South East Asia…March 2011

Manila, Philippines…I’ve got to say being awake for a majority of the sunrises really never gets old…there’s something about it that’s so peaceful and serene. It’s so calm and relaxing pulling up to a port seeing the sun rising through the city and being out on the deck alone in my secret hideout witnessing the beauty. Pulling up to Manila was very special; a majority of the crew members are from Philippines and I’m close friends with a lot of them. So it was very special to see hundreds of the crew with their families on board touring around the ship. We also were lucky enough to get two days in Manila instead of going to Koror, Palau.

My friend Jupiter(Security Officer) from the Philippines grabbed me when I hopped off the ship just quickly and he and I toured around the area just for a bit. Traffic was crazy…everything was quite chaotic and very very busy. Dawn was coming quickly and it was getting a little bit darker outside…yet people weren’t turning their lights on while driving for some apparent reason. I clutched onto Jupiter as we were weaving through traffic just wandering around. He took me to a local fast food joint…where the meal was delicious and huge and so inexpensive! Of course there was rice included in the meal….always. Then this is where you would eat with a spoon in your right hand and a fork in your left…scoop the food into the spoon and enjoy! ; ) That is thee Filipino and Indonesian way I’ve learned.

The next day I had the day off and Violeta and I toured around Manila! Wheee!!!!! We snatched a taxi and we should have bargained for it more but we just went with it…we hitched a ride to the Mall of Asia and by golly it was quite the mall. It was pouring rain and we were laughing so much…of course we pulled up to the mall and went to the lovely Starbucks. The adorable barista’s were exclaiming compliments left and right! Showering us:“I love your hair color…I love your hairstyle…I love your name…” So nice…V and I were like little girls so giggly haha. Everything was so welcoming about this place…service was absolutely excellent!!

After spending a chunk of time at Starbucks using the free internet speaking with friends and family…we needed to get some shopping done..of course….we are in the MALL OF ASIA. After finding a few good buys…we came upon a shop that had dresses up the wazoo…Violeta found me a beautiful black lace dress and Asian sizes we had no idea if it would fit this American girl with curves…so I had to try it on. Well…you tell me what you think…if it fit me. Ha ha ha ha…Oh my goodness it didn’t fit at all. Awwh man my poor broad shoulders just wouldn’t fit and my healthy big hips were almost bursting through the dress. Haha it was so sad but so funny at the same time…Violeta and I were laughing so hard in the dressing room as there’s a long line outside. Ohh dear. Oh well. Alright so I obviously didn’t buy that dress unfortunately. It was so exciting to laugh that much about something so little and silly, my cheeks hurt and V wouldn’t stop laughing AT me!

 

Oh and before I forget…in the Mall of Asia unlike most other malls this one served beer in the food court as well as having a full on ice skating rink in the middle of the mall! See for yourself…

Overall Philippines was a very pleasant experience and I have many good friends from here and would be pleased to come back for a visit or two..most definitely!!

Hong Kong, China

Good Morning Hong Kong!! Yess…this picture was taken about 6am and pulling up to Hong Kong, Kowloon Island is just so thrilling! The lights…the traffic…the sky scrapers…ahh everything! Me and a friend, Bobby, were viewing this site bright ‘n early while handfuls of guests were doing the same thing. I’m awake…I swear!

 

 

Let’s see…I had to work the first day all day we were here…but once I finished with work a scrammed off the ship for a couple hours with my friend Jupiter again. We took the star ferry across to the Hong Kong island side…to one of the many malls and wandered around soaking it all in and grabbed something to eat.

By the way…the Star Ferry cost us maybe $2 Hong Kong…which is maybe 50cents American.

 

 

 

Very authentic of us, ‘eh?! I am a chop stick master after all of this traveling around Asia! So that was the extent for that night I’d say…I just love living and wandering all around in the moment of the rush of the big cities with the thrill of all the people around scramming to their own business.

Oh dear…and then another day begins with my dear Violeta…

It sure does seem like we’re always eating, doesn’t it? Haha. To be honest I’m not really sure what kind of meat this is…when it looks like a hotdog..uh, it can’t be healthy….and yes, a heaping pile of rice. Throughout all of my travels I definitely have eaten a handful of ‘mystery meat’…all of the cultural foods I’m experiencing are definitely character building.

 

 

We also decided to take the star ferry to the other side of the island…and our adventures begin. We wandered around the Hong Kong side and decided we needed some more excitement..so we grabbed a city bus that was headed to Stanley Market…Ooh the beloved Stanley market….oh so dangerous when it comes to shopping. dangerous meaning you can spend heaps of Hong Kong dollars. Ohhh Dear.

V purchased heaps more than I did…but we both definitely got our fair share of goodies. We both bought beautiful Asian-style dresses…and we ran into some casino folks from the ship…Grace and I had to try our dresses on over our clothing…then just yank our jeans down to our ankles.

Overall in Hong Kong I gained 3 new fancy looking wrist watches for $2 a piece…and a nice big suitcase for a very reasonable Hong Kong price. I wanted to be prepared…because I knew damn well I wasn’t going to be able to fit all my clothing and other belongings into the itsy bitsy suitcase I came with. hahahah oh well….you Live and you…let live! ; ) Simple. This is my first experience of a lifetime. Did I mention the bus ride was so twisty and turny…not my most exciting moments but I didn’t barf, so the bus didn’t win.

Once Violeta and I got back into town and took the star ferry back near the ship…we were hungry. Hey V…where did you want to eat? Remember…I have my suitcase I’m rolling around and we’re dressed…but not ‘proper’. We were browsing around to a few different places..came upon this fancy looking spaghetti-sort of restaurant…there definitely were cloth napkins who care, we’re hungry! We took a gander at the menu and we figured we would split something…okay now at this point we need to figure out how much Hong Kong money we had left…AHHHH! We’re dropping coins as we’re trying to count them (remember I still have my suitcase I’m rolling around hahaha) I have no idea how much money we really did have but it wasn’t enough to split a fancy spaghetti meal. BUMMER. Nexxxxxxt! I really wish I would have gotten pictures of this occurring because I will never forget the looks we were getting from people…we were giggling so loud and we were so embarrassed to be counting our coins outside of a restaurant. Oh well.

We ended up at our own version of  a ‘fancy’ Pizza Hut. Oh dear. We shared a pizza that was so small but we could afford it…oh but then we still have a couple Hong Kong dollars so why not…let’s get a dessert…(forgetting to include taxes)..My goodness we just failed completely but we laughed so much…of course people all around us were speaking in other languages neither of us understood. (probably talking about how ‘special’ us two are) I kept the Pizza Hut receipt…I ended up having to use my debit card…hahah so all of this was just a story to tell in the future. We had such a great time together! So many laughs…so many memories! Love you tons, Violeta! Miss youu babyyy!

INDIA…Oh Spicy!

 

India…Kochi, India…Oh how I’ve been waiting so patiently to meet you, India.

Senses absolutely wide open…heart open….soul open…mind wide open to anything and everything that is about to happen at this moment in time.

No thoughts clouding my mind… no worries or distractions…nothing negative around me whatsoever. Surrounded by chaos yet I feel so at ease and calm…everything about this experience is supposed to happen it couldn’t feel more accurate at this moment in time. Hopping in a local taxi (Indian Ricksha Service)…with Babu our amazing driver…and with my beautiful in every aspect friend, Brianna….We have no idea what we are about to experience but we know its so right and we will have the time of our lives. Cackling, gasping for air laughing in so much excitement and thrill getting driven around by Babu’s Ferarri…oh my dear.

 

Weaving in and out of traffic; busses, cars, bikes, people, goats and even those holy cows…it doesn’t matter, nothing is stopping us nothing is blocking us in any way. India is at our fingertips and Babu is sure to show us a fine time…to say the least I suppose.

We are getting driven around everywhere and I’m really thoroughly soaking every bit of every feeling in knowing that I’m in such a happy, healthy, amazing place right now in this moment in my life. I’m completely in touch with my feelings and am solely doing what makes me happy. I’m laughing so much more these days…smiling…sharing my energy with people around me and touching souls with my eyes. Doing what feels right…and I know all of this is spot on. Pulling up to the best Indian liquor spot getting served this local alcohol made from coconut called               …as well as little bar snacks (anchovies, tuna with delectable spices and tapioca).

It all was so exceptional and again felt so right. There’s really something about India that I felt so at home. As much commotion there was going on it didn’t matter to me in anyway I just knew everything was going to be wonderful.

Normally for me…if I’m in a place where there’s insane traffic I feel a bit uneasy in a sense…or my stomach tightens up, but today….today was so different. I suppose I just knew it would all be okay. It just really blows my mind for how comfortable I felt…Brianna was very calm as well..and we’re still smiling so big it hurts our faces. Beautiful and absolutely lovely.  My goodness after we finished our traditional coconut alcohol that is supposed to make us fly…we continued onward. Thee Babu himself took us to his restaurant, Salt and Pepper…we meet his cute little dog and head into his place.

There we met a couple of his friends and then we began our Indian/American dance party! Ahh! It was all so fantastic! Feeling so free and alive and embracing every bit of the moment around the right people expressing ourselves in whatever way we feel.

 

 

 

Alright so we’re still on our journey…Everywhere we turn I’m seeing so many different, new, fun things going on.

 

Children playing cricket in the park, cows and goats wandering the streets, vendors making crafts or making food…then I asked babu to take us to the fishing area; where the locals are fishing in the most old fashion way ever…see for yourself. It’s really not the same unless you've experienced it with your own eyes, but I suppose you can give it a try and see how you’ll enjoy the sights. ; ) 

 

After we made our appearance to the fishing area we boogied on over to this incredibly aromatic organic spice shop…wow oh wow wow. I took the largest and most intense breath in through my nose and my senses exploded into this wild array of refreshing smell of such a variety of spices. I had never imagined something so exhilarating and honestly at this point in the day I was feeling so high and sensational and it wasn’t even noon yet! Who knew the day would already be so invigorating?! From the spice shop we coincidentally met up with another friend, Amy, and we headed to another spice area…this time there were even more barrels and boxes and everything full of spices. I was so happy in this moment in time…again and again…the day honestly just continued to get better.

 

 

 

 

 

Then of course us three free spirited young women couldn’t fight the urge to bust out a photo shoot in this old rustic warehouse with a peak of light sneaking through the roof…enjoy these photos…because we couldn’t refuse the opportunity of the backdrop by any means!

Natural sunlight is one of the purest beauties witnessed by the eye, and when captured in the right moment it all comes alive.

Once we finished the ultimate photo shoot done by Babu…we carried on because unfortunately we were on a time limit and needed to get back to the ship so we could pick up a few more fantastic people to make the experience even more memorable. So Babu waited for our return at the port with 3 extra bodies…he rounded up two other Ricksha Ferrari drivers and we made the best of everything. We were taken to this hotel for lunch called ATS Hotel…nothing what I expected; but to be honest I had zero expectations of India…like I said before I went full force into everything open minded to the fullest. I had zero desire to even glance at the menu I was willing to try anything and everything…so bring it on! So Babu just ordered from his buddies a few different entrée’s of some chicken marsala and a few other things I was unfamiliar with but again, it didn’t matter.  All delicious foods eating it with my fingers…unfortunately there was no Indian nan bread there but still plenty of curry and it all tasted so fantastic.

Before I forget I must inform you the Brianna and I were both lucky enough to drive our Ricksha…haha ohhh my goodness what an experience that was. Things that I’ve done now never cease to amaze me and saying that I’ve driven on the streets of India just really blows my mind. It’s all quite surreal and this is such a fantasy world I’m living in.

 

 

 

 

 

Once we finished our ethnic meal our drivers took us to this jewelry/rug/souvenir shop and my goodness what a surprise I encountered there. Just wandering around taking a gander at everything in front of me knowing I couldn’t afford 90% of the beautiful treasures they had there I still appreciated what they had to offer. I was looking at this particular sculpture/creation and from afar this polite, intelligent, sharp-spoken young man was explaining what it symbolized and wanted to show me a handful of the same sculptures, just different sizes. So his assistant came behind the counter holding a simple white cloth as this man was perfectly placing these figures side by side…and knowing me not really sure why he was doing this. So I curiously asked the gentleman “So what is is exactly I’m looking for?” Again..here I am sort of looking at these figures with my head tilted to the side not knowing if they were going to fly off of the white cloth…he confidently replied with tact and perfect annunciation “The beauty of the sculptures, ma’am.” I was in awe not only at the beauty of the sculptures but also the way that this man was speaking to me in every intonation…it was so perfect and intelligent and so attractive and completely caught me off guard. He then proceeded to ask if there was anything else I was interested in in his lovely store…so I told him I’d love to try some gold jewelry on. Okay okay so Brianna and I got swooped into the jewelry area as he asked one of the women to get some tea for the two of us. Trying on every piece of old jewelry of ruby and sapphire…as this man and I continue to exchange shy yet flirty looks…I was smitten and it was obvious. Such a refreshing feeling to exchange such fun, flattering looks to somebody else who feels the same. It’s what keeps some people alive, that’s certain. So of course Brianna insisted to take pictures of the two of us and he tried to be so proper and smart but then when he whipped his phone out to get a couple of the two of us he just slapped his arm around me and gave the biggest smile ever.  Ahh I’m having the time of my life!!

 

 

 

 

 

We headed on our way back to the ship…I was so sad to leave in such a short amount of time spent in Kochi, India…it honestly was one of my top destinations I have visited. Of course every place has something so different to offer but it really was such a breath of fresh air and I know I will be back in the area something in the near future. We will see…only time will tell…and anything can happen.

Exchanging goodbyes to Babu was strangely enough so painful and tough…he was sad you could see it and we all said we would NEVER forget this experience and we will never forget Babu! Definitely one of the most outstanding experiences I’ve ever encountered in an entire day. See you again real soon India, Babu and Sahil.