Let’s talk about Shanghai! I am absolutely in love with Shanghai- and many disagree with me, but that’s their issue. It was a lot colder in Shanghai, and I think that is why I liked it, it reminded me a lot of back home, and the weather I have been missing out on :] the port was nice here too. China is crazy- they went right from summer, to winter this year, without a fall, so the Grass is green and its 5 degrees out- I love it. I had nothing planned the 1^st day, so I decided to hop onto the city orientation tour- which was definitely worth it. I fell in love with our tour guide Josh. We headed to the Vu (pronounce ‘you’) gardens, and the jade Buddha temple, as well as had lunch  right next to the Oriental Pearl Tower (look it up) Shanghai is famous for their skyline. We went to a market, saw Nanjing Road (which is basically really touristy, and contains almost all department stores)  then we headed to dinner, and got to view and acrobatic show, which was awesome. My second and last day in Shanghai, most of the Great Wall SAS and Independent trips came back , and I went on a trip to a water village. The water village was incredibly interesting, even if it was pouring and cold, I loved every minute of it. On both this trip, and the City Orientation I made friends with J.P. who is an engineer, and the head of ISE, who happens to idolize Patricia Cormier (Longwood’s Dean of the University).  I was hoping to get back early, because all I wanted to do in all of China was ride the Maglev. On ship time was 6:00pm, and our trip got back at 4:00pm :[  The traffic was awful, but on top of that Obama happens to be on his Asia tour- and what were the chances that he was in Shanghai while we were? Well he was, and he held up traffic. I was bummed, but we got free food vouchers because they couldn’t hold lunch for us on the ship, and I was absolutely dying since I had only eaten a banana for breakfast at 7am   They kept forgetting my order (Zerio Luck) and I waited an hour for a 5 minute pizza to be cooked -_- I was bitter, cold, and starving, and definitely NOT a happy camper. So then I went down to Tymitz Square- and to our entire ships surprise they decided to give us all extra time in port, so we didn’t have to leave until 12:00pm the next day! I grabbed my friends Jennifer and Cristina and we headed to hail a cab to the closest metro to head towards the Maglev.

For those of you who don’t know- the Maglev is the world’s fastest train, and like its name implies, it has no wheels. It levitates while using magnets to keep it afloat. This is the equivalent to the Great Wall for me. Well we get our metro tickets, and we got there just as one was leaving, Cristina and Jennifer ran into one, while I got bombarded with Chinese business men, and like in classic movies, Jennifer and Cristina were inside the Metro waving to me, as I stood on the platform. I had missed the Metro, but after my bad day, I just laughed it off. I caught the next tram- and headed towards the Maglev. The Maglev has only one stop- the Pudong Airport- It’s top speed is 430 km/hr which is roughly 268 mph or something crazy like that, and depending on what time you go on the Maglev, depends on the speed you will be traveling. It takes 7 minutes to get to the airport, and if you pass the other Maglev on the way- the effect makes it feel as if you’re going 700 km/hr- or around 500 mph or something intense like that, and we passed another Maglev! How crazy. I was so excited to be on the one goal I had for China. :] The three of us spent about 2 hours in the airport, and had a ridiculous amount of fun. Yes, I can even make airports fun, I am that scwveet. We rode the Maglev back- stopped at McDonald’s for Jenn, where we encountered the first McDonald’s she had ever been to that did not take any credit cards- cash only.  It was interesting. We also saw a McDonald’s delivery guy. Who no joke, rides a red glittery moped with a yellow M encrusted on it- and it looks like he’s wearing a space suit. I have photos- it was great!

When we got back to the ship Cristina and I  headed outside in the cold rain to take photos with the Shanghai skyline. The next morning Kim, Cristina and I headed out on the mission of going to the Shanghai World Financial Center (aka the 2^nd tallest building in the world)- It is 101 stories, and on the 100^th floor there is a glass walkway so you can see all the way down to the ground. Unfortunately it was too cloudy, so we ended up just being in the basement of the building. So we went to nearby Jinmao tower which hoists the tallest hotel in the world. Its lobby is on the 58^th floor I believe; and we got a spectacular (and free) view from there. After that we went to the Pearl tower, and rode up as far as we could go, where they also have glass so you can see to the ground. I believe this is the world’s 3^rd tallest building, but I am not positive on that. With a few hours to spare before on ship time, I NEEDED to have my favorite dish in China. We went to a street vendor where I order the most fantastic bowl of white rice ever! I was in heaven :] we came back to the ship, and I had completed all I had wanted to do in  China.

Here’s where I will share with you some reactions.

China and Hong Kong =  Remarkably different- Hong Kong has a huge imprint of the British left with them, and drive on the left side of the road, where as in mainland China, they drive on the right.

Surprisingly, for as advanced as China can be, unless you’re in the business district there is a huge language barrier- especially in Beijing (I didn’t go- but others told me).  The products actually sold here- are generally really poor quality. The toilet situation… well…

Bring your own toilet paper- and go to the restroom before you leave the ship/hotel you’re in. You either come across toilets that are flat-faced to the ground (like in other countries), or you get the experience of the most high-tech toilets ever. My friend went to the highest bar in the world (in Shanghai)- and when you walk into the stall, the toilet seat detects you, the lid opens, and lights turn on, when you’re down, it also detects this, and will wipe and dry you. It also has a control panel to hand operate it if need be. Also in China- they have the Modern Toilet Restaurants (go ahead- Google it). They started in Taiwan, but have them in China and Japan, I plan on going to one in Japan for sure.

 Also- I took my photo off the wall because I thought it was goinbg to fall on me and kill me. I feel like at this point in the journey- If I am to die, I don't want it to be because I was impaled by a gigantic ugly picture hanging in my room on board the ship.

I am sure I am missing a bunch of things, but it is seriously crunch time on the ship for everything. We are down to having one class day in between ports, so it’s getting kind of crazy. I will leave on the note that yesterday I was deathly ill, and Gio, the love of my life (my husband- I’ll tell you about that sometime) came to my rescue, and I cannot thank him enough.

Until next time… I’ll be in Japan tomorrow- how insane is that?!?!?

Hong Kong Lovin'

So we just got into Hong Kong, China- and let me tell you, Hong Kong might as well go back to being its own country separate from China. It’s like day and night between the two. Hong Kong has its own flag, its own currency, and they speak Cantonese- not to mention the politics are a lot different. Hong Kong is very much like NYC. And at night- the skyline is absolutely stunning. Every night from 7-10 pm Hong Kong’s buildings put on a light show- its amazing!

In our pre-port the deans said that we would literally be inside the mall when we came into port- now clearly no ship is going to fit inside a mall! How ridiculous. But let me tell you, our ship was as close to being in that mall as anything. Our ship docked on port side, and instead of our usual gangway that brings us from 5^th deck to the ground- we had one of those airplane walkways attached to our ship- and we crossed through it, and literally the only way to get out of our ship was to go through the mall. Talk about marketing us to buy things! The mall was huge, and crazy expensive. The entire lower level was all for baby clothes with stores such as Burberry, and Louis Vuitton baby edition. Crazy! But trust me, after shopping in markets, you will have absolutely no desire to ever go to a mall again.

Kelsey and I decided to discover Hong Kong on our own. We had a list of things to do, and so we headed out. When we got off the ship and out of the mall- to our surprise HKG was decked out in Christmas galore. It was mostly pink and purple decorations, but none the less they had Christmas trees, music, snow globes, the whole 9 yards- it was awesome.  The thing about Hong Kong (HKG) is that we actually weren’t in HKG yet- the ship is technically in Kowloon. So we had to take a ferry to HKG, which cost the equivalent of 30 cents and takes 7 minutes, and it’s kind of fun! Once we got into HKG- everything looked so big and confusing- but in reality everything was much closer than the map insinuated.  Because Kelsey and I are not your average kids, our first stop was the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; for anyone in business, or invested in stocks like us, you’ll recognize that it is one of the most prominent stock exchanges in the world. I was a little disappointed to not see people in angry mobs screaming, shouting and cheering. In fact- everyone was in their seats- behind a computer, as cool as cucumbers. Nevertheless it was still awesome to be there. We then made our way to the Post Office- where go figure, the largest picture made from post card stamps in the world is! It was really neat. We were then on a mission to find a China favorite- Dim Sung to eat; and we were told that the 2^nd floor of city hall had the best restaurant, but we were warned to NOT go to the 1^st floor restaurant. Well- we thought it was weird to have a restaurant in city hall, but anything goes after all the countries we’ve been to. So up we went- when we got to the 2^nd floor, to our surprise, it was definitely a library. So we laughed it off and headed elsewhere.  From there we descended to Victoria Peak- where you can see the Hong Kong skyline. We rode a vernacular up, and let me tell you, this hill up was STEEP. You think San Diego is crazy?  Wait till you hit Hong Kong.  After getting some delicious Gelato and sherbet we rode down the vernacular and got off part way down (which was quite an experience) and went to go to the Zoo and Botanical gardens (where they have a vast amount of orchids).  After trekking through the zoo we decided we were pretty hungry, and both wanted to try some Chinese food, after all we were in China! So we head to the streets in search of Chinese food. During our search for food we encountered the largest escalator in the world (which was on our list of things to do but we couldn’t seem to find it). For some reason, Kelsey and I were definitely imagining a gigantically long escalator and it turns out we were walking along side it, and through it the entire time we were in search of Chinese food! Hahaha- well, this escalator is like a normal sized escalator, then a brief platform (so you can get off to the left or right), and then another escalator, followed by another platform, and so on- this goes on FOREVER. And it only goes in one direction. From 7am-12am it goes up, and from 12:01am-6:59am it goes down. Crazy! A lot of people on our trip apparently knew it was in HKG due to Scooby Doo- go figure, cartoons are educational for kids! So after an hour or so of searching for food Kelsey and I hit the restaurant streets. Unfortunately we found everything BUT Chinese food. There was food from Nepal, America, India, Vietnam, and 359348765 other places we had already been. Discouraged and starving we ended up going to a café and eating bread. To our dismay, after exiting the café and walking a matter of seconds- we came across China Town -_-. What were the chances?  Hahaha. We decided to head back to Kowloon to hit up the Space Museum. We got there, and it turns out Wednesdays are free admission days! What luck. And good thing- because it wasn’t that thrilling, it was all pretty much about America and their shuttle launches. Although we did get to do a “moon walk” activity which was pretty neat. We ended our night by shopping in the malls super-expensive grocery store, and headed back to the ship to see the light show. We had a crazy yet awesome day in good ol’ Hong Kong.

So the 2^nd day in HKG was when a majority of the ship was leaving to go on their trips to Beijing and the Great Wall and what not, so I woke up early and decided to travel alone. (Regardless of what the adults say in pre-port, I do this in every country and as long as you’re smart, and confident in what you’re doing, you will have no troubles). Here’s where my story gets a tad confusing. I took a ferry to Hong Kong to catch the 45 minute ferry to Lantau Island which hoists the world’s largest Buddha statue. Once on Lantau Island, I had to catch a bus to the Village on Stilts, and then another to the Buddha, and then take the cable car to catch the bus in order to get back to Hong Kong and take a taxi to Stanley market, to then take a bus back into Hong Kong, to catch the ferry back to Kowloon to get onto the ship. Woooo. That’s all, simple. So I got on the bus to head to the village on stilts (which worried me because I did not know the stop- only that it took around 40 minutes to get there- and I saw no village on stilts where we were driving). The Village on Stilts is literally behind the bus depot, and the dead last stop (for those of you interested). It was a fantastic little village and I got so much attention because I was literally the ONLY tourist there- with the exception of a group of Chinese school kids (who quite obviously fit in more than I did). Everyone was incredibly nice, and I spent about 2 hours roaming around (it’s not that big- but definitely interesting). Then I conveniently went to the bus depot and hopped on a bus to take me to the Giant Buddha. It was definitely a great experience, and it’s hard to explain- but definitely worth seeing, and free. I ended going on a walk on a “wisdom path” which took me to some strange village about an hour away from the Buddha- so I decided it would sensible of me to walk back towards the Buddha. From the Buddha I walked to the cable car, and rode back to where I could catch transportation off of the island. I met two tourists from Toronto, and the cutest couple from a “small” city in China which is about the size of America. They were all obsessed with me, my lawn gnome, and Semester at Sea, which made for a great cable car ride back. I was told I would need to take a  bus to catch a ferry back to HKG. But in fact Bus E11 takes you right from the cable cars to HKG. So I hopped on that bus and headed towards home.  I got off a stop near a different, but equally large mall- and got lost inside the mall several times, for about an hour or so. Including getting lost in both the parking garages. Once I got outside, I hailed a cab and asked if he knew where Stanley Market was. He, and I quote said only this; “I don’t speak English”, so I assumed he would let me out, and I would find a cab driver who could somewhat understand me. But instead, he started driving. Now I was told Stanley Market was in HKG and about a dollar or 2 to get there. WRONG. Stanley Market is in a town called Stanley (and when I first saw he brought me to Stanley I was freaked out because I thought I was in some random town, and not near the market), Stanley is where Stanley market is, and I highly recommend taking the bus, because instead of 100 HKD, you will only pay like 7 HKD (Which is a dollar, instead of $10 USD). Anyways, I saw a few SASer’s there, and felt better. Even though I was alone, I surely wasn’t completely alone in a sense.  After an hour or so of haggling, I hopped on a bus, made friends with 3 Swedish men in their 30’s , and went back to HKG. From there I walked from the HKG bus depot to the ferry, got on, and safely went home after a great but exhausting day. It definitely is refreshing to be on your own in a country; and I understand why people advise against it, but if you’re comfortable and confident, I suggest you do it. Definitely not the 1^st day in a port, or late at night, but any other time, yes.

My time in Hong Kong was nothing short of amazing, and I am surely leaving out 38972 things that happened.

The ship consisted of 100 passengers who were considered “in transit”- basically it meant we weren’t traveling independently in between HKG and Shanghai. For those of you whole are broke college students like me, or just don’t want to see the great wall, staying on the ship is actually a lot of fun.

We got catered to more so than usual. They had movies playing in the Union constantly, games, free massages, discounts on spa items, dance parties, karaoke, free snacks and soda, and most importantly, sit down fancy dinners!  I won’t go into great deal- because what happens on the ship in between HKG and Shanghai, stays on the ship with the 100 of us. :] It was indescribable, but worth it.

I had such a great time in the ship (although the sea was fairly harsh between HKG and Shanghai)