I know I am behind, life is crazy right now. Lots of school, busy with friends and more. also started emailing Kevin and hopefully us talking will resolve some things and help me heal/ move on. I am not trying to get back together or anything but I hate having negative feels toward people and such.
I have class today. But later I will go to Easter service and then pretty much working a lot tonight on schoolwork.
Love you guys!
casey
Today we pulled in. I had a field lab which ended up being pretty cool and now I am back on the ship early and enjoying a room to myself for a bit before my roomies are back and then I pack tonight for my Safari tomorrow!
A lot of students have parents that are here for the parent trip to SA! So people on my field lab before we got on the bus got greeted by their families at the gate of the ship. I almost started crying because it was so touching to see families crying and hugging and waiting for their loved ones to get off the ship. people had signs and were waving and screaming and more.
It’s been almost 4 months since I saw anyone and with limited communication I miss them a lot. Doesn’t help that families are touring the ship today and I am a bit jealous they get to show their families the ship. but I am still also really glad that my mom is meeting me in Italy in April! So it’s coming up quick (too quick). I don’t even want to think about having to leave my home the MV explorer.
My roommate and a few other friends are on the Safari with me tomorrow and I am so excited to leave tomorrow!
Have a great day everyone!
Love
casey
My thoughts
I CANT BELIEVE I AM GOING TO BE IN AFRICA TODAY! So amazing that I have this opportunity and I am so excited to explore and learn more about SA!
What I hope to learn
More about gender equality in SA. More about the Safari wildlife.
What I am most excited about
The Safari.
What I am most nervous about
Saftey because it has the biggest crime rate in the world.
The Plan So Far
Day 1- Field lab: Visiting the commissioner of gender equality and township tour
Day 2- Safari!
Day 3- SAFARI
Day 4- SAFARI
Day 5- ? TABLE MOUNTAIN? SEA KAYAK TO PENGUINE BEACH?
Day 6- ?
I know it’s a short post but I literally wrote it write before getting off the boat. I know once I get off my view and opinion will be biased since I will have seen things.
Tomorrow I will have my feet on African soil and I have a field lab of which I am meeting the commissioner of gender equality!
Tonight though the whole ship was in the union as we thanked Archbishop for his time and said goodbye. Someone made a video which was well done and made everyone cry because It perfectly summed up his time on the ship. Before this he lead palm Sunday service which was a little crazy because of rough seas and disorganized but we sang some songs and had communion. Archbishop sang with us and blessed our palm crosses (which were made by local churches in Mauritius) and overall we all knew how blessed we were to have this experience.
Tata for now. I am so tired and I know it’ll be a rocky night because the shop is rocking pretty hard. NIGHT!
Oh if I have time I hope to write a pre Africa post tomorrow before getting off the ship. if not I will do it hopefully after the first day.
So were getting close to South Africa and as we get closer I get more and more excited! I have 1 definite plan which is the Safari and another one which is still in the works. My friends and I might go Bungee Jumping because South Africa has the highest Bungee jump in the world (also one of the safest!). When in Rome? We shall see what happens. I guess you’ll have to wait until after South Africa!
My roomie gave me all of her country music! So happy because I had none on my laptop and I miss it so much. It is great for pretty much all occasions, to feel good, to mellow out… ahhh so happy J Getting new music is the best and now I can make a good Africa playlist for traveling!
The other day we had the SEA OLYMPICS! Which is a big tradition on Semester At Sea. The ship is split into 9 seas, about 70-80 people in each sea and they compete against each other in random events. The events started the night before with opening ceremonies. First each teams came out with their banner and showed some team spirit and then after each team demonstrated their team cheer. We were all pretty great and the team spirit for our sea was very high. Obviously since we are the Caribbean sea we are the Pirates of the Caribbean! Since our sea color was black we all wore black, supported face paint and people wore hats and eye patches. Before we left for the opening ceremony we all gathered in our hall and prepared to enter the Union (our large gathering space on the ship). we left and paraded to the union, our RD Kindra played a drum as we walked and we all sang “Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me” as we entered the Union and scared our competition as they were sitting in their seats. We got into our section of the Union and the ceremonies began. All over the union everyone was sitting in their seas and wearing their team colors. There was a little tension (nothing serious) between some seas, especially the Red sea and Mediterranean sea because the Red sea’s color was blue and the Mediterranean sea’s color was red. With this every time the Med sea came up to do something the red sea would yell at them for stealing their color. Of course it was in good fun. Our teams cheer was a mimic of the south African rugby teams cheer. If you have ever seen it it’s cool and has a lot of energy, everyone else did something fairly similar for their cheers. We got 2nd place in both events and #1 over all for the first night!
The next morning we got up early for a team breakfast (which no other team did) and then I went back to bed because events didn’t start until 10:30 and my first event was at noon. So at 11:00 I got up to go and cheer on our team at some events. One of the events was a frozen t-shirt contest of which you had to use your body to defrost a shirt and then each team member had to put it on. It was a close call and our team placed second. They tally up the events by points, first place gets 9 points, second gets 8 and so forth. We did really well in a lot of other events, my event the wet suit relay was cancelled because the seas were too rough so the pool was closed. I had lunch instead and then went to cheer on our team during the standup comic routine. Since the judges were our dean and advisors, most people went up and made fun of the judges but our team got creative. We have two British men in our hall and se we volunteered them to get up to the stage and sat on stools in “hipster” clothing and pipes. Another guy was in back with a drum. The idea was to make it feel like a poetry type reading. The idea was that they were going to tell jokes, mostly really sad jokes and after each one if no one laughed out team would snap our fingers or the guy would play on the drum. It’s kind of hard to explain in text so if you don’t get the picture I’m sorry. It was funny though and it got us first place. After I had the tug-o-war to participate in. My arms are still sore. In the tug of war it has to be 5 girls and 5 guys for each team. We were the 3rd team to go and we beat out or first competitor but lost to our second. We were able to place 3rd overall though so we still got 7 points overall for the event.
After the main events we had the relay race. In the relay there are 17 “stops” that need to be made. Someone with a Ping-Pong on a spoon passes it to the next person once the stop with a challenge is done. For example we started the race with a team member eating 6 saltines and then whistling. Once he whistled the person with the spoon/pingpong speed walked to the next station which was someone who built a house of cards and then once they finished the spoon went to the next spot. This went on for about 2 hours and me and about 10 other people cheered our team on the whole time and moved from station to station. We came in 2nd place and since it was worth double points we got 16 points for it! After we had synchronized swimming in the Union, people just did their routine on the stage because of the pool being closed. After there was the lip singing. Once this was all done the winning teams were announced and we placed 1st. It was a little magical for our whole to to run up to the stage and all cheer and celebrate. We all worked hard and we stayed strong as a team. Although it might seem silly it was a big deal for me then most others. Growing up I never stuck with a sport or got into a specific group, I kind of hung out with a lot of different people. with this I never got a “team” feeling or if I did we were never particularly a big deal. But for once I was part of a strong team with people I knew and was going on an amazing journey with and I was able to experience feeling united with these people.
Other than that it’s been quiet on the ship because there’s a lot of work to do before SA. Desmond tutu talked in my class about religion the other day and maybe I’ll write a post later about that because I took a lot of notes and he had me thinking about a lot of things regarding religion and race. Desmond tutu leaves the ship once we get to SA and then he will be going home with his wife. We all sad he is leaving but were still so grateful for him being here.
Other than that I have been good. I am enjoying classes for the most part and I am caught up on my classwork and all that jazz. Starting to see how much I miss home. Although the ship is definitely very homey for me now, I miss the familiarity of home and freedom. I hate feeling trapped and I am excited to jump into my car and go for a drive or go to the grocery store and know exactly what to expect. But at the same time I also know I am going to miss being on this adventure and having this opportunity when I get home.
Hope you guys are doing well!
Love
Casey
March 11th
On the last day of India I really just enjoyed time walking around the area by the ship. I bought a few souvenirs and then went back to the ship. I know that sounds like a pretty lame last day in India, but I was pretty done with India and was ready for an early time back onto the ship. I only spent a good 4 hours in Cochin before heading back to the ship.
Reflection
I might have spoken a lot about how crazy India was and at times stressful or scary. But I want to make sure I say some of the things I loved. India was not my favorite country but it was a closer 3rd or 4th favorite on the voyage so far. In India one of the best aspects was the people. As much as people might have been scary in some aspects, some of the Indian people I met were the most friendly, curious and funny people I ever met. They were always curious as to where we were from, if we liked Obama (almost all countries we have gone to love Obama and automatically say it if we say USA). In India there was something very mystical being in places that have been occupied for thousands of years and have had religious meaning for thousands of years. In Varanasi although it was insanely crazy I have never in my life been to somewhere so magical for lack of words. So much was going on and all over you could feel the importance of this place and it seemed unreal. I also enjoyed a lot of the food (I DIDN’T GET SICK!!!!!!!!!!), although I had to make sure it wasn’t super spicy it was still yummy. A lot of people came back and either got sick or were sick in India. But I wasn’t one of them woohoo! I also loved the Indian Sari’s all of the women wore, so many colors and styles.
Some things I thought about a lot was that the country might be growing very fast but it very obviously cannot handle the amount of people in the cities now I cannot imagine even more. the quality of life for most of the people I saw was so poor which made me think of some important things. who needs to help them, who is going to help them, what is the government doing right now to help. Another is how happy the people seem even with the lives they lead and the troubles they face. I could go on a lot about things but I am too tired. In some ways people can learn a lot from not only seeing these people but living in their conditions with them for a time. I won’t go into a lot of the bad because I feel as though I got a lot of it out in my posts but I wish India would improve transportation. Also India has a lot of sanitary problems that need help. There was a point where it was so dirty that in Varanasi I stepped and tripped on a dead rat. Thinking about it gives me shivers.
Today I am back on the ship before South Africa. We have 5 days of classes and a study day before we get there. But on the bright side the sea Olympics are coming up. The opening ceremonies are tomorrow night. On our day off from class all of the “seas” which we were split into at the beginning of the voyage compete against each other in random and silly events. I am in the Caribbean sea and our color is black, so we decided we would be the pirates of the Caribbean and that would be our theme. I am participating in tug-o-war and a wet suit race. So I guess I better get my arms ready for the competition.
March 10th
We woke up early so we could see some of the city before we had to be at the airport (2:45pm flight back to our port city). We found someone who would drive us around and show us some sites in the 5 hours we had. We ended up going to the parliament house, two museums dedicated to Gandhi and his wife and largest arch in India. All of which were cool. I really enjoyed the Gandhi museum and I wish we had more time there. The museum is on the spot if which he lived for his last 144 days before he was shot. All over are messages of peace, stories of what he did during his life, movies and in the back of his house there is a monument in the place he was praying before he was killed. It was such a peaceful place and I wish we had more time there to read more about him and take in the place. But by the time we saw these three places we had to head to the airport because it was an hour away and we did not want to risk missing out flight.
We got to the airport about 1.5 hours before takeoff. The Delhi airport is beautiful and was one of the best airports I have ever been through. Once inside there was a huge mall and food court we we did some shopping and eating. Our flight got delayed so we decided to get some drinks before our flight which finally left at around 3:30. Our flight was 4 hours, with a stop in between. I have never been on a flight that stops and you don’t get off so that was kind of cool. Other than that I slept the whole flight other than when we had dinner. Once we got to Cochin we went right to the ship since it was almost 8pm. Me and my roommate pretty much went to bed before 10pm so we could go out and explore more of the area around the ship the next day and not be totally exhausted.
We arrived this morning! It’s 90 outside and sunny. I am off to explore the “Scenic South”, waterfalls, beaches and more. Were here for only 10 hours before we set sail again to South Africa. Hope you guys all have a great day!
Love
Casey
Midterms for me are over! Now I am writing papers and getting ready for Mauritius which we arrive tomorrow. The other night was had the crew talent show, which was really run. For two hours the crew (dining staff, laundry, cooks, housekeeping and more) all got on the stage and sang, danced and more for us. It was so we would donate money to their fund which allows them to travel when were in port and more. The crew really does everything on the ship and makes life easy for us. Many of these people are on the ship for 10 month terms and leave their homes from all over the world. Although a majority of the crew members are from Jamaica, many also come from Europe and the Philippians.
Today I found out that I might be able to get on a safari that previously was full (it’s the cheapest one), a friend of mine wants to get out of it to save money and I would take her place! SO HAPPY! The lady from the office said I will most likely be able to get on! Grandpa helped me with a money boost to let me have this opportunity which I am so thankful for. This Safari is half of the price of the one I was going to struggle to go on (it was like 1,300).
Also mom booked our hotel rooms and transportation for Italy! It’s sad SAS will be ending before I know it. But I also can’t wait to see my friends and family. It’s been about 3 months now and I feel disconnected. World events and things happening with friends happen and I am across the world without internet most of the time. So I miss out on stuff like that. No worries though I am still having an amazing time on the ship J Having 5 days in a row on the ship makes you feel disconnected from the world even more though.
I am watching The Princess Bride as I type my day 4 reflection. As you wish.
March 9th
We woke up at around 5am so we could catch a boat and go down the Ganges for sunrise. Our Tuktuk driver picked us up at 5:30 and by 5:45 we were on the river. There were not a lot of people and it was really peaceful. As the sun came up people came down in waves to bathe in the river. Woman bathes in their sari and men stripped down to nothing. As they bathed they all prayed, sang and said chants. We floated by all of this and through the beauty and amazement, I couldn’t help but feel like I shouldn’t be here. I felt bad for the people trying to worship here with tourists constantly taking pictures or floating by on boats. Although I don’t regret having that opportunity I do feel as though they might have enjoyed their holy river more if people were not viewing them as a tourist attraction.
Our Tuktuk driver had no luck finding us a hotel, so before we tried a few more places he offered to go find a few more while we went back to our hotel and ate breakfast and napped before the day went on. It was nice to have almost 3 hours of downtime because we had been going on and on for so long. After we rested we ate breakfast (French toast) which was soooo good. We used the Wi-Wfi and then met up with our Tuktuk driver (we also called him our guide because he was so good to us). We looked for a few hours with no luck and finally he offered his guest house to us. We had no other choice so we agreed to first look and see it.
The house was newly built and made marble flooring. It was very beautiful, except it had no furniture and was in the middle of nowhere. We looked around and since we had no guy with us and we did not feel very comfortable staying here we started looking into our other options. Since the guest house was a “no” for all of us, there were no hotels because of the festival, and we had to be back to the ship on the 11th, On the 10th we had a flight from Varanasi-Delhi and Delhi to Cochin (our port). But since our layover was 30 minutes between the two flights and we soon found out our Varanasi flight was delayed, we knew our best decision would be to cancel our flight for the 10th ( and get 25% back)and book a new flight for that night. So with help from a really friendly neighbor we booked a flight for that night around 8pm so we would get to Delhi at around 10pm and stay the night in the city. It was not the cheapest option but to feel safe we did it. Also we decided it was our best option because
With the new peace of mind that we had a new plan, we left the guest house and started touring more of Varanasi. We stopped at a building that had a marble carving of India. It was pretty neat but what I remember most is outside there was a man putting on shows with a monkey. Although most people stopped and laughed at this monkey, I felt bad for it, for being commanded to do all of these things and be caged up. The little monkey looked sad. It was hard to look and I paid the man no attention.
After we went back to the Ganges river to walk along the shore for a good hour before we had to go to the airport which was over an hour away. It was bittersweet to be at the Ganges for the last time. It was sad to be leaving such a cultural wonder but at the same time Varanasi had been such a headache hahaha. So we went to the airport and ate dinner at a small restaurant. We enjoyed a nice dinner and caught our short flight to Delhi. We found a cheap hotel in the city and quickly went to bed because we were all so exhausted.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius
This morning we were all woken up at 7am but a large marching band of crew members, marching down the hallway and getting everyone out of bed. We then ate breakfast and went to the 7th deck pool to await King Triton and his friends to begin the ceremony that would transform us “pollywogs” into “shellbacks”! To prove we were worthy of receiving this title we had to A) Shave our head B) get a fishy concoction dumped on our heads. I chose the fishy concoction which smelled horrid. Me and 5 friends of mine stood in the kiddie pool and got drenched in the fishy stuff and then we all got to jump into the pool to wash it off. We leave the pool and kiss the fish (so gross haha) and then King Neptune’s ring J
A good chunk of girls did actually shave their heads. Those brave souls.
Casey
Tomorrow I will be transformed from a Pollywog to a Shellback when we cross the equator!
Tomorrow is Neptune day and so I will keep you all updated as to how that goes. I don’t have class and all day we have Neptune day festivities!
Today was a class day. Also tonight is the crew talent show, so that’ll be fun J
March 8th
I had been tossing and turning all night sleeping on the top tier of the nook. It was a rough night and it got really cold as soon as people started to get off. I was wearing jeans and a tee shirt but I had no blanket so I had my arms for warmth. It was crazy how quick it got freezing cold, and so around 6am I gave up sleeping and sat on the lower tier because moving around and waking up was making me already warmer. When I woke up I had to use the bathroom and oh was that fun. The bathroom is a small room with a sliding door. The “toilet” is a hole in the bottom of the cart which is moving and I could see the tracks. You place your feet on two small pieces of wood and squat. Since people don’t aim well it was very dirty and smelly. There was no sink to wash your hands, but thank goodness I had brought some bath and body works hand sanitizer which smelled beautifully.
At around 8am we wondered when we might be arriving in Varanasi so I asked two men who were in suits in hopes they knew English. They said because the train was delayed we should get to Varanasi in about 5 hours… The train was pretty empty so we all were able to find a place to sit near a window and we all enjoyed a window view of the Indian countryside. I decided after some time looking out the window I wanted to go back to sleep for a bit. Me and 2 other girls all went back to bed for a few hours. Since it was getting warmer it became easier to fall asleep, especially with the small breeze coming from the open windows. When we all woke up we were all starving, but the train had no food cart. We had at this point been on the train for 9 hours and we were getting antsy. With hardly anyone on the train w could see even more of the train we had slept in. We could see mice and rats crawling on the floor, we could see the piles of trash and the dirt everywhere. We enjoyed more time looking out the windows and even though our situation kind of sucked we made the best of it and took pictures, played games and played with some of the kids that came onto the train who were very curious about us. They showed us some Hindu music videos and even though they spoke hardly any English we sang some songs we all knew.
The girls got off and along the tracks we made a lot of stops in the middle of nowhere for 15-20 minutes at a time. But we were able to get some beautiful pictures and it was beautiful to see the little huts, children playing and the farms. Some people sold us some drinks through the bars of the train and we all got some mango juice. It wasn’t food, but it definitely helped. At around 2:30pm, we arrived in Varanasi, India and was immediately overwhelmed by the mass of thousands of people all around the train station!
We didn’t know this but on the 9th of March is a big Hindu religious holiday. One of the biggest ones ( Including Holi the festival of colors which we missed by one week!!!! It would have been amazing to see! Next time J). With this almost all hotels were booked for leading up to it and there was thousands of people here for it. We got out of the train station in a blur. We were all pretty amazed by the amount of people that could be in one area. We were surrounded by tuktuk drivers when we left the station who wanted to rip us off. But during all of this an older man came up to us and said he would take us to a good restaurant with Wi-Fi. We had a hotel book but we wanted to make sure it was still booked. We had trouble finding it online when we got to the restaurant. But we ate and enjoyed Wi-Fi. After our tuktuk driver (who waited for us the whole time we ate), offered to bring us to the hotel. We got to our hotel and when we tried to check in they told us they were booked and didn’t have a reservation under any of our names.
Thank goodness for our very nice tuktuk driver who took us under his wing after this and made sure we would find a hotel for the night. At first we tried to find one for 2 nights. Him and the boy he was training made it their goal to find us a hotel. It got to the point that the price had to become very little of a priority but just having a place to stay. We tried at least 2o places with no luck, not even including the places our driver called to ask. After a lot of looking we found a place near the Ganges, it was expensive, but at that point we had to suck it up because we were losing time in Varanasi and it was almost sunset. Our hotel was very clean, had a shower (we were so happy to look forward to a shower!!!) and had a rooftop restaurant!
We checked into our hotel and then went right away to do a sunset boat tour of the Ganges. The streets just outside of the Ganges river are not very well cleaned and everywhere there is burning trash and animals roaming around. We got down the river and negotiated a small boat to take the four of us to see the river, the cremations and the ceremony that happens at night on the river which is a series of dances and offerings that are lied out and also some fire rituals. We also passed by some funerals and cremations of bodies that are dipped into the river and then placed inside of a pile of logs to be burned. The ash is then placed into the river. There are some exceptions to people who cannot be cremated on the river, animals, children, monks, pregnant women and those who died from snake bites cannot be cremated and so they are just wrapped and put into the river by their families. So while floating down the river I was pretty nervous because I was not interested in seeing a dead body floating down the Ganges. Luckily I saw none. The ceremony don on the stage on the Ganges went on for about an hour. It’s such a holy place and you could see that in the amount of people here for the festival and the time put into the ceremony.
After our boat tour we walked the streets by the river, we met a Baba. A Baba is a holy man who lives off of nothing and lives on the river. They collect donations for their living expenses but they live off of nothing and don’t even wear clothing. So these naked men covered in ash walk around and they believe they have special powers given to them by gods. One man we met believes Shiva gives him the power to lift 25kg with his penis. Our tuktuk driver brought us to him and he went on to show us in one of the most bizarre things I have ever experienced. After we met a Baba who hasn’t sat in 20 years and sleeps standing. We then walked back to our hotel and on the way we took out money. On the way to get money it was dark and I stepped on and tripped over a dead rat. It sent shivers throughout my body. We ate dinner on our rooftop restaurant at our hotel. The power went out and so we ate by candlelight but it was beautiful because the whole city went dark and we could see very far out and the stars were very visible. After some Wi-Fi use I showered, watched some Indian MTV (which was so addicting to watch because the music videos are so funny and so are the commercials) and went to bed. Three of us shared a queen bed and Amee took the floor mattress.
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. – Anne Frank
Today was a schoolwork day and a “paperwork” day. AKA getting ready for Oswego next semester by getting ready for class registration. Also trying to figure out financial aid and more. Oye how hard it is getting all of this done when you have hardly any internet. I could get more but it’s another 15 dollars for only 30 minutes of internet. I had to use the last of my internet for looking up my Oswego class information.
So here is some questions I have been pondering and I want to hear all of your answers and thoughts because I am trying to see it in many ways!!!
1) How do we define poverty? What makes a person in Poverty?
-We had a discussion on this and I think someone made a good point that unless someone has these basic things (food, clean water, sanitation, roof over their head, sanitation and clothing) a bonus is education. Without the first 6 things it is harder to actually work on education.
2) What causes poverty?
3) What can be done to help those in poverty?
Most of the world lives in Poverty, but so does a lot of the USA.
So what needs to be done in the USA to eliminate poverty.
4) Will poverty always exist no matter what?
- I mean think about the jobs no one wants to do because they don’t make a lot of money or those who don’t care about education.
Even if you don’t want to email me your answer, try and think. Maybe you really don’t care about any of these issues but it is one of the biggest issues we face in America and on a worldly scale.
I just left India but I remembered that I never made a Burma reflection beforehand!
Burma
I went into Burma having not herd about this country until SAS. I came out of it wanting to go back. Although it is a very poverty stricken country and the people are oppressed by their government, the people are overwhelmingly friendly to foreigners and given their circumstances were some of the happiest people I have ever met. Granted, things are getting better there and in 10 years if I went back it will be a different country since in a few years they will have an election and their government will keep changing.
I had an amazing time in Burma and what made it amazing were the people who always wanted to help us and were always so curious as to where we are from. I really liked being able to approach someone and not feel hesitant. I pretty much knew if I asked someone for directions they would be very helpful. Throughout all of the poverty I thought the temples and pagodas were so beautiful, I would be driving through a slum and in the middle of the it would be a tall golden pagoda. I saw a lot in Burma and I feel like I got a good sample of southern Burma, I am so glad our ship had the opportunity to be there, because the past 6 voyages have not been able to go there because it was unsafe.
On the ship we have a wall of which you can leave a sticky note with someone’s name on it and a compliment on the back and as I was walking by I noticed someone left me one! It was so sweet of someone to think of me and they said I was always so friendly and a sunny face in the hallways. It made my day.
I just got out of a seminar on poverty which was amazing, we had a lot of discussion on what causes it, how to make a difference in it and our feelings on it. Now I am studying and blogging on breaks because I have a midterm tomorrow -.-
March 7th
In Delhi we had a bus that was to take us to Agra (Taj), but the bus was at 6:30. So we took a taxi to nearby the bus station (which wasn’t clearly marked) it was also a really sketchy area with a lot of homeless people and people sleeping in hammocks and on the street or in their tuktuks. We decided we should take shelter in a hotel across the street to stay safe for the 1.5 hours. We each paid 2 dollars and our room was sketchy but we were so tired we didn’t care. We used the Wi-Fi and napped for like 30 minutes until our bus. At 6 we checked out and went to where it said to meet our bus.
Our bus never came.
We freaked out for a while and asked others if we were in the right place and they said were. But at 7:15 we gave up and went to a government tourist building which was a rundown building, people sleeping on the floor in their office and questionable fluids dripping from the ceiling (I really think it was from the bathroom because it was really gross). They told us the only way to Agra was by car and hiring a driver because everything leaves before 7am. We were in denial and went to another office who told us the same thing and so we all thought it through. We already had an overnight train booked from Agra to Varanasi the next night, a hotel in Varanasi and flight from Varanasi to Delhi. So if we didn’t go to Agra that day and stayed in Delhi we would have lost about 200 dollars on our transportations and have had to pay for accommodations in Delhi. So we sucked it up and paid the overpriced driver who would take us around. She nice thing was that the driver was ours for the whole day, he spoke English and we had complementary tour guides for each of our destinations (other than a tip we gave them). We got into our car and we talked with the driver for a bit and fell asleep on our way to Agra for a good 3 hours. The car was really nice and had AC (A big deal).
It was nice that he would literally take us anywhere and we had already paid for him. We stopped for food on the way to Agra but that was it. When we got to Agra we all woke up and it was impossible to tell we were a minute away from one of the 7 world wonders. We were in the middle of a very run down and dirty city. We picked up our tour guide and he helped us buy our tickets into the Taj Mahal! When you walk up to the gate of the Taj, you see nothing. The Taj is beautifully hidden inside the city, but once your inside it’s like BOOM a beautiful garden, fountains and the beautiful Taj Mahal. Our tour guide helped us all take pictures and showed us good places to take pictures. It was simply beautiful and we were all in awe. He also gave us some history of the Taj Mahal and some information of about the buildings. The buildings are all very symmetrical and there is a ton of symbolism in everything. The whole Taj is made of marble and based on the time of day glows a different color because marble is translucent. When you get near the Taj there was flowers and beautiful murals made of precious and semi-precious stones all over. The tomb of Mumtaz (the wife of the man who made the Taj) is so beautifully decorated with also many Muslim prayers on the walls which are all made from precious stones. (I’m sorry I cannot think of their holy book). I thought it was so interesting that in such a Hindu country the world wonder of their country is Muslim.
After we saw the Taj for a few hours we then went to a marble factory where the ancestors of those who built the Taj Mahal work and do repairs to the Taj and also make products. After we left Agra and headed to Fatehpur Sikr a world heritage site just outside of Agra. The palace was built by emperor Akbar and 3 buildings are in the palace for his 3 wives (one Muslim, one Christian and one Hindu). The palace is about 400 years old and shows the importance of the unity of the three religions. It was beautifully build and we went just at sunset which was amazing at the top of the hill. At the palace we could see much of the poverty and the people were desperate for any form of money. If you have seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire (which you should because it is really well done), the story about an Indian boy from Mumbai and his life there is a segment on the child beggars. I was really hard to get around without seeing them. Kids who have disabilities or a strong urge for money. They would follow us around and harass us until we gave them money. It was sad and as much as I would have loved to make a donation you really don’t know who is actually getting that money and what situation these kids are actually in. Giving them money might be perpetuating their lifestyle and or the problem.
After we saw the palace we headed to a mall for dinner and then to our train station to wait for our train which we found out when arriving that it was late. The train station was a large platform with hundreds of people everywhere. People on the floor, people standing, EVERYWHERE. We were SO out of place, literally the only white people at the station and we were being watched by everyone in the room. We chose a place to sit and we covered up a bit because we were a bit uncomfortable to be in the middle of a foreign place that obviously was not used to foreigners. We all got in a circle on the floor (which was pretty dirty, but we were tired of standing and we were already had gone 2 days with no shower so who cared). We watched each other’s backs and tried to pass time.
At one point a giant cow came by and stood for a good 5 minutes stiffing my friends hair, we all laughed at the situation and how crazy the situation we were in was. We were sitting in the middle of a sketchy train station, being stared at, waiting for a train, a cow hovering over us, having not showered in 2 days, having little sleep, having trouble getting around. We just were so overwhelmed that all we could do was laugh at how crazy our day was going. Our train got to the station at almost midnight, we had a crazy time finding our cart, but we did find it. Basically it was really scary at first when we got on the train. It smelled, there was people EVERYWHERE, standing, sitting in each other, on the floor, trash everywhere, the beds were metal with a plastic small padded cushion and people in groups on the beds (including the ones we had reserved). We were so exhausted and we were shown to a small area which was out reserved for us. It was supposed to be women only, 3 tiers of beds on each side of the nook. Each bed was taken and we had one bench of seats for 3 people of which us 4 squeezed onto and quickly tried to sleep without freaking out too much about the fact we had no personal space and literally people everywhere staring at us. Oh how I could write a book about the train we went on. Now looking back, you might ask “why didn’t you just get off the train”. 1) We had already dealt with a lot of craziness so we accepted this pretty fast 2) we had gotten on in the middle of nowhere, there was nowhere else to go.
The ticket man came by at around 2am and saw us sleeping sitting up and in a crushed group and asked if we wanted a bed, we obviously said yes. So he kicked the men out of our nook and helped us lock into place the other two tiers of beds in the nook. I slept on the top nook, on my backpack, purse around me and against the wall of the nook. I fell asleep pretty fast. Everyone else did too and we set an alarm for 7am because what was supposed to be our arrival time in Varanasi and oh how was that time wrong……
Today I am in class, watching movies and recovering from India. I am glad I have a lot of time until the next port because India is going to be a long reflection. So much happened, good and bad. Okay, here I go:
March 6th
We arrived in Cochin, India at around 8am. Me and my friends all had different itineraries for India. Before SAS I joined fellow SASers in a Facebook group who all wanted to see the Taj and Varanasi in India so we all bought flight tickets and more as a group. Half of the group kind of branched off and planned everything else by themselves and the other half had no idea what was going on. Me being one of those people. Luckily I was not the only one though and me and 3 other girls were in the same situation. So Amee, Elizabeth and Liz all decided we would travel together, although we didn’t have a bo in our group we were still glad to have 3 other girls to travel with. On the first day in Cochin our flight to Delhi was supposed to leave at 8pm.
Me and Amee decided to travel in Cochin together on the first day since were on the same time crunch. The airport is 1 hour away from the port so we planned on leaving around 5:30 to catch our flight. Our first stop was to get some lunch and some Wi-Fi. As soon as leaving the ship we were bombarded with tuktuk drivers (3 wheeled car thing) trying to get us to use their services for 150 rupees per person (3 dollars) for the full day. On the ship though we were told to just ignore them and go to the ferry because it was 2 rupees to the main area. We got sucked in through and decided it was worth it because the driver will wait for us after our food and would be able to help us out with what is in the area. Driving around it was instantly clear of the poverty in India and of the culture differences. We laughed at first of the hundreds of cows roaming the streets and blocking traffic, but overall they are an actual health and safety hazard. We found a restaurant with internet and first we looked up our flight status and found out it was 3 hours delayed until about 11:30pm. Then we made sure our other reservations were alright. Everything was good. We ate and then our tuktuk driver took us to local Chinese fishing market nets where they try and catch fish with most of the time no luck. After we went shopping and I bought some India cloths and scarves for really cheap (3 outfits for 30 bucks!). we then were bombarded with government shops that the tuktuk driver had us go into, we found out it is because for each tourist they bring to these shops the driver gets money for us just walking in, money for how long we look and a percentage from what we buy. So we ended up going into 3 of these which they all have really nice things but it’s all pretty expensive.
Around 4pm we headed back to the ship so we could shower (god knows when our next shower would be) and eat dinner on the ship to save money. I showered, finished packing and relaxed before dinner. It was already a long day and we had a 3.5 hour flight leaving at 11:30, I knew it was going to be a long next few days. I slept for like 30 minutes, we headed to dinner and then caught a taxi to the airport. The airport is different than any of the ones I have ever been to. Before you can even enter you have to show your ticket and ID to enter into the airport. It was interesting how tightly secure they were, then to enter into the check-in area we had to do the same. We checked in, went through security and waited for our flight with other SASers. On the flght there was hardly anyone so I was able to lay across all of the seats and sleep or a good 2 hours until we pulled into Delhi at around 3:30am.
Day 2 coming soon
I am leaving Asia today and next stop is Mauritius and then SOUTH AFRICA!
I am sad to be leaving India, but also it Is nice to enjoy some down time.
The only way to explain India is that it was one big adventure.
I promise to blog soon but I need to recover, relax and get ready for my last midterms
I have awhile until I am off the ship again so give me some email love J
I love hearing from everyone! J
My thoughts
I am sitting in bed, I have not been outside yet BUT WERE IN INDIA!. I am going to pack and then head through immigration where I am meeting up with this girl Amee who is traveling with me through India! We have an 8pm flight to Delhi and then were staying there and going to Agra tomorrow for the Taj! I am in amazement that I am actually going to be traveling around India for the next 5 days. I am so excited for this adventure and this is the country I was originally most excited about. I know India is probably going to be one of those countries that change me and give me an even bigger perspective on the world, on poverty and the people living in the world. Since this is one of the biggest countries in the world I’m really excited to see it, to experience it and to travel in it. BRING IT ON INDIA!
What I hope to learn
I hope to have my previous thoughts about India challenged. I hope to see things that make me think. I hope to learn more about Hinduism and more about the culture of India. I also learn to learn more about me as a traveler since it’s just me and this other girl traveling together so it will be a new challenge figuring everything out. Especially since people say traveling in India can be pretty hectic.
What I am most excited about
The culture. The food (as long as I don’t get TD L). The people. The Taj! Varanasi!
What I am most nervous about
Getting sick from the food or water. Language barriers.
The Plan So Far
Day 1- Relaxing and then off to the airport
Day 2- TAJ MAHAL
Day 3- AGRA/TRAIN TO VARANASI
Day 4- VARANASI
Day 5- FLIGHT BACK TO COCHIN (WHERE THE SHIP IS)
Day 6- EXPLORE COCHIN
Tonight after our pre-port for India we had the chance to go out and do star gazing. I saw the best view of the night sky I have ever had. I could see the seven sisters, Jupiter and millions of other beautiful twinkling stars as we sailed across the ocean. Right now were on the coast of Sri Lanka and we will be in port at about 8am tomorrow morning and should be able to get off around 10 or 11 am. After this I will post my “pre-India thoughts”.
Feb 28th
We woke up and met up with our group before breakfast, we used some Wi-Fi and then ate. In the morning you couldn’t see the valley because there was cloud everywhere. It was pretty amazing to look down and be above puffy clouds. Breakfast was more like a lunch which had pasta and soup. I had a slice of toast because I can’t eat that early. We all checked out of our rooms and then got ready for a small hike down the mountain to meet up with a truck to bring us down all the way. The whole way down the truck behind us with locals “wooed” as he turned and waved at us. It was cute at first but after the 10th turn it got silly. On the way down we could see cloud sloping off the side of the mountain, it was so beautiful and the pictures we took don’t do it justice. They were really friendly and wished us a great time in Myanmar when we got off the truck at the bottom. We got back on our bus to go to our next stop which was the reclining Buddha statue. It/s the biggest one on the world. The Buddha is shown in 3-5 different poses and this is the least popular but still has a lot of meaning in their culture. The leaning Buddha shows that even as the Buddha was dying he was at peace and happy. The statue is about the size of a football field and takes up a huge building. It is covered in gold and on the back of the Buddha is paintings which tell a story. It is over 1,000 years old and is preserved well by the locals.
After the Buddha we visited a local village which makes pottery. The people welcomed us into their workshop and allowed us to watch them as they made a pot. It took them less than 2 minutes to make a pot the size of a large flower pot. They lay the pots in the sun to dry before putting them in a kilm. It was fun to try and use the wheel they use to make it and we also bought some small sculptures made by the children for a dollar. It was beautiful how many of those things they could make and sell in a day. They make the most pottery in the region. We left with our potter and drove to a local restaurant for lunch. They served us a three course lunch, soup, entrée and dessert (fresh fruit). Then we got back on the bus and headed back to the ship. we had dinner on the ship and watched a movie before bed.
March 1st!
I was up at around 7am and boarded my bus to the orphanage at around 8am. The orphanage was a short drive because it is at a local Buddhist monetary. The orphanage also provides schooling for these kids which would elsewise have no schooling. Schools in Burma cost a lot of money and so usually by age 12 kids drop out. some don’t even make it past their first year of school because of the costs. We were greeted on arrival by some of the kids who directed us to the head mink who provides for the kids. We sat and people asked him questions about the schooling and the kids. There are 50 orphans and 100 school children from the village whose families cannot afford school who come here for an education. We were broken off into groups and the children were split up to play with us. We started off with our names and then we started with some learning games as an icebreaker. One of the girls in our group was no older than 5 and had tears in her eyes. She started crying with fear in her eyes and I couldn’t help but tear up as two other older boys came and walked her out of the room. These boys were no older than 7 or 8 but they were her family. It was sad to think of how hard it might be for a small child like her to feel so confused. I thought of my young cousins and how they are around the same age. What if they had to live like this. I can’t even imagine the maturity the young boys must have to have to grow up like this and act like parents at a young age.
Me and Chelsea played race games with our group of 9 boys. We taught them how to run backwards, how wheelbarrow race (holding the person in front of yours feet) and more. we had a lot of fun and after SAS gave us soccer balls so the kids played soccer (which they loved) and we watched. Lunch came and we helped serve them the food, the children were lined in watched. Lunch came and we helped serve them the food, the children were lined by gender and age for the food. The smallest boys first to their table. They waited until everyone sat and then said a prayer (in a chant) for us and ate. They didn’t leave any food on their plate and had to wash it after outside. We left at noon to get on the ship on time (Myanmar gov,. had us out of the port before 2 because of tides).
Tonight for the hunger banquet I learned a lot about the world poverty level. Here is some things I will be pondering and maybe it will inspire others to think too.
For those who don’t know, the hunger banquet brings about awareness of the unequal distribution of food in the world and how much of the people in the world have to eat every day. The low income people had a plate with a handful of rice, that was their dinner, middle class had some beans and pasta with their handful of rice, high income had a full dinner buffet. We picked a card to determine our fate, I was middle class. The room was split up unequally to show the unequal chance for food in the world.
On a world scale:
Anyone who makes over 12,000 a year is high income
15 percent of the world is high income
35 percent middle income making appx 4,000-12,000 a year
50 percent is low income is less than 4,000 a year and the average salary a year for lower class is 988 a year. 2 dollars a day
People are born into poverty. They don’t chose it.
Poverty is not because the world does not have enough food for everyone it’s because people don’t have the resources for that food.
I wonder:
What should we define as “poverty” in the USA?
I realize some people in the USA make less than 12,000 and it’s a struggle for them because life in the USA is not cheap.
But think of the people who say they have cable TV and a cell phone but say they are “poor”.
There are people who work 16 hour days, walking for miles to their jobs and eat one meal a day, lucky if they have two.
I am not trying to bash anything, rather to just make people think.
As I sit here thinking of all of this, my stomach is growling. Even though I was lucky enough to be middle class, I am still hungry. I am not used to eating so little for dinner. I guess I just feel lucky J
Feb 27th
Up before sunrise, ate breakfast and made our way to our bus to the Golden Rock. There was 28 of us traveling as a group through SAS. The bus ride we were told would take about 5 hours to the base of the rock. So me and Bridget went back to sleep and enjoyed a small nap. About 2 hours into the ride we stopped at a WW2 memorial. The memorial reminded me a lot of a memorial you would see in Washington DC. It was built by a British man and was made to remember those of Burmese decent who died during the war. We spent time taking pictures and walking around. It was a beautiful cemetery that was well kept up, but looked a bit out of place with the structures that surrounded it. A small village was across the street consisting of houses made of wood/mud. People who had been stricken with poverty and a road made of dirt. All of this was right across the way of this green grassed, marble, flowered, memorial. When it comes to the golden, beautifully built pagodas that are surrounded by this too you get this feeling.
We continued our way. Passing by rice patties, farms, people traveling, shops, small villages and pagodas. On the way to golden rock, one could easily spot 100 pagodas because they are such a necessary way of life for the people living here. For every town, it is necessary for them to have a pagoda dedicated to the Buddha. So since there are many towns and villages, there are many pagodas. It’s really cool observing the country through traveling on the bus. I saw people bathing in the river, people selling produce, boats catching fish, children playing and more. The little things one might not see if I had not been looking out my window or had traveled by plane. We arrived at the base of the mountain at around 2 and we had to transfer onto a truck which is the only way up the mountain, unless you do the 10 mile hike up. So the 28 of us squeezed onto the open back of the truck and prepared for our hour drive to the top. The trucked moved pretty fast up the turns of the mountain. At times we all held on for dear life as we made tight and fast turns. We all laughed at the crazy drive up the mountain and took breaths only when the truck had to make stops to let oncoming trucks pass by. At one of the stops we observed two men grinding sugar cane to make sugar cane water. It was cool to see them put it into the juicer and pull it back out and do t until the cane was down to nothing.
We arrived at the top and stood in awe at the view of the valley and mountains around us. We could see our for miles and it was beautiful. There was not a cloud in the sky and the green forest below made for a perfect picture. We then walked to our hotel, checked in and we had an hour to relax before we went to see the rock at sunset. I ended up with a single room because of the uneven amount of people, which I didn’t complain because I haven’t had a room to myself since January. After getting into our room we decided we wanted to walk around the town and see what there was to buy. We stopped at a small family restaurant and got some drinks. Since the water is not drinkable we each got a can of coke and people watched and talked for a good 30 minutes. We went back for a 15 minute nap before heading to the rock. About a quarter mile away from the rock it is required you take your shoes off. We walked barefoot to the rock, which was amazing.
The rock is about the size of a school bus, but it leaning off the cliff without falling off. The Buddhists believe that 3 hairs of the Buddha which is on top of the rock is keeping this rock up. People traveled from very far and basically camp out right outside of the rock and sleep there. This place is a major place within this religion. it was amazing to get to sit on the steps on the side of the rock and observe people near the rock. The closest me and Bridget could get to the rock was maybe 10 feet, woman are not allowed to touch the rock. But we still enjoyed observing people pray, light candles, light incense and families take pictures. We sat at the bottom base for a while and we quickly became an attraction for the locals as they were very curious of us. People asked to take pictures with us and so we got up and for a good 10 minutes, family after family came up and took pictures with us.
After the crowd ended we headed back up the stairs and had a few more pictures taken mostly with kids before watching the sun set behind the rock and heading back to the hotel for dinner. We had a buffet style dinner back at the hotel and also enjoyed the Wi-Fi. My professor who studies religion was on the trip with us and he had written a book on vampires in America. We talked about it for a bit and he told me he spent 6 months with them studying them and learning how they live and more. he told me most of the people claimed to be Christian and they mostly drank blood as a hobby or as something they believed they needed to do to survive. It was kind of cool to sit back and think that I had the opportunity to learn from someone who has done a lot of studies of people and religions. He has traveled to many other countries and has a doctorate on religions and anthropology.
After dinner we all agreed to meet up for drinks at 11 at a nearby hotel. Me and Bridget headed back to the rock, sat on the steps and enjoyed looking out onto the valley. Looking down you could hardly see any lights because of the lack of electricity, the stars were shining bright, people around us chanted and prayed. In the distance we could hear a group praying. We sat and had a small heart to heart and enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere. We sat there for 2 hours enjoying our time at the rock.
At 11pm we joined the others for drinks, we only had a few. But we all talked and laughed. The power went out a few times (power in Myanmar is very unreliable) so we had some great star gazing. We headed to bed at around 1am.
Today we have the day off from class and on our way to India! On the 7th (6th for you guys) I’ll be in India! First stop is the Taj J Last night was a shipboard dance. It was really awkward hahaha. Like middle school flashback. They had the dance broadcasted on the TV system to all the rooms, so we sat and laughed at people dancing and the awkwardness. Now finishing another day of Myanmar before our busy night ahead of us. Desmond tutu is speaking, we have a hunger banquet and an explorer seminar. On top of this I have a midterm tomorrow I am trying to study in-between all of this. Wooo, bring on today J
Everyday we have announcements from the assistant executive dean which he tries to make funny (and is actually really funny), one of the jokes me made today was saying “Hi, my name is malaria, I am so excited for you to get to India, please don’t take your medication because I would love to meet you. See you soon!”. T’was funny.
Feb 26th
Me and Bridget caught a 9am bus into town and arrived at around 10am. We wanted to find the local market, but we ended up lost. So we ended up trying to find out ships tour agent in town. They had a van set up by the down hall where we could go and ask questions about Yangon. So after much walking around we found the van and the guide, he pointed us in the right direction and we found the market! The market had a lot of paintings, jade, ruby’s and more. All over there was all sorts of beautiful fabric that the women use to make their skirts. We bought some wrap around skirts and we wore them for the rest of the day to experience it. We continued shopping for a while and I bought a few things. Bridget found a coconut that was made to look like a monkey.
After some shopping we found a café which we decided to stop at for Wi-Fi, a milkshake and eventually we ordered food. The menu had “western food” so we both got burgers. It was nice to relax in the air conditioning and chat while we enjoyed Facebook, email and more. We left the restaurant at around 12:30 and decided we wanted to go to the zoo because they had elephants and we heard you could ride them. So we got our map and decided to head in that direction. It was nice to take our time to the zoo because walking around the city you see a lot you wouldn’t notice in a taxi. Things like the people on the street selling their baskets of food, the abundance of Christian churches, Muslim mosques, and more. We found the zoo, paid our 2 dollar entrance fee and entered. The zoo, even at first was noticeably different then ones in the US, first of all it was empty, there was hardly anyone at the zoo. Second there was no gift shop or concession stand. The people selling the food and drinks were street venders that were allowed in. All of the animals could be found in Asia. There were monkeys, elephants, tigers, lions and more. First we went and saw the elephants, unfortunately they only allow people to ride them on Sunday and Monday and it was Tuesday. But we were able to feed them which was a lot of fun. We paid about 1 dollar for the basket of what looked like bamboo or something. The elephants knew we had food for them and as we stood getting our camera out they started to take their husks and flowing air at us, then started blowing spit at us. We couldn’t help to laugh at how mean and demanding they were acting. We handed them the food, which they would stuff in their mouth and quickly ask for more, they wouldn’t chew it, they just stored it in their mouth until we had no more left. Other elephants would try and steal it from each other’s mouths. In a way it was worrying because it was an eye opener as of how poorly these animals might be treated.
Next came the monkeys. We were scary close to them. No glass, they were in an open enclosure and a cage. The monkeys that were in the cage were jumping around and were really active. So we went over and started taking videos of them, a baby came up and reached its hand out to touch us but we stayed away because rabies are bad. When I was videotaping a monkey came up at the bottom of the cage and looked at us, I thought it was cute so I decided to put my camera up to its face. As I did this it reached out it’s hand and then attempted to swipe my camera right out of my hand. Had I not had a strap around my wrist I would have lost my camera. After much laughter and shock we continued and saw there were paddle boats you could use for a dollar. So we decided “why not” since in the US it would cost like 5-10 dollars or more! So we got into these paddle boats that were made for 10 year olds and paddled around the pond. We stopped and relaxed for a while and enjoyed people/ animal watching. We enjoyed the shade of the paddle boat and the light breeze which was heavenly in the heat.
After the paddle boats we went to see the tigers, alligators, snakes, hippos and more. But after seeing all of this it was about 4pm and we were pretty tired because it’s an outdoor zoo and it was 105 degrees outside and the sun was pounding on us the whole time. So we decided we wanted to head to the bus and eat dinner on the ship. We had to be up at 5am for the Golden temple trip the next day, so dinner on the ship and an early bedtime was needed. So we walked to the bus which took about 30 minutes and then ate dinner on the ship. We watched the sunset over the water and then we packed, watched a movie and headed to bed early.
India in 2 days. Catching up on sleep, blog and attending classes. Thank goodness for a “study” day tomorrow. We have a ship dance tonight/ party. Talked with a foreign affairs diplomat last night for 2 hours about what she does. Amazing. Life is good.
Love Casey
Feb 25th
Mingalaba!
In Burmese this is a blessed hello. Although our first day in Burma was only about 5-6 hours long, Myanmar was truly an eye opening and amazing experience. Because of the Government, our time we were allowed to dock in Myanmar went from 10am to 4pm. Which means that we were not allowed to even leave the ship until dinner time. People who had field labs and programs were let off the ship first. Some USA diplomats living in Mayanmar came onto the ship and talked to us about the country, getting money, food and more. It was funny when they did Q and A because Desmond Tutu asked a question and it was about the a political issue in Myanmar and the diplomats explained what they knew and told us we shouldn’t bring it up., but then looked at him and said he could probably just do whatever he would like. On our way off of the ship we ran into him and asked if he had been to Myanmar before and he said he hadn’t and said he was going to be having a meeting today with someone he’s been waiting to meet for a long time which turned out to be Aung San Suu Kyi. A Nobel peace prize winner in Myanmar. Look her up! So at around 6:30pm we finally got off of the ship and were allowed to get on a bus. Since our port was literally in the middle of nowhere, we had a 45min to an hour drive into the city. So SAS gave us a bus service to and from the city during certain times. We took our seats on the bus and ventured off into out of the port.
Within minutes we got to see some real Myanmar. We saw the beautiful fields, with gold pagodas shining in the distance, we also got to see the small shacks on the side of the road. The 45 minute ride from the countryside to the city was amazing and eye opening. We saw rice patties, cows, horses, small towns, shops and lots of traveling monks. It reminded me a lot of Guatemala in the poverty and the scenery. I was so overwhelmed with awe that we didn’t have to go far from our ship to see what we had been anticipating to see.
We arrived in the city of Yangon around 7:30 as the sun was setting and our first goal was money exchange. We were told the best exchange rate was at a local hotel. We took a taxi there for less than 3 dollars and exchanged our money. We were lead in the direction of a local eatery. It was authentic Burmese food, which was amazing. I had a curry beef dish with rice and we all shared different appetizers. It was really neat because we had to go up to where they made the food and point at what we wanted and they made it and brought it to us. They didn’t speak a lot of English so we tried out best to get the food we wanted. But we pretty much just went with the flow since we really just wanted Burmese food. It was very good and fresh.
After this we went to see the Shwedagon pagoda in the middle of the city. It is the tallest building and one of the oldest. It is magnificent. Not only because of the religious rituals and practices that go on here but because it’s a great landmark and a lot of thought/detail was put into this thing. We paid our foreigner fee and enjoyed the atmosphere, the candles, the people, the chants and the great weather. In the middle of walking around we were approached by what looked like a monk, he asked where we were from and if we would like to see his monastery. There was 5 of us and we agreed, I mean how cool is it that a monk actually wanted to show us his monastery.
We should have said no thank you. Oh well.
But we followed him, we got to an exit on the other side of the pagoda and he asked us to get our shoes on (when you enter almost any religious site you take your shoes off and walk around barefoot). We didn’t have ours nearby so we asked if it was close enough to walk barefoot, he said yes so we followed him. We were all pretty excited and still in lala land over being in Myanmar and now actually interacting with a monk! We ended up walking across traffic and a good 10 minutes, barefoot to a nearby pagoda where he showed us around, pointed to English and told us to read it and showed us how to pray. In the Buddhist tradition in Myanmar you also find the weekday you were born written over a Buddha which is a certain animal, for me I am the elephant. You pour water over Buddha for the amount of years you’ve been alive +1 or good luck which was cool (I know that it was real because my friends are Buddhists and said this is what they do). We left the pagoda and on our way back is when we were scammed. He asked for a donation. Which 1) we found out after that Buddhists cannot ask for money (which I should have known from my Buddhist studies but it never hit me) and 2) we were fine with because he had been so nice and welcoming. We all pulled out 1,000 Kat (chat). He shook his head and said no. we persisted to try and give him only 1,000 and he said no “5 USD and I’ll bring you back”. As confused tourists we all gave up and gave him 5,000 kat (almost 6 USD). So the “Monk” made almost 30 US dollars from us (25,000 Kat). Which in a country which the average person makes less than 2,000 a day… he made bank.
For the most part we shrugged the event off of our shoulders. It taught us a lesson of trust. It was good in a way this happened because we realized it could have been worse and we need to be more cautious and less trusting even in group and even to figures we would consider to be trustworthy. We left the Pagoda and had one last stop before the ship. We went to the area that my friends mom grew up in. it was near the Chinatown section of the city. It was crazy to get there because it was a very run down area and everywhere there were holes In the street from the sidewalk crumbling (a pretty normal thing we saw overall on the city). She took some pictures and then we walked back to where the bus would bring us back to the ship. Me and Bridget went to bed pretty early since we wanted to make our second day full. Kim was going to “wing it” and travel with our friend Angela for the next few days around Myanmar so she stayed up to plan with her when they would be leaving.
Jesu timbale (Sounds a little like Justin Timberlake and means thank you)
Love
Casey
Today we leave Myanmar (Burma). I am so sad we have to leave, but also getting really anxious for India. Today I did a service visit to a local Orphanage, I am still processing the whole experience. So hopefully by the time I catch up on my countries I will have
Feb 21st
Getting up early the next morning was not an option since we had been out late and many of us wouldn’t have functioned well. But at 9am we all left the ship to get lunch and explore. We had lunch at a food court. The food courts in Singapore are different then ones in the USA. All of the food was from different ethnic groups and the food court is “glorified street food”, it looks nicer and is safer but it’s Singapore’s version of cheap street food. I got some Chinese food, noodles and fried dumplings. It was really good and I tried some of my friends Korean and Malaysian food. After we all shared some watermelon.
Nearby the food court there is a large market. So we went and spent a good 2 hours walking around and enjoying the market. People were selling jewelry, food, clothing and more. I bought a shirt, a dress and postcards. We left and headed back to the ship after so we wouldn’t be fighing others to get on the ship on time. On ship time was 6pm, so since it takes an hour to get back, plus we wanted to use Wi-Fi quick and spend the rest of my Singapore money on snacks so we left the market at 4.
Reflection:
In every country I have been able to feel an “essence” what makes it unique. But for Singapore I had trouble figuring it out. Its so diverse and because of its fastly growing economy it is a very rich country. But I couldn’t find what makes it unique. Overall though I loved its diversity. I loved the nightlife. I really enjoyed how clean and new the city was. I like that it has strict rules because it makes the country more organized and people follow the rules because they don’t want to get fined. Singapore was a great experience but not in my top countries because of the small amount of time we had there and it honestly reminded me a lot of America with its diversity.
