Day 64 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Oct 31st (Halloween!)

Phnom Penh
After grabbing my box lunch (of a boiled egg, two strips of beef, a brownie, a mystery meat sandwich, Capri Sun and Oreos), we took a motorcoach to the Ho Chi Minh airport to catch Vietnam Airlines flight VN828 to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I literally only flipped through one magazine before we were already landing. That’s when I realized why the stewardesses had distributed and collected the free juice box like they were juggling hot potatoes. For some reason, I just thought Asians drank too fast. Once we landed at the Phnom Penh International Airport, we got our Cambodia visas (which makes my passport look so “bad ass”). Our tour guide Boral Kim greeted us at the arrival gate and took us for a city tour. Boral, who had terrible English and used “yea” as if it were an adjective, felt that it was his duty to talk continuously. This included pointing out every chicken in the road and explaining in 20 mins of detail that Phnom Penh meant “hill” “of a woman.” Because he was so sincere and sweet, none of us had the heart to tell him he didn’t have to talk so much. Once we were all on board, however, Boral informed us of the two most notable things about Phnom Penh:

- The streets of Phnom Penh flood during the rainy season because the city's drainage system has not been improved much since the colonial era (literally).
- Don’t be shocked by the number of amputees in Cambodia: land mines have taken a terrible toll on Cambodians, who have one of the highest per capita rates of amputation in the world.

Since it started to rain (and we would soon witness the effects of the outdated drainage), we headed to the National Museum to see some antiques and temple relics.

National Museum
Since Vietnam as a rich pre-history that dates back over 29,000 years, there are tons of old things to see.
While walking in Boral refuted the rumor that guests need umbrellas to protect themselves from bat droppings, since the bats were moved in the 2002 renovations. The National Museum had an excellent collection of art from Cambodia's "golden age" of Angkor, and the most beautiful, lush-green courtyard with small, lily pad-filled pounds in the center. The main attraction is the statue of King Jayavarman VII (1181-1219) in mediation pose, but the collection of lingas, stone figures and wall carvings were also interesting. Nicole and I spent some time trying to interpret what objects the statues were holding, like biscuits or yo-yos, etc. I loved the architecture of the deep-red building with golden trim the most. It made the whole experience magical and exactly what I pictured Cambodia to look like. The little park in front of the Museum is where the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony, at which the success or ominous failure of the coming harvest is determined. Kids, however, had taken it over to play soccer in the mud, and I desperately wanted to run around there with them.

Mekong Delta Cruise
Since it was getting dark, Boral took us on a two-story boat for a night river cruise. Nicole and I snagged the huge wicker couch on the back and stationed ourselves with some Angkor beer and readied cameras. The sky lit up pink and red over the Imperial Palace and nearby temples, which had spectacular views from the water. The temples were outlined with lights to make them glow even when it was too dark to see what was next to them. Most students spent the time reflecting, resting or a few even sleeping. I just watched my friendly, little gecko that appeared next to my feet. He eat all the bugs that came near me, so I didn’t mind.

Palm Tree Orphanage
Just before dinner, we visited the Palm Tree Orphanage, which is supported by SAS alums Terry Kellogg and Marvel Harrison, as the founders of Cambodia’s Hope. The bus dropped us a few blocks away, since the electrical lines in Cambodia (and Vietnam) are a crazy mess of strings running from building to building. As we walked along the dark alleyways, locals popped out to share the extent of their English vocabulary: “Hello!” (along with huge grins). Each one of them seemed a little bewildered while a troop of white people marched through their village. They all came outside their shops, houses and buildings to watch us. Once we stepped into the open courtyard of the orphanage, we were instantly overrun by little kids tugging at our arms, smiling ear-to-ear and running around in excitement. I met the most adorable little girl dressed in bright pink and a wonderful young man named Kea, who spoke remarkable English. He told me about some of the backgrounds and stories of the kids there and explained how he wants to be a banker when grows up. At one point the entire village’s lights went out. It was pitch black for a bit until our eyes adjusted. My little pink-dressed cutie told me it happens all the time, so most of the kids seemed unphased. We got to run around and chat with them for a bit, but once our stomachs really started to growl, we said our “goodbyes” and “good-nights” to the most adorable band of kids.

Khmer Surin and Sunway Hotel
We had dinner at this gorgeous Khmer restaurant on Street 57 in the center of Phnom Penh. It was three stories, each level with open walls that were filled with views of the jungle-like surroundings. Two men sat on a low, wooden table and played instruments. Since we were sampling traditional Khmer cuisine, we ended up with a sprawling display of spring rolls, rice cakes with peanut sauce, oyster-chicken something, stewed veggies, white rice lemongrass soup and a seafood platter. We got more and more excited as they brought out each dish to sample. To finish the meal with something sweet, we had a selection of fruits: pineapple, watermelon, mango and papaya. On the way to Sunway Hotel for the night, we circled Preach Sihanouk Blvd to see the Independence Monument at its best with bright lights covering the beautiful white stones at night. The staff at Sunway Hotel greeted us with servers bearing pink cocktails in the sports lounge. After getting our rooms, Kelsey (my roomie and next door neighbor on the ship) and I headed upstairs to unwind. Boral was mindful to remind us that Vietnamese don’t have the same Western sense of privacy, so maids could just walk into rooms unannounced. After taking a much-needed shower (the heat in Cambodia makes you want to shower as soon as you step out the door), I gazed over the spa listings to find an hour-long, hot-oil massage for $10!

Highs and Lows
My “high” was find realizing Boral uses a lot of lines directly from the movie Borat (but I still don’t think he has ever seen it). My “low” was finding out you can pay $100 to shoot bazooka guns at cows and other farm animals. (Or $30 to pull pins out of 30+ yr-old grenades to throw at things.)

Day 63 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Oct 30th

Diplomatic Briefing
Sara woke me up at 8AM to grab a quick bite to eat and watch the shore as we pulled into the Mekong Delta. We were completely surrounded by ships, boats and small fishing vessels, as we progressed through the muddy water. I took another nap before brunch, which was the shop’s incentive to have us sleep in. Then we headed to the Union for the diplomatic briefing by two individuals from the U.S. Consult. Lauren Suddors, a U.S. Consult officer, described the recent economic developments in Vietnam over the last 20 years. Following a “Renovation” policy in the 90s, private institutions were finally allowed to pour into the country. In 1994, the U.S. dropped all trade embargos and in 1995 we finally embraced full diplomatic relations with Vietnam. When Vietnam finally joined the WTO in 1997, it proved it could carry out huge development strides in a very short amount of time. In terms of American sentiments (despite Vietnam War or “American War” as it is called here), two factors contribute to very cordial relations: 1) most of the population is under 30 yrs old and didn’t experience the war and 2) most harbor a strong vision for the future and progress rather than resentment. Vice Carpenter, a Regional Security Officer, also explained the main security threats are not capital crimes (like murder) but traffic accidents and snatch-and-grabs. According to Vice, there are 8.5 million people in Ho Chi Minh and about 8 million motorcycles to go along. There are not always traffic lights and signs are not always obeyed, so sidewalks are not safe territory. He suggested that we just start walking into the road at a steady pace, because they will tend to drive around you.

Ben Than Market
When we finally got off the ship at 1PM (because of the tides coming up the Mekong Delta), we were shuttled to the center of town to begin our adventures. Getting off the boat was a bit chaotic, because SAS parents were trying to get on while the rest of us were trying to get off. This port/city is the equivalent of a college visiting day, since parents could book trips with SAS to see their kids and spend time traveling with them. It made me a little homesick to see all the happy families, but then I remembered I had my girls… we were in Nam! A large group of Vietnmese woman dressed in ao dai (traditional outfit) and conical hats greeted us with a maroon banner that read: “Semester at Sea, Welcome to Vietnam.” I don’t know where they came from, but they insisted we take pictures with them. The shuttle then dropped us off in front of the iconic Rex Hotel, which sits in the hub of the city, and we headed left toward the major market in town. As we ambled along, we admired the street stores that were filled with paintings, wooden crafts, silk clothing and Vietnamese books. Tiny geckos climbed the walls of the buildings and large trees offered shade from the heat, making the city feel pretty tropical. Street vendors offered a selection of fake purses, engraved lighters, designer sunglasses, tourist t-shirts and the like. Women in Vietnamese conical hats were cooking waffle shaped bread in small, iron pots. The Ben Thanh Market itself was a huge indoor warehouse with distinct sections: groceries, clothing and textiles, purses and bags, ceramics, general ‘CVS’ type things and food stalls. It was a little overwhelming just looking at the place, since the vendors carved out tiny alleys wide enough for one or two people to pass, and their goods reached way up into the sky (or so it seemed for someone as short as me). Everyone called out to us “Hello lady, you look.” It slightly reminded me of that scene in Finding Nemo with the seagulls that chatter “mine, mine” continuously. We found some very interesting things, including dried sea horses and colorful fruits I had never seen before.

Pho and the City
After experience the smells and sights of the market and a few more side streets, we meandered down a slender alley and came upon Pho 24, an inexpensive tourist friendly restaurant that served the one thing I remembered I had to eat: pho. Pho is a noodle based soup that can come with chicken, veggies or beef and is normally served at breakfast. I ordered the pho ga (chicken pho) along with a Tiger beer and settled in for a nice relaxing meal. Brit, Sara, Marg and I sampled all the sauces and vegetable ad-ins that they provided to mix into our pho, but we stayed with the traditional broth because it was delicious just the way it was.

City Tour
With full stomachs, we decided to see the People’s Committee Hall, which is a large ornate building that sits right near Rex hotel and the center of the city. Afterward we passed the City Museum to admire the huge war tankers and aircrafts that stand as a constant reminder of past Vietnamese-American relations.
While taking some action shots of the overwhelming cluster of motorbikes in the streets, it started to downpour. We hoped into the nearest shop to keep dry and low-and-behold it was Bacchus Corner, a wine and spirits store! Fabian, the owner, welcomed us in and insisted we sample some wine over cheese and crackers. While gazing outside, we knew we weren’t going anywhere soon and obliged. Once it cleared up, Sara, Marg and I parted ways with the group to walk around the Reunification Palace and Notre Dame Cathedral. The Reunification Palace has a long history within Ho Chi Minh (or formally Saigon). Originally built by the French for Indochina’s Governor-general in Saigon, the palace later changed hands to the Vietnamese Price Minister in 1954. It eventually became home to the South Vietnamese President. When Viet Cong troops entered the city in April 1975, North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the palace gates and a soldier unfurled the Viet Cong flag from an upper balcony. South Vietnamese officials were evacuated by helicopter, and the helicopter is still on display on the 3rd floor heliport. Notre Dame Cathedral was just a short walk across the tree filled park. As it got dark, the Cathedral was beautifully lit and looked impressive towering above all the commotion on the streets. While we made our way back to the ship, colorful lights adorned every restaurants and bars indicating that this city clearly does shut down at night. Before catching the shuttle bus, we found Kem Bach Bam, an outdoor ice cream parlor that sat prominently on the street corner of a busy intersection. I ordered kem long nhan (logan ice cream) because I didn’t know what it was and the fruit “logan” ended up tasting like shit. The ice cream itself was delicious though. FYI: next time order the coffee ice cream. Sara, Marg and I enjoyed the lively city for a bit before making it back to the boat to shower and meet up with the others.

Dinner and Out
Goldie, Falyn, Becca and I headed out for Vietnamese food and drinks. From the center of the city, we walked past the Ben Thanh Market to find a local park where adults were synchronized dancing to the Vietnamese version of “Under the Boardwalk,” while kids everywhere were playing hackie-sack with badminton balls. Around the park, young couples sat closely together on motorbikes watching all the action. It appears that parks are a big gathering spot for every age in Vietnam. On Pham Hgo Lao St, we found Bun Bo Hue, a traditional Hue style Vietnamese place. We split egg-fried rice, bbq pork spring rolls and beef noodle soup. It was delicious including the 5-6 sauces they brought out even if we didn’t know what they were meant for. I washed it down with the “safe” water, otherwise known as a coconut! Afterward, we found the backpackers district where expats and travelers can find happy hour and where we found Alezoo, a restaurant-bar to our liking. A few mojitos later we were on a mission to go dancing. While walking by Lily’s a few blocks down, Ryan stopped us and told us to join him in a group of fold-up lawn chairs scattered on the side-walk pavement. Ryan, an ex-Canadian and ex-journalist, is a permanent resident in Vietnam teaching English as local schools. He brought over Nikko, a self-designated, Finnish alcoholic who works for a few months as a mechanic until he can afford to booze his way through the rest of the year, and Tim, an Australian who just started teaching English in Vietnam two months ago. They bought us a round of Saigon beer and some quail eggs off a street woman. Ryan, Nikko and Tim were wonderful entertainment as they explained their views on Vietnam and the best places see in Ho Chi Minh. They also introduced us to Juan, a vibrant transvestite, who “stole” Becca away to show her his clothing shop and Halloween outfit for tomorrow. He insisted she try on his shoes, which were 4 inch-high-platform, clear-plastic and glittery stilettos! After a few hours, we thanked them for the beers, parted ways and caught a cab to Acopolpse Now, where TV screens prominently read: “Welcome all Semester at Sea students from US to Acolopse Now!” The place was absolutely overwhelmed with familiar faces and SAS students smushed together on the dance floor.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was seeing Goldie get punched in the arm by a three-year-old boy when she wouldn’t buy tissues from him. My “low” was seeing the slew of Vietnamese prostitutes at Acolopose Now with really, old white men AND seeing tons of people in the city wearing hospital masks to protect themselves from pollution (not going to lie, every time I saw one I wondered whatever happened to that SARS thing?).

Day 62 – Logistical Pre-port

Oct 29th

Logistical Pre-port
After Bob “the Voice” made some suggestive jokes about seeing his wife in Vietnam, they announced the results of the onboard mock election: 74.5% Obama and 24% McCain. While we are all totally excited for the upcoming election, most of us are bummed we don’t get to physically vote or be it is so much more rewarding. Then we turned to more informative news: due to low tides we won’t be able to pull into port until noon! However, the ship docks very close to the center of downtown Ho Chi Minh City, so government regulations require that we take a shuttle bus to and from town. This way cyclo drivers won’t congregate at the port gate. Also, no one can enter or leave the port between the established evening curfew hour until 6:00am. To end, the medical staff shared warnings about the “extra services” with massages you can get in Vietnam. (Molly, Falyn, Brti and I couldn’t contain our laughter, seeing as our Malaysian massage experience went far enough.)

Halloween Dance
Since we will all be off in port for Halloween, we had our own designated “Freak Night” on ship. Becca and I wrapped ourselves completely in toilet paper to be mummies. I was a little scared no one would know who we were or care to approach us (since we covered everything but our eyes), but gradually the paper fell off throughout the night. Once it started to drizzel, I looked more like used toilet paper than an actual mummy. Sara and Christina dressed as the morning after. Goldie and Brit dressed as team America with overstuffed bellies, sweat bands and all. When we got upstairs there was a hilarious collection of outfits, including gypsies, four boys connected as Mt. Rushmore, Anna Nichole, Professor Shoppa (my global studies teacher) and two boys that were trees connected by a hammock. We danced the sober night away and mingled with the various celebrities, creatures and animals that showed up on the deck.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was having another Middle School style dance on the 7th deck. My “low” was watching my mummy costume disintegrate under everyone’s dancing feet.

Day 61 – Singapore

Oct 28th

We spent the day stationed in Singapore to refuel before heading North through the South China Sea. After classes and an intense work out with Sara, I watched ‘the Killing Fields’ for Global Studies. It is a great movie about US journalists who try desperately to find a close Vietnamese friend and journalist, who is stuck in Cambodian labor camps under the Khmer Rouge regime. Definitely worth seeing!

Cultural Pre-port
Some guest lectures and professors filled us in on the ins-and-outs of Vietnam: Vietnam’s political system has been dominated by a 2-million member Communist Party ever since its founding by Ho Chi Minh in 1930. The Party allow for a flexible, nondoctrinaire approach that has allowed for localized corruption and administrative problems. Vietnam is also one of the poorest countries in Asia with an estimated per capita income of less than US$300 per year. Culturally, we were told to keep in mind:

-When receiving, toasting, handing or shaking hands with an elder use both hands.
-Do not sunbathe topless or nude.
-Never transfer food directly from the communal dishes to your mouth.
-Never leave chopsticks standing vertically in your bowl- it resembles the incense burned for the dead.
-Drinking or smoking women are not respected in Viet Nam.
-Frequently using “cam on” (thank you) and “chao” (hi/bye) will win appreciative nods and bright grins.
-Telling Vietnamese you are enjoying single life or life without children can disturb them greatly.

You also rarely see a Vietnamese person wearing shorts, unless s/he is playing tennis. Pants and shirts are the norm for both sexes, although you will still see women wearing the traditional ao dai (trousers with a long, close-fitting tunic that is split to the waist). FYI: these are absolutely beautiful, and make everyone look tall and slender! Vietnamese normally sit by squatting or in a way that looks like they are taking a dump. Cross-walks do not actually exist in Viet Nam, so in order to cross a busy street in Viet Nam all one has to do is step out into the coming traffic…the motos and buses will actually maneuver around you. It is really important that you do not run since they will not be able to gauge your movement and will most likely hit you.

Crew Talent Show
After cultural pre-port, the crew had their very own talent show! Dalfie, our cabin steward, made a valiant effort to dance to the Italian techno song “Numa Numa.” Lazlo, a Napoleon-sized man who stalks the ship to monitor students, told jokes for once! It was the most shocking dichotomy we have ever seen in this notoriously serious man. Through his thick Norwegian accent he joked about life on board. My favorite was hearing about passengers who thought the safe was a microwave.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was trying to figure out if the cabin steward dancing next to Dalfie was a girl or a boy. My “low” was not finding Jack Sparrow at sea.

Day 60 – Strait of Melacca

Oct 27th

Pirates?!
While I spent most of the day catching up on schoolwork, we began our journey through the Straits of Malacca. This narrow, long (500 miles) and shallow strait is used by thousands of ships each year. The ships carry 25% of the world’s oil and 25% of the world’s trade goods. Hence, the Straits also harbor pirates, which current patrolling has reduced but not eliminated. In order to avoid being one of the few dozen attacks that occur in the Straits each year, we speeding through as fast as our little ship moves. To pass the night, a group of us gathered in the Union and watched an amazing documentary called Bombhunters, which documented the current, post-war conditions in Cambodia. Many civilians, who are too poor to find other viable jobs, search out and cut up bombs and ammunitions to sell as scrap metal to Thai steel companies. These people make $0.09/hour dismantling US-dropped bombs that they have no training for, so Cambodia has the highest rate of amputees in the world. While I was unwinding from the move in the dining hall, Dan ran up to me to tell me there were two, jumpsuit-clad crew men on the back deck looking for pirates! I had to check it out for myself. I pestered them with excited questions, but they really didn’t seem at all interested in staying up all night to look for pirates. They had never actually seen a pirate either, so my hopes of finding Jack Sparrow were negligible.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was realizing that pirates do exist (unlike Santa Clause). My “low” was finding out the laundry machines are broken after I just turned in my laundry.

Day 59 – Penang

Oct 26th

Little India
For our last day in Penang, Goldie, Sara, Becca and I decided to head out for lunch and wander the streets to enjoy the beautiful city. We spent a lot of time in Little India watching festivities for Deepvali “The Festival of Lights” pick up. The boisterous area was filled with blaring music, excited locals and overwhelmed street stalls. We retreated from the heat at a traditional Indian restaurant along a side street and enjoyed a spicy rendition of chicken marsala, which came out on a large banana leaf with tumeric potatoes, coconut lentils and a garlic donut. We discovered the practice of folding the leaf toward you to signal you are done and away form you to signal you are done and didn’t like the meal. Fortunately, we didn’t offend anyone. Before heading out to absorb more of the Malaysian-Indian culture, we sipped mango lassi (yogurt drink) and re-applied sunscreen. After an exhausting day, we took the tender back to the Explorer to prepared for classes and share the best stories from our visit with friends.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was realizing you can be in two places at once: India and Malaysia. My “low” was figuring out the only way to watch the Sex In The City movie on my laptop was by gently shaking it.

Day 58 – Kuala Lumpur

Oct 25th

Batu Caves
I got everyone out of bed at 9:30AM by means of the water hose in the shower. After grabbing a quick “American” breakfast of green tea lattes and banana chip muffins at Starbucks, we headed to the Batu Caves, which are about 13km north of the city. We pulled up to this large, expansive square with smaller temples, shops, shrines and restaurants along the borders. Looking over it all, a huge, gold-covered statue stood in front of the entrance of the caves. Since the holiday of Deepvali (called Dewali in India) was approaching, the area was very festive with blaring music, flowers strewn everywhere and people preparing the temples. We climbed the 272 steps to the cave entrance, although it took Sara and I longer than intended since we were asked to stop and take pictures with about 10 different Chinese tourists. Inside the caverns had huge vaulted ceilings with the small, glowing shrines of the Sri Subramaniar Swami Temple buried in the limestone walls. Monkeys gathered on the walls and shrines and climbed on tourists who looked like they had food.

Dhivaya’s Cafe
We retreated from the blistering sun to Dhivaya’s café for some vegetarian Indian, including white rice, dahl stew, cucumbers, other spicy chutneys all on a large green banana leaf. I made the mistake of ordering a durian and seacoconut smoothie. As Goldie said it “Tastes like throw up on ice.” The fruit, which distinctly tastes like garlic, is absolutely disgusting and even banned from certain hotels. Hotel Malaysia had a “No Durian” sign in the lobby for fear of making the place smell. Afterward, we headed back to the KL Central Station courtesy of a cordial Indian lawyer who had seen us getting ripped off by taxi drivers and decided to help. It was a very interesting car ride, seeing as he explained the ethnic tensions among communities, poverty and education system in Malaysia.

Train to Butterworth
Once we got into the station, we grabbed to-go sandwiches and boarded the 8-hour train back to Penang. Just outside our windows, we saw the golden-green paddy fields, swaying coconut trees, canopies of rubber trees and oil palm fronds. Otherwise, we passed the time fooling around and chatting. I did Goldie’s hair in a number of ways for fashion show that she put on for our train compartment. I offered to feed the toddler behind us sugar, but the group didn’t think that was a good idea. So, for about three hours I borrowed Becca’s Lonely Planet guide to Japan and planned a whole, week-long adventure! Eventually, at midnight our train pulled into Butterworth Station and we raced to get a taxi back to the pier, since the last tender left for the ship at 1AM. Fortunately, we met Sandori Clause (driver who looked like Santa!) and he made sure we got back on time! Falyn sat in the front and discussed education with him, while Goldie and I passed out in back seat. All I heard from the conversation was that Santa learned to write by drawing in sand with his finger.

Highs and Lows
My “high: was being driven home by Santa Clause! My “low” was thinking I could handle a Durian smoothie.

Day 57 –Kuala Lumpur

Oct 24th

Kuala Lumpur
KL emerged in 1860s when band of tin prospectors turned the lure of ore into a brawling, noisy boomtown, successively tempered by the rule of sultans, the establishment of British trading posts, a Japanese invasion in WWII and finally unification by UMNO, Malaysia's ruling party. Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is called the ‘Garden City of Lights’ and consists of about 2 million.

Menara KL Tower
We had breakfast just outside our hotel in Chow Kit. Falyn introduced us to a fluffy white dough with bbq pork rinds inside. It was absolutely delicious, although a quite unusual breakfast. We also ordered a round of vegetable fried noodles with scrambled egg and natural mango juice. (Americans have separate breakfast foods, but most Asian countries eat the same things each meal.) After fueling up, we walked to Menara KL Tower, which at 421 meters is the 4th tallest tower in the world, to get a bird’s eye view of the entire city. At the top there were pineapple trash cans, which we thought were a little weird, but then remembered that pineapples mean good luck. There was an excellent view of the Petronas Twin Towers, which are the tallest buildings in the world.

City Tour
Afterward, we found a taxi driver named Ching to take us through the city to the famed Railway Station. Along the way, we saw the Sultan Abdul Samad building, which is an blend of Victorian and Moorish architecture. It was formerly the Secretariat edifice for the British administration, but now houses the Supreme Court. Nearby is the old City Hall and behind the Sultan Abdul Samad building is Masjid Jamek, the most delightful ‘Friday Mosque’. Built in 1907, its onion domes and striped minarets are characteristically Islamic. The temple marks the location where KL founders first set foot in the town and where supplies were housed for the tin mines. Once we got to the station, we discovered a huge, pink fluffy pile of cotton candy (or so we thought), before taking the underpass to KL Central Station. This was the main hub of the train system and was filled with little craft shops and a large, reliable food court.
For lunch, we tried sizzling chicken and mushrooms over noodles along with ‘100 Plus,’ which is a soda that tastes like a watery spirit. Upon further investigation, we discovered that Asian companies don’t use as much corn syrup in products, hence the lighter taste. After our city tour, we headed back to Chow Kit (Chinatown) to walk Jalan Pertaling, which is lined with street shops. Each little shack was filled with fake Rolex, Lacoste shirts, Prada bags and the like. Sara and I sampled the fruit stalls and discovered the most amazing lychee, mango and drangon fruit I have ever had. It was wonderfully ripe and fresh.

Massages?
While Goldie, Sara and Becca headed to nap back at the Dragon Inn, Brit, Falyn, Molly and I decided to indulge in some TLC. We found a reputable reflexology parlor and discovered a special for a 1 ½ hour full body massage along with 30 mins of ear candling all for $20! How could we pass that up? It being my first massage experience ever, I was totally thrown for a loop at how much (and where) they touch you during it. It was actually a little painful when they chop you. I had to pee so bad during it that I made her stop (which was awkward bc she didn’t speak English) so I could run to the bathroom. It was hilarious trying to motion that to her, but she understood. We stumbled out and burst into laugher as Faln shared “I think I just had sex with a girl!” Apparently, the fact that we got boob, stomach and full thigh massages was NOT like a normal massage in America. I was so happy to hear that, seeing I was about to swear off all massages for the rest of my life. (O, and ear candling is when they burn a waxy paper in your ear to suck out all the debris in there. Really strange. Just sounds like a firecracker in your ear the whole time.)

Dinner and Out
After recovering from our experience, we headed to dinner at an outdoor fondue hawker stall on Jalan Sultan. We selected our kabobs of vegetables balls and chicken stripes off the cart and then sat to boil them in the pot in the middle of our table. Each of the chutneys had a distinct chili or spicy flavor. We also split a wonderful plate of our favorite: sweet and sour chicken with vegetable fried rice. Before heading out to Rum Jungle for the night, we enjoyed Stanley Morgan cocktails. (Yes, the cousin of Captain Morgan.) Jalan Pramlee, the beach street where Rum Jungle is on, was a lively area with colorful Christmas lights covering the trees and buildings. There were tons of restaurants and dance halls to visit, but most impress of was the glowing Petronas Twin Towers that shot up starkly above the area. After some dancing, we headed to a more low-key Raggae club back in Chow Kit before bed

Highs and Lows
My “high” was being able to hold back laughter for the entire 2 hours I had that “massage.”

Day 56 – Penang

Oct 23rd

Once we woke up, we gazed out our window to see that we overlooked Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, the only UNECO recognized Chang Dynasty building outside China. It is also referred to as the “Blue Mansion” because of its distinct indigo color. After check out, Sara, Britney and I headed to breakfast at Jaya Restaurant. We savored the most amazing banana masala dosa–a fusion of French crepe and Indian masala doas breakfast-and washed it down with deliciously sweet natural OJ. It was truly the best meal we had in Penang by far. Afterwards we hired Koy Huah Yong to be our driver for the day, since it would be cheaper than getting multiple taxis during the day.

Batik Factory
First, we visited the Penang Batik Factory in the district of Teluk Bahang, which is set against the green jungle of Penang hill. Batik is a process of outlining shapes with wax and then dyeing and boiling the fabric until the desired look is accomplished. The manager gave us a tour of the facilities, which included a number of workers melting wax and painting with bright dyes. Then she took us to the showroom to browse the fabrics and clothing. She even showed Sara 15 ways to tie the same piece of clothe into shirts, skits and dressed. I’m surprised she didn’t make them into pants.

Botanical Gardens
On the short drive to the Botanical Gardens, Koy Huah Yong stopped for us to take pictures of monkeys that were crawling along the jungle trees. Apparently, monkeys in Malaysia are like squirrels in the United States. The Taman Botani or Penang Botanical Gardens is more than 100 years old, but still maintains a clean, organized presence. We passed among cactus, bromeliads, begonias and orchids gardens, before finding the tribe of ‘macaques’ (monkeys) that roam the area looking for tourists with food. Unfortunately for them, we only had cans of lychee, soy bean milk or jasmine tea to cool off with in the shade when the sun got too hot. Somehow during our stroll through the park, we got trapped in a school field trip of Muslim-Malay giggling girls. I think they found my blonde hair funny or something. On the way out of the park, we saw the largest lizard. I offered Brit money if she tackled it, but the size of it was a little intimidating. Before heading back to the taxi, we meandered through some small, shack shops. I was sweltering in my jeans and t-shirt and decided a $2 green cotton dress was an excellent souvenir from Malaysia. Koy Huah, however, looked confounded when I ambled out of the shack in something new.

Coffee & Chocolate
Pre Koy Huah’s suggestion, we headed to the Coffee House for a free coffee and chocolate tasting. We tried coconut, orange, tiramisu and white coffee, as well as lemon and ginger tea. White coffee was their specialty and is known for having twice the caffeine of regular coffee. My favorite was the tiramisu coffee, but better than that was the chocolate tasting. We tried chili, dark, apple-flavored, white, coffee beans, milk, almond-filled, mango covered and durian covered. Durian is a fruit well known for its distinctive garlic flavor. It doesn’t grow many other places than tropical Asian areas. All of them were delicious. Who knew Malaysia was so well known for great coffee and chocolate?

Kek Lok Si Temple
Afterward, Koy Huah took us to Penang Hill to see the Kek Lok Si Temple. Set in the mountain village of Ayer Itam, this temple us the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Along the way, we passed a turtle pound where thousands of turtle stick their necks out waiting for kangkong (green vegetable) sold by street stalls nearby. The temple itself was breathtaking. Being built in three stages, it encompassed Chinese design in the lower part, Thai-Buddhist in the middle and Burmese shapes in the upper section. Each of the temples within the temple complex was intricate and ornate. Even the grand ceilings were covered with colorful beams and statues. Sara, who is taking Asian Art on the ship, explained the intricacies on various points in the temple. For instance, the elongated ear lobes on Buddha indicate a royal heritage. Currently, they are building a house around an enormous Buddha called the Kuan Yin Statue made of pure gold, diamonds and silver coins. Brit, Sara and I also climbed to the top of the pagoda that houses 10,000 buddha images. Each level had a different colorful theme, and the top had a great view of Penang harbor.

Afternoon
After parting with Koy Huah, we ventured around the backpacking distinct and found lunch at the Western Oriental cafe on Lebuh Montri Street. We settled down with jasmine tea, while our Malay style chicken satay simmered on the stove. I couldn’t help but think about chewing on the dead, naked chickens we had seen hanging in market shops earlier in the day. Regardless, we chowed down on ginger chicken, sweet and sour chicken and rice dishes before we were fully satisfied. We continued to wander the streets Georgetown to absorb the culture, while we admired the intricate gold jewelry and fabulous silk shops. At around 6PM, our group gathered at Hotel Malaysia to leave for Kuala Lumpur by motorcoach by way of the 14 km Penang Bridge. Because of traffic, we were literally going over that bridge for an hour. Thankfully, we were well equipped with almonds, Mi-Mi prawn flavored chips, minuman air tubu (sugarcane drink), sesame cookies and dried goji berries. The bus had seats the size of lazy boy recliners, so it was easy to fall asleep for the ride.

Dragon Inn Premier Hotel
By 1AM, we were standing outside the KL City Center. While walking around looking for a hotel, we found an outdoor night-market and streets lined with hawker stalls steaming with food. After finding the Dragon Inn Premier Hotel on Jalan Petailing in Chow Kit (Chinatown), we deliriously made our way up to get rooms. The rooms were quite literally a box around a queen-sized bed with no windows, dressers, closets, etc. We had our own decent looking bathrooms and that was good enough for us. We threw t-shirts over the pillows, so we each had our own “boyfriend” to sleep with for the night. Each pillow had its own background, like Molly’s which was an meat-head and alcoholic.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was taste testing all the chocolate! My “low” was finding a green, arrow sticker that reads “Kiblat” in the same corner of every room in the Dragon Inn. (We still don’t know what it means!)

Day 55 – Penang, Malaysia

Oct 22nd

Tendering
Since there was no diplomatic briefing, we were allowed to start tendering (taking small boats to shore) early in the morning. The weather was rainy and cold, so the waves rocked the little tender boat a great deal. The seasick students had a very hard time enjoying the ‘selamat dating’ (welcome) to Malaysia, but the rest of us found it to be a fun ride in the morning. Armed with our rain jackets and umbrellas Goldie, Falyn and I boarded a motorcoach for our FDP (Faculty Developed Practica) with Professor Scott. We spent the morning visiting the array of ethnicity communities in Malaysia, since Malaysia’s population consists of 60% Malay, 30% Chinese and 10% Indian. Once Malaysia became the largest producer of rubber, tin and palm oil in the 17th century, the British brought in Chinese and Indians as their main source of labor. Many of them stayed and settled permanently, leading to the three distinct groups that thrive there.

Little India
Our tour guide May Tan was an enjoyable Chinese woman who was still beginning to grasp the English language. While at our first stop in Little India, May Tan told Goldie: “We can share umbrella. It’s a double decker.” We continued down Lebuh Pasar to taste the fresh samosas just out of the hot oil, to smell the drifting scent of incense and explore the plentiful fruit shops along the way. There were numerous, wide-open meat shops that proudly displayed dead, stripped chickens and what we think were goats. Although you felt like you were in India again, the narrow streets were swept clean and not overcrowded. It felt much less chaotic. The place of life on the island proved to be much more laid back. Before heading back to the boat, we visited the Hindu Murugan Temple on Lebuh Queen. We were greeted by a man wearing only a highly decorated loin cloth and bindi on his forehead. The temple was elaborately decorated with multi-colored figurines adorning the roof and ceilings.

Chew Jetty
Next we headed to the Chew Jetty Kongsi in the Chinese area of Pulua Pinano. Established in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants from the Fujian Province of China, the area consists of houses, shrines and food stores built along a wooden pier. This area was a little more crowded, but still felt remarkably peaceful seeing as all the houses were over the water and had great views of the passing boats. Two large Chinese shrines occupied the entrance to the jetty. There were many people gathered around lighting candles and incense and stirring large pots of food offerings. We stopped in the make-shift convenience stores to taste a dried-plumb covered sour powder candy. It was gross. Something I grew to know was that Asian love sour-sweets more than Americans.

Fisherman’s Warf
Then we had lunch on Pinang Fisherman Warf, which ironically had a large, white Statue of Liberty prominently outside the restaurant. It was our first traditional Chinese meal. The banquet hall was set up in 80s wedding décor with tacky pink table clothes, fake flowers and a glitter sign that read “Wedding Dinner” on the stage. There was a long buffet line of mixed sea foods, fried rice, glazed pork, chili chicken, bok choy, spring rolls, worm-looking noodles, fritters and soups. It was so difficult to taste test everything, but we certainly tried. For desert we tried the papaya, juicy watermelon, a blue rice pastry with pistachio-sugar glaze, sweet rainbow-colored gelatin, two cake pastries, neon jello and vegetables with crushed nuts. I surprisingly loved the uncooked veggies with nuts the best. While we were digesting, we explored the area to take pictures of the boats and play with horseshoe crabs and prawns that we found in buckets outside.

Kampong Malay community
Lastly, we headed to Project Kelompok on Jalan Bharu were a small Malay communities prospers. During the drive we saw the rice paddy fields and the rolling jungle hills of Penang. Along Jalan Bharu, the wooden houses sat on tall stilts while chickens ran around the yards. Beautiful and unusual flowers ran down the length of the curbs, which were made by half-buried water bottles. A gathering of adorable, small children stared at us in curiosity while we walked around. They were too shy to leave the security of their houses though.

Rest of the Day
Back at pier, I lost Sara to the horrible tendering process and headed out with Bridget to see some of Georgetown. Georgetown is the capital of the island of Penang, which is one of the largest islands in the Strait of Melacca. It was once a hideaway for pirates, but later became a base for the British East India Company (hence the name). We headed in the direction of Gurney Plaza with the intention of meeting Goldie and Falyn, and saw both Fort Cornwalis and the statuesque Clock Tower along the way. Fort Cornwallis marks the original spot where Captain Francis Light landed in 1786, and consists of wonderfully maintained white colonial buildings. It seems like everywhere we go (ie, Cape Town) there always seems to be a Clock Tower to match. When we finally reached the plaza, Goldie and Falyn were no were to be found. (I finally realized how impossible life must have been before the invention of cell phones.) Then we headed back to the pier to regroup before heading out to Jalan Penang for dinner and drinks. We spent the majority of the night at Slippery Senoritas enjoying Wednesday’s ladies night before crashing at Hotel Malaysia across the street. Goldie, Sara, Britney, Falyn, Becca, Molly and I comfortably (although against Hotel policy) fit seven girls in two beds for the night.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was taking five showers in my first night in Malaysia and waking up spooning with Falyn. My “low” was the tendering process that mixed up everyone and made it impossible to meet up. (After that day, we swore not to use it again until we came back from Kuala Lumpur!)

Day 54 – Logistical Pre-port

Oct 21st

Malay Dinner
After a day of classes, reading and planning for Penang, we enjoyed our first traditional Malay meal. We tasted everything, including gado gado salad (bean sprouts + spinach), chicken rending (chicken simmered in coconut + chili), cucur udang (shrimp fritters), freid noodles and vegetables and nasi minyak (pilaf rice). The spicy okra kheema was a little scary because weird white bubbles popped out. Desert was sticky white rice toasted in coconut and coated in honey. It was a wonderful change from the “use.” Brit said it best, “If this is good on the ship, imagine how amazing it will be off the boat!”

Logistical Pre-port
Bob filled us in on the ins and outs of tomorrows departure. The Explorer will not be docking at the pier, but rather we will be “tendering” or taking boat shuttles to land. They go back every half hour, but don’t run after 1AM, so most students are getting hostels for the night. The medical staff explained that there is no malaria or serious HIV problems in Malaysia, but that the biggest threat is heat exhaustion. We need to be extra careful that we pee every four hours. To finish the program, we found out tomorrow is the first ever Founder’s Day since SAS first set sail in NY harbor in 1947. We learned the touching alma mater, which actually gave me the chills.

Soc Midterm
Since Professor Scott likes to do everything out of the norm, we had a performance midterm to share what we learned in class with other students on the ship. It was held right after cultural pre-port, so that a bunch of people just stayed to watch. Scott’s three classes, two on Race and Ethnicity and one on Global Social Movements, collaborated on 10 different skits that covered themes of racism to globalization. I played a white, German woman from Namibia in a dating game show. Despite my suggestive answers that included “eating raw oysters” and “sneaking out into the dunes to go stargazing,” Charlie “the bachelor” chose all of us. Some of my favorite skits, included a white, male 17th century class on colonization and an Asian girl calling herself “yellow” on Sesame Street. Once again we got to hear Tien sing, which made my night. Of course, Professor Scott announced we all did a fabulous job and got “As” on the midterm.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was hearing Tien sing a rendition of Marvin Gay’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” My “low” was trying to plan Malaysia without free internet.

Day 53 – Cultural Pre-port

Oct 20th

Admed Rahimi, the interport student, shared with us the ins and outs of Malaysia. The official language is Bahasa Melayu, but they also speak Chinese, Tamil and English. Malaysian heritage stems from a mix of foreign interests in the area, including Dutch, Chinese, Portuguese and Indian. Accordingly, there is an undeniable tension between groups: Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous Orang Asli ('Original People'). Regardless, a new Malay culture is beginning to emerge. The salem, or the clasping the hands, is the Muslim equivalent of a handshake. Symbols of bad luck are 4444, 444, 44, 4, 9413 and the color black. Signs of good luck are 8888, 888, 88, 8, 168, 668 and red or yellow. A pineapple is a sing of good fortune. He also told us to wear conservative clothing, avoid displays of affection, avoid using your left hand and there are extremely harsh penalties for littering in Kuala Lumpur. Stella, a student who lived there for three years, filled us in one the top 5 things to do and warned us about the mandatory death penalty for drug use. Apparently, a Chinese man was killed when they found drugs in a packet someone had handed him. She also recommended we take a warm layer, since drivers think passengers are perishable and need to be kept refrigerated.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was watching a Bollywood film after cultural pre-port. My “low” was walking into two separate walls while in the midst of the same conversation with Goldie.

Day 52 – On Ship

Oct 19th

I spent the catching up with friends, reading for classes and recouping lost sleep.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was sleeping again. My “low” was wearing a newspaper outfit to lunch to advertise for Professor Scott’s midterm performance, which will be after logistical pre-port.

Day 51 – Chennai, India

Oct 18th

Kapaleeswarar Temple
With the “family” reunited on board, we gathered for a quick breakfast of Cherrios and OJ before disembarking for our last day in India. Amidst the hustle of rickshaw drivers trying to get us to choose them as our driver, Logu emerged as the victor! He spent about 30 mins telling us he would be our driver for the day, and all we could do was consent to make him shut up. First, we endeavored for cultural emergence by visiting the Kapaleeswarar temple in the district of Mylapore. It was a beautiful Hindu temple with multicolored figures adorning all the highly-tiered roofs. We had to remove our shoes before entering, and were not allowed to enter the actual sanctuary because we were non-Hindus. Sara pointed out the mini Shivas that they dress up each day in new outfits and jewelry. A group of people were chanting and walking in circles around them. Even through we weren’t allowed to take pictures, I have become an expert at shooting from the hip and got some great shots. Christina was a little scared I might get arrested or 30 lashings, but I took my chances. Afterward, Logu tried to convince us that the bazaars were not open at 11AM on Saturdays and instead took us to two separate shops (scams) were he had agreements with the owners to bring tourists. None too pleased, we finally convinced him to take us to a bazaar to walk around.

Bazaar and Lunch
For the afternoon we wandered around shops at Spencer’s Bazaar, looking at pashmias, kasmir blankets and Indian trinkets. For lunch, we eat at Sangeetha Veg in the Egmore district. Goldie, Sara and Becca wanted me to order for the table, so I got us a round of banana lassi (yogurt drink) to celebrate our last meal in India. After some debate over what means what (and realizing we didn’t understand any of it), I got us butter nan and paneer (cheese) stuffed nan, along with three dishes: dal fry (yellow lentil stew), chenna masala (chickpea stew) and koftha (?). What made it more difficult was the waiter’s wobbling “yes” that I thought meant “no” the whole time. Once we finally got our meal, we were delighted with the dishes and savored ever last curry-soaked drop.

Back to the Explorer
The ride back to the ship took much longer than expected due to a huge political rally for a fat, jolly man whose face was plastered over every possible street corner in Chennai. We caught up with a bunch of SAS kids, and encouraged our driver to a race with little avail seeing as we moved a few feet every so often. Once back on the ship, we showered and spent the rest of the day chatting about our adventures with friends. Most students had mixed reviews about India, but all in all I felt like it was a great experience.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was watching the current America’s Next Top Model on Marg’s laptop, since her mom sent her a recording of it in a care package. (It was the first time we were excited to see commercials!) My “low” was realizing Pepto really does make your poo black.

Day 50 – Delhi, India

Oct 17th

Humayun’s Tomb
Breakfast at the hotel was the largest buffet I had ever seen. It even had a real honeycomb drinking fresh honey into a dish! It catered to every tourist, including Japanese, American and Indian breakfast options. I noticed that Americans tend to eat really sweet and “breakfast” oriented food, while most other countries just eat “normal” meal foods for breakfast. The Indian masala dosa, which is a flat pancake with various sauces, was a delicious, spicy way to wake up. We couldn’t possible try everything, but we made a valiant effort. After leaving the hotel, we headed to Humayun’s Tomb. Humayun’s widow Queen Haji Begum built it during her rein in the 16th century. It showcases Monghal-era architecture with flat roofs, box-like buildings and detailed arches. The most interesting thing about the site was the barber’s tomb built next door. The Emperor’s built it to show his appreciation that the barber never slit his throat while getting a morning shave.

Qutub Minar
While visiting this UNIESCO world heritage site, a Bollywood set was emerging as stages and screens were being set up among the ruins. The main, Islamic tower, which dates back to the 13th century, rose 72 meter above the palace walls. At the base is the Quwatul-Islam Masjiad, one of the earliest mosques in India. Most notable, however, a cast-iron pillar, which was built in the 5th century, stands completely rust-free in the middle of it all. Legend has it if you can make your arms wrap around it, you can have your wish come true. (Once again, I was asked to have my picture taken with a group of guys. Then one of them wanted a picture of just my smile. Creepy.)

Final Meal
Lunch was prepared at the Sahara Garden banquet hall with buffet style food and a trio of music performers. I decided my favorite Indian food (besides just plain nan) is murg marnhi (a chicken dish). One of the young men danced by hoping each time he started a new move. Nichole and I studied him carefully, so we could practice the head bob and hip motions later. Unbeknownst to us, we would be staring in our own Bollywood film the next day. After eating, Cory and I decided to venture off into the side streets to experience “real” India. I realized along the way that the things I thought were condoms handing in every store window, were actually single use shampoos. (Apparently, marketing companies figured out that poor individuals can only afford to wash their hair occasionally or for special occasions. Thus, they package it smaller.) After wandering along some winding streets for 30 mins, Cory started to worry that his nickname “Coconut Cory” (referring to the time we strolled up 20 mins late to the bus in Rio with coconut drinks in our hands) would be replaced with something worse so we sprinted back. I’m not sure if it was my blonde hair or my Baywatch-like run that distracted the locals, but everyone stopped to stare at us. Luckily, we made it back with 20 mins to spare, but Cory is still stuck with the nickname.

Flight to Chennai
Security at the Indira Gandhi International Airport proved to be harder than imagined as they insisted I get a “security approval” stamp on my travel pillow, even if there was no way to attach a tag to it. For some reason, the stoic security guard didn’t seem to fall for my blonde hair or dimple smile like the others. Regardless, I was forced to turn back to security before I could board. Eventually, I made it on the flight with the other hundred SAS Taj Mahal trips, which were heading back to Chennai on the same plane. We literally almost filled every seat. (FYI: Indigo airlines only serves Pepsi and chicken salad sandwiches.)

Highs and Lows
My “high” was being India’s walking tourist attraction. My “low” was realizing my beautiful light-blue travel pillow is now a dingy brown after traveling through India.

Day 49 – Taj Mahal

Oct 16th

Taj at Sunrise
Once we got up at 5AM, we took off for the Taj Mahal to catch the sunrise. Once again, the streets sellers, who accumulated at every major tourist attraction, mobbed us with calls of “5 for 500 rupes!” and “Hello, Mum!” I was impressed with their resilience and persistence. At points they would go down from 500 rupes for one key chain to 100 rupes for 12! Unfortunately, the best strategy to get them to go away was to ignore them completely and avoid eye contact. Once we stepped into the court yard, the imfamous, white marble Taj rose before us. Built between 1631 and 1653, the Taj represents eternal love, frozen in its white marble and intricate, colorful stone carvings. It was constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beautiful wife, Mumtaz Muhal, who died after the birth of their 14th child.
It took twenty-two years after the first stone was laid to reveal the building. Afterwards, the emperor blinded the architect and cut off the hands of the 20,000 living workers, so another building could never be built. The building was very impressive, especially the marble carvings that covered the inside.

Agra Tour
During the drive back to the hotel, we enjoyed our first real look at Agra. As a “rural” community of three million, poverty and living standards were much worse than Delhi. The streets were dirt and trash strewn. At various points, women filled colorful jugs from community water pumps. The water spigots were metered and only ran for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Unregistered electrical lines tangled in balls on building corners. Women collected and formed cow-dung patties with their hands to dry and use for fires and cremations. Men stood in village centers waiting to find work as masons and painters for the upcoming Festival of Lights or Duwali when many Indians repair or white wash their homes. Traveling through Agra is a safari, since the streets are randomly dotted with cows, monkeys, bulls, pigs, camels, horses, mules, dogs and even elephants advertising home loans walking down the street. An eager crowd formed around a new tractor digging in the road, as they were getting their first look at that type of technology.

Fatehpur Sikri
We traveled 25 miles west of Agra to Fatehpur Sikri, a fortified, sandstone ghost city that was the short-lived capital of Mughal empire between 1571-1585 under Emperor Akbar. The only inhabitants were tiny, green frogs that lived in the murky pounds and channels that filled the courtyard. Legend has it that Emperor Akbar was childless at the time (despite 353 wives!) and met with the Sufi Saint, who prophesied that Akbar would soon have a son and heir. And what would any normal person do when they heard they were having a baby? They build a bigger house! So, Emperor Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri, but after his death a severe drought left the area deserted. The most exciting part of the tour was learning that when King Akbar dropped a white handkerchief, his favorite elephant would crush the lawless peasant placed before it.

U.P. Handicraft Palace
Following a quick lunch back at Holiday Inn, we visited the U.P. Handicraft Palace to have a tutorial on how the Taj Mahl’s white marble carvings are made. We observed the decedents of the Taj’s artisans carve and form stones to fit into mosaics, making tables, figurines and jewelry boxes. Indian white marble is one of the hardest stones in the world, seeing as the Taj resisted extreme heat and sandstorms for 350 years. Semi-precious stones in green, blue, orange and white covered each of the pieces, and are fixed with a secret glue formula that was originally used on the Taj itself. That stuff would make gluing quarters to the floor a whole lot more fun! Unfortunately, its impossible to find for sale.

Agra Fort
Built in 1565 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Agra Fort is a medley of Islamic and Hindu styles of architecture. The fort took 95 years to complete, and consists four miles of sandstone and marble government and military buildings, along with the king’s living quarters. The fort houses Moti Masjid, the “Pearl Mosque” a perfectly proportioned white marble mosque built by Akbar’s grandson, Emperor Shahjahan. While taking pictures on Akbar’s 8-foot high bed, Marissa, Nichole and I were approached by Muslim men telling us our group was at the mosque… and once we got there they tried to get us inside. About ten mins later we realized the men were just trying to convert us and our group was no ware in sight.

Taj at sunset.
As the sun started to go down, we returned to the Taj for some more pictures and exploration of the area. Marissa, Cory and I spent the entire hour thinking up creative ways to take pictures with the Taj in the background. We “picked” it up, jumped “over” it and even “hugged” it. I think we attracted a lot of attention with our shenanigans because a few men asked to take a picture with me. (Or maybe because I’m blonde with dimples.) On the way back to the bus, we decided to pretend we were from different countries to test the street sellers aptitude for foreigners. It turned out that the 3-yr old girl who was following me actually knew enough English, Spanish and Italian to carry on a conversation about money exchange! (Although all she kept saying a Spanish phrase about Pepsi-Cola.)

Nighttime Bazaar
Before heading to the train station, we stopped at a nighttime bazaar for late night shopping. They had a fabulous spread of pashminas shawls, silk bed covers, various teas, wooden Shivas, incense, kasmir rugs and colorful saris. While standing outside, we were swarmed by street sellers offering necklaces, bangles, post cards and bags for sale. Marissa and I decided to see what would happen if we just stood in the middle. The result: a seller moshpit. We eventually retreated to the bus for the ride to the station.

Train and Hotel
After snagging some pistachio biscuits and mooghal dal (fried lentils) from a train station stall, we boarded the “express” train to return to Delhi. Fortunately the train was much nicer than the last with real air conditioning, no “friends” (cockroaches) and clean western bathrooms. They served dinner onboard as well, including roti (bread), palack mushroom (cheese spinah stew), dal sahara (lentil stew), mixed pickle chutney, janeer rice and yogurt. Just in case, I made sure to pop two extra pepto before this one, seeing as the aluminum covering was crusty when it arrived. Once we got to the Delhi station, we took a motorcoach to the InterContinental, while Marissa introduced me to the scary world of techno.

InterContinental
The InterContinental was the most luxurious, wonderful hotel we stayed in. There were complementary newspapers and magazines in the room, a giant fluffy bed and a HUGE flat-screen TV. The hotel even had services for consulting an astrologer, if you so desired. My roomie Valerie and I finally got to connect with the real world via BBC. There was also a happening dance club in the lobby, buts I was exhausted from all the traveling and quickly passed our in my cocoon-like bed. (Hotels are really the only option for going out in India, since clubs and bars are not very popular.)

Highs and Lows
My “high” was finding out I’m the height of a camel’s leg. My “low” was not getting my hands on that Taj superglue.

Day 48 – New Delhi, India

Oct 15th

Traveling
After getting up at 5:45AM, I happily snacked on my pineapple pastry and OJ, while waiting in the Union for my group to gather. We checked all our liquids and batteries in a single bag for the group, since Indian airport security is apparently stricter than the United States. During the 45 min bus ride by motorcoach to the Chennai Airport, we saw the rolling countryside, which was a nice change from the bustle of the city. Security at the airport turned out to be rather lax, although they did segregate women from men, and make women go inside a pink curtain to be searched by a female guard while the men were searched in the open. Marissa and I went to the bathroom to find squatter toilets with no toilet paper or soap. We improvised with napkins, holding our breath and lots of Purel. Afterward we decided to be even more adventurous and try and new food at the snack stall. Marissa insisted we try this green gooey sandwhich, which turned out to be fermented beans and cheese. I could only manage a few bites, since it smelled like dog’s breath. Finally, at around 8AM Indigo flight #6E took off and we were on our way to Delhi!

New Delhi
Two and a half hours later we landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and headed straight for the tour bus. Our guide Kapil greeted us with orange marigold lays. Tim was lucky enough to find a dead caterpillar on his. I creatively turned mine into a flower cap. New Delhi, the capital, is the second largest city in India with 14 million people. The city consists of two parts: Old Delhi, which was the capital of Muslim India between the 12th and 19th century, and New Delhi, which was created by the British to serve as the imperial capital. New Delhi is a spacious and clean city, with extra wide streets and more semblance of organization than any other Indian city. Kapil called Delhi “the greenest capital in the world” because of its meticulous tree control. Delhi is clearly an up-in-coming city with the amount of construction underway. Currently, they are in the process of building the first underground subway system, along with new railways and highways. Our first stop in Delhi was lunch at the Sahara restaurant. Cory, Nichole, Marissa and I excitedly spent the entire 2-hr meal delving into the historical references of every Disney movie ever created to decide its general time period. Our analysis got surprisingly detailed. Aladdin was a big contentious issue, however, since we couldn’t decide where exactly it was located.

Tour of Delhi
After lunch, we toured the government buildings in central Delhi. We passed Rashtrapati (the Indian White House), the Parliament House and the Indian Gate, which commemorates the lives of 90,000 Indian soldiers who died in WWI. Afterwards we saw the largest roundabout in the world (which was six lanes wide) at Connaught Place. Indian driving habits (ie, ignoring road lines and weaving around each other) makes this roundabout ten lanes. Then we passed through the ‘Hollywood’ section of Delhi and saw $150 million dollars homes of India’s billionaires. Apparently, India (and New Delhi in particular) is home to the largest number of billionaires in the world. The weirdest thing was at the end of the street, where we found Mother Teresa’s shack-like home that she stayed in whenever she visited Delhi. Delhi also doesn’t have any advertisements, since a woman once crashed and killed 6 people trying to read a shoe sale sign. Our final stop in Delhi for the day was Raj Ghat, the cremation site of the ‘Father of the Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi. Set amidst large, well-kept stone buildings and pristine gardens we removed our shoes and wandered around Gandhi’s black granite table adorned with flowers and flames. Once Gandhi was cremated on the table, his ashes were spread all over the world.

Train Station
Upon arriving at the New Delhi station, we were greeted by the stares of just about every person there. Swarms of homeless and poor children ran up to us and asked for food. Everyone seemed to be un-phased by the cockroaches and large rats that roamed the trash heaps and rail tracks. When we first saw our compartments, we were happy to see glass windows (others didn’t have them) and “air conditioning” or fans fixed to the ceilings. We also had a family of friends (ie, cockroaches) scaling the walls for the entire trip. Despite my best effort to avoid the bathroom, I had the trill of using another squatter toilet while bugs crawled above my head and the moving tracks passed in the hole below. Afterwards, Lauren and I drowned our sorrows with a half bottle of hand sanitizer. We passed the six hours on the train dozing in and out of sleep, eating mooghal dal (fried lentils) and playing ‘Apples to Apples.’

Holiday Inn
Six hours after our “4-hr” train pulled in to the Agra station, we headed for dinner. It was about midnight, but Kapil made arrangements with the hotel to prepare a special, authentic meal. After a quick, useless shower, we passed out to catch as much sleep as possible before our 5AM wake up call.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was seeing my name in Tamil on my train ticket! My “low” was finding out some ghastly gossip from Cory on the train.

Day 47 –Chennai, India

Oct 14th

Diplomatic briefing
Lawrence Lane from the US Consult spoke about the cultural differences in India. He discussed the huge IT business developing in Chennai and Mumbai, and the positive US-India relations that encourage a great number of Indian students to transfer to US universities. He told us not to go to the wine shops since they “are not for us” and since the drinking age is 25. It is normal for men to hold hands as a sign of friendship, he explained. There are no male-female expressions of love in public. Currently, it is the beginning of Duwali the ‘Festival of Lights’ so there was a possibility of seeing fireworks in the streets at night. Lawrence also highly recommended seeing a Bollywood movie, which are three hours long and mostly in Tamil or Hindi, but do have an intermission. He also told us to bring cotton balls, since late night movies tend to be extremely loud.

First Impressions
After getting our “shore pass” (acts as a passport since we were not allowed to take the real one), Christina and I ventured out into Chennai, the 3rd largest metropolis in India. The ship docked in a warehouse area with no terminal buildings or real amenities available close to the ship. We strolled along the port road (on which a previous SAS girl had died bc she didn’t look left) and soaked in our first sights, sounds (car horns) and smells (urine). Since Chennai lies in an equatorial, tropical region, it was so muggy and hot we were sweating as soon as we stepped off the ship. (This is not to mention that we were fully covered in respect of Hindu/Muslim dress codes.) Along the road, multiple sari-dressed woman used wicker brooms to sweep the street clean of water and debris. Later, I found out that they were part of the Untouchable or Dalit (lowest) caste and were paid monthly in food for clearing the streets. Once we reached the port entrance, we boarded an auto rickshaw headed for the city. For 30 mins, we weaved in and around other motorcycles, rickshaws, trucks and cars. There are clearly no rules to driving! Street lines don’t really seem to matter as two lane roads easily became six vehicles across. Regardless, sari-clad women leisurely perched on back of motorcycles without even holding on!

Tour of Chennai
We first traveled down Kamarajar Road, which runs down the length of Marina beach, to witness the still-present devastation of the 2004 tsunami and the new construction of an elegant white-stone sidewalk. The sandy beach was covered with wooden boats, food stalls and entertainers. Then we passed by Fort St. George, which was built in 1653 by the East India Company, and stands as a prime example of past colonial claims to the area. Among the prominent, white buildings were the Old Government House and Rajaji Hall, which served as a banquet hall for officials back in the day. While driving further into the heart of the city, the Indian Prime Minister passed on our right in a long procession of police and military guards. While we had asked our driver to take us to some market street called “Chadernash,” he took us to some upscale Indian boutique. Unfortunately, we would be dealing with this scam two or three times every rickshaw drive. The owners give rickshaw drivers gasoline or food credits for each customer they bring to the store. Eventually, we learned the best way to avoid it was to threaten not to pay them if they take you anywhere else then where you ask.

Spencer’s Bazaar
After two more scam shops, we finally got him to take us to Spencer’s Bazaar, which turned out to be an in-door mall filled with cheap trinkets, saris and the like. At New Kashmir Arts & Crafts we scored the best “SAS student” deals ($2) on authentic Pashmina shawls! Apparently, every store in town knew we were coming and made up “deals” for the students. While Christina tried on krutas in one store, I waited near the dressing room to offer my best advice. To my bewilderment, the security guard saw me waiting from across the store and brought his stool over for me to sit. From then on, I realized that almost everyone treated us respectfully. Some SAS ladies felt Indian men ignored them and only addressed the men in their group, but for the most part I never really had to open a door for myself. I felt everyone was welcoming, engaging and friendly. At every store we walked into, store owners pressed us with questions about our ship and our studies. A little while later we left Spencer’s to walk the streets and get a feel for the area. Everywhere was crowded with people, car horns and smells of spices and urine. Beggars, who seemed to be everywhere, employed the ubiquitous calls for baksheesh (means charitable giving or political corruption). If you do give, you are supposed to be discrete because it could start a stampede in the area! I also learned never to touch the head of anyone, especially children, since it is considered the “seat of the soul.” Along our walk, we ran into Muthu, who had been driving SAS kids around for 20 years. He offered to be our guide for the day and take us wherever we wanted to go. After some consideration and noticing that his rickshaw was completely pimped out with huge speakers, British stickers on the wheel and a hot pink interior, we obliged. Savanah joined us before we headed to lunch at Hotel Saravana Bhavan, a chain of vegetarian cuisine. (Apparently, “hotel” is synonymous with “restaurant.”)

Lunch and Sites
Following two Peptos, Christina, Savanah and I swabbed our garlic nan with dahl butter fry (lentil stew), paneer tikka masala (fried cheese stew), masal dosa (bread with various chutneys), and a drink of lassi (the unlaced kind)—everything Muthu had recommended. To finish the meal we tasted licorice fennel seeds and sugar cubes. Then Muthu began his tour of Chennai, starting with the US Consult that has a daily 12-hr line. Next he took us to Hayagrivas silk house on G.N. Chetty Road. Muthu felt it was particularly notable, since Queen Elizabeth had shopped there in 1992. Based on the fact that newspaper pictures of her adorned every wall in the shop, it was hard not to know this. Christina was in absolute heaven and claimed, “She could cry because the fabric was so beautiful.” Afterward, Muthu dropped us off at Habitat on Khader Nawaz Khan Road near the Taj Coromandel Hotel, where we were met by two highly enthusiastic shop keepers that were more thrilled to talk to us than show us around the shop. They had the most existite, hand-carved seats, doors and chests. I loved the lanterns and figurines. Mudasir insisted that I sit with him while he had a woman bring out spicy tea (the herb mix was made at home). We chatted about India, the caste system, education system, growing IT businesses and, of course, Semester at Sea. He showed me different types of weaving stitches and how things were made by the rural families they employed. Some small 4 x 3 rungs can take as long as 8 months to make! Of course, he insisted that I didn’t have to buy anything, but I did feel guilty taking up so much of his time. After parting with Mudasir’s email, we headed to St. George’s Cathedral, which built by the Consulate in 1947 and is now the headquarters of the Church of South India. In has a 130 feet spire with a light, airy interior and walls covered in tombs. Having enough spiritual alignment for the day, we decided it was time to break SAS policy. So, Muthu took us to the backroads and let us drive the rickshaw. It was scary as fuck weaving around other bikes, but those things only really go about 30 mph. Muthu was there to make sure we didn’t die. In celebration of our new talent as rickshaw drivers, Muthu took us to snake charmer. We watched as the cobra bobbed to tunes of his wooden pipe. Then the snake charmer opened a bag with a mongoose in it and asked if we would pay him to see them fight. Not feeling like animal cruelty advocates, we declined and headed back to the rickshaw. For the last stop, Muthu and the rest of us went to Mocha for a mango and red bull hookah accompanied with delicious masal chai. Ironically, since India has outlawed all public smoking, we lounged outside amongst “no smoking signs,” while absorbing the Indian music that droned out the nearby traffic.

Welcome Reception
For dinner, I went to the Old Waterfold Hotel to meet a gregarious collection of Indian students from University of Chennai. From a distance we could hear the catchy sounds of Indian music. At the entrance, woman in colorful saris offered flower-bud necklaces, applyed kum-kum (sandalwood paste) to our foreheads and sprinkled rose water over us in blessing. After we mingled with the students for a bit, we gathered for an arrange of Indian snacks, including medu vadai, uttapam (rice pan cakes), idly (rice and black grams steamed cake), cashewnut pakoda (think batter-fried cashews), coriander chutney, coconut chutney, sambar (spicy stew) and gulam jamun (donut hole in sugary syrup). The meal was delicious, but I felt it lacked enough protein. (Something I would realize about most my meals in India.) Although I’m a huge fan of sugary deserts, the gulam jamun was so sweet I could barely finish it. After dinner, we had henna designs applied to our hands. Unfortunately, then I went out to admire the traditional Indian clothing and jewelry they had arranged and couldn’t pick up anything. Thank god I didn’t have to go the bathroom. A little while later, we settled in for Bharata Natyam or a dance art of Tamil Nadu (the southern state we were in). The dancers kept crazy-wide eyes and widly expressive faces the entire time. Although we didn’t understand the Tamil singer, her expressions clearly gave away what the scene was about (ie, an angry lover –or so I thought). During the performance, I meet the most adorable, bubbly freshman named Radha. She was so talkative and told me all about her favorite festivals (Duwali which is coming up) and her favorite chocolate tea that I just “have to try.” At the end of the night, she gave me a huge hug and told me to contact her whenever I was in India again.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was getting to snag a half-empty henna tube for the bus ride home. (I ended up covered in my own creations!) My “low” was realizing Muthu was a total creeper. (Poor Savanah.)

Day 46- Logistical Pre-port

Oct 13th

Logistical Pre-port
After a traditional Indian dinner including such things like cucumber and tomato raita (yogurt), aloo goti (potatoes), dhal (lentils) and tandori chicken, we headed to the Union for logistical pre-port. After Bob (aka. “The Voice”) shared his rendition of Robert Frost’s “The Road Less Traveled,” we delved into the security and disembarkment details for Chennai. In India, we will have a heightened security level (level 2), so both local and ship board security will be checking bags and going body checks more than usual. We were instructed to reframe from using phrases like “You Suck” during the process. Since there has already been 2-3 incidents of students trying to sneak people on the boat, we were also warned that this will be particularly difficult and is a big “no, no.” (Legend has it, last semester SAS found a Vietnamese prostitute in a ceiling compartment of someone’s room. Apparently, the student was on some sort of mission to “save” the girl and bring her back to the US.) We are also not allowed to bring hookahs or stuffed (dead) animals back on the ship. Crime supposedly isn’t that bad in India, but they did say there were incidents of petty crime and laced drinks. Bhang Lassis, commonly dubbed “special lassi,” (a yogurt, iced beverage) can be laced with bhang, a derivative of marijuana. Some travelers have even stuck in bed for several miserable days after drinking it, while others have been robbed while lying in state of delirium. The most serious problem for past SAS voyages, however, has been the fact that students don’t look LEFT when they cross roads. Chennai has the highest number of deaths for any SAS port for this reason. The medical staff also warned us about the cute strays that have rabies and the malaria prone mosquitoes. To finish off the evening, special guest Professor Laki “G” Towari, who studied traditional Indian music for 25 years, sang us a beautiful tune.

Evening Activities
Most students spent the night pouring over Lonely Planet guides, exploring wikitravel.com which was recently added to our list of free “educational” sites or playing cards in the dining halls (like always). After heavily investing Pepto-Bismal from the ship store, a bunch of us headed to the Union with snacks to watch the GLBT’s screening of the comedy “But I’m A Cheerleader.” The movie hilariously depicts the story of a Christian who is sent to Gay Correction facility and finds out she is actually a lesbian. It was the perfect distraction and a great way to taper our excitement for tomorrow.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was having my first “homely” experience by watching season one Gossip Girl episodes. My “low” starting a pink malaria pills regime that will last for about a month until we get back from Vietnam/Cambodia.

Day 45- Cultural Pre-Port

Oct 12th

After a miserable Developmental Econ test in the morning, I recovered from midterms with a long nap. Later, while spreading my pent up energy and cheer all over the ship, I ran into Amog and Prashanth, the two Indian students traveling with SAS from Cape Town to Chennai for the sole purpose of helping us learn about Indian culture. (SAS does this for various ports throughout the trip, but I never had a chance to meet the Brazilian students.) They taught me some basic phrases, like ‘namaste,’ which means ‘hello’ or ‘I honor the divine in you.’ I tried to get them to teach me how to say, “Watch out! There is a giant tiger behind you!” but I couldn’t follow all the words. Even though there are 24 officially recognized languages, the most common languages in India are Hindi 40%, Tamil 6% (most common in Chennai) and English, so they taught me the phrases in a few different forms. Both students had great suggestions on what to see and do in Chennai, like going to see a Bollywood film (4-5 new films come out every week!) or going to a Moca hookah bar for snacks.

Cultural pre-port
During a series of lectures by various ship members, we learned about the various intricacies on Indian culture: When Indians nod their head “yes,” they do so by making a figure eight that looks like a wobbling motion that looks more like “no” to Westerners. Indian culture is marked by cultural pluralism, which preserves the traditions and customs over various overlapping groups. Arranged marriages are highly regarded, and considered a “meeting of minds” rather than a “meeting of hearts.” Education and inquiry are highly encouraged, so questions are normally always welcome. It’s not unusual for Indians to “adopt” travelers and show them their country out of pride. Women may experience places were they are segregated, and they must always dress modesty. (I’m particularly excited to see how “Naked Girl” is going to dress, since most of us have only seen her in hot pants and bandana “tops.”) Toilet paper is not provided in most places, nor are tampons widely available. Food tends to be spicy and causes the infamous “Delhi-belly.” It is highly advised to check bottle seals before drinking because it is customary to reuse cans and bottles. Coconut water is recommended as the safest thing to drink. Most Indians also primarily use right hands for eating, since the left hand is “unclean.” Professor Adhikari recommended that we eat from banana leaf at least once. We also have to be careful of touching chilies while eating and then touching our eyes. There are also various “superstitions,’ like “finding or loosing gold is lucky, while finding or loosing silver is unlucky” and sweeping after the morning is bad luck. You’re only supposed to wash your hair on certain days and we are supposed to step into houses with your right foot. Cultural pre-port ended with the Indian Music Class singing some traditional tunes for everyone’s enjoyment.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was finding out the Chinese stole karate from the Indian’s form of Kalarippayat in 1500BC. (Bastards!) My “low” was loosing a ½ hr of sleep because India wanted its own time zone to itself.

Day 44- Midterms

Oct 11th

After my Global Studies and Psych of Food midterms in the morning, I wrote an eight-page paper for Global Social Movements and studied for Developmental Econ. The cheerfulness that usually buzzes around the ship has been suppressed by the delirious, cranky stares of students milling about. Most students have been getting pretty grumpy with the lack of sleep and hours of studying. Regardless, we are almost to India!

Highs and Low
My “high” was making a top ten list about the smelliest things that come out of the body. (Just email me if you’d like the list, some entries may surprise you.) My “low” was missing bedtime stories and cookies with Dr. “Al” Searle because I was trapped in the dining hall studying.

Day 43- Studying

Oct 10th

I spent most for the day studying for Global Studies and Psych of Food and Culture. Students covered every possible table, chair and desk with notes, books and laptops as they prepared for midterms. It was almost impossible to find a really quiet place to work, so most students are getting used to working with music (via headphones) or to using earplugs to concentrate.

Otherwise, there was an interesting Q&A with the Ship Crew on the TV this afternoon. Apparently, we eat 30 lbs of peanut butter a day. There is no “jail” on the ship, but there are extra crew rooms in which they can lock up students. The ship is always on autopilot except when we pull into ports. We must de-salinate (ie. dump our purified waste) every 3 days while at sea. Almost everything on the ship is recycled because disposing of waste is too cumbersome and expensive. Our cabin stewards even go through our trash to separate cans, plastic, organic waste and paper.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was taking an all-ship picture on the back decks today (yes, we all fit!). My “low” was Captain

Day 42 – Sea Olympics

Oct 9th

Sea Olympics
After a few hours of sleep, I got up at 9:30AM for volleyball, which I unfortunately realized would be an all-morning event. We won the first two games and pathetically lost the third. We were supposed to play every sea (10 games), but the student-run system quickly fell apart. I spend the rest of the morning watching the relay (we got 1st), pictionary (3rd), the spelling bee, tug-o-war (1st) and the work-out relay before lunch. To everyone’s delight, it was the ever-glorious taco day! Yum. The afternoon events included paper boat float, a hula hoop contest, dodgeball, a hot dog eating contest, twister, jeaopardy (the only thing the “Faculty Sea” won), a pizza making contest, the human knot, flip cup (with water), limbo, a M&M pie eating contest, sudoku and a synchronized swimming contest (that was not in the pool but the Union of all places?). I didn’t see most of them because of waning interest and my overwhelming desire to take a nap. Mid-nap, I was tackled by Danny and Ryan, who were locked out of their rooms and decided to take a nap as well. After a group picture of the Arabian Sea, we all headed to dinner before closing ceremonies in the Union. At the ceremonies we found out—to our surprise—we placed third! The Yellow Sea came in first and the Baring Sea came in second. Yet, as the iconic Ricky Bobby once said, “If you’re not first, your last.”

G&G Dance
After working in the library with T-bag and Brooks* for a bit, I got dolled up with Christina, Becca and Barbara for the Gods and Goddess Dance on deck seven. We were instructed to come in our best, non-shipboard property (aka. don’t use the sheets as togas). Some students got really dressed up in twisted sheets and fancy jewels, while others just wore post-its that said, “Hi, my name is Zeus.” Regardless, everyone had great, sober fun boogie-ing down to the best rap and hip-hop tunes on Bobby’s i-pod.

*SHOUT OUT: to Brook’s mom, who reads my blog. I would like to apologize if it freaked you out in an earlier post when I took your son to that crack house in South Africa. He had nothing to do with it. ; )

Highs and Lows
My “high” was when Julie and I were the big spoons during nap time. My “low” finding out how widely received my blog actually is.

Day 41 – Mauritius

Oct 8th

The Island
We spent the day docked in Mauritius to refuel the ship. The island’s white sandy beaches were surrounded by crystal-clear, blue water. It looked absolutely beautiful, but I was happy we weren’t getting off, seeing as SAS would overpopulate the small island and the port would be nothing more than a week-long Spring Break.

Day’s Events
In Global Studies, Professor Scott made three boys strip down to their boxers in class as a demonstration of the globalization of American culture. It definitely woke up the 70 students who had completely passed out during Professor Addikutty’s lecture on Ghandi’s world vision. In the afternoon, we had the opening ceremonies for the Sea Olympics. Brit, Becca and I gathered a group of our Arabian Sea comrades in a room for an impromptu dance party as we geared up in black clothes and painted our faces. We practiced our cheer, which was set to the tune of ‘Men in Black’:

“We are the sea in black,
The sea to remember,
We are the sea in black
Arabs till December”

(We disembark in Miami in December, hence we are the Arabian Sea till December.) I wore my bad-ass pleather jacket and shades. We even got Jonah to dress up as Aladdin, our mascot. He wore a small black vest, puffy black sweat-pants and a red fez (flat-topped conical hat worn by men in Muslim countries). The ladies added some extra touches like black eyeliner and black, curly chest hair. He looked awesome and we jammed into the Union as a group with our speakers blaring.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was realizing we have Sea Olympics tomorrow! My “low” was seeing ‘The Predator’ topless.

Day 40 – Sunshine!

Oct 7th

Today, Dan walked into our room and asked, “Have you ever been to Kiawah Island in South Carolina?” “No,” I responded, “Why?” “Well, I hooked up with this blonde girl named Carolyn below a soccer goal there and thought that there was a small chance it was you!” HAHAHahaa… what in the world?

Highs and Lows
My “high” was Dan thinking we made out in 10th grade. My “low” was loosing yet another hour of sleep due to time change.

Day 39 – Madagascar

Oct 6th

Today, we passed the southern coast of Madagascar, which is the 4th largest island in the world. The sea waves mellowed out for now, although it has been rainy the last few days. At least tonight I can sleep without thinking there is a dying horse dangling off the side of the ship (which is what it sounded like and what kept me awake for most of the night last night).

Highs and Lows
My “high” was have delicious gyros for lunch. My “low” was loosing another hour of sleep.

Day 38 – Dance Party

Oct 5th

Dance off
“Arabian sea” (deck four starboard) had a faculty, staff and student dance last night in the Faculty Staff Lounge. Per Britney and Fallen’s request, they served pork dumplings, veggie spring rolls and shrimp skewers! I wish they would serve food like that regularly, but unfortunately we are stuck with our meat, veggies, pasta and potatoes. After chatting with teachers for a bit, everyone hoped on the dance floor for the electric side and various other Bat Mitzvah songs. It was hilarious watching teachers “break it down” on the dance floor with neon lights and disco balls shedding light on the situation.

Highs and Lows
My “high” was having laundry day, since I have to wear bathing suit bottoms tomorrow! My “low” was missing the excruciatingly-awkward, sex scenes in my teacher’s showing of Water to make it in time for dinner. (But not really.)

Day 37 – Whales!

Oct 4th

Whale Watching
During lunch, Marisa, Johnny and I eat outside on deck six to watch whales splashing in the waves next to the ship. Once we got closer to the deck railing, we spotted dolphins swimming below the water’s surface. According to Professor Sobey (the on ship oceanographer), the humpbacks were traveling to the south possibly to Antarctica for feeding. Along the way, they slap the water with their flukes or tail fins, a process called lobtailing, and some jump out of the water, an action called breaching. Later while Goldie and I were sweating away on the ellipticals, we played on impromptu game of “spot the whales mist” as we watched from the gym window. We finished the day watching the Presidential debates via podcast in the Union before I headed to a personal yoga session with Christina and Sara.

Best conversation to date
(Following a discussion about how there are toilet holes and not toilets in India.)
Me: “I really need to invest in those travel facial swipes. They are so handy.”
T-bag: “Yea, so you can wipe down the toilet holes when you get to India.”
Me: “No, so I can wipe the shit off my leg when I miss the hole.”
(I don’t think we stopped laughing for about 10 mins.)

Highs and Lows
My “high” was whale watching outside over lunch. My “low” was hearing the announcement that SAS is instituting a water conservation effort, since we won’t refuel our water supply until Malaysia. (Indian purified water is too expensive bc it is a scarce commodity there.) That means we are going to have to start taking military showers (ie. only a washcloth and sink)!