I’m in China!? Never thought I’d say that…

 

Now we enter into China…first we arrived in Xingang, China which is a couple hours away from Beijing. What I picked up from the first impression of Xingang when we pulled into the harbor was it is a very industrial place and I learned that they have come a very long way.

I was unable to go ashore in Beijing and Shanghai…which I was pretty bummed about it but now I know for the next time I want to go there I will have a Chinese visa. So unfortunately I can’t tell you much about Beijing or Shanghai. What I can tell you is I heard amazing things about the Great Wall of China! I heard the toilet was disgusting and absolutely repulsive haha. A lot of people were sore from walking up to the wall…the steps from what I picked up are small then some will be really high so it really kicked their butts, literally! This really bums me out to have to write about what I heard everything about the Great Wall and the temples and everything else. Some positives to the day off in Beijing we had gorgeous weather and I laid in the sun by the pool which was fantastic. Jacqueline and I soaked up the sun and went swimming a bit…then just basically relaxed all day. It was nice to not have anything to do and kind of recharge everything from always having to go, go, go! As much as I was bummed to not get off the ship one of the guests brought me a couple goodies from Beijing which was so sweet of them! A set of chop-sticks (dad, i know you’ll want to use those real quick!) and a nice little plate with Beijing written on it…probably my favorite guests, too!

Shanghai…still on board. Again I was able to have another day off to just relax…it was an overnight along with Beijing.   There was an expo going on in Shanghai and I heard there was more than half a million people….Dad, you would have loved the crowds…especially everyone running into you and touching you! hahah. Yeah, right! Nah I heard from most of the guests there was way too many people out even just walking around in the streets. Shanghai skyline is incredible!

 

I went to a acrobatic show this evening and it was unbelievable!! I couldn’t believe the way the performers were bending backwards like it was nothing…see for yourself. ;)

 

Hong Kong here I am! It is amazing here…and the skyline is never-ending. I just have to mention right now I’m laying on the top deck on the ship on a reclining chair in the nice breeze gazing into the beautiful scenery. Now all I need is someone special beside me enjoying it in the peace as much as I am. ;) It’s almost 9 in the evening and the lights are phenomenal…there was just a laser light show and it was so mesmerizing. See for yourself…

So we arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, the 19th of October and I wasn’t able to get off the ship yesterday during the day but in the evening a big group of us crew members wanted to experience the popular night life…so we did. We took a star ferry ride which cost us $50 (Hong Kong dollars) so really it cost maybe 30 cents. It was so much fun with everyone all together enjoying ourselves! We ended up going to Zinc I believe the club was called on Hong Kong Island…because we were docked in Kowloon island.

Danced the night away…I cleaned up real nice and busted out this black dress I bought in Tokyo and of course a classy pair of black heels…which of course, sounded like a fantastic idea at the beginning of the night these are my most comfortable pair of high heels I own and boy, oh boy my feet are cussing at me today! Mommmmmy will you rub my feeeeeet?! Well at least they made me look great!! (dad, i know you’re shaking your head) Anyway there was loads of people out from all over the world…I didn’t meet anybody from America. It’s funny to think back a few months ago and if somebody asked where I was from my first response would be “Wisconsin”, right? Well now anytime I meet someone new we tell each other the country we’re from because it’s such a wide variety of places and nobody knows where little ‘ole Hager City is at, anyway!  Oh my goodness and while at the club with everyone somebody (my alter ego) twisted my arm and forced me to get on top of the bar and dance on the pole! Ahh who would do such a thing!? Yes, I danced my little heart out on that pole…Don’t you worry folks, I kept it PG-13 Rated…none of that XXX rated business. I had to let loose a little bit now that I was finally able to touch land again! The atmosphere was fantastic! The people…the music..and the energy was so positive and addicting. I made it back to the ship alive.

Let me just rewind before I get too excited here…pulling into the Hong Kong harbor was wonderful! I swear, the sky scrapers never end…there is a ridiculous amount of them here and they make your neck sore from looking up at all of them! But it was such a neat experience…I felt so giddy at 6am soaking it all in. I have noticed all in china it’s quite full of smog which is unfortunate…must be from all the coal burning. Anyway today, Jackie and the little 7 month old cruiser, Graeme, took on hong kong and navigated to the world famous Stanley Market. It was a beautiful bus ride there...however we felt so sick during the ride….these drivers are insane!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The roads are very narrow and when two busses are turning in opposite directions it freaked me out….insane driving is all I’ve gotta say. I’ve decided I cannot marry somebody from China solely based on the driving skills. hahah I would be horribly car sick….and I don’t think you can just get used to something like that. Anyway Stanley Market…it was also never-ending..there were so many little shops one right after the other. I did end up getting a great deal on a dress…yesss! I think I paid about 5 U.S. dollars for it…cha-ching! The pier was stunning and I just couldn’t get enough of all of it. Can’t wait to come back here!

I have a couple sea days ahead of me…then we are in Phu My, Vietnam. Looking forward to it all, of course! Alright Beautiful night in Hong Kong….and I’m signing off. Goodnight stunning world, you. xoxo

P.S. ADDRESS TO MAIL:

“attn: SPA Jenna Hughes

Fitness Coordinator

MS AMSTERDAM

Geodis Wilson Australia Pty Ltd.Dock 7 1 Millennuim Court Matraville (Sydney) NSW 2036 Australia”

(I get to Sydney  november 13)

Reality comes alive.

‎

Tuesday, ‎05 ‎October, ‎2010
This is it. It's real. It is happening...It is just so unreal to go to sleep one night...and that next morning to wake up and be in another country. We have arrived in Sendai, Japan...and oh, what a warm welcome we've received! People dancing, playing music and cheering as if we were famous or in some sort of parade...everyone is dressed so professional and smart, even the bus drivers. I opened the gym this morning at 5:45am and as the sun was rising it is such a beautiful thing...my stomach was jumping all around and I couldn't help but to just smile.
How did I get here?! Today in Sendai, Japan...I have the rest of the morning and early afternoon off from work its been 11 days straight working 12 hours a day...I'm really looking forward to getting off the ship and walking on land! wheee! Later this morning I have to participate in a raft/boat drill just in case of emergency we are prepared and know what to do..So I won't be able to get off the ship for a couple hours. I'm going to just wander around with a friend, Julie from England...her husband works on the ship so we're just going to go and enjoy ourselves and soak it all in! Of course....take pictures, don't you worry...most of you know I am quite the photograph-lover! 

• Sendai, Yokohama(Tokyo), Shimizu & Kobe (Osaka)…JAPAN.

All of Japan was so pleasant…so clean…and so friendly. Arriving in Yokohama making our way to the train station from the complimentary bus from the port…I went with Julie and my fellow Wisconsinite, Jacqueline… and her baby Graeme…we navigated our way from the train station to get to Shibuya, Tokyo. Everything was in Japanese…I was so calm and didn’t have a worry how to get there I just knew somehow we would get there! Sure enough we figured it out someway somehow and managed quite well to get our tickets to Tokyo! Once we got to Tokyo my heart jumped out of my chest and we were engulfed in people and skyscrapers….just what I had been itching for. We obviously had to explore and I was completely at ease and so relaxed and just enjoying the moment.

 

Once we walked all over Tokyo soaking in the crowds of people and the incredible buildings we made our way back to the train station and hopped on to return to the port terminal. We weren’t done yet though…we were back in Yokohama and needed to explore more. Jackie & I went into Chinatown in Yokohama…and I’m so glad we did! We came upon a beautiful Japanese temple which immediately put you at ease with the atmosphere of it all…very peaceful.

Ahhh HA! then we had some delicious  Japanese food… Dumplings…delicious with some bubble tea…..the vendor was such a sweet man so of course we needed to snap a picture with him…he loved it! The people in Japan were so delightful…they really went above and beyond to make you feel welcome and so appreciative. AND Japan was immaculate on the streets…It was very impressing and made me want to live there…but I think I would get a little frustrated right away without knowing how to speak Japanese…not yet ;) haha. Anything is possible, right?!

Right after Yokohama we arrived in Shimizu and there really wasn’t that much to see from the outside…more of a smaller big city…there was really just a handful of small businesses and a 100 Yen store wandered around in there just amused mostly by the different ways of advertising on products. I went with a few guests up in this Farris wheel to see the view of the city and the view of Mt. Fuji! It was such a stunning view!

 

From Shimizu we headed right into Kobe (Osaka), Japan…I went with a couple of the spa girls and we just wandered around Kobe Chinatown and soaked in the culture there..yess I’m sure you’re wondering now why would you go to Chinatown when you’re in Japan? Right?! Ha…well it was a popular thing to do…everybody was doing it. Nahh I just didn’t look more into other things to do..I hadn’t quite gotten all of the details down on how to do certain tours with the crew or with the guests…still learning. However I fully enjoyed Kobe and everything it had to offer on the inside…As much as I did explore it was amusing and there were so many people it was unreal!!! Here’s just a few pictures I snapped while in Kobe…Oh my goodness and the foooood was mouthwatering in everyway possible. That’s probably one of the #1 things I look forward to when pulling into a new country is the foood! It’s so fun learning new things and soaking up the culture while you can as much as you can while you’re there.

 

Like I stated before…the people were so sweet there and just so friendly and appreciative you stopped at their shop or their restaurant or special vendor they’ve worked so hard to put together and please all of the tourists and everybody else wanting a hint of Japan. These two girls were so adorable I had to get a shot of them…they loved it it was so special! Anything to gain a smile from somebody makes me smile. 

That’s all I’ve got for Japan….definitely will be looking forward to reaching Hong Kong is the next destination I will be able to get off and go on adventures in China. Won’t be able to exit in Beijing or Shanghai….no chinese visa….yet. Anyway…Thanks for keeping up with all of my adventures and coming along on this incredible ride of life with me. xo. Cheers loves.

ship is a rockin'

28.09.10

Day 5 on board ms Amsterdam…headed to Russia start…we went through Alaska on the Pacific ocean and by golly was it sure rough waters! I was so sea-sick the first sea day…it was awful…needless to say I didn’t keep any of my meals down all day. I’m so much better now and used to the roughness of the water…and being on the bow of the ship with the fitness center its probably the worst for bad weather.

Anyway…I have been so busy and sleeping so much and not being social after work…tonight this will change. I have been getting about 10+ hours of sleep after my long 12 hour days of work…its intense! I’ve been teaching with my colleague, Wagner (from South Africa), we both split up the classes..mostly stretching-type classes along with yoga and pilates. The demographics for this ship is mostly around 65 years old++! Seldomly will you find guests around their 40’s…but it has been nice to see people around that age and chat with them! You’d be surprised on the amount of energy some of those lovely older folks have! When I’m not teaching fitness classes or doing nutrition or personal training consultations I’ll be walking around the gym mingeling with the guests…usually helping them figure out how the hell the treadmill or the bikes work haha but it’s all lovely just talking with them.

We went passed the Alusion Islands yesterday morning….they seemed beautiful but you couldn’t see much from the fog but we did pass them. Today is Thursday the 30th now….we skipped out on the 29th, Wednesday from crossing the International dateline…I will never get september 29th 2010 BACk ever again! What a terrible thing haha. Oh well, there’s always next wednesday to cherish.

I’m on my lunch break now so just trying to crank something out quickly before I have to go back. We’re headed for Petropevlok, Russia and I don’t think i’ll be able to get off the ship…I don’t have a travelers visa…unfortunately. But i have a work visa and thats what they were most concerned about….however I have applied for one so I’m able to get off in the other countries we’ll be visiting. okay lunch is OVER.



Oct 1, 2010

October already…really?! Last night I got out of my cabin and didn’t go to sleep right after work…I was invited by a couple guests to a little get together “40’s and under get together” hahah…since being on a ship where there’s mostly 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s and even older it was pretty slim pickin’s to find a couple guests attending this party. We were up in the crow’s nest and had a drink on the hostess…a lemon drop, of course cuz I miss my mama. Well these guests are just so delightful and i’m so happy to be able to be spending so much more time with them and they are always in the gym so it’s nice to be able to socialize with them…its quite a treat.

Its so interesting talking with all the different guests and learning about all the different cultures…I try to take a piece out of every one of them and something about them that resembles a loved one back home is helping being so far away from everybody. I’ve met a good handful of folks from wisconsin/minnesota…and seattle and it’s so nice to relate to them and just reminds me of a chunk from home. I’ll be spending just about 3 months with most of these guests so there’s a huge potential to build some remarkable relationships with them…and you know me, I love keeping in touch with people…always! ha.



Oct. 2, 2010

Oh my goodness my posts are so scattered!! I literally usually have just a couple minutes to crank something out quick and inform everybody what I’m up to! Today we were in Petrovalski, Russia…i didn’t get off the ship, none of the crew were allowed off unless you did a shore excursion. It was pouring rain when we pulled in…and quite foggy, then as the day went on it ended up turning into a beautiful day…I stepped outside to get some shots of the mountains and the scenery. Definitely soaked up some vitamin D!!

I had dinner with a couple guests tonight they invited me to join them…then we caught the Moscow Magic show…and my goodness..they completely blew my mind! What a great show to catch…absolutely phenomenal magicians and they’ve been performing together for 27 years…and married for 27 years as well. ha!

And now i’m just winding down from the day…its about 8:30pm and we’re moving our clocks back another hour so I gain yet another hour of sleep…gotta get up around 5am to open the gym by 5:45am and get ready for my busy day ahead!

Alright enjoy the post…hope to hear from you all who are keeping up with me on here! Love the support!!! xoxo
Cheers and Smiles, Jenna