Sheryl's Discovery Channel

And..its alive again! Hello Shanghai!

2008-05-02T20:31:00.004+08:00

Hello indeed...
Ive arrived safely in the land of 1 billion. And on labour day, it is apparent that that population static is absolutely true.

I guess im not new to the shoving and the pushing and the loud talking, as I had similar experiences in Qingdao. But this, is shoving, pushing and loud talking at a MASS level. And I will explain why.

So yesterday after my very kind housemate Ryan patiently took me to buy all the necessities like towels and bedsheets, we took the metro to meet some other SMU interns. When we arrived at our stop and the doors opened, instead of letting us get out first, the people outside immediately tried to push their way in. It was like a rugby scrum that I was unwillingly being roped into. And when I finally pushed my way out in one piece, I didnt know whether to laugh or to be pissed off. I mean, dont they get it? When a glass is full, doesnt matter mow much more water you pour into it, the glass just cant contain more and the excess water will just flow out. So my dear chinese people, why wont you let us out so more of you guys can enter huh?

Pretty cool so far.. but been a lil missing the people at home. My house is quiet n pretty empty. need to change that... Alrighty. People reading this, drop a msg please? Window works both ways!

AAAHHHHH...

2007-12-16T08:00:00.000+08:00

So soon? I cant believe it. Seemed like just yesterday when I stayed up all night packing, backing up my music, photos and files, and having butterflies in my stomach, thinking of every worst case scenario possible. Where did time go?

I spent the day taking in the New York air and savoring the last days of my 6-month long journey. Walking, remembering, thinking, smiling, tearing.. like a movie playing in my head.

Isn't it amazing how it is possible that you can experience so much in 6 months, yet other times, nothing much in the same amount of time?
Anthony Bourdain: "I collect experience"
My collection had just expanded 10-folds, and I need to go home and digest my collection before allowing space for more.

I'll be touching home ground in about 24 hrs. And after going everywhere in the past 6 months, I wont be going anywhere far in the next 5 months. I think it's gonna feel weird for a while. But I'll always have my next adventure to look forward to.

Looking forward to seeing all of you back home!

Egypt!

2007-11-19T01:40:00.000+08:00

The ride on the cruise from India to Egypt was an adventure on its own. Down the Bay of Bengal, up the Arabian Sea, through the Gulf of Aden, up the Red Sea (!!!), through the Suez Canal and finally arriving at the Mediterranean Sea. That’s 11 days trapped in confined space, floating on water and not having land beneath your feat. Most people would go crazy..but I loved it!

In those 11 days, I chatted with the captain on a tour of the bridge, we passed one of my dream destinations, the Maldives(!!!), we passed a Volcano that was still erupting (some people claimed that they could see red larva spilling out of the crater through the binoculars), the weather was perfect everyday, beautiful sunsets, we had a sports day aka Sea Olympics, where people sock wrestled, synchronize swam, limbo rocked, played basketball and soccer etc. I spent most late afternoons up on the deck with my book, enjoying the weather. It was a good break from traveling that I really needed.

Sailing through the Suez Canal was a real treat. Manymany years ago, The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were not connected. (I hope you are googling a map of the world in a new window now as you are reading this) Merchants or Explorers from the West heading to the East had to sail south, around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to get to their destination. The clever Egyptians then decided to dig a Canal so that boats can sail from the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt to the Red Sea then to the East and it would save the travelers many days of traveling. Apart from its rich history, sailing through it was awesome because we were so close to the banks of the Canal (Egypt) on both sides. We passed plantations, deserts, mansions, resorts, many military guards whom we could hear whistling at us, and a huge bridge with an Egyptian and Japanese flag side by side (I couldn’t figure out why…so if someone would enlighten me that would be helpful) Every few minutes the view of Egypt from the ship would change. I sat outside for a good 7 hours with some friends that day, playing scrabble, (I taught them Majong) and just watching the world go by.

Arriving in Alexandria, Egypt, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to or even remotely thought of visiting a Middle Eastern country before. (and Shannon, if you wanna get technical with me, I know Egypt is on the African Continent but it is a middle eastern country) The news always had scary things to say about these places. Bombings, riots, protests, killings, unrest… But I figured, if it was on the itinerary, it couldn’t be that bad.

Egypt receives 9 million tourists a year. Their economy is heavily dependent on tourism. And stepping into the country, it was evident. That’s perhaps why the Egyptian taxi drivers and shopkeepers were by far the most charming ones I’ve ever met. Evolution. Survival of the fittest (or in this case, most charming to the tourists).

As we stepped off the ship, instead of pushy, in-your-face tuktuk drivers, we were greeted with civilized maxi cab drivers. Experience has taught me not to trust cab drivers in foreign lands, especially those that do not go by the meter. Hence, I’m always suspicious of them and I would almost always much rather take the public bus than hop on a taxi. But that morning, I was with 5 other girls heading to Cairo. Majority ruled, and we hopped on the taxi for our 2 hr journey to Cairo from Alexandria.

Looking out the window, I catch the first glimpse of Egypt. It brought back the same feeling I had on my first tuktuk ride out of the port onto the streets of India. Awe. The people, the buildings, the roads, all so different from anywhere else I’ve been. Its developed, yet not really. One moment we are at a parking lot of a huge stand-alone mall with Starbucks and Guess, the next we are passing by rows of slumps by the road on desert ground. Although their heads were covered, Egyptian women had beautiful features, and the men were very good looking.

The taxi ride turned out to be really interesting. Somewhere along the way, the driver revealed that not only does he have a wife he also has a girlfriend! It is legal for Muslim men in Egypt to have up to 4 wives. But I was told that because most people now can’t afford it, they stop at one. He was so refreshingly candid about his extra-marital affair, telling us how his wife doesn’t have time for him and his girlfriend was a really wealthy widow, that I really wonder what kind of men women in this country have to put up with…

First stop, Pyramids of Giza. I was surprised at how close the pyramids were to the hustle and bustle of the city. I read somewhere that the city was fast expanding towards the Pyramids. We could see it from the main road! Ive always thought it was in the middle of the desert.

The weather was perfect for the pyramids. The six of us hopped on 3 horses and 3 camels and into the desert we went! For the first half of the excursion, I was on a horse (Moses was its name). Riding my horse, in the desert, next to the Pyramids of Giza, the feeling was so surreal. When the time came to switch to the camels, I was excited! I don’t think Ive ever seen a real camel before, let alone ride on one. He knelt on his 4 knees to allow me to climb on his back, and then with one swift motion, he stands up, and I am 1.5 meters above everyone else. My camel was cute. Every time we stopped, he would start peeing. I thought camels had to store water. Why did they pee so much?

Soon after, the sun was setting, and the air became cooler. Looking around, all you could see was the vast desert, the huge pyramids and camel tracks in the sand. Apart from the sound of the camel’s footsteps, it was quiet. My mind wonders back to a thousand years ago and I questioned, at the very spot I was standing, what it was like back then.

I liked the feeling of calmness the desert brought me and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be lost in the desert for one night. The silence, the darkness, the cold. Would I survive?

Before long, it was time to go back. As I said goodbye to the Pyramids, the evening prayer came on. The haunting voice of the prayer was broadcasted from the loudspeakers of the mosques across the entire nation. If smells described India, for Egypt it would be the sounds. Prayers from different mosques would be broadcasted in unison everyday, 5 times a day. Every time it comes on, I’d stop what I was doing and just listen and observe my surroundings.

After watching the very touristy but informative night show at the pyramids, we had dinner at a nearby restaurant, and then hopped into a cab heading to Cairo in search for a place to spend the night. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a really nice budget hotel called the Pension House. The hotel occupied the top 2 levels of a really old building. Since the lift was under repair, we had to trot up 6 floors to get there. Walking up the stairs and down the corridors to the hotel, I couldn’t help but picture scenes of a ghost movie set in a haunted house. With an 80 yr history, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was really haunted. But for the price we were paying, we got a clean room, a cool balcony with a birds eye view of the street below, decent toilet….it was a good deal.

The next morning, I headed out to the balcony and just observed the street 7 floors below. People heading to work, traffic, taxi drivers. To my surprise, a good-looking photographer walking on the sidewalk across the street from my building looked up (7 storeys!!) and caught my eye. I waved and he waved back, and continued walking. Behind him, a taxi driver saw me and called out (from 7 storeys below mind you) “Hello! You need a Taxi?” haha.. I replied, “Maybe later..” Just as I thought it was the end of the exchange, he asked, “Where are you from?” My first face-to-face conversation, 7 storeys apart! “Singapore!” I shouted. If I could hear him, and he could hear me, the entire street must hear us! He went on to say he’d been to Singapore before and he loved my country. The entire time, he had his hands cupped around his mouth, and was looking up 7 storeys at me. And then, still looking up, he proceeded to cross the street over to the side where my building was! From the top, I could see cars coming behind him! I pointed down at the cars coming at him from behind and told him to be careful! Sound advice, which he seemed to ignore, while continuing to yell up at me. Crazy fella! Then he told me to come down and say hi later. I said “Yea sure!” but I never saw him again. But nonetheless an interesting encounter.

We headed for the Egyptian Museum in the morning. There, we saw mummies, jewelry, coffins, statues, ancient writing, tombs, portraits.. The size of the museum and the abundant exhibits really revealed the country’s rich and long history. Next, we had a short tour of the American University in Cairo, and then headed for the night market, where we met the most charming shopkeepers ever. As we walked past their store, they would come up to us and utter the best pickup lines to catch your attention and make you laugh. Instead of “Come in to my store”, “take a look”, “cheap price”, they would say, “Do you want an Egyptian husband?” “I already have a wife, I just want your money”. Unlike in Asia where they just want to sell you something at the highest price possible, the Egyptian way was to charm you first, then sell you something at the highest price possible. We had to catch a 1am bus to Sharm El Sheikh that night and the 2 girls I was with, Alex and Katie almost didn’t want to leave the bazaar…they were smitten!

Nevertheless we made it to the bus and began our 7 hr bus journey to Sharm El Sheikh, southeast of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Red Sea.

After 7 painful sleepless hours, we finally arrived. The weather was beautiful. The sun’s rays were reflecting off the surface of the sea; the sky, like the Red Sea, was clear blue.

My first dive was a check dive off the coast of Sharks Bay Beach at the house reef. We started from the shore, then slowly went deeper and deeper into the blue. It was about 2pm in the afternoon; visibility was good. Looking out into nothingness, the water was the bluest that I’ve ever seen.

Underwater, there was a mixture of healthy hard and soft corals. Only slight bleaching could be observed on the tips of some hard corals. But my favorites were the soft corals and sea anemone that seemed like they were dancing and swaying in sync with the currents.

10 minutes into the dive, we saw a small blue spotted stingray hiding in a cave on the sea floor. As we swam further out, we saw Moorish Idols, Angelfish, and Sergeant Fish all swimming in pairs. As we turned around and headed for shore, we dove under and spotted 3 Lion fish side by side each other in a cave. They were facing inwards, motionless. I made a gesture to ask if they were sleeping, and my guide nodded.

As we got out of the water, my guide told me that the best diving season was June and July when you could see Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays, Ray Sharks, all the big marine animals. I asked if the currents were strong, and he said all the dive sites were pretty calm except Yolanda Reef, which is off the coast of Yolanda, the southern most tip of the Sinai Peninsular. Because that is the point where the Red Sea splits and flows into the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba, the currents there are unpredictable. If you were swimming east, parallel alongside the southern part of the reef, you would be sheltered from the currents. But as you approach the end of the reef, strong currents might flow from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba through the area in between Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, sweeping the diver further south into the Red Sea. Because of the unpredictable strong currents, its advisable that only experienced divers should dive there.

After dinner by the beach, Tara and I headed to Naama Bay, the town area where there are cafes, bars and shopping. Egyptian shopkeepers, though chatty and charming, can be overwhelmingly irritating. Especially when all you want is to browse and buy, not answer questions about your country of origin.

Tara wanted to find her secret sailor present, so we walked into a shop. She picked up a small wooden box in the shape of a house, handed it to me and challenged me to open it. At first, I thought it was an IQ game, so I grabbed the box from her enthusiastically. As I slid open the door of the house, I saw something black suddenly jump out of the box. I screeeeamed and threw the box on the ground. Turns out, it was a trick box. The black thing was a rubber spider. Tara is an idiot. By then, everyone in the shop, including the other shop keepers and customers looking at textiles, were staring at us. The guy serving the other customers looked away shaking his head. I had never been so embarrassed in my life. Tara is an Idiot. The 2 other customers in the shop left shortly after without buying anything.

Turns out, the guy serving them was the boss of the store. Tara asked him if there was anything in the shop that was worth 1 US dollar, and went on to tell him a grandmother story that she had to buy a present for her friend and it had to cost 1 dollar. I told her not to tell everyone her life story, because I didn’t think shopkeepers would take any interest. He laughed and gave me a high five. He must have thought we were poor because he picked up a small gift and told Tara she could have it for free. He then proceeded to tell us his life story.

Titto said he was a student once and he can understand how it feels to want something and not be able to afford it. He went through 8 years of medical school to make his parents happy, but his passion was business. All through college, he didn’t receive a cent from his parents, and funded himself with the profits from his little gift shop. He started his first store at 16, when he was a freshman at university. In the first year, business was so good that not only did he not make a loss; he earned a profit of US$200,000. Subsequently, he expanded and acquired more shops, and today he has 4 shops in total.

Every time we picked up something we liked and asked for the price, he would tell us the original price, and then tell us we could have it for half that price. On multiple occasions, he would tell us to remember – in life, its not always about the money. He said he went into business not because oft the money. I couldn’t figure it out, what was there to business apart from the money? He said he liked sourcing for products, managing people, meeting suppliers, customers, cutting deals, that he would willingly do all those things even if he was not getting paid. And there it was. That’s the Key. I need to find a job that I would willingly do without getting paid. That’s the litmus test.

The next day, I booked a diving tour to Nabq Protected Area, a marine park. The person heading the trip was also the owner of the shop – Claus. He’s from Switzerland and had been in Egypt for 7 years. Since none of my friends were certified divers, I went on the trip alone, while they stayed behind in the resort.

On the trip, I met a family from Switzerland with a 2 yr old boy, a 5 yr old girl and a pregnant mommy. They had been traveling, for 6 weeks already, on a caravan from Switzerland to Egypt, and were moving on to Italy, Greece and other coastal areas before heading home. Amazing! The kids were well behaved, no tantrums, no crying. The mom told me at first her daughter would be afraid to play with the middle eastern little kids (of different skin colour), but gradually opened up. And she would ask questions like “Mommy, do they not take baths?” This little girl would learn so much and grow up so different from her peers. And who ever said having kids should disrupt your plans of traveling the world? Also on the trip were a group of 6 friends from all over Europe. There was a Mathematics PhD Student, 3 girls working at P&G in Denmark, a psychologist and one of their spouses.

The journey to the protected area was about half an hour. As we got closer to the dive site, the view was beautiful…..sand dunes on one side, blue water on the other side. There were no other divers there except us. Apparently, Claus was one of the pioneer explorers of this dive site. The site is so newly discovered that its not even indicated on the diving map. Claus named it “Labyrinth” because it was like a maze, with coral reefs randomly positioned such that it’s difficult to navigate. As we got of, the staff laid a huge mat on the sandy beach by the water and laid our individual equipment boxes out. We rigged up on the mat, put on all our equipment, and walked into the water.

The water near the shore was cold and a about 2 inches deep. The ground was hard and had distinct wave markings. They were in the pattern of waves refracted from the shore. When the water finally got deep enough to dive, the sand settles and visibility was great. Some corals grew upwards several meters and I saw squirrelfish, clownfish. My favourite corals were those pink soft corals that looked like hands opening and closing as they sway with the currents. Once again, no Manta Rays and no Hammerhead Sharks, only small little fishes.

The tough part though, was getting out of the water. Because the tide went down, when we surfaced, we were about 100 meters from the shore where we started out. Imagine carrying my 10-pound weight belt, fins, wearing my soaked wetsuit and BCD, and wading 100m in knee-deep water. I was so tired by the end of it, I was not looking forward to the next dive. So after lunch at the Bourdain Village Hut (Egyptian Nomads), we decided to head back to the resort at sharks bay for our last dive.

Sharks bay dive. This was a wall dive. We would be in between 2 walls, swim along it and turn around and end up back at shore. Five minutes into the five, at a depth of about 6 meters, we saw a Barracuda lurking in the shallows. We swam a little deeper and saw beautiful multicoluored parrotfish, Morish Idols swimming in pairs. 10 mins into the dive, I realized that bubbles were coming out of my BCD’s deflate button. I pointed it out to my DiveMaster, and he tried to fix it but it didn’t work.. So he disconnected my air tank from my BCD. Without the help of the BCD to control my buoyancy, I kept crashing onto the seabed. And because this was going to be a deep dive, I’ll just sink deeper and deeper without control of my buoyancy. (I forgot that I could manually inflate) So 12m underwater, my DiveMaster signaled for us to exchange BCD, Air Tank, Octopus, everything! I mean this was worst-case scenario! Ive done it before, but only as drills, not the real thing! Good thing I am calm… He took my extra regulator, I took off my BCD, held my breadth, took his regulator, breathed through it, put on his BCD, tightened all my releases. My buddy (the Spanish PHD Maths student) was amazing; he helped me through everything and made sure I was good to go. So my DM ended up with an extra small sized BCD and me an L. But we continued the dive, and got to the wall. And it was beautiful. Sea fans that came in all colours, sea urchins, sponges,

So that marked the end of my Red Sea Diving Adventure, and we took the 10-hr night bus back to Alexandria where the boat is docked. By the end of it, I was exhausted. But I take away the stories of people I’ve met, and head to my next destination – Istanbul.

Namaste…India

2007-10-23T04:51:00.001+08:00

Oh India… So many things happened that I don’t know where to start.
Ok trivia - what are the two worst places in the world to get your period in? China and India. As if the China experience wasn’t bad enough, I’m now in India!! Brace yourself Sheryl…

The morning our ship arrived at port, the first thing I said to my roommate when we woke up was “Katie, do you smell that?” The air pollution in Chennai is B-A-D. A distinct smell of burning fumes and exhaust. Even in my supposedly airtight cabin, traces of it could still be detected.

I’m finally out of Asia, where everything still seemed vaguely familiar. Stepping into India, everything seemed like it jumped right out of a movie set or a documentary.

The moment we got off the ship, all of us had to have our names recorded in this logbook before we could get out of the gates of Chennai Harbour. 200 students in line, and only one officer sitting at the table writing. The line turned into an impatient crowd surrounding his chair and table, with hands holding their official documents out in front of him. He randomly picks one hand, writes the name down and that person can go.

It must have been more than half an hour and we were still waiting. Pissed, I thought about discretely holding out 10 rupees on top of my paper so that he would pick it first. When in India, do what the Indians do… right? But I was afraid that he might get offended. So Instead, I used the paper I was holding out to fan him a little because it was soo hot, and soon enough, he picked my card and I was free to go!

The road outside was lined with tuk tuks. Drivers kept coming up to us one after the other and before long, we had an entourage of about 25 Indian tuk tuk drivers surrounding us saying “where you going madam?” “Here, my car here..” We asked one driver for the price, another one cut in and answered. Before we could respond, the 2 drivers started hitting each other, right in front of us! We had to break them up saying “no fighting, no fighting!” Haha..that was bizarre. Finally 4 of us hopped into a tuktuk with a driver already sitting in it, minding his own business, not bothering anyone at all.

His name was Rajen and he took us to this restaurant with only Indian locals. I, on the other hand, was with 2 white girls Alex and Katie, and another Asian looking Eurasian girl, Nancy. We definitely attracted some curious stares. Observing the locals using their hands to eat, the girls insisted on following suit. I was happy with my spoon. After lunch, we went next door to get our eyebrows threaded for…20 Rupeees! US 50 cents! Then Alex and I made our way to the local bus station in Chennai to catch a 4 hr bus to Pondicherry! To do yoga! Ok so heres the story. During the 6 days on the ship between Thailand and India, I was swarmed with midterms, papers due, and assignments. (Which explains why I haven’t been updating the blog..:P) The night before my big exam, I was so tired of doing work that I gave up studying and I put Alex’s yoga DVD on. As I was imitating the poses, it suddenly struck me that I was going to India, where yoga was born! So I flipped through my roommate’s India lonely planet and Pondicherry it was!

Back to the 4 hr bus ride. Mummy- remember how we would avoid taking bus 147 on weekends because the bus would be packed with construction workers when we passed Serangoon Road? Imagine that, but two times as packed, without air-con, Indian movie blasting in the speakers, driver honking every 5 minutes for no apparent reason…Thank god I had my ear plugs with me.

I think India is the only country that I don’t like wind in my face when cruising down the roads. Whenever we pass a cannel, oh my godd.. the smell…

Finally at 9pm, we arrive at Pondicherry. After making a few calls, we found a hostel right by the beach facing the Bay of Bengal. When I arrive at a new place, the first thing I like to do is put my bags down and explore.. but on the ship we’ve been warned about India, especially how girls might be harassed and how we should try to wear longs and cover up as much as possible. So at 1030pm at night, exploring wasn’t necessarily a good idea. But we thought we’d walk and get a feel of the streets first, and the moment we felt unsafe, we’d turn back. It turned out to be a really interesting walk along the beach. We saw Indian families probably on holiday; lovers by the beach, and tones of Indian men just sitting around chatting and watching the world go by.

Next morning, we set our alarm at 530am hoping to catch the Bay of Bengal sunrise. After I managed to drag myself out of bed, I walked to the beach only to discover that there was no sunrise. The sun was hidden behind the pollution and smog. But the bay was beautiful anyway. Hungry…we walked to the nearest café. The security guard sitting outside the café saw us coming toward him so he stood up and said “eightoclock..” accompanied with the Indian head bob. Alex asked him “do they serve chai?” he replied “eightoclock” haha.. We looked at each other, laughed and walked away imitating him..”eightoclock…eightoclock”

We made our way to an ashram (temple where devotees pay respects). Im not exactly sure which god they were praying to but old and young would come, light an incense, stick it in a metal tank then kneel in front of a raised platform with a display of flowers. They would close their eyes, lean over and touch the flowers with their forehead and say a silent prayer. Many others would find a corner, sit and meditate. The atmosphere was peaceful. Everyone was silent and you could hear the birds chirping.

Following that, we made our way to breakfast at “eightoclock..” (head bob). Alex got the papers and we spotted an article featuring some semester at sea kids scrubbing walls and painting them in an orphanage in Chennai! We were in the newspapers! So I thought I’d cut it out and bring it home.

After we worked out what we wanted to do for the day, we headed for town, looking for a market. On our way there, we passed a shop along the street selling women’s clothing. Since I only brought tank tops on the trip, I desperately needed cover up clothes. The shop basically sold factory overruns at a fraction of the price you’d get in stores overseas. It was a small run down shop, but they had brands like Marks and Spencer. At the shop, I met Sylvia from Argentina and we immediately hit it off. She was a yoga teacher in Miami and she came to India to travel and learn Meditation yoga. She asked why we were in India, so I showed her the newspaper cutting. I told her I came to Pondicherry to learn and experience yoga, but was unable to find any place that offered that. Then, she suggested that she conduct a class for Alex and I in the park! Awesome! So we said to meet back at the same shop at 4pm that day for our yoga date. Before we left, we kept repeating to each other “4pm, for sure!” “For sure!”

Alex and I then made our way to Auroville, 20 mins from Pondicherry. Now Auroville is a very special place. It is basically an area bought by a private entity with the aim of creating a whole new community free from the evils of the world within its compounds. Basic principals that the community is built upon –
1. A city dedicated to an unending education where education would be given, not with a view of passing examinations and getting certificates and posts, but for enriching the existing faculties and bringing forth new ones.
2. A place where men of all countries would be at home. Their goal is to have residences from all over the world living there.
3. A place where children would be able to grow and develop integrally without losing contact with their soul.
4. A place where work would not be there as the means of gaining one’s live hood, it would be the means whereby to express oneself, develop one’s capacities and possibilities, while doing at the same time service to the whole group, which on its side would provide for each one’s subsistence and for the field of his work.
I was really impressed. Apart from all these, the community is dependent mainly on renewable energy. And the architecture of the buildings within the compounds were all environmentally friendly. Also the food they served was made with distilled Auroville water and the ingredients were all natural, grown in their very own compounds.

They were all really good causes that I entirely agree with, but it all seemed too perfect. And I was uncomfortable with the idea of an artificial isolated community. Its almost like social engineering brought to the extremes. Although I was impressed with all the ideas and principals, I was skeptical that it would work. But Alex and I were very excited that we found that place and we told ourselves we’d go back for at least a month to learn and be immersed in the environment.

So having seen all that, we rushed back to the shop in Pondicherry to meet our new friend Sylvia. Before we stepped into the shop, she called out to us from behind. I was glad to see her. See, sometimes when we travel and meet new people and make arrangements to meet with them later on, more often than not, it doesn’t work out. So I never take it for granted that we’ll end up meeting. But when it does, it makes me really appreciate that person and I’d feel all warm and fuzzy. Haha.. So Sylvia brought us to go buy yoga mats before heading to the park for our yoga session! At the park, we laid our mats on the ground and started the session with breathing techniques. Now this is a person that was fed up with the modern way of living and gave up her dentist career to concentrate on Yoga and reconnecting her mind to her spirit. She believes that Yoga is not an end in itself, but a means to access the mind and soul, and be connected with your body. Now that made a lot of sense to me. I compared the way she taught to some of the Yoga classes I’ve attended at home--world of a difference. The instructors at home just didn’t seem to get the essence of Yoga and it seemed like we were doing the poses for the sake of it and it was more like stretching and exercise than anything more. At the end of the session, while Alex and I were lying on our backs, Sylvia rubbed her hands with a fresh smelling essence and massaged our faces. She then presented us with each a handful of small Indian white flowers. Her generosity and sincerity was amazing. When she smiles, you could see her smile coming from inside. She exudes an aura of calmness and serenity and peace that I wish would rub off on me. And more amazing, was how our meeting was so serendipitous. This is the reason why I travel. To meet people like that.
So, no goodbyes, only see you later. We arranged to meet her in Miami on Dec 7 when our ship arrives there. I know we’ll see Sylvia again.

So we returned to our hostel feeling so blessed and excited about seeing the rest of India. We picked up our bags and headed to the bus station for Mamallapuram, a state in between Chennai and Pondicherry. When we arrived, it was dark. I knew I had to rush back to the ship in Chennai early the next day because that’s where my ‘child labour village homestay’ organized by the school starts off from. So only one night in Mamallapuram, but I was determined to make the most of it. We were exploring the streets, looking for food, and there were some guys on the second story of a building waving and calling out to us, so we decided to have dinner there. Turns out, the people running the place spoke perfect English and they were the funniest and most charismatic Indians I have ever met. After dinner, Alex and I headed up to the roof of the restaurants and just chilled with the local guys. Over beer, we came to the topic about Auroville. Apparently, they said because Auroville was not governed by Indian Law, the regulations are more relaxed and that place had been misused by opportunists who use it for buying and exporting goods. And they said Aurovillians were a proud bunch and there were numerous cases of pedophilia. I was shocked, disappointed but to be honest, I saw it coming. It was too good to be true. But I still do want to see it for myself.

So the next day, it was goodbyes and Alex stayed in Mamallapuram while I headed back for Chennai. Although we met the guys only the night before, we became fast friends and I was a tad sad to leave them.

To get to Chennai, I actually planned to take a tuktuk to the bus stop, then take a local bus to Chennai bus station then take another tuk tuk to Chennai Harbour. But because I was running late, I thought I could take the tuk tuk straight to Chennai Harbour. So I asked my tuk tuk driver how long does the bus take to get from Mamallapuram to Chennai bus station? He said 1 hr 10 min. How long from Chennai busstation to Chennai Harbour? He said 1 hr. Then I asked how long would it take for the tuk tuk to get from Mamallapuram directly to Chennai Harbour? He said 1 hr. So I thought if he just went along the beach, we could head for the Harbour directly and it would cut down on the time taken. He said it would cost 500 rupees for him to take me to Chennai Harbour. And I did repeat several times, “Chennai Harbour, Chennai Harbour”. He said “ok ok”.

The journey was fun. We drove along the beach and the scenery was beautiful. It was expensive but I thought it was worth it. As we turned into the city, he stopped me at a place with a lot of tuk tuks. I kept repeating to him “ Chennai Harbour, Chennai Harbour.” I don’t know if he really didn’t understand or he pretended not to understand. Then, other drivers came and they talked and he told be to go with another driver. I said no, I wanted him to take me. So he drove off and 30 mins later we finally arrived at the harbour. By this time, I had used up all my buffer time that I had planned and I was running very late. Any later, and the bus to the village would leave without me. I paid him 500 rupees and angrily, he said it was supposed to be 700. That 500 was the last of my rupees. We got into an argument and a passerby came by. I told him what happened and I told him that the driver didn’t understand Chennai Harbour but he still kept saying ok ok and 500 was all I had. So he spoke to the driver then the driver walked angrily toward his tuk tuk and the passerby said ok I can go. SO I ran to the ship, packed the fastest I had ever packed for the village homestay, and took the fastest shower I had ever taken, and ran to the dining room to grab a hotdog, then ran to the meeting place.

There were about 20 kids on the child labour village homestay. We took a bus to the village in Kancheepuram, about 2 hrs away from Chennai, where the NGO, Ride, was situated. There, the first place we visited was the bridging school. One of Ride’s projects was to rescue the children forced into working in the sand quarries. They take them in and try to socialize them with other kids, and teach them basic English to prepare them for local schools. But the toughest part was convincing their parents to let their children come to school. Most parents give birth to children hoping that they can work and make more money for the family, so telling them that they should pay money to send their kids to school seemed absurd to them. These kids were, kids. Seeing all their smiling faces, its hard to imagine what difficult backgrounds they come from. Apparently, girls as well as boys have to carry huge stones when working in the quarry. We had a chance to ask the children questions. So through the interpreter, I asked them what they felt about working in the quarry. He called a boy to come forward, and asked him the same question in Tamil. Immediately, the boy went silent, his shoulders dropped, and he dropped his head and looked down on the ground. He whispered, “It’s hard…” None of us understood Tamil, but we all understood his suffering.
After the QnA, we had some time to interact with the kids. I brought the bubble making set I bought in Thailand with me. Before long, I had a group of kids, sitting in a circle around me playing with bubbles. Now I knew I only had one bubble set, so there was a possibility that the kids would fight over it. So I created a system that whoever wanted to play had to sit in my circle, and they would have to take turns going in a clockwise direction. At first there was fighting, everyone wanted to blow into the bubble making tube. But then, I told them who could go next, and it would be in a clockwise direction. They got the rule, and soon after, instead of fighting, they could play orderly and instead of me telling them who could go next, they could regulate their turns by themselves within the group. I taught them how to share! They were so cute playing with the bubbles..blowing it into each other’s faces. I was happy that I brought laughter to them. They might have to work tomorrow and the day after. I wish I could change that, but I can’t. But at least for that few moments, the kids could be kids.

There, we met a volunteer teacher. She was German, with a Masters Degree in Product Design. I asked her how she decided to let go of everything at home and came solo to India to help the less fortunate. She said she was sick of western culture of consumerism and obsession with fashion, food, cars, money and she wanted to do something meaningful with her time. I really admired her courage. For a western lady to go alone to a place like India, let alone a small rural village, not anyone could do that. She must really believe in her cause and really determined. She said at first, people at home always said to her, “why cant you just stay in one place, why must you go everywhere all the time?” They didn’t understand her, and she didn’t understand them. She couldn’t make out how they could tolerate their mundane disconnected lives that consisted of nothing but going to work and maybe the occasional shopping and movie treat during the weekends. My sentiments exactly…
Before I left, I gave her my torchlight as a present because she said she stayed alone in the school without electricity. She lit candles to read at night because she keeps forgetting to buy a flashlight. I was appalled. So although it was my only flashlight, I was happy to hand it to her because she definitely needed it more than I did. And indirectly, I hope she sensed the support and encouragement I meant to show her.

The next day, we visited the Dalit Village. In the cast system in India, the lowest of the lowest class that is not even in the cast system, is the untouchables, or Dalit. They live in dirt huts with thatched roofs and a very low ceiling. We met a Dalit girl that was 18 yrs old with a 6 mth old baby. She brought us to her home and she showed us around. For most of them, their husbands spend all his money on drugs and alcohol. So life is hard for the families. So the organization came up with a micro financing programme which allows the women to borrow a minimal sum of maybe 2500 rupees to start a small business, and they could repay the money back slowly after their business has made money at a monthly interest of 2%. This programme had successfully helped many women become financially independent of their husbands. They even said through the success of the programme, they gained confidence and respect form their husbands. As you know, India is a male dominated society. So for a woman to achieve this is very, very admirable. In fact, Ride is not the only NGO that is supporting the cause of empowering women. Another organization, the Working Women’s Forum also focus on helping women stand on their feet. The organization’s main activity was focused on micro financing, and it was carried out in a much larger scale than the previous one. This organization works with Citibank for funds, and they even have their own bank to manage their member’s loans and savings. After studying about how banks work in school and seeing it for myself during my internship, I personally was interested in how banking could not only make the rich richer but also help the poor. And it was truly eye opening. We were able to interact with the beneficiaries of the programme and get first hand responses about how it had changed their lives. One woman said she gained self-confidence. Another said she gained the respect of her husband. It was a revealing moment how when the question was announced to them in Tamil, so many hands shot up and we had so many firm, enthusiastic answers form the women. This is the beginning of change, and we can only hope for the best.

Before leaving Chennai, I had the pleasure of meeting up with an old friend of my father’s—uncle Ramesh. Growing up, I’ve always heard his name mentioned over phone conversations between him and my Dad. And it was nice to finally meet him and his family. Walking into their 3-storey home, the contrast between the Dalit village home and this mansion really struck me. And when I told them about my experiences at the Dalit village, they didn’t seem very interested. I guess some things are left unsaid in the Indian society.

Overall, I was very satisfied with my time spent in India because not only did I cover some sights and exploration of the country on my own, I got to visit some NGOs and villages and gain a better understanding about how the different people in the country led their lives and how they are being helped. Not to mention the wonderful people I met. It’s the people you meet that make all the difference.

Now that India’s done, I’m looking forward to the 11 days on the ship before Egypt. We’re more than halfway into our 107-day journey, and I don’t know how I can go back home and resume my ‘normal’ life. I’m going to be restless all the time! This is truly an amazing experience, and I believe it’s only the beginning of many more amazing experiences.

Sawadikaa…Thailand

2007-10-23T04:50:00.001+08:00

So Thailand was meant to be a break from adventures and family time! It was nice seeing my parents for the first time in 4 months. Looking back, I left home in June not knowing what was ahead of me. So many things have happened since June. Summer Camp, New York, Semester at Sea. 4 months seemed like a year! Yes, I missed my friends and family. But I didn’t miss being at home. Wouldn’t trade living on this ship for anywhere else in the world.

First day in Thailand, Alex and I headed to Pattaya. Now Pattaya, I was familiar with. In May, the sailors and I spent a week in Pattaya racing in the Top of the Gulf races, and almost every night, we’d be at walking street…walking.

Yes..Alex and I went to the ping pong show. I call it the circus. Not only were there ping pongs, there were needles, a cigarette, whistle and things beyond your wildest imaginations. It was a circus alright.

On our way back to the hostel, we passed this roadside stall selling meatball soup noodles. The smell was so irresistible that I had to stop and get a bowl. Thinking about it now still makes my mouth water... After that, I got 2 ice creams, and a crepe. It is impossible to not gain weight in that country.

The following day, we took a 2 hr long bus ride to Bangkok and I headed straight for Arnoma Hotel where I met Daddy and Mommy, while Alex went elephant hunting in Kanchanapuri.

I missed my parents…It was a nice change to be pampered and not have to worry about money, or how to get from here to there or dirty toilets. I was soooo exhausted from all the planning and traveling that all I wanted to do was recharge and chill.

The first night in Bangkok, they took me to Chinatown for local food, then for Thai massage. So…all these times, all those business trips in Thailand…this is what they really do….living the life. Then, it was more shopping the next day for shampoo, food and all those necessities, plus a haircut and a facial before heading to Pattaya again and back to the ship!

Updates from home – brothers got a new girlfriend, the other brother had an annoying Taiwanese exchange student come stay at the house with him for 2 weeks, we might be moving into the new house in December (yay!!), Jennifer went back to Philippines, bird flew away..everything else pretty much was status quo. This trip, my parents got to come aboard the ship and see my cabin, where I eat, where I have classes at, where I sit around and chill. Daddy said he wouldn’t live on the ship even if someone paid him to. Claustrophobia, he said. I on the other hand would live here forever if I could. Well, if only I could choose who I sail with, then that’ll be perfect!

6 days of intense intense academic responsibilities before India!

Vietnam

2007-10-23T04:45:00.000+08:00

So I think it was sometime in China that I decided I wasn’t doing to be a tourist on the rest of this journey. I decided that I should learn about each country’s history and current affairs and seek out locals to hang out with. (as opposed to hanging out with young, ignorant, American semester at sea kids). I realized that it was the only way I could make the most out of this trip and really feel a sense of satisfaction at the end of it.

As I was reading my textbook on Vietnam before I arrived, I came across its history that said Vietnam was once divided into 2 countries – the north and the south. The north was communist, while the south was capitalist. During the Vietnam War, America sent troops to back the capitalist south in their fight against the communist north. However, with ingenious Guerilla Warfare and amazing will to survive and teamwork within the community, the North beat the Americans and the south and won the war, resulting in the reunification of the country into the present day Vietnam.

I found it extremely ironic that while Mr Ho Chi Min was the communist leader of the north years ago, the present day Ho Chi Min city was actually Saigon, which was the Capitalistic South years ago, before the war. That explains why Ho Chi Min’s residence is situated in Hanoi and not Ho Chi Min City. In true communist fashion, the north renamed Saigon in the south after their leader Ho Chi Min. So questions in my head popped up. What changes were made in the south after the communist took over? 30 years on, are they happy? Everywhere I went in Vietnam, I asked the locals these questions. I asked the driver that took us to the Cu Chi tunnels, our guide in the Mekong Delta (who calls himself Mr Lovely), Motorbike riders, Taxi Drivers, Everybody! Those that didn’t understand English just smiled and nodded. Mr Lovely said everyone is happy, that there was no animosity at all between the old northerners and southerners. I didn’t quite buy that. Finally, it was my Taxi driver on the last day, the one who took me everywhere looking for lonely planet books that gave me the real story. When I asked him if the old Saigon (present day Ho Chi Min city) was happy, he went silent and shook his head. Then he said “I don’t think so, but people don’t talk about it”. In a war, everyone suffers. Like Sun Zi put it, “Fury can turn into rejoice but people dead cannot come back to life and buildings destroyed cannot be revived.”

Aside from seeking out my answer, I did something in Vietnam that would make Harold very proud. (are you reading this Harold?!?) I took my first motorbike lesson!! All those times I said I would learn Harold, all those times you said “Yea right, Sheryl”, I finally did!!! So technically, according to SAS rules, students are not supposed to rent any motor vehicle, let alone control it. But Vietnam was the perfect place to learn, because I figured, with so many motorbike riders in the country, they must be extremely skilled to maneuver themselves through the crazy ass Vietnam traffic. I only learn from the best. Ok truth was, I have already seen Hanoi and I wasn’t planning on leaving Ho Chi Min, and 5 days in the city was just too much time and not enough things to do.

But back to the bike riding… I loved it! For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to do it. But after Ben and Oozie’s accident in Bali, I had second thoughts. But I’m glad I did it. Now I can go forward, make a left u-turn, a right u-turn, go uphill and go downhill in very light traffic. As a souvenir from that day, I got a huge bruise on my right thigh. Must have gotten it when I crashed into a fence, and following that, I tried to reverse back out, only to discover that bikes do not reverse like a car. You had to manually push it backwards. Who would have thought!

my teacher...

After spending 3 days in the city, the pollution, noise and traffic was starting to give me a really bad headache. I badly needed some peace and quiet. On the last night in Ho Chi Min, my roommate was planning on taking a 4 hr bus ride to Mui Ne beach. Her bus was leaving at 730pm. Desperate to get out of the city, at 7pm, I ran back to the room, pack the fastest I had ever packed, and left for Mui Ne!

Turns out, we had an amazing time at the beach. And we met some amazing people. There were some Irish backpackers going to Singapore, and they were looking for a place to stay. So I told them about Adrian Ho’s The Hive. You’re welcome, Adrian! Met some guys from Greece on the bus that we became fast friends with.

Overall, the cultural experience in Ho Chi Min wasn’t awesome. But I got a feel of the economy, saw so many Korean billboards and Korean business in Vietnam, got an idea of property prices, and how much things cost, and my conclusion is—Vietnam’s the new China. Its probably going to experience rapid growth in the next few years and you could already see the early signs of that happening.

With Vietnam done, I’m looking forward to Thailand, where I meet my parents!! Till next time!

Ni How From China!

2007-10-01T19:10:00.000+08:00

China taught me the importance of knowing the language of the country you’re visiting. The first day when we arrived at Qingdao, none of these American kids knew what they were in for. Most of them probably thought that traveling independently would be a breeze…that everywhere will be like Japan where when you ask for directions, you’d get an escort…where people would go out of their way to help you. Boy were they in for a total culture shock.

China, like the rest of South East Asia as we all know, has plenty of poor but very smart locals trying to rip tourists off. Imagine being in Asia for the first time, not speaking the language, not knowing where you want to go, and on top of it, surrounded by impatient, aggressive and sometimes rude shopkeepers and taxi drivers. Some of them were so overwhelmed, all they did was go to Walmart in China. Haha… I did my best to help whoever I can.

Qingdao was dreadful. The typhoon was in the vicinity, schools were evacuated earlier in the afternoon and it was just raining the entire time we were there. I was so bent on getting out of that city and avoiding the entire coastal area. Since typhoons lose its ‘power’ as it travels through land, I thought it would be wise to pick a city further inland. After recalling the places in China where my mom had been with her auntie friends (haha…), I picked Guilin. And my mission for the day was to buy a ticket there from Qingdao.

We headed for the city centre, and I looked out for big hotels with travel agents in the lobby. After a bit of walking around, I finally found one that issued tickets and I bought the earliest flight to Guilin the next day. Now most of my friends were heading to Beijing for the great wall. I had already been there, and besides, I’d rather spend more time in the serene environment at Guilin rather than the polluted city of Beijing. So that meant I had to go solo. First time in my life! I mean I had taken transportation solo, ran errands solo, but sight-seeing solo..that Ive never done. Everywhere Ive traveled, Ive always had someone to meet and stay with or walk around and exploring with. This was a first.

I was to meet my friend Alexandra at the hostel in Guilin one night after I arrive, to travel with her to Yangshuo. She had gone to Bejing first to see the great wall. So I arrived at Guilin and spent one lonely night in the best room they had in the hostel, which had cost me $24 dollars. Honestly, the rooms didn’t matter….I picked the one with the best toilets. I had my route planned out for the next day, and went to bed. Next morning at breakfast, not wanting to travel alone, I looked around for possible travel partners. Couples..nah. Dodgy ol’ men..nah. Groups of 2 or more guys or girls..nah. Single girl traveling alone. Perfect!

The girl I ended up traveling with, her name is Maureen. Shas an Australian working in England (for the pounds). Works a couple of months, earns pounds, then quit and travel until she runs out of cash. But because she makes pounds (three times the value of sing dollars), her salary can pretty much last her a year or so in poorer nations like South America and South East Asia. Like me, shes not a person who will be able to survive the 9-5 desk-bound job. I cant imagine myself doing that, everyday, never being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And she basically showed me that I don’t have to resign myself to that fate. She worked on a contract basis, so that means even though she has to put up with 9-5 for a couple months at a time, she is able to control when her contract ends, and she’s not tied down to a mundane life, makes good money, and can take off seasonally to any part of the world. But there are, of course, downsides. She can do whatever she’s doing only because she’s not close to her family. And also, she doesn’t have a permanent house, only a permanent locker in London where she stores everything to her name while she’s gone. In addition, the weather in London can get the most cheerful person down. And the working hrs are long. But I was thinking, if im not gonna have a life anyway, might as well earn 3 times the money while im at it. And the things she has gained from it, friends from around the world, the knowledge, the personal growth, the increased sensitivity and understanding of other people, their cultures…priceless.

Maureen and I hired a driver for 20Yuan (4 sing dollars!) and spent the rest of the day exploring the Reed flute cave, and Beauty’s peak. Then we took a nice riverboat down the Li River while the sun was setting. It was beautiful…. Like the sacred river in India, the Chinese also do everything in their river. We passed a man shampooing his head in this speedo, several ladies washing raw chicken at the riverbanks, and others washing clothes with river water. So many Chinese people mistook me for a local tour guide because I was translating everything Mandarin to Maureen in English. Hmm…another possible career huh.

When night fell, we ended up at the night market, shopping. There, as we were bargaining with the shop keepers, 2 Chinese university students approached us and asked if we needed help translating. Turns out, they were looking for tourists to practice their English with. They would come to the night market whenever they have free time to look for English speaking tourists to practice. And because I knew both English and Mandarin, I could teach them some words. Their dedication and perseverance for learning - amazing. Need to learn this from them. The day turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable and I really liked the new friend I met.

By the time we got to the hostel that night, it was almost 12 midnight. And I was anxious to see if Alex had made it there. As I approached the reception desk, the lady told me that my friend had arrived!! She made it! See, whenever we make arrangements like that at port, its like taking a leap of faith. She didn’t have her phone, so from the time we parted to the time we met, anything could have happened to either one of us and plans might change and neither one of us would be able to get hold of each other. So we’d be so excited when we finally meet! So I introduced Maureen to Alex and the next day, 3 of us made our way down to Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is a lesser known town compared to Guilin. But there is a saying in Yangshuo that goes “Guilin might be beautiful, but Yangshuo is more beautiful compared to Guilin.” And it truly was. Imagine a small, friendly town with shops, restaurants, markets, everything you need, set in a backdrop of mountains and padi fields. The fresh air was a nice change from the pollution in Qingdao.

Once we checked into the hotel with the best bathroom, we made our way to the stretch of the Li river with the best view. Apparently, you cant say you’ve been to Yangshuo without visiting there. When it comes to looking at the abstract shapes of nature, the Chinese can be really creative. We passed a hill that looked like an old man and one with an image of a horse carved on it and also took a picture of the view that is currenlty printed on the 20 Yuan note.

Next day, Maureen and I booked ourselves a 9 hr cycling tour of Yangshuo while Alex went Rock climbing. Cycling is the best way to explore the countryside. Picture being on the bike, riding at your own pace, cool wind in your face, all you hear is rustling grass and birds chirping, being surrounded by padi fields and mountains……perfect! From time to time, we’d pass a breathtaking sight and stop to take pictures. As we passed the Pomelo plantation, I asked if we could stop and have some fruit. Our guide stopped and spoke to a farmer and he invited us to their rest area to have pomelo. There we sat with the other farmers, their wives and their grandchildren and just chilled and had a fruit party. I enjoyed just chilling and joking with them.

Im really starting to appreciate how people from such different backgrounds can come together and chill and communicate and have a good time. The connection we have, there and then, is beyond seller or buyer, age, nationality, race, income, status,. We’re just people connecting. 30 mins later, the group breaks and everyone have to resume our roles. Us—tourists and customer, them—farmers, tourguide—service provider. But it doesn’t matter. The moment we had was special and I seek out and treasure those moments.

Just as we were ready to go, Maureen realized that her bike was gone and in its place was a ratty old bike. The farmer immediately recognized whose bike it was, and rode it to its owner to exchange for Maureen’s bike. Minutes later, he returned with Maureen’s bike and all was good. Small town spirit, I like.

Later that day, we arrived at Moon’s Hill, where we made a Level 2/3 hike up the hill. As we were walking up, there were these local old ladies carrying small cooler bags with canned and bottled drinks, selling them. They approached us at the bottom of the hill, but since we still had our waters, we declined and said maybe later. To our surprise, she said “ok later?”, then proceeded to follow us up the hill! And mind you, it was not an easy climb. 10 mins into it, Maureen and I were exhausted and had to take a break. Those ladies, who are probably twice our age, saw other tourists ahead and they just kept going! Amazing! By the time we got to the top, we were B-E-A-T. And I was amazed to see 10 other old ladies at the top of the hill. I asked one of them how many times they climb the hill a day and she said max twice. When I told them I admired their fitness, one more outspoken lady said “You think we like to climb hills? We’re like beggers following tourists around..if we weren’t poor, we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t have to.” And then I see tourists shooing them away, and I felt bad. See, you cant blame these tourists because they are conditioned to say no, and many people from hotels and tourguides probably warned them about these touts and tell them not to buy from them. But you cant blame these touts too because they are poor and they have no choice but to sell things and make money otherwise the other option would be to beg. And the poorer they are, the more aggressive sellers they become, which makes tourists shun them even more and its just a vicious cycle where nobody benefits. So I bought a bottle of water from one of them while the other watched in envy. In contrast, it made her day and she said it was the first sale she made all day. Since it was already 5pm, it’ll probably be the only sale made for the day. So on the way down, I was brainstorming for other items they could sell besides drinks that tourists would want to buy. All the options I came up with, they said they have tried and it had failed. Some problems just have no answers.
moons hill..........

And on the way back, we stopped by the bamboo rafts and took a very peaceful and serene bamboo raft ride down the river leading back to the town. That was probably my most favourite river ride thus far – no noise pollution from the engines of motor boats, no smell of exhaust, just me and my environment, being one.

Following that, we made our way back in time for ice cream before dinner. We took some time and tried out several flavours. As Maureen turned around to get her wallet, she was startled to realize that her bag pocket was open and her wallet was gone! She said, but no one was here and the only people the could have stolen it was the 2 Chinese local men beside her. When I looked up, one guy has one arm holding out a note to the ice cream seller and he didn’t look like he was paying attention to what he was saying at all. He kept looking over at us. I stared at him, trying to make out if he was acting and if he was the thief. And everything was happening so fast that I couldn’t think straight. He turned over and faced us, and asked in mandarin, “what happened? Did you get picked pocketed?” I didn’t bother replying him and I kept staring at his expressions, his eyes, trying to make out if he showed any sign of fear or guilt. And the whole time Maureen kept pointing at his pocket, which was bulging. Sensing that Maureen was accusing him, he patted his pockets several times and looked like he was really innocent and then he said “did someone steal your wallet and go that way?” And in that split second, I believed he was innocent, and I nodded and pointed that direction, and immediately, he and his friend took off! Seconds later, the ice cream woman said she recognized the guy talking to us and he was indeed the thief. And in that second, I felt sooo dumb. We ran over and by then, they were nowhere to be found! Maureen, visibly shaken, was still able to think straight. She said she felt soo stupid but immediately accepted the fact that her wallet was gone and ran through the items in the wallet in her head, and kept saying that she has to go back and call to cancel her card. She only had less than 20 US dollars left in the wallet. The most valuable items were her atm card and her train ticket from Guilin to Shenzhen. So she was lucky she didn’t lose much but it was a hassle trying to get her card cancelled and a new card sent over to her. Its amazing that she had been everywhere around the world alone, (including south Africa) and that was the first time she had been pick pocketed – in China! Needless to say, she wasn’t impressed by the country at all. It only takes one bad experience to spoil the impression of an entire country. I on the other hand, had all my valuables in one wallet. If it had been me, I would have been screwed. There, I learned invaluable lessons at someone else’s expense.. to take care of my belongings better, to split up my money, not to be too trusting..

That night after dinner, Alex and I bid goodbye to Maureen and took a 10 hr bus to Shenzhen and made our way to HK to meet the ship we call our Home! We finally arrived the HK port after a bus and multiple train rides. The first sight of home brought a rush of emotions - happy would be an understatement. We had been through so much and not to mention survived the most disgusting toilets in the world and survived! At that point, the thought of my cabin and my toilet and a clean hot shower would bring tears to my eyes. All that mattered was that we made it back! Adventure would be an understatement. Next stop – Vietnam.

Previous missing outdated posts

2007-09-20T21:47:00.001+08:00

28 Aug 0025

Oh myy god..Im finally here! Everything has been nothing short of amazing. Being here, listening to the dean speak about the programme ahead of us, oceanview classrooms and rooms, better still, oceanfront alfresco dining on deck! Everyday! How cool is that! Everything that Ive pictured in my head is now right in front of me. And it all started with a thought, an idea, a dream that came true!

Up until last night at San Diego, where I met random people at the lobby, everything still seemed so surreal. Its like you get it that yes you are in San Diego and yes you are in a hotel and yes it feels like you’re on holiday but are you really going to live on a ship and travel around the world for the next 3 months? Is it really happening?

In the morning, we boarded the bus to Mexico and along the way, the view was breathtaking. Blue water, white sandy beach. After 2 hrs, we finally arrived at the port in Ensenada and there it was – The MV Explorer (ship). One stop closer to believing that it is going to happen. I get on, head to my room, start to unpack, and it starts to sink in that I AM gonna live here. Then as the ship leaves the harbour, it suddenly becomes real! Byebye mexico! Im sailing around the world!

29 Aug 2007

Ok lets describe the ship. There are 7 decks altogether and my room is on the 3rd deck. The top deck has a pool, which really looks more like a bathtub, and a gym, which I haven’t been able to utilize because I decided to leave my smelly running shoes behind in New York. The 6th deck has a dining hall that has an open-air area that I love to eat at. It was cold today so I couldn’t stay on deck for too long, but I’d really like to when it warms up. We have a library (small) and a computer lab (small). Here’s the thing. This boat is like a Hotel, a Cruise and a University all merged into one! The cabins look like hotel rooms. There are stewards who clean your room, there are waiters and concierge –everything a hotel has. Even the classrooms look like mini ballrooms. As for the cruise element, there’s a captain, deck hands and crew members. And of course, the Deans and 24 faculty members complete the university.

The stairs and lift lobby..

The dining room...

My Cabin is small, but the space works. Ive been pretty comfortable and settled in so far. My roommate and I are getting along. We’re both pretty laid back, so its cool. After living in a common setting, sharing bathrooms with 8 kids and 3 girls, and then sharing a room with 7 other strangers, this is a luxury for me. Attached bathroom, 1 roommate, heaven! I guess the past 2 months have really toughened me up huh.

My Cabin...

Bathroom...

So Ive met some people that said they were pretty nervous about being on the ship because they feel like they don’t know anyone. Hmmm.. imagine me. Not only do I not know anyone, none of these people are from my country, and half of them probably don’t know where Singapore is! Oh, not counting that Singapore in China. And strangely enough, Im pretty comfortable. Maybe because Im used to being among strangers, maybe because Im living on the ocean. I don’t know..but Im happy.

Bumped into a girl from Malaysia and my roommate at the San Diego hotel, and we all went to my room to watch Greys Anatomy on the laptop. Ok classes start at 8 tomorrow. Better sleep.

30 Aug 2007

Ha. So it was the first day of classes and my alarm rang at 7am, just like I set it. Of course, I went back to bed and the next thing I know, its 8am. I jump out of bed, brush my teeth, get into clothes and ran up. Managed to get there at 815am, embarrassed as I walked into class. 830am, professor says ok, end of class, you may go. Perfect. We might be at sea and everything might be different, but my being late never changes.

4 September 2006

Interesting things to note about life on board the Explorer.
1. Walking zigzag along the hallways, bumping into doors and tables-is normal.
2. Most people have a funny beige circular patch stuck behind their ears (for motion sickness)
3. You look out the window of your ocean view suite, and instead of buildings you see endless water 360 degrees.
4. Some people fall off the treadmill while working out.
5. People type really fast on the computer because we’re charged by the minute for Internet.
6. I have fruits stocked up in my refrigerator that I steal at meal times.
7. We have 25 hr days. (we turn the clocks back 1 hr every time we travel 15 degrees west.)

September 5, 2007

Ok, the stress is kicking in. I am taking 4 classes, and there are tones and tones of reading. So here’s how it works. On board, we have A days and B days. No Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays.
Global Studies, a compulsory class for all, falls on both A and B days. The rest of my 3 classes (Oceanography, Communications, and International Business) falls on Day A. So I absolutely DREAD A Days. I mean I probably wont mind it if we just have to go for classes and that’s that. But we have readings....and just as you think you’re done, the next A day comes and you have more readings. You’re never done!
And Im starting to feel like theres nothing fun to do here. Can’t go for supper at midnight, can’t go on the internet and take as long as I want, can’t really call people because every call is US$2.30 a minute, cant go walk around the park and talk to random people. And here’s the thing, majority of the people here are American college students. 19yrs, 20 yrs... All they want to do is get drunk and party. Not my kind of fun really. The night we came back after Hawaii, we waited in line to get back on the boat for 1 and a half hours because they had to check every bag because people were doing everything they can to sneak in alcohol- including filling ziplock bags with alcohol and strapping it to their bodies. No kidding!
My Singaporean Kiasuism is kicking in. I think Im just gonna take it easy la. Read whatever interests me. No point getting too stressed about this. Need to conserve some energy for the countries. Need to be a sponge and absorb everything I can in those countries. We’ll see how this works out.

September 17, 2007 0020

2007-09-20T20:18:00.000+08:00

In about 8 hours, we’re scheduled to arrive at Qingdao, China. Thought I'd pen my thoughts about Japan before new things about China enter my brain and I confuse both countries.

Ive never been so tired in my life. The day after we got back on the ship from Japan, I had a 800 am class, a 920 class, a 1215 class and a 1330 class. And I had only missed the 920 one. But I could barely stay awake through the rest of them.

So...Japan was intense.. and even before I am fully recovered, BAM, we’re in China. Thus is the hard life of this student...hehe.

So let me continue my Japan Story. Day 2, after having no sleep on Day 1, I caught the 830 train to Hiroshima from Tokyo, solo. At first, I thought I knew the way to the Tokyo train station. But after walking in circles, turns out, I didn’t! This really nice Japanese salaryman in his shirt and tie gave me directions and walked with me to the train station and we caught the same train. He spoke no English, but could see that he was trying really hard to communicate. So I got off at my stop and hurried to my transfer train to Shin-Osaka. From there, I was to take another train to Hiroshima. The whole journey would take 5hrs..

So my first time on a bullet train. The inside looks exactly like in an airplane, with comfy air plane seats and fold over tables and stewardess pushing carts that you could buy food from. The trains arrive and leave right on time, so transportation there is very reliable. Had my first Japanese take-away breakfast (bian dang) on the train today. Yummy but a tad expensive.

On the train to Hiroshima, sat beside this Australian old dude. He had been in Japan for weeks now and he was traveling to the pier to take a ferry to South Korea. (I never knew you could do that) Nice fella, I gave him my English newspapers before I got off.

Finally I arrived at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Funny how we didn’t really learn much about the atomic bombs that destroyed Japan and ended the war. We all know about the effects of the bomb, how the radiation of the bomb had caused deformities in unborn children, how thousands of people were literally burned alive. But seeing the videos and exhibits there and reading about everything in great detail, my heart sank.

Minutes after the bomb went off, thousands of people died instantly from burns and even more were walking on the streets with melted and exposed flesh, thirsty, homeless. This quote really stuck in my head “ Hiroshima was hell on Earth. Those that were lucky enough to be alive...wished they were dead.” Some suffered a long and painful death. Days after the bomb went off, there were still people vomiting out internal organs.

I think what shocked me the most was how the decision was made to drop the bomb. I don’t know if many people know this but the bomb was actually made as a defense weapon against Germany when scientists thought Hitler had something similar up his sleeves, ready to set off anytime and take over the world. However, Germany surrendered even before the US could use the Atomic bomb. And by then, billions of taxpayers money had been pumped into the Manhatten Project (making of the atomic bomb) So the Government felt pressure to use the Atomic bomb to justify the immense investment made. And mind you, before dropping it on Hiroshima, there had been no trial test made on the A-bomb at all, so it was almost like a freak experiment. Despite recommendations by the scientists that the US government should issue a warning and allow time for Japan to surrender before they drop the bombs, no warning was ever issued. It was a cruel attack on civilians, that in my opinion, involved to a certain extent - revenge. (Pearl Harbour) I don’t think anyone even expected 1/10 of the eventual outcome of destruction caused by the atomic bomb. What’s worse was the reason why the second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. Basically, the Soviet Union wanted in on the war against Japan before Japan surrendered so that when Japan does surrender, it would get a piece of the pie of countries under the Japanese Occupation. Its amazing how the stupidity of a few people can cause so much pain and harm to so many people. With great power comes great responsibility. I definitely walked out of the museum that day with a heavier heart.

I then caught the train back to Kyoto where I was to meet Kiya and Tara. Because my phone did not work in Japan, I was a little nervous about not being able to meet them. But as luck would have it, minutes after walking out of the station and as I was going down the escalator, I heard my name “Sheryl!” It was Tara! Boy was I relieved. Then we spent a good 2-3 hrs trying to look for accommodation for the night. Everyone was tired and hungry, morale was low...Despite being so so so tired, I tried so hard to lighten the atmosphere. But we all had a place to sleep in the end so all was good.

The next day, Day 3, first thing I did was settle our accommodation for the night in Kobe. Enough of walking around looking for a roof for the night. With that done, we went to the train station and I dumped 60% of stuff in my bag in the locker so I didn’t have to lug everything around.

The rest of the day in Kyoto, we went to 2 beautiful temples, followed by the Geisha district. Geisha district was interesting...looked just like the set of the movie -Memoirs of a Geisha. We saw real Geishas walking really fast with heads down on the street with tones of tourists following behind them like paparazzi. We felt bad for them so we didn’t take pictures. Following that, we caught a traditional Japanese show with the tea ceremony, puppet show, Geisha Dance and flower arrangement. After a hearty traditional Japanese meal, we left for the train to Kobe, where we had a HOTEL ROOM waiting! Boy was I looking forward to that.

We ran into a little bit of trouble getting to the hotel. While booking the hotel, I noted everything else but the name. Sensing that we were lost, these Japanese ladies at the train station offered help and even called the hotel to ask for directions for us. Japanese courtesy is amazing. The Japanese people are so helpful. It is unlike anywhere else in the world.

So fast forward to the next day, I met up with some Japanese students from Kansai University. I was really excited to get to know some Japanese people better..because the whole time we were in Japan, the only friends I made were foreigners from the hostels.

After sight-seeing in the day, we went Karaoke in the evening. I swear the Japanese Karaoke place has a wider selection of English songs than Singapore has. We need to improve on that.

Then they took me to this really nice place by the harbor for dinner. It looked somewhat like Clarke Quay with little pushcart stalls and restaurants. We had Japanese pizza for dinner and then all of us took little neoprint photo stickers for remembrance.

My host for the night, Rie, lives alone. Her family is from Nagasaki but she goes to school in Osaka. She had spent 3 months in England on an exchange programme before, so her English was pretty good. The house was small, but it had everything you need. Rie was really sweet. I was complaining to her how I didnt have a place to put my Japanese coins cos I gave away my elephant coin pouch and that night after I came out of the shower, she presented me with a pretty purse and said with a cheeky smile, "used only once..."
She also went out of her way and called her friends to find a money changer for me. And in the morning, she even cooked a hearty Japanese breakfast of miso soup, rice and Japanese beans for the both of us.

Before you know it, it was time to get back on the boat. Before we parted, they gave me a present they bought secretly form the gift shop at the castle we visited. And I wrote them a Singapore postcard.

Japanese people are the most polite and helpful people I've met. When you ask for directions on the street, you get an escort to your destination. When you are their guest, you not only get food and accomodation, you get presents too. Really glad I met my new found friends...

So that marked the end of my Japan adventure. Several pointers to take away – make sure that I do not spend so much time on transport that I don’t see anything in the cities, make sure I have a place to stay 1 day in advance, make sure I take it easy on the trips because I have classes the first day back, make sure I be a sponge and soak everything in, make sure that I ask people who know the answers a lot of questions. Oh..I have a business idea from Japan - ***secret..

Konichiwa.

2007-09-13T04:35:00.000+08:00

Konichiwa from the land of sushi, sashimi and udon! I am now at Kaosan youth hostel in Tokyo, typing this with free Internet. There're about 8 of my friends staying here with me. And because I didnt manage to book a bed, the internet lounge is my home for the night. Not that I mind..

So after a stretch of 10 long days, we finally docked at Yokohama, Japan today!! Thank goodness because I thought I was almost going to jump out the side of the boat from boredom...and stress.

The past week or so has been intensive lessons and mid-term exams. If you think going to school on the boat is all fun and games, think again. Ok.. maybe for some people here that don't really give a rats ass, it is. But my dad paid good money, so Im determined to learn something. That means I actually do my readings...even when the rocking of the boat puts me to sleep sometimes, I wake up and continue reading.

Since we were sailing in the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to Japan, we have been learning about the Polynesian islands, Phillippines, and lately, everything about Japan including Pearl Harhour, World War II, Japanese culture of Collectivism and Business rituals. Overall, I say its been pretty enlightening.

So the few days before we docked, we had a major exam for each subject. Which hence explains the stress. What to do, kiasu. And imgaine all that, plus having to plan where to go, what to do, where to stay, work out how to get from here to there for Japan, China and Vietnam. All these without the help of the Internet. Well, the reason I have to plan all of the 3 countries at once is because we'll only have 2 days in between departure from Japan to arrival in China (where I'll be travelling over land and air, instead of sea to HK) and 2 days between departure from HK to arrival in Vietnam. Busy Busy Busy.

Now, whenever I step in a new country, everyday is an adventure. Let me begin. So after we finally got off the ship after customs took like 4.5 hours, one big group of us that signed up for the field programme made our way to meet Sony Corporation's GM, who's now retired. Sidetrack a bit..see, when we pay for these field programmes, we get these yellow tickets, which states "Do not lose this, it is as good as cash". Now my roommate was given 2 of these yellow papers, I think by mistake. So she gave me one of it, and guess who got to go free :)

Turns out the journey took 2 hrs, and due to the delay in customs, we were 3 hrs late! If I were the GM, I would have gone home after the first hour. But he waited.. really nice man. So he gave us an interesting presentation which ended at 6pm. By then, all we wanted was to get to the hostel in Tokyo. So not knowing where we were, and with the street address and very brief directions on how to get there in hand, Katie, Hillary and me broke away from the group and made our own way to Tokyo. It was not an easy task trying to get places without being able to speak or understand the language. But the Japanese people were really helpful. Because we didnt have the right maps, we almost had to entirely rely on the directions from passerby to get to our destination. And by the time we got to Tokyo Rail Station, it was 8+pm. We had to get to the hostel by 9pm because thats when the office closes. So with our heavy backpacks, we had to sprint the last leg of the journey, following closely behind a Japanese lady, who knows the way, on her bicycle! It was souch a bizzare moment that all of us simultaneously burst into laughter.

So finally, at 915pm, we got here. And we saw the rest of the group that split up with us! We were so excited we were hugging each other! Then after that we had dinner and just wondered around the streets.

Now by this time I was T-I-R-E-D. So all I wanted was to use the internet and go to bed (I was gonna share a bed with one of them) So Kiya, Tara and I decided to come back while the rest wondered on. As we were walking back, we passed a japanese roadside stall selling Yong Tau Fu-like things.

Ive never seen one of these stalls in real life and it reminded me of a Japanese TV show that I saw on TV, so I wanted to try it. We sat down with 2 other old ladies and 3 middle-aged men. They were all very friendly, ponting at the food, recommending to us whats good. So one lady in particular was really smiley. She asked where we were from, and with the very little japanese I know, and the very little english she knows, we managed to have a very animated conversation peppered with laughter. Then she asked for my telephone number and wrote her address on the disposable wooden chopstick and handed it to me. She drew the map of Japan and showed us where she lived said somehthing about inviting us to her house! There and then, I was so tempted to say yes. If I had a month here and I didnt have to catch an 8am train to Hiroshima, I'd so do it. Unfortunately, time wasnt on our side. Then she signaled to the stall owner and he brought out 3 cups and started to pour sake in it! She was buying us sake! The american(Kiya) with us was apprehensive and the malaysian(Tara) said she didnt drink. So I signaled 2 instead of 3 and we got away with 2 cups. 2 cups which I almost had all of because the other 2 were wusses. Then the Japanese lady took out smth from her plastic bag and signaled me to go over. She had a present for me! and we just met 10mis ago! It was Japanese man pants with dragonflys on them. She must have bought then for her husband or somehting. I was so surprised. So I searched all over my body for something to give her in return. All I had on me was melted popsicles, candy, my wallet and my camera. I asked Kiya if she wanted to give away her camera and she gave me that look. Haha.. So the most appropriate thing to give away I felt, was the elephant coin pouch I had bought from Thailand which I have been using as a foreign currency coin pouch. So I gave it to her and she was so happy. Japanese old ladies are so cute. Then eventually the night ended and here we are in the hostel where travellers meet and trade stories.

Awesome day huh. Havent had any sleep. Going on a 5hr train ride. Will reply all my emails within the next few days... So for more adventures, watch this space for Japan Day 2!!

Aloha Hawaii

2007-09-03T10:37:00.000+08:00

Alohaa! Im now on the big Island, Honolulu 10 mins away from Waikiki Beach. Was at the beach a while ago...my goodness...the beach, postcard picture perfect. The sea was every shade of blue, the waves very pretty, and there were like 1 million people sunbathing, surfing, playing in the water.

After that I went on the Makani Catamaran.I absolutely love cats...was hoping to see some dolphins..but no such luck. Saw a sea turtle at the surface tho. Beautiful day to be out at sea.

Of course, made friends with the captain. Apparantly the Cat I was on, is the fastest craft in its class in the whole of Hawaii. And the captain built it himself with 25 other people in the carribean. And after it was built, he sailed it to Hawaii. If only I knew how to build boats...He said if I came back next summer, I'd have a job for me on the cat. How cool is THAT. A job waiting for me in Hawaii...how many people can say that! Although I think he was half serious...but still.

The people of Hawaii are amazingly friendly, helpful and nice. Although its an American state, most of the people here look asian. And there are tonnes of Japanese tourists and residents. Some are Maori looking and some look Phillippina.

Ok pretty surface observations I know. But I hardly have 12 hrs here. I really wish we could stay here longer. Some people I met on the Cat said North Shore has the best beaches...IF only I had one more day!

Well at least I have an excuse to come back! Back to the boat in 3 hrs! Will post the boat pictures next time..forgot to bring my thumbdrive.

Next stop - Japan....!

Leeaving on a Jetplane (again)

2007-08-27T12:56:00.000+08:00

Its Dday again. Goodbyes, tears, suitcase and memories. Im amazed at how time does not matter when it comes to building friendships. Ive always thought it did.

So I left the apartment this morning at 545am after not having much sleep and took a cab to Laguardia Airport to catch my 8am flight from NY to Chicago then to San Diego.

My stay with Ruoying gave me the familiar feeling of home that I very much missed. Shes my oldest friend whom Im still in touch with. We’ve known each other for 15 yrs can you believe it? That’s like 2/3 of my lifetime! People living in the house were – her, her sis Ruoxi, and their roommates Geri and Cecilia. Im touched at how they were all so warm to me since the very beginning, even though I haven’t met Ruoying in 2 yrs (since I brought prata to her house the morning she left for the states to go to University in 2004. The same prata that gave her diarrhea all the way from Singapore to America. haha..)

Ruoying and me

And even though Ive been to her house in Singapore a couple of times, I never really got to know her sister becos I remembered she was so fierce. Everytime we commented that Ruoying looked like the elder one cos she was so much taller, Ruoxi would frown and walk away. But she has since become a lot alot nicer. Really took care of me like her little sister. Always taking us to nice food places. She loves good food and even has a food blog.

In the picture, Geri, Ruoxi, me at the traffic light in Boston

I also enjoyed getting to know Geri, especially in Boston where she, Ruoying and I spent 2 days just eating and chilling. From Donuts for breakfast to Ramen for lunch to Cakes and Eclairs for tea to Cocktails before dinner, to Pasta and Meatloaf for dinner then we were so stuffed, we had to tahpao the Cheesecake back to the hotel for breakfast the next day. The same cheesecake which I woke up to in the morning, next to my pillow, with Ruoying slowly digging into it. Of course, I grabbed a spoon and joined in.

Ruoying and I in a picture that Ruoxi tricked us into taking at Harvard University. Legend goes that if you touch the left foot of that statue, your children will go to Harvard. And guess what. Apparantly, the students at Harvard pee on that exact spot the night before convocation. And Ruoxi only told us the story after she made us pose for the picture..

And Cecelia whom so graciously let us play with her keyboard piano in her room and at the same time made me realize that I really want to continue my music lessons with Uncle Sadli and learn how to write music that allows me to express myself and keep that part of me outside of work/career alive.

And catching up with Ruoying was really one of the best things that came out of the trip. We hung out and talked like old times, like the 2 years apart was really 2 months. And she was every bit the perfect host. Always one step ahead, getting me pillow, putting my blanket in the laundry before I came, cooking curry chicken for us, taking me to the eyebrow threading place, teaching me how to do laundry, even being my alarm clock, waking me up in time for the airport and sending me on a cab at 545am even when her flight was later. Their warm hospitality really touched me. Glad to have friends like that.

And of course, the Crespo family + Uncle Rob. How they so graciously invited me to their home and let me in on personal stories and showed me the rest of their family including the 6 cats (one for every Crespo!). How they took time off despite their packed schedules to show me the towns, including the very beautiful Cove where Mummy Martha and Uncle Rob grew up in. And showing me the Brendon Gallery, the fruit of their labour that they are so proud of, which I think is awesome. And little Alyssa for giving up her very comfy bed for a night even when I insisted that I should sleep on the couch. And Uncle Rob for being the perfect guide, and being warm, caring and funny which I believe are the traits responsible for making him so popular in the town of Madison where he coaches Soccer.

Mummy Martha and Alyssa and me at the Cove where Martha grew up

And of course the most random events that happen. Meeting people you never thought would touch your life like they did. Whether it was for 2 months in the hellhole or 2 weeks in the city or just 2 hours in transit at the Chicago Airport, the stories that I share with these people and the stories that they share with me have altered and shaped my perspectives and made a permanent impact on my life. Its times like these when I really feel alive, that Im looking forward to every moment ahead, anticipating, all ready to soak up any experience that comes my way. That’s the way it should be right. Im glad to be here and Im all set for the next leg of my Journey – Around the world at sea.

Freedom...loving it.

2007-08-17T12:48:00.000+08:00

Im enjoying this…my new found freedom. I can wake up whenever, eat whatever, go wherever. So apart from the shabby and not-so-clean facilities of this hostel, I am liking the opportunity to meet and speak with so many people from all over. Some of them are counselors from the other camps, some are independent travellers, others are on internship. In the past five days, I have seen more things, made more friends and learnt more things about life, about other people than I have in the last 2 months.

The first 2 days we arrived here in NYC, Nicola and I explored Times square.

We took a ferry which passed Liberty Island (where the statue of Liberty stands) to Ellis Island. When we arrived at the pier, Nicola said my face lit up the moment I saw the sea. There's something about me and the sea. Being near water makes me happy. Its was a pefect day to be there. The sun was shining brightly, glittering rays reflecting off the surface of the water. Besides the ferry, there were beautiful big Schooners, Keelboats, Cruising boats, Junks..I took so many pictures of boats that I think I was more interested in the boats than the Statue of Liberty..haha.

Ellis Island is a must see. It was an island which back in the days acted as an immigration centre. It was the first american land that their forefathers (and mothers) saw after leaving their homes in Poland, Germany, Japan, etc and enduring months and months of treacherous seas. For many, it was the land of hope. For others, the land of disappointment. Those who did not pass the medical or mental test were sent home. The audio tour really brought the exhibits to life and you could feel for the immigrants.

Following that, we walked to the financial district.
NYC or Tanjong Pagar?

Later that night, Nicola and I said our goodbyes and took taxis to our respective hostels. I'll miss her. Im sure we'll keep in touch.

At the hostel I met up with YingYing. The next afternoon was walking and more walking. We explored the centre of Manhattan and caught a play 'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change' It was hilarious. On the way back, we bumped into Ozzy Osborne live in concert!

The next day, we explored Central Park, Grand Central station, Ford foundation building and the United Nations Head office.

Later that night, I met up with Alyssa, one of my campers, and had a nice dinner with her, Mommy Martha, Uncle Rob and Daddy Crespo. They were one of the families that I really liked. Awesome people. Then Ed called and he took me to a Comedy Club! Ive always wanted to go to one.

The next day, Ying and I explored Greenwhich Village, where its famous for its homosexuals. Then SOHO, famous for shopping. Then Little Italy and Chinatown. I loved how those 2 areas are just a street away but a whole new world apart. If someone blindfolded me and brought be to Chinatown, I'd have no idea that I was in New York.

Following that, we went to city hall and ground zero. Then a thought came to me - good thing I'd have left the states by Sept 11 this year.

Then yesterday, we visited the Rockafella Plaza, and went on the CNBC tour of the studios where they filmed Saturday Night Live and several talkshows. It was really interesting. Pity that phototaking was not allowed. Then at night, we went to my first Yankees match!!

Alot of events packed into 5 days huh... The fact that I havent been getting much sleep really doesnt help. Been staying up late chatting at the hostel.

I managed to get in touch with Ruoying. Going to her place very soon. Can't wait to see her. So its Boston tomorrow until 20th, then maybe a one-day sleepover at Alyssa's Place. Till next time!

I want to Break Free..

2007-08-12T13:40:00.000+08:00

I to break free
I want to break free from this miiserry
God knows, God knows I want to break free..

When I walk out that door
Oh how I want to be free, baby
Oh how I want to break free,
Oh how I want to break free

So. This song's been stuck in my head for a few days now. And finally, it has become reality. IM FREE!
So, an update. The kids finally left camp on Thursday 9 Aug, which to me, was an event alot more significant than Singapore's National Day. The party in my head was waay bigger than that at Marina Bay. Trust me. And of course the celebration coincided with Sheryl Day! Sheryl Loh's and my day! So with that in mind, I went out of my way, lied to the bosses that I had to make an urgent phonecall to confirm my courses for school to sneak to the phone to call Sheryl and guess what! She forgot! Nice sheryl. nice. But it was nice talking to her anyway :)

So word got out that there was a 90% chance that we would get out of there by Friday Aug 10 after we worked our butts off cleaning the bunks and moving all of the kids' luggage on the lorries the day before. So everyone shipped their pillow, blankets and even their toothbrushes home only to be informed "Sorry, you cant go until Sat Aug 11." What's new right. They should change their name to Bullshit Camp.

So the morning of Aug 11, they made us wait 2 bloody hrs in the office to get our money. (Nothing surprises me anymore) So as soon as we got our cash, Nicola and I got on the van with our friend Ed (camp driver, also one of the counselor's dad) and sped to the bus station for the 1pm bus to NYC. Ed's awesome. He bought us bagels before dropping us off. 2 hrs later, we're at NYC.

With no accomodation planned, we called several places and had to settle for a slightly expensive for our budget but close by hotel. I swear my back is going to break from carrying all the bags. I knew I shouldnt have bought so much at the factory outlet.

So we spent the day with 'NYC for Dummies' book in hand and we explored the city on foot. It got darker and just as we were at Central Park, about to head back, an old man sitting on a bench called out to us. "Do you need some help?" I turned to Nicola and she had that unsure skeptical look on her face. Then he said, "I saw you with the book and I thought you might like some directions." See I have sixth sense about these things and it told me that this guy was alright. I mean, just dont tell him where you're staying..what's the worst that can happen right? So we went to talk to him and he gave us some pretty good tips about free performances in the area. And then we covered the where we were from and what we're doing here questions and just as he was asking the where we're staying and what are we gonna do qns, I asked him the what are you doing here sitting in the park alone in the dark question. Haha..to that, the first words of his reply were "good question." So we took his advice and we walked to Lincon Centre a few blocks away and true enough! there was and outdoor theatre showing Hawaiian dancing with hundreds of people in the audience. It was awesome! And we found out there were free performances everyday! Just like he said! So that's definitely gonna be my new hangout. See mommy, the "dont talk to strangers" advice...not always true...

Im just glad to be out of that hellhole. The grass already seems greener, the trees taller, the sun brighter. Tho I'd really miss some of the friends I made there. Kelly Sue, Jamal, Ed, Nicola, Amar and several others.. Nicola and I made a pact to go to Seyshells to visit Jamal (tennis) and go island hopping and diving in the near future. Im excited. This is what it was supposed to be. The real journey starts here..

An update

2007-08-07T10:41:00.001+08:00

After an absence of 2 weeks, updates. So I havent been able to convince anyone with a car to go to this restaurant with wireless internet this past 2 weeks. and we were made to stay in for 4 nights in a row because there was this campwide sporting competition - colour war where people dress up in the colour of their group and compete in sport and field events.

Im have pretty much gotten used to the swing of things here. But Im pretty ready to get out of this place. Think Ive grown out of camping. Time for me to move on to bigger more exciting things that adults do.

Alrighty. Till next time!

Im alive!

2007-08-07T10:25:00.000+08:00

By popular demand. Dedicated to my siblings that were picked up from the rubbish bin.

At the airport sending me off. Don't they look so sad to see me leave?

Awesome day off

2007-07-21T08:52:00.000+08:00

So I promised pictures and here they are! It was a wonderful day spent just walking around with a map, exploring and sitting down with a drink and cakes, chatting. Just the way I like it.

So the day started with the awesome limousine and here is us in it.

So woke up this morning and walked and explored. We went to the river

We sat down and ate and chatted
and sat and chatted

and saw my dream house with a hammock by the river

It was a happy day

And here are photos of camp!

Me sitting on my chair from Walmart at the porch of my bunk during rest hour

The bunks from the outside

My bunk on the inside

My bed is the one at the top. Hence I bought a chair cos its so mafan to climb up and down. My shelves are the one on the right behind me. So organized right..

My schedule by my bed. Green boxes indicate nights on duty, pink post-it indicates the day today. As you can see I have been counting down

Me during meal times at the dining room

Yup thats all I have for now. Got Simin's sms today...great hearing from you~~ hope work is going great!
Shireen>>How are youuu? Where are you? Do drop a message to say you're ok.

So now, we're waiting by the restaurant for our limo ride back to camp. So proud of myself for updating the blog. Going back to prison camp. Take care you all at home!

20 July 0114

2007-07-20T13:14:00.000+08:00

So here we are, outside the restaurant, al fresco, wireless internet and 3 of us chillin and taking turns to go on the internet. A good change from freaking bunk beds and children that wont go to bed. Im happy. Haha..when the Limousine reaaallyy pulled up into the camp gates, I was jumping up and down! The owner even came to pick us up himself because he promised us! Now we're on a first name basis with the owner! How cool is that! Ok more updates tomorrow. Maybe pictures too. Miss you all at home!

19 July 2007 1200noon

2007-07-20T13:11:00.000+08:00

So things are really getting exciting. Few weeks ago while I was on the god forsaken computer in camp that takes 20 mins to open my mailbox, this counselor walked in and when she saw that there were 8 people in line waiting to use that one computer, she blurted out, “does anyone have a laptop? Because Carriage House, the restaurant 10 mins away has wireless internet.” The lightbulb in my head lighted up. Ding! Well at that time, my laptop was not working. But that place has been at the back of my mind all this time. And last week, my hardy IBook finally arrived via DHL fixed and ready to go!
So finally yesterday, Nicola and I convinced Horseback Riding Sarah (with a car) to come with us to Carriage House and guess what.. WIRELESS HIGH SPEED INTERNET!!!! FREE!

So we all took turns to use the internet and its now our lil secret internet place. Hehe.... So that probably means I’d be able to update this more often. I’ll type on the laptop whenever and then cut and paste the update on the blog when I go to Carriage House. Sweeet.

And also, since we could take Thurs night to Friday night off, we thought we could stay out for the night. So we asked to view the rooms at the Carriage House Motel. TV, bathtub, furniture…all new! They literally just renovated the rooms. And when we heard that the rooms come with free Limousine Service, we had to book it. So tonight, we’re going to run away from irritating kids, lazy bossy co-counselors (quite a contradiction isn’t it) and we’re going to spend the day exploring Barryville – The town near the Delaware River. Can’t wait.

18 July 0123am

2007-07-20T13:08:00.000+08:00

So yes. Things have really gotten better over here since the last time I wrote. The major event that happened at prison camp was parents visiting day last weekend, where the parents come to camp and participate in activities with their kids from late morning to afternoon. I Didn’t get last Friday off because of visiting day..oh well.

Now since this camp is a for-profit organization, the management’s objective for this day is to garner more signups for next year. Its so funny how they planned a chain on events for the kids leading up to this day to make them happy so that they can tell their parents good stuff about camp and hopefully sign up again next year.

So within the past week, the kids have gone bowling, roller skating, rafting, been to the water park, gone banana boating, had free pizzas for supper. And while making the kids happy, these series of events have successfully cheered me up substantially..heehee.

First it was rafting last Wednesday. And mind you, not all counselors get to go on these trips. The names have to be picked by the head counselor. And because I have proven myself to be reliable, trustworthy and capable, (in her words, kind of) I was picked to go on not one, not two but 3 trips! Some counselors didn’t get to go on any trips at all and were kicking up a fuss about not being valued, and complaining that the camp plays favoritism. Watever la…babies.

The bus ride out to the Delaware river for rafting was only the third time I had seen the surroundings of the camp in day light. I tried to remember roads so that I knew how to there on my day off. Overall I was just happy that I was out of campgrounds. Like the moment we were out of those gates, I had newfound energy in me. The grass looked greener, the trees looked taller, the sun looked brighter.

Rafting didn’t turn out to be as exciting as I would have liked, and not to mention that I was stuck on a raft with kids that wont stop arguing. But I was happy to be out of camp.
Following that, the days just got better.

On Thursday, I got picked to go to the Camel Beach Waterpark! I lovee waterparks! The one I went to last year in Florida with Sim – talking about it still gets me all excited and worked up. I was so excited about going that I forgot I was gonna be stuck with 8 difficult children, arguing all the time.

See, my girls have a problem agreeing with each other. If one wants to go on the toiletbowl slide for example, there would be one or two that would refuse to go on and I’d have to sit out and wait with the bloody children that are trying to be difficult. So its pretty obvious why I didn’t enjoy the waterpark so much. But it was the bus ride there and back that was awesome. 1.5 hours of uninterrupted me myself and I time, good weather, fresh mountain air, nice suburban view, good music, wind in my face..brought me back to the times riding in the van in Bali from Padangbai to Tulemben.
Mental note: Must have car without roof. Wind in my face makes me happy.

Then came visiting day - Saturday. Now there are some kids in my bunk that I have absolutely nothing good to say about. So it kinda made me nervous when their parents came and I had to make conversation with them.
Parent: Is XXX getting along well with the others in the bunk? How is she doing?
Me: Oh yes, XXX is doing very good. You know, girls being girls they bicker from time to time, but overall shes been getting along fine with the rest. Shes a good kid.
What was I supposed to do? Tell them their daughter is the devil’s spawn? The parents are probably in denial anyway. A few white lies, make everyone feel good….no harm in that.

Then on Monday, the kids left for rollerskating at like 6pm. Since the bunks were all cleaned, the rest of us counselors who weren’t on duty to go rollerblading basically had 3.5 free hours to kill until we could be let of for our night off at 930pm- 1230am. So I decided that it’ll be nice to go chill by the lake until it gets dark. So Nicola (co-counselor from England) and I took our books and portable chairs and went down to the lake. It was soo peaceful there. With the sun setting in the background, the still water reflecting the image of trees and cabins across the lake. It was beautiful. And since I was telling her how I cant have good conversation with most of the American counselors here ( I wonder why huh..), we had a nice chat about what we’d like to change about ourselves so that we can become better people. She said she should learn how to shut her mouth at the right time and I agreed. Haha. I said I need to learn not to be quick to judge people and make more effort to make conversation and not strike people off my list too easily. Also to learn to go with the flow sometimes and take myself less seriously. Need to seriously work on that. Haha…its a pun. geddit?

Then came the best day ever at camp – today. During my free period, the group leader came up to me and told me I had a private sailing lesson scheduled with a 7 yr old. Haha..I haven’t even taken my Dingy 101. At first I was a lil nervous. I mean how can a 7 yr old understand like the points of sail, the forces on the boat and sail and when to sheet in and out the main sail? But she turned out to be really intelligent and I even let her try helming! Then, after lunch, I was pleasantly surprised when asked to go water skiing with the kids!! I spent the whole afternoon banana boating on the lake. Awesomeeee. And I during my night off, I finally managed to talk to the other Sheryl!

I wish every day could be like today. 3.5 more weeks left. Really aint so bad. I can take it. After that, holiday!! O god…give me patience n strength!

A Long Overdue Hi

2007-07-07T00:51:00.001+08:00

A long overdue Hi from Gelp Spey NY!

So since Ive arrived 3 weeks ago, this is the first day Im able to get high speed internet, which explains why I havent been able to send any emails, update my blog or talk to anyone at all...Which is also why I could reply to any of ur emails and why I wasnt able to get hold of Danchi while she was here. How was your trip to NY Danch? Sorry I couldnt meet you.

So remember how I said my camp has internet and I'd be able to update my blog and get in touch with you all? Picture this. One 5 yr old computer, dial up internet, shared between 60 camp facilitators and the last time I went on in, it took 20 mins to open my smu mailbox and by then, it was time for someone else to use it. Wonderful aint it?

And on top of that, we're only able to use our phones or internet on our nights off (10pm-1230am) or days off (once a week in 5 out of 8 weeks) So I gave up trying to use the camp's internet and Im now at a free public library at Port Jervis on my 2nd day off (I only have 5 days off in the 8 weeks im here) desperately trying to reply 3 weeks worth of emails, purchase my textbooks for Semester at sea and get connected with the outside world.

So now updates. From the top. The day I got off the plane in NY, the train I hopped on did not stop at the station I was supposed to get off. So I got off the next station, and imagine sheryl carrying a sling bag and huuuge back pack, pulling a trolley bag trying to get directions to the platform with train that could take me to the correct station. Not for the faint hearted.

So I arrived at the correct station, and guess what, the connecting train I had to take just left and the next one was 2 hrs later. On top of that, all the food places were closed. So picture me, 9 pm at night, hungry, havent eaten since 3, probably wont get to eat at all till the next morning since the camp was a 2.5hrs train ride away and I'd be arriving past midnight.

So I thought might as well use the toilet...so i took my time in the toilet, still hungry, and then, I saw my cup noodles which daddy made me pack,( just in case). There were 2 spanish janitors chatting away in the toilet so I went up to them to ask if they knew where I could find hot water for my cup noodles and at first they said no the dont think theres any. Then one of them said "can you wait?" I said yea..my train will leave in 30 mins. She said "ok I'll be back." And she came back with my noddles and even brought a plastic fork for me. She said dont tell anyone cos shes not supposed to do this but she did it cos I was hungry. So sweet right....took a picture with her.

And on the train, I met this nice train conductor Bob. Nice Burly old man, he asked me if I was coming home from somewhere and I told him I was going to camp. He told me about his daughter and how she was also in University...had a nice long chat he was nice. When I arrived at the station, my ride from the camp hasnt arrived and it was like 1230am. Bob was nice enough to stand at the station to wait with me in the cold. So sweet right...before I left I gave him my namecard and told him if he ever came to visit singapore, I'd surely host him.

So despite several mishaps, I'd say my trp started off well because of all these nice people Ive met. But then, things take a turn for the worse at camp.

My computer dies on me the first day I got here. But thanks to the head facilitator's assistant (this really nice old lady) who was on the phone with the apple service centre for 40 mins trying to get them to ship over a box for me to put my computer in and send it to apple, it is now on its way to recovery.

The first week of camp was plenty of waiting and waiting. They didnt really have anything structured planned out for us so we spent most of our days sitting and talking and waiting. The Americans are *******. Well, not all but a large percentage is. I feel like im in another planet here. They talk nonsense all the time. Seriously. But then time passes, and you find some friends you can trust. Like last week on our day off, some of the facilitators left the night before and only me and another girl wanted to leave the next morning. These 2 girls from Missouri actually woke up earlier and left their motels and drove 30 mins back to camp to pick us up. And my co-facilitator whos english..been hanging out with her alot. And this tennis coach from seyshells.

The kids. The kids here are psycho. Well some are nice, but many are psycho. They lie, they dont listen, they are manipulative. I have the worst bunk. I swear some of the kids in my bunk have psycho problems. Yesterday, this kid kept shouting "stop staring at me! stop staring at me!" when I tried to get her to clean up her area.

The only part im enjoying about this is the Lake. We have this huuuge trampoline on the lake and kayaks and waterbikes and we get to go everyday when the kids go.

There were 2 NZ boys who hated it so much they quit after 2 weeks.Im seriously thinking of quitting after i get half my pay and join then on a road trip around the US. But im still thinking about it.

Hi to allllll at homeee......!!!!! keep the updats coming!

And off I go!

2007-06-14T06:58:00.000+08:00

Its D-day! Was up packing all night...transferring data to the Monster 500G HD I bought, that im gonna leave behind.
Its finally beginning to sink in..SHERYL..you can do it!
Jess>>Thank you for the "kids survival kit" and the book...you're like the big sister that always looks out for me..! hope you are having fun in phillippines...and email me your home add when you see this;)
Sab>>I know!! Its becoming a reality!! Unbelivable right? It was just months ago when we were looking at the website...discussing about how cool the ship was...I'll definitely fill you in with stories :) Thanks for the lil book! ABSOLUTELY loved it.
Shireen>>I know Im gonna miss you..thanks for helping me pack..Will keep the chain with me :) Glad we got to catch up..You take care and have a blast in NZ!

Ok to be very very honest..I am starting to get the jitters. And I seldom get jitters. So many what ifs..so many unknowns.
All part of the package I guess......ok gtg to airport.
Don't know when I'll get internet next. Till then, Take care everyone!

Sheryl

Itinerary is up

2007-06-09T05:53:00.000+08:00

So I've posted up my detailed Itinerary. If any of you guys have been to any of the places listed, it would be great if you could suggest some ideas on what places I should visit and what I should do, you know, 5 take style :) And let me know if you'll be in any of those places while im there, so we can meet! and travel!

sweet...now Im getting excited!

For those who don't know the story, I'll be doing Summer Camp at Brookwood Camps in New York until August. After which, I'll be off on a hugeass cruise ship for a semester where we'll have lessons on board. As we arrive at each port, we'll get off to tour the country. I know what you're thinking.."Now, How cool is that!" Yes. Very.

Now this trip will not be possible without my parents. I met my ex-boss for lunch on Tuesday and when he heard about my trip, and especially the cost, he said "Sheryl, you must have done many good deeds in your past life to be born to parents like that." To which I replied, "Then.....my parents must have done many bad deeds to have a daughter like me?" :(

It's true. I am very lucky. And I am thankful. So thanks for being so supportive ya daddy mommy. Im sure you'll be born to terrific parents like you the next time.. *wonder what my kids will be like.. *shudders

sidenote: packing is a pain

I am smart

2007-06-07T13:22:00.000+08:00

joyce says:
haha ok that sounds smart
joyce says:
ur so smart sheryl

haha...allow me to bask in glory for a while.. seldom get these from joyce..

Wishing for more moments like this

2007-06-07T04:18:00.000+08:00

Pasta Fresca Sea Sports Club - Birthday'05

Counting down..8 days

2007-06-07T03:30:00.000+08:00

Oh myy goodness... In a weeks time, I'll be on the 19 hr flight to the other side of the globe. And I won't be back until December!!
To be honest, it hasn't really sunk in yet. I don't know what to pack because I dont know what to expect. And because I dont know what to expect, I dont know what there is to be excited about. Hence, Ive been trying to read other people's blogs on their past experiences on the ship...which kinda reminded me that I need to start a blog. Hence the existence of this.
So, Mom, Dad, when you see this, click on favourites on the toolbar above, then click add on the left. I am just click away..