The ship docked in Tema, a city 45 minutes from Accra, because it was cheaper for us to dock there. This made getting around Ghana kind of difficult because everything was sooo far away from the ship. They did provide a shuttle that went from the ship to Accra every hour, which was nice because we didn't have to pay for a cab.
Our first day in Ghana we took the shuttle to Accra. The shuttle dropped us off at the downtown area where there are lots markets and restaurants. We walked around the markets and then went to lunch at a restaurant called Frankies. After lunch we went to the beach area, called Labode. We walked around there and found a go kart place, so we decided to go to it. I never thought that i would go go-karting in Ghana, but it was pretty fun. At the go kart place I met a guy who had gone to community college in Oregon and had been to Bend. I was sooo excited. There are people on the ship who don't even know where Oregon is and to meet a guy in Ghana who went to school there was very exciting to me!
After go-karting, we headed back to the area where we catch the shuttle back to the ship. We walked around there a little longer and did some shopping. At about 5pm we headed back to the ship for dinner and an early night since we were getting up early for our trip the next morning.
The second day we woke up early had some breakfast and then loaded the buses for our 4 hour drive to the Wli Waterfall. The drive was very bouncy because we were driving on unpaved roads most of the time through little villages. When we finally made it to the Wli village we had a 45 minute hike from the village to the waterfall. It was a beautiful hike through the jungle to get there. By the time we got to the waterfall i was soooo hot and sweaty from the humidity that we jumped right in the water. We swam under the waterfall and the water was coming down sooo hard on us it hurt! Once we got out and dried off we headed back to the village where the bus was waiting.
Our next stop was to the mona monkeys sanctuary. We arrived at the sanctuary and a guide took us on a walk to find the monkeys. Our guide was making some funny sound with his mouth to call the monkeys and all of a sudden a ton of monkeys showed up above us in the trees. We got to feed them bananas and we were able to get so close to them that they would grab our hands. Our visit with the monkeys was pretty short because we had to get back on the bus to head back since we had a 4 hour drive to get back.
The third day we planned to get up early to go to cape coast, but since the drive there took at least 3 hours we didn’t want to spend the whole day in a car again. I kind of regret this decision because cape coast is supposed to be really cool with the castles and jungle walk. Instead we went to the beach in Accra and hungout and swam all day.
The last day we went to the OSU childrens home in Accra. When we first arrived there the kids were all in school. The head lady at the orphanage told us all about the facility and what they do there. Then we went on a tour. After the tour we got to play with the kids because they were on there break time. I spent most of the time with some 5 year olds coloring. Once they discovered my camera though, they forgot all about coloring and just wanted to take pictures of each other. They were all sooo cute, I wanted to take one home with me. I felt like the kids at the orphanage were not really taken care of that well and the people that cared for them did not seem very qualified. Overall, I Just felt like the conditions at the orphanage were not great and there were definite improvements that could be made.
Now we are headed to Brazil and we will arrive there in a week. Brazil is our last port which means that the end of my trip is near. It has been an amazing experience that I will never forget, but I wish I could keep sailing around the world. This trip has only made me want to travel more and I look forward to doing so in the near future!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Ghana
We arrived in Ghana this morning. The ship is docked in Tema which is about 45 minutes from Accra. We got off the ship and headed to Accra. We went to lunch and then went go-karting and walked around at the markets and on the beach. We also rode horses on the beach, which was pretty cool.
Tomorrow morning we leave early for a hike to the Wli waterfalls and then a visit to a village that believes that the mona monkeys are sacred animals so they are everywhere...should be a pretty cool trip!
The next day my roommate and I are going to try to go to Cape Coast for the day and then our last day I am going to visit an orphanage.
Tomorrow morning we leave early for a hike to the Wli waterfalls and then a visit to a village that believes that the mona monkeys are sacred animals so they are everywhere...should be a pretty cool trip!
The next day my roommate and I are going to try to go to Cape Coast for the day and then our last day I am going to visit an orphanage.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
On Safari in South Africa
Hi everyone!!!
South Africa was amazing!!! I loved it soooo much I could move there, or at least go back again someday!
We arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday morning and went on a wine tasting tour to the winelands for the first day, Our tour guides were waiting outside the ship when we got off and took us to three wineries, Fairview, Stellenbosch, and another one that I can't remember the name of. At Fairview we got to taste 6 different wines and got to have the most amazing cheese with it. Then we went to the second winery where you could choose to taste brandy and chocolate, or wine and nuts. I chose the wine, which was probably a good choice since the brandy was 40% alcohol. After that winery we stopped to have lunch and then went to our last winery. The last winery was Stellenbosch, which had a cheetah reserve on the property. We did our wine tasting and then got to go pet baby cheetahs: pretty cool. The wine in South Africa is amazing and really cheap!!!
After our tour of the winelands, we headed to Table Mountain. The view from Table Mountain was amazing! It looked over the entire city of Cape Town and I felt like I was on top of the world. After table mountain we headed back to the ship to get ready for dinner. A group of us went to dinner in Camps Bay and then went out for a bit on Long's Street, which is the street in Cape Town with a bunch of bars.
The next morning we got up early at 4 30 am for our safari. (I have gotten really good at waking up early on this trip) We drove to the airport and flew into Johannesburg, where we got a charter plane to Hoedspruit. We landed in Hoedspruit and the pilot had to slam on his breaks to avoid hitting two cheetahs that ran across the runway. I was able to snap a photo of them out of the plane window. As you can imagine this was an amazing start to our safari! We got off the plane and straight into our safari jeeps. There was no airport where we landed, so no security or anything. It was really nice. We drove straight from the airport to the Kapama Game Reserve, which was right across the street. We arrived at our hotel, the Kapama River Lodge, which was the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed at. I understand why SAS trips are sooo expensive...we are paying for the accomodations. The pool was an infinite pool that looked over into the "jungle" and there were hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, etc. just hanging out there. We got to the hotel and checked in and had the rest of the afternoon to hangout. We had our first game drive at 4 30 pm after our afternoon tea and coffee. We set off on our game drive with our amazing safari guide Divine and our tracker Harry. Right off the bat we had our first encounter with a herd of elephants. I don't know how it is possible for a herd of elephants to hide behind trees, but these elephants did it so i wasn't able to get great pictures of them. We had originally set out in search of rhinos, but instead we found a female lion and her two 9 month old cubs. We chased them fro a while and in order to do so we had to go off-roading through the jungle. We were taking down trees adn spider webs and tree branches were whacking us in the face, but it was soooo much fun! WE followed them for the rest of the night. We also saw some giraffes. It started to get dark, but our tracker Harry was unbelievable and was able to spot things as tiny as a chameleon and owls in the pitch black. We found a chameleon and Divine took it off the plant and let it crawl on us, it was really cool. It kept climbing up on peoples heads because they like to try to get to the highest point. We started to head back to the hotel around 8, but stopped for a brief lesson on how to find our way in the dark by using the stars. We got back to the hotel just in time for dinner.
The food at the hotel was some of the most amazing food that i have ever had, especially breakfast! After dinner i went to bed pretty early because the next morning we woke up at 4 30 am for our 5am game drive. We saw a cheetah, more giraffes, some zebras, a ton of buffalo, and impala. The Pumbas (Warthogs) were one of my favorite, they were just sooo funny to watch! We headed back to the hotel around 9 for breakfast and then had the rest of the afternoon to hangout. We swam at the pool, had some lunch, and just relaxed until our next evening game drive at 4 30.
On this game drive we saw another female lion, this lion had apparently just been on her honeymoon with the male lion, which meant that the male lion was close by because he always keeps his lady in his sight, so we set out in search of him, Midoda was the male lions name. Harry, our tracker heard the lion roar from a distance and we were able to find it that way. Midoda was beautiful and probably my favorite animal that we saw on the safari. We revved our engine at him and he roared at us, which i have a video of...it is sooo cool. Once it got dark we started searching for the leopards because that is when they come out. Leopards are the hardest out of the big 5 to find. We were extremely lucky to find 2 leopards and we were able to chase them off-road again, which was super cool. I took videos of it because my camera doesnt take great pictures in the dark. After this game drive we had already seen both the diamond and the jewel of a safari (the lion and leopard). We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then i went to bed pretty early again. The next morning we woke up at 4 30 am again for our last game drive. We were setting out to find the rhino, so we could mark off seeing all of the big 5. We didn't really see much on this particular drive because it had been pouring the night before so all the animals were lying down somewhere until it got warmer. However, as we were heading back to the hotel, we came across a female rhino and her baby.
I would say that our safari was pretty successful considering that we saw all of the big 5 plus more. The Big 5 for those of you dont know include: elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and lion.
We headed back to the hotel for breakfast and check out. We checked out and our safari jeeps took us back to the airport, where we didn't have to go through security or anything like that. Our plane was a charter plane so it was all white and looked like a private jet. We got back to Cape Town around 7pm dropped off our stuff and got ready to go out to Longs Street again.
I was supposed to go shark diving the next morning at 5am, but there was a chance that it would be canceled because the wind and the swells were too big. I had to get up at 5 anyway to find out and it turned out that we couldn't go, so i woke up at 5am for no reason. I guess the positive side to this was that i was ready bright and early to go explore CApe Town. I was really upset i didnt get to go shark diving, but i guess that just means that i will have to come back someday!!
We had made a backup plan to get a driver to take us around to all the sites in cape town. We went to the cape of good hope, cape point, a penguin colony, we fed ostrages, which was really fun and one of them bit me when i was trying to feed it. We ended with a visit to a township, which i was glad i got to see. Overall, it was a great day and i really feel like i got to see everything, so in a way i was kind of glad that shark diving was cancelled because i got to see sooo much more of cape town.
We were supposed to leave S Africa for Ghana that evening, but weren't able to because the winds were so strong that it would have been very difficult to get out of the port. We sat in the port until 4 pm the next day. It was really difficult to go to class and look out the window and see cape town, but couldn't get off the ship. I felt like a prisoner of the ship. It is really hard to be on a non moving ship..i dont like it. But we finally left and now we are on our way to Ghana! South Africa was amazing and i am very sad to be gone! I could have been on safari forever...i loved it and dont think i would ever get tired of it!!! For any of you who havent been i would definatily recommend it!!!!!
South Africa was amazing!!! I loved it soooo much I could move there, or at least go back again someday!
We arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday morning and went on a wine tasting tour to the winelands for the first day, Our tour guides were waiting outside the ship when we got off and took us to three wineries, Fairview, Stellenbosch, and another one that I can't remember the name of. At Fairview we got to taste 6 different wines and got to have the most amazing cheese with it. Then we went to the second winery where you could choose to taste brandy and chocolate, or wine and nuts. I chose the wine, which was probably a good choice since the brandy was 40% alcohol. After that winery we stopped to have lunch and then went to our last winery. The last winery was Stellenbosch, which had a cheetah reserve on the property. We did our wine tasting and then got to go pet baby cheetahs: pretty cool. The wine in South Africa is amazing and really cheap!!!
After our tour of the winelands, we headed to Table Mountain. The view from Table Mountain was amazing! It looked over the entire city of Cape Town and I felt like I was on top of the world. After table mountain we headed back to the ship to get ready for dinner. A group of us went to dinner in Camps Bay and then went out for a bit on Long's Street, which is the street in Cape Town with a bunch of bars.
The next morning we got up early at 4 30 am for our safari. (I have gotten really good at waking up early on this trip) We drove to the airport and flew into Johannesburg, where we got a charter plane to Hoedspruit. We landed in Hoedspruit and the pilot had to slam on his breaks to avoid hitting two cheetahs that ran across the runway. I was able to snap a photo of them out of the plane window. As you can imagine this was an amazing start to our safari! We got off the plane and straight into our safari jeeps. There was no airport where we landed, so no security or anything. It was really nice. We drove straight from the airport to the Kapama Game Reserve, which was right across the street. We arrived at our hotel, the Kapama River Lodge, which was the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed at. I understand why SAS trips are sooo expensive...we are paying for the accomodations. The pool was an infinite pool that looked over into the "jungle" and there were hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, etc. just hanging out there. We got to the hotel and checked in and had the rest of the afternoon to hangout. We had our first game drive at 4 30 pm after our afternoon tea and coffee. We set off on our game drive with our amazing safari guide Divine and our tracker Harry. Right off the bat we had our first encounter with a herd of elephants. I don't know how it is possible for a herd of elephants to hide behind trees, but these elephants did it so i wasn't able to get great pictures of them. We had originally set out in search of rhinos, but instead we found a female lion and her two 9 month old cubs. We chased them fro a while and in order to do so we had to go off-roading through the jungle. We were taking down trees adn spider webs and tree branches were whacking us in the face, but it was soooo much fun! WE followed them for the rest of the night. We also saw some giraffes. It started to get dark, but our tracker Harry was unbelievable and was able to spot things as tiny as a chameleon and owls in the pitch black. We found a chameleon and Divine took it off the plant and let it crawl on us, it was really cool. It kept climbing up on peoples heads because they like to try to get to the highest point. We started to head back to the hotel around 8, but stopped for a brief lesson on how to find our way in the dark by using the stars. We got back to the hotel just in time for dinner.
The food at the hotel was some of the most amazing food that i have ever had, especially breakfast! After dinner i went to bed pretty early because the next morning we woke up at 4 30 am for our 5am game drive. We saw a cheetah, more giraffes, some zebras, a ton of buffalo, and impala. The Pumbas (Warthogs) were one of my favorite, they were just sooo funny to watch! We headed back to the hotel around 9 for breakfast and then had the rest of the afternoon to hangout. We swam at the pool, had some lunch, and just relaxed until our next evening game drive at 4 30.
On this game drive we saw another female lion, this lion had apparently just been on her honeymoon with the male lion, which meant that the male lion was close by because he always keeps his lady in his sight, so we set out in search of him, Midoda was the male lions name. Harry, our tracker heard the lion roar from a distance and we were able to find it that way. Midoda was beautiful and probably my favorite animal that we saw on the safari. We revved our engine at him and he roared at us, which i have a video of...it is sooo cool. Once it got dark we started searching for the leopards because that is when they come out. Leopards are the hardest out of the big 5 to find. We were extremely lucky to find 2 leopards and we were able to chase them off-road again, which was super cool. I took videos of it because my camera doesnt take great pictures in the dark. After this game drive we had already seen both the diamond and the jewel of a safari (the lion and leopard). We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then i went to bed pretty early again. The next morning we woke up at 4 30 am again for our last game drive. We were setting out to find the rhino, so we could mark off seeing all of the big 5. We didn't really see much on this particular drive because it had been pouring the night before so all the animals were lying down somewhere until it got warmer. However, as we were heading back to the hotel, we came across a female rhino and her baby.
I would say that our safari was pretty successful considering that we saw all of the big 5 plus more. The Big 5 for those of you dont know include: elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and lion.
We headed back to the hotel for breakfast and check out. We checked out and our safari jeeps took us back to the airport, where we didn't have to go through security or anything like that. Our plane was a charter plane so it was all white and looked like a private jet. We got back to Cape Town around 7pm dropped off our stuff and got ready to go out to Longs Street again.
I was supposed to go shark diving the next morning at 5am, but there was a chance that it would be canceled because the wind and the swells were too big. I had to get up at 5 anyway to find out and it turned out that we couldn't go, so i woke up at 5am for no reason. I guess the positive side to this was that i was ready bright and early to go explore CApe Town. I was really upset i didnt get to go shark diving, but i guess that just means that i will have to come back someday!!
We had made a backup plan to get a driver to take us around to all the sites in cape town. We went to the cape of good hope, cape point, a penguin colony, we fed ostrages, which was really fun and one of them bit me when i was trying to feed it. We ended with a visit to a township, which i was glad i got to see. Overall, it was a great day and i really feel like i got to see everything, so in a way i was kind of glad that shark diving was cancelled because i got to see sooo much more of cape town.
We were supposed to leave S Africa for Ghana that evening, but weren't able to because the winds were so strong that it would have been very difficult to get out of the port. We sat in the port until 4 pm the next day. It was really difficult to go to class and look out the window and see cape town, but couldn't get off the ship. I felt like a prisoner of the ship. It is really hard to be on a non moving ship..i dont like it. But we finally left and now we are on our way to Ghana! South Africa was amazing and i am very sad to be gone! I could have been on safari forever...i loved it and dont think i would ever get tired of it!!! For any of you who havent been i would definatily recommend it!!!!!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Mauritius
Hi Everyone,
Mauritius was beautiful! It is a huge tourist area for Europeans (Mostly French, Scottish, Germans, etc.) Everyone there was shocked when we told them that we were from America because it is very rare for Americans to go there since it is sooo far away and hard to get to. We were only in Mauritius for 2 days, so I didn't really get the chance to explore the island like I would have liked to.
The first day we got there we went to the beach and swam and hungout in the sun. It was my friend Deepal's birthday, so we wet out to dinner in the little town called Grand Baie. We went to a great Italian place for dinner. I got tortellini, which was amazing! Then we went out and celebrated with him at a friends rented villa. The next morning we got up, had breakfast and went on a 2 hour snorkeling trip. We came back and hungout at a beach resort that had free kayaking, paddle boating, wakeboarding, waterskiing, tubing, sailing, wind surfing, every water sport you could think of! We spent the day at the resort doing all of these activities!!! We ended the day with a huge beach volleyball game. Overall. it was an amazing day full of fun beach activities! My friend Tessa and I went tubing and I am still sore from it from holding on sooo tight...kind of sad I know!!!
Off to S Africa
Mauritius was beautiful! It is a huge tourist area for Europeans (Mostly French, Scottish, Germans, etc.) Everyone there was shocked when we told them that we were from America because it is very rare for Americans to go there since it is sooo far away and hard to get to. We were only in Mauritius for 2 days, so I didn't really get the chance to explore the island like I would have liked to.
The first day we got there we went to the beach and swam and hungout in the sun. It was my friend Deepal's birthday, so we wet out to dinner in the little town called Grand Baie. We went to a great Italian place for dinner. I got tortellini, which was amazing! Then we went out and celebrated with him at a friends rented villa. The next morning we got up, had breakfast and went on a 2 hour snorkeling trip. We came back and hungout at a beach resort that had free kayaking, paddle boating, wakeboarding, waterskiing, tubing, sailing, wind surfing, every water sport you could think of! We spent the day at the resort doing all of these activities!!! We ended the day with a huge beach volleyball game. Overall. it was an amazing day full of fun beach activities! My friend Tessa and I went tubing and I am still sore from it from holding on sooo tight...kind of sad I know!!!
Off to S Africa
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Life on board the Explorer
A typical day on the ship for me is as follows:
I usually wake up around 7:15 go to breakfast and then go to the gym for an hour and shower and go to class. Depending on the day I either have 2 or 3 classes. I am typically done with class around 12:30. Then go to lunch and usually go up to the top deck to lay out in the sun and hangout at the pool. Dinner is around 5:30. After dinner they usually have events and learning seminars, so sometimes I will go to those. Then I do homework and hangout and play games or got to pub night and then bed. There is not a ton to do on the ship, so we have to make our own fun. We have been playing a lot of cards and board games to pass the time. I usually hangout with my CU friends: Suzy, Tessa, and the Boulder boys, but we have met a bunch of other people too. We hangout a lot with some boys from Penn State and some girls from Wisconsin, Bucknell and Vanderbilt, all over really.
Some of the kids have "extended families": basically, you are just adopted by one of the families on board the ship. They have things like family dinners and get togethers every once in awhile, but that is basically all there is to it. I don't have an extended family, but I know a lot of people that do. It may have been nice to be in an extended family, but I'm doing just fine without one.
Classes are going well. I just had three tests a couple days ago, so it's nice to be done with those! I got 100% on one, our global studies test was pretty hard, but I did well on it with the curve, and I haven't gotten the other one back yet.
There is a registry of people who have been on the ship before: I haven't looked for Mom in the yearbook yet, but i will. I have to register for my CU classes on april 13th and that's when we are in Ghana, so i will have to figure out when and how will be a good time to do that.
Just got back to the ship in Mauritius!!! It is beautiful here!!! Today we spent the day at the beach snorkeling, tubing, kayaking, paddle-boating, and playing volleyball. It was an amazing day!!! Cant wait to get to South Africa! I have not been able to put pics up because my computer is too big to carry around and we haven't had free wifi at any of the ports.
Love Em
I usually wake up around 7:15 go to breakfast and then go to the gym for an hour and shower and go to class. Depending on the day I either have 2 or 3 classes. I am typically done with class around 12:30. Then go to lunch and usually go up to the top deck to lay out in the sun and hangout at the pool. Dinner is around 5:30. After dinner they usually have events and learning seminars, so sometimes I will go to those. Then I do homework and hangout and play games or got to pub night and then bed. There is not a ton to do on the ship, so we have to make our own fun. We have been playing a lot of cards and board games to pass the time. I usually hangout with my CU friends: Suzy, Tessa, and the Boulder boys, but we have met a bunch of other people too. We hangout a lot with some boys from Penn State and some girls from Wisconsin, Bucknell and Vanderbilt, all over really.
Some of the kids have "extended families": basically, you are just adopted by one of the families on board the ship. They have things like family dinners and get togethers every once in awhile, but that is basically all there is to it. I don't have an extended family, but I know a lot of people that do. It may have been nice to be in an extended family, but I'm doing just fine without one.
Classes are going well. I just had three tests a couple days ago, so it's nice to be done with those! I got 100% on one, our global studies test was pretty hard, but I did well on it with the curve, and I haven't gotten the other one back yet.
There is a registry of people who have been on the ship before: I haven't looked for Mom in the yearbook yet, but i will. I have to register for my CU classes on april 13th and that's when we are in Ghana, so i will have to figure out when and how will be a good time to do that.
Just got back to the ship in Mauritius!!! It is beautiful here!!! Today we spent the day at the beach snorkeling, tubing, kayaking, paddle-boating, and playing volleyball. It was an amazing day!!! Cant wait to get to South Africa! I have not been able to put pics up because my computer is too big to carry around and we haven't had free wifi at any of the ports.
Love Em
Thursday, March 18, 2010
India 2
March 18
Hi All!!!!!
It has taken me a few days to comprehend what I saw and experienced in India and yet I still don’t know what to think about it. It was unlike anywhere I had ever been before, but it was an amazing experience and I’m sooo glad that I got the chance to see it!!! We arrived in Chennai and the first day we just walked around the town trying to find clothing that we could wear during our stay. We took little golf cart type things to get around, which were pretty fun! The one that I was in was pimped out with a sound system and tv, it was pretty crazy! We went back to the ship after a long hot day of wandering around Chennai for an early night because we had to be up at 3:15 the next morning for a flight to Delhi.
The next morning (if you can even call 3am morning) we woke up and got on buses to head to the airport for our flight to Delhi and then to Varanasi. We arrived in Varanasi at the airport, which I would hardly consider an airport. We arrived at our hotel where we ate lunch. I lived off of nan, rice, ice cream, and those doughnut things drenched in syrup…my favorite!!!!! After lunch we had a tour of Sarnath, which are the ruins of an ancient city where the Buddha preached his first sermon. It is as holy to Buddhists as Varanasi is to Hindus. Then we headed to the banks of the Ganges River to witness The Ganga Aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat, which is a ceremony that happens every morning at 5am and again at 6pm. The Hindus come to this ceremony and they pray to the Gods asking to be looked after. Watching this ceremony really made me realize how important religion is to the Hindus especially in Varanasi. We rode rickshaws through the town to get to and from the ceremony, which was an experience in itself! There are really no rules to the roads in India, so it is really a free for all. Everyone is honking horns and swerving to avoid hitting the cows that wander the streets freely. I was definitely a little bit scared on the rickshaws, but it was really fun! We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then bed. We ate every meal in hotels, which got really old fast because it was the same food for every meal. I don’t know if we did this because the food was safest at the hotels, but if so it worked because I didn’t get sick…thank god!!!!
The next morning was an early one again! We got up at 4 30am and at 5am we headed back to the Ganges River to watch the same ceremony as the night before, but this time we got to go in a boat along the Ganges. We got to see pilgrims converge to the holy waters for the ritual immersion and prayer to release their souls from the cycle of rebirth. We got to see people bathing in the Ganges River and bodies being cremated. When a Hindu person dies they are cremated and their ashes are put in the Ganges. If this process doesn’t occur the Hindus believe that the person will not be reincarnated in their next life, so it is very crucial that this process occurs. We got off the boat and got to walk through the narrow streets of Varanasi (the oldest living city in the world). After a long exciting morning we returned to the hotel for breakfast. There was an optional side trip to some markets that I went on. I got a bunch of cheap jewelry!!! India had the best jewelry and pants. Then we headed back to the airport for our flight back to Delhi. Arriving in Delhi I was shocked at how different it was from Varanasi! We had gone from the oldest poorest city in India to a large, much more developed city. We went on a sightseeing drive through Delhi on our way to our hotel. We saw a bunch of government buildings and consulates. I was happy when I learned that India’s president is a women. I have been learning a lot about gender division of labor and women in the workforce in the different countries we have visited, so I was excited to see that women in India at least are becoming increasingly more powerful in politics. We went to our hotel in Delhi earlier than planned because we were all sooo exhausted from the traveling and early mornings. We had the night free so we had dinner at the hotel and went to bed early again.
The next morning we woke up at 4 15am and left at 5am for the train station. We were taking the train from Delhi to Agra. At the train station in Delhi, there were tons of people sleeping on the ground and the second we walked in they were all getting up begging us for food. Luckily, we were given boxed breakfasts that weren’t very good, so we all had leftovers that we were able to give to them. It was really hard to see all the women and children that were living this way! I was shocked that the Indian people live amongst this poverty everyday and aren’t really phased by it, while I found it very difficult to walk by these people and not be able to help everyone of them. When we arrived in Agra after a 2 hour train ride we went to Fatehpur Sikri, which is a deserted city 25 miles from Agra. It was built by emperor Akbar as his capitol to honor a muslim saint. Then we headed to a hotel for a huge buffet lunch before heading to the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal. The Taj was the most amazing building I have ever seen! It was absolutely beautiful and I could not stop taking pictures of it!!! I could have spent hours there!! The Indian men in Agra were very excited to see American girls and would follow us around and want to take pictures with us, it was really funny. At the Taj I had an Indian family ask me to take their picture in front of the Taj and then the husband asked me If I would take a picture with his wife and 2 kids. For some reason Indian people really seem to like Americans. We left the Taj and went back to some hotel for dinner and then headed back to the train station to return to Delhi. When we got off the bus to go into the train station there was a man standing outside of the bus with elephantius in his feet. I had seen pictures of it before, but seeing it in person really freaked me out and I had a hard time getting it out of my mind. I even had a nightmare that night that I woke up and had elephantius in my feet…it freaked me out!!! The train ride back to Delhi took a lot longer than going there, but we finally got back 3 hours later around midnight! It had been a long day and we were all so exhausted!!!
We got up at 6am the next morning to go to the airport for our flight to Cochin. We arrived in Cochin and it was an hour bus ride to get to the ship and once we got there we had to go through a ton of immigration and security. The security all throughout India was insane because they had been having terrorist attacks recently, so it was a pain in the ass to get back on the ship. I was so tried and dirty and smelly and all I wanted to do was get on the ship asap. Once we got back on the ship I took a shower, but then had to get ready and pack up for our night on the houseboat on the backwaters in Cochin. The houseboat was really fun! They made dinner for us and breakfast the next morning. Then they took us for a cruise through the backwaters, which was beautiful. It was a wonderful and relaxing way to end a long trip in India.
Hi All!!!!!
It has taken me a few days to comprehend what I saw and experienced in India and yet I still don’t know what to think about it. It was unlike anywhere I had ever been before, but it was an amazing experience and I’m sooo glad that I got the chance to see it!!! We arrived in Chennai and the first day we just walked around the town trying to find clothing that we could wear during our stay. We took little golf cart type things to get around, which were pretty fun! The one that I was in was pimped out with a sound system and tv, it was pretty crazy! We went back to the ship after a long hot day of wandering around Chennai for an early night because we had to be up at 3:15 the next morning for a flight to Delhi.
The next morning (if you can even call 3am morning) we woke up and got on buses to head to the airport for our flight to Delhi and then to Varanasi. We arrived in Varanasi at the airport, which I would hardly consider an airport. We arrived at our hotel where we ate lunch. I lived off of nan, rice, ice cream, and those doughnut things drenched in syrup…my favorite!!!!! After lunch we had a tour of Sarnath, which are the ruins of an ancient city where the Buddha preached his first sermon. It is as holy to Buddhists as Varanasi is to Hindus. Then we headed to the banks of the Ganges River to witness The Ganga Aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat, which is a ceremony that happens every morning at 5am and again at 6pm. The Hindus come to this ceremony and they pray to the Gods asking to be looked after. Watching this ceremony really made me realize how important religion is to the Hindus especially in Varanasi. We rode rickshaws through the town to get to and from the ceremony, which was an experience in itself! There are really no rules to the roads in India, so it is really a free for all. Everyone is honking horns and swerving to avoid hitting the cows that wander the streets freely. I was definitely a little bit scared on the rickshaws, but it was really fun! We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then bed. We ate every meal in hotels, which got really old fast because it was the same food for every meal. I don’t know if we did this because the food was safest at the hotels, but if so it worked because I didn’t get sick…thank god!!!!
The next morning was an early one again! We got up at 4 30am and at 5am we headed back to the Ganges River to watch the same ceremony as the night before, but this time we got to go in a boat along the Ganges. We got to see pilgrims converge to the holy waters for the ritual immersion and prayer to release their souls from the cycle of rebirth. We got to see people bathing in the Ganges River and bodies being cremated. When a Hindu person dies they are cremated and their ashes are put in the Ganges. If this process doesn’t occur the Hindus believe that the person will not be reincarnated in their next life, so it is very crucial that this process occurs. We got off the boat and got to walk through the narrow streets of Varanasi (the oldest living city in the world). After a long exciting morning we returned to the hotel for breakfast. There was an optional side trip to some markets that I went on. I got a bunch of cheap jewelry!!! India had the best jewelry and pants. Then we headed back to the airport for our flight back to Delhi. Arriving in Delhi I was shocked at how different it was from Varanasi! We had gone from the oldest poorest city in India to a large, much more developed city. We went on a sightseeing drive through Delhi on our way to our hotel. We saw a bunch of government buildings and consulates. I was happy when I learned that India’s president is a women. I have been learning a lot about gender division of labor and women in the workforce in the different countries we have visited, so I was excited to see that women in India at least are becoming increasingly more powerful in politics. We went to our hotel in Delhi earlier than planned because we were all sooo exhausted from the traveling and early mornings. We had the night free so we had dinner at the hotel and went to bed early again.
The next morning we woke up at 4 15am and left at 5am for the train station. We were taking the train from Delhi to Agra. At the train station in Delhi, there were tons of people sleeping on the ground and the second we walked in they were all getting up begging us for food. Luckily, we were given boxed breakfasts that weren’t very good, so we all had leftovers that we were able to give to them. It was really hard to see all the women and children that were living this way! I was shocked that the Indian people live amongst this poverty everyday and aren’t really phased by it, while I found it very difficult to walk by these people and not be able to help everyone of them. When we arrived in Agra after a 2 hour train ride we went to Fatehpur Sikri, which is a deserted city 25 miles from Agra. It was built by emperor Akbar as his capitol to honor a muslim saint. Then we headed to a hotel for a huge buffet lunch before heading to the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal. The Taj was the most amazing building I have ever seen! It was absolutely beautiful and I could not stop taking pictures of it!!! I could have spent hours there!! The Indian men in Agra were very excited to see American girls and would follow us around and want to take pictures with us, it was really funny. At the Taj I had an Indian family ask me to take their picture in front of the Taj and then the husband asked me If I would take a picture with his wife and 2 kids. For some reason Indian people really seem to like Americans. We left the Taj and went back to some hotel for dinner and then headed back to the train station to return to Delhi. When we got off the bus to go into the train station there was a man standing outside of the bus with elephantius in his feet. I had seen pictures of it before, but seeing it in person really freaked me out and I had a hard time getting it out of my mind. I even had a nightmare that night that I woke up and had elephantius in my feet…it freaked me out!!! The train ride back to Delhi took a lot longer than going there, but we finally got back 3 hours later around midnight! It had been a long day and we were all so exhausted!!!
We got up at 6am the next morning to go to the airport for our flight to Cochin. We arrived in Cochin and it was an hour bus ride to get to the ship and once we got there we had to go through a ton of immigration and security. The security all throughout India was insane because they had been having terrorist attacks recently, so it was a pain in the ass to get back on the ship. I was so tried and dirty and smelly and all I wanted to do was get on the ship asap. Once we got back on the ship I took a shower, but then had to get ready and pack up for our night on the houseboat on the backwaters in Cochin. The houseboat was really fun! They made dinner for us and breakfast the next morning. Then they took us for a cruise through the backwaters, which was beautiful. It was a wonderful and relaxing way to end a long trip in India.
India
March 16
Hi
We just got back to the ship in Cochin. We are leaving tonight at 8pm. India was quite an experience, but a good one. My trip to the Vaj and Varanassi was really cool! Our tour guide was kind of bad, but i am really glad that i got to see what i did. The Taj was amazing and one of the most beautiful buildings i have ever seen!!! Varanassi was unlike anywhere i have ever been. The lifestyle of the people there is sooo unique!!!! Last night we went on a houseboat on the backwaters of Cochin. It was really beautiful. We got on the houseboat last night and slept on it and then this morning we cruised around, it was really cool. I wont be able to skype because i am back on the ship and wont be getting off again before we leave, but hopefully we can skype in south africa...
Love
Em
Hi
We just got back to the ship in Cochin. We are leaving tonight at 8pm. India was quite an experience, but a good one. My trip to the Vaj and Varanassi was really cool! Our tour guide was kind of bad, but i am really glad that i got to see what i did. The Taj was amazing and one of the most beautiful buildings i have ever seen!!! Varanassi was unlike anywhere i have ever been. The lifestyle of the people there is sooo unique!!!! Last night we went on a houseboat on the backwaters of Cochin. It was really beautiful. We got on the houseboat last night and slept on it and then this morning we cruised around, it was really cool. I wont be able to skype because i am back on the ship and wont be getting off again before we leave, but hopefully we can skype in south africa...
Love
Em
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