11.20.09
When we pulled into Yokohama this morning, I went up to Deck 7 and watched the drum performance going on to welcome us. It was pretty cool. I grabbed breakfast with Katie, Dr. Aimee, her husband Mark, Dr. Skokan and the interport lecturer. It was a pretty entertaining breakfast.
Once we got completely docked we all met up in Tymetz square and headed out. Clearing the ship was different this time. We all went through customs individually and we had to get into the port and stand in a single file line, with no talking, which seems to be a huge challenge for some people. We each met with an individual immigration agent. We handed over our passport, had our photo and fingerprints taken. Then we moved onto customs. We handed in paperwork and had our bags x-rayed. We regrouped, went to the info desk, grabbed a map and headed to Tokyo. The railway system is ridiculous. There are about 5 different lines and then there are buses, and subways and about 8 other forms of transportation. We made it to Tokyo after 2 transfers only to realize that we were not in the part of Tokyo we wanted to be in. Our goal ending place was the Harajuku district that has been made famous by Gwen Stefani. After another train or subway ride, I am still not sure which one we were on, we made it.
Once we got there, we really had no plans so we just wondered. We had a guidebook and they mentioned something about an Oriental Bazaar that looked interesting so we headed in that direction. We were all starving and we wanted to find some food, but it turns out that the hibachi style food is not popular in Japan – go figure. We were lured into a restaurant that was advertising pizza and beer. It was kind of like a Japanese Cici’s pizza. It was 1000 yen or about $10 for a drink, and unlimited pizza, pasta, fried potatoes (but not French fries), and for some reason curry with rice. There were not really any set types of pizza. It seemed like the cook was just throwing together whatever he could find in the kitchen. We tried a little of everything. There was a corn and mayonnaise, weird but good. Shrimp and mayo, beef and onion, which was good, and there was another one that was supposed to some sort of beef, but it tasted like seafood. Gross. That was really the only really bad one that I tried. Kelsey and Mackenzie tried this one kind with green powder and a marshmellow. I definitely stayed away from that one. Kelsey tried it and said it was disgusting. I’m not surprised.
Once we had our fill of pizza, we wondered out We thought we were going the wrong direction, but we ended up stumbling upon the Oriental Bazaar. It was a really cool shop. They have pretty much everything you could want from Japan. We shopped around a little bit. After we had our purchases, we got directions from some woman in the bazaar and headed to Harajuku. Turns out that it is basically a street, not really a district, but it was still really cool. As we wondered along the ally, we looked into the little shops. We kept seeing all these thrift stores so eventually decided to go in one. Inside, it was basically a nice goodwill. It was full of all the clothes that you wish you could find at Goodwill at home. Then we were hit with a shock. Instead of paying about $1 for a t-shirt you paid $60! Who knew that our thrown out clothing would be so popular in Japan. Katie bought a vintage Batman shirt for her brother. At another store, we found a ton of cheap t-shirts. I somehow managed to find a sweatshirt that said “Grand Ole Opry. Nashville, Tenn.” On it. That was weird.
We wondered down another alley in search of the 100 yen store, which is basically the dollar store. As we were walking, we were mesmerized by the neon lights and the outfits of the local teens. They all have these adorable thigh-high boots that if anyone in the US wore they would look like a prostitue, but somehow they can get away with it. Actually, I don’t know how they wear some of the clothing they wear and not look like skanks. Even their school uniform skirts, which are WAY cuter than any uniform in the US, are short. They also never have a hair out of place and perfect curls. I was started to get really jealous, but then I realized that most of them were wearing wigs. They also had some weird accessories, like an eye patch or small hats that look like they belong to an American Girl doll.
Anyway, Katie, Kelsey and Mackenzie got crepes and that was right by the 100 yen store. It wasn’t as exciting as everyone made it out to be. After exploring the 4 floors of the store, we went around to the random alleyways and stores. Katie and I ended up with some adorable heels for $30. After some more venturing, we some how came upon the Togo Shrine. It was named for a famous Japanese general who won a huge naval battle. It was interesting, but I felt a little awkward because I didn’t know what the protocol for behavior was.  There were people bowing and clapping. After poking around some more, we went back to the main drag. It was getting dark and we decided to head back to Yokohama. When we looked at the map, we saw that we just needed to get to Shibuya and then we could take a train direct to Yokohama. It took a while to figure out how to get to Shibuya, but we got there eventually. Once in Shibuya, it was even more difficult to find the train we needed because there was NOTHING in English. And it’s not like you can try to sound out Japanese. Turns out that train that we needed had two different names, which made things even more confusing and who would have thought that the Tokyo line would go to Yokohama. The whole process took about 90 minutes.
When we got back to Yokohama we headed for the ship. We ran into a big group of people and made plans to meet up at 2000 and go out. We grabbed dinner on the ship and then got ready.
We met up with the group of about 25 and headed to Chinatown. Yes, I realize that we just came from China, but Chinatown has the karaoke bar that was recommended to us. It took a while to find the place, but it turned out to be more expensive than anyone wanted. So one part of the group left for Yokohama station and the rest went to look for a local bar. We went with the group to find the local bar and found another karaoke bar that was a little cheaper. Paulo, Katie, Kelsey, Drew, Cav and I decided to stay there. It was a lot of fun, but Paulo can actually sing so that sucked for the rest of us. He sounds just like John Legend. We sang a lot of cliché songs, but it was still a lot of fun. There were a ton a businessmen there. Apparently, it is the thing to do after work. We stayed for an hour and then headed back to the ship. Katie and I had to get up early the next morning for a trip.

I am really looking forward to Japan. It will be interesting to see how many people can squeeze into such a small space. I am a little bummed that I can’t get to Disney, but from what research I have done I think I am going to need a month in Japan to really get to see everything. Even though I am staying on the ship for one day, I will still be able to see a lot.
I am really looking forward to the food. I hope it is somewhat like home. Everyone on the ship is excited for sushi, but that is not really what I want. I really want to try Kobe beef, but it is SUPER expensive.
I am also really excited to see Tokyo and Harajuku and the crazy fashions that go along with it. I am pretty sure that Japan is a place I will be coming back to so this is just like a taste.

China was a country that really surprised me. I really didn’t think I would want to come back, but I actually really enjoyed it – Despite the fact that I froze my butt off. I saw the influence of the communist government, but not as much as I thought I would. It was all really subtle. Like how you can’t get on facebook or how the tour guides can’t talk about the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The food was also different than Chinese food in the States. It was less fried, but more greasy. I must say that I mastered my chopstick skills. People are so happy in China, especially the elderly we saw at the Temple of Heaven. In the US, everyone has such a negative connotation with the word communism and assume that people are unhappy. But I found that most everyone was happy with their life and their government.
One thing that I really loved about China is how they pronounce words that end in the letter a. Like China or Panda. These words are pronounced “Chiner” and “Pander.” I think I would go back to China just so I could say that and people wouldn’t think I was crazy. All the people in China are just so nice.
I really would like to go back and spend more time in Hong Kong and Shanghai. One interesting thing is that the taxi drivers seemed to want nothing to do with us, which is a drastic change from the other ports we have been to. I don’t know if it was because we didn’t speak the language or what. In other ports, taxis, rickshaws, cyclos, tuk tuks or whatever are all hassling us.
Overall, I really enjoyed China and I really hope that I stay in contact with the university students that I met like Alice and Yolanda. I really liked how we were able to wonder around by ourselves, but yet still had some structure.

11.17.09
I slept in this morning and took it easy. I really didn’t want to get off the ship. One because it really wasn’t that much time to actually do anything. Two it was raining and three I am coming down with something so I thought it better to rest. So I just stayed in and edited pictures. Katie came by and we grabbed lunch and came back to the cabin and had a movie-fest. Mackenzie joined us as well and we watched The Proposal – now I finally understand what everyone was talking about when they said that the quilt that Granny made me looks like the baby making quilt from that movie, and we also watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. It was a pretty lazy day.
We set sail that night for Yokohama.

11.16.09
We woke up this morning and were greeted with a rainy day in Shanghai. Yuck. I met up with Kelsey, Christina, Rosario and Kate and we headed to find internet. We tried to find a cab and we asked a doorman and he said to just to take the bus. Christina all the sudden busts out into Mandarin – who knew? Turns out that her dad is from Hong Kong and she speaks Mandarin with her grandmother and she took Cantonese in high school. She made it a lot in easier in getting around. We could never really find the bus station, so Kelsey and Christina went into a little store and we stayed outside. We were just hanging out outside. We are watching this white car try to pull a u-turn in the middle of the street…who does that? Not only does a huge truck almost t-bone him, but then as he finishes his turn, this guy on a motorbike comes from the other side of the truck and then the white car hits the guy on the motorbike literally right in front of us. Kate screamed and we just couldn’t believe what had happened. It’s not like we could really do anything.
We had to flag a cab and that was a task and a half. When we finally flagged one down, this other guy tried to take it from us. They have no line etiquette or concept of personal space. All 5 of us piled into the cab and eventually made it to the You Gardens, which is normally a beautiful garden, but on a rainy day it really isn’t that exciting. We ran around trying to find the Starbucks. WE found it, but it didn’t have wireless. They said to try KFC. Well that didn’t work either. Kelsey and I broke off from the other group and explored every restaurant possible and asked everyone we could find and no one knew what we were talking about. We ran into 2 flight attendants and they tried to help, but they didn’t know where internet was either. They did help us figure out where we were, which was a plus because we had just been wondering aimlessly through what I only know how to describe as China Town in NYC.
We eventually gave up and went to McDonalds. I was craving a cheeseburger so bad. It was delicious. We then decided it was time to give up on internet and it was time to shop. We just wondered around and somehow ended up in a 5 story whole sale warehouse. It was really neat, but I wish we could have found someone that spoke English so they could explain to us what was going on.
We wondered some more and eventually found a lovely woman with a pearl shop. Kelsey and I ended up spending the next hour in her shop. After bargaining, we walked away with 6 strands of pearls and 4 silver and pearl necklaces for 520 yuan (~$76). So I think that is pretty good considering it is real silver and pearls (she lit them on fire to prove it). The woman gave us her business cards to give to our friends so she could get more business.
We said goodbye with much lighter wallets and in search of a duffle bag. I found a place and a very colorful bag, but it was WAY more expensive than I wanted. He originally said 320 and I offered 60. He laughed at me so we left. Next thing I know they are running down the street saying 60 was good. So I got a LeSport Sac bag for under $10. With all of our goals accomplished, we decided to head back to the ship even though we had some time to spare.
We ended up stopping in for some food at Pizza Hut. I loved it. All the waitresses had Christmas hats on and the place was playing Christmas music. That was a nice change of pace. Kelsey and I split and cheese pizza and it was glorious. Some more SASers came in and they told us that Dunkin Donuts had internet. Go figure.
We finished our pizza and headed to Dunkin Donuts. We caught a cab and eventually found it through lots of hand gestures, pointing and a map. When we got there and even though it was almost one in the morning at home I called Dad. It was really exciting because Grammy was in town and I got to talk to her on skype. The best part was that I was sitting next to window in the restaurant and while talking, I had a crowd of Chinese people watching my conversation video. It was rather entertaining. I also got to talk to mom.
We left Dunkin Donuts and headed back to the ship. We tried to walk, but got lost and got directions from a local student. The sheet with the ship address written in Chinese was wrong, so he wrote it correctly for us. He was super nice.
Cab drivers wanted nothing to do with us, but we somehow ended up in front of the Westin. So we had the valet there get us a cab. We got back to the ship and had to wait in line with a bunch of people in the rain. People in line, especially a particular life long learner, were getting pretty feisty. When we were finally able to get back on the ship we found out that because of bad weather we were staying Shanghai another night and on ship time was extended until noon tomorrow. Great.
I went back to my cabin and began organizing all of my stuff, which took a lot longer than I expected it to. We grabbed some dinner on the ship and hit the hay early.

11.15.09
I got really lucky that I brought an alarm clock because the hotel forgot to give us our wake up call this morning. We were all scrambling. We were all checked out and ready to go only 20 minutes behind schedule. So I think that is pretty good. Yolanda was PISSED at the hotel, but we made it fine.
The first stop was the Temple of Heaven. This was my favorite place that we visited. I could have stayed there all day. The temple was cool, but the awesome part was toward the end. We passed this group that was singing all sorts songs. They seemed to be church hymns of some kind. Kelsey and I stopped and listened. It was awesome. We approached them afterward to show how much we enjoyed the show. I think they got the point because they broke out in smiles.
We next encountered what Yolanda told us is where the elderly come to exercise on the weekends. We stopped and watched some elderly dance what we think was Russian, but they were too cute! They were all so happy. We also played this game where a tennis ball had ribbons coming off of it and then you caught it in this tennis racket looking thing. It was pretty fun, but then the guy tried to get us to buy one. We passed and kept walking. We saw them singing karaoke, playing dominos, Mulan checkers (we didn’t know what this game is called, but it is the game in the movie Mulan when she helps the old guys), playing their version of hackey sack, which is this weird thing with feathers coming out of the end, and just dancing. It was awesome walking through there. They were all just so welcoming toward us to join them. Kelsey grabbed Yao Fung and started dancing with her. They were in the middle of the courtyard where they had an amplification system set up and someone was singing. There were people everywhere just dancing. It was fabulous. Laila even found herself a dancing partner in this little adorable old Chinese man. The whole thing was so neat. I could have watched the people there all day. There were people dancing from all sorts of different cultures and different types of dancing. There was a couple waltzing, belly dancing, just swaying or just being silly. It was great and I am so glad that I got to see that side of China and the Chinese.
We then got dropped off for some shopping at the Pearl Market. That place is crazy and has everything you could ever imagine. It had 5 floors jammed packed with everything from clothes to kites to luggage to the newest electronics. Kelsey and I ran around and did some serious power shopping. We went on a mad dash to find an ATM. We eventually found one. Kelsey and I got some money out and it was game on.
Kelsey got a webcam for 50 yuan. We then tried to find CD cases. We eventually found some and we told the woman that we wanted 2 like the one she had out, which was black and had an antique map of China on it. After we bargained down the price to 75 for 2 we rounded up to 100 so Kelsey could get some headphones too. When she brought out the CD cases, they, of course, had Mickey Mouse on them…how fitting. We were just kind of hanging out at that woman’s stand and Kelsey happened to spot a flash drive with 240 gigs on it. After proving to us that they actually worked, we got into a bargaining war. She started out at 240 for one. I walked to stall next door and they had the same thing. So we got them trying to out bid each other. We ended up getting 2 of them for 90 yuan! (about $7 each). That is such a steal. We ended up just killing time and just seeing how cheap we could get people to go. I am quite proud at how my bargaining skills have improved.
We got back on the bus and headed to the airport for Shanghai. It was really sad to say goodbye to Yao Fung and Yolanda. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, but other than that it really wasn’t all that exciting.
It was raining when we got into Shanghai so that was a bummer, but the city seems really cool and it will be fun to explore tomorrow. We got back on the ship and crashed. We just hung out and everyone caught up on their trips. We all made plans to shop the next day and said goodnight.

11.14.09
We woke up and had the usual breakfast of sweet potatoes and noodles. When we left the hotel, we went to Tiananmen Square. We walked through the square and had some free time for a couple of hours. Yolanda had mentioned something about an H&M and we eventually wanted to find that.
Kelsey, Robyn and I first went into the Great Hall of the People. It was very underwhelming, plus there was NO information anywhere so we really had no idea what we were looking at. We adventured around and saw a big theater and some pretty rooms. When we left we wondered what we had just toured. Once we got out of the hall and reclaimed our bags that we had checked, Robyn got out her iPhone and goggled it. Turns out that it is the Chinese equivalent to a parliament building. So it is like going to the capital.
We wondered in the general direction of the H&M, but we never really made it there. We just ended up going into little hole in the wall stores. They were a lot of dollar store type places. The best part was that we managed to find a grocery store. There were some really interesting things there like duck in a bag or beef jerky candy. We skipped the duck in a bag and went with oreos, sprites and some interesting flavored chips – French Chicken and Texas BBQ.
We got back to Tiananmen Square a little before the meeting time. As we were heading back to the meeting location, we saw a group of American teenage girls all lined up in front of the memorial. Next thing I know, they are busting out the Ho Down Throw Down from the Hannah Montana Movie. Oh yeah – they were that cool. It was slightly ridiculous, but very funny to watch the Chinese react. They had no idea what to do. One woman was brave and managed to side step in front of some of the girls while her friend took a picture.
We found the group and went into the Forbidden City for lunch. Lunch was the usual Chinese. I really just want a cheeseburger. After we ate, we went on a tour of the Forbidden City. We were given audio guides, which also had a map on them. The Forbidden City is HUGE! Thank god for those maps or we would have never made it out. We kept trying to find the Temple of abstinence, but somehow we always ended up in the temple of heavenly something or other. Turns out that we couldn’t get into the temple we wanted to go in. The best part of the audio guide maps was that they had a sensor in them and a light would light up and tell you where you were and where you had been. Kelsey and I just kept ducking into little stores so we could defrost for a little bit.
We eventually made it to the temple gardens, which is where we were meeting the group. They were absolutely gorgeous. There were all these beautiful flowers and pagodas and rocks. But before we were really able to enjoy the gardens, we had a group of Chinese come up and ask to take our picture with us. Kelsey is like a tourist attraction with her blonde hair and all and add in the fact that we had Panda hats on our heads we get a lot of weird looks. As soon as we left that group, there were 2 more girls waiting. We were able to break free of the meet and great line and ducked into a little café.  Kelsey grabbed some popcorn and we sat and ate and learned about our Chinese horoscopes.
As we were walking to meet up with the group, we saw a group of art students who had an art exhibit. They showed us their work and it was beautiful, but way too expensive. They got so excited when we complimented their work. We made it back to the group and walked to Jingshan Park, which is behind the Forbidden City. Kelsey and I found sweet potatoes so we bought some just to stay warm. The park turned out to be an overlook over the Forbidden City and Beijing. It was gorgeous and we got there right at sunset so the lighting was perfect. We could see for miles around Beijing. It was awesome.
When we walked down from the overlook, we boarded the bus since the first time that morning and it was almost 5. It was great to be able to get fully warm. Our next stop was dinner. None of us were really hungry, but we still got a ton of food. At dinner we sat with MacGarret, Leslie, and Ana. It was great conversation. I love talking to all the staff. They all have such diverse backgrounds and they are all hysterical.
After dinner, we went to an acrobatic show. The other SAS university group was there. We also met a guy from Boulder, who was on his honeymoon and his younger brother had done SAS last year. That was cool. The show was insane. They stated out with this see-saw thing and they were flipping people into the air and they were landing on stilts or a seat balance on a pole or some guys shoulders or some crazy contraption. Then these 3 girls came out and one did the crazy contortionist thing. Their set ended with them balancing on their chins while holding these weird candle holder looking things with both hands and feet, while their bodies were flipped upside down.
Next was a guy on a balance board who used the board to flip bowls up into his hat. Then these two guys came out on this wheel thing that spun around while the wheels they were on also spun. It really made me nervous because this guy was jumping rope and running around blindfolded and he almost fell a couple of times and there is no safety net or harness or anything. Then these other three guys came out and did these poses that required such strength. It was crazy.
I realize that there is no way to really describe the show accurately, but it was so unbelievable. It was kind of like Cirque de Solie. The things these people did with their bodies was crazy! I got lots of video even though I wasn’t supposed to.
After the show, we went back to the hotel and took a bath. Right after that I got hit with a wave of nausea. I ended up getting sick a couple of times, but then I felt a lot better and was able to pass out.

11.13.09
Today we woke up in our still cold room and put on every article of clothing we owned in preparation for the day. I ended up with jeans, 2 pairs of socks, tennis shoes, my mickey scarf, 2 long-sleeve shirts, a t-shirt, a sweater and both layers of my NorthFace jacket. I also carried my SAS sweatshirt, just in case. And I had Ping, my Panda Hat.
We went down to breakfast, which consisted of, for me, sweet potatoes, fried chicken paste (that was weird), and some sort of lo mein noodles. It was a pretty good breakfast.
Our first stop of the day was to the Cloisonné factory. That is the traditional Chinese pottery. They take copper pots, dishes, ashtrays, vases and basically everything else and put a pattern on it in raised copper. Then it is taken to another section where color is applied using eye droppers. Then it is sent off the kiln to be fired. The final step is polishing. It was a cool process to watch. We had an awesome tour guide named Babbit (not Rabbit). He was too cute and would walk around and say “Follow Babbit.” The funny thing is that he actually picked Babbit to be his English name.
When we had seen all of the process, he showed us the “happy house” aka the bathroom, and the gift shop of the factory. The shop was ridiculously expensive, but I did manage to find a thimble for 40 yuan (~$5.50). A little pricey, but it has been the only thimble that I have seen. They have the goofiest system for buying things. They take what you want and give you a receipt. You take that receipt to the cashier and pay. Then they give you a stamped receipt back and you go back to where you found what you wanted. You give the stamped receipt to the lady and collect what you bought. It seemed like a huge waste of energy, but whatever.
Caroline and I got into a snowball fight, which somehow spread once we were on the bus. A group from Denmark, which had some super hot guys, decided it would be fun to throw snowballs at our bus…and the snowballs began.
Our second stop was the Ming Tombs, which is where all the emperor’s of the Ming Dynasty are buried. The grounds are really pretty, but Bertha froze in the cold weather so I didn’t really get that many pictures. We walked until we found the entrance, went through a security check and went down an endless flight of stairs into the tombs.
It was kind of weird, people just threw money onto the tombs and I am not really sure why. Perhaps respect for the dead? We emerged from the tombs, which were not really as exciting as they should have been, in to the Soul Temple. We had to be sure to exit with our right foot (left for guys) so that the tombs would not keep our souls. I figure my soul  would be a good thing to keep.
We met up with Dani, Cody, Caroline, and Robyn. We still had a long time until we had to be back on the bus, so we hit up a food stand and got more oreos and delicious sweet potatoes. Dani was adventurous and tried the corn on the cob. It tasted like corn, but it was a little tough.
We slowly made our way back to the entrance. Kelsey and I visited the gift shop and found some deals. I bought a Great Wall model thing for 3 yuan ($.50) and Kelsey got some bags. We got a little lost going back to the bus, but we eventually made it back.
We are lunch at a super touristy place. You had to walk through this HUGE showroom to even get to the restaurant Lunch was delicious though. I had some of the best sweet and sour pork ever. And we finally got some rice.
We walked around the showroom, which was also really expensive. This place was interesting because it was really expensive, but the ceiling was leaking. There were buckets and water all over the floor. I did buy some stamps.
After lunch, we made it to the GREAT WALL!! It was covered in snow. The section Yolanda took us to made a big semi circle, so we went up one way and went down the other. Chinese legend says that you are not a real man unless you climb to the top of the Great Wall. So today we became real men. We started the hike and all I have to say is “Holy Table Mountain Batman!” It really didn’t help that the stairs were slick with ice and snow and slush and they were uneven and super steep. Thank God for the handrails or it would have been bad news bears. We stopped on the way to take pictures and such. We met some people who were from Alaska and Chicago. We even got a picture with one of them, but that was kind of by accident. We asked them to take a picture of Kelsey and I and then one of them just jumped in with us. It was kind of awkward. We climbed on, but at one point we were ambushed. Lead by Iker, we were bombarded with snowballs from the nearest tower. It really didn’t help that we were trying to keep our balance on the stairs. In trying to hit us, they actually hit some non-SASers so that was actually kind of funny. They had entirely way too much fun with that. So we were able to sneak by and get up into the next tower and load up on ammo before they were able to get there. Somewhere along the way, we picked up two Chinese allies. So here we are on the top of the Great Wall of China preparing for an epic snowball fight. We had to wait for a bit for them to come by, but when they did we unloaded. It turned into the world war of snowball fights. There was the US, the Chinese, Iker, who is from the Basque country in Spain, and somehow some French guys got involved. It lasted a good 30-45 minutes. It was a blast. I can’t believe I had a snowball fight on the Great Wall of China – who does that?
We pressed on and eventually made it to the top. So I guess I am officially a man. Kelsey and I took our man pictures and celebrated our victory. We had to take pictures quickly because the cameras were freezing in the cold weather. So we are all going to have to share pictures. After relishing in the moment for a bit, we started back down again. It was super steep and even more snow/ice covered than the stairs on the way up. The handrail was a lifeline. It was so snow packed and steep that we invented a new sport – sneaker skiing. You basically held onto the handrail and slide down the stairs. It was pretty fun and there were no injuries to report.
Toward the bottom it went super steep and even more slippery. I switched to the repelling method. I went down the stairs backwards using the handrail as my rope. It worked really well. The whole thing was slightly ridiculous and really nerve wracking because if you slip you are going to need to go to the hospital and we left the first aid kit on the bus. When we got close to the bottom, I happened to look up and spot a camel. Yep a camel – in China. That was bizarre.
We finally made it to the bottom and had to get directions from a couple from Illinois to get headed the right way to the bus. Everything was closed or closing down so we ran to the vendor stand to get our man certificates. We were met by a camel wearing Aladdin pants halfway there. It was just like WTF?
We searched the stands and finally found one that had certificates. After some bargaining we got it down to 35. We wrote down our names and she “engraved” them with our name and date. I use the word engrave loosely. It basically meant that she scratched it with a pen. We boarded the bus now that we had documentation that we had become men. Leslie, Ana and MacGarret had not yet boarded the bus and we were late, since we had taken longer to get down form the wall because of all the snow and ice. They were technically late so when they got on we all yelled “Dock Time!” That was pretty funny.
We went directly from the Great Wall to a restaurant on the Peking University campus to eat with some students. At our table we had Joanna, Yao Fung, and another girl named Rose, who had to leave early. We got to try the famous Peking Duck. I am not really a big fan of the duck, but it wasn’t exactly bad. The weird part was the skin. In the markets, there is someone whose sole job is to separate the skin from the meat. They do this by slitting the throat and then blowing into that slit so that the air separates the skin from the meat, but yet the meat still stays really juicy. Yeah, that is pretty gross. The serve the duck in these really thin tortilla type things with strips of cantaloupe and onion and with a sweet soy sauce. I skipped out on the veggies, but it was still good.
After dinner, we went to a gathering hall on campus for a party with some more students. There weren’t that many students there, but it was still really fun. We started with a game to get to know everyone – the American classic of Never Have I Ever. I don’t think I have ever played that game with such appropriate questions. They then busted out a jump rope and we tried some double dutch, but the ceiling was too low, so we turned it into a game of limbo. What I learned from that game is that Iker and Olivia are a lot more flexible than I am.
Our next activity was an eating contest. Bananas, pistachios and something else. The person sitting at the table couldn’t use their hands, but there was a person standing behind them and they actually had to feed them. That was pretty funny. Cody and Madison won because Cody just ate the pistachios without peeling them first. Then we went to a pigtail contest. That was interesting. Matt and Olivia went with the quality over quantity strategy as he braided the hair. They barely had 2 minutes to do all this. There really wasn’t a winner.
Olivia and Laila also got up and did the Thriller dance and then taught all of use a part of it. That was really fun. I think the PKU students enjoyed it as well. While we were all up we ended the night with Ships and Sailors, which is kind of a take off of Simon Says, but way more fun. I can’t remember who won, but it was a great way to end the night. Before we went back to the hotel, we traded contact info with Alice, Yolanda and Yao Fung.
Alice walked Kelsey and I back to the hotel. We then gave her a little something. I gave her one of my Disney rings and Kelsey gave her some pencils and such. We said our goodbyes and Kelsey and I headed upstairs and crashed.

11.12.09
I woke up about 4 hours after I went to sleep so I could make my trip to Beijing. I gathered my stuff and went to the garden lounge for breakfast. There was some drama about my bag because the frame was a little bit large. So I changed bags to be safe (I would have been fine, but whatever).
We got on the bus and headed to the airport. All of us were looking really rough – especially those who went out the night before. Caroline hadn’t even gone to bed yet.
At the airport, we got checked in and boarded. Once we were all situated in our seats, they made an announcement that we were going to be delayed for an hour – great. So Kelsey and I talked and such until we were finally able to take off. The flight took about 3 hours and was really bumpy. I have never seen so many people go to the bathroom on a flight before and completely ignore the seatbelt sign. The flight attendants were all buckled in and people were just walking around. And they were gathering in front of the doors and the cockpit. In the States, a person would be side tackled and probably injured in some way. The whole Chinese way of flying was a little bit ridiculous. Also, Kelsey had a kid behind her. She got kicked in the back, her hair pulled and elbowed. It doesn’t help that she is blonde so people stare at her normally.
We landed in Beijing and were greeted with 3 inches of snow! Boo cold weather! It was  -1 degrees Celsius or roughly 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Going from Hong Kong where it was hot and humid, it was total shock to our systems. This is the first time we have really encountered cold, cold, weather. It sucks
We met our guide and they are so cute. They showed us to our nice warm bus and we began our trek in Beijing. I missed the 1st half of the bus ride because I took a 30 minute power nap. I was exhausted. We drove past the Bird’s Nest. It is HUGE! It is way bigger than I thought it was going to be. We also saw the Water Cube, which is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be.
We eventually arrived at the summer palace – our destination. I had jeans, tennis shoes, t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, a hoodie, and a scarf and I was still freezing. The palace was really cool though. Kelsey and I wondered around a bit. I found some Oreos, which was great because I was starving and it was Oreos. We wondered some more and ate some more. There were these awesome Panda hats. Of course I wanted one. I asked our guides what the normal price is and they said 10-20 yuan ($1.50-$3.50). I eventually bargained this woman down from 40 to 20 so I bought one and I had no small bills, so I gave her a 100. I got my change and I was happy with my new panda hat, which I affectionately named Ping (which means “safe” in Cantonese, but I didn’t know that when I named him. I was channeling more Mulan when she is pretending to be a man). We wondered a little bit more and saw a lake with a pretty pagoda type buildings. It was even prettier with all the snow. We were looking for the marble boat because that is where we were meeting the bus. We ran into Leslie, MacGarrett, and Ana, which is good because we were totally lost. We just walked together and looked around.
We eventually found the marble boat, which is exactly what it sounds like. A bunch more people had bought panda hats so we took a big group picture. Next thing I know a big group of Chinese jump in the picture with us. It was pretty awesome.
We walked back to the bus and passed a woman riding a bike with a rusty steel drum/trashcan on the back. She was roasting sweet potatoes on top of the trashcan. It was probably one of the best sweet potatoes I have ever had. She put about 5 potatoes in a bag and we divided them out. Then we feasted on their newly found food. Because of this I have realized that sweet potatoes roasted on a rusty trashcan on the back of the bike would be one of the best ways to get warm on a cold day. I really want to bring rusty trashcan sweet potatoes back to the US.
We got back on the bus and went to the hotel to check in. On the way there, we all started looking at our money and it turns out all of us got back Russian Rubbles instead of Chinese Yuan. I ended up with a fake 50 (~$8). Damn the panda hat lady. Its actually pretty funny when you think about it. Chalk it all up to experience. And if I ever go to Russia at least I have 50 rubbles.
We got to our hotel, which is on the Peking University campus. Peking University students are our hosts. Olivia and I are roommates. We went to the room and dumped our stuff. Our room was freezing. We tried to figure out the heater, but it was not very powerful. We turned it all the way up in hopes that it would warm up while we were gone.
We went back to the lobby and went to dinner with our hosts. We went to a restaurant on campus.  On the way to the restaurant, Kelsey thought it would be a great idea to hit me square in the face with a snowball. Yep, she is so nice haha. The Chinese table is very interesting in that they serve you about 20 different dishes and they are all on a lazy susan in the middle of the table and you just spin until whatever you want is in front of you. I am really not sure what we ate, but most of it was good. There was one vegetable that looked like tree. I stayed away from that, but Kelsey said it was good.
After dinner, we went to another building on campus and met some more Peking University students. I sat with an adorable girl named Alice, who spoke amazing English. We chatted about life. She is a law student and a senior. I felt that some of the questions we asked were somewhat inappropriate and she had no idea what we were talking about – especially the one child policy. But she has a boyfriend and is super sweet.
Alice walked us back to the hotel because we had no idea where it was. Once we got to the hotel, we said goodbye and I went and showered. Our room was still freezing. I bundled up and jumped in the bed. It was still chilly so I called the front desk. After some explaining, a girl came up to the room to try and help me. She didn’t really speak any English so after some hand gestures and her climbing up on a chair to try and fix the heater, I eventually told her to forget the heater and just bring us more blankets. The beds didn’t have any sheets. Just a fitted sheet and then a feather comforter. I ended up with two comforters and I was nice and cozy. I turned on the TV to find Taylor Swift. As I sat there watching the “You Belong with Me” video, I realized that those uniforms in the football scene looked really familiar. Then I put it at JPII. At a close up shot I was able to see the JPII logo on the uniforms. I would realize that in China.

11.11.09
I woke up about 7 to see us pull into Hong Kong. This place is incredible. The buildings are so tall and beautiful. It is just such a stark contrast coming from a place like Vietnam. I grabbed breakfast with Katie and Mackenzie and then we went to get ready.
We all met back up in Tymetz Square so we could get our game plan. Mackenzie and I went to go find Kelli because she was taking pictures up on the 7th deck. We didn’t find her, but we did find Dr. Aimee and Louise. It is kind of sad because Louise is leaving, but they are both glad to be back in Hong Kong. Now I see why Dr. Aimee loves it so much. It is beautiful.
After taking some pictures, we went back to Tymetz Square and found Kelli. We tried to map out a route of how to get to Disneyland. We came up with the brilliant plan of just going to the Peninsula Hotel, which Dr. Aimee suggested we walk through because it is a 5-star hotel and really pretty, and asking the concierge for directions. With that plan in mind we just had to wait for the ship to be cleared.
Around 0945 the ship was cleared. We were some of the first people off. The
dock is interesting in Hong Kong. We got directly off into a mall. We have to walk through the mall to get to the buses. This is the nicest mall I have ever been to and it has some of the most ridiculous stores ever i.e. Dolce and Gabbana Junior. Really?
After escaping the mall, we made our way through the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. The place is huge – Think New York City with more people, more trees, and mountains. It is a pretty neat place.
We walked through until we found the Peninsula and Dr. Aimee did not disappoint. The place was gorgeous. It was also connected to its own mall of designer stores. We found the concierge and played the lost tourist card. I was expecting a detailed subway route, but instead he just looked at us and said to take a taxi. Well who would have thought? It is more expensive than the MTR, but still under $10 a person and also faster than the MTR. We still had him tell us the subway route. It involved 3 different train changes. We went with the cab.
We said thank you and went to catch a taxi. The nice valet out front of the hotel hailed us a cab and away we went. Our cab driver had a figure of Zazu on the dash. How fitting.
Hong Kong Disney is located on Lantau Island. All the signs that have Lantau Island on them also have the Mickey Ears. I love it. We all got so excited when we saw the Disneyland sign. We couldn’t believe we were actually at HK Disney. It took us at least 30-45 minutes to get into the park because we were taking pictures. We were all just so excited. We took pictures with the sign, with the fountain, of the random plants. Pretty much everything.
We made it to the ticket booth, bought our tickets, exchanged money at guest relations and headed in. We didn’t make it very far before we stopped again to take pictures. We got stopped by the HK version of PhotoPass. The first difference that I noticed was that they use Canon cameras instead of Nikon. That’s a change I can get behind. The second difference is that they don’t have any scanners of cards. Rather, they give you a slip of paper of paper for every picture they take. So at the end of the day you end up with a HUGE stack of cards at the end of the day. You have to take the slips of papers to Exhibition Hall and go through all the pictures. It is really inefficient and you can’t order online. But more on that later.
We had a mini photo shoot at the beginning of the park. Apparently, in addition to the peace sign, there is another pose that is all the rage in China when taking pictures at Disney. They put their hands in fists and then on their head like Mickey ears. I think it is great!
Our next stop was at City Hall. Here is where I met a fabulous person named Dorothy, or at least that was her English name. Turns out that she had done the International College Program and had worked at Pecos Bill’s in MK and lived at Vista. She was great. She ended up giving us all sorts of stickers and magnets. She was the most friendly cast member I saw all day. The whole rest of the day all the CMs acted like they hated their life. That was definitely a change of pace from WDW.
Once we eventually made it in to the actual park, the first thing I saw was a giant Christmas tree. It is weird thinking that it is almost Christmas. We got past the ginormous tree and then I got my first glance of Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was slightly underwhelming. It is maybe 1/3 the size of Cinderella Castle in MK, but it was still cool. We took pictures all up and down main street and in front of the castle. We kept exploring Fantasyland and found a section called Snow White’s Grotto. It has a cave and figurines of the dwarfs and a wishing well the plays Snow White singing. This is where you meet the princesses.
We found a way into the heart of Fantasyland and decided to ride the Many Adventures of Whinnie the Pooh. It is exactly the same as it is at MK, but we still had a blast because we were so excited. Next we went to PhilarMagic, which is exactly the same down to the hidden Mickey in the French horn. The only difference is that the cue is much better because it is themed like a cottage. Kelli and Mackenzie had never seen it so that was fun.
As we exited, we saw a garden where we spotted some characters. We ran over and ended up meeting Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and Pooh. There was nobody in the park so there were no lines, which was awesome.
Our next stop was a show called The Golden Mickey’s. It is kind of a take off the Oscars. It was great! They need to bring it to the State ASAP! It was a little hard to understand because it was in Mandarin, but all the songs are in English. They went through different categories and there were heroes, and love and friendship. They had acrobats, dancers and singers. They sang “You’ve Got A Friend in Me,” “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You,” Beauty and the Beast,” “Something There,” “You’ll Be In My Heart,” and a bunch more classics. Tarzan came out and did some of the rope acrobatics and it was fantastic. Of course, they also had amazing costumes and sets.
We grabbed a lunch of sweet and sour pork and white rice and people watched. The silverware that we got was sweet. It was a packet and it had chopsticks, napkin, a Chinese spoon, and a toothpick. I meant to ask for one packet to bring home, but I forgot. And the food was good too.
Our next stop was back to the castle to meet Belle and Snow White. I really wanted to talk to them backstage because they are clearly American and I want to know how they came to work there, but I never got the chance.
We decided to explore Tomorrowland next and ran into another group of SASers. The group consisted of Charity, Mario, Maria, Dani, and Alyssa. We chatted, but then we left them and went to go ride Buzz Lightyear, which is also the same as it is in the states, except the guns are cooler and I did much better than I normally do. Level 3 baby.
Autopia was next, but I have never ridden that in the States, so I don’t know how to compare it. Kelli said it was slower. I did meet a girl working there who is hoping to do the international CP and going down in January. So hopefully she gets it.
We finally went to ride Space Mountain and it was awesome. The music was probably the best part besides the fact that there was no line. It defiantly had better effects than the one in MK. I think the MK Space Mountain refurbishment should make it better though.
We also caught an in English show of Stitch Encounter, which is basically a Stitch themed version of Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor. It was adorable and really funny.
We had to find a spot for the parade next. We found a sweet spot on the corner and sat down. The parade was so cute. It wasn’t very long and the music wasn’t that good, but the floats were awesome. They had a huge castle that all the princesses were on and a huge flower for Alice to sit on with the Caterpiller behind her. The dancers were in costume as animators and had rolling easels to dance with. Some of the other dancers were dressed up as film rolls. It was pretty neat. It was a quick parade and afterward we went to Adventureland.
The first character we ran into were Chip and Dale so of course we got our picture taken. Then Mackenzie fell in love with a pirate named Jake Sparling (get it? Jack Sparrow?) It seemed like his main goal was to remind people to sanitize their hands after they got back from Tarzan’s Tree house. He was really funny. We said goodbye to our new pirate friend and decided to check out Tarzan’s Tree house for ourselves. It really wasn’t all that exciting. It was basically the Swiss Family Robinson tree house from MK.
We left the Tree House in time to go see The Festival of the Lion King. It’s not the same as the one at AK, but very similar and very good. One thing that was interesting was that some of the fire dancers had tattoos, which I didn’t think were allowed, but they did go with the theme.
We got out of the show and literally ran to the castle to catch then last High School Musical show. It was great. They mainly did songs from HSM and HSM2. Of course they ended with “We’re All in this Together” so I busted out the dance. At the very end, they pulled guests in to teach them a part of the dance and Kelli and I got pulled in! It was so much fun! But I didn’t get a Star Dazzle Award, though.
We then hit up the castle again and met Cinderella. She was cute and super nice. We headed back to Tomorrowland and rode Space Mountain again and again.  We ended the night on the Orbitron before we went to the castle for fireworks.
The fireworks were good, but not as good as Wishes! Of course. The castle is just so small that the fireworks dwarf it even more. It was weird, we hardly saw anyone in the park, but then the fireworks come around and the place is packed.
As we were leaving, we stopped in the stores and shopped. I got a t-shirt that says HK Disneyland on it. After taking a bunch more pictures we finally had to call it a day and head back to the ship. None of us wanted to leave, but we were all exhausted.
We found a cab and headed back. We had to walk through a really ritzy mall and ended up shopping at Pizza Hut for dinner. I didn’t feel like paying $12 for a pan pizza so I just waited while Kelli and Mackenzie ate.
Once we were back on the ship, I went up to Deck 7 and grabbed some food and we had a picture swap for the day. We all took so many pictures. I hurried down to my room so I could shower and pack because I leave for Beijing tomorrow. I got packed and got in bed around 0030. I have to be up at 0430! I am going to be so tired.