Pusan, South Korea

Well it’s a good thing we are getting out of South Korea today.  We just found out that apparently South Korea is canceling all flights in right now because North Korea has threatened to launch missiles their way. Between that and the pirates, I really do hope I make it home.  South Korea today, pre missile threats, was great! We again, did a bus tour and our tour guide gave us a lot, maybe too much, information on South Korea.  It was interesting but I think she just really liked hearing herself talk and after about the 3^rd hour out of 7, I’m pretty sure I tuned her out.  Buddhism is big in Korea and there are Buddhist statues everywhere.  We visited the most well preserved Buddhist temple in all of Asia today.  It was really interesting to see and learn about the religion and how different it is.  It was set up in one area and had several different temple worship rooms that you could go into.  Each one was beautifully carved and painted on the outside with so much detail and color.  We were able to walk up and into the shrine and see what was inside, but were not allowed to take any pictures once inside the rooms.  We also had to take our shoes off before we could go in.  Inside was an open room with Buddha’s set up on one wall and some lit candles.  They were very simple rooms with the main focus at the elaborate Buddha statues. The stairs to climb up to the temple were very steep.  They were at a 45-degree angle and each one came up to about my knee.  And, although hard to climb up, I will say that the smooth side ramps on the sides of the stairways came in use for us as a great slide down, keeping us entertained for a good 20 minutes as we climbed up the stairs and slid back down, smiling the whole way.  I’m not sure that the Buddhists appreciated our use of their temple as a recreational activity, and they will probably curse us to come back as fleas or something in our after life, but we sure did enjoy ourselves. We also saw the tombs where once powerful Buddhist kings were buried.  It is very similar to that of the pyramid burials only they didn’t intend for anyone to find them.  They were buried with the intentions of having an afterlife and were buried with all of their most prized possessions.  The way they did it in Korea was to be buried in what was made to look like a hill and then they would plant trees around it so that it would just look like any other piece of land.  We learned a lot about Korea today and I was surprised to see that despite my prior inability to recognize the differences between Asian cultures, I am finally realizing that they are all very different. 

 

In regards to my earlier reference about the Pirates.  I was warned prior to coming on this trip to watch out for pirates, and I kind of thought of it as a joke.  We talked to a couple the other day on our ship who were traveling a few months ago on another cruise through the Gulf of Aden and their cruise ship was chased by pirates.  I really didn’t think much of it before but after hearing their stories it kind of made me think more into it.  I’m sure my mom will love hearing this… All that said, be praying for our safety as we continue on our trip. I’m sure we will be fine, but it is a little scary to think about. 

 

To my roommates: I wore the garage sale dress to dinner tonight in honor of all of you!

 

I’m off to China for 4 days so I will give you an update as soon as I return.

Nagasaki, Japan

The first cold weather we have had was today in Nagasaki, it was about 50 and raining.  We took a bus tour that made several stops around the city.  The first was at the sight of the historic Dutch colony that was allowed in Japan as the Dutch East India Company, and also the only Europeans who were allowed to trade with the Japanese at the time. One interesting thing about Nagasaki is that there is a lot of history, but most of it had to be recreated because of the atomic bombing.  The Dutch colony was just a replica of what it looked like back then.  It was really cool to see but also very weird to start off in Japan seeing something so European. Next, we went to the Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum, which was my favorite.  It was incredible. The museum is right outside of location of the hypocenter where the bomb was dropped.  They have a memorial set up there with concentric circles around it to represent the effects of the bomb.  It signifies that the bomb not only affected people nearby but everywhere. Outside of the museum, they have paper cranes everywhere.  Paper cranes are the symbol for peace and happiness in Japan.  There was a story told about a little girl who was 10 when the bomb hit, and she was later diagnosed with leukemia. The hospital where she stayed told her that they would grant her a wish if she made over 1000 paper cranes.  Her wish was to be able to run again and while in the hospital she made all of her paper cranes.  She died before they could grant her wish, but all of the kids in the schools continued making the paper cranes in memory of her and of peace in Japan, and they still share them with the memorial to this day.  Inside the museum were so many remains and stories of people affected by the bomb.  Like so many other things that I have experienced on this trip, I didn’t realize how real it was until I saw it all.  These people’s lives and the city were changed forever after the bombing.  Like I said before, nothing in the city is history because it was all rebuilt after the bomb, there was nothing left. Since the bombing, Japan focuses very much on peace.  Our next stop was the statue of the warrior of peace (which is in the picture), and fountain of peace. They both represent the people who died and who were affected by the bomb.  I think what was made so real to me more than anything else, was how many people were not killed immediately from the bombing but who were affected later.  Our meal today, was a traditional Japanese lunch.  I’m sure it tasted wonderful, however I chose to stick to the only recognizable food on my plate, which was rice.  One food you know that will taste the same everywhere! Don’t worry I got made fun of for not trying it, so all of you who are wishing you could tell me what a mistake I made, it’s been taken care of for you (and let me remind you that I did try crocodile a few blogs back).  Next stop South Korea, I will let you know if the rice tastes the same there too!

Saipan, Mariana Islands

So I officially understand what having your “sea legs” means.  The past 3 days through the Philippine Sea have not let me forget that I am living on a ship.  The constant swaying of the ship does have a few advantages though.  1. You can be drunk and no one will know it…no one can walk straight.  2.  The pool turns into a great wave pool.  3.  My balance is impeccable. I now can run in place on the treadmill while practice my side to side defensive moves at the same time.  Too bad my days of soccer are long gone. 

 

We went a few days ago, to Saipan, which is part of the Mariana Islands.  It is just south of Japan. I knew nothing about it before, but had quite the history lesson while there.  It was actually very interesting and in my opinion the best way to get a history lesson.  The Island was fought over by the Americans and Japanese during World War 2.  We wanted it as a refueling place because it was so close to Japan and the Japanese obviously didn’t want that to be possible for us. We got to see the beaches where the American troops landed and began their fighting.  America took over the island and the Japanese women and children that were left began jumping into the ocean off the cliffs (shown in the picture), which are known today as the suicide cliffs. The Americans tried to stop them, but they were taught that there was no hope left once their husbands were killed and it was better to die than to live under rule of the Americans.  Also, there were stories of the people who were native to the island before Japan and America came over uninvited onto their land.  Some of the native people would hide out in caves for months so that they would not be affected by the war that was happening on their territory.  It was incredible to hear the stories and get to see the sights of these places.  Seeing the cliffs where hundreds of Japanese took their lives and seeing tanks on the beach left by the Americans made my idea of the war so much more real.  The island is now still owned by the US and all of the people who live there are considered US citizens. On a lighter note, we did find a Hard Rock Café, where we got our fix of American burgers and music.  We also found a market that had Oreos and Dr. Pepper.  Although, only 3 days later and our two bags of Oreos are now gone.  I guess Japanese biscuits and fortune cookies will have to hold us through the rest of the trip.   

Papua New Guinea

Well, life on the ship is great so far. I have now seen my fair share of over-aged bikini wearers, which have encouraged me to both wear sunscreen and workout.  The ship has a great workout room that looks off the front of the ship.  I’m sure they appreciate my use of it since I might be the only one who keeps the treadmills actively working past level 2.5.  We played Bingo a few days ago, and I won $75 (and I thought I wasn’t going to be making any money on this trip).  I think I’ll go try my luck at the blackjack tables next.  After 3 nights in a row, the fondue restaurant officially knows us all by name and knows to save their time on the cheese and meat, and skip right to the chocolate part.  Luckily the fondue restaurant is taking a break for about a month.

 

Yesterday, we stopped in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.  It was definitely my favorite place we have been so far.  I will try my best to describe it, but I don’t think words will even help you comprehend this place.  Until 1955 they still had cannibalism on the island and only a few weeks ago someone was burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft. There is an active volcano right off the shore where we docked which we all thought was so cool and kind of wanted to see erupt while we were there, until we got off the ship and saw the town.  The volcano erupted about 15 years ago, and they haven’t recovered since.  The city is so poor, worse than anything I could have ever imagined, they have rebuilt their homes on the ash that covered their homes and burned the city.  We went on a tour in vans throughout the city and literally there was nothing there. You could just see black ash everywhere.  There were no roads. The vans drove on ash, which they made into paths and the “roads” were marked off with sticks that had flags on them so you would know where to drive. We saw plane wreckage from World War 2 when the Japanese used the island as a military base.  My favorite part was when we stopped at a school and saw all of the kids.  The school just opened up a week ago after being closed for a year because of the volcano. They all had the biggest smiles on their faces and were just so happy to see us.  I have never seen a smile or a wave mean so much to someone in my life. After our tour we went on an adventure on our own because we wanted to walk around town and meet more of the people.  A boy who was10 named Jamal, came up to us and offered to show us around.  Before we knew it there were 10 or 15 kids walking with us around the town.  They took us to the store where we went in and bought bags of candy to share with all of the kids.  It felt like Halloween passing out candy to all of the kids who were running up to us. We also bought a pair of flip-flops because when we met Jamal he was only wearing one shoe.  It was so much fun hanging out with the kids and getting to see their city.  I felt a little bit like I was in a dream because of how surreal this place was and the life style they were living.  I have a million pictures that I can’t wait to show everyone when I get back!

 

Today we crossed the equator, which is no ordinary day at sea.  If you have never crossed the equator you get to participate in the “Crossing the Line Ceremony”.  It’s a historic English tradition dating back from 1393 when they used to think the world was flat. Any explorer who dared to venture south without fear of sailing off the edge of the world could participate in the initiation ceremony.  The initiates, called “Pollywogs” would be coated with various nasty liquids found in the bilge of the ship and then suspended by the ankles and plunged into the sea.  As “pollywogs”, we got to participate in this initiation ceremony.  We all got covered in flour, jello, whipped cream, eggs, bacon… and then instead of getting hung by our ankles, were thrown into the pool.  It was pretty disgusting, but also really fun and probably the most eventful thing we will experience while we continue onboard with the old folks.  And for all my Londoner friends… they served Pimm’s Cup as the drink of the day today!

 

Ok well I’m off to have a gourmet grilled cheese lunch with the kids downstairs.  We finally taught the chef how to make it just like it is at home.  

Cairns, Australia

We finally made it on board the ship, Queen Victoria, which we have renamed “The Retirement Home at Sea”.  It seems to suit the ship better. Elliot, Isabelle and Grisha are half of the kids on board…yes half.  There are 6 kids total on board, 7 if you include me, which most of the passengers probably would.  Let me just say that I have a new appreciation for the thought of “old people”…sorry mom and dad, you are NOT old.

 

The ship is beautiful and luckily we have a very spacious room that we can seclude ourselves to and/or hide from the old people glaring at us.  I have yet to see any other passengers entering their rooms on our hallway.  I think they strategically didn’t put any other passengers on our hall…we might even have the whole floor to ourselves.  There is also an awesome kids playroom that has air hockey, guitar hero, wii, movies…they let me come play whenever I want. When I’m not playing in the kids room, I have taken up origami lessons, water coloring, and my grandmother would be happy to know that I may even be joining her weekly bridge club back home, assuming that I will probably pick it up on the daily afternoon games that are played on board.

 

Grisha and his friend Claire (one of the other kids on the ship who is 4) have successfully learned how to have their own private pool on board.  Apparently not everyone likes splashing and screaming during swim time as much as we do.  We’re hoping to break our record but so far we can clear out the pool in about 3 minutes. 

 

We attended the formal Black and White Ball a few nights ago, where I believe we were the only ones wearing glow necklace and bracelets. We were introduced to all the men who are given a free cruise to come on board and dance with the single women. They all range from about 60-70 but I will say that some of them have very impressive resumes. I am still waiting for them to introduce the 20-30 year olds that they have hired for guests like me…

 

It rained all day yesterday, but today was a beautiful sunny day for our stop in Cairns, Australia at the Great Barrier Reef.  We went on an excursion which took us on a catamaran out to the reef. There, I got to do an introductory scuba dive while Jonathan and Elliot were doing real scuba diving (since they’re certified).  We went down for about 30 minutes with a guide and it was so much fun. I touched a huge clam, saw a shark, stingray and millions of fish!  It was beautiful!  On my group dive were two other guys who work on the ship, and were actually the first people I’ve seen my age in a while. So, I hung out with them and made friends, they even offered to let me use their free Internet, so thanks to them you all might be getting blog updates a lot more frequently. 

 

We have found our favorite place to eat on the ship…the fondue restaurant.  They have it set up only a few days at a time and switch off between other types of foods, but last night and for the next 3 nights it’s fondue!  I will say that it was very hard for us to sit through the whole meal knowing there was chocolate coming at the very end…if you think I’m only talking about the kids, you’re kidding yourself.  We’re going again tonight, just for the chocolate part!

 

All in all, life on board is pretty great. It’s only day four, but I think I could get used to this lifestyle.  

Bondi Beach

Big news from Bondi Beach... 

I finally found Dr. Pepper!,  No shark bites, we all made it out alive,  and the question you have all been wondering....yes the toilets swirl the other way here in Australia. 

We are finally boarding the ship tomorrow, which I think we are all ready for.  Seeing Australia has been so fun, and now we are all ready to finally unpack our suitcases and get settled.  I might change my mind about that when we are in our tiny rooms for the next 60 days...  I'm going to put the link at the bottom of the page for our ship so you can follow along with where we are at along the way.  Hopefully we don't run into any pirates or icebergs!  

"Goodbye! I'm gonna never forget you!" ...(for all you titanic fans out there, specifically you Jimmy)

http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary_tab.asp?cruiseid=3054&LeftNav=Planner&Active=&Sub=&OB=&Region=&ship=&shipID=QV