The first day in Costa Rica we went with a large group to go white water rafting. We took a bus about 2 hours south of Puntarenas to the river and split up into about 8 rafts. Right when we hopped off the bus it started pouring down rain, but the rain just made it that much more fun. Andrew and I were in a small raft with Hilton and Ben and our guides name was Rambo Tico. The first set of rapids we hit we went sideways and tipped a little bit and Andrew and Ben who were sitting up front flew out into the rapids. Ben floated on down the river but Andrew got stuck in a whirlpool for a while, and it took him about half a minute to get out of it. All I could see of Andrew as we were floating down the river was his head popping up every 5 seconds and then going back down. No one ever fell out after that, and we had a really good time. It is rainy season in Costa Rica right now so the water was high and the rapids were fast, which made it a lot of fun. After rafting we took a bus back to a town called Jaco where we had a condo on the beach. Nearly everyone on the ship stayed in that little town, so it was fun walking around town that night and running into everyone.
The next day Andrew woke up at 7 and went deep sea fishing with 3 other guys, but Hilton and I slept in until about 9:30. We went to eat a restaurant and then rented ATV’s and hired a guide to take us up into the mountains. We rode around for about 3 hours on different roads and trails all leading up through the mountain side. After riding we got a taxi back to the ship where we dropped our bags offs and changed out of our muddy clothes. The rest of the afternoon I walked around town and checked out some of the shops and markets along the beach. I really liked Costa Rica and I wish we had more time there than just 2 days, but it was a good place to end the trip on. Andrew reeled in a pretty big sail fish on their fishing trip too.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Hawaii
Hawaii was the mid way stop of our 19 day journey from Japan to Costa Rica, and we only had one day there. That morning Hilton and I decided to go try to see the Arizona Memorial in the morning and then meet up with a group of girls from Oklahoma State to go skydiving with. Unfortunately for us a cruise ship of 7000 old people arrived on the same morning that we did and I think all of them had the idea to go to the Arizona Memorial in the morning. The place was packed and there was no way for us to get over to the Arizona Memorial on the ferry unless we wanted to wait 3 hours. After visiting all of these impoverished and Asian countries the past few months, it was surprising to see the mass amount of fat people at the memorial. Since we didn’t have time to catch the ferry, we walked around the museum they had on sight and then caught a cab back to the ship to meet up with our skydiving group. We got to the ship an hour early so Hilton and I walked across the street and had a sandwich at Subway. After that we met our group outside of the dock area and got a cab ride to the airstrip. Once we got there we filled out some forms and were up in a plane in less than an hour. The plane ride was about 10 minutes and they took us up 14000 feet and shoved us out of the plane. It was the most fun thing I’ve ever done. I paid a little extra to have a guy jump out of the plane with me and take pictures. The freefall was a minute long, plunging 120 mph toward earth. I can’t wait to do it again. After skydiving we went to check out the beach, which was just like every other beach in the world, sand and water. Then we ate at a Wahoo’s Fish Taco’s just like the one in Boulder, and went to a sports bar to catch some of the NBA playoffs before getting back on the ship.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Hong Kong & China
In China Andrew and I made plans to travel with Andrew and James from Hong Kong to Beijing and then to Shanghi. The ship didn't get cleared that morning until around 11, and the first thing we decided to do was go to a travel agency to get our rail passes for Japan that you can only get outside of the country. Then we met a friend of Andrew Green's who has been working in Hong Kong for 4 months and he took us to a good dim sum restaurant for lunch. The rest of the day we spent walking around the streets of Hong Kong, going in the shops and looking around the market. That evening we went to eat dinner at a place that I had read about that was famous for their Goose which was very delicious. The next morning we woke up and went to the peak tram which took us to the top of a mountain that had a great view of the city. We walked around the peak and ate lunch at a restaurant up there. After that we went back to the ship to pack our things and leave for the airport for our flight to Beijing at 5:00. I was impressed with how big and efficient the Hong Kong and Beijing airports were, everything went smoothly for us. Another thing was how quiet the airports were, no one seemed to talk, and it was kind of creepy.
After our 3 hour flight we arrived in Beijing and our driver picked us up and drove us to our hotel. Once at our hotel we ate dinner at the restaurant there and went to sleep to get some good rest for our big day tomorrow. The next morning our driver Tom picked us up at the hotel at 7:00 and we went to the Summer Palace. It was a giant complex with lots of temples and pagodas scattered around a lake. After just coming from India and Cambodia where we saw much more impressive temples, we were somewhat templed-out, and unimpressed with what we saw. We mostly watched and took
pictures of the massive sea of Chinese people walking around us. We ate lunch at a buffet by the palace and then headed to the Great Wall. We walked on the Great Wall for about 2 hours and took tons of pictures before riding a toboggan down to the bottom. At the bottom we walked around the market that was set up there and then we drove back to our hotel in Beijing. That evening we went to see an acrobatic show and we ate dinner at a duck restaurant. The next day we spent walking around the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Later that evening around 6 we got a cab to the train station where we took a surprisingly nice overnight train to Shanghi.
We arrived in Shanghi at 7:00 and we got a cab immediately to where the ship was supposed to be docked but it wasn't there. After a confusing conversation with the port security they finally handed us a phone with someone on the other line who spoke English and they told us that the ship wasn't supposed to dock until later that night because of the heavy fog. Since we didn't want to be carrying our bags around with us all day we decided to get a hotel room. After we got our room we walked around the city all day and went to the shanghi museum. That evening we met up with Ben and Walker, who has been living in China for 7 months, and we went to a Cantonese restaurant to eat. It was nice to travel around with walker because he by now he can speak pretty good Chinese and that helped out a lot when ordering and getting around.
The next day Andrew and I walked around town some more by ourselves and found a place to get a cheese burger. We found a place where he could wirelessly connect to the internet on his i-phone so we could get the play by play on the NCAA national championship game. Since Kansas won, I won $345 on the bracket pool we made on the ship. We went back to the ship around 1 and unpacked our things and took a nap. About 2 hours later we met some friends on the ship and went out to eat and I couldn't help but to order another cheeseburger, I've gotten real tired of Asian food.
After our 3 hour flight we arrived in Beijing and our driver picked us up and drove us to our hotel. Once at our hotel we ate dinner at the restaurant there and went to sleep to get some good rest for our big day tomorrow. The next morning our driver Tom picked us up at the hotel at 7:00 and we went to the Summer Palace. It was a giant complex with lots of temples and pagodas scattered around a lake. After just coming from India and Cambodia where we saw much more impressive temples, we were somewhat templed-out, and unimpressed with what we saw. We mostly watched and took
pictures of the massive sea of Chinese people walking around us. We ate lunch at a buffet by the palace and then headed to the Great Wall. We walked on the Great Wall for about 2 hours and took tons of pictures before riding a toboggan down to the bottom. At the bottom we walked around the market that was set up there and then we drove back to our hotel in Beijing. That evening we went to see an acrobatic show and we ate dinner at a duck restaurant. The next day we spent walking around the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Later that evening around 6 we got a cab to the train station where we took a surprisingly nice overnight train to Shanghi.
We arrived in Shanghi at 7:00 and we got a cab immediately to where the ship was supposed to be docked but it wasn't there. After a confusing conversation with the port security they finally handed us a phone with someone on the other line who spoke English and they told us that the ship wasn't supposed to dock until later that night because of the heavy fog. Since we didn't want to be carrying our bags around with us all day we decided to get a hotel room. After we got our room we walked around the city all day and went to the shanghi museum. That evening we met up with Ben and Walker, who has been living in China for 7 months, and we went to a Cantonese restaurant to eat. It was nice to travel around with walker because he by now he can speak pretty good Chinese and that helped out a lot when ordering and getting around.
The next day Andrew and I walked around town some more by ourselves and found a place to get a cheese burger. We found a place where he could wirelessly connect to the internet on his i-phone so we could get the play by play on the NCAA national championship game. Since Kansas won, I won $345 on the bracket pool we made on the ship. We went back to the ship around 1 and unpacked our things and took a nap. About 2 hours later we met some friends on the ship and went out to eat and I couldn't help but to order another cheeseburger, I've gotten real tired of Asian food.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Vietnam & Cambodia
The morning that our ship pulled into the Saigon River to Ho Chi Minh City we woke up amid a sea of students scrambling to get all of their paperwork to get off the ship as well as parents who had come to Vietnam to meet their children on the ship. From the area our ship docked in there was a shuttle that ran from the ship to the middle of Ho Chi Minh City where most of the shopping and sights are located. It took around 30 minutes for the bus to get from the dock to the city, but if you took a motorcycle it would only take around 10 minutes. Almost everyone in Vietnam rides a motor cycle, and no one abides by any sort of traffic laws. When crossing the street we couldn’t just stand there and wait for the traffic to eventually stop. What everyone does is simply walk out into the traffic and trust that the motorcycles are going to drive around you, and once you start walking you can't stop because they judge your walking speed and steer around it. The first thing we did once we reached the city was to go find a place to get some cheap suits made. We walked around the market for a while and after bargaining with different tailors we settled on a store on the main street, which looked like they would do the best job. The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around the city, visiting different stores and spending our $1 bills on shirts and DVDs. Everywhere we went in Vietnam they accepted American currency and most restaurants and stores had all their prices listed in American dollars. That evening we rode the bus back to the ship and then Andrew and I went to dinner with a group of girls at a sushi place.
The next day Andrew and I teamed up with Andrew from Kansas and we got a taxi ride outside of the city to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a very interesting presentation that the Vietnamese had there. First we are put in a room where we watch a video about the Vietnam War, which is much different in their eyes than ours. Most of the video was about communist war hero's that ousted the evil American troops. Then they took us to different areas where they had props set up of how the Vietnamese soldiers lived in the tunnels and we were able to crawl through the tunnels and explore on our own. Then we went to an area where we were able to shoot Ak-47's, M-30's, and M-60's, which needless to say was the highlight of the tunnel experience. Later that afternoon when we arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City we walked around and bought some more DVDs before dropping it all back of the ship. Later that evening after eating Vietnamese cuisine in the city we decided to get a cab ride to a bowling ally I had read about in a book on the ship. Our cab driver didn't speak any English and he took us 20 minutes away to a bowling ally outside of the main part of town which wasn't what we had in mind. When we walked in every eye stared at us, but we were not deterred and ended up playing 2 games. After bowling we got a cab back to the ship because the next morning we had to wake up for our trip to Cambodia.
Our trip started at 10 a.m. with the infamous Semester At Sea trip breakfast of a hard boiled egg, chicken wing, and sandwich. Sixty students piled into 2 separate buses and set off for the airport for our flight to Phnom Pen. Getting through security was easy and the flight was only 45 minutes. Days before we arrived in Vietnam the Semester At Sea staff reminded us over and over not to forget a passport sized photo when going to Cambodia or you wouldn't be able to get a Cambodian visa. Well as luck would have it I forgot my passport photo in my room. Andrew had an extra copy of his photo, so for a while on the plane I debated weather I should try to use his photo or not once we arrived in Cambodia. Luckily I remembered that I had a copy of my passport in my luggage, so I
ripped out my picture and used that when we arrived. In the airport in Cambodia I decided that I would pull out some cash from the ATM because all we had was American currency and I didn't know if it was accepted in Cambodia. At the ATM I realized that the only currency I could pull out was American. In fact Cambodians choose to use American dollars over their own currency, so even most ATM's in Cambodia give out American currency. This is because most money that Cambodia has received since they have become a democracy has come in American dollars, and because their own currency is so weak.
That afternoon we went to different Hindu and Buddhist temples as well as some museums. When the evening came we went on a riverboat cruise on the Mekong River to watch the sunset. After the river cruise we went to an orphanage, but before hand we stopped by a supermarket to buy candy and gifts for the kids once we arrived. I bought Hershey’s kisses and a bucket of little packets of some sort of fruit jello which none of the orphans liked. I talked to the different orphans but one that had the most impression on me was an 18 year old who was brought in off the streets when he was 14. He was so excited to talk to us, and he asked me many questions about my family, school, and the ship we were on. He especially enjoyed practicing his English because he wanted to become a tour guide. After the orphanage we went to eat at a Cambodian restaurant and then finally to our hotel for a much needed shower and rest.
The next morning Andrew and I and two others decided not to go with the group but to split off and do our own thing. We had read about a place in Cambodia called Thunder Ranch where if the price was right you could shoot rocket launchers and rpgs. We asked around the hotel and found a took-took driver who said he knew what we were talking about and he could take us there, so the four of us jumped in with him to see if it was true. First before we went we had the driver take us by the killing fields where the Khmer regime killed millions of Cambodians that did not agree with their political ideals.
After walking around we got back in the took-took and headed with our driver to what we hoped would be Thunder Ranch. Where he took us wasn't Thunder Ranch, but was a spot for tourist on a Royal Cambodian Air force base. When we arrived they gave us a menu, but it wasn't food on the menu, it was weapons. One of the best menu's I've ever seen myself. I scanned all the way down on the back to the rocket launchers, and inquired about them. In order to shoot them we had to drive an hour away into the mountains to fire it at the side of a mountain, and we only had two hours time until we needed to be at the airport to meet the rest of the group so we didn't have time. But what we did have time for was to shoot Uzis, Tommy Guns, and throw hand grenades. After thoroughly enjoying ourselves we bought a few t-shirts and left to go to the airport. On our way back we saw a sign for a raceway and we asked if we could go race and our driver turned around and took us there. At the racetrack we raced go-karts that went up to 60 km per hour, and after going the the F-1 race in Malaysia I got really into it and had a great time. Oh yeah and I won.
Before the Airport we stopped at a pizza shop and I ordered us a large supreme pizza with a crust stuffed with sausage and cheese, something I had never seen before and just had to try. At the airport we met up with the rest of our group and got on a plane to Angkor. Once we arrived we went straight to Angkor Wat, which is a huge Hindu temple complex over 1000 years old. We walked around the temple snapping pictures everywhere for 2 1/2 hours until sunset. After sunset we went to a restaurant with an excellent international buffet and a stage where dancers performed the traditional Cambodian dance. Once we left and got to the hotel I went straight to sleep without even taking a shower. That next morning Andrew woke up at 4:30 to go see Angkor Wat at sunrise but I kept sleeping because I wasn't feeling too well. At 8 I woke up and joined everyone else on the bus to go visit some more temples at Angkor Thom. This is where Laura Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed and it was a lot of fun to explore because we were able to scramble up the ruins of the temples all the way to the top. We drove to different temples (they seemed endless) until the late evening and finally to the airport for our flight to Vietnam and back to the ship.
The next day Andrew and I teamed up with Andrew from Kansas and we got a taxi ride outside of the city to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a very interesting presentation that the Vietnamese had there. First we are put in a room where we watch a video about the Vietnam War, which is much different in their eyes than ours. Most of the video was about communist war hero's that ousted the evil American troops. Then they took us to different areas where they had props set up of how the Vietnamese soldiers lived in the tunnels and we were able to crawl through the tunnels and explore on our own. Then we went to an area where we were able to shoot Ak-47's, M-30's, and M-60's, which needless to say was the highlight of the tunnel experience. Later that afternoon when we arrived back in Ho Chi Minh City we walked around and bought some more DVDs before dropping it all back of the ship. Later that evening after eating Vietnamese cuisine in the city we decided to get a cab ride to a bowling ally I had read about in a book on the ship. Our cab driver didn't speak any English and he took us 20 minutes away to a bowling ally outside of the main part of town which wasn't what we had in mind. When we walked in every eye stared at us, but we were not deterred and ended up playing 2 games. After bowling we got a cab back to the ship because the next morning we had to wake up for our trip to Cambodia.
Our trip started at 10 a.m. with the infamous Semester At Sea trip breakfast of a hard boiled egg, chicken wing, and sandwich. Sixty students piled into 2 separate buses and set off for the airport for our flight to Phnom Pen. Getting through security was easy and the flight was only 45 minutes. Days before we arrived in Vietnam the Semester At Sea staff reminded us over and over not to forget a passport sized photo when going to Cambodia or you wouldn't be able to get a Cambodian visa. Well as luck would have it I forgot my passport photo in my room. Andrew had an extra copy of his photo, so for a while on the plane I debated weather I should try to use his photo or not once we arrived in Cambodia. Luckily I remembered that I had a copy of my passport in my luggage, so I
ripped out my picture and used that when we arrived. In the airport in Cambodia I decided that I would pull out some cash from the ATM because all we had was American currency and I didn't know if it was accepted in Cambodia. At the ATM I realized that the only currency I could pull out was American. In fact Cambodians choose to use American dollars over their own currency, so even most ATM's in Cambodia give out American currency. This is because most money that Cambodia has received since they have become a democracy has come in American dollars, and because their own currency is so weak.
That afternoon we went to different Hindu and Buddhist temples as well as some museums. When the evening came we went on a riverboat cruise on the Mekong River to watch the sunset. After the river cruise we went to an orphanage, but before hand we stopped by a supermarket to buy candy and gifts for the kids once we arrived. I bought Hershey’s kisses and a bucket of little packets of some sort of fruit jello which none of the orphans liked. I talked to the different orphans but one that had the most impression on me was an 18 year old who was brought in off the streets when he was 14. He was so excited to talk to us, and he asked me many questions about my family, school, and the ship we were on. He especially enjoyed practicing his English because he wanted to become a tour guide. After the orphanage we went to eat at a Cambodian restaurant and then finally to our hotel for a much needed shower and rest.
The next morning Andrew and I and two others decided not to go with the group but to split off and do our own thing. We had read about a place in Cambodia called Thunder Ranch where if the price was right you could shoot rocket launchers and rpgs. We asked around the hotel and found a took-took driver who said he knew what we were talking about and he could take us there, so the four of us jumped in with him to see if it was true. First before we went we had the driver take us by the killing fields where the Khmer regime killed millions of Cambodians that did not agree with their political ideals.
After walking around we got back in the took-took and headed with our driver to what we hoped would be Thunder Ranch. Where he took us wasn't Thunder Ranch, but was a spot for tourist on a Royal Cambodian Air force base. When we arrived they gave us a menu, but it wasn't food on the menu, it was weapons. One of the best menu's I've ever seen myself. I scanned all the way down on the back to the rocket launchers, and inquired about them. In order to shoot them we had to drive an hour away into the mountains to fire it at the side of a mountain, and we only had two hours time until we needed to be at the airport to meet the rest of the group so we didn't have time. But what we did have time for was to shoot Uzis, Tommy Guns, and throw hand grenades. After thoroughly enjoying ourselves we bought a few t-shirts and left to go to the airport. On our way back we saw a sign for a raceway and we asked if we could go race and our driver turned around and took us there. At the racetrack we raced go-karts that went up to 60 km per hour, and after going the the F-1 race in Malaysia I got really into it and had a great time. Oh yeah and I won.
Before the Airport we stopped at a pizza shop and I ordered us a large supreme pizza with a crust stuffed with sausage and cheese, something I had never seen before and just had to try. At the airport we met up with the rest of our group and got on a plane to Angkor. Once we arrived we went straight to Angkor Wat, which is a huge Hindu temple complex over 1000 years old. We walked around the temple snapping pictures everywhere for 2 1/2 hours until sunset. After sunset we went to a restaurant with an excellent international buffet and a stage where dancers performed the traditional Cambodian dance. Once we left and got to the hotel I went straight to sleep without even taking a shower. That next morning Andrew woke up at 4:30 to go see Angkor Wat at sunrise but I kept sleeping because I wasn't feeling too well. At 8 I woke up and joined everyone else on the bus to go visit some more temples at Angkor Thom. This is where Laura Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed and it was a lot of fun to explore because we were able to scramble up the ruins of the temples all the way to the top. We drove to different temples (they seemed endless) until the late evening and finally to the airport for our flight to Vietnam and back to the ship.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Malaysia
Like most people I had no idea what to expect going into Malaysia. It was the one country that I did not give much thought or attention to like I did to India, Vietnam, or China. Malaysia was simply some small Asian country in between the three. However, our experience in Malaysia easily ranks ahead of most of the countries if not all of them that we have visited so far.
Before our flight back to the ship in India I bought a Lonely Planet on Malaysia to try to get an idea of what to do while we were there. Andrew and I planned to go by ourselves and backpack through the country heading south and eventually making our way to the capital of Kuala Lumpur. But 2 days before we landed in Penang, we decided to let Ben hop on board with us. Going into the country we had no hotel rooms or flights booked at all, the only thing we had was our Lonely Planet book and a general idea of where we wanted to go.
The first morning we landed we disembarked the ship around 11:00 with the goal of finding a long distance taxi to take us to a town called Tanah Rata. Tanah Rata is located about a 4 hour drive from Penang in the Cameron Highlands which are about 6,500 ft above sea level. We knew that there were plenty of hotels and many tea plantations and hiking trails for us to explore. It took us no time to find taxi drivers eagerly wanting to take us to the highlands and after some negotiating we found a driver for the right price. Before we left Penang we had our driver take us to a market to grab a bite to eat. We all had a good meal which consisted of prawns, fried chicken, rice and veggies.
After a long rainy drive to Tanah Rata we had no time finding a hotel. That first evening we walked around the town looking through the various shops and talking to different tourism groups trying to find out what we wanted to do the next day. As we were eating dinner at a restaurant in town I saw a sign that advertised white water rafting in the tourism agency next to where we were eating. We ended up signing up for a caving adventure followed by white water rafting for the following day.
The next morning we woke up at 6:30 to meet our driver who was picking us up at our hotel to take us 2 hours away to where we would be caving and white water rafting. When we reached the caves our guide gave us a water bottle, flash light, and a helmet. He told us that we would be getting wet, but that was pretty much it. As we entered the cave our guide told us about the history of the caves and the various stalagmites/tites, and bats that lived in the caves. Our caving adventure lasted 4 ½ hours of nonstop hiking and crawling and swimming. Most of the way we followed a river upstream running through the caves, and at some points we had a 2 foot space with about a foot of water to crawl through. Near the end of our hike in order to exit the caves we had to walk up 697 stairs, we were exhausted.
Immediately following our caving adventure we hopped in a van and drove about 20 minutes away to a village where we were served a much appreciated lunch consisting of chicken, fish, rice, and fruit. I’m fairly sure that it was this meal that caused me much intestinal problems and pain the next few days. After our meal we drove another 10 minutes to the spot on the river where we would be rafting. They gave us a brief overview of what we were going to do and we jumped in our raft to head down the river, accompanied by a guide in our raft and two others in kayaks. The week before had seen plenty of rain so even though it wasn’t the peak season to white water raft the section of the river we were in was still graded a 3. It took us about and 1 ½ hours to raft our section of the river and along the way in some points we were able to get out of the raft and body raft down certain parts of the rapids. It was a lot of fun and maybe one of the best days I’ve experienced on the trip so far. That evening we found another hotel in town where we ate dinner and crashed for the night.
The next morning we obtained a long distance taxi to take us to Kuala Lumpur where I had booked us 2 rooms at a hotel the night before. The drive to KL took longer than we had planned because we decided to stop at Kellies Castle first. This was a 6 story castle built by a wealthy rubber tree plantation owner, and it was a lot of fun to explore its many secret rooms and passageways. Once we arrived into the city our taxi began breaking down about every 2 blocks, and our driver had to replace his break fluid four times before we reached the hotel. Our hotel room was nice and had a perfect view of the Petronas Towers. That evening we walked around the mall underneath the towers and explored other areas around city before going back to our hotel.
The next morning we were unsure about what we wanted to do. There wasn’t really anything we wanted to do in the city, but every where we went were advertisements for the Formula 1 race going on that weekend, and most people in our hotel were in town for the race. So with nothing else to do we got a taxi ride to the race track about 30 minutes away. When we arrived we bought passes to see the race qualifier and had our driver drop us off at the gate with instructions to pick us up at the same place at 5:30. As we were walking in the gate we immediately ran into James and Andrew who had arrived about an hour earlier. We talked with them and found a good spot to sit to watch the qualifying race. Formula 1 is like Europe’s NASCAR, and the crowd that goes to see the event is almost the same, Euro-trash. We got to see that qualifying race as well as 2 other races afterwards which provided us two crashes right at the turns on our side of the track. That evening we ate at a Thai restaurant which served us excellent food and then went to a Jazz bar next door.
The next morning we had a cab drop us off at the bus station with the hopes of being able to find a bus ride back, and no sooner had I opened the door to my cab when a man asked us if we were heading to Penang because a bus was leaving right that moment. We followed him through the crowded bus station down to where the buses were and after paying him $10.00 a piece we jumped on the bus for our 4 hour drive back to Penang. When we arrived back on the ship that evening we attended an excellent Easter service put together by some of the students.
The whole entire time on this trip it seemed that everything fell into our laps, and nothing caused us any problems. Even though Malaysia is 80% Muslim at no point did I feel uncomfortable or threatened, I think this was mostly due to the fact they everyone was Asian and wore caps on their heads instead of turbans. It was definitely the most economically developed country we visited thus far, and both Andrew and I enjoyed it a lot.
Before our flight back to the ship in India I bought a Lonely Planet on Malaysia to try to get an idea of what to do while we were there. Andrew and I planned to go by ourselves and backpack through the country heading south and eventually making our way to the capital of Kuala Lumpur. But 2 days before we landed in Penang, we decided to let Ben hop on board with us. Going into the country we had no hotel rooms or flights booked at all, the only thing we had was our Lonely Planet book and a general idea of where we wanted to go.
The first morning we landed we disembarked the ship around 11:00 with the goal of finding a long distance taxi to take us to a town called Tanah Rata. Tanah Rata is located about a 4 hour drive from Penang in the Cameron Highlands which are about 6,500 ft above sea level. We knew that there were plenty of hotels and many tea plantations and hiking trails for us to explore. It took us no time to find taxi drivers eagerly wanting to take us to the highlands and after some negotiating we found a driver for the right price. Before we left Penang we had our driver take us to a market to grab a bite to eat. We all had a good meal which consisted of prawns, fried chicken, rice and veggies.
After a long rainy drive to Tanah Rata we had no time finding a hotel. That first evening we walked around the town looking through the various shops and talking to different tourism groups trying to find out what we wanted to do the next day. As we were eating dinner at a restaurant in town I saw a sign that advertised white water rafting in the tourism agency next to where we were eating. We ended up signing up for a caving adventure followed by white water rafting for the following day.
The next morning we woke up at 6:30 to meet our driver who was picking us up at our hotel to take us 2 hours away to where we would be caving and white water rafting. When we reached the caves our guide gave us a water bottle, flash light, and a helmet. He told us that we would be getting wet, but that was pretty much it. As we entered the cave our guide told us about the history of the caves and the various stalagmites/tites, and bats that lived in the caves. Our caving adventure lasted 4 ½ hours of nonstop hiking and crawling and swimming. Most of the way we followed a river upstream running through the caves, and at some points we had a 2 foot space with about a foot of water to crawl through. Near the end of our hike in order to exit the caves we had to walk up 697 stairs, we were exhausted.
Immediately following our caving adventure we hopped in a van and drove about 20 minutes away to a village where we were served a much appreciated lunch consisting of chicken, fish, rice, and fruit. I’m fairly sure that it was this meal that caused me much intestinal problems and pain the next few days. After our meal we drove another 10 minutes to the spot on the river where we would be rafting. They gave us a brief overview of what we were going to do and we jumped in our raft to head down the river, accompanied by a guide in our raft and two others in kayaks. The week before had seen plenty of rain so even though it wasn’t the peak season to white water raft the section of the river we were in was still graded a 3. It took us about and 1 ½ hours to raft our section of the river and along the way in some points we were able to get out of the raft and body raft down certain parts of the rapids. It was a lot of fun and maybe one of the best days I’ve experienced on the trip so far. That evening we found another hotel in town where we ate dinner and crashed for the night.
The next morning we obtained a long distance taxi to take us to Kuala Lumpur where I had booked us 2 rooms at a hotel the night before. The drive to KL took longer than we had planned because we decided to stop at Kellies Castle first. This was a 6 story castle built by a wealthy rubber tree plantation owner, and it was a lot of fun to explore its many secret rooms and passageways. Once we arrived into the city our taxi began breaking down about every 2 blocks, and our driver had to replace his break fluid four times before we reached the hotel. Our hotel room was nice and had a perfect view of the Petronas Towers. That evening we walked around the mall underneath the towers and explored other areas around city before going back to our hotel.
The next morning we were unsure about what we wanted to do. There wasn’t really anything we wanted to do in the city, but every where we went were advertisements for the Formula 1 race going on that weekend, and most people in our hotel were in town for the race. So with nothing else to do we got a taxi ride to the race track about 30 minutes away. When we arrived we bought passes to see the race qualifier and had our driver drop us off at the gate with instructions to pick us up at the same place at 5:30. As we were walking in the gate we immediately ran into James and Andrew who had arrived about an hour earlier. We talked with them and found a good spot to sit to watch the qualifying race. Formula 1 is like Europe’s NASCAR, and the crowd that goes to see the event is almost the same, Euro-trash. We got to see that qualifying race as well as 2 other races afterwards which provided us two crashes right at the turns on our side of the track. That evening we ate at a Thai restaurant which served us excellent food and then went to a Jazz bar next door.
The next morning we had a cab drop us off at the bus station with the hopes of being able to find a bus ride back, and no sooner had I opened the door to my cab when a man asked us if we were heading to Penang because a bus was leaving right that moment. We followed him through the crowded bus station down to where the buses were and after paying him $10.00 a piece we jumped on the bus for our 4 hour drive back to Penang. When we arrived back on the ship that evening we attended an excellent Easter service put together by some of the students.
The whole entire time on this trip it seemed that everything fell into our laps, and nothing caused us any problems. Even though Malaysia is 80% Muslim at no point did I feel uncomfortable or threatened, I think this was mostly due to the fact they everyone was Asian and wore caps on their heads instead of turbans. It was definitely the most economically developed country we visited thus far, and both Andrew and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
India
The morning we arrived in India I could smell something unsettling in the air from the ship. India has its own smell every where you go. It’s not the smell of a septic tank, a garbage dump, or one of Matt Matts farts, but somehow a mutation of all 3. Our ship docked in the industrial area right up to new car lot and each car had a cover over it, which were completely caked in dust. Outside the ship on the road that ran along the edge of the dock were ship dock workers walking to their various jobs and the untouchables sweeping the street. India has a strict caste system which every Indian is born into, and it consist from top to bottom, Brahmin, soldiers, merchants, workers, and untouchables. The untouchables are bound to a life of begging or street sweeping. They have no more than a handful of straw in their hand as they sweep the dust off one part of the street right into another in an inefficient way for no more than a few rupees a day.
Andrew and I had grouped up with 2 guys, Derek (Georgia Tech), and John (OU) and 2 girls, Dylan (SMU), and Brittany (Texas) for our trip in India, and our plan was to go to Delhi for 2 nights, Agra for one, and back to Delhi before flying back to the ship in Chennai. We weren’t allowed off the ship until around noon because of all of the paper work that you have to do to enter and leave India. We had to have a copy of our passport, our visa, and two other documents with us at all time. We ate lunch on the ship with the fear that could possibly be the last solid meal that we would have for 5 days. Our flight to Delhi was at 5:30 so we left the ship around 2:00 in a taxi for our 45 minute ride to the airport. That first taxi ride in India was a thrilling experience. The only rule in India when it comes to driving is that the biggest thing wins, not even red lights mean a thing to anyone. There are lanes painted on the roads, but no one abides by them, it’s just where you can seem to squeeze your car, rickshaw, or motor bike between the traffic. Getting to the airport was easy enough, and we had no problem getting our flight tickets in the airport, so with some time to kill we went upstairs to sit at the restaurant. I ordered bottled water and some sort of fried ball filled with cheese, Andrew played it safe and ordered a pizza, which was surprisingly good. Our flight was through an India Airway called King Fisher which is weird because it is also the same name and logo of the only beer in India. The flight was 3 hours and they served an Indian meal on board which was actually good, and one of the better flights I’ve had so far on this trip.
When we reached the Delhi airport it was nighttime around 9:00 and we went out front to look for our driver who was supposed to be picking us up there. We walked out front where the taxi drivers were and there was a line about 200 feet long of drivers with signs containing all types of names. After looking up and down multiple times we realized that our driver wasn’t there, and that we needed to get another taxi to our hotel. At the taxi stand we attempted to get a taxi to our hotel but Brittany, who organized the trip, only had the name of the hotel and there were about 10 hotels with that name in Delhi. So we were lost and confused for some time, with her calling her father to try to get the address, and the other of us trying to weigh our options. Before long Dylan went off somewhere and came with news that she had found a tourist kiosk and they had found the hotel and a driver for us. We split up into two separate cabs with Andrew, John, and I in one and the rest in another.
Our cab ride to the hotel was about 30 minutes and each time the cab driver wanted to say something he put his hand on my thigh up front in shotgun which really creeped me out. We had lost the other cab somewhere along the way, and when we pulled up to the hotel something seemed askew. The hotel was 3 stories’ right between two other buildings in a run down area full of dirty shops and stands, and we had to drive down an ally to get to it. Personally this really didn’t bother Andrew or I, we just figured it would be part of the experience, but once the girls arrived I could tell it wasn’t going to work. Brittany was about in tears after their cab ride in which they got lost with a cab driver who spoke little to no English, and after they saw our hotel, it was just about the breaking point.
The next minutes were filled with people in our group talking to the taxi drivers about other hotels, talking with a tourist company down the street, and me talking to the hotel while trying to pull everyone together. Finally Raja, the owner of the company that we had booked the hotel room through, showed up at the hotel and I explained to him that we wanted something nicer which he was able to do, but for some reason no one else trusted him. We had already paid him for the hotel that night in advance so it made no sense to go with someone else, and it took a good amount of convincing to get every one on board with me. Eventually Raja, who was a 30 something Indian with spiked hair, an earring, and turns out a definite fruit cake, took us in his own car to the other hotel which was in the same area but definitely nicer. This hotel suited the girls and the other guys in our group so we decided to stay there.
As we were checking into the hotel we had to show the front desk our passport and our visa in order for them to let us stay there, but it turned out that Derek had left all of his papers in a plastic bag on the plane. The hotel let him know that without his passport or visa that he couldn’t stay there and there was no where in Delhi that would take him without a copy of his passport or visa. Derek is a guy that I think is an only child and has everything done for him, so losing his passport was not a challenge that he was up for. I had the idea to call the ship and get them to fax a copy to the hotel, so we called them, but their fax machines were down because of a problem with the satellite. By this time it was already 11:30 and we were tired so the rest of us left him up at the desk and went down stairs to order some food before the kitchen closed. After another 30 minutes I think the Indians at the desk were tired of dealing with Derek, so they took his passport number over the phone and let him stay the night. Even though this hotel was nicer than the first it wasn’t saying much, the sheets had stains on them and the bed was as hard as the floor, but we got through the night.
The next morning we woke up early and Raja took us to his tourist office and we set up our plans for the week. All in all he set up 2 more nicer hotels for us to stay at while we were in Delhi and a personal driver the entire time, which included a 4 hour drive to our hotel in Agra and to the Taj Mahal. After setting everything up we went to the new hotel that we would be staying at that night to check in and drop our bags off before a driving tour of Delhi. As we were checking in, we realized that Derek had never received his fax of his passport and visa, and of course they wouldn’t let him stay there without it. Thus came four hours of calling the ship and waiting for the fax. Finally at noon we decided that we would go to the US Embassy, drop Derek off, then go on our driving tour and meet him back at the hotel when he got his passport. After dropping Derek off we went on our tour with our driver Levine, which took all day. We went by different forts, tombs and buildings that afternoon, hitting all of the sights in Delhi. When we finished our tour we went to eat at a restaurant in town and I had some sort of spicy chicken dish accompanied with cheese naan. Afterwards we drove back to the hotel where Derek was waiting for us. He was able to use the fax machine in the embassy and had obtained a copy of his passport and visa, but he had to fly back to Chennai the following day because the ship said that it would take a while for him to get his other documents he had lost and that if he came back any later he might not get them in time and would have to stay behind in India.
The next day we packed up our things and went to the airport to bid Derek farewell and start our journey to Agra. All along the way of our 4 hour journey there was constant traffic along the road lined with shops selling everything from food to motorcycle helmets. At one point our driver pulled over on the side of the road and said he had to go inside to pay a tax. When he left our car I immediately pressed the button to lock the doors and within no more than 20 seconds our car was surrounded by beggars asking for money and displaying their pet monkeys on the car. The only thing to do in these situations is to look straight or into your lap because looking at them makes you too sad and if you give money to one your going to start a stampede of beggars. One of the girls in the car got out her camera and snapped a picture of a monkey and immediately the owner of the monkey was demanding money from her, and trying to open every single door of the car. Finally our driver Levine came back to the car and we were off on our way to Agra. Once we arrived in Agra we visited a tomb of one of the Mogul rulers and then we went straight to our hotel to check in before going to the Taj Mahal. We stayed at the Hilton which was far nicer from the places we had been staying in Delhi and just what we needed to relax and escape from the chaos of India.
After eating lunch at the hotel, we went on our way to the Taj Mahal with our English speaking guide. When I was told that we could have an English speaking guide take us to the Taj I thought that he would go with us into the complex and explain the different aspects of the architecture and the history, but all he did was tell us a brief history and show us where to buy the tickets. Our car dropped us off with our guide and we walked down a pathway about half a mile before getting to the gate of the Taj Mahal. All along the way were small children selling Taj Mahal key chains and snow globes. One kid would pick a person out and walk along with them almost the whole way to the Taj Mahal trying to sell these key chains. Even after telling the kids that I didn’t want one and there was no way I would ever by one they kept walking along trying to sell me these globes, not taking no for an answer. This seemed to be how it is with everyone we came across; if anything I give India an A for effort. Also along the way there were beggars sitting on the side of the path with all types of deformities that I won’t even go into. Apparently since they are born into a life of begging their parents deform them as children so that they will be better beggars.
Anyways once we arrived at the gate, we bought the tickets and had to wait in a 30 minute line, but once we were in it was worth it. Even though it was an overcast day, it was still a breathtaking sight. We snapped lots of pictures and walked around for about an hour before leaving to go on the rest of our tour.
Next the tour guide told us that he was going to take us to a place where we could see the different stones and marble that are on the Taj in different light which cause it to turn different colors (the Taj is golden at sunset and pink at sunrise). What he took us to was nothing more than a tourist trap, and I mean trap. The first door we walked into we were greeted by a fat man who told us we were his guest and he would like to get us coffee, tea or beer, but we all refused. They gave us a brief show of how they made the marble inlays in the table tops and plates. Then they took us into another room, where they sat us on a couch and displayed their marble work and through an impressive showing seemed to try to convince us that we were required to buy something. After strongly refusing to buy any of their $200 dollar table tops, they took us into another back room farther in the building which was filled with smaller items made of marble. They insisted on us looking at everything and tried to get us to buy it all, while the whole time we are surrounded by Indians. At this point I had had enough and asked for the exit, but they would not show it to us, only insisting that we hadn’t seen everything. Both girls and John finally bought some little marble something, but still they seemed offended that Andrew and I would not buy anything. Finally without asking for the exit again we rounded up the group and went back out the way we came. Outside we hopped back into our car and our guide said he had some more places to take us, but I told him if it was another shop we didn’t want to go and to drop us back off at the hotel.
That evening we ate a really good meal at the hotel and talked about our time so far. Our waiter was clearly Hindu and when I ordered the steak sandwich he looked at me like I was eating his ancestor, but I didn’t care one bit I was tired of Indian food.
The following morning we went to the Red Fort, which is the biggest fort in India and across the river from the Taj Mahal. After visiting the fort we ate lunch and drove back to Delhi. Once we arrived in Delhi it was late in the evening so we decided to eat dinner at our hotel and call it a day.
The next morning we caught our flight back to Delhi at 9:00 and arrived in Chennai around 12:00. Once back at Chennai we went to the mall close to the ship before getting back aboard. Even the mall in India was sketchy and dirty. We managed to find a pizza hut in the mall where we ate lunch which actually tasted just like pizza hut in the U.S. Andrew and I also found a store that sold DVD’s and some that were still in theatres. We ended up buying 50 movies for 1000 rupees which is 50 cents a piece. After buying the DVD’s and a couple of t-shirts we got a rickshaw back to the ship. I’ve never been so excited to see the ship in my life, it was even better that the day this voyage started. After boarding I took the longest shower ever, trying to scrub the India funk out of my hair and off my skin.
Andrew and I had grouped up with 2 guys, Derek (Georgia Tech), and John (OU) and 2 girls, Dylan (SMU), and Brittany (Texas) for our trip in India, and our plan was to go to Delhi for 2 nights, Agra for one, and back to Delhi before flying back to the ship in Chennai. We weren’t allowed off the ship until around noon because of all of the paper work that you have to do to enter and leave India. We had to have a copy of our passport, our visa, and two other documents with us at all time. We ate lunch on the ship with the fear that could possibly be the last solid meal that we would have for 5 days. Our flight to Delhi was at 5:30 so we left the ship around 2:00 in a taxi for our 45 minute ride to the airport. That first taxi ride in India was a thrilling experience. The only rule in India when it comes to driving is that the biggest thing wins, not even red lights mean a thing to anyone. There are lanes painted on the roads, but no one abides by them, it’s just where you can seem to squeeze your car, rickshaw, or motor bike between the traffic. Getting to the airport was easy enough, and we had no problem getting our flight tickets in the airport, so with some time to kill we went upstairs to sit at the restaurant. I ordered bottled water and some sort of fried ball filled with cheese, Andrew played it safe and ordered a pizza, which was surprisingly good. Our flight was through an India Airway called King Fisher which is weird because it is also the same name and logo of the only beer in India. The flight was 3 hours and they served an Indian meal on board which was actually good, and one of the better flights I’ve had so far on this trip.
When we reached the Delhi airport it was nighttime around 9:00 and we went out front to look for our driver who was supposed to be picking us up there. We walked out front where the taxi drivers were and there was a line about 200 feet long of drivers with signs containing all types of names. After looking up and down multiple times we realized that our driver wasn’t there, and that we needed to get another taxi to our hotel. At the taxi stand we attempted to get a taxi to our hotel but Brittany, who organized the trip, only had the name of the hotel and there were about 10 hotels with that name in Delhi. So we were lost and confused for some time, with her calling her father to try to get the address, and the other of us trying to weigh our options. Before long Dylan went off somewhere and came with news that she had found a tourist kiosk and they had found the hotel and a driver for us. We split up into two separate cabs with Andrew, John, and I in one and the rest in another.
Our cab ride to the hotel was about 30 minutes and each time the cab driver wanted to say something he put his hand on my thigh up front in shotgun which really creeped me out. We had lost the other cab somewhere along the way, and when we pulled up to the hotel something seemed askew. The hotel was 3 stories’ right between two other buildings in a run down area full of dirty shops and stands, and we had to drive down an ally to get to it. Personally this really didn’t bother Andrew or I, we just figured it would be part of the experience, but once the girls arrived I could tell it wasn’t going to work. Brittany was about in tears after their cab ride in which they got lost with a cab driver who spoke little to no English, and after they saw our hotel, it was just about the breaking point.
The next minutes were filled with people in our group talking to the taxi drivers about other hotels, talking with a tourist company down the street, and me talking to the hotel while trying to pull everyone together. Finally Raja, the owner of the company that we had booked the hotel room through, showed up at the hotel and I explained to him that we wanted something nicer which he was able to do, but for some reason no one else trusted him. We had already paid him for the hotel that night in advance so it made no sense to go with someone else, and it took a good amount of convincing to get every one on board with me. Eventually Raja, who was a 30 something Indian with spiked hair, an earring, and turns out a definite fruit cake, took us in his own car to the other hotel which was in the same area but definitely nicer. This hotel suited the girls and the other guys in our group so we decided to stay there.
As we were checking into the hotel we had to show the front desk our passport and our visa in order for them to let us stay there, but it turned out that Derek had left all of his papers in a plastic bag on the plane. The hotel let him know that without his passport or visa that he couldn’t stay there and there was no where in Delhi that would take him without a copy of his passport or visa. Derek is a guy that I think is an only child and has everything done for him, so losing his passport was not a challenge that he was up for. I had the idea to call the ship and get them to fax a copy to the hotel, so we called them, but their fax machines were down because of a problem with the satellite. By this time it was already 11:30 and we were tired so the rest of us left him up at the desk and went down stairs to order some food before the kitchen closed. After another 30 minutes I think the Indians at the desk were tired of dealing with Derek, so they took his passport number over the phone and let him stay the night. Even though this hotel was nicer than the first it wasn’t saying much, the sheets had stains on them and the bed was as hard as the floor, but we got through the night.
The next morning we woke up early and Raja took us to his tourist office and we set up our plans for the week. All in all he set up 2 more nicer hotels for us to stay at while we were in Delhi and a personal driver the entire time, which included a 4 hour drive to our hotel in Agra and to the Taj Mahal. After setting everything up we went to the new hotel that we would be staying at that night to check in and drop our bags off before a driving tour of Delhi. As we were checking in, we realized that Derek had never received his fax of his passport and visa, and of course they wouldn’t let him stay there without it. Thus came four hours of calling the ship and waiting for the fax. Finally at noon we decided that we would go to the US Embassy, drop Derek off, then go on our driving tour and meet him back at the hotel when he got his passport. After dropping Derek off we went on our tour with our driver Levine, which took all day. We went by different forts, tombs and buildings that afternoon, hitting all of the sights in Delhi. When we finished our tour we went to eat at a restaurant in town and I had some sort of spicy chicken dish accompanied with cheese naan. Afterwards we drove back to the hotel where Derek was waiting for us. He was able to use the fax machine in the embassy and had obtained a copy of his passport and visa, but he had to fly back to Chennai the following day because the ship said that it would take a while for him to get his other documents he had lost and that if he came back any later he might not get them in time and would have to stay behind in India.
The next day we packed up our things and went to the airport to bid Derek farewell and start our journey to Agra. All along the way of our 4 hour journey there was constant traffic along the road lined with shops selling everything from food to motorcycle helmets. At one point our driver pulled over on the side of the road and said he had to go inside to pay a tax. When he left our car I immediately pressed the button to lock the doors and within no more than 20 seconds our car was surrounded by beggars asking for money and displaying their pet monkeys on the car. The only thing to do in these situations is to look straight or into your lap because looking at them makes you too sad and if you give money to one your going to start a stampede of beggars. One of the girls in the car got out her camera and snapped a picture of a monkey and immediately the owner of the monkey was demanding money from her, and trying to open every single door of the car. Finally our driver Levine came back to the car and we were off on our way to Agra. Once we arrived in Agra we visited a tomb of one of the Mogul rulers and then we went straight to our hotel to check in before going to the Taj Mahal. We stayed at the Hilton which was far nicer from the places we had been staying in Delhi and just what we needed to relax and escape from the chaos of India.
After eating lunch at the hotel, we went on our way to the Taj Mahal with our English speaking guide. When I was told that we could have an English speaking guide take us to the Taj I thought that he would go with us into the complex and explain the different aspects of the architecture and the history, but all he did was tell us a brief history and show us where to buy the tickets. Our car dropped us off with our guide and we walked down a pathway about half a mile before getting to the gate of the Taj Mahal. All along the way were small children selling Taj Mahal key chains and snow globes. One kid would pick a person out and walk along with them almost the whole way to the Taj Mahal trying to sell these key chains. Even after telling the kids that I didn’t want one and there was no way I would ever by one they kept walking along trying to sell me these globes, not taking no for an answer. This seemed to be how it is with everyone we came across; if anything I give India an A for effort. Also along the way there were beggars sitting on the side of the path with all types of deformities that I won’t even go into. Apparently since they are born into a life of begging their parents deform them as children so that they will be better beggars.
Anyways once we arrived at the gate, we bought the tickets and had to wait in a 30 minute line, but once we were in it was worth it. Even though it was an overcast day, it was still a breathtaking sight. We snapped lots of pictures and walked around for about an hour before leaving to go on the rest of our tour.
Next the tour guide told us that he was going to take us to a place where we could see the different stones and marble that are on the Taj in different light which cause it to turn different colors (the Taj is golden at sunset and pink at sunrise). What he took us to was nothing more than a tourist trap, and I mean trap. The first door we walked into we were greeted by a fat man who told us we were his guest and he would like to get us coffee, tea or beer, but we all refused. They gave us a brief show of how they made the marble inlays in the table tops and plates. Then they took us into another room, where they sat us on a couch and displayed their marble work and through an impressive showing seemed to try to convince us that we were required to buy something. After strongly refusing to buy any of their $200 dollar table tops, they took us into another back room farther in the building which was filled with smaller items made of marble. They insisted on us looking at everything and tried to get us to buy it all, while the whole time we are surrounded by Indians. At this point I had had enough and asked for the exit, but they would not show it to us, only insisting that we hadn’t seen everything. Both girls and John finally bought some little marble something, but still they seemed offended that Andrew and I would not buy anything. Finally without asking for the exit again we rounded up the group and went back out the way we came. Outside we hopped back into our car and our guide said he had some more places to take us, but I told him if it was another shop we didn’t want to go and to drop us back off at the hotel.
That evening we ate a really good meal at the hotel and talked about our time so far. Our waiter was clearly Hindu and when I ordered the steak sandwich he looked at me like I was eating his ancestor, but I didn’t care one bit I was tired of Indian food.
The following morning we went to the Red Fort, which is the biggest fort in India and across the river from the Taj Mahal. After visiting the fort we ate lunch and drove back to Delhi. Once we arrived in Delhi it was late in the evening so we decided to eat dinner at our hotel and call it a day.
The next morning we caught our flight back to Delhi at 9:00 and arrived in Chennai around 12:00. Once back at Chennai we went to the mall close to the ship before getting back aboard. Even the mall in India was sketchy and dirty. We managed to find a pizza hut in the mall where we ate lunch which actually tasted just like pizza hut in the U.S. Andrew and I also found a store that sold DVD’s and some that were still in theatres. We ended up buying 50 movies for 1000 rupees which is 50 cents a piece. After buying the DVD’s and a couple of t-shirts we got a rickshaw back to the ship. I’ve never been so excited to see the ship in my life, it was even better that the day this voyage started. After boarding I took the longest shower ever, trying to scrub the India funk out of my hair and off my skin.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Mauritius
The morning we arrived in Port Louis a group of us went into town to get money from the bank and walk around the board walk. We had to buy some time because James was getting his loose front tooth fixed after Hilton had caught him with an accidental elbow during carnival. We waited around until 1:00 and then left a note on his door and decided to leave because it was taking too long and the rest of us had little patience. We only had about 20 miles to go to get to the villa we were staying in for the weekend, but with the horrible traffic on the island it took almost an hour to get there. That first afternoon after we settled in we hit the beach. Our villa was about half a mile away from the beach so it was a good walk. That evening we went to eat dinner at an Indian food restaurant in town to try to warm ourselves up for the next port. I ordered the chicken masai with cheesy bread and it was really good.
That next day we woke up at 6:00 am to go on our deep sea fishing trip. We walked to the main road in town and found two taxis’s to take our group of 7 people to the marina. We had a 42 foot boat with two local Mauritian guides and 9 hours of fishing to do. It was one of the most relaxing 9 hours I’ve ever had. We sat up on the top deck enjoying the view of the ocean and green mountains while drinking orange Fantas and telling stories of the trip so far. That day we ended up catching 2 Durango’s and 3 smaller fish which I can’t remember the name . Once back at shore our guides cleaned the fish and gave us the fillets. That evening back at our villa we cooked chicken that we had bought the day before and marinated the fish to cook the next day.
The following morning we woke up without any plans for the day, but everyone agreed that we didn’t want to hang out at the beach all day. Three of the people in our group rented scooters to ride around the island and go see the Hindu festival near the center of the island. The Hindu festival was a pilgrimage honoring their god Sheba, and there were 500,000 people attending. The remainder of the guys in our group decided to call Harvey the cab driver whom Andrew had met the day before and see if we could get a tour of the whole island. We ran into a group of four girls while we were buying outrageous Hawaiian shirts who really wanted to come with us, so we called in an extra taxi. The tour lasted almost the whole day and we drove around the entire island. We went to a waterfall, visited the giant tortoises, saw some forts, and ate at a really good Mauritian food restaurant. One girl in our cab was insistent on visiting a school and seeing the school children, which didn’t really appeal to me at the time. However we did and it was one of the highlights of our tour. We pulled up to an elementary school, and following our driver Harvey we walked right on in. We looked in the class rooms, talked to the kids, and they even lined up and sang us their national anthem. After the tour was over we went back to our villa and fired up the grill to cook the fish we had caught the day before. Thanks to Will, who really knows how to prepare fish, it was the best meal I’ve had the whole entire voyage. For 4 hours we grilled chicken skewers, potatoes, pineapples, and the fish we caught.
The following day was our last, so we packed up our stuff that morning and caught a cab back to the ship after lunch. After showering up we went into Port Louis to walk around and check out the market. We bought a few things and had one last meal before catching a water taxi back to the ship.
That next day we woke up at 6:00 am to go on our deep sea fishing trip. We walked to the main road in town and found two taxis’s to take our group of 7 people to the marina. We had a 42 foot boat with two local Mauritian guides and 9 hours of fishing to do. It was one of the most relaxing 9 hours I’ve ever had. We sat up on the top deck enjoying the view of the ocean and green mountains while drinking orange Fantas and telling stories of the trip so far. That day we ended up catching 2 Durango’s and 3 smaller fish which I can’t remember the name . Once back at shore our guides cleaned the fish and gave us the fillets. That evening back at our villa we cooked chicken that we had bought the day before and marinated the fish to cook the next day.
The following morning we woke up without any plans for the day, but everyone agreed that we didn’t want to hang out at the beach all day. Three of the people in our group rented scooters to ride around the island and go see the Hindu festival near the center of the island. The Hindu festival was a pilgrimage honoring their god Sheba, and there were 500,000 people attending. The remainder of the guys in our group decided to call Harvey the cab driver whom Andrew had met the day before and see if we could get a tour of the whole island. We ran into a group of four girls while we were buying outrageous Hawaiian shirts who really wanted to come with us, so we called in an extra taxi. The tour lasted almost the whole day and we drove around the entire island. We went to a waterfall, visited the giant tortoises, saw some forts, and ate at a really good Mauritian food restaurant. One girl in our cab was insistent on visiting a school and seeing the school children, which didn’t really appeal to me at the time. However we did and it was one of the highlights of our tour. We pulled up to an elementary school, and following our driver Harvey we walked right on in. We looked in the class rooms, talked to the kids, and they even lined up and sang us their national anthem. After the tour was over we went back to our villa and fired up the grill to cook the fish we had caught the day before. Thanks to Will, who really knows how to prepare fish, it was the best meal I’ve had the whole entire voyage. For 4 hours we grilled chicken skewers, potatoes, pineapples, and the fish we caught.
The following day was our last, so we packed up our stuff that morning and caught a cab back to the ship after lunch. After showering up we went into Port Louis to walk around and check out the market. We bought a few things and had one last meal before catching a water taxi back to the ship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
