boa constrictors that you could hold. I don't particularly like
snakes, but I've noticed that part of SAS is just having the
experiences in the moment. So I said I wanted to hold it. My friend
Charlie helped hoist the snake on my shoulders. I was shocked at how
heavy the snake was. I had Charlie take a few pictures, and then take
the snake off my shoulders. The snake had just started to swirl around
me, maybe thinking about constricting? Then we left to take a ride on
a small wooden boat, 4 people per boat, through the canals of the
village back to the river where we reboarded our large, and motored
boat to head to lunch. Lunch was very Vietnamese and not very
vegetarian. I had rice, and a granola bar from my bag. The rest of the
group enjoyed fresh rolls filled with pieces of fried fish, from the
whole fried fish that was on a stand in the center of our table. The
lunch was elaborate, but not so fun for me, my tablemates tried to
make it better, and were nice enough to move the fried fish from our
table. After lunch we had a look around. Near where we were eating, a
large water buffalo had completely submerged himself in a narrow canal
trying to keep cool in the 90 degree and very humid weather. Then we
re-boarded our boat to head back to the busses. The two-hour bus ride
back was a welcomed nap period.

That evening we took motorbikes to the Rex Hotel, to get a
recommendation about a dinner restaurant. They recommended Ngon, which
was just a few blocks away. Dinner was really nice, about 10 of us got
to sit at a great big table in the upstairs of the really nice
building, which had sort of a plantation feel with dark wood and white
walls, and lush tropical plants on all of the patios.

After dinner we headed to a club called Gossip on motorbikes. We went
inside, but it was mostly Vietnamese people and for the first time
since we had arrived in Vietnam I felt unwelcome. We didn't stay very
long, and headed back to the boat on motorbikes.

November 5, 2009:

The next morning two friends, Charlie and Annie, and I set off with
the goal of riding an elephant. Ever since South Africa when the first
SASers reported riding an elephant, through India, where even more
people got to ride elephants, I felt a strong need to follow suit. We
went to the Rex to ask where we could find these elephants. Then we
crossed the street to a travel agency to see if they could help us. We
were told a park where we could ride elephants, and were on our way.
We grabbed a cab, since we were told it was a 20 minute drive which is
a little long to be nervously perched on the back of a motorbike. Our
taxi driver was funny, and talked to us in near perfect English the
whole way.

We arrived at Dam Sen Park, which we soon realized was an amusement
park. We paid the nominal admission and started wandering in the
direction the map told us had elephants. The park was huge and was
built around a beautiful lake. On the way to see the elephants we
wandered through an aviary, which held some very large, bizarre-
looking, bald-headed birds along with some fairly large birds of prey
that were out in the open. There were also quite a few exhibits of
caged monkeys, snakes and exotic birds like parrots and quite a few
peacocks.

Finally we arrived at the elephant portion of the park. In a large pen
there were a dozen or so elephants, and one that was already outfitted
with a basket. The three of us climbed into the basket and the
elephant driver climbed on the neck of the animal, right behind his
ears. One of the other park employees took our cameras and snapped
lots of pictures of us on the elephants, which was really nice. After
we got off we fed our elephant friend some bamboo pieces and went
along our way. We decided to wander around the park a little bit more,
and soon we found a roller coaster, which we decided to take a ride on.
Next on our agenda was attending a futsal (soccer) game, part of the
Asian Indoor Games that Vietnam was currently hosting. But first, we
badly needed lunch. After taking a cab to the arena where the game
would be held two hours later, we saw a small outdoor restaurant, and
decided to give it a try. It took a few minutes to communicate with
the Vietnamese woman that the restaurant only served beverages, no
food. We crossed the busy street and wandered to another restaurant.
Up until now, most menus had either bilingual descriptions or
pictures, making ordering simpler. Additionally most Vietnamese in
District I (still called Saigon, where our boat was docked and we had
been for the past few days) spoke a good amount of English. We did not
experience the same luck here. After sitting down on child-sized
plastic chairs, which was particularly fun for Charlie whose <6' frame
dwarfed the chair, we realized that ordering was going to be
impossible. We wandered into a hotel, where we saw people eating, but
were told that the hotel didn't serve food. When I asked why those
people were eating, but we couldn't, the woman whispered that it was
the owner. She offered to find us a place to eat nearby, gave us
directions and an address and we were off again. After about 15 right
turns, and just as many stops to ask passersby where this place was we
arrived. The complex was huge, and seemed fitting for a corporate
retreat or fancy family gathering. We sat down and ordered. Although
my dish came with tofu, and she said it was vegetarian, I was far too
creeped out by the texture of some of the pieces. I ordered plain
rice, and had just that for lunch.

After lunch we proceeded back to the arena just in time for the futsal
game of Iran vs. Turkmenistan. The futsal court was indoors, and not a
turf field, but some sort of basketball-like court material. The game
was fun, but Iranians were badly beating the Turkmenistan team. During
the game Charlie walked over to the big Iran cheering section, made up
mostly of Iranian women with traditional head coverings. He came back
with a flag, and soon Annie and I wanted one too. Not long after we
went to ask for flags, the seemingly leader of the women came to talk
to a very official looking man who was sitting very near the front row
down below us. He turned and looked at us and nodded. Soon she came
back and presented us with pins. After the game was over, the other
women in the cheering section (who I presumed to be athletes from the
matching track suits and organized team cheers) came over and we must
have taken 50 pictures in various combinations with the team. It was
really cool to see how much they appreciated our presence and how
welcoming they were to us, despite language barriers and cultural
differences.

After the game we grabbed a cab back to the boat where we ate dinner.
It was a nice change, especially after the hassle of finding a
suitable lunch spot, to just head to the 6th deck dining hall, and
have food that I knew was vegetarian.

After dinner we grabbed motorbikes and headed to another event that
was part of the Asian Indoor Games: Dragon and Lion Dancing. I was
expecting the competition to be in terms of beauty, and the
presentation to be a slow march-like dance that I have seen in
parades. Instead teams of two to five individuals all sharing the same
costume would race through a variety of different obstacle courses. In
each race particular movements were necessary, which I learned from
the fact that each team used the same moves. The competition was very
competitive and intense. At one point during a flip move, one of the
members in the two-person competition fell and was rushed off on a
stretcher. The routines were really amazing, and my only
disappointment is the fact that cameras were banned, the few pictures
our group snapped were without flash, and didn't capture the moving
dragon dancers very well. It was such a unique experience, just the
type I know I will value for a long time to come.

After a while, we decided we had had enough of the dragons and lions
and headed back to the central area of District I, where we met up
with friends at… a Circle K. It was pretty funny that such an American
institution as a convenience store, showed up in Ho Chi Minh City.
Then we headed to a new bar that we hadn't been to yet called, Le Pub.
Le Pub was a little hard to find and even the concierge at the Rex
Hotel didn't know where it was. Luckily Casey was headed there and
sent me the address. It really was hard to find. It shared an address
with twenty or so other buildings down an alley on a busy street, but
the hunt was well worth it. The small bar had a nice outdoor patio,
fun English-speaking staff and a large collection of SASers. We stayed
there for a while, and Annie and I split a pitcher of some blue
cocktail. My tongue was blue for the remainder of the night. After we
left Le Pub we headed back to Apocalypse Now, where we danced and had
a great finish to our evening.

November 6, 2009:

The next morning, Casey and I headed out with one mission: to shop
'til we dropped. We returned to Ben Thanh market and picked up lots of
goodies: beaded sandals, "designer" bags, funny t-shirts, jewelry, and
North Face backpacks. After our morning of shopping, we had no choice
but to return all of our loot to the boat before continuing with our
day. Once back on the boat Casey and I met up with Brad and Tommy and
headed out for lunch. We returned to Ngon, the restaurant I had liked
a few days earlier. I had a vegetarian noodle dish and the most
interesting egg and noodle patties, called bok thein, that were
DELICIOUS.

After lunch we headed to the War Remnants Museum. Outside of the
museum was a wide array of U.S. Military vehicles. The inside of the
museum held the gruesome stories, pictures, and artifacts of what we
call the Vietnam War, and the Vietnamese call the American War. The
whole experience was very fascinating, but very sad. Then the four of
us went out for a little more shopping, and back to the boat for dinner.

That night we got dressed, and I put on a new dress I had bought
earlier that day. We went to Circle K to get some snacks and drinks
and then to the park in front of the Rex Hotel. Then we saw a woman
selling hats made from beer cans. Casey and I both bough Tiger beer
hats, but sent them home with Charlie, who wasn't going to stay out
that evening.
Our first stop of the evening was Sax 'n' Art Jazz Club, where many of
us observed music for our History of Jazz class. The club was small
though, and we really only stayed as long as was necessary to get
enough information to write our reports. It was cool to use Jazz, and
other subjects as a lens through which to view the similarities and
differences between our own country and those that we visited.

After the Jazz club we grabbed motorbikes to a club named Lush. The
club was very nice and modern on the inside, and the people were so
much more friendly than the night at Gossip. I met a young Vietnamese
man named Pete, who introduced himself and was very happy to have
someone to speak English too. Unfortunately we were getting ready to
leave, and I had to cut the conversation short. Although we didn't
stay long, we ran into a few of the crewmembers including one who was
particularly known for being inappropriate named Florin. He made some
pretty pathetic advances at me and a few of the other girls, which
further solidified our decision to leave Lush.

Next we headed back to Le Pub. When we arrived there were a few of Le
Pub's signature red headbands running around. They were simple strips
of red silky cloth, edged in yellow stitching, with white appliqué
letters. Soon Andrew, a USD student on SAS, presented me with a
headband that said "Happy Birthday", which was a really nice gesture.
It was then, on the night two days before my birthday that we started
celebrating my birthday. I got plenty of free jug drinks that night
and lots of birthday well wishes and hugs. Casey even ran off and
purchased a crown for our planned return to Le Pub the following
evening. One of our Le Pub bartending friends, Vuong, agreed to store
it behind the bar for us! After Le Pub we headed back to Apocalypse
where I met a friend from Germany, Nick. It was fun to get his
perspective on the crazy group of American students that were taking
the city by storm! A friend recommended another bar named Buffalo, so
I headed there with my friend Taylor for a drink. By this time it was
nearing 4:00AM, and the trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels I was taking the
next morning called for a 6:00AM wake up. To say that my night's sleep
was insufficient was a vast understatement.

November 7, 2009:

The next morning brought a dreadful wakeup. Not only had the
Vietnamese food caught up with me in the form of sharp stomach pains
that continued into the afternoon, but also the beginnings of a cold
coming on. After a pastry and some juice in the dining hall (special
meals were available for the trips that left before, or arrived back
after, regular meal times), I took a seat on the bus next to Casey.
The drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels was a welcome nap. Our guide was full
of good background knowledge and funny antidotes to fill the bus ride,
though I think we all just wanted to sleep.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a large network of underground tunnels that are
part of the larger network of tunnels throughout the country. The
tunnels were important during the Vietnam (or American) War. Viet Cong
guerrillas and their families used the tunnels for combat but also for
communication, hospital, food and weapon storage and living quarters.
These operations saved many from death or extreme effects of Agent
Orange. The entrance to the tunnels, which I climbed down into to have
my picture taken, was just slightly larger than a sheet of paper. Many
of the boys could hardly lower themselves to their knees in the hole.
We also looked at a display of the types of booby traps and pits that
the Viet Cong used, all very gruesome, but no doubt effective. The
extremely difficult to detect tunnels were a source of frustration for
the US operations and were crucial to the eventual defeat of the US.
The Cu Chi section of the tunnels is 75 miles long. The visitor area
for tourists includes above ground representation of various aspects
of life in the tunnels. We also saw the outdoor museum, where you
could buy a round of assault weapon ammunition to shoot. Casey and I
chose to split a round of AK-47 bullets. The gun was incredibly
powerful and, despite our headphones, deafeningly loud. There were
adorable old Vietnamese men there to help us, though the weapons were
mounted so there wasn't much guidance to be given. After the shooting
range we went to have a sample meal, though the lunch and dinner
offerings give a better idea to what. Last we had a sampling of the
tunnels, though the portion we crawled through had been expanded in
width and height to accommodate the slightly larger body size of
foreign travelers. I was combating various body ailments and anxiety
about the small and dark space was not a welcomed treat, though I
didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.

We headed back to the boat and I laid down for a well-needed nap. At
the midpoint of the day, I wasn't sure that I could make it back to Le
Pub for Le 21st Birthday Celebration. Due to my uncertainty, some of
my friends didn't end up showing up later. That was one example of how
tricky international communication could be. I had no choice but to
venture out to pick up the dress I had made, and by then I was feeling
better. Casey, Brad and I met Lauren, Megan and Annie at the dress
shop, where I had to give some final directions for the last set of
alterations on my dress. From there we headed to Le Pub and begun Le
Celebration in full force. Many SAS people showed up and it was fun,
with my crown on, to be the birthday girl (even if it was a day
early). The staff at Le Pub was so much fun, and between them and the
friends who arrived throughout the day, I enjoyed a wide variety of
drinks to celebrate the occasion. It was a really special birthday,
and I'm so glad I got to celebrate with so many friends, both new and
old. My friend Lauren left for a few minutes but came back with the
most beautiful bouquet of flowers that she had placed in a Bacardi
drink jug. Our friends at the bar told me to take it with me, so I
accepted the gift. The whole afternoon was filled with fun times and
laughs and lots of pictures. Casey, Lauren and I headed across the
street for a pizza later in the afternoon, but soon after headed back
to the dress shop, and then to the boat.

Although we technically did not leave Vietnam until the next morning,
Lauren and I sat on the 7th deck that evening in our new formal
dresses with a few friends talking about all of our good times in
Vietnam. I was not expecting the few short days in the country to be
filled with as much historical education, good shopping or great
times, but it was surely a visit I will not forget. This is one of the
few countries, with the exception of Morocco, where I wish I had done
different things. I wouldn't have changed anything I did in Vietnam,
but I would have loved to go to Ha Noi, Nha Trang or Cambodia, as the
stories and pictures that resulted from other people's travels to
those places were truly amazing.

Stephanie@Sea