Vietnam Day 1 & 2

Vietnam Day 1: Ho Chi Minh City

 

• ·          Our first day in Vietnam was awesome. The temperature was 90 degrees F. What everyone says about the traffic and motorbikes is completely true. They are everywhere! We learned that to cross the street you actually have to walk very slowly and the bikes will turn to avoid you
• ·         I took a city orientation tour where we visited the museum of history, a temple, the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and an old Opera house.
• ·         When at the opera house we bought tickets to see the AO Show that night. It was a fantastic show with a mix of bamboo acrobatics, cultural scenes, and dance.
• ·         After dinner, we went to the outdoor market. The items are very inexpensive here so I managed to pick up some interesting souvenirs. The city is decorated for "Tet" their New Year, so the streets are decorated with lights creating a wonderful night view.

   

Vietnam Day 2: Cu Chi Tunnels and War Museum

 

• ·         The Cu Chi Tunnels that were used in the Vietnam War were fascinating to see. They were only approximately 2 ft wide by 3 ft tall. Built in 3 layers of tunnels at different depths, if lined side by side they would span 135 miles. It is beyond imaginable to picture a war being fought within them.
• ·         The war remnants museum was eye opening and heartbreaking. It was very interesting to see the other perspective on the war, whether it be true or propaganda. It made you feel guilty to be an American as everything inside was about the American war crimes and horrors the Americans committed. 
• 

China Recap!

China Day 1: Shanghai

• ·         Spent the day on a city orientation tour through Semester at Sea. Explored the old towns, Shanghai Museum, a traditional market and went to an acrobatic show.

 

China Day 2-5: Beijing

I was on a huge trip with 40 people in my group to Beijing and 120 people total participating. But we were able to cover a lot of ground i

  --Day 2 --

• ·         Tea tasting

• ·         Trishaw pedicab ride through the back streets where people live. This was the first time I saw the dust layer, trash, and poor living conditions of some of the Chinese people.

• ·         We had dinner with a family who taught us how to make dumplings.

 

--Day 3 –

• ·         Tian'men Square – The largest public square in the world. Due to China's internet censorship many of the Chinese people have no knowledge of the massacre.

• ·         Forbidden City – Also known as the imperial palace, it was the home to 24 emperors.

• ·         Lama Temple – This is home to a huge Buddha! 26 meters tall.

• ·         Acrobatic Show

• ·         Dinner with traditional roasted duck.

 

--Day 4–

• ·         Kong Fu Show

• ·         Jade Factory – Real jade is made into beautiful jewelry and figurines here.

• ·         Great Wall of China – This is as beautiful as we could have imagined. The wall is bigger than I had imagined, and you can see it span off into the distance as far as the eye can see. It is amazing to think that it was built before the time of machinery and all of the materials had to be carried up to their current locations by hand. We took a cable car up and tobogganed down from the overlook area.

o   Successfully bargained for a quilt at the shops here!

 

 

China Day 6: Hong Kong

• ·         Spent the day with my modern world fiction class. We hiked for 4 hours up a mountain. The views from the top were spectacular overlooking the harbor. It was nice to be out of the city and to enjoy the nature that people tend to overlook when the think of Hong Kong.

·         Hong Kong's history is fascinating. Given back to China in 1997, after being a British Colony. Being here has made me much more interested to learn more about many parts of China's background.

Happy Birthday Mom!

I wanted to send an extra special early birthday shout out to my mom.Thank you for all of the support you give me and the amazing opportunity to travel the world. This is today from the back of the ship on this windy Monday. Tomorrow I will be arriving in China for my next adventure. Love you Mom! Hope you have a fantastic birthday!

Japan Recap 2! (Day 3-6)

Japan Day 3 & 4 : Hiroshima and Miyajima

·         Explored the city, visited a castle, and went to Karaoke.

·         Peace Memorial Park and Museum. The site of the atomic bomb has a very emotional museum depicting the damage that the bomb caused to the people and community. A flame burns as a monument that will stand until all nuclear weapons are eliminated from the world.

·         Miyajima Island. This is home to the famous floating tori gate. We visited a large shrine and thanks to our tour guide we were able to follow some of the traditional rituals. And I cannot forget to mention the deer which are very friendly and can be pet like tamed animals although living freely on the island.

Check out my selfie with the deer, the floating tori gate can be seen in the background!

 

 

Day 5: Kyoto

·         Took the bullet train to Kyoto to visit the bamboo forest.  It went as far as we could see into the distance and the sky. It was beautiful.

·         After being out in the cold, we decided to visit another hot spring. They are very relaxing.

 

Day 6: Kobe

·         Our last day in Japan we spent in the port city of Kobe. We decided to take the city loop, which is basically a hop on and off bus with 17 stops around the city. One of the highlights of this trip was the tram that took us to the top of a mountain overlooking the city. 

 
*I wish I could send more pictures but the email connection on the ship is not working very well. Hopefully more to come soon!

Japan Recap! (Day 1 & 2)

Day 1: Yokohama & Toyko

·         Explored the port city of Yokohama, the 2^nd largest city in Japan, in the morning. This was the first time I had ever been immersed in a country that spoke another language!

·         Group drum lesson on traditional taiko drums

·         Visited our first temple which was a large red building with intricate details decorating the sides. There was a market lining the streets leading to the temple. Here we ate a traditional "cookie", a waffle outside with red bean inside.

·         Tokyo – We ate a su shi dinner, of course!

·         Visited the center of Shibuya (Tokyo), the largest crossing in the world.

 

Day 2: Hakone

·         Mt. Fuji – Beautiful views of the active volcano. We ate "black egg," the egg that is hard boiled in the water from the mountain that contains sulfur. This chemical reaction causes the egg shell to turn black. Eating the egg is believed to add seven years to a person's life.

·         Cable Car – Views of Mt. Fuji as we traveled down the mountain from the overlook. We came to the lake at the bottom where we took a Pirate ship across.

·         Open Air Museum – Dedicated to Picasso, the museum was full of sculptures.

·         Japanese Hotel – dinner in Kimono's and a visit to the hot springs!

 

Here is a picture from our traditional dinner. I think I have finally mastered chopsticks.

 

 

Japan Recap! (Day 1 & 2)

Day 1: Yokohama & Toyko

·         Explored the port city of Yokohama, the 2^nd largest city in Japan, in the morning. This was the first time I had ever been immersed in a country that spoke another language!

·         Group drum lesson on traditional taiko drums

·         Visited our first temple which was a large red building with intricate details decorating the sides. There was a market lining the streets leading to the temple. Here we ate a traditional "cookie", a waffle outside with red bean inside.

·         Tokyo – We ate a sushi dinner, of course!

·         Visited the center of Shibuya (Tokyo), the largest crossing in the world.

 

Day 2: Hakone

·         Mt. Fuji – Beautiful views of the active volcano. We ate "black egg," the egg that is hard boiled in the water from the mountain that contains sulfur. This chemical reaction causes the egg shell to turn black. Eating the egg is believed to add seven years to a person's life.

·         Cable Car – Views of Mt. Fuji as we traveled down the mountain from the overlook. We came to the lake at the bottom where we took a Pirate ship across.

·         Open Air Museum – Dedicated to Picasso, the museum was full of sculptures.

·         Japanese Hotel – dinner in Kimono's and a visit to the hot springs!

 

Here is a picture from our traditional dinner. I think I have finally mastered chopsticks.

 

 

Japan!

After a long stretch across the pacific we finally reached Japan this morning at 6am! I will spend the next 6 days exploring the country!


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