Myanmar !!!!

To be deep and thoughtful for a moment, it is crazy to watch the power of language or no language at all unfold right before you. In all of the ports we have been so far, there have been people who speak English, vendors that take US dollars, and signs with English words. As foreign travelers, we are incredibly lucky to speak English and have this advantage. On the other hand, we don’t need words or any language to interact with people- instead, we only need a small woven ball that Rachel bought in a village to start a pickup game of soccer with some guys outside the airport in Bagan who spoke no English at all.  

Now, back to reality. Another country down and its almost March. Myanmar was special, eyeopening and really hot. We had a slight detour: one of the crew members had a medical emergency so we stopped in the middle of the ocean and waited for a small Burmese ship to pick him up. I obviously watched the whole time from the 7th deck, as they transferred him, the surgeon on board, and one other passenger onto the small ship. He came back two days after and thankfully is doing well. 

Because of the current events and previous civil wars in Myanmar (previously known as Burma) there was some concern about traveling there. I felt really safe the entire time and found the people to be welcoming and positive. 

Anyhoodles, we docked at a port about an hour away from Yangon, so the first day we took the shuttle to the city and walked around. Its hard to explain what Yangon is like- some parts look just like a city you would expect and other parts are really run-down. None of us had service or any clue where we we going, so we ended up having lunch in restaurants with a view of the whole city, along with about 500 other SAS kids. We walked through a few markets and the city center and ended up at the famous Strand Hotel for high tea. We ordered a hamburger and then Myanmar style high tea. We finished the burger in 3 minutes, but the high tea meal took a little longer due to the interesting smelling salads and fruit jelly. 

The next morning we woke up at 5am, met Wah Wah, our amazing tour guide and left for the airport. Shoutout to Emma for making it through another flight on a propeller plane! Bagan is an ancient capital of Myanmar. We saw about 5 incredible and unique pagodas, two with insane gold stupas and solid interiors. We took a horse carriage through the desert, which is literally scattered with pagodas. After lunch and ice cream, we checked into our hotel, which was beautiful. Then, we took a small river boat to another side of Bagan where we explored two villages. The first stop was at a weaver’s hut, where we saw intricately woven bamboo. We ended up playing in the back dirt alley for almost an hour with a bunch of kids that kept running up and joining. The next stop we saw cotton being made by women who work 7 days a week, 8 or 9 hours a day. The colors and weaving were brilliantly done. On the river boat back we watched the sunset right above us. 

The next morning was an early wake up call for hot air ballooning. Wah Wah was so excited to come with us. Hot air ballooning was more graceful and calm than I expected. We were literally floating above Bagan, watching the sun come up and illuminate all the pagodas scattered around. It was honestly one of the most amazing experiences. We landed on a sand bank and our pilot Nick form the UK said that its tradition to have champagne after every balloon flight, so naturally we all had 3 glasses before 8 am. 

After a breakfast buffet and some time to pack up, we left the hotel to see two more temples. We stopped at a market, bought another pair of loose pants for $3 (honestly a life saver for multiple reasons). That afternoon, we went to a monastic school in a very poor village. We met with a monk for a few minutes. He shared with us his intentions in running this school: that students should have a Buddhist and academic education to become competent leaders and capable of making decisions. SAS has visited this school in the past and as a tradition, they always bring donations. We helped pass out new pencils, pens and toothbrushes to the children. The kids were so happy to receive these gifts, they all bowed and thanked us saying “jei zu ba.” 

We got to the airport and found out that our flight was delayed. With no Wifi and very, very limited food options, we started a game of pick up soccer outside on the dirt. We had no way to communicate with the airport workers that started playing with us and they were yelling in Burmese, so we nicknamed them Kobe, Beckham, Tip, and Fountain. We made it back to Yangon and said bye to Wah Wah. 

On our last full day we had a tour of Yangon. Our tour guide was kind of odd and didn’t really speak but saw the Schwedegon Pagoda, the biggest and most famous pagoda in Yangon. We had a great lunch, saw some fossilized teeth in the Yangon National Museum and hit our breaking point. That night we stayed in  an amazing hotel that I found on Wikivoyage and booked over email. Honestly, I was concerned my plan would backfire but it turned out to be an amazing hotel, with a pool and working wifi. I opened my computer and didn’t even know what to do with working wifi. 

We had an early night, a full breakfast buffet the next day and relaxing by the pool. We took a taxi back to the ship and got lost a few times, but made it back with time to spare before on-ship time at 2000. Myanmar was definitely one of the most interesting and different places we have traveled to so far. Yes, some parts of the country and government are really backwards, but the people were so welcoming and the experiences were really eye-opening. 

Next stop: India.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for being a #loyal reader. xx

Good Morning Vietnam

So far, this trip has resulted in the most physical injuries. Thank god I’m taking my malaria pills because my ankles swelled up so much that I had to take my shoes off and waddle around and start antibiotics to stop a staph infection. Zoe fell off her bike, totaling her crying count for the day at 3. The first time she cried was because she was too short to use the bikes so she had to get back on the bus. Also while biking, Fogel got distracted by a dog on a tuk tuk, fell off, and bruised her entire leg and has a cut on her hand. More dysfunctional stories to come later. 

Since we signed up for a field program to Cambodia, in the best been there done that manner, we only had one half day in Vietnam before we left. The first day we went to the Cu Chi tunnels, about a two hour drive away from Ho Chi Minh City. The tour guide gave us these bread rolls on the bus that tasted like challah. I think I had four of them. The tunnels are in a jungle area where meters of long tunnels connect and served as a military safe zone for Cu Chi natives during the Vietnam War. The intricate network took 20 years to build. American troops set up bases on top of the tunnels and didn’t realize until much later on that they were operating on top of fully functioning tunnels. We crawled through the tunnels, stopping to see an underground hospital, boardroom, and kitchen. 

That night we came back to the ship. We had a short dramatic episode when Fogel couldn’t find her passport picture needed for Cambodian visa. Frances (my best friend that works at the reception desk) gave her a passport picture of another girl that looked eerily like Fogel that was just sitting on her desk but then we got that taken away. Last resort was using Caster’s polaroid camera. An hour and a half into the drama, a girl walked by and told us she didn’t have her picture and that they can just get them at the airport. Game over. 

Cambodia wake up time was 4:15 am and we had a quick breakfast before going to the airport. Once we landed, Savy (our tour guide) picked us up from the airport and brought us to the Angor Wat Museum. There was a big room that had 1,000 buddhas. That was cool. We had lunch at a Cambodian restaurant, checked into the hotel (which was SO nice. When Emma approves thats when you know). That afternoon we went to EGBOk, a non-profit organization that takes Cambodian teens from extremely impoverished areas and teaches them hospitality and social life support skills. They set up 5 stations for us: scarf wrapping, spring roll making, bug tasting, lotus peeling, and banana root snacks. Zoe ate snake and a cricket, she said the snake tasted like jerky. Then they made and served us dinner and we had a huge dance party. 

The next morning we woke up, had an amazing breakfast at the hotel buffet and hiked up to a small waterfall. After the hike and stopping at a small temple we had lunch up in a tree house. Next, we made our way to Angkor Wat, the largest religious temple in world. It used to be Hindu but turned to a Buddhist site and can hold up to 20,000 people. We climbed the vertical steps up to the 3rd level and views of the entire compound. Savy promised we could get ice cream, so after a quick ice cream stop we went back to the hotel. Everyone was hanging by the pool for a little, but Julianne and I left and took a tuk tuk into “downtown” Siem Reap. We shopped in the markets and wandered before meeting everyone for dinner and ending up at Pub Street (think New Orleans minus ten notches) with neon pink paint all over our faces. 

The next day, we woke up at 5am to watch the sunrise over Angor Wat. I personally thought it was slightly anticlimactic but I guess it depends who you ask. We went back to the hotel for another amazing breakfast buffet and went to pick up bikes. Let me preface this situation- first, I HATE bike riding, but I decided that SAS is a learning experience and that I was going to suck it up. Zoe couldn’t find a bike that was small enough so she had to get back on the bus and almost started crying. Before the bike ride even begun Julianne and I were already at the back of the group. There was plenty of falling and near death experiences. When one girl quit mid-ride, Zoe got off the bus and took her bike. After biking through some temples, we ended up in the middle of the jungle. The sand was so deep and I actually don’t think I have ever heard so many complaints in my life, and shockingly not many of them were from me. Rachel’s elephant pants ripped in like 12 different places and we saw a little boy peeing at the temple, which is definitely illegal in Cambodia. It was a long morning.

After the bike ride, everyone was so dead and tired we went straight back to the hotel and had a free afternoon. Julianne and I went back into town, had an amazing sandwich and gelato, then got a pedicure and 30 minute massage for 23 dollars total. We went to an interesting/odd dance show for dinner then to the airport. We flew on a small 2x2 propeller plane. Hearing everyone freak out on the plane was a highlight for me. I got a DQ blizzard at the airport so that was another plus. 

Back in Vietnam we made it to the ship by 1 am and were picked up in the morning at 8 am for a Mekong Delta tour. We drove two hours and got on a small motorized river boat. We saw floating markets, people living on their small boats, and the small homes on the side of the river. We got off and saw a rice/coconut factory and tried all these amazing snacks and candy, and of course bought the traditional Vietnamese straw cone hats. We got back on the river, drank from fresh coconuts (AMAZING) and went on a paddle boat down smaller canals of the river. We had a great lunch (a fried fish that still had its eyes) and spring rolls, among other things and came back to the ship. That night we went on a vespa food and drink tour. I think its safe to say that it was the actual best night for all of us. We each had our own vespa driver and a tour guide named Katty who was the coolest person ever. We went to two restaurants and two bars. The vespa part was so much fun- there is no regard for any traffic rules in Vietnam, so we were weaving in and out of traffic. Caster and I did a pass off her beer while on the back of our respective vespas. They dropped us off that night and we were incredibly sad to say goodbye. 

The last day we explored HCMC, going through a big market of tchotchkes, had lunch at Pho 2000 (Bill Clinton’s fav. ) and came back to ship, beyond exhausted but full and tired and happy. 

Fogel, a self proclaimed vegetarian, brought a cliff bar with her in her bag but would never eat it. One afternoon we distracted her, which is pretty easy to do, stole the cliff bar, and hid it from her. The next day when we asked her to look for it and she couldn’t find it and we told her we ate it. later that day we took a picture of the cliff bar behind her head and airdropped it to her. She still has no clue where the cliff bar is and this went on for days. 

Next stop Myanmar! But first, Sea Olympics. Go Red Sea lol. 

Brb Moving to Hong Kong

If you’ve ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, you’ll know that its about a man who wakes up and experiences the same day over and over again. It’s actually ironic that we were in China on actual Groundhog Day, because just like the movie I heard the same thing over and over again. Fogel kept talking about Guilin- if anyone is ever interested in going to the mountains where Avatar was inspired, Fogel is your girl. Rachel kept talking about her true love. Emma was in Super Bowl mode 4 days before. 

China was really different than I expected it to be. We got to the Shanghai port early in the morning and you barely see across the water because of all the smog. The streets seemed really quiet- I expected there to be people everywhere. Our first day in Shanghai we went to a huge market under the museum. We spent a while there and had a great first lunch. The best part of the market was following the ladies into their back rooms and watching them take out huge bins of bags and wallets. That night we went to an amazing dinner overlooking all of Shanghai. Even though it’s really hard to see during the day, once the lights come on at night there’s a beautiful sky line. We went to a bar on the top of a hotel after and got an even better view of the city. It was fun to see SASers out. As Rachel would say, it was an outter body experience. 

We slept on the ship that night. Side note- I thought I would get off the ship and never turn back but trust me the feeling of showering and sleeping in my cabin is the best one ever. The next morning we got up and went to a very cool modern art museum. After a lot of deliberation and a solid 30 minutes of not being able to get a cab, we made it back to the ship with a 10 minute turn around time. We finally made it to the airport and got on a flight to Beijing. Emma and I got McFlurries and they were honestly amazing. 

The next day, our Beijing tour guide Ray picked us up from the hotel. Ray was amazing. He kissed Alana (yes there is another Alana) on the cheek that night when we dropped us at the airport. Ray brought us to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Beijing is a huge city and I wish we had more time to explore, but it was really helpful that we were with a guide who had a ton of information to share with us. The Forbidden city spans miles long and was built for the emperor and his 1000 closest advisors only. The buildings were beautifully built and there is so much history involved with the Forbidden City. However, it was unbearably cold and we ran back to the bus. Our next stop was an great traditional lunch before scaling the Great Wall. Ray ordered for us and the favorite dish of the meal some fried shrimp with sauce. 

I really didn’t know what to expect from the Great Wall, but seeing if from a distance as we were driving up gave me chills. We took a small chairlift up to the top. The view was incredible. The wall was built to keep watch over Mongolians and other invaders. Ray was the best tour guide and photographer and really answered all of our questions. He dropped us back at the airport that night and was sad to say bye. 

After a long flight and really long day we landed in Hong Kong. Many of you might know that I have been obsessed with Hong Kong, so I was most excited to see everything. We started the next day walking from our hotel to “Times Square.” Hong Kong was incredible because one street felt like NYC, the next like the most quintessential Chinese city, with a little bit of San Fransisco. We went to an incredible dim sum lunch and then stumbled into a Chinese medicine shop. Fogel found a girl to translate her and Fogel talked to the woman who then prescribed her some tea to drink, but we never went back to pick it up. But yolo it was for the experience. I dragged everyone to this huge mall to track down incredible frozen yogurt. I’m obsessed with Hong Kong. From the island we went across to Kowloon and walked through more markets there. I got a sweet potato bun from a stand on the street and it was insane. 

That night we went to Yardbird (amazing food- still thinking about the cauliflower and all the yakitori) and went out with a few girls studying abroad in Hong Kong. We went to LKF, a street literally lined with bars and people just standing outside on the street drinking and hanging out. We ended up meeting more SAS people in a club, that according to a local is where all the celebrities go. Still obsessed with Hong Kong. 

The next morning Emma and I went to brunch and I shopped alone before meeting everyone for lunch. In the middle of lunch Fogel went to 711 and got sweet potato mochi. Incredible. We took a cab up to the top of Victoria’s Peak. It was a rough ride for everyone (videos to come on that one), once we made it though the view was pretty incredible. We took the tram down and it was like an optical illusion. The side of the hill is lined with trees and with all the vertical buildings and a steep slope it felt almost like we were falling. After that we took a cab to Soho and met Doug and Adam, two expats who live and work in Hong Kong. I’ve explained this encounter a lot, but Fogel, Rachel and I left making a promise we’re going to live together in Hong Kong one day. We ended the night with an amazing dinner at a place called Ho Lee Fuk. 

The last day in Hong Kong I had a field class for my nutrition class. We went to a tea tasting house in the morning and brewed and tried a few different teas. We had an amazing dim sum lunch, walked through a market where I obviously found ice cream, and practiced tai chi in the middle of a plaza. All these people started talking pictures of us and two little kids stood next to me and tried to follow the tai chi master William while their mom was taking pictures. Its crazy that 20% of my grade was just showing up for the day. 

See ya after Vietnam!