Vietnam, nam, nam

On the first day in Ho Chi Minh City, Lauren and I went shopping at the Ben Then Market which is one of th biggest in the city. Its an indoor market and they sell everything from fish (view pic) to Luis Vuitton purses. We ended up buying a lot of things, including some polo shirts, paintings, shoes, however there was no Northface fleece like everyone was talking about. Hopefully I will be able to find some at a different market. So far, I really like the city and the people, although not many people speak English. Everyone drives motorcycles here; driving a car is a bit rare. Even the motorcycles are taxis and you just jump on and pretty much every destination is $1.

Kuala Lumpur & Penang.....Malaysia

The first day in Malaysia I signed up to do an SAS trip to see 5 different temples and mosques in Penang, which is the city where the ship disembarked, actually Penang is an island. The Buddhist Temple was my favorite. It was huge consisting of different rooms and many Buddhas everywhere. There was also a huge reclining Buddha that was larger than a semi truck. We also went to a Hindu temple and we were visiting right in the middle of a ritual. The men were wearing toga looking outfits, had paint on their face, and were making strange noises. I felt a little uncomfortable. We also went to a snake temple where I thought there would be snakes everywhere, but there were only a few. Behind this temple there was a snake farm where we could pay to feed a snake. One of the girls in the group bought a hamster and I got to view the snake devour the hamster. It was intense, especially when the head of the hamster was sticking out of the snake’s mouth for about two minutes. Later that night, a few of us had a scrumptious Malaysian meal and experienced the nightlife.

We didn’t get back to the ship until 4am and my roommate, who I am now calling Lulu, woke me up at 6am so we could catch our flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) at 8. I was so tired I could not get out of bed and when Lulu attempted to wake me up I said, “Im going to catch a later flight.” Haha, but of course my friends did not let me do that. The flight from Penang to KL was about 40 minutes and my round trip ticket was only $50. In KL, we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental, which I will describe as a 6 star hotel because it was so luxurious, but since we crammed a bunch of people in the room, it was pretty cheap per person. Our room had two double beds, we requested a pool out bed, there was a huge shower with glass doors, a mini hot tub in the bathroom, and we also had a great view of the Petronas Towers. These towers, aka the twin towers is the main highlight of this city and up until 2003 they used to be the tallest in the world. These are the towers that were in the movie Entrapment with Catherine Zeta Jones. Since we were all exhausted, we decided to relax by the pool and this place was so nice that the pool boys layed out towels for us, gave us free water, and also cold scented towels for our face. After having lunch and napping by the pool, we then went shopping in the market. Just like in India, Shelly and Angela went wild with their shopping and Lulu and I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t buy much except a few dresses and tops. There was a lot of knock off purses, watches, etc, but everyone insisted on waiting til Vietnam since the shopping is really cheap there. After about four hours of shopping, the girls and I had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then hung out with other sassers. This was the night my video camera was stolen from my purse! Naturally, I am very upset and depressed about the entire situation, but I am pretty sure I know who stole it. There was a local guy who kept on harassing me the entire night and I think it was this ASS who stole it. But I keep on telling myself that there could have been far worse things that could have happened to me, although, losing 30 GB of my semester at sea footage is devastating.

Besides the horrible fact that my camcorder got stolen, I still had an enjoying time in KL. This was the most modern city yet and I was really surprised. The last day in KL, Shelly and Angela flew to Langkawi which is a small island while Lauren and I flew back to Penang. On the last day in Penang, I signed up to hike the Penang Hill and it needs to be renamed Penang Mountain! It took us 3 hours and it was 5 km long, but the first half of it was a 60 degree incline of uphill. It was so hard and by the time I finished I could squeeze my shirt and sweat would drip from it. A few other girls who climbed the hill the first day said it was the hardest thing they have ever done and half of them hitch hiked the rest because they couldn’t finish it, so I was a little intimidated before climbing, but Im very proud I didn’t give up! During the hike there were a few long tailed Macau’s and we fed them cereal. They were so cute and not shy at all.

Sea Olympics

The day after Mauritius was Sea Olympics and it was so much fun. I didn’t know how big of a deal it was to everyone, but first place did get the privilege of disembarking first in San Diego. Basically we did not have school and there were competition events all throughout the day. There was tug of war, slipper twister, juice pong, lip syncing, synchronized swimming, and so much more. I participated in the Limbo event and since then my lower back has been in pain. My sea, which is the Arabian Sea, ended up getting 2nd place so we get to get off in San Diego second!! After Sea Olympics, I was busy with school and had three papers and projects due.

Mauritius so Delicious

“You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius” – Mark Twain

I will agree with Mark Twain and say that Mauritius was gorgeous, and this is where I got to spend my spring break! A bunch of friends and I stayed at the Easy World where we rented two apartments across from the beach in a small town called Flic en Flac. This town, approximately 45 minutes southwest of Port Luis, is the capital of Mauritius and also where we docked. We pretty much spent most of our time in Flic en Flac and it was such a cute little town. Even though it was small, there was a casino and a bunch of bars on the tiny strip. The locals were also very friendly. We learned in global studies that most of the people in Mauritius are people from India, and they speak French. Although French is the main language, most people still speak English. Our apartment was okay for the price we paid…$30 per person for two nights, but we did find a cockroach in our bathtub. That still did not stop us from cooking in the villa. We, actually just Shelly and I, made burgers, pasta, chicken, French toast, etc. It was nice to cook for ourselves for once. We also had a joint balcony between the two apartments and I enjoyed eating dinner to the sunsets. During the days in Flic en Flac, we layed out on the white sand beach and snorkeled in the clear blue water. It was a relaxing time, but it went by so fast. The seven of us weren’t the only sassers at Flic en Flac either. I would say there were about 300 other sassers in this town so it was fun to hangout with everyone on the beach and at night at the clubs. Some people got a little crazy on our “spring break” but it was all still fun. On our last day, we took our taxi back to Port Luis and spent the day shopping. I didn’t buy much because most of the items were from India and I figured I would wait til I was actually in India.

From Bombay to Delhi

This is a motor rickshaw
Those are all chickens
Taj Mahal

Eric, me, and Henry


Snake Charmer outside of India Gateway
Lotus Temple
Chicken Tikki Masala

Gandhi Memorial

Bombay Pictures







Of course it was my lame idea to do a B-O-M-B-A-Y picture at the airport, but you have to admit it is kinda cute, haha. So when we arrived in Bombay we were planning on all cramming into the most luxurious hotel in Bombay, The Taj Mahal. But when we got there, there were not any more rooms left so after searching we ended up staying at the Hotel Supreme; about a 3 star step down from the Taj Hotel, but it was only $17 usd per person so we saved money. In Bombay is where we ate mucho good food and throughout the entire trip I think I ate chicken tikki masala approximately six times. I was a little disappointed because it wasn't at creamy as I would have liked it to be but milk is such a shortage in India its hard to find a place that makes it creamy. The second day in Bombay, we walked around the city, saw the Gateway to India, and did some shopping. I thought that I loved to shop, but Shel and Ang are the ultimate shopaholics, I could not keep up.

Late that night we flew to Delhi and this is where chaos began. Since there were six of us traveling we could not all fit in a cab from the Delhi airport to the hotel so we split into two groups. Unfortunately, my cab driver didn't know where our hotel was and the others had the address so we were lost for about an hour. Eric, Henry and I decided to stay at another hotel, which actually turned out to be cheap and very clean. We figured out the address of where Shelly, Angela, and Margot's original hotel was, but when we got there the next day, they were gone. So we were separated for two whole days!!! I was alittle worried bout them, but with Shelly's bargaining skills and Ang's aggressiveness, lol, I knew they would be okay. Even though I was with two guys, I still would have felt safer with Shel and Ang,haha. So the three of us decided to hire a driver that would take us around Delhi and then drive us to Agra, the city where the Taj Mahal is located. In Delhi, we ate more good Indian food and visited the Gandhi Memorial, the gateway to India, the president's house, and a temple shaped as a lotus. That evening we drove in an UN-air conditioned car for five hours to Agra. It was brutal very brutal, especially since it was hot and since India is by far the dirtiest country we probably will be going to. There is so much pollution in the air, the sky is never a clear blue...it is grey. Along the way we saw a saw a snake charmer and monkey performing trips and of course we were hussled for money when we took pictures. We stayed at another cheesey hotel similar to the Hotel Supreme in Bombay. The next morning we woke at 6am to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and it is by far the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. Lots of people on the ship who have been before claimed it was overrated, but I loved it. It was like a picture from a fairy tale book, I wish we could have spent more time there. You may think that the pictures are beautiful, but it doesn't do it justice. I wish I still had my video camera :( to show everyone, but it got stolen in KL. This will have to be a story for the next blog. Take Care everyone! And hope everyone has been receiving my postcards.

Chennai, India

My trip in India was absolutely amazing! We ported into Chennai which is on the southern east coast of the country. Many compare this city to New Jersey saying that its the armpit of India, and after going to Bombay and to Delhi, I would have to agree. I only spent one day in Chennai and it was fun riding in little motor rickshaws. During the day I went on an SAS trip to a rural village and farm visit. The farmer was very hospitable and he also served us lunch while informing us about his rice crops. After this, we then took a ride on a cart getting pulled by bull oxes. This was fun and my cousins,Ethan and Jakey, would have enjoyed this! The cart went through a small village where I passed out toothbrushes to little kids. Later that night, I also attended the India Welcome Reception where I got to eat more yummy Indian food and watched some Indian dancing.