Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an interesting blend of Western and Eastern cultures.  The major cities in mainland China are also becoming more blended in terms of the East meeting the West.  Behind the facade of the high end stores, international cuisine and recreations of the United Kingdom, lays a melting pot of cultural influence that has simmered long enough to create the rather unique city of Hong Kong.

The skyline of Hong Kong, arguably one of the most impressive, especially at night, clues you into the fact that you are at the epicenter of Asia's financial district.  Sky-high buildings are home to world banks, electronic companies and major corporations, each with a well-lit neon colored sign that reads things like "Samsung".  Governed by British rule until 1997, Hong Kong was able to flourish like its European counterparts. Governing policies of mainland China were vastly different than policies in Hong Kong.  Since the return of Hong Kong to the mainland, the most popular question I heard during port preparations and during field programs was how has this affected those who live in Hong Kong.  The most simplistic way to describe it is with the slogan, "one country, two systems" which allows Hong Kong to operate economically and politically independent from China. 

Walking the streets of Hong Kong you can easily feel the influence of two ways of life.  Remove the Chinese characters from signs, add a bit of gray skies and you easily can be walking the streets of London.  Pubs line many street corners in Soho.  A stark contrast behind the Soho of London and the Soho of Hong Kong is the massive hillside for which it is built upon in Hong Kong.  Winding streets and stairs take you up steep slopes.  The best way to ascend to the top is with the Travelator, or an escalator that takes you up the hillside.  Admittedly, several of my more memorable moments of my time spent in Soho were the pubs and not one, but two Mexican restaurants.  While we are well feed on the ship, there are often voids that cannot be filled and one such thing is quality Mexican food.  Though not life changing, the Mexican food I ate in Hong Kong certainly helped to fill that void.  As for the pubs, well, there is always a void for one of those, and having a cold pint with friends is never a bad time.

Leaving behind the Western influences of Hong Kong, I took a day trip to Lantau island.  In recent years the island is becoming more developed - it is home to the new Hong Kong International Airport and also Hong Kong Disneyland - but it still retains much of its old world charm.  The trip included a stop a fishing village.  The narrow streets were lined with many sundries from the sea.  Some of them recognizable; some of them not.

Leaving the fishing village, we traveled down the tranquil streets, many with fantastic views of the island's mountains, coastal areas or lush vegetation.  The trip's highlight was the Big Buddha and Buddhist monastery atop the mountain on the island.  The Big Buddha is among some of the largest bronzed Buddhas in the world.  Adjacent to the Big Buddha is the Po Lin Monastery for which we were given free time to explore on our own, following a great vegetarian lunch.

The last day in Hong Kong concluded with a cable car ride down from the monastery and off the summit of the mountain.  Returning to the ship meant preparing for the short crossing to Viet Nam and a great temperature change from the lower 60s to the mid 90s.  It was not complete, however, without Hong Kong given us a proper send off with its nightly laser light show.  As each light flashed and each beam cut across the sky, you are reminded that Hong Kong impresses with not only its sites, but with also its breadth of cultural influence and history.

Shanghai

The Shanghai skyline, with the famous Oriental Pearl Tower, greeted the ship.  Onboard ship, we were greeted with the Chinese bureaucracy of immigration.  I have come to learn through my years of traveling that entering and exiting a country is quite arbitrary.  Rules and regulations you are told one day can be opposite the next.  Such was the case for gaining ship clearance in Shanghai.  Normally, once the ship is cleared all passengers are allowed to disembark.  Gaining ship's clearance happens in several ways, most often with immigration officers looking at all passports and placing the entry stamp inside.  Other times, it is face-to-face, where each passenger must meet with an immigration officer to have their passport stamped.  For this arrival, it was face-to-face, but by specific groups.  The downside, they were letting passengers off the ship after going through immigration.  Imagine my concern, when I have several tours waiting to leave the pier, student gathering at the buses, and myself and my colleagues stuck onboard toying with the idea of dispatching trips from the ship's outside deck. 

Fortunately, my team and I were processed and made it outside in time to not only dispatch our trips, but to stand and freeze in the cold.  I didn't quite know if I would need it when I was packing for the voyage, but my winter coat (purchased for the winters of Minnesota) was worth the luggage space.  

China has a population of 1.3 billion with 14 million in Shanghai alone -- almost double the population of New York City.  The population density was felt while walking the streets where shoulder to shoulder is the norm, not the exception.  To add to the density, it was also Lunar (Chinese) New Year - a 15 day celebration - when many go on holiday.  Nanjing Road is known for its many shops and popular amongst visitors.  As such, it was full of shoppers, visitors and tourists as far as you could see.  One my least favorite times to be out shopping is between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The shopping malls are overcrowded, people bump into you, you are hot from wearing your winter coat indoors.  The anxiety I have for that was all too present while walking the streets of Shanghai.  

I enjoy good Chinese food while at home, and I am very much aware that American Chinese food is often far from authentic Chinese food.  Delicacies of China are not always delicacies back home.  Because of this, and my previous visit to China, I had my apprehensions about meals while in China.  Courtney, our Lonely Planet expert and Chief Research Officer, came across two all vegetarian restaurants.  The meaning of being vegetarian through Asia is always up to interpretation.  In Japan, for example, it meant bits of pork where acceptable.  Being vegetarian is not a commonly held practice in Asia, so not to our surprise, there were many dishes on the menu at the vegetarian restaurant that included meat.  What was a surprise, was that it was  all mock meat.  While I am not vegetarian, I enjoyed temporarily becoming one in China and had two fantastic meals which were a highlight of my visit. 

Other notables of Shanghai included visiting a Jade Buddha temple, a tucked away Chinese tea shop , Dunkin Donuts and stumbling on the filming of a Hugh Jackman movie on the streets of Shanghai.  All-in-all, a good visit.  

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

The warm weather of Hawaii was nowhere to be found while in Japan.  Actually, the first day was sort of a tease as it was sunny and somewhere in the mid 50s.  The following days mother nature showed us that whether at home or in Japan, winter in February is just plain cold.

I had few things I wanted to accomplish while in Japan.  Most importantly was getting sushi.  Its been over two months since I've had sushi and I've greatly been missing my often weekly visits to Wasabi in Minneapolis.  Japan did not disappoint.  In fact, it may have been a step up from the normal spicy crab and spicy tuna that I am used to (sorry, Carlie).  A new favorite - tuna salad roll. 

Part of the excitement for visiting Japan is experiencing a place I have been before, but now with a new sense of awareness following graduate school.  I have often overheard people onboard ship talk about something they saw or an experience they had that was just wrong or about how they couldn't believe someone would act "that way".  The way people in Japan, or anywhere, act is not wrong.  It is right to them based on their culture.  Just because those from a different culture do not view it as right does not make it wrong.  I was more aware of this after my first voyage 6 years ago.  It is interesting to have that awareness going into this one.  Sure, there are things that I view as different or frustrating still, but I at least know they are not that way to simply make me uncomfortable.  

My exploration style is usually random.  I have no set itinerary or idea of what I want to accomplish.  While this would be helpful in some regards, it has allowed for some great random moments and great little finds.  Plus, I know Courtney is never far away with a Lonely Planet in hand to help along the way.  The only structure I had was a planned capsule hotel stay and an overnight bus from Tokyo to Osaka.

Danielle, Nate, Courtney and I descended upon Tokyo for two solid days of exploration.  From Yokohama we took the direct train to Shibuya, Tokyo's Times Square.  While bright and flashy, it luckily was not overcrowded as New York's Time's Square.  Our wandering took us to many areas of town that are likely not visited by tourists.  We visited small neighborhoods, parks and restaurants.  While four Americans will never truly be able to integrate into life in Tokyo in two mere days, it is at least nice to get a snapshot of what life is like in those communities.

As a group of self-proclaimed wanders, we frequently were heard saying, "What's that?"  To which the response was always, "I don't know, but let's go check it out".  On two separate occasions, a what's that moment brought us to two of the highlights of our time in Tokyo.  They included the Shakaden -- a main meeting hall of the lay Buddhist Assocation Reiyuka and Sensoji Temple -- a Buddhists temple.  Sensoji offered some great exploration and witness to the practice of Buddhism.  As it was a national holiday (Founder's Day), the area was a popular stop for many.   

The most off the beaten path thing for me during my stay in Tokyo was the capsule hotel.  Capsule hotels are a popular form of lodging for traveling business men in Japan.  Similar to a hostel, many people share the same room.  The difference is that you are in individual capsules or what looks like elongated human microwaves.  It is uncommon for women to stay in capsule hotels and from our searches, there were very few that could accommodate women.  Courtney was determined to find one and succeeded.  As did a large portion of the SAS student population.  Inside the capsule there is a control panel to the right that controls the lights and the television.  It is reminiscent of controls and dials from yesteryear.  To my surprise, the capsule was pretty comfortable.  Getting a decent amount of sleep on the other hand was influenced by the amount of people coming in around 3am.

The not so hot part of Japan was the weather.  We had reservations for an overnight bus around 11:30pm.  The lack of sleep did not help with the walk, but our spirits remained high.  Our limits were tested, however, when mother nature showed her face again.  This time in pouring rain which created the cold to your bone chill.  A random hotel lobby and several rounds of Uno helped us through until we had to wait in said rain, huddled together, for the bus.  To my surprise, though, the bus was quite comfortable and an 8 hour ride went by quickly.

During my time spent in Japan, Mr. Roboto was frequently stuck in my head.  And if you're lucky, it will be now, too.

It's a hard days work

To fully describe my job would take a bit of time, include many elaborations and several examples before someone has a sense of what it is I really do.  To many, I work on a ship and that is “so cool”.  Had I not worked for Semester at Sea for so long, I don’t think I would completely know what it is I do.  There are multiple sides and facets of my job that stretch from two opposite ends of a spectrum.  It ranges from student affairs all the way to sales.  If you asked me to describe my current job in the most simplistic of terms, I would tell you that I am in the business of saying no.

I have been on ship for 18 days and I have said the word no or moved my head in a side-to-side motion more times than I can count.  My work is spiced up when I am giving the opportunity to say more than just no.  It has included, “I’m sorry that can’t happen”, “That is against ISE policy”, “That is not allowed”, etc. etc.  It has been interesting working in higher education for the past 7.5 years and seeing the change in college students today.  Living with nearly 600 of them has made me even more aware of the latest generational trends.  In particular, lack of commitment.  My “just say no campaign” is more a result of this lack of commitment.  The students have made their field program choices, but constantly want to cancel or change them.  Their reliance on instant satisfaction and pampering from their [helicopter] parents allows them to think that if they want it, they can have it.  Then they come to the Field Office desk and hear (and based on their reactions, they are hearing it for the first time) no. 

To counter this, there are many positive aspects to my job that include the fantastic students that come to the desk (yes, they do exist) and the many opportunities this job provides.  As an example, I am currently sitting on Deck 5 aft, legs stretched out with nothing but blue ocean as far as the eye can see.  I cannot ignore the fact that I am circling the globe.  To quote one my favorite fellow SAS alums, “My worst day at sea is better than my best day on land”. 

Because of this job, the last 18 days have been exciting, tiring, long, short and everything in between.   After a rough ride from Mexico to Hawaii, we arrived to Hilo, which is located on the eastern side of the big island.  Often referred to as the wet side of the island, Hilo is more industrial and lacks the hype and allure of Waikiki or other travel resorts.  That is a good thing.  While I am open to traveling to many different places, a tourist trap is often last on my list.  Hilo had a feel that was more off the beaten path and true to local island life.  When the ship arrives in port, the second half of my job comes to life.  I, along with my colleagues in the Field Office, are responsible for seeing each field trip off.  This means that as the hundreds of passengers rush off the gangway to explore the island, we get to go only a stone’s throw from the ship.  Once the trips are away, we get a little playtime ourselves. 

My two days in Hilo provided some quality time to relax and to spend with friends. It included a walk through downtown Hilo, a Lu’au and a drive south on the island to explore Volcanoes National Park, tidal pools and a natural hot pond.  All-in-all, it was a good reprieve from the battering we all had taken while crossing the Pacific to reach the island chain. 

  

Local brews.  Always the way to go.

 

Tidal pools on the Big Island

Volcanoes National Park.

Arriving in Honolulu was a reminder that we had traveled thousands of miles, but had gone nowhere at all.  A modern U.S. city, Honolulu has the hustle and bustle you’d find at home.  If you avoid the tourist trap that is Waikiki and the resorts, you’ll find some amazing things on the island of Oahu.  Armed with a rental car, we took off with no set plan but to explore the island.  Within 10 minutes of leaving the hustle and bustle of downtown Honolulu, you are taken up the mountainside, where the car’s temperature gauge drops from a warm and welcoming sunny 81 degrees to 70 degrees, foggy and rainy.  Our drive took us along the northeastern side of the island, following the coast to the North Shore with random stops along the way.

 

Photo op on the way to the North Shore.

Following Hawaii, we began our 10 day stretch to Yokohama, Japan where will we arrive in just a few days.  The seas have been cooperative, though I hear we are to experience some rougher waters as we turn more northward tomorrow.  The Pacific Ocean in winter often leaves little to be desired.  That aside, I do have some exciting things to look forward, including a capsule hotel stay in Tokyo, more random exploration, sushi and an overnight bus. 

And we're off!

I've been on the ship for 2 weeks now and it has been nonstop since the moment I step onboard.  In that two weeks I have seen friends I only get to see about once a year, welcomed 700 alumni onboard, spent the day in Cabo San Lucas, said goodbye the friends and alumni and have started the spring 2010 voyage.  Saying things have been busy is quite the understatement.

For faculty and staff the voyage officially began on January 13th when they boarded in San Diego.  Before headint to Ensenada for a couple days worth of training, the day in San Diego was spent getting all the last minute items for a 3.5 month journey around the world, and of course, a stop at In n' Out burger.

The few days that followed were spent in orientation meetings and training.  For my department, all of us have sailed before or have worked in the office so it meant less training and more of getting right to work.  On the 17th, the students boarded and took over the quiet oasis that was for those few days of training "our" ship.  To be honest, though, it hardly feels like they are here.  The ship is great at absorbing people and I have yet to feel like it is over crowded.  We have just about 600 students onboard.  It has been fun to watch them all get their sea legs and adapt to shipboard life.  It has been quite rocky the last couple of days; some of the worse I've experienced.  It is not terrible, but is annoying.  My office chair is on wheels which makes it even that much more entertaining.

We are four days from Hawaii.  So far I have no set plans for our port stay, and I kind of like it that way.  Last time I sailed, I had booked most of my time with field programs.   This time I want to just go with the flow.  I am attending a Luau Reception on our day of arrival which will be hosted by the University of Hawaii-Hilo.  After Hawaii, we set sail for Japan and return, for just a brief stint, to some winter like weather.

The voyage is starting to feel real to me finally.  For the last week or so, it wasn't quite real.  I am very used to being on the ship, getting it ready for the voyage and waving goodbye as it pulls away from the dock.  This time I was the one on the ship be waved at.  Once we hit Japan I think reality will finally set in for me.  On a side note, the staff and faculty seem to be a great group.  We have all commented that we all haven't met yet.  I'm looking forward to getting to know more of them once we all fall into our routines a little better.  I'm also lucky to know several people already, so it is great to have awesome friends here already.

Time to report to work (yes, to all those who think this job is all about sitting on a deck chair all day, I do work!).  More to come after Hawaii.

Starting off 2010 right

Next week I leave for the spring 2010 Semester at Sea voyage.  This has been 18 months in the making for me, from when I first thought about applying to the S10 voyage to getting hired to eventually waiting and waiting for January to come.  Before I leave for San Diego on Thursday, I have many things to knock off my to-do list.  This list continues to grow, but now that I have finished my Master's thesis, I have 6 days to cross them all off.  Wish me luck. 

This blog will serve as a way for me to keep you all updated on my experiences as I circle the globe.  I cannot promise that it will be updated often, but I will try my best.  You can also follow the progress of the voyage on the Semester at Sea website.  In turn, keep me updated on things that are going on in your lives.  A great way to do so would be by sending me actual mail!  A link to this information will always be on the right-hand side of this blog, but here is a list of the ports I will be visiting and instructions for sending me mail:  

Important Reminder: Mail to those aboard ship should be addressed as follows:
MV Explorer - Spring 2010 Voyage
ATTN: Name of Recipient
Port Agent Address (from list below)

Mail: ISE strongly recommends sending important mail via private courier, such as UPS and FedEx and advises against sending mail via U.S. Postal Service, as it can take 2 weeks or more and service in various countries may be poor. Please send items Airmail only. Please do not send any mail to the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) or to the University of Virginia to be forwarded.

ISE does not recommend sending packages to the ship - Excessive duty is charged in some countries. In many instances, packages are held in customs or at local post offices and are not processed in time to be delivered to the ship. If you send packages, you do so at your own risk. We strongly discourage sending currency and other valuable items. In many countries, it is illegal to send medication or food.

PORT	ADDRESS OF PORT AGENT	SUGGESTED AIRMAIL DATE
Hilo, HAWAII Phone: 1 808 599 8604 Fax: 1 808 599 1950	Inchcape Shipping Services 521 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 256 Honolulu, HI 96813	January 11
Honolulu, HAWAII   Phone: 1 808 599 8604 Fax: 1 808 599 1950	Inchcape Shipping Services 521 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 256 Honolulu, HI 96813	January 13
Yokohama, JAPAN Phone: 81 45.201 6991 Fax: 81 45.212 1614	INCHCAPE SHIPPING  SERVICES F Asahi Seimei Yokohama Honcho Bldg 36, 4-Chome Honcho, Naka-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-0005, JAPAN	January 26
Kobe, JAPAN                  Phone: 81 78 391 3046 Fax: 81 78 391 3105	Inchcape Shipping Services (Japan) Ltd. Kenryu Bld, Room 502 6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku Kobe-shi, Hygo-ken 650-0024, JAPAN	January 29
Shanghai, CHINA Phone: 86 21 6323 1350 Fax: 86 21 6329 1519	Penavico Shanghai 3/F 13 Zhong Shan Road (E 1) Shanghai 200002, P.R. CHINA	February 2
HONG KONG, CHINA  Phone: 852 2786 1155 Fax: 852 2744 3240	Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd. Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor N° 3 Lockhart Road   Wanchai, HONG KONG - CHINA	February 5
Ho Chi Minh City, VIET NAM Phone: 84 8 626 19602 Fax: 84 8 626 19603	CONTINENTAL CO LTD 55 Le Quoc Street Ward 12 D. 4, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM	February 12
Chennai, INDIA             Phone: 91 44 252 12032 Fax: 91 44 252 43813	J. M. Baxi & Co. 3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex 4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai Chennai 600 001, INDIA	February 25
Cochin, INDIA               Phone: 84 8 825 7996 Fax: 852 2744 3240	J.M. BAXI & CO N°26/1566 Subramaniam Road Willingdon Island KOCHI 682003, INDIA	March 1
Port Louis, MAURITIUS Phone: 230 202 70 40 Fax: 230 208 5814	Ireland Blyth Limited                       Shipping Operations Department No 6 Dr Ferriere Street Port Louis, MAURITIUS	March 9
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA Phone: 27 21 419 8660 Fax: 27 21 413 0290	JOHN T. RENNIE & SONS 19th FLOOR No.1  Thibault Square 8001 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA	March 18
Tema (Accra), GHANA                       Phone: 233 22 300 894 / 5 Fax: 233 22 202 989	HULL BLYTH Seatec House / PO Box CO 214 Akosombo Road Tema, GHANA	March 29
Salvador, BRAZIL Phone: 55 71 3241 4990 Fax: 55 71 3243 5633	OCEANUS AGENCIA MARITIMA Av. Estados Unidos, 555 7th Floor / room 712 40015-010 Salvador, BRAZIL	April 2