So what do you do with only a day in Singapore? Well I started the day off with an FDP where we walked historic Singapore. The FDP was for my history of Modern China class and we were looking for the heavy influence of colonial powers as they affected Asian cultures and society. It was pretty obvious…. But the city was amazing. We started by walking along a river that runs through the city and looking at the old colonial houses and government buildings. We could also see the Sans hotel in the distance. This is that hotel with what looks like a ship sitting on the top and has a swimming pool up there as well!!! Then we went to the Raffels Hotel and got their famous Singapore sling, which is a gin and bourbon based drink that actually tastes great! After that we took the subway to the Chinese district and had lunch. At that point we were done with the FDP and we were free to explore the city as we saw fit. I met up with a few of my friends and we took the subway to the Clark Quay district and, on my brothers advice, went to a bar called the Pump Room. We each ordered the beer sampler tray and got to try a little bit of the 8 best beers. It was fantastic!!! After the beer we walked towards the water front and just tried to soak in as much of the city (and rain) as we could. At about 6:30 we caught a cab to a place called The Hawker Station. Hawkers are places around Singapore where you go to eat, and they are a series of stores that you can get parts of your meal at and then you eat in a sort of central court yard. I had sweet and sour chicken, an Anchor beer, and spring rolls, with some icy dessert that had fruit. It think it was called Bobo Cha cha. It was fantasic!!!! After we finished dinner we caught a cab back to the ship, and after a little shopping we got back on the ship with about 20 minutes to spare.
Singapore was EPIC but I really need to come back one day when I can really just relax and enjoy it. You really can’t experience the city in one short day!
Well, at the moment I am a day away from Vietnam so I figure its about time to get this down on paper. India was so different from what I expected. I thought that as soon as I got off the ship I would be greeted by a nation that reeked and was full of beggars. I could not have been more wrong! When I first got off the ship in Kochin I had to go through our ships security and then through a gate that was lined with armed Indian soldiers and then we were quite literally attacked by rickshaw drivers. If you have no idea what a rick saw is, imagine a three wheeled VW bug with a motorcycle engine and steering column and you will be fairly close. These things were everywhere in India and oh man they were so eager to overcharge us for any ride. Once we had cleared the main group of these guys Sara, whom I had traveled with in Dominica, and I caught a rickshaw and went to a “market” which was more just a street with some EPIC spice shops and a few rug shops. I very nearly bought a rug and I loaded up on as many spices as I could! After the Spice shops we went back to the ship to meet up with Mike who had been on an FDP and we all decided to go to lunch. We ended up at this little place in an area called Jew Town, so named because it was where the Jewish settlers were and is the sight of the oldest synagogue in India, and oh man it was good! I got some sort of spicy fish dish and spicy rice. We then walked this open air market for a while and I picked up a few random small trinkets. After about 2 hours of the market we headed back to the ship so that I could meet up with Boris. Boris was an exchange student to Aspen High School back in 2006-07 and it was great to finally see him again. He took me out to this great dinner where I got this big sampler platter and had a taste of all the major regions in India. After Dinner we went to his favorite ice cream place but it was closed so we went across the street and got milk shakes. At this point it was about 10 pm and he took me back to the ship so I would be able to wake up for my trip to Agra and Delhi at 4 the next morning.
Day two
Day two started at 3:20 am…. It was a rough wakeup but I made it in time to my groups rendezvous. We took a bus to the Kochin airport and we began to see the differences in culture. The women had to go through a different line and were taken into an area with sheets hung up so that they could not be seen for their security checks. This proved to be a common sight and everyplace we went that required a security check had two lines one for men and one for women. When we were finally in the terminal we saw that it was not like the airports back in the states. All of the seating areas had these huge chairs that were really comfortable, and more than a few of the folks I was traveling with fell asleep in them. The flight was non eventful and we arrived in Delhi about 3 hours later. Upon arrival we boarded two busses and began our tour of Delhi. The first real landmark we saw was this large park dedicated to Gandhi and even had a small portion of his ashes interred in a tomb there. Then we saw the Indian equivalent of the Arc de Triumph which was awesome! After that we drove through their government district and saw most of the major government buildings. Then the real fun started we went to this hotel and had an EPIC late lunch. The food was soooooo good and since it was buffet style you could try a little bit of everything!!! After we finished our meal we drove to the train station and got on this really grungy train to Agra. The train ride took 4 hours and the only toilet was this hole in floor with a place to put your feet on either side, overall it see a whole lot of use from our group. The train ride was long and hot but we finally got to Agra at about 11:30 pm and on the way to our bus we were bombarded by beggars, most of which were missing limbs or had some other deformity, that was really depressing. I had an apple left from dinner and gave it to a fellow who was missing most of one of his legs. We then boarded busses and headed off to our hotel. The Hotel was really nice, it was right up there with the Westens and Omni’s back in the states, and apparently cost a fraction of the price to stay at. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to enjoy it as we were to wake up at 5 the next morning to go to the TAJ MAHAL!!!
Day Three
We got up at 5:15 am and within 20 minutes we were loaded up on the busses and heading to see the Taj. The whole idea was to get to it before the sun came up because it is different colors at different times of day, and this way we would be able to see it in the morning light and then late in the afternoon for sunset. When we got to the Taj complex we had to wait in a fairly long line and go through a security check then we walked into this court yard with a large red building at one end. There was a tunnel that runs through that building and opens right up to the Taj. It was really breathtaking, the morning fog was fairly thin but it gave the Taj a certain ghostly presence and really made it seem larger than life. We toured all around the grounds and eventually went through it and saw the tomb of the Emperor and his wife. After the Taj we boarded the busses again and headed back to the hotel for breakfast, which lasted all of about 30 minutes and we were on the road again. This time we went out to see the descendants of people who built the Taj and who still practice the marble sculpting arts. They showed us how they make their amazing designs in the marble and then tried to get us to buy all of these really amazing works. Unfortunately I didn’t like any of them enough to pay the 1000’s of dollars (not rupees, dollars) they wanted for some of the regular bits. I did get a small coaster just as a reminder of the place but nothing too crazy. We then headed off to a place called Fahtepur Sikri which was the Palace of King Akbar. This place was really cool, it was all made out this reddish stone and was totally abandoned. However, they still have a staff there that maintains the royal gardens and keeps the place generally kept up. The palace complex was huge and we only have about 45 minutes so it was a mad dash to see as much as we could as fast as we could, and even still I didn’t see a pretty fair chunk of the place. We then got to spend the next 3 hours stuck in traffic….. This was due to some sort of religious pilgrimage that was going on and the number of people walking along the road were really slowing the cars down! We lost so much time that we were not able to go see the Agra fort and instead opted to go straight to the Taj for sunset. The Taj at sunset was almost as cool at it had been at sunrise, the only real difference was now the place was jam packed with people, but it was still totally worth it just to see that building again. After the Taj we went to this hotel and picked up our box lunches for the train ride back to Delhi, and drove off to the train station. Once we got out of the bus there were all these little kids that were making movements to their mouths and looking at our boxes, I couldn’t deal with it and just gave mine to the first kid I saw and walked to the train. When we got to the platform I saw that just about half our group had done the same thing, and what’s better is that as soon as we got on the train we were served dinner, so we didn’t even need the box meals!!! The train ride back only took about 2 hours and we went straight to the Royal Plaza hotel. This place had a really nice lobby but unfortunately didn’t have rooms to match. After I dropped my stuff off in the room I went down to the bar and got a nice cold beer and joined up with about 6 other students by the pool. It was great because none of them were on my trip and we all just happened to be at the same hotel, we spent the next hour or so swapping stories and then called it a night.
Day Four
We woke up at about 7 am and went down for breakfast, which was a tradition English style breakfast weirdly enough. Then we loaded up the busses and went to a three different places of worship. First we went to a Sakti temple and we all had to wear a bandana or scarf over our heads and remove our shoes to walk around. Then we went to Hindu temple where we had to do the same thing, but it was strange to see so many swastikas. They were literally on everything; even the connections in the middle of the hand railing were little swastikas! I also learned that even though some folks say that the Nazi’s changed the direction of the bars in the swastikas that is not true, They were drawn and carved in both directions all over this temple. After that we went to a temple called the Lotus temple and this is a non affiliated temple that welcomes all members of all faiths to come in and pray in peace. Then we went to lunch at the same hotel as we did the first day and then we were off to the airport to head back down to Kochin. We got back to Kochin at 10 pm and I was awake long enough to shower and then stumble into bed.
Day five
I woke up at 9 and met up with Michael Potiker on the pool deck for a late breakfast, we were going to use this day to do our souvenir shopping and after we had breakfast we headed for the water taxi that would take us to a market near Jew town. We walked up and down through all these craft stores and a very large number of antique store (where I very nearly bought an old ship’s helm) and then he spotted a sign for antique cameras, and given that he makes his living through photography he wanted to check it out. An hour and a half later we left the shop with a lens and camera sitting on reserve for him. He had literally looked at every camera in the shop argued about every little problem and then after he finally found what he wanted, discovered that he had forgotten his credit card on the ship…. So he had to go back for them later. After that shop I went to a place that had some really cool looking naval trinkets and I got a clock, a sexton, and a large compass. I then got two small desk statues one of Shiva and the other of some elephants. It was about dinner time by this point and so we went to a little café and got some more amazing Indian food, went back to the ship and called it a night
Day Six
My final day in India started at 8 am with an FDP to a fishing farm and then to a fishing village. We took a bus to these little wooden boats and were rowed up a river for about 30 minutes until we got to this crab, prawn, and fish farm. Our guide showed us how the locals tend the crabs and fish and told us that the crabs are all caught at the beginning of the season in the deep ocean and then are brought to this little farm for about 3 months and then are shipped off to Singapore and Hong Kong. They also had a rope making shop on the premise where women were weaving coconut fibers together to make a very strong cord that would then be braided with other cords to make these really thick and strong ropes. After that we went and had lunch in a littler area they had set up for us and they showed us several forms of Indian dance. One the way out though we got to see how they harvest methane for use in cooking and heating. It was a very simple yet effective system that would be very easy to reproduce in just about any community. After that we took a fleet of rickshaws back to the bus and drove to the fishing village. The village was nothing real special and looked like most of the other communities that we had seen, the cool part came when we finally got to their boats. The last fishermen were coming in for the day and a few were doing work on their boats. The work required them to coat their boats in this tar like substance that was made from anchovy oil and what I am guess was some sort of pitch. It had one heck of a smell! After that we headed back to the bus and then back to the ship and got their just before dock time.
Overall, India was an amazing place. The food was fantastic, the people were really nice and accommodating, and overall the country was quite beautiful. In a few years I might be inclined to visit again!
So Mauritius, it is a little island off the coast of Madagascar and we very nearly didn’t go to it. We were forced to reduce our speed while en route from Cape Town due to rough seas and a tropical storm that was passing just north of the island. Two days before we were suppose to get to the port they announced that we would only be stopping long enough to refuel and then we would be on our way. This didn’t sit well with the ship board community, but there was really nothing we could do about it. Some of us took it in stride and began working on our plans for India. Others raised all hell and made scenes. In some cases it was rather pathetic. However, the night before we were suppose to get to Mauritius we were told that we would get 4 hours from 8 am till noon to enjoy the beautiful island. We were all ecstatic! When we finally got cleared by customs most of us made our way to the water front but everything was closed until 10:30. So Mike, Alex, and I just went roaming around the city of Port Louis until we found a little market where we could get fresh fruit and a few souvenirs. Then we decided that we should check out the country side and then go to one of the legendary Mauritian beeches. The drive to the beech took about 45 minutes and in that time we saw some amazing scenery. Most of the mountains were partially obscured in clouds and everything was just as green as can be. We got to the beach at about 10:00 and I got a local lager called a Phoenix and it was great! We only got to spend about 30 minutes on the beach though until we had to head back to the ship. We got back to the ship at about 11:45 and after Mike and I were cleared, we went up to the top deck to have lunch and watch the show on the gangway. A lot of people had tried to stretch their time there a little too much and there was still a pretty significant line when we hit noon. So a fair number of folks ended up getting dock time, and believe it or not 17 got thrown into the drunk tank. Overall, this port was a lot of fun and I wish wewould have had the full day were suppose to so that we could have explored more of this fantastic country, I really hope that I get the chance to come back one day.
Ah South Africa, this was the craziest port yet! On the Day we docked I was up at 5:45 to get my first glimpse of the Table Mountain (which is keep calling the mesa and no one knows what I am talking about) and oh was it worth it. The view from the ship was spectacular and I watched the sun rise with about 300 other students. I then went to breakfast with Laura and Alexa (two girls from Puerto Rico). After that I went with a group of folks to the Victoria Warf, which here is just called the V and A water front. The whole are is a large indoor/outdoor mall and it was a ton of fun just walking around. We had lunch at a fast food place called steer and I got a burger. It also was the first burger joint I have ever been to that didn’t have ketchup, what they did have was Thousand Island dressing and bbq sauce. After that we went back to the ship to meet up with our FDP groups. I was touring downtown Cape Town with my history professor to see the impact of imperialism and how English culture had mixed with the local ones. We saw a lot of really cool buildings and even saw Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu’s church.After that we came back to the ship and I went out to dinner with Mike, we went to this great little place called the Fishermen’s Tavern in the V&A and oh it was good. I got fish and Chips, calamari, and a Castle beer. It was all so good. Then we walked with a group of SAS’ers to a local pub and club and it seemed like the whole ship was there. There were teachers, crew, and of course a ton of students and we hung out there until about midnight.
Day two
On day two we went with my geography teacher to Robbin Island where Nelson Mandela and so many other political prisoners had been held during the apartheid era. It was originally a supply dock for the Portuguese and then was held by the Dutch and then was taken back by the Portuguese and then taken by the British. The island was a fair size and still has a few hundred people living on it in the areas that were once correctional officer housing. We took a short bus ride around the island and then went on a tour through it. This was an amazing tour because it was led by a man who had been imprisoned there for 20 some years. He had been a student that had shown up at a demonstration and by the end he had been shot by a rubber bullet and was taken into custody. The prison itself was a miserable looking concrete fortress and had both large communal rooms where up to 30 men would be held, to these little isolation rooms like where Mandela was held. We toured the prison for about an hour and then headed back to the ferry to go back to the mainland. The ride coming had been great but going back we bounced all over the place and a bunch of people were puking over the railing. After I got back to the ship I met up with Mike and Brynn and we got ready to head to the town of Kommetjie where we had rented a house on the beach. Oh that place was cool! It took us about an hour to drive there but it was so worth it. It was only about 100 yards from one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen. That night we went into the town and found this little restaurant owned by a guy named Mike and his wife. We had a great dinner that night, we ordered their signature burgers which had portabella mushrooms on them and oh man they were amazing!!!!We also had a bottle of this wonderful South African Chardonnay. Afterwards we walked back to our little house and for the first time since I left I was able to skype with my family.
Day Three
Day three started at 4:30 am Mike and Brynn were going shark driving and we had to get back to the ship so we struggled out of bed and were on our way by 4:45. We got back to the ship at about 5:30 am and Mike and Brynn met up with their group while I headed to my room on the ship for another 3 hours of sleep. When I woke up I met up with my Anthropology teacher and headed out to a San’s native preserve. It took us about 2 hours to get the preserve but it was so cool. We were met by members of the San’s tribe and they showed us the basic elements of their click language, after that they put us in these trailers that were towed by John Deere tractors and they took us out to a recreation of one of their traditional villages. They showed us their basic critter traps and all the uses they for ostrich eggs, it was really cool to see just how they were able to stretch meager resources to keep their tribes going. They also made sure we knew that there were still tribes further north that still lived the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. After this tour we headed back to the ship, and I met up with Mike and Brynn again to go to dinner and then head back to the villa. That night we went out and relaxed on the beach for several hours. The beach was massive, at least 100 years wide and miles long. The lady who owned the villa told us that there are several large surfing competitions there every year. That night we called it an early night because we were all so burned out, and we also had a 6 am cab to catch back to the ship.
Day 3
The next morning we got back to the ship around 7:30 and once we reequipped and we walked to the train station. We took the train to Stanlenbach which was about 2 ½ hours away and went on a tour of several of the vineyards. One that we went to was also a leopard preserve so we got to see some big cats!!! The wines were amazing and were crazy cheap! Another vineyard we went to did a wine and chocolate paring which was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. After we finished with the wine tours we caught the train back to Cape Town. On the ride back we met a guy who had grown up in the townships and we talked with him the whole way back. He was full of insights about continuing racism in the South Africa, which was made all the more interesting because the only side we had heard was from white elites, so to hear it from the perspective of a black man was really cool. When we got back to the ship we went out to dinner at Quay Four and I got fish and chips along with oysters and a Hansen beer. It was another great dinner in Cape Town! After dinner I met up with another group of about 20 people who were all going to the Mercury Bar which was about a 10 minute cab ride away. When we got to the bar it was insane it was about half locals and about half Semester at Sea. I had a great conversation with a few South Afrikaners who couldn’t believe that I was not currently on a rugby team and wanted me to join theirs. I said I wasn’t in town for long but they bought me a beer anyway. At about 11:30 I decided it was time to head home and went out front to see if there were any other SASers calling it an early night. I met up with two guys and we set about picking a cab. We skipped the first one because it was not really a cab, but the second one was a state licensed cab with a working meter. We jumped in the cab and started home, however after we had driven for about 5 minutes the driver pulled out a 9mm handgun and the two guys I was with bailed out of the moving vehicle. I put my hands up and handed over my wallet and a small point and shoot camera that I was carrying. He then let me out of the vehicle and sped off. I saw a police check point in the distance and ran to it, and sat down with the officer. After about 45 minutes a cop car showed up and I was told to get in the back and they would take me back to the ship. However, for some reason the officers drove around for over an hour and then asked me to get out of the vehicle and they told me to take 400 rand out of an ATM. I told the officers that I had already been robbed and was unable to use the ATM. This didn’t seem to please them much but they put me back in the car for about five minutes then pulled me out again and put me into a cab they had called. This cab actually drove me back to general area where our ship was docked and as soon as he drove off I ran faster than I have ever have in my life to get back the ship. Once I was back on the ship the security crew had me fill out an incident report and by the time everything was said and done I only had 15 minutes till I was suppose to meet Brynn for our 6:15 am Safari. So I ran back to my room grabbed my big camera and another credit card and was ready to head out!
Day 5
Well day 5 was really just a continuation of day 4 but Brynn and I headed out to Long Street to meet up with our Safari group. Our plan was meet the group and head to the Aquila Game reserve. On our way there a short black man walked up and handed me my stolen wallet and then took off. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to do. All the money had been taken out and the debit card was missing along with a few expired gift cards but everything else was still there! So I still have my trusty wallet!!! Anyways we got to our meeting point and boarded the van to Aquila. The next thing I knew Brynn was shaking me trying to get me to wake up! We had finished the 3 hour drive and were at the reserve!!! We went to the restaurant and had a great breakfast of fresh OJ and some pastries. We then went out to this big ATV truck and got in the back and were off on our “safari”!!! We saw Lions, Elephants, hippos, Rhinos, and a large number of smaller animals like springboks (they are like little deer). After the 4 hour safari we came back to the restaurant and had a great lunch of all these African dishes! I didn’t recognize most but they were all sooooooo good!!! Then we spent some time just sitting on their large shaded porch and looked out over the reserve, it was amazing! Then we headed back to the ship and I slept for the next 16 hours!!!
Day 6
I woke up at 8 am and had to go talk to the ship’s security team again. They wanted to know if I wanted to report my incident. I said it really wasn’t worth the time and didn’t want to deal with the police here anymore anyway. So I spent a very calm day walking the water front and going to the Victoria Warf. I ended up getting a really cool South African hat that has a full brim but is mesh on the top so I don’t die of heat! I also got an old school Springbok Rugby jersey to go with my Scotland Ranger jersey. Then I made my way back to the ship before on ship time at 6.
Overall, South Africa was an amazing place and I plan on coming back one day. I really want to go see Roark’s Drift just outside of Johannesburg. The people on the whole were really nice and always ready to talk or give you directions. The venders were nowhere near as pushy and aggressive as the ones in Ghana which was also a nice change of pace. And now we off to Mauritius for one day and then off to INDIA!!!!
