Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Travelers never think that they are foreigners - Mason Cooley
China!
Shanghai
The first day in China had me wandering in the Old Town section of Shanghai where the architecture matches up with what you would associate with China, as opposed to the Bund section we passed through which has a lot of European buildings. Old Town has a lot of shops and winding streets. But it also has a lot of people and is really dirty. It’s a definite change from Japan in that where Japan has no trash cans and people take their trash home to throw out, people in China will just drop it on the street when there’s a trash can a few feet away. For someone expecting something similar to Japan it was a huge shock. Here you can also barter down prices, and you’re suppose to by 3/4 of most of the prices. You are most unquestionably a foreigner here; in Old Town a group of high school students ask to take a photo of me and my friends. With not of or for. This is the first of many Chinese families that will now have a photo of me in their albums, and I’m not even one of the blond, red, blue eyes or tall people in the group. The thing that made me realize we were in China was the crowds. It got to a point in the afternoon where there were so many people pushing in certain directions that you had no control over where you were going. I don’t think that I have ever been in a crowd that big. Plus it was the New Year meaning that most of the population was visiting family outside the city (with the amount of people I saw I don’t know if I believe that). Shanghai was pretty cool, and has a great skyline, but was so crowded and dirty.
Xi’an
The second day in China was the start of my SAS trip to Xi’an and Beijing. The first stop was Xi’an and after the flight we got to go try our hand at Chinese character writing, which was interesting to try. Then the highlight of the day was the dumpling dinner where we got 17 courses of dumplings to sample. Most of these dumplings were amazing. This also was the first of the lazy susan dinning tables. Seriously most big restaurants here have lazy susan’s at the table, to the point where I was so glad to have a meal where the turning of the susan didn’t have to be coordinated. In Xi’an you can definitely tell it’s New Years here, more so than Shanghai. There were fireworks everywhere and people were lighting lanterns to let them float away. This city felt much more alive. People were out celebrating and lights were lit.
The second day here we saw the city wall and a mosque, which was really cool. The mosque was this weird combination of Islamic and Chinese it was beautiful. After this were the terra cotta warriors. They most amazing thing about them is that there isn’t a record of them. The first emperor built them for his tomb, anyone who knew of their location was buried alive, and then thousands of years later in the 1970’s a group of farmers stumble upon a head of one. The fact that so many could be hidden for so long is insane. You can’t get that close to the warriors, but they’re still an impressive sight. The biggest pit has about 6,000 warriors all with very detailed carvings. After we left the terra cotta’s we head to an orphanage for kids whose parents were in prison. It was weird to just go and visit and not do anything. This was the worst part of the trip, just going to see and not performing any kind of service. It makes me feel a little better to know that I am doing service trips along the way to make up for touring an orphanage.
Beijing
The next morning we headed out to Beijing and arrived there through the afternoon. Some of us tried to head to the pearl market and made it through the doors because they closed at 5 and managed to spend 30 minutes before we had to leave. Beijing had more life in it for the New Years than Shanghai too; there was more fireworks and more things to do.
Today we headed to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is huge, and there’s a picture of Mao front and center. It didn’t help that Revolution by the Beatles was stuck in my head. The Forbidden City was beautiful, but because of a medical emergency with someone in our group we didn’t truly get to look around it. The best part was the gardens which we saw as we were leaving. For lunch we got to eat with a local family, one of the best meals I’ve had in China. It was cool seeing the inside of someone’s home. And for those of you who made fun of me not eating (with good reason) I’m really not positive on half the things I ate here. I know most of it was chicken and pork and vegetables but everything looks the same. The family also taught us how to make dumplings, which I am definitely going to try some time back home. That night for dinner I also tried Peaking Duck with the plum sauce and the wrap thing. It was delicious. So there!
The next day, and our last really one in Beijing began with a stop at a Kung Fu school. That was just intense watching these kids perform all sorts of craziness. But the real highlight of the day was the Great Wall. It deserves its spot as one of the wonders of the world and if you make it to China you need to see it. We went by cable car up and had about 3 hours to get to the place where you can toboggan down. (Yes, I tobogganed down the Great Wall!) Me and some kids went off in the opposite direction has far as we could before the path was blocked, and in the process climbed some of the most insane stairs of my life. One of my friends literally had to take my backpack and pull my up the last 3 feet before the tower. There was only about a group of 12 of us that made it that far and it was such an experience. It is so beautiful; the Wall goes on in both directions as far as you can see. This was my favorite experience so far.
China is different. You can tell it’s still a developing country by far, sidewalks are left unfinished, trash in the streets, and in the rural areas it’s even more obvious. There are a good amount of poor, or at least what I saw was. It’s Communist but Capitalist, things that don’t work together in my opinion. They have guards everywhere and seem to love Mao despite everything. I just don’t know.
Hong Kong
Considering this was an international flight, it has its own currency (so colorful) and feels vastly different than China I think Hong Kong should be considered its own country.
We got back to the ship right around 2, and headed out to find lunch. Which may have been at a California Pizza Kitchen, but after a week of straight Chinese food let alone over 5 weeks without American food we felt it was well deserved. Three of us headed for the Jade market, where we may have made friends with one of the pearl ladies and stayed there for a while. This market ran into the Temple Street Night Market and we wandered through before making our way over to the avenue of stars for the light show. A really good day for getting up at 3:30 to catch a flight.
The next day we made our way to the Big Buddha and Victoria’s Peak, both or on separate islands and pretty far away from each other. But really the forms of transportation to get to and from these places are: walking, metro, cable car, ferry, bus, and tram. It was an interesting time. The Big Buddha is really huge and the view from the Peak is amazing. You could see the ship from the peak!
Hong Kong has become one of the cities I could live in. It’s a weird mix of Asian and European, and of Urban and Greenery. It’s also has a weird tropical vibe. But I loved this place, and will definitely make my way back here in some form or another.
It has been a crazy month with 2 days between constant travel in Japan and China. And I have another 2 days before we hit Viet Nam. People are starting to crash, but hopefully we’ll survive another week.
Friday, February 12, 2010
• Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life - Jack Kerouac
Japan!
The first international port of call! Things you should know about Japan: the vending machines are awesome! (They have milk tea and hot lemonade in them, how can they not be awesome? ) People are insanely friendly, they try and help even if they don't speak English. The transportation system is rocking, and on time to the minute.
So I did 4 cities in 5 days.
Yokohama:
Definitely a cool place, the first day I explored and tried to get lost, which didn't really happen that well. The lunch I had there was the best meal I think, even though I had to point to order and wasn't entirely sure what I was eating. The port area was in my opinion a much cooler place. There were parks all around, I think that day I went to 4. And they have this tower which is the tallest in Japan and had an amazing view at night. The elevator that takes you up does so in 45 seconds. It blew my mind.
Mt. Fuji
So much fun! We got to see the actual mountain which is clear 10% of the time. 20 minutes later it was gone again. We then headed for this Shinto shrine at the top of a mountain which was crazy. There was so much fog that you couldn't see in front of you and your hair got sobbing wet. But in made the shrine look very cool, I'm glad I got to see this one, because the other ones I've seen were not as cool. That night we made it back to the boat for free food and then headed into Tokyo.
Tokyo
We made it to Tokyo at about 8 and headed to Shinjuku I think. Though we did run into other SASer's making there way around. When we got there we started to try and find a place to stay. A group of Austrian girls told us the place they were staying but in the end these 2 Australian guys told us that we could leave our backpacks in a locker at the station and figure it out later. So that's what we did. We moved on to a converbelt sushi bar where I watched everyone try crazy things while drinking green tea. We moved on and hours later after trying karaoke we decided to stay in one of the comic book Internet cafe places we you can get a room for 6 hour. However when we went back for our stuff we discovered that the metro stations close at 12, with our stuff in them. So we waited until 9 the next morning to go back and pick the backpacks up. But the comic book place was an experience, there like these cubicles where theres a beanbag and a computer. Honestly Tokyo at night felt a little tacky with an abundance of flashing lights. Anyway after we got our stuff back we wandered over to Asakusa where there's a shrine and an open market place which was cool to see. We ate at a traditional Japanese place where you sat on a pillow on the floor. Next I head to Kobe by bullet train.
Kobe
The bullet trains are awesome! They go fast are so nice and was an experience in itself. it arrived in Kobe at 11ish and we tried to find a hostel near by. The one we were looking for we couldn't find and a young Japanese couple who didn't speak English tried to help us for 30 mins. In the end they showed us a cheap motel where we could stay. The next morning at the port we found out that some SASers did make it to the hostels, but others ended up sleeping outside the port. Anyway we were let back on the ship about 15 minutes before the trip to Hiroshima left, giving us time for 3 minutes shower and a change of clothes, which hadn't happen since before Mt. Fuji.
Hiroshima
This place leaves you speechless. The museum itself has the same air as the Holocaust museum in DC, but the trip had so much more. The group I was with started out around the a-bomb building when we were asked to get out of the way as the mayor and Wangari Muta Maathai, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and four walked by. They headed back to the museum and we moved on the the children's memorial. The children's memorial involved the 1000 cranes story that you may have heard before. A girl with cancer from the bombs made over a 1000 paper cranes, because after you make a 1000 you are suppose to get a wish granted. When she pasted away the monument was built and people bring paper cranes there in memory. Before we hung out the cranes we had a group of children were leaving from there school trip, and that was just cool. We then hung the paper cranes up when an older man said he wanted to talk to us. He was a survivor of the bombs and he told us his story of how his younger brother and his father had died and where he was. No words. Then there was the museum which was like I said before. And Muta Maathai, at the end gave a press conference, which fit into the sustainability theme of our voyage. It was amazing. She actually gave Amy (my roommate) her bracelet before she left.
Hiroshima was the best part of this Japan for me.
So that was Japan. I wasn't a big fan of some of the downtown areas, its just another city, but there is some cool stuff around. And how can you not like a place that gives me milk tea out of a vending machine? The people were so friendly, more so then Hilo where it was insane how friendly they were. Now its 2 days till China!
P.S.
The last day in Kobe was definately the most fun. After finding some free internet, Me and AMy went off in search of Kobe beef for lunch. We found this place where Kobe beef was only 4200 yen ($1 = 89 yen) where they cook it in front of you and decided to split it. We had to get another it was so good. Completely worth the price! THe people who worked there were so friendly too! A common theme in Japan.
On our way back to the metro to the ship we found a street preform that played music and danced while he painted. It was so cool! He would come up with the picture based on the music and who he was painting for. Amy got one done that was epic, and when I asked for one he started to paint me. It looks so awesome!!! Greatest find ever!! Left Japan on a great note.
Now it's only a few hour till China so I'll write more in a little over a week!
The first international port of call! Things you should know about Japan: the vending machines are awesome! (They have milk tea and hot lemonade in them, how can they not be awesome? ) People are insanely friendly, they try and help even if they don't speak English. The transportation system is rocking, and on time to the minute.
So I did 4 cities in 5 days.
Yokohama:
Definitely a cool place, the first day I explored and tried to get lost, which didn't really happen that well. The lunch I had there was the best meal I think, even though I had to point to order and wasn't entirely sure what I was eating. The port area was in my opinion a much cooler place. There were parks all around, I think that day I went to 4. And they have this tower which is the tallest in Japan and had an amazing view at night. The elevator that takes you up does so in 45 seconds. It blew my mind.
Mt. Fuji
So much fun! We got to see the actual mountain which is clear 10% of the time. 20 minutes later it was gone again. We then headed for this Shinto shrine at the top of a mountain which was crazy. There was so much fog that you couldn't see in front of you and your hair got sobbing wet. But in made the shrine look very cool, I'm glad I got to see this one, because the other ones I've seen were not as cool. That night we made it back to the boat for free food and then headed into Tokyo.
Tokyo
We made it to Tokyo at about 8 and headed to Shinjuku I think. Though we did run into other SASer's making there way around. When we got there we started to try and find a place to stay. A group of Austrian girls told us the place they were staying but in the end these 2 Australian guys told us that we could leave our backpacks in a locker at the station and figure it out later. So that's what we did. We moved on to a converbelt sushi bar where I watched everyone try crazy things while drinking green tea. We moved on and hours later after trying karaoke we decided to stay in one of the comic book Internet cafe places we you can get a room for 6 hour. However when we went back for our stuff we discovered that the metro stations close at 12, with our stuff in them. So we waited until 9 the next morning to go back and pick the backpacks up. But the comic book place was an experience, there like these cubicles where theres a beanbag and a computer. Honestly Tokyo at night felt a little tacky with an abundance of flashing lights. Anyway after we got our stuff back we wandered over to Asakusa where there's a shrine and an open market place which was cool to see. We ate at a traditional Japanese place where you sat on a pillow on the floor. Next I head to Kobe by bullet train.
Kobe
The bullet trains are awesome! They go fast are so nice and was an experience in itself. it arrived in Kobe at 11ish and we tried to find a hostel near by. The one we were looking for we couldn't find and a young Japanese couple who didn't speak English tried to help us for 30 mins. In the end they showed us a cheap motel where we could stay. The next morning at the port we found out that some SASers did make it to the hostels, but others ended up sleeping outside the port. Anyway we were let back on the ship about 15 minutes before the trip to Hiroshima left, giving us time for 3 minutes shower and a change of clothes, which hadn't happen since before Mt. Fuji.
Hiroshima
This place leaves you speechless. The museum itself has the same air as the Holocaust museum in DC, but the trip had so much more. The group I was with started out around the a-bomb building when we were asked to get out of the way as the mayor and Wangari Muta Maathai, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and four walked by. They headed back to the museum and we moved on the the children's memorial. The children's memorial involved the 1000 cranes story that you may have heard before. A girl with cancer from the bombs made over a 1000 paper cranes, because after you make a 1000 you are suppose to get a wish granted. When she pasted away the monument was built and people bring paper cranes there in memory. Before we hung out the cranes we had a group of children were leaving from there school trip, and that was just cool. We then hung the paper cranes up when an older man said he wanted to talk to us. He was a survivor of the bombs and he told us his story of how his younger brother and his father had died and where he was. No words. Then there was the museum which was like I said before. And Muta Maathai, at the end gave a press conference, which fit into the sustainability theme of our voyage. It was amazing. She actually gave Amy (my roommate) her bracelet before she left.
Hiroshima was the best part of this Japan for me.
So that was Japan. I wasn't a big fan of some of the downtown areas, its just another city, but there is some cool stuff around. And how can you not like a place that gives me milk tea out of a vending machine? The people were so friendly, more so then Hilo where it was insane how friendly they were. Now its 2 days till China!
P.S.
The last day in Kobe was definately the most fun. After finding some free internet, Me and AMy went off in search of Kobe beef for lunch. We found this place where Kobe beef was only 4200 yen ($1 = 89 yen) where they cook it in front of you and decided to split it. We had to get another it was so good. Completely worth the price! THe people who worked there were so friendly too! A common theme in Japan.
On our way back to the metro to the ship we found a street preform that played music and danced while he painted. It was so cool! He would come up with the picture based on the music and who he was painting for. Amy got one done that was epic, and when I asked for one he started to paint me. It looks so awesome!!! Greatest find ever!! Left Japan on a great note.
Now it's only a few hour till China so I'll write more in a little over a week!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
They change their climate, not their souls who rush across the sea. - Horace
So while Hilo is the rural Hawaii, Honolulu is a tourist city. You walk off the ship and you’re right in downtown. It’s a very different atmosphere than what Hilo was.
The first day I ended up going to Waikiki beach for the whole day. I rented a surfboard and tried to surf in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (Gidget anyone?) I never made it up but I avoided the coral unlike one of my friends. We all trekked to a hot dog place featured on the travel channel, which was pretty good. They also had fresh lemonade which made my life. That afternoon we went sailing for 2 hours. It was a beach day.
I also got to see more of the island and Pearl Harbor the next day. Both were fantastic trips. Overall Honolulu is a city, walking to the post office in search of stamps felt the same as walking in D.C. Actually I found a good place for lunch that way. But when I pictured Hawaii I was more prepared for Hilo than Honolulu. The people in Hilo are much more open. To be fair in Honolulu I did talk to my cab driver a good amount. He was from Alaska and said he liked it better there. If anyone is interested April is the perfect time to visit up there. Go figure.
I will say that when you’re only in a city (or country) a few days that sleeping becomes overrated. There are so many things you could be doing, down to learning to flat line with locals at 2am on the beach. Which is going to makes the 2 days to recover in between countries from Japan to Viet Nam so interesting.
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