Gentlemen… start your engines!

Only three days at sea to absorb India and here I am in Malaysia. We arrived in Peneng and five of my friends and I flew to Kuala Lumpur. Before I go any further, yes I’m about to say five star hotel. I stayed in a hostel in Brazil, its time to use our powerful dollar and take advantage of it. Arriving at the Mandarin Oriental we were greeted by a full staff that you would expect from a five star hotel. Our hotel was right next to the Petronas towers which are the highest towers in the world! Upon checking into the hotel I was greatly surprised to find out that we had been upgraded. The lady told us we had been moved to the top floor with a view of the towers. I walked into our rooms which had a door that opened to create one large suite. Directly in my face on the other side of the windows was the towers. We had the best view in the city. A side note that you will understand later, many of the Formula 1 drivers had rooms at out hotel for the Petronas Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Grand Prix.

Malaysia was the first Islamic country we had on our itinerary. Besides the women walking around with berkas on; what made me feel the Islamic faith was the call to prayer many times a day. One could hear what we would call a hymn about four times a day throughout any part of Malaysia.

I loved Kuala Lumpur and hope to make it back for a F1 race sometime. I’m sad that I just missed the race but I was at least in KL for the hype that was building up before. Not only did F1 drivers stay in our hotel but the entire BMW team from corporate to marketing to team to just about any BMW position during the race. I have never in my life seen BMW’s like the ones they were driving around and up to the hotel. Some of them looked like seven series BMW’s but more tricked out without badges to tell what they were.

I was impressed at how well Kuala Lumpur has developed into the financial heart of Malaysia. Tall skyscrapers with bank logos were a sure sign of economic success in the region. Of all the ports we have visited no port has been as helpful. People would walk up to me at the airport and ask me what I needed help with because they could tell I was struggling with where to go. Great place to come back but its time to move on.

India

I really don’t have much to say about India. It wasn’t my favorite port, yet it changed me more than any port thus far. I’m still reflecting on India and how it changed me. Maybe it’s the experience of riding in a rickshaw and glancing out at the poverty flying past you. The people suffering of polio and the people just down right dying on the side of the road. Could it be the seven year old child holding a malnourished new born baby asking for money?

From a cultural aspect I feel changed after visiting Varanasi, Sitting on a boat and slowly sailing down the Ganges River felt life changing to me. The stench of a burning body on the banks of the river, watching the ritual of Hindus washing themselves of the birth and rebirth cycle. This is a ritual that has gone unchanged for thousands of years. What is something that you can remember that has gone unchanged for that long?

I guess I really can’t put into words what I saw, felt and comprehended. I can’t tell you I saw many parts of India: Chennai, New Delhi, Varanasi and Agra. Yes I did the tourist thing by going to the Taj Mahal, but I fell that was just something to look at. I felt everything in Varanasi. I saw everything in New Delhi. I guess this is a place I will share my reflections once I’m home and I have absorbed all of this.

I have been to heaven

Day 1: Due to rough seas from a typhoon off Madagascar we arrived late and I finally got off the ship around 1:30pm. My friend Garrett and I got together with a group of girls getting a resort in Mauritius. We checked out the market right in Port Louis and headed for Flic en Flac on the west side of the island. Arriving late we ate dinner and had a few drinks then proceeded to bed.

Day 2: Getting up early was easy in paradise. Breakfast and dinner was included so I took full advantage of that and filled myself up. I was on the beach by 10:00am and was tanned by 11:00am. Wish you could be here? Our resort stay included all inclusive water sports so we decided to go snorkeling along the reef right our in front of our resort. The ecosystems here in Mauritius are unique and can’t be found any where in the world. For example the dodo bird originated here. Along the reef I saw all sorts of living things but the most amazing was the plants and reefs themselves. We learned in global studies of the coral bleaching that is occurring all over the world because of global warming and it was apparent on this reef. After I got done snorkeling a few of my friends and I thought it would be a good idea to go tubing because of the surf coming in. I have never fell off a tube in my life and skipped across the water three times before stopping. Part of the reason is I kept signaling the driver to go faster and the combination of that with the surf launched me right off the tube. After beaching it for a while and getting lunch at a Chinese place we relaxed again. The theme for this port was relaxation with more relaxation. We had an awesome dinner and hung out at the bar at the resort and just kept it low key.

Day 3: After waking up early for a quick breakfast we headed out with a taxi driver we hired for the day. He took us all over the island and we arrived at a waterfall. So what do you do besides look at the waterfall? You jump off of it. Yea it was fun, so I did it four times after my first. Our driver gave us a nice drive all over and stopped at a Mauritian Restaurant for lunch. I can’t really explain what it’s like other then it’s a blend of the cultures that make up Mauritian people. So with that said it’s like an Indian base but also has strong Chinese influences with a twist of African. But what makes it unique is the native spices they use. Its great food!!!

South Africa Safari and more!

Day 1: It seemed like it took forever to get off the ship, I was finally off by 11AM. The waterfront known as the VA Waterfront is one of the nicest waterfronts I have ever seen. First thing first, Apple store. For those that don’t know my iPod shit the bed on the way to Brazil. I can’t even begin to explain how upset I was. I walked into the Apple store and ill make a long story short; they gave me a new one. So if you’re thinking of getting an Apple product, just do it. They have amazing customer service. So I decided to use my strong American dollar at the outdoors store in the waterfront. I purchased a Deuter (German made, better then North Face) 60 liter backpack that I could use for everything and even back packing through Europe… or South Africa again in 2010 for the world cup… cough cough… hahaha. I ended up getting my taxes back on it and it cost me $100. The rest of the day was spent checking out the Long Street shops and grabbing a nice dinner.

Day 2: I had to get up at 4:00AM for my two hour flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Once we arrived at the air port it was another five hour drive to Kruger National Park. We arrived to our camp known as Pretoruiskop just before dusk. Quickly greeted by our team of guides, throwing our packs into our tents and jumping into the Land Rovers for an afternoon game drive. At this point I was pumped and ready for stuff to start happening. We drove along a dirt road and finally started to see some animals. We saw Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes and other smaller animals, This was a shorter game drive and we arrived back at camp to dinner being cooked over the camp fire. I have to give credit to these African Native guides, they can cook. Coming into this trip I was intimidated by all the different foods. But I must say I have tried everything and by far African cuisine is amazing. Now the fun part, guess who likes to wonder around the campsites at night and throw anything they can get at our tents? Baboons. They are so furry and cute, but they will literally rip your face off if you contact them or approach them. So our guides warned us to just sit in our tents and mind our own business. They just see the tents as one large object and usually move on. I’m sleeping minding my own business and I wake to baboons flying past my tent throwing stuff all over. I wasn’t scared, I thought it was cool!

Day 3: We woke up at 4:15 Am for an early morning game drive. This is why I love Africa; cool in the morning to the point you must wear a fleece. But come day its 110 degree heat with no humidity. Today we saw everything from before with the addition of Lions, Zebras and a Black Mamba snake. The snake was actually my favorite of all. It was lying in the middle of the dirt road and as we approached it started to move. Getting closer to it, it raised up off the ground. Imagine a six foot snake extending up four or five feet in the air and jumping five feet in the air horizontally to the bushes next to the road. It was amazing to see, just one of those things you have to see in person. We headed back to camp for breakfast after a three hour game drive. BACON!! BACON!! I love South African Bacon! It’s thick, meaty and tastes like actual meat. They got America beat here in South Africa. Again breakfast was cooked over the camp fire and the best bacon of my life was devoured with eggs and fresh fruit. The day was ours so Garrett and I decided to explore the camp and check things out. We found a cool store they had at the camp and we decided to go in on a bottle of wine with Carl. Once we figured out we could buy South African wine at the price of bottled water back home, we all got a bottle. We relaxed and drank some amazing wine while playing cards. This after noon was really memorable because the wine made it that way. For those back home, please run out and grab a bottle of red South African wine, its amazing. We ate lunch around 2:30PM and headed out for an afternoon game drive at 3:30pm. Again I don’t want to give it all away, but we saw…. Yes more animals again with a little addition. Driving down a dirt road we came across an old women who looked very confused and distraught. The reaction from our guides was in disbelief of what they had in front of them. This women some how wondered from her village on the other side of the park. The size of Kruger is about the size of Belgium. She is lucky someone in a pickup was able to bring her back, she was wondering through cougar and lion infested land.

Day 4: One last morning game drive and breakfast. We stared our five hour journey back to Joburg for our flight back to Cape Town. Driving through the small towns and Savannah landscape provided for the most amazing scenery in the country. Once back to Joburg I can note two major things I saw. First is that the entire country is gearing up for the 2010 world cup, but Joburg is the hub of it all. It’s amazing what this place will be like in 2010, it’s already amazing! Second is that Nokia, yes Randy, NOKIA owns. I have never seen so many Nokia billboards, statues of hands popping out of the ground holding Nokia cell phones. Let’s add to that, every person on my plane was rocking a slick Nokia phone. I want one, I need one. For once in my life; EVERYONE had a better phone then me. I got back, my friend Jen was back on the ship, so we decided to hit the waterfront and grab a bottle of South African wine. Yes, it’s the social thing to do here, chat over wine.

Day 5: I got together last minute with a group that hired a taxi driver to drive us all over the Cape Peninsula. Ill have stories when I get home. We did a lot and saw a lot for only one day. But in short I went to the South Western most point in South Africa called Cape Point. Our taxi driver was amazing to talk to about his life. He was in prison during the Apartheid and was one block over from Nelson Mandela. We questioned his tattoos he received in prison and those stories will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Day 6: Went all over Cape Town, explored, explored, explored.

Day 7: Now comes the most amazing part of Cape Town, the townships. I will explain more when I get home but heres a brief overview. During the Apartheid the government relocated mass amounts of the blacks and colored to areas outside the city limits called townships. These townships still exist today and provide for a first hand look at what government is capable at doing. Do you really think that our segregation in the 1960’s was bad? Try living in South Africa and being black or colored from 1947 to 1994. I have added a few photos and wish to tell my story when I’m home and can talk about it in person.

**I’m sorry for not writing details but I need something to talk about when I get home. I fell in love with South Africa for many reasons. The scenery, the townships, but most importantly, the people.

Brazil: Lencois and CARNIVAL!!!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ 14:40

Day 1: Coming into Salvador during sun rise wasn’t nearly as good as Puerto Rico. The sky was hazy making the sun just visible through the clouds. After being briefed by SAS I jumped off the ship with a group and headed to Lencois for an independent travel trip (Indy). The trip was setup by someone before we started the semester. Our 6 hour drive to Lencois (Chapada Diamantina) was beginning. Driving through Salvador started the whole smack in my face, in a culture shock way. The favellas or shanty towns could be seen for miles. It was an ocean that didn’t end. I was expecting all of this, but not on that kind of a poverty level. Leading up to Salvador we learned of the huge gap between the rich and the poor, and the whole reason why the situation here is the way it is. Once outside Salvador we began our journey through the country side of Bahia (the state in Brazil that Salvador and Lencois are located). I can’t even explain how beautiful the country side was as we progressed further on into Bahia. We came through a small town and had lunch. This was my first experience with Brazilian food and I must say it’s not to bad. We finally started to hit the mountains and I realized I was in the heart of what Brazil really was. Arriving at our villa that we where staying; we immediately went into town to be greeted by a NGO (Non Government Organization) of which the kids and adults performed, danced in traditional Brazilian attire. We proceeded into this room and our first interaction with people of another culture occurred. We introduced ourselves and asked questions to each other. As the night went on the questions got even better. Such questions as “What’s your view of the western influence on your culture?”… WOW!! Are you kidding me? I ate this stuff up; I loved every minute of it. This happened to be the best part of the trip. We walked from the school to a Brazilian barbeque and finally got the chance to relax. The rest of the night was spent checking out Lencois and drinking the national drink of Brazil, Caipirinhas (Sugar cane rum, limes and sugar, kind of like a mojito).

Day 2: Today we woke up early and drove to a town to start our trek to “smoke falls”. This is said to be the second highest water fall in Brazil. But more recently someone with a GPS measured both and according to the GPS it’s actually 5 meters higher making it the highest in Brazil. As a side note you will see pictures of me and our two guides. Our guides were locals right from Lencois. For all the SAS trips, SAS used guides from other parts of the world who “knew” the area. All I can say is everyone who paid for the SAS trips paid twice as much as we did, and saw half as much. Ok back to the trek…. We drove for two hours to a small town to start our trek. It began as a 1 ½ hour trek up a mountain that really gave us a beautiful view the further we got up. After we got to the top it was another 1 ½ left of flat ground trekking to reach the waterfall. It rained in the weirdest spots at the weirdest times making the trails wet and at times ponds (As you will see in the photos). After 3 hours of trekking I was finally standing in a spot that had the most amazing view in all of Bahia. I can’t even explain how high a 1200ft water fall looks like. It poured off the side of the earth and went down but towards the end it sort of “smoked” because it was so high. We crawled out on a ledge about 50ft above the falls and looked down with someone holding our ankles, it took my breath away (The picture that Carleigh took of me is the exact moment my breath was taken away, see the pictures). The total trek today was 15km of which 1 ½ hours was up hill. On our way back out of the town we pulled over on the side of the road to a large stream. We trekked down the side and came to an awesome waterfall and a spot to swim in. The first thing I did was run up the marble slate that the water was running down and sat myself under the waterfall. Once back at the villa we washed up and headed into town for a nice dinner. They brought out this beef still sizzling on this elevated platform, similar to a fajita plate. Dinner was great, did some shopping and went to bed.

Day 3: The day started out again with another trek of 10km. We arrived at this enormous cave that some people actually bungeed off the top, not for me. I realized after how professional the team was, that was my main reason for not signing up before Lencois. The guy actually was a camera man for ESPN and they use his jumps on TV and such. We walked around inside this cave and our guides lead us by lantern deep within. We arrived to the place the water had risen to the ceiling and we could go no further. Our guides told us to sit and relax. They then proceeded to turn off the lanterns and said “Think, you can feel your life through these walls”. It was pretty cool seeing absolutely nothing but hearing the sounds of water rushing by in a cave, you could feel your life. So we ate lunch; hung around the cave and watched people bungee. It was in the mouth of the cave so the people would jump and bungee like normal. But after they finished a guy would repel down next to them, hook them on to his harness. He would then detach the legs from the bungee and repel himself and the person down to the ground. It was crazy to watch. We got back and I showered to head into town with some people. I meet up with a few of my real good friends on the ship: Lindsay, Garrett, Alexis. I had some food and chatted with them for a while. The children and people from the other day had arrived back at our villa so I went back after a couple drinks with my friends. The guy who owned our villa cooked pizza in a wood fire over! I can’t believe I was in Brazil and having the best pizza I have ever tasted! Again, after dinner we walked into town and socialized with the locals at a couple of the local bars.

Day 4: I woke up on my last day in Lencois and headed into town, yes I am in love with this town. The people are amazing; the shops are mom and pops style which gives the town a charm. To make it better its way safer then any city in Brazil as crime is pretty much non existent in Lencois. After our six hour drive back to Salvador it was 6:00PM… again 6:00PM remember that.

CARNIVAL: Let me explain CARNIVAL for you. Salvador is a city of 3 million people. During carnival the population goes up to 6 million people. During this time there are 30 daily flights from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador and 50 flights from Sao Paulo to Salvador. Salvador holds the guinness book of world records for the biggest party in the world. I’m going to do my best to explain how carnival works. Walking through the streets are vendors, small parties and just people all over, I’m talking blocks upon blocks. Take the East End Fest in Rochester and multiply it by a thousand, yes I’m serious by a thousand. There are 3 major routes in which the trio eletricos travel through. A trio electrico is an adapted truck, with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play on. Around this are many people that make up the entire “bloco” and an army of people holding a rope that surrounds this bloco. In order to get in you must have an abida (shirt) for that bloco. For example Daniela Mercury (A huge singer in Brazil) was the performer of ours, and fat boy slim was actually behind our bloco. Our bloco had about a thousand or more people in it.

We arrived at the ship and had to be at our bloco at 6:30pm. We got there and the people holding the rope hadn’t even arrived so we made it in time. Standing with other people from our trip (about 25 of us) we relaxed and took in the atmosphere. My first clash with another culture was about to occur. Minding my own business drinking a beer, a beer can was in flight and flying into our group bouncing off some ones shoulder and then off me. “Why are they throwing beer at us” says the girl… No girls, the Brazilians aren’t wasting there beer on us… idiots, that’s urine. It amazes me how oblivious some can be to this entire situation. We are in a foreign country, we are of a different culture, and we look different. We stuck out like a sore thumb, we were the minority here. To make a long story short we had about 4-7 of those specially filled beer cans thrown at us as well as cigarette butts with the cherry still on fire. Thank god I wasn’t one walking away with a tattoo of a cigarette on me. Got to love being an American. I don’t want this to seem scary it’s only a select number in Brazil that feel this way, not everyone. Finally the people arrived and held the rope and our truck started to move. It was now safe on the inside and on the outside… well your at your own risk. It was awesome once Daniela started to perform. I had no idea who she was but by the reactions on the people in our bloco she was a big deal, she lived up to the hype. As a side note, Fat Boy Slim was in the bloco behind us and man… he was killing the beats he was mixing. It was nice to hear an American DJ and some hip hop. Wait I’m in Brazil… oooo yessssss, our pop culture is in every corner of the globe. We proceeded on the route for about 4 ½ hours before half of us decided to bust through the rope, venturing off into no mans land to leave early. I really can’t explain the atmosphere during carnival other then chaos and energy. We walked the streets and found a cab back to the ship. The walk from outside to finding a cab was intense. The looks from people, being called a gringo once again… made this experience one of a kind. Never have I ever felt so uncomfortable and outside of my comfort zone. Tonight defined what my comfort zone was. Once in the cab I got to the ship and walked straight into my shower clothes and all, and showered for a good half hour. Soaked my clothes in my sink and washed the nastiness out of them. I went to the 7^th deck on the back and ordered a cheeseburger and cheese hot dog with a smoothie to wash it down. I had a natural high from my experience and used this time to absorb everything while eating my proud to be American post carnival meal.

Day 5: Well after an interesting night our last day was finally here. I explored Salvador and all the shops and such it had to offer. I was able to buy a couple awesome Brazilian soccer jerseys at a good price. Today was nice spending it with my friends from the ship who I didn’t get to see but once while in Lencois.

Puerto Rico: The Friendly Island

Friday, February 09, 2007 @ 09:32 – Puerto Rico

Day 1: Puerto Rico is a unique place in which they have a completely different cultural identity but yet they are still tied to the US. Today we were greeted by the Governor and Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. I woke up early and got a front row seat in the union. I think the union only holds about 400-500 so therefore everyone else has to be in a satellite room watching it. In my pictures you will see me sitting front row of the center section. To the right and left are sections the same size or bigger. You can’t see those sections because the union is like a horse shoe. The most amazing thing happened as Desmond Tutu came in, he walked right past me. But what made this event more exciting for me was the meeting of Desmond Tutu and the Governor of Puerto Rico for the first time. This all happened within 5 feet of me. After our greeting we began the process of clearing immigration and getting off the ship. The entire day was spent exploring Old San Juan which resembles narrow European streets. There are so many different shops, cafes and things to do. I really don’t have much planned but to explore on my own, I can always come back here to do more. We walked past the “ghetto” area they told us not to go into. When San Juan was revitalized a small portion of the population would not move. These people are a unique part of the population here in Puerto Rico and I was warmly welcomed. As I stood on the San Juan wall and took a picture a sketchy looking guy yelled up to us “Gringo, take no picture go away!” It was at that point we high tailed to the beach. (Don’t worry we stayed quite distant from them). I had my first authentic Puerto Rican lunch today at Spanglish Café. We walked in the café to a warm welcome from the staff. They took time to explain everything on the menu to us. I had onion steak with rice and sweet plantains and a few coronas to wash it down. The steak was real thin and marinated which made it extremely tender. I can’t even begin to explain how good it was, I rank it up in my top 10 dishes. Tonight I participated in a welcome reception at one of the universities with just about everyone on semester at sea. We had the opportunity to meet and talk with students but also taste some of the local foods, let’s just say they deep fry everything. They played live music and they gave us the opportunity to learn to dance. It was hard to pick up the beat of Puerto Rican music as it’s vastly different from any hip hop or music I’m use to.

Day 2: I did have a trip setup to kayak bioluminescent bay at 5:00 but it got pushed back to 6:30. So I decided that I can always come back to Puerto Rico and see more. I realized that my time is better spent with these wonderful friends I have made. So again, my friend Lindsay and I took on Old San Juan and went to the beach. I really enjoy exploring around this place. It’s about the only port I can explore and know I can come back. From this point forward every port I see may be the last time. Tonight we took on the Old San Juan nightlife. Walking down the narrow streets with salsa music pouring out in every direction put me in the greatest mood. It was weird because day and night are two different worlds in Old San Juan. We found a bar that was relaxing and we drank $2 Coors lights, before you knew it 150 semester at sea kids came, we renamed it SAS Pub. We chatted with the locals and learned a lot about life in Puerto Rico. It will be great to do the same thing again in every port.

Day 3: Again… nothing that interesting. Checking out Old San Juan for just a little while, the beach called my name. I can’t believe its February and I’m in school relaxing on a beach? I’m ok with this. We had to be on the ship at 21:00 because we pulled out at 23:00. The night was spent with a group of us having a real nice dinner on the water. Chicken breast in garlic wine sauce and sweet plantains with a side of coronas and pina coladas… yum. Bye Bye Puerto Rico.

Classes are starting to get more intense and the dean made it pretty apparent in the beginning that this voyage would transform us not only through our experiences but also push us academically. It’s really interesting how all my courses, ports, ship life all combine into one thing.

Check out the Puerto Rico and Ship Life part of the photo gallery. I’m going to do my best to take some pictures of the inside of this beautiful ship.

Next stop is Brazil! We have 7 days at see ahead of us which means 7 days of classes. I have planned a Lencois trip and the last day I will participate in CARNIVAL! I found out from the person who organized it that we will be with the directors of Carnival in Salvador. Salvador is the place to be for Carnival in terms of the actual party. Rio has a parade but people from all over Brazil move to Salvador for the month of February just for Carnival.

Pre Puerto Rico

Tuesday, February 06, 2007 @ 18:38

Life at sea is great. Life is great. Living in this little community of people is amazing. Everyone is so happy all the time. Everyone says Hi to one another walking down the hall. Its truly one of the most amazing living situations I think I will ever live in.

So for the rocking from side to side and front to front. I think I’m totally adjusted. The first 2 nights gave me a real bad headache, but now I’m good. I had global studies today which we have every day at sea. I can’t really say I’m going to enjoy it but it’s amazing at how we look at such huge world issues and try to figure out how to solve them. Looking further and deeper into the countries we visit is really fun. I’m really into history and what’s going on in the world, so I use this class as fuel for my mind before I get to port. My second class I had today was a business class, negotiations. UVA really has a top notch faculty on this ship. I was really impressed to find out that my negotiations professor formally worked negotiating deals between 10 million and 20 million dollars. Mainly in the selling of military aircraft to the republic of Iran. I can’t wait to have a side conversation with this guy at breakfast or dinner.

Tomorrow we arrive in Puerto Rico (Yes Katie, I’m getting up really early for the sun rise). Then I’m doing a welcome reception at one of the big universities in San Juan. Thursday night I will be kayaking through the bioluminescent bay. Friday im planning on doing the whole beach thing, but only after touring the Bacardi factory. Ill let you figure out that one. In between I hope to see Old San Juan.

***I’m going to upload some photos if the internet holds up. Currently we are right above hati and the Dominican Republic. ***