Malaysia...a hidden treasure

Oh Malaysia, how I’ll miss you…

 

           Once again, I am speechless. Malaysia- the country I knew almost next to nothing about- is now one of my favorite places on earth. It was such a stark contrast from India. In India, I saw thousands of homeless people sleeping on the streets next to cows and dogs, I heard hundreds of rickshaw horns blasting every minute, and I smelt dozens of things I would like to never smell again. However, here in Malaysia, I experienced none of this. When I have some time to sit and write about India, you will be able to understand why these two South East Asian countries are so different. Until then, I’ll focus only on my five days in Malaysia.

           I’ve already told you about day one in my last post, so I’ll move on to day 2…I ran into my friend Brad late on Wednesday night (the first night) and he said that the trip to the Cameron Highlands was still a go. It would be me, this girl Sarah, Geoff, Brad, Josh and Jesse. Originally, they booked it for four, but Geoff and I hopped on the trip last minute. I got a good nights sleep, woke up for breakfast the next morning (day 2) and settled the details of our trip with Brad. I headed back to my room after breakfast and packed for the trip. I packed some cooler-weather clothes because I heard that it would be anywhere between 50-75 degrees in the Highlands- a huge difference from the 90+ degree weather in Penang. Well, I ran into a problem. I hardly had any clean clothes left! Laundry hadn’t been collected on my hall since a few days before India. You know what that means? All my clothes that I wore a few days before India and WHILE in India had been sitting in my room for over a week and a half. Gross. Last night (10/26) was the first day laundry was collected since 10/11-ish. It was about 17 days between laundry days. Lovely. Any who, I digress.

           Thankfully, my brother had t-shirts made for his Travel website (www.roamwithme.net) that he sent with me on SAS. Lets just say I’ve worn about 5 of them so far and they’ve been my saving grace! (Thanks Philip!). It didn’t seem that I packed much in my pack but when I went to put it on my back, I realized I packed more than I thought. Oh well. After I packed, I hopped on a tender and headed to the port with my laptop to load some pictures. Unfortunately, the connection I had was really bad so I was only able to load a handful of pictures onto Facebook. When I’m in Viet Nam, I’m going to try to get to an Internet café instead of using wireless that way I have a better connection to load pictures. After about an hour or so, I headed back to the ship, grabbed a bite to eat, grabbed my pack and headed out to meet up with my group.

           We met at the entrance to the port, hopped in cabs and headed to the bus station for a 4:30 bus ride to Kuala Lumpur. We reached KL in about four hours and we were dropped off in the middle of the city. KL was much different than I expected. I hadn’t even planned to go to KL while in Malaysia so that was a nice little addition. Granted, we only spent about 14 hours in the city, but it was a great experience nonetheless. The six of us grabbed our packs and headed out in search of food and a place to stay for the night. We ended up eating at this restaurant called Nandos, which had an Afro-Portuguese inspired menu. The food was great and cheap- exactly what I wanted. After we ate, we headed out in search of a place to stay for the night. We checked out one hostel, but it was a little shady and too far from the Petronas Towers (all Jesse wanted to do was see the towers). We walked a few miles and ended up at the Swiss Garden hotel, the hotel that the Semester at Sea group was staying in. Sarah and I handled getting a room and we managed to book a “family room”for 4 people but we did a bad thing and snuck all 6 of us in! (Shh, don’t tell the management). With the breakdown of the 6 of us, we spent just under 30$ USD for each of us to stay in a 4 star hotel. I would have been just as happy spending 3$ USD to stay in a hostel, but I’ll admit, it was a nice treat to stay in a hotel like that.

           After we put our luggage down, we freshened up, threw some new clothes on and headed out in search of some night life. The six of us decided to take it easy and we ended up at a restaurant/bar instead of at a club like most of the people. We had a few drinks, hung out for a few hours, and called it a night. We had a busy 3 days ahead of us and we all wanted to try to get as many hours of sleep as possible. The next morning, a few of us had breakfast at the hotel and then we headed out to the KL Tower (looks like the space needle building in Vegas) and went up in the lookout tower. It was the coolest thing to look out over the city and see the Petronas Towers from a few hundred feet up in the air. I didn’t realize how big the city was until I had that particular vantage point. After we spent some time up in the Tower, we headed down and took a cab to the Petronas Towers, took a few pictures, and headed to the bus station to make the 1pm bus to the Cameron Highlands.

           The buses here that are used for long distance trips are definitely nicer than any bus I’ve ridden in back home. There’s more leg room than you know what to do with, some of the buses have TV/Computer screens in the back of each chair, and the chairs recline to almost laying position. We didn’t get the super luxury buses, but we definitely were riding in style to say the least. It cost about 10$USD per person for a 5 hour bus ride. How can you go wrong with that? We didn’t expect the trip from KL to the Highlands to take as long as it did, but oh well. It was monsooning as we were going up the mountains and more than once my heart was in my stomach as we snaked slowly around cliffs and shear drop offs. Thank god the drivers knew what they were doing.

           When we reached the Highlands, I was in awe. Before I even stepped off the bus, I knew that I was going to have a great time. Everywhere you looked, there was lush green vegetation, trees that reached high into the sky, and plants that had leaves the size of plane propellers! In case you guys don’t know, the Cameron Highlands are famous for their tea plantations, strawberry fields, and fruit and vegetable orchards. Basically, if you like to eat, you’d love the Highlands.

           We headed to Daniels Lodge (I HIGHLY recommend this backpackers hostel to anyone and everyone that is planning on visiting the Highlands) and I was pleased with its quality. The staff was friendly and helpful, the grounds were immaculate, the rooms- although plain- were clean and tidy, and there was even a small bar and common area where a bonfire was built every night that it didn’t rain. We all dropped our packs and headed out to Mayflower restaurant (genuine Chinese) where we had something called a Steam Boat. None of us knew what we were getting ourselves into but it was highly recommended by Box, one of the staff members of Daniels Lodge. It was a huge pot that was divided down the middle and two differently types of broth were in it. It was placed on a propane-fed burner that was placed on the middle of our table. On the left was a chicken based broth and the other side was a hot and sour broth. We all looked around at each other wondering what was next. Within minutes, bowls of STUFF kept coming out from the kitchen. Beef, chicken, jelly fish, fish balls, a white fish that I can’t remember the name of, crab meat, prawns, rice noodles, egg noodles, whole eggs, veggies, tofu chunks, etc. Box explained to us that we were supposed to cook all the food in the broth once it started boiling. So we did. We started cooking the chicken and beef, ate it when it was finished, and then started placing other things into the broth. The whole process was foreign to me but I would definitely order a Steam Boat again. I tried some jellyfish (I flash cooked it for about 10 seconds in the hot and sour broth) but I found that it didn’t taste like much of anything. I didn’t dislike it, but I don’t think I’d eat it again.

           After dinner, we headed back to Daniels Lodge, sat around the campfire, socialized a bit and then called it a night. We had to be up early the next morning for our all-day exploration extravaganza. For 30$ USD a person, we spent an entire day- 11 hours- doing the following: a 3 hour jungle trek, swimming in a river, off-roading (have lots of videos from this) in Land Rovers, a visit to a local Malay village (way better than the trip I did with SAS the first day) with a demonstration of a blow gun, lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the strawberry orchards (not included in the price, but cost maybe 5$ USD), a visit to a Butterfly Garden which was more like a visit to an insect and reptile zoo, but so much fun, a tour of the BOH Tea Plantation’s production facility, a mini-tour of the actual tea fields, and a visit to a strawberry orchard where I had fresh strawberries and a strawberry Belgian waffle. Every single thing that we did during those 11 hours was incredible. Off-roading was by far the most adrenaline-evoking activity we did all day. At one point, our Land Rover felt like it was going to tip on its side (there is video of my freaking out!) because we were stuck in a rut and had to try to back out which just made it worse. We ended up not tipping over, thank god. 

           Our jungle trek was a lot of fun. It reminded me a lot of Lencois but in a rainforesty kind of way. Lencois will always be hard to top but the jungle trek I did in the Cameron Highlands definitely gave it a run for its money. As we were walking along a “path”, our guide stopped short and motioned for us all to stop and stay still. He found a cobra on the path, chopped its head off, and threw it into the brush. I didn’t watch him do it. There were a few times we had to cross “bridges”which were more like 5 pieces of bamboo roped together and I felt that they would come apart at any minute. Luckily, we all made it across without falling through the cracks.

           We ended up hiking to a spot where a very rare flower (actually a fungus) bloomed a few days before. I wish I could remember the name of it, but it’s escaping my memory right now. I’m sure I have it on video somewhere. Some people complained about the hike revolving around getting to this flower, but I thought it was amazing to see one of the rarest fungus’s in the world with my own two eyes. I guess I appreciate the small things in life more so than some of the people I was with. After taking a few pictures with the flower, we headed back on the route we trekked earlier to the swimming hole area. I was a little disappointed with the waterfall because it was much smaller than the ones I encountered in Lencois. It was still a beautiful spot to swim. The water was cool and refreshing and I cooled off and splashed around a little. I didn’t go swimming because I didn’t have a towel to dry off with and hiking in a wet bathing suit is not fun. I thoroughly enjoyed myself anyway.

           After about a half hour, we packed up and headed back to the two Land Rovers. I thought the ride down the mountain would be easier, but it was just as difficult but for different reasons. The same ruts that gave us trouble getting up gave us trouble getting down. I videotaped a majority of the drive down just so everyone can see how hardcore it really was. When we made it down to the valley, we headed to a rural Malay village to see how they lived and to watch a blowgun demonstration by the head of the village. I learned more in the 45 minutes I spent at this one compound then I did the first day on a 5 hour Semester at Sea FDP. SAS really needs to improve the quality of some of their FDP’s or at least make sure that what they write in the FDP packet is what we actually do.

           I attempted to use the blowgun but I wasn’t very successful. I miss the target by a long shot! Oh well…I guess it’s a good thing I don’t need to use a blowgun to acquire my meals. After the demonstration, I walked around the village and videotaped some of the houses and the children. I had two bouncy balls in my backpack that I gave to the children and at first they weren’t sure what to do with them. I had to demonstrate the bounce before they caught on. I love giving children little gifts like that especially since I know they probably never have received toys to play with.

           After our visit to the Malay village, we headed back to the town we were staying in (45 minutes away) and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant that overlooked a strawberry orchard. I don’t think I’ll ever look at a fruit or vegetable field the same way again. There was so much natural beauty surrounding me and my senses were almost overwhelmed. I might not have stopped and smelled the roses, but I definitely stopped and smelled the strawberries J

           After lunch, we headed to a butterfly farm where I thought we’d just walk into a large enclosure filled with butterflies. Man, was I wrong! I felt like I was in an insect and reptile sanctuary. Actually, I guess you can call it that if you’d like to. There were dozens of different types of insects and reptiles enclosed in glass and plastic cages. I saw insects that were the size of small mammals! I even let one of the workers put a scorpion on my shoulder! I was fine for about five seconds and then I started having a panic attack and I must have said “take it off”a dozen times in the matter of a few seconds. I also held a turtle and a frog and I was going to hold a millipede that was about a foot long but then I got way too grossed out when I saw all its legs moving. Yuck. Finally, I had enough insects and reptiles and I made my way into the butterfly enclosure.

           I have mixed feelings about the butterfly farm. Yes, they are beautiful to look at and I enjoyed seeing hundreds of them. However, I didn’t like that there were dozens of butterflies that had broken wings and were left on the pathways to flutter around and eventually die. Call me over-emotional or a sap for bugs, but I was really upset by this. I actually left within a few minutes because I couldn’t handle seeing all the dead butterflies. To make matters worse, my guide showed me a trashcan filled with hundreds of dead butterflies that were picked up over the last few days and thrown away. 

           After the butterflies, we headed to the BOH Tea Plantation. I can’t even describe the vastness of the tea fields. A Scottish family founded the plantation in the 1920’s and all the tea trees that are in the fields are over 85 years old. I was truly amazed at the scenery and I could have driven through the plantation for hours without becoming bored. We had a brief tour of the packaging process (I have it on video for those that are interested) and then grabbed a hot cup of tea from inside the store. I bought quite a few boxes of tea and a couple bags of coffee and the total came out to be 22$ USD! You can’t even buy 2 bags of Starbucks coffee back in the states for that amount! God I love Asia.

           By the time we left the tea plantation, the sun was starting to set and we had to still see the strawberry farm. I was afraid that the store would be closed by the time we got there but our guide (OH!! I have to tell you guys something pretty cool. My guides name was Vinot- pronounced the same way my last name is! V-Not! I was so excited!) reassured me that they would be open. Sure enough, when we pulled up, they were still open. Before we bought any food, we learned a little about the strawberry growing and harvesting process. Did you know that the life expectancy of a strawberry plant that is not touched by humans is 2-3 years but the plants that they allow the public to harvest strawberries from last only 6 months? Why, you ask. Well, the human hand excretes oils that are poisonous to strawberry plants! Interesting, huh? I thought so.

           The strawberries that I tasted were by far some of the best I’ve ever had. They were smaller than the genetically modified “strawberries”we have back home but they packed way more of a punch. Some were sweeter than others and some had a slight sourness to them but the different flavors always balanced each other out. Some people ordered strawberry milkshakes, strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, or just plain strawberries but I ordered a Belgian waffle that came with fresh whipped cream, fresh strawberries, and warm chocolate sauce. I was in gustatory heaven! The best thing about this part of the tour was we were at the top of a mountain overlooking the forests, tea plantations and strawberry fields at a beautiful sunset. I really couldn’t have asked for anything more beautiful.

           When we arrived back to town, Vinot dropped us off and we headed to a German restaurant where we ordered pizza. I thought it was wonderful but the other people in my group weren’t blown away by it. It was the first time I had pizza since the beginning of September and I thought it was up there with the strawberry Belgian waffle I had a few hours prior. I guess I’m easily pleased when it comes to food.

           After dinner, we headed back to the lodge, sat around for an hour or so and then headed to sleep relatively early. We had a very long day and we had another early morning ahead of us. We were heading back to Penang the next morning via a van that cost about 16$USD per person and we wanted to leave around 9am to make sure we were back to the ship on time. Everything went to plan and we were on the road by 9am. We stopped at a few rest stops (extremely clean but only had squatter toilets...which, I should add, I’ve come to appreciate and don’t dislike any more), grabbed a bite to eat (I had some of the best papaya and watermelon in my life here), and were back to Penang before 1:30 in the afternoon. We had a few hours to spare before we needed to be back on the ship but I decided to hop on the next tender back to the ship. I was exhausted from the last 3 days and I passed out for almost three hours right when I got back.

           Overall, Malaysia by far exceeded any expectations I had. I definitely want to add it to the list of places I want to go back to. There are so many activities to do and places to see that it would be nearly impossible to get even the slightest “taste”of what Malaysia has to offer in 5 days. Next time I visit Malaysia, I want to make it to Borneo to visit the Orangutans’; visit the elephant sanctuaries; stay a few days on the island of Langkawi; head back up to the Highlands and do some more off-roading and jungle trekking. The list goes on. I’m heading to Viet Nam now and we dock in Ho Chi Minh City on October 30^th. I’ll be there for two days and then I fly to Cambodia for three days (Angkor Wat and Phenom Phen). I have a feeling that the blog I write for Viet Nam and Cambodia will be fueled more by emotion than by excitement. Keep an eye out for my next blog update...

 

Amanda

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           I just wanted to supplement this blog article by telling you about a documentary I watched a couple hours ago. It is titled Bombhunters and it is about the Cambodian people who hunt for and dig up bombs that we (the American government) dropped on them in the late sixties and early seventies. I could write pages right now about the anger and sadness that I felt while watching this documentary, but I’ve decided to digest these emotions before writing about a topic that I am still too ill-educated on. When I educate myself on why we dropped 20 million bombs on Cambodia, I’ll come back to this blog post and express my emotions thoroughly. Until then, I just want to let you know that millions of Cambodians are at risk every single day because of undetonated bombs (referred to as UXO) and landmines. The Thai-Cambodian border has the highest rate of UXO in the country and also the highest rate of death by UXO. There are thousands of poor Cambodian men who risk their lives every day by hunting out and digging up UXO to dismantle and cut apart to sell to scrap metal dealers. For one kilogram of iron that they are able to salvage, they earn a few American cents. Cents, not dollars, CENTS. In one instance, four men dismantled a 300+kg bomb over a period of 8 days. Guess what they were paid for the scrap metal they collected? 21$ USD. 21$/ 4 people/ 8 days/ 7 hours a day= less than 10 CENTS an hour per person. How, in this day and age, is this possible? And we complain about making THOUSANDS, if not HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS, of dollars. 

           Maybe those people who complain so much about “not having money”should spend a day in the life of a poor Cambodian. Maybe those people who complain so much about “nothing having money”should spend a night laying on the streets of Agra, India, next two three sleeping cows and a dog without any shelter. Maybe those people who complain so much about “not having money”should shut the hell up, think about what is really important to them in their lives, and then ask themselves why they think they have the right to complain when they have so many opportunities and privileges that a majority of the world will never have. Maybe they need to stop living in that little bubble they call comfort and open their eyes. It is not so hard to see how the rest of the world lives when you actually care.

skipping my India blog for now...

           So, I had my India blog, which was half done, saved on my flash drive because I was having problems with my laptop and then my flash drive decided to crash and I had to reformat it. What does this mean, you ask? I lost about five pages of writing. Lovely, eh? Got to love technology. 

           I don't have nearly enough time to write even about one day in India so it will have to wait until after Malaysia. Just to give you a brief update on where I am, what I am doing, and how I am doing...here it goes. I'm docked off the coast of Penang, Malaysia for the next five days. We got here around eight this morning and because we cannot fit into the port, we have to tender from the ship to the dock. It's fun but it's also time consuming. At least I can say that I got to ride in one of our lifeboats- in a non-emergency of course. 

           I had an FDP this morning at 10am, which was called Ethnic Communities in Malaysia. Lucky for me, it counted for two of my classes. Basically, it was a bus tour throughout a small section of Penang. We drove through George Town (the main town where the British settled when they colonized Malaysia) and stopped in Little India and China Town. The three main ethnic groups here in Malaysia are the Chinese, Indians, and Malays. There are smaller ethnic groups that make up the rest of the minority, but they don't live in particular areas around Penang. After our short tours of Little India and China Town, we headed for the hills. Driving up narrow, snaking mountain roads was quite the adventure in a bus our size. Our tour guide, May Tan, took us to a traditional Malay compound, as she called it, and we walked around for about twenty minutes. 

           The thing I don't like about SAS trips are that they feel rushed. I would have like to spend more than 20 minutes in each of these places. Another thing that I didn't like is that we weren't able to go to an ATM because we were already running late this morning. Therefore, I did not have any Malaysian Ringgits and I couldn't taste any of the delicious-looking snacks that street vendors were selling (don't worry...the sanitation situation here in Malaysia is ten times better than in India. Actually...more like 100x better). My favorite part of the whole trip this afternoon was lunch. The good thing about SAS trips is that our food is usually covered in the fee that we pay. We went to a traditional Chinese restaurant called “Pinang Fisherman’s Warf”and it was situated right next to the water. Amazing food! I don’t even know what I ate (some rice, some meat, some noodles, some soup, some veggies, some fruit) but that does not matter. All I care about was that it was fantastic. By far some of the best food I have eaten on this trip so far.

           After my FDP, I headed back to the ship on the 4pm tender boat to meet up with Jen and Scott. I checked my emails, did a few housekeeping things, and then took a brief nap. The three of us met up, grabbed a small bite to eat, and headed out on the 6pm ferry. We grabbed a cab for 2.25USD each and headed to the mall. Jen and Scott made a beeline straight for Starbucks and I decided against getting anything. I’m trying to minimize as many “frivolous”purchases as possible. I really wanted to buy an external hard drive because I have about 15 gigs left on my laptop and I will most definitely be out of room before the end of this trip. I didn’t want to spend 80USD so I bought 10 DVD-R’s instead for about 4USD. I’ll probably back up all my pictures on DVD’s just incase my hard drive decides to crash like so many peoples hard drives have on the ship so far.

           After our little mall escapade, we decided that we wanted to grab some Chinese food figuring we were within walking distance of China Town. We went back to Starbucks, spoke with one of the “baristas”, and asked her if she had any suggestions as to where we should go for dinner. She didn’t have any names of places because they usually just say, “hey, let’s go get Chinese food”and end up at the nearest open restaurant that day. She pointed us in a general direction and after walking down a dimly lit alley for 5 minutes, we came across a packed Chinese restaurant. Scott, Jen and I were the only non-Malaysian people in sight. I loved it. It was nice to get away from Americans again and be surrounded by locals. We had the most pleasant Chinese woman as our server and she spoke English very well with a heavy accent. Jen ordered veggie fried rice, I ordered grilled veggies and chicken, and Scott ordered sweet and sour chicken. The food was delectable. Everything was hot and fresh and the atmosphere was perfect. I love enjoying my friends company in small groups opposed to larger groups reaching 10 or 12. 

           Overall, my first day in Malaysia could not have been better. The weather was damp, rainy, and humid, but hell, it’s Malaysia and it’s monsoon season! I say “get over it”to all those who are complaining about not being able to lie on the beach all week. As of this very moment, I am not a hundred percent sure of what my plans are for the next four days. I may be heading up to the Cameron Highlands with four friends of mine for 3 days but I have not heard from any of them tonight. Otherwise, I will be hanging out in Penang and exploring all the hidden treasures that this beautiful island has to offer. Either way, I’ll be happy.

My Pre-India Thoughts

            It amazes me at how easily my thoughts flow through my fingers when I don't have midterms breathing down my neck.  The past week and a half, I've had some major writers block, believe it or not.  I re-read my South Africa blog and wasn't impressed with my writing.  I thought it was very elementary and I noticed grammatical errors and spelling errors.  That is how I know I didn't put enough effort into my writing.  I know, I know, I'm being self-critical.  But sometimes you have to be to improve yourself.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll turn writing into a career.  Until then, I might as well hone my skills.

            I have reached the point of exhaustion where being awake right now isn't really phasing me.  I just sat through a one and a half hour long cultural pre-port for India right into an hour long talent show.  That was the longest amount of time I've sat and done nothing since boarding the ship in Cape Town.  It was nice not having to think for once.  I can't believe I'll be in Chennai in approximately thirty-six hours.  Seven weeks ago, I was sitting on my bed writing a blog entry about leaving for Semester at Sea.  Now, seven weeks later, I am approaching the mid-way point of our voyage (October 21st).  Time has flown by faster than I've realized.  Before I know it, India will have come and gone and I'll be attending another cultural pre-port for Malaysia, and then Viet Nam, and then China, Japan, Hawaii, and finally Costa Rica.  I am starting to feel slight apprehension as to what the future holds for me.

            I believe I wrote a few months ago about how I thought Semester at Sea was going to change me.  I honestly haven't a clue what I wrote anymore, nor will I have a clue as to what I wrote until I get home and have free internet access to read every single one of my blog entries over again and again and again.  So, since I don't remember what I wrote, I'm going to write what I am feeling at this very moment...

            For one, I'm exhausted.  I basically pulled an (almost) all-nighter last night trying to get some last minute studying done for my Religion, Politics and Society core course along with my Introduction to Anthropology course.  Mixed in with studying, I somehow managed to write the majority of an 8 page paper for my Race and Ethnicity class that was due at 5pm today.  As I read over my paper this morning after typing about five pages last night, I realized that I couldn't even remember writing what I was reading.  It all seemed foreign to me.  I must have been in some semi-subconscious mindset as I was writing.  Who knows.  All I know is that I finished the paper after my first exam and then crammed some more before my last exam.  My version of cramming is probably equivalent to everyone else's normal studying.  My whole view on the studying this is that I've paid attention in class, I've done the readings, I've watched the documentaries, and I took some good notes.  Why stress out over something that I know is already in my brain even if it's hidden deep under 6 weeks of information.  I guess my brain works differently than most peoples.

            I got my grade back already for my core course and lets just say that there was a 9 point curve and it helped me immensely.  I don't feel like expressing to the whole world what I got, but I was happy with the grade I received.  Overall, the test was pretty straight-forward and I felt prepared, but there was tons of people saying that it was "unfairly hard" and that they "don't understand how he could expect us to retain all that information."  Well, my thought on their complaints is that they shouldn't have waited until the 11th hour to start reading and caring.  Has it really taken them upwards of a dozen years of schooling to realize this?

            I'll know tomorrow whether I did as well as I think I did on my Psychology of Food and Culture exam.  I'm expecting an A, but I don't want to get my hopes up.  As for my Intro to Anthro exam, I'm going with a B mentality, but hoping to pull that A somehow.  I won't be disappointed though if my actual grades fall short of my expected grade.  If you shoot high enough and fall slightly short of your goal, at least you can be satisfied knowing that you were aiming higher. 

            Alright, I don't feel like talking about school anymore.  I want to talk about more serious things...I truly believe India will be the first country on my voyage that will change me.  So far, I've partaken in activities and trips that have fueled my love of adventure and the outdoors.  Every second I've spent doing these adrenaline-packed activities I have been beyond elation.  Who wouldn't want to jump off of 40 foot cliffs into a river in Brazil or ride quad bikes on the sand dunes of Namibia?  The more important question though is who would want to experience a country like India, not for the adrenaline-packed adventure, but for the life-altering, culturally enriching journey?  After living on this ship for almost two months, I see a clear dichotomy between people who are looking for the same things I am and those who are still looking to get blacked-out drunk and act like spoiled, obnoxious, over-indulged Americans.  To each his (or her) own.

            We arrive in Chennai around 6am on Tuesday morning.  We should be off the ship around 10am and I will most likely walk around Chennai for a few hours.  I have to be back at the ship by 1pm, passport and backpack in hand, ready to leave for the airport for our flight to Delhi.  I am one of 47 independent travelers who are embarking on a 5 day indy India trip.  My itinerary is as follows:

 

Day 1- 6pm flight from Chennai to Delhi.  Ground transport to hotel in Agra.

Day 2- Explore Agra and the Taj Mahal.  Take an overnight sleeper train to Varanasi (the holiest city in India).

Day 3- Explore Varanasi.  Take an overnight sleeper train to Delhi.

Day 4- Explore Delhi.

Day 5- 6am flight from Delhi to Chennai.  Hopefully we arrive back to Chennai on time and encounter no flight delays.  Please keep your fingers crossed!

 

            It hasn't actually hit me yet that I'll be in India in less than two days.  I'm sure the minute I step foot on Indian ground, a wave of emotion and excitement will wash over me.  If I thought Africa was going to be completely new territory, then India is foreign to me in all respects of the word.  Unlike South Africa, I haven't a clue as to what I am getting myself into or what I can expect.  I've decided to take Asia by the horns and hold on tight for one wild ride of exploration and self-discovery.

            I can tell you now that I am one hundred percent sure that when India has had her way with me, I will never be the same.  I can't pinpoint yet exactly how I will be changed, but I will surely try to explain it when it occurs.  I can't promise that I'll know the day I get back to the ship how it is that I've changed or that I'll even know how to explain it.  Give me time, and I'm sure it will surface on its own.  I'm taking my journal with me to write in over the course of my 5 day trip so my next blog entry will be what's written in my journal.  It will probably be more insightful, personal, and on a deeper level than I have written in quite some time.  It will be nice to tune into my emotions again...

           

 

 

South Africa Part 2

*I must have been delirious when I was writing my previous entry because I said the Victoria and Arthur waterfront instead of the Victoria and ALBERT waterfront.  Whoops.*

 

Day 5 and 6- September 30th-October 1st- Overnight Aquila Safari-

            Today we all had the chance to sleep in relatively late (9am) before we had to meet for our safari.  There were 24 of us total and we had two vans transporting us to Aquila.  The drive took 2 hours, but the scenery was breathtaking.  We went in the opposite direction as I did for shark cage diving, but the scenery was just as beautiful.  There were mountains, and vineyards, and orchards dotting the landscape everywhere I looked.  Ebie, our driver, pulled over a few times to let us get out and take pictures.

            When we arrived at Aquila, I had to round everyone up and have them sign forms and then we went to have lunch.  The facilities at Aquila were gorgeous.  It's a newer game reserve, so all the buildings are brand new and they are still constructing more buildings.  It was a four star facility, so just use your imagination to think of how beautiful it was.  Lunch was wonderful, of course, and there was a crocodile enclosure right outside of the restaurant.  Our first game drive was at 4pm, so we had about an hour to settle in to our lodges.  I was please with our accommodations and surprised that they were so nice.  We stayed two to a room and the rooms were beautiful.  They were decorated with African woodcarvings, the bathroom had a huge Jacuzzi tub (which I didn't unfortunately have time to use), and an outside shower which was magnificent.  It was an all-stone enclosure and it had one of those waterfall showerheads.  Granted, that night when I showered, it was about 50 degrees outside, so it was a little cold getting in and out, but the water was hot and plentiful.

            We started our game drive on time, and not even 10 minutes into it, we saw hippos.  They were lounging on one of the islands in their lake and they seemed so docile, yet I knew that they could be one of the most aggressive animals if you get too close.  After we left the hippos, we made our way further into the reserve where we encountered a giraffe and a few zebra's.  It seemed surreal at first until it sank in that I was on a safari in South Africa.  What?  A safari?  In South Africa??  Yep.  Oh, okay, it IS real...  We spent a little while with the zebra and giraffe, and then we made our way to where the ostrich were.  I employed my friend Brandon to either video tape or photograph the animals while I managed the other.  It worked out great because not only do I have pictures of all the animals, but I also have video.

            Here is a fun fact...Did you know you can ride an ostrich but you can't ride a zebra?  Interesting, huh?  After our ostrich encounter, we drove a little while longer until we came upon white Rhinos.  There was a large male and female and a little tiny baby Rhino.  He was so cute!  His momma didn't want you any where near him though.  She started to more forward toward the trucks when we got too close.

            After we left the Rhinos, the trucks climbed to the top of a small mountain where we had snacks and some champagne.  It was beautiful.  I cannot even describe what it was like to sit on top of a mountain overlooking thousands of acres of game reserve, knowing that the Big 5 (lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, and buffalo) were out there, probably keeping an eye on us.  The sun started to set behind one of the mountains, and I sat on a rock and stared out over a waterhole, watching the reflection of the setting sun.  That evening is forever engrained in my memory.

            We packed up the vehicles and headed off towards the lion enclosure.  Unfortunately, the lions here aren't free roaming because the reserves animals are too few because they are still young.  There are two separate prides of lions that will eventually be released into the reserve when the other animals have a chance to naturally increase their numbers.  Our truck was the last to enter the lion enclosure, and unfortunately, we had to back out relatively quickly.  One of the trucks ahead of us had a water bottle fall out of the back right in front of the lionesses.  The lionesses became too interested in what we were doing to safely approach them. Liza (pronounced Lee-Zah), our safari guide, decided to head back down the mountain and try to drive in from the other side of the enclosure.  I have never bounced around in a vehicle the way I did when she was speeding down that mountain!  I felt like I was going to dislocate my shoulder if the bouncing continued.  I guess she really wanted to get there.  Just when I thought the bouncing wasn't going to end, it did...abruptly.  Before any of us had time to think, Liza floored the truck in reverse.  I looked around frantically trying to find out why she stopped so suddenly.  Then I saw what I was looking for...buffalo were standing in the middle of the road and they are known to charge at the vehicles if they get too close.  It takes only one buffalo to flip a truck and that's not the kind of odds Liza felt like dealing with.  We ended up heading back to the lodges and weren't able to see the lions that night.  I wasn't too upset though; we would have another chance to see them the following day.

            The next morning, Jen, me, and a few others from our group woke up at 6:30 for a 7am horseback ride out on the reserve.  We could choose from a horseback tour or a quad bike tour.  Of course, I chose horseback.  It was the first time in 5 weeks that I had a chance to ride.  I was going through some serious equine withdrawal.  I must have spent a good hour or so alone with the horses that day, both before and after our ride.  The horses at Aquila ranged in size and type and were generally well-cared for.  I rode a horse named Shadow.  He was a gelding, probably of Arabian and Quarter Horse blood, grey, and about 15hh.  Most of the horses seemed to have Arab blood in them, most likely to make them heartier in a semi-desert climate.

            Our tour lasted an hour and a half and we walked off the beaten path throughout the lower part of the game reserve.  The sun slowly rose over the peaks of the mountains and I felt the day start to warm.   We saw springbok grazing in small packs a few times along our ride along with a solo wildebeest.  I never knew that the Beast from Beauty and the Beast was a wildebeest until I saw a real wildebeest in person!  I might have been the only person that thought the "dreadful" looking animal was cute!  Hey, I have a soft spot for funny looking animals I guess.

            About 40 minutes into our ride, we came across the male, female and baby rhino. There was a small watering hole between the rhinos and us but when our guide kept inching closer to them, I felt my adrenaline start to flow.  It would have been extremely easy for the momma rhino to charge at us if she felt we posed any danger to her baby.  I have some good shots of the three of them.  I hope that I'll be able to upload some pictures to my blog soon.

            Needless to say, I was relieved as we turned away from the rhinos and began putting distance between them and the horses.  Further into our ride, as we began making our way back to the corral, we encountered elephants climbing up the side of one of the mountains.  By encountered I don't mean twenty feet away, nor did I feel like they were going to charge us.  Unfortunately, they were a good half-mile away, but I was able to take a few pictures of them.  I was the only one who felt comfortable enough to ride without holding the reins so I was able to take shots while we were moving. 

            After we were back at the corral, I spent some time hanging out with the horses.  I needed some alone time with them.  It did wonders for my soul.  After I felt revitalized, I decided to grab breakfast with a few girls and then head back to the lodge to nap while the quad biking group went on their tour.  Unfortunately, my nap was cut short because I forgot we had to check out at 10 and I had a hotel worker knocking on my door for me to leave.  Whoops. 

            When the quad biking group returned, we all hopped in the 4x4 vehicles for the last stage of our safari.  Initially they said we wouldn't be able to see the lions because we were pressed for time, but after a few minutes of begging they decided to take us to see the lions, elephants, and cheetahs.  We entered the lion facility from the opposite end as the day before which worked out well because the lions were in the same spot they were in 12 hours earlier.  We parked the vehicles about 20 feet away from the lions, took some pictures, hung out for a few minutes, and then made our way out of the enclosure to go see the elephants.

            I never realized how intriguing elephants are until I saw them up close and personal on our safari.  Yes, I've seen elephants before in person...but those were definitely not wild African elephants.  The two elephants we saw were young males who were close in age and size.  I learned that every day they have spars to see who will be the dominant elephant for the day and act as the matriarchal female.  For the most part, they minded their own business, tearing bark from trees or ripping up plants from the dry dirt and subsequently stuffing their mouths.  I don't think I saw their mouths empty the entire time we were viewing them.  I guess if I were as big as an elephant I would eat all day long too.  As we were getting ready to drive away, the two elephants began a mock dual with our truck.  One elephant came along side the truck and the other blocked us in from the front.  This was the closest any of the animals had come to the truck so we were all on edge at that moment.  None of us knew what the elephants were going to do and the driver even seemed a little apprehensive.  As the elephant on the side of the truck started getting closer, our driver yelled, "Get back!  Get back".  Some of us laughed at the fact that our driver was yelling, in English, "get back" to a wild elephant.  Within a few seconds, the elephants started retreating and we sped away.  I think it would have made for a good story if the elephant tried to knock out truck over but at the same time, I didn't feel like being trampled.  I'm glad that situation ended the way it did.

            Finally, we made our way across the street to the cheetah habitat.  I was a little disappointed to see that the reserve only had two cheetahs, but again I understood that it was a new reserve (five or so years old) and they were still acquiring animals from larger reserves throughout Africa.  I was still excited to be less than half a foot away from a full-grown cheetah.  There was only an electrified chain link fence separating me and the fastest land animal on the planet.  I lay down on a small slab of concrete, camera in hand, right next to the lounging cat.  I heard him purr and I had to resist the urge to stick my fingers through the fence to pet him.  Instead, I stuck my camera lens as close as I could to the fence to get a few shots of Mr. Cheetah sans chain link.  Very cute indeed.

            We spent a little time with the cheetahs and then made our way back to the reserve entrance where our two transport vans awaited us.  We were all reluctant to leave Aquila, but were elated with the way the past twenty-four hours went.  The two-hour drive went by quickly thanks in part to the movie "Knocked Up".

            As we arrived back to the ship, there were cultural ambassadors standing outside the fence.  One boy, Brian, immediately told us to head inside to the Union because Desmond Tutu would be arriving shortly.  Desmond Tutu?  Speaking?  Now?  Wow!  We totally missed that memo.  The timing could not have been more perfect.  Jen and I dropped our things in our room and didn't even bother changing clothes.  We ran up to the Union and grabbed a seat just in time to see Desmond Tutu enter the room.  People stood up and greeted him with a huge roar of applause.  I eagerly awaited his speech.  I took some notes...here they are:

·        1st black south African to hold position of arch bishop...used position to oppose apartheid non violently...won Nobel Peace prize in 1984

·        Mr. Tutu talked about how some young people go off the rails...do drugs, become violent.  He went on to say "But this is not the only truth about young people.  In fact, it's not the most important truth.  Some young people do go off the rails.  Think of the pressures under which young people live today. Advertising is aggressive.  You think of the internet, some of the things you can access there...oohhhh...I haven't seen them *laughs*...but I'm told about them.  But I tell you, I mean, when I was growing up about the only drug that was available was marijuana.  Today you have really hard drugs, and you have drug pushers.  I would want to say 'look at these kids, aren't they just awful?'.  Hey isn't it extraordinary, that although all these pressures to which they're exposed, that so many of the young people don't give in. I take my hat off to yourself and your contemporaries."

·        "Some of you are going to be getting some extraordinary ideas when you are here and something is going to touch you, something that might change your life.  I'm telling you at least 2 people that I know tell me recently who were ion SAS.  One has started Crocs.  Crocs!  They have got holes!  Well, this ship, you have to be careful.  You don't know what's going to happen to you!  Fantastic!  It was someone like you who thought up this idea and now they're all over the world.  That might be you.  We'll be seeing you splashed all over.  We were on SAS together!  Well, of course, when the market settles.  I have see young people totally unsung, totally, quite hidden, doing extraordinary things."

·        "I'm gazing into my crystal ball and I see you...it's going to make you more caring, it's going to make you more aware of the interconnectedness.  We've tried to live a lie in that we can enjoy our prosperity by quarantining ourselves from the outside world.  Imagine if the US didn't have 7 hundred billion dollars...7 hundred billion.  It's nothing if you spend 3 hundred billion on Iraq.  Look what we could do with that money.  How many children could we feed, could have clean water, could have a decent home?  There are probably going to be people committing suicide because the markets are going wonky."

·        This next part that Desmond Tutu talked about was about how we are all God carriers; for those of you who know me, you most likely know my religious/spiritual affiliation and beliefs.  For those of you who don't know me and care to find out where I am on this matter, I would love to have a "conversation" via email about it (ALVeinott@semesteratsea.net).  I would rather keep this matter off the blogs though as I am writing from an unbiased perspective.  However, for the sake of quoting Desmond Tutu directly, I didn't change a word he said.             "You are of infinite worth...you are a god carrier.  You, you, you, you, you...you are a stand in for god.  FANTASTIC!  If we had the right type of eyes, and we looked at each other, we would be dazzled by what we saw.  God has been very kind, camouflages gods glory in creatures like me and you, so we can actually live and look at each other.  We don't believe it when we look at that smelling to high heaven drug addict...if we looked carefully, yeah, that drug addict is god.  Is god.  We ought to regard it as an incredible privilege to help them...to wipe the tears away from gods eyes...human beings are fantastic.  Really.  God has no body except you to help make this world a different world.  You young people.  Saying we want to make poverty history.  We are saying we want to have a world without war.  Saying we can share.  There is no reason whatsoever why there is anyone who goes to bed hungry anywhere in the world."

·        Two of my favorite things that Mr. Tutu said during his speech were "America is a wonderful place.  You have been given very many resources.  Why don't you export your generosity and not bombs?" and "You will never win the so call war on terror as long as there are people who are desperate."

 

            As Desmond Tutu was talking, I let his words sink in and I felt that he was talking directly to me.  I don't think I've ever been motivated more to do good in this world than after hearing him speak. 

 

Day 7- October 2nd- Departure Day

            Today was bittersweet.  On one hand, I couldn't wait to board that ship and help but become excited for India and the rest of the areas on Asia we are visiting.  On the other hand, I was extremely sad to be leaving all that I saw, all that I felt, and all that I experienced in South Africa behind.  I've become friends with locals and can't wait to see them again.  I'm hoping to return to Cape Town in 2010 for the World Cup.

            Jen and I were going to climb Table Mountain this morning, but we ended up sleeping in due to inclement weather.  When we did wake up, we decided to go for a walk down the docks and maybe grab some lunch.  We ran into Nanie, the man that I booked all my tours through (now who I consider one of my South African friends!) and he treated the two of us to a lovely lunch at a seafood restaurant.  The food there was delicious!  I am pretty much in love with muscles now.  I couldn't stop eating them...Nanie also presented me with a beautiful wood carving of the Big 5 that he got from Zimbabwe a while ago.  I felt honored that he passed this along to me.  It will definitely be something that I cherish forever.  Thanks again, Nanie! 

            After lunch, we decided to head back to the ship so we could make it back on before 300 other people decided to do the same.  Later that night as we were departing Cape Town, I climbed up to the 7th deck and looked out over the beautiful city and reflected on the past week I spent there.  I thought about all that I did, all that I saw, and all that I learned.  Unfortunately, I was abruptly brought back to the present moment by Bob "The Voice" Frank announcing over the loud speaker that we had approximately a half hour to secure all our things in our cabins so they wouldn't fall off the shelves.  I didn't realize how serious he was being until exactly a half hour later.  Walking in my room was a chore!  I never have felt waves that large in my life and I actually became slightly nauseous for the first time ever.  I was happy when that rocking stopped...

Part 1 South Africa

I attempted to write my whole blog in a few days, but it just wasn't happening.  I've been extremely busy preparing for mid-terms and catching up on class work and trying to catch up on sleep.  Therefore, my writing had to take a seat on the back-burner for a little while.  I did manage to get to day 5 of South Africa, so I've decided to post day 1-4 for you to read.  It will be easier this way for you and for me.  I hope you all enjoy! 

 

-Amanda

 

         

            For the past twenty-four hours, I have been thinking to myself "when will I find enough time to sit down and write about South Africa?"  I know it is going to take multiple hours to write about everything I did, everything I saw, and everything I felt.  Therefore, I decided to stop wondering when I'd start...and I started. 

            I find myself amazed at how many of you are actually reading my blog entries.  Yes, I was expecting to have my close friends and my family as readers...but there are so many of you who I don't even know.  Some of my fondest comments have been from strangers, and I greatly appreciate that.  This trip has really showed me that complete strangers aren't really all that distant.  We're all interconnected in ways that you can't see from the outside.  You need to put the time and effort, even if it's as small as a smile and a brief hello, into getting to know new people.  Semester at Sea has guided me in this feat.

            As many of you know, South Africa was the port I was looking forward to most.  I was afraid to have such high expectations, because, like most people, I don't like to be let down.  I put months of planning and hours upon hours of my time into fine-tuning the trips I was planning.  I had over fifty different people relying on me for four separate trips.  These trips were: sky diving, shark cage diving, a Stellenbosch Wine Tour, and an overnight Aquila Safari.  I never realized how intense or time-consuming this task would become.  Thankfully, I had Excel spreadsheets with every ones name, emails, room number, and what activities they were doing.  The tour company that I used was extremely accommodating and they replied to every one of my emails in a timely fashion. 

            Every one of my trips went off without a glitch and I thank everyone who was a part of them for being on time, cooperating, and dealing with me being slightly stressed out.  We did shark cage diving on the second day, sky diving and a wine tour on the third day, and the overnight Aquila safari on the fifth and sixth days.  I had a Khayelitsha township visit through SAS the first afternoon and I had both the fourth and seventh days free to roam around Cape Town.

 

Day 1- September 26th- We arrived in Cape Town harbor at approximately 7am to cool, foggy weather.  We were allowed to disembark around 10am, after the failure of the US Embassy to arrive on time.  Immediately upon disembarkation, I met a group of students who signed up for my shark cage diving trip for the following morning.  We needed to put a deposit down in advance to reserve spots on the boat.  I had organized 4 separate groups at 10am, 12pm, 4pm and 7pm to go to the tour office to pay.  I couldn't make the 12pm or 4pm groups because of my township tour, so I was slightly afraid that some people wouldn't make the deposits.  Thankfully, when I took the 7pm group to go sign up everyone who was on my list had paid their deposit.  The following morning at 5:30am, we all met in Tymitz Square and we were on the vans by 6:15am.  All the tours that I booked included round trip transportation so we never had to rely on public taxis to get us where we needed to go.  Also, because I had so many people booked in each trip, we were able to get great group prices. 

 

Day 2- September 27th- Shark Cage Diving:  Like I said above, we were all ready to go at 5:30 and we were on the vans by 6:15.  It was a cool, dreary morning so I was afraid that shark cage diving wouldn't be enjoyable but as we started driving through the mountains my spirit perked up a bit.  I was astounded by how beautiful the scenery was.  I was completely wrong in my assumption that South Africa would be mostly arid, with sand dunes piled high far and wide similarly to Namibia.  I don't know why I thought such things; most likely it was my ignorance of South Africa in general.  I have heard that the farther North you go, towards Namibia, the landscape changes drastically; however, in the Cape Town region, there are beautiful mountains, some reaching thousands of feet high.  Some mountain peaks were even snow covered!  I couldn't believe that it snows in Africa!  Again, my ignorance showed.  Granted, there was very little snow left figuring it's now the beginning of their spring, but still!  Snow...? In Africa!

            I wish I could show you all the videos that I took of my shark cage diving adventure, but sadly, our ship can't handle the bandwidth usage that it would take to do this.  I had over 40 minutes of video clips that I edited down to fit into a 23 minute window.  Yes, that's a long time, but not too long when you figure SCDiving lasted from 9-2ish.  The price for shark cage diving, including round trip transportation 2 hours there and back, was 160$USD

            I have a newfound respect for Great Whites.  There is part of me that sides with the environmentalists in that shark cage diving has a negative effect on the Great White population, figuring that it promotes slight dependency on food from the boats and potential habitat degradation.  Nevertheless, at the same time, I can see the eco-tourism industries view in that there are only a few boats that are licensed to give shark cage diving tours and all the captains have many years experience with Great Whites.  Several of these captains are also staunch pro-conservationists, working with the environmentalists to conserve the Great Whites natural aquatic habitats.

            The water was cold, probably about 55 degrees, but we had thick wetsuits to wear when in the cages.  The water was a little murky because the waves were big in the morning, but as the afternoon rolled around, the water cleared up and the sharks were more visible.  Our boat, captained by Steve McFarlane (sp?), was the only one that saw sharks that day.  We saw 8 in total and there were upwards of 30 sightings.  Quite a few people got sea sick...the waves were probably 8-10 feet high and we were in a 30-foot boat.  Knock on wood, besides the night we left Cape Town, I haven't felt an ounce of sea sickness.

 

Day 3- September 28th- Sky Diving:

            Let me preface this part of my blog by saying that I am not only deathly afraid of heights, but I have terrible anxiety over flying.  You're probably wondering to yourself, "then why in your right mind did you think you'd enjoy skydiving?".  Well, I never really thought I'd "enjoy" it, per se, but I did know that it was something I should do.  Hell, I went shark cage diving!  Why not go sky diving, right?  Right...

            So any who...the group of us, about 27, met in Tymitz Square at 6:30am-ish and were at Sky Dive Cape Town around 8am-ish.  The price for sky diving per person was 190$USD and that included round trip transportation, a half hour away from the ship.  Not a shabby deal at all.  My roommate Jen and I volunteered to go first...Yeah...first.  Yikes.  What was I thinking?  I'm going to jump out of a plane...first?!  I figured that I might as well get it over with, because if I didn't go soon, I wasn't going to go at all...

            Surprisingly, the minute I put the harness on, my nerves calmed down and my anxiety lessened.  The planes were pretty much the size of the Great Whites I saw the day before...so I wasn't too happy about that, but I didn't let myself think too much of it.  Jen and I had the option of having a cameraman, but I brought my video camera with me so I didn't opt to be filmed.  Looking back on it now, I probably should have gotten the tape...next time J

            As Jen and I approached the plane with our two tandem guides, I felt my anxiety stir again but I quickly squashed it.  There was no turning back the minute I stuck my foot in the plane.  There was something surprisingly calming about having John, my guide, strapped to my back.  Maybe it was the fact he's jumped a few hundred times?  Or that he had a parachute?  Yeah, probably that...

            The view from the plane was absolutely magnificent.  We flew to 9,000 feet and I saw clear over Table Mountain.  The blue bay was in front of me, the wine lands in the back of me, and the wide open sky was all around me.  I have a few videos of our ascent that shows the beautiful scenery.  When it came time to jump, my heart sank, but only briefly.  The captain opened the door and I felt the wind rush into the cabin.  "I'm insane!" I remember thinking to myself as I swung my legs out of the plane.  There was probably only 2 seconds where I had my feet dangling out of the plane before we jumped, but it felt like an eternity.  I don't even remember John pushing us out of the plane, but before I knew it, I was freefalling with a South African guy strapped to my back!  I closed my eyes for the first few seconds, but I felt that we were doing flips in the air.  When I realized that all I saw was the back of my eyelids, I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful sights I've seen in my entire life.  There is something magnificent about flying over the earth.  You feel like you're invincible.  Looking out over Table Mountain, and Stellenbosch, and the Atlantic Ocean is something that I will never forget.

            I was sad when the parachute deployed...I felt like I could fly forever.  Except, I have a strong hold on gravity, so I was relieved when I realized we weren't going to crash into the ground.  When John told me I could fly the parachute, I let out a very audible "What?!" like he said something absolutely ridiculous.  I actually have it on film!  Granted, he never took his hands off the straps, but I was the one pulling down on them to make the chute go left and right.  We were nearly parallel with the ground a few times as we spun around in circles (also on film).  I do have to say that the landing was the funniest part of the whole thing.  I had to put my legs up as if I were sitting in a chair for the landing.  Right as we were about to touch down, John goes "Okay, now try to stand."  So, I tried, and I failed, and I ended up face planting into the sand with John sitting on top of me.  Yes, also on film!  I couldn't stop laughing.  It was quite amusing trying to get back up on two feet.

            I will most definitely sky dive again at some point in my life...the adrenaline rush was unbelievable.  I also think I might start bringing a parachute with me when I fly on commercial airliners...it does wonders for my anxiety J

           

Day 3 Continued- Stellenbosch Wine Tour-

            Right after everyone finished sky diving, we hurried back to Cape Town so the group of us going to Stellenbosch for the wine tour could leave relatively on time.  Unfortunately, we were running behind schedule so we could only make it to 3 out of 5 stops, but none of us complained.  The first estate we went to was called "Neethlingshof" and we tasted 5 wines: a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Pinotage, a Cabernet, and a late harvest Riesling which was way too sweet for my liking.  I enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc...it had good floral aroma, with peach and apple undertones.  I also enjoyed the Pinotage, not only at this estate, but also at the other two.  I noticed that at all the estates, the Pinotage had fruity undertones, but there was also a hint of either cedar or oak to balance out the fruit.

            After our Neethlingshof tour, we went to Asara Wine Estate and tasted another 5 wines: an Ivory (a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc), a Chardonnay Reserve, a Pinotage, a Cape Fusion (a blend of Pinotage, Syrah, Merlot, and Cab), and a White Port.  I don't prefer white wine normally, but I did find that I liked their Chardonnay Reserve best.  Supposedly their '03 has won all types of awards.  I could taste why.

            Our last stop on our wine tour was to Spier Wine Estate.  Spier is pretty well known because they have a Cheetah Rescue/Reserve and also a restaurant called Moyo.  After we tasted the last of our wines, a Merlot, Pinotage, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Rosé, we walked over to the Cheetah Reserve.  Some people paid extra to pet the adult cheetah, but I was happy just looking through the fence.  I took a bunch of pictures of the baby cheetahs...they were so playful.  After our cheetah escapades, our group walked over to Moyo and made reservations for dinner later that night.  I was amazed at how unique the restaurant was.  It was completely outside...some areas were in the trees (where we later sat that night) and other areas were under large canopy tents.  It was even more beautiful when we went back later that night.  There were oil lamps and fire pits and heavy wool blankets were given to you to keep you warm.  Entertainers would come around every 20 minutes or so and perform right in front of you.  The food was buffet style, and the whole thing was approximately 25$ USD.  For the quality of food and entertainment, something similar in the states would easily run 150$ per person, if not more.

            I ventured out on a limb that night food-wise.  In South Africa, and Namibia too, they eat beef like we do, but they also eat zebra, springbok (an antelope type animal), ostrich and other "exotic" game animals.  I figured I'd try all three I mentioned above at least once, but I didn't care for any of them.  I don't prefer gamey meat back home, so I should have known I wouldn't like gamey meat here.  At least I tried something unique...

 

Day 4- September 29th- Free Day

            Jen and I intended to hike Table Mountain this morning, but unfortunately, the weather was less than ideal.  Table Mountain is notorious for having a "table cloth" of clouds over it and that it did.  We could hardly see halfway up the mountain.  For both enjoyment and safety reasons, we decided to postpone our hike and explore the city instead.

            We attempted to make it to Robben Island (Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for many, many years) but again the weather prevented the ferry's from crossing the harbor to the island.  We walked around the Victoria and Arthur waterfront for a little while longer until we decided to take a taxi from the waterfront to Century City.  Readers Digest version of Century City...it's an area about 15 minutes outside of the waterfront area of Cape Town which is brand new (construction began in '03 I believe) and it houses the largest mall in South Africa called Canal Walk.  There are a series of manmade canals which encircle the entire mall area and the canals drain into a natural estuary.  The entire "city" is built on top of a watershed so they had to be extremely cautious when building so as to not disturb the natural environment as much as possible.  If you Google Century City, Cape Town, you'll learn much more than what I just told you.

            Jen and I decided to break down and grab a Big Mac from the McDonalds in the mall.  We split it, so it's half as bad, right?  I know, I know...I'm just adding to McDonalds capitalistic hold on the world.  Anywho, this isn't the point I'm trying to get to.  So, we're standing in line, and all of a sudden Jen goes "hey, is that John?"  Here I'm thinking she's talking about a guy named John from our ship, so I turn around and voila...it's my guide from sky diving yesterday!  I don't know what got into me, but I locked up and I refused to believe that was him.  How in the world, out of a million people in the mall right now, was my skydiving guide in line next to me at McDonalds?  Jen and I grabbed our food and left quickly, all the while trying to decide whether or not it was him.  Finally, as we were unwrapping our food, John walks over to us and was like "You guys went sky diving yesterday didn't you?  Your American accents gave it away!"  The story is probably more amusing to me than it is to you, but I still think it's crazy that I ran into him.