May 2, 2008 – 1st time around
My life is truly like Groundhog Day (the movie)…I will live the same day twice! Today we are crossing the International Date Line and tomorrow it will May 2nd all over again!
Two days ago we were in Petropavolsk, Russia. What a DISASTER! As one passenger said, “There’s no rushing the Russians.” We anchored in Petropavolsk around 6:30 in the morning. The crew all knew ahead of time that it was a crazy day and there was no crew shore leave due to lack of time and the fact that we had to tender over to the shore. We started the immigration process and the Russian’s took hours to look at people’s passports. We had passengers yelling at us left and right because they wanted to get off. Mind you, every Russian in the city was on board – it was like a Disneyworld just pulled up outside their city! But this immigration officers went through the Shore Excursions passports first, then moved on to the Independent’s. I was getting screamed at over and over again~ Truly, I don’t blame these people for being upset – If I paid the same thing as these other passengers on the excursions and couldn’t get off the ship until 2:30 P.M.!!!! Especially when the last tender left from shore at 5 p.m.
Monday, May 26, 2008
I guess this is the "Reader's Digest Version"...
April 30, 2008-05-01
Ok – so it seems that all my blogs have started out the same for the last several months “Wow! It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted!”...And this time, it truly has been a very very long time! I’ve been having too much fun and have not had time to sit on the internet to type! It seems that I haven’t typed anything since we’ve been in Asia.
I’ll take it through all the ports…
Nagasaki, Japan: Nagasaki is a nice city and one of the cleanest (anything, really, is clean after being in China!). It is a typical downtown with malls, restaurants and of course, Chinatown! It is actually the oldest Chinatown in Japan. Sherwin introduced me to this steamed bread with pork in it. They steam it in these boxes and it is absolutely delicious. I’ve also fallen in love with sashimi and order it wherever we go now, along with sushi. It is fantastic here! A favourite stop in Nagasaki would be the 100 Yen store ($1.00 store) – you can buy anything there. Japanese money is the Yen and currently 100 yen is approximately $1.00US.
Busan, South Korea: Busan is the very crowded and typical Asian city that you would imagine – very very dense! The apartment buildings are probably 30-40 stories high and there are 6-8 of them in one complex alone. They are incredible to look at – it amazes me because it truly shows how much housing is truly needed in order to accommodate all of the residents. I went on a crew tour to the Beomeosa Temple which is a temple that is still in use today. Many, many steep stairs and smaller temples where there were worship services going on. There was singing and chanting and it was interesting to see the monks leading the services. We saw several monks in training walking around because it was one of their worship times. I believe the guide said they worshipped around 3 times a day: morning, noon, and early evening. The buildings were vibrant colors with very detailed patterns and designs. There were rocks with carvings and many many of miniature Buddha’s sitting in nooks and crannies – not quite sure of the significance. We bought some traditional “South Korean Candies” which were a little sweet, but they were a combination of sesame seeds (which I’ve grown to love even more!), peanuts and I guess maybe it was sugar that held it together? Like I said, it wasn’t sweet (most Asian “sweets” aren’t what we would call sweet), but quite good! Also, leaving the temple, there were these pancake/egg looking things that they served on a stick. No clue as to the name- but we figured out that is was just a steamed egg that you dipped in soy sauce. One stick was about 500 Won. 1000 Won is approximately $1.00US. It’ll be quite interesting to look back in a few years, especially if the recession continues, and see how strong/weak the US dollar is against all the other currencies.
After leaving the temple we headed to the Busan City Sky Tower. When we reached the top of the sky tower you could truly see how dense all the buildings were. You could only see buildings and homes for miles and miles – not an ounce of clear land in sight! We (the captain’s wife, Gale, and I) walked around underneath the tower for a while because there was a huge bell, statues, cherry blossoms and pigeon’s everywhere.
Our last stop was the Fish Market and the International Market. The fish market is incredible – just a huge street loaded with primarily women in rubber boots and aprons selling many different kinds of fish, lots of squid and other water creatures that we could only imagine eating!!! The squid are stuck in my head – I can’t wait to show you all the pictures – these squid are stacked on top of each other like legos – and fish still begging for life in their rubber buckets. After being in the outside fish market, we headed to the indoor fish market. There were huge fish tanks full to the brim of fish still “alive” but let’s just say not enjoying it! They were packed like sardines. The floor had drains all along it and the water consistently flowed into the buckets and out onto the floor. The most fascinating part was that the women did all of the work. Very few men were around anywhere in the fish markets. You could pick out the fish of your choice and the women would clean it and pack it for you to go.
Across the street from the fish market was the international market which primarily sold junk and really bad knockoffs of purses and other “luxury items.” The coolest part was the food- there were tons of women who set up these makeshift tables in the middle of the alleys with large woks and fresh food. The women would sit in the middle of all of their food and surround their area with the little plastic stools you often find in preschools where patrons could sit for a bite to eat. We took a walk through the cinema district and found lots of eats on the street. Corn on the cob, sushi, noodles of all sorts and my favourite was the miniature octopi that were served in the popcorn-style containers. They told us that these were the foods that they take into the movies with them. All of the snacks were either dried octopus or some sort of dried seafood. Again, it’s one of those things that you’ll have to see pictures of to believe!
Dalian, China: Beautiful City – architecture was pretty much all European. The first day I just walked around the Friendship Store (a department store found all over Asia) that is about 8 floors of all souvenirs, purchased nothing (very overpriced) and headed back to the ship. Second time in Dalian we went to Victory Plaza where everyone said you can buy the best pirated DVD’s. Arwin, the assistant Housekeeper, took Sherwin and me to this guys store and he then took us downstairs in this big closet that was set up as a store also. He had EVERYTHING new – he showed us how to check the region codes to ensure that it would work on our DVD players. I bought Sex in the City (all of the seasons), Sydney White (just cause it had my name on the box…never heard of it before), Hairspray (because I love it!), PrisonBreak Season 3 (all that you can buy because of the writer’s strike!) and Juno. Now, I’m kicking myself because I should have purchased so much more – they work perfectly and they were only about $1.00 or $1.50 per DVD, depending on what it was. So very worth it!
Xinging, China: Oh goodness…here start the big entries – I love China (except for the horrible pollution!). Xingang is the port that gets us into Beijing. It’s about a 3 hour drive there, but bearable. We actually overnighted in this port both times. The first day we were there I took a crew tour into Beijing where we saw Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square wasn’t really much – reminds me of the squares over in England, like Piccadilly Square - basically a building with a huge cement square with statues.
Before entering the Forbidden City I had to visit the ladies room. Let me preface this with “I will never in my life EVER use a bathroom in China! Let’s just say Eastern and Western restrooms dramatically differ. First off, you must prepare your backpack with your own toilet paper – otherwise it’s the shimmy and shake method. To prepare even more, please prepare your cerebellum for a balancing act. Not quite sure how people who wear high heels or even fat people can make this particular style of restroom work! When you venture into a Chinese Bathroom (now not all are this particular model – there are some Western toilets here, but unfortunately none when I needed them!). Anyways, the Eastern toilets are basically a hole in the ground! You have to squat over this hole and pee in it! Mind you, we don’t have the benefit of aim like the male species. I think I’ve pissed on myself twice just trying to balance without anything touching the ground! So gross…I stopped drinking water in public for fear of not finding a Western toilet!
Speaking of toilets, the children who are not yet potty trained all have these slits in the back of their pants where they just pop-a-squat and pee/poop whenever necessary. I almost got caught in a few streams because some kids decided they had to go right in front of me!
The entrance of the Forbidden City was at the end of the square so we walked through. The Forbidden City was quite fascinating. The walls were, if I remember correctly, 11 Meters high. The detail on all of the buildings was beautiful and brightly colored. We went into some of the buildings in the City – rooms had old traditional wedding carriages and wedding gifts, weapons, armour and an entire room for Chinese instruments. We called the Forbidden City the Never-ending City because as you walked through thinking it was the end, there was a whole different area to look at. Took us about 2 hours to briefly look at everything – our guide was a speed demon! Didn’t give us much time to browse. There were these huge vats everywhere – we found out that they were for water in case of a fire. It’s so hard to describe it all – they’re just things you have to see in person to appreciate – I’ve got pictures! After seeing those sights, we had a group lunch. We sat at a table with a giant lazy Susan in the middle (this was a new toy for my Dutch friends) and they just brought out one dish at a time about every 5 minutes or so and we devoured about every bite with the exception of the fish with its head and eyeballs still in tact and the mysterious meatballs….yuk! After finishing dinner, we drove past the “Bird’s Nest” where the Olympic Games are being held and also the hall where the swimming competitions will be done before heading back the long 3 hour drive in horrific Beijing traffic back to the ship.
The next time we were in Xingang, China I did a crew tour to the Great Wall at Hyuongong (I think that’s how they spell it!) We arrived at the Great Wall and first had lunch at a restaurant located at the bottom of the wall we were going to climb. The lunch was delicious, but as in all means in Asia – you leave hungry because the servings are small! Then we headed up to the Great Wall. I had previously decided that I was going to climb the wall since I was there, young and physically able! I was a little sick due to an allergy problem from Shanghai, but I will still determined to climb! It was SO hot, which made it even more difficult. I and a few others climbed all the way to the top of the section we were at. The stairs were so inconsistent in size – a few would be over a foot tall, then they would be only a few inches tall and back and fourth all the way. The stairs were also very very rugged! So in the heat with my lungs feeling like there was a 20 pound weight on them and wearing long sleeves – I still managed to climb to the top – it took about an hour and a half going up and a half hour coming down. My body and my shins hurt so much for the next few days – but hey…I climbed the Great Wall of China!
Coming back from the Great Wall was a bit more of an adventure. We couldn’t figure out why we were sitting in traffic for about 45 minutes just coming down from the Great Wall area. The bus began moving again but only for about 10 minutes before we were stopped at the entrance to the highway. We were all quite frustrated and hungry! The police told us it could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours that we could be sitting there and waiting…of all things…for a TREE! China loves their trees and there was a 100 year old tree that they shut down the highway in order to transport it! RIDONKULOUS! We ended up having to use this police facility (with scary toilets) to go to the restroom and stood on the side of the highway for about 2 hours. Eventually, our tour guide convinced the cops to let us go because we had to meet the ship (really…we didn’t have to be back for 24 more hours!~) But…we made it!
Funny Note: Four cops standing outside of the cop car on the side of the freeway…with their pants down pissing in the grass!
The next day in Xingang we went to the market and got our Hummers. All the boys had gotten these remote control hummers (really...they are AMAZING!) and I had to have one. The doors open, lights flash, horn honks and I can hook up my Ipod and listen to it through the speakers! I’m in love with it! I also got other little things like sunglasses and sneakers. Everything is cheap in China!
Shanghai, China: By far my favourite...simply for the shopping (and I’m not a fan of shopping!). Before coming to Shanghai, everyone who had been here before talked about the fabric market where you could get custom clothes made (really…they will custom make anything for you!) I went in to the market ready to bargain and get some clothes made. In the end, I ended up getting a Traditional Chinese dress, a 4-piece suit with 5 custom button-down shirts, and an amazing Cashmere coat! They are all amazing and I got them all at very very great prices. I want to go back and have so much more made, but I didn’t think about it until it was too late. We went into the “Underground Market” and found lots of great knockoff purses, suitcases, backpacks, toys, shoes, etc. Didn’t buy much, figured I’d look more in other ports before purchasing.
Our first time in Shanghai, we ended up having to stay a whole extra night because of the smog and tides. I’m so glad that we did stay that extra night because the next day was amazing to watch. We were in the canal and it is known as one of the busiest canals in China, I believe. There were hundreds of boats carrying cargo (they looked like fishing boats with huge dumpsters full of tires/asphalt etc.) going up and down the canal – it looked like traffic on I-4 in the morning! Because of the traffic and our location, we literally had to reverse for a mile down the canal and completely flip ourselves around in the middle of all of this cargo traffic.
The second time we were in Shanghai was my birthday! I must say, it was, by far, one of the best birthdays I have ever had! It all started the night before, on April 11th. I finished up in Club Hal at 10 and I was cleaning up when I got a page. I was practically finished, so I decided to walk down to the Petty Officer’s bar, where the page came from, to see who it was. I walked in and all of my friends had a surprise party for me. Katie, one of my very close friends, had taken a sheet and painted it with “A Very Merry Unbirthday for Sydney” (from Alice in Wonderland) and painted Alice, The Mad Hatter and the cat. She cut out the faces and we all took pictures in the holes. Katie had a chocolate cake made that said the same thing as the banner, Amy had her husband make me a cake (with my name spelled wrong...but so sweet) and everyone was there with wine and everything. It was so sweet – I’ve never had friends that do things like that for me! Made me so happy! I found out the next morning she made invitations for everyone and delivered them that morning. Anyways, fantastic night!
The next day was my actual birthday and we were in Shanghai. I picked up all my custom clothes and came back to the ship to get Sherwin when he went on his break. I had been eyeing this Louis Vuitton suitcase that I had seen in the market the previous time and also saw a Swiss Army backpack that I had liked too. (I need a new backpack anyways!) So, we went and bought both – he bargained them down to way less than I had anticipated! So...perfect for packing my new things. My sweetheart took me to lunch at a Chinese restaurant…let’s just say it’s not American Chinese that we love so much…lots of fishy fish and odd animals on your plate. But I can’t complain – it wasn’t horrible! Sherwin made sure everyone knew it was my birthday and so walking around the ship absolutely everyone wished me a happy birthday! (I hadn’t told anyone!) After Sherwin went back to work, I went to the gym, hung out a bit and headed to work – no kids showed up!! Nice for me! So, about 10 of the deck boys and me went and got massages (70 minute full body massage only $9) it’s an interesting layout – there’s about 8 beds in one room – and probably 6 or so rooms. They sent the boys to theirs and luckily they sent Sherwin and me together. We had to laugh – He asked me “How did they know we’re together – if we weren’t, this would be very awkward.” It would have been very awkward if they sent all of us to the same room – because you had to change into their pajamas (that made Sherwin look like an 85 year old Chinese man and I look like a 24 year old borrowing an 8-year-old’s jammies!).
So we got our massages and looked over at each other when they told us they’d be right back…he says “do you feel like they just did kung-fu on you?”….they were vicious! Their elbows dug so deep into my back. They came back in with the hot stone bags and that was phenomenal. I want to get a full hot stone next time. I was so bruised I think – the next day my body was KILLING me! But it’s all in the experience. After our massages (which ended about 11 p.m.), we went to this whole in the wall for dinner. The menu in the window had “exploding chicken and exploding pig” as the first things. We laughed and went in and ordered our food. Actually, the food was great there. All the food had arrived except for Phillip’s chicken rice and the girl that was by the table didn’t speak English. So Phillip started flapping his elbows like a chicken and we all started laughing hysterically! On all the tables were pots on little burners for when they served the steam pots. A little kitten came walking in and we someone said…”uh oh…exploding kitten too”. Anyways, more fun times! We headed back to the ship around 1 a.m. where everyone started drinking until about 3. Phillip got out his guitar and started singing all these songs in Tagalog and any English one he could think of for me – but it was great…every chorus for every song became some Happy Birthday to Sydney song. The guys are wonderful!
Lots of the guys couldn’t come to my party because we didn’t get back until it was too late and they start work at 6 a.m. So, Jane and Jovan had a cabin party the next night with about 15 people in the hallway and cabin and had this great chicken salad (but the Filipino version of it)…had lots of lemon – delicious! So...three amazing birthday parties – can’t ask for more!
Only one bad thing did happen – the second day in Shanghai, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe – my throat was very very swollen, my lungs were full of crap and I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Turns out – even though I don’t have regular allergies – I had allergy problems with all the pollution in Shanghai! Yuk!
Oh – bought a really cool stamp, too. A guy carved my name in English and Chinese onto a stamp in about 4 minutes…it was pretty nifty!
Hong Kong – WAY TOO CROWDED. I walked through the terminal (Ocean Terminal) – which was actually a massive mall….it never ever ended! I looked at electronics – maybe I would buy a computer, but the prices are the same, so I went home.
Tokyo, Japan: Bobby (Gary’s brother) picked me up at the Terminal that morning and we took a cab back to his condo a few minutes away. Taking an elevator up 25 floors made my ears pop like crazy! Yuko was there and Naomi woke up the minute we walked in the door. She has curly hair like me – looks like a birds nest when she wakes up…it’s absolutely everywhere! Mia was at school and we were going to pick her up at lunchtime. So, the four of us walked around Moon Island, where they live, for a few hours – saw a shrine and a park with the most painful reflexology sidewalk ever! We picked up Mia from school and took the subway to Ginza, the very expensive shopping district – looks just like New York City (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier).
In Ginza, we went to a restaurant where Yuko made reservations. It was actually buffet style – but very very classy and nice. Food was excellent – but I felt greedy (and like a fat cow) going back for seconds. Had a pot in the middle of the table that they filled with soy milk, a big ice cube, and gold flakes! After it heated up- they put this very very thin and tender meat in it, which cooks rapidly. Bobby told me that it’s a very expensive meat because they feed the cow only beer and don’t let them move so their meat gets really fat and tender. I was a little nervous to taste it – but it was fantastic! Naomi was going crazy in the restaurant – no interest in anything! She started yelling out “titty” in Japanese so her mom would breastfeed her! As soon as Yuko did…she was quiet.
We left there and walked down to the electronics district. We went in this massive store – I mean massive! Literally, each floor was the size of a Target and there were 8 floors with only electronics. Anything and everything your heart could desire. Mia played this little girl version of Dance Dance Revolution with Disney Princess’ and she loved it. Naomi watched because she wants to do whatever Mia does. After some more subways and trains, Yuko took me to get a tea set because I had been wanting on forever and they were very expensive (and ugly) everywhere I had looked. So I found one and I love it! We all walked to a temple and took pictures there – and a Geisha Girl showed up. Well, Bobby explained she’s not actually a Geisha – something that starts with an M. There was a huge building, which was the home office to a local beer- and the building looked like a glass of beer with foam at the top!
We walked around a bit more and headed home to hang out for a while. Mia and Naomi were tired – Naomi is a spitfire and gets very upset if things don’t go her way! She was mad because Mia took her chair and yelled out the Japanese word for “idiot” – it was hilarious – then started crying when Mia said it back to her. I couldn’t help but laugh! TaiChi (Sp?) showed up and we all went to dinner at this little restaurant on the corner with absolutely amazing sushi and a great Fuzzy Naval drink (you even juiced the orange yourself...well, Yuko did it for me! )– I ate so much I had to roll myself back to the ship!
It was nice to see them – they are so big now and I’m sure next time they’ll be in high school!
As you can see – I’ve done a lot and I’m sure I’ve left out tons of things. I’m so sorry it’s so long – but I keep it as a record for myself too. It’s been over a month, I believe, since I’ve updated anything! I hope everyone is doing well and I will update you as to what is happening next in my world…I’ll be home May 10th!
Ok – so it seems that all my blogs have started out the same for the last several months “Wow! It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted!”...And this time, it truly has been a very very long time! I’ve been having too much fun and have not had time to sit on the internet to type! It seems that I haven’t typed anything since we’ve been in Asia.
I’ll take it through all the ports…
Nagasaki, Japan: Nagasaki is a nice city and one of the cleanest (anything, really, is clean after being in China!). It is a typical downtown with malls, restaurants and of course, Chinatown! It is actually the oldest Chinatown in Japan. Sherwin introduced me to this steamed bread with pork in it. They steam it in these boxes and it is absolutely delicious. I’ve also fallen in love with sashimi and order it wherever we go now, along with sushi. It is fantastic here! A favourite stop in Nagasaki would be the 100 Yen store ($1.00 store) – you can buy anything there. Japanese money is the Yen and currently 100 yen is approximately $1.00US.
Busan, South Korea: Busan is the very crowded and typical Asian city that you would imagine – very very dense! The apartment buildings are probably 30-40 stories high and there are 6-8 of them in one complex alone. They are incredible to look at – it amazes me because it truly shows how much housing is truly needed in order to accommodate all of the residents. I went on a crew tour to the Beomeosa Temple which is a temple that is still in use today. Many, many steep stairs and smaller temples where there were worship services going on. There was singing and chanting and it was interesting to see the monks leading the services. We saw several monks in training walking around because it was one of their worship times. I believe the guide said they worshipped around 3 times a day: morning, noon, and early evening. The buildings were vibrant colors with very detailed patterns and designs. There were rocks with carvings and many many of miniature Buddha’s sitting in nooks and crannies – not quite sure of the significance. We bought some traditional “South Korean Candies” which were a little sweet, but they were a combination of sesame seeds (which I’ve grown to love even more!), peanuts and I guess maybe it was sugar that held it together? Like I said, it wasn’t sweet (most Asian “sweets” aren’t what we would call sweet), but quite good! Also, leaving the temple, there were these pancake/egg looking things that they served on a stick. No clue as to the name- but we figured out that is was just a steamed egg that you dipped in soy sauce. One stick was about 500 Won. 1000 Won is approximately $1.00US. It’ll be quite interesting to look back in a few years, especially if the recession continues, and see how strong/weak the US dollar is against all the other currencies.
After leaving the temple we headed to the Busan City Sky Tower. When we reached the top of the sky tower you could truly see how dense all the buildings were. You could only see buildings and homes for miles and miles – not an ounce of clear land in sight! We (the captain’s wife, Gale, and I) walked around underneath the tower for a while because there was a huge bell, statues, cherry blossoms and pigeon’s everywhere.
Our last stop was the Fish Market and the International Market. The fish market is incredible – just a huge street loaded with primarily women in rubber boots and aprons selling many different kinds of fish, lots of squid and other water creatures that we could only imagine eating!!! The squid are stuck in my head – I can’t wait to show you all the pictures – these squid are stacked on top of each other like legos – and fish still begging for life in their rubber buckets. After being in the outside fish market, we headed to the indoor fish market. There were huge fish tanks full to the brim of fish still “alive” but let’s just say not enjoying it! They were packed like sardines. The floor had drains all along it and the water consistently flowed into the buckets and out onto the floor. The most fascinating part was that the women did all of the work. Very few men were around anywhere in the fish markets. You could pick out the fish of your choice and the women would clean it and pack it for you to go.
Across the street from the fish market was the international market which primarily sold junk and really bad knockoffs of purses and other “luxury items.” The coolest part was the food- there were tons of women who set up these makeshift tables in the middle of the alleys with large woks and fresh food. The women would sit in the middle of all of their food and surround their area with the little plastic stools you often find in preschools where patrons could sit for a bite to eat. We took a walk through the cinema district and found lots of eats on the street. Corn on the cob, sushi, noodles of all sorts and my favourite was the miniature octopi that were served in the popcorn-style containers. They told us that these were the foods that they take into the movies with them. All of the snacks were either dried octopus or some sort of dried seafood. Again, it’s one of those things that you’ll have to see pictures of to believe!
Dalian, China: Beautiful City – architecture was pretty much all European. The first day I just walked around the Friendship Store (a department store found all over Asia) that is about 8 floors of all souvenirs, purchased nothing (very overpriced) and headed back to the ship. Second time in Dalian we went to Victory Plaza where everyone said you can buy the best pirated DVD’s. Arwin, the assistant Housekeeper, took Sherwin and me to this guys store and he then took us downstairs in this big closet that was set up as a store also. He had EVERYTHING new – he showed us how to check the region codes to ensure that it would work on our DVD players. I bought Sex in the City (all of the seasons), Sydney White (just cause it had my name on the box…never heard of it before), Hairspray (because I love it!), PrisonBreak Season 3 (all that you can buy because of the writer’s strike!) and Juno. Now, I’m kicking myself because I should have purchased so much more – they work perfectly and they were only about $1.00 or $1.50 per DVD, depending on what it was. So very worth it!
Xinging, China: Oh goodness…here start the big entries – I love China (except for the horrible pollution!). Xingang is the port that gets us into Beijing. It’s about a 3 hour drive there, but bearable. We actually overnighted in this port both times. The first day we were there I took a crew tour into Beijing where we saw Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square wasn’t really much – reminds me of the squares over in England, like Piccadilly Square - basically a building with a huge cement square with statues.
Before entering the Forbidden City I had to visit the ladies room. Let me preface this with “I will never in my life EVER use a bathroom in China! Let’s just say Eastern and Western restrooms dramatically differ. First off, you must prepare your backpack with your own toilet paper – otherwise it’s the shimmy and shake method. To prepare even more, please prepare your cerebellum for a balancing act. Not quite sure how people who wear high heels or even fat people can make this particular style of restroom work! When you venture into a Chinese Bathroom (now not all are this particular model – there are some Western toilets here, but unfortunately none when I needed them!). Anyways, the Eastern toilets are basically a hole in the ground! You have to squat over this hole and pee in it! Mind you, we don’t have the benefit of aim like the male species. I think I’ve pissed on myself twice just trying to balance without anything touching the ground! So gross…I stopped drinking water in public for fear of not finding a Western toilet!
Speaking of toilets, the children who are not yet potty trained all have these slits in the back of their pants where they just pop-a-squat and pee/poop whenever necessary. I almost got caught in a few streams because some kids decided they had to go right in front of me!
The entrance of the Forbidden City was at the end of the square so we walked through. The Forbidden City was quite fascinating. The walls were, if I remember correctly, 11 Meters high. The detail on all of the buildings was beautiful and brightly colored. We went into some of the buildings in the City – rooms had old traditional wedding carriages and wedding gifts, weapons, armour and an entire room for Chinese instruments. We called the Forbidden City the Never-ending City because as you walked through thinking it was the end, there was a whole different area to look at. Took us about 2 hours to briefly look at everything – our guide was a speed demon! Didn’t give us much time to browse. There were these huge vats everywhere – we found out that they were for water in case of a fire. It’s so hard to describe it all – they’re just things you have to see in person to appreciate – I’ve got pictures! After seeing those sights, we had a group lunch. We sat at a table with a giant lazy Susan in the middle (this was a new toy for my Dutch friends) and they just brought out one dish at a time about every 5 minutes or so and we devoured about every bite with the exception of the fish with its head and eyeballs still in tact and the mysterious meatballs….yuk! After finishing dinner, we drove past the “Bird’s Nest” where the Olympic Games are being held and also the hall where the swimming competitions will be done before heading back the long 3 hour drive in horrific Beijing traffic back to the ship.
The next time we were in Xingang, China I did a crew tour to the Great Wall at Hyuongong (I think that’s how they spell it!) We arrived at the Great Wall and first had lunch at a restaurant located at the bottom of the wall we were going to climb. The lunch was delicious, but as in all means in Asia – you leave hungry because the servings are small! Then we headed up to the Great Wall. I had previously decided that I was going to climb the wall since I was there, young and physically able! I was a little sick due to an allergy problem from Shanghai, but I will still determined to climb! It was SO hot, which made it even more difficult. I and a few others climbed all the way to the top of the section we were at. The stairs were so inconsistent in size – a few would be over a foot tall, then they would be only a few inches tall and back and fourth all the way. The stairs were also very very rugged! So in the heat with my lungs feeling like there was a 20 pound weight on them and wearing long sleeves – I still managed to climb to the top – it took about an hour and a half going up and a half hour coming down. My body and my shins hurt so much for the next few days – but hey…I climbed the Great Wall of China!
Coming back from the Great Wall was a bit more of an adventure. We couldn’t figure out why we were sitting in traffic for about 45 minutes just coming down from the Great Wall area. The bus began moving again but only for about 10 minutes before we were stopped at the entrance to the highway. We were all quite frustrated and hungry! The police told us it could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours that we could be sitting there and waiting…of all things…for a TREE! China loves their trees and there was a 100 year old tree that they shut down the highway in order to transport it! RIDONKULOUS! We ended up having to use this police facility (with scary toilets) to go to the restroom and stood on the side of the highway for about 2 hours. Eventually, our tour guide convinced the cops to let us go because we had to meet the ship (really…we didn’t have to be back for 24 more hours!~) But…we made it!
Funny Note: Four cops standing outside of the cop car on the side of the freeway…with their pants down pissing in the grass!
The next day in Xingang we went to the market and got our Hummers. All the boys had gotten these remote control hummers (really...they are AMAZING!) and I had to have one. The doors open, lights flash, horn honks and I can hook up my Ipod and listen to it through the speakers! I’m in love with it! I also got other little things like sunglasses and sneakers. Everything is cheap in China!
Shanghai, China: By far my favourite...simply for the shopping (and I’m not a fan of shopping!). Before coming to Shanghai, everyone who had been here before talked about the fabric market where you could get custom clothes made (really…they will custom make anything for you!) I went in to the market ready to bargain and get some clothes made. In the end, I ended up getting a Traditional Chinese dress, a 4-piece suit with 5 custom button-down shirts, and an amazing Cashmere coat! They are all amazing and I got them all at very very great prices. I want to go back and have so much more made, but I didn’t think about it until it was too late. We went into the “Underground Market” and found lots of great knockoff purses, suitcases, backpacks, toys, shoes, etc. Didn’t buy much, figured I’d look more in other ports before purchasing.
Our first time in Shanghai, we ended up having to stay a whole extra night because of the smog and tides. I’m so glad that we did stay that extra night because the next day was amazing to watch. We were in the canal and it is known as one of the busiest canals in China, I believe. There were hundreds of boats carrying cargo (they looked like fishing boats with huge dumpsters full of tires/asphalt etc.) going up and down the canal – it looked like traffic on I-4 in the morning! Because of the traffic and our location, we literally had to reverse for a mile down the canal and completely flip ourselves around in the middle of all of this cargo traffic.
The second time we were in Shanghai was my birthday! I must say, it was, by far, one of the best birthdays I have ever had! It all started the night before, on April 11th. I finished up in Club Hal at 10 and I was cleaning up when I got a page. I was practically finished, so I decided to walk down to the Petty Officer’s bar, where the page came from, to see who it was. I walked in and all of my friends had a surprise party for me. Katie, one of my very close friends, had taken a sheet and painted it with “A Very Merry Unbirthday for Sydney” (from Alice in Wonderland) and painted Alice, The Mad Hatter and the cat. She cut out the faces and we all took pictures in the holes. Katie had a chocolate cake made that said the same thing as the banner, Amy had her husband make me a cake (with my name spelled wrong...but so sweet) and everyone was there with wine and everything. It was so sweet – I’ve never had friends that do things like that for me! Made me so happy! I found out the next morning she made invitations for everyone and delivered them that morning. Anyways, fantastic night!
The next day was my actual birthday and we were in Shanghai. I picked up all my custom clothes and came back to the ship to get Sherwin when he went on his break. I had been eyeing this Louis Vuitton suitcase that I had seen in the market the previous time and also saw a Swiss Army backpack that I had liked too. (I need a new backpack anyways!) So, we went and bought both – he bargained them down to way less than I had anticipated! So...perfect for packing my new things. My sweetheart took me to lunch at a Chinese restaurant…let’s just say it’s not American Chinese that we love so much…lots of fishy fish and odd animals on your plate. But I can’t complain – it wasn’t horrible! Sherwin made sure everyone knew it was my birthday and so walking around the ship absolutely everyone wished me a happy birthday! (I hadn’t told anyone!) After Sherwin went back to work, I went to the gym, hung out a bit and headed to work – no kids showed up!! Nice for me! So, about 10 of the deck boys and me went and got massages (70 minute full body massage only $9) it’s an interesting layout – there’s about 8 beds in one room – and probably 6 or so rooms. They sent the boys to theirs and luckily they sent Sherwin and me together. We had to laugh – He asked me “How did they know we’re together – if we weren’t, this would be very awkward.” It would have been very awkward if they sent all of us to the same room – because you had to change into their pajamas (that made Sherwin look like an 85 year old Chinese man and I look like a 24 year old borrowing an 8-year-old’s jammies!).
So we got our massages and looked over at each other when they told us they’d be right back…he says “do you feel like they just did kung-fu on you?”….they were vicious! Their elbows dug so deep into my back. They came back in with the hot stone bags and that was phenomenal. I want to get a full hot stone next time. I was so bruised I think – the next day my body was KILLING me! But it’s all in the experience. After our massages (which ended about 11 p.m.), we went to this whole in the wall for dinner. The menu in the window had “exploding chicken and exploding pig” as the first things. We laughed and went in and ordered our food. Actually, the food was great there. All the food had arrived except for Phillip’s chicken rice and the girl that was by the table didn’t speak English. So Phillip started flapping his elbows like a chicken and we all started laughing hysterically! On all the tables were pots on little burners for when they served the steam pots. A little kitten came walking in and we someone said…”uh oh…exploding kitten too”. Anyways, more fun times! We headed back to the ship around 1 a.m. where everyone started drinking until about 3. Phillip got out his guitar and started singing all these songs in Tagalog and any English one he could think of for me – but it was great…every chorus for every song became some Happy Birthday to Sydney song. The guys are wonderful!
Lots of the guys couldn’t come to my party because we didn’t get back until it was too late and they start work at 6 a.m. So, Jane and Jovan had a cabin party the next night with about 15 people in the hallway and cabin and had this great chicken salad (but the Filipino version of it)…had lots of lemon – delicious! So...three amazing birthday parties – can’t ask for more!
Only one bad thing did happen – the second day in Shanghai, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe – my throat was very very swollen, my lungs were full of crap and I couldn’t breathe through my nose. Turns out – even though I don’t have regular allergies – I had allergy problems with all the pollution in Shanghai! Yuk!
Oh – bought a really cool stamp, too. A guy carved my name in English and Chinese onto a stamp in about 4 minutes…it was pretty nifty!
Hong Kong – WAY TOO CROWDED. I walked through the terminal (Ocean Terminal) – which was actually a massive mall….it never ever ended! I looked at electronics – maybe I would buy a computer, but the prices are the same, so I went home.
Tokyo, Japan: Bobby (Gary’s brother) picked me up at the Terminal that morning and we took a cab back to his condo a few minutes away. Taking an elevator up 25 floors made my ears pop like crazy! Yuko was there and Naomi woke up the minute we walked in the door. She has curly hair like me – looks like a birds nest when she wakes up…it’s absolutely everywhere! Mia was at school and we were going to pick her up at lunchtime. So, the four of us walked around Moon Island, where they live, for a few hours – saw a shrine and a park with the most painful reflexology sidewalk ever! We picked up Mia from school and took the subway to Ginza, the very expensive shopping district – looks just like New York City (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier).
In Ginza, we went to a restaurant where Yuko made reservations. It was actually buffet style – but very very classy and nice. Food was excellent – but I felt greedy (and like a fat cow) going back for seconds. Had a pot in the middle of the table that they filled with soy milk, a big ice cube, and gold flakes! After it heated up- they put this very very thin and tender meat in it, which cooks rapidly. Bobby told me that it’s a very expensive meat because they feed the cow only beer and don’t let them move so their meat gets really fat and tender. I was a little nervous to taste it – but it was fantastic! Naomi was going crazy in the restaurant – no interest in anything! She started yelling out “titty” in Japanese so her mom would breastfeed her! As soon as Yuko did…she was quiet.
We left there and walked down to the electronics district. We went in this massive store – I mean massive! Literally, each floor was the size of a Target and there were 8 floors with only electronics. Anything and everything your heart could desire. Mia played this little girl version of Dance Dance Revolution with Disney Princess’ and she loved it. Naomi watched because she wants to do whatever Mia does. After some more subways and trains, Yuko took me to get a tea set because I had been wanting on forever and they were very expensive (and ugly) everywhere I had looked. So I found one and I love it! We all walked to a temple and took pictures there – and a Geisha Girl showed up. Well, Bobby explained she’s not actually a Geisha – something that starts with an M. There was a huge building, which was the home office to a local beer- and the building looked like a glass of beer with foam at the top!
We walked around a bit more and headed home to hang out for a while. Mia and Naomi were tired – Naomi is a spitfire and gets very upset if things don’t go her way! She was mad because Mia took her chair and yelled out the Japanese word for “idiot” – it was hilarious – then started crying when Mia said it back to her. I couldn’t help but laugh! TaiChi (Sp?) showed up and we all went to dinner at this little restaurant on the corner with absolutely amazing sushi and a great Fuzzy Naval drink (you even juiced the orange yourself...well, Yuko did it for me! )– I ate so much I had to roll myself back to the ship!
It was nice to see them – they are so big now and I’m sure next time they’ll be in high school!
As you can see – I’ve done a lot and I’m sure I’ve left out tons of things. I’m so sorry it’s so long – but I keep it as a record for myself too. It’s been over a month, I believe, since I’ve updated anything! I hope everyone is doing well and I will update you as to what is happening next in my world…I’ll be home May 10th!
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