On Friday night we went to a Kobe beef steakhouse, which is supposedly the best beef in the wrold, and it was very very good. The day was spent just walking around the city which is interesting because there are so many people here and they are all very short. Most of the guys dress like an 80`s rock band.
On Saturday we went to a soocer game. This was surprisingly fun, the crowd was crazy and the stadium was real new. The only bad thing was that it ended in a 0-0 tie. This is our last day in Japan before heading for eight days at sea ubtill we reach Hawaii, which is our last stop before San Diego.

Vietnam- Now I know why no one likes to talk about war. First day I went to the Cu Chi tunnels, and went in the tunnels which were very small and tough to crouch through them in the pitch black. The next day was our trip to Phnom Penh. We went to the killing fields and the genocide camps, both which were very disturbing. On the last night I got the travelers sickness, which is not fun. We went to Angor Wat, which is considered one of the wonders of the world. The story about this place is amazing. It was built around the 7th century and was finished in the 9th century and then they somehow lost the temple because it got overgrown by trees and vegatation. This does not make sense because it is absolutely enormous. They say you could spend a year there and still find new things to look at. It was then discovered about 150 years ago. On our last day in Vietnam we walked around Saigon (ho chi minh city the locals call it Saigon). and bought some gifts and ate at a gross KFC.

China- We landed in Hong Kong but since we have a trip we went directly to the airport. So I spent about 20 minutes in Hong Kong which looked like a very fun place.
We got to Beijing and had tours all day long of temples. We went out to some bars because it was one of the kids birthday. They owner of the bar had the band sing happy birthday for him. The next morning we were on our way to the Great Wall, and it lives up to its name. It was really an unbelievable sight. I climbed up about half way and then stayed there for a while before descending. The wall was unbelievable, it is amazing how they built it. We then went to Summer Garden; which is a beautiful temple right on the waters edge. I got left behind here and had to take an hour and a half cab ride back to the hotel, and it is not too fun with the language barrier. (I guess never go the bathroom exceot at a hotel because its easy to get lost) The next day we went to the telecate warrior museum. This was a sight and an even better story why this was made. They made this to protect the kings tomb and also put a layer of mercury in the ground so no one would break in. There were thousands of clay soldiers underground that also protected his tomb. This one is tough to explain, because you really have to see it. It was amazing, they call it the eight wonder of the world. Outside of the museum a Chinese student came over and talked to me for a while, and he loved Yao Ming, but they all love Yao Ming. The last day we went to Tienanmen square and the forbidden city, which were nice but I think everyone was worn out from sightseeing. These things were also huge, it was the biggest public area in the world. After we went to a market and I stayed outside of it and about 20 Chinese girls came over to me to take pictures of me and talk about the USA. They kept saying “you look like a million bucks.” They were very nice and funny, I was going to go to there university but there was not enough time. They all wanted to know who was my favorite pop star. On the last day of port we went to the markets and then to the Tsing Sao brewery. There were probably 50 SAS kids there and it was two kids’ birthdays. After that place closed we went to a bar down the street were a keg cost 100 yaun. This is about 14 dollars. So we all bought 3 of them. Everyone had a lot of fun and then we were on our way to Japan land.

Japan- This is our first developed country that we are visiting and the only one. The first day we walked around looking for Dice-K gear and we finally found some but it was made really cheap so we did not buy any of it. For dinner we went to an awesome Italian Restaurant because a few of us do not like Japanese food and the restaurant was unbelievable, and the cook spoke English so he was a help. I bought a huge Baileys bottle at a bar and when I was leaving the owner came in and he thought I stole it so he made me go back in and once he found out he bought me a drink. Now Japan has the screaming orgasm and everyone was ordering them. The next day we went to the baseball game which was awesome. We took the trains to the game which was very easy to navigate. At the game everyone has noise makers and they have many chants to yell. They seem to go the positive chants instead of negative against the other teams. At the 7th inning and after they won everyone blows up these huge balloons and than they let them fly away and it is really a sight to see. Tons of fans had huge flags and everyone seemed to enjoy us being at their baseball game. The three of us that went all bought jerseys and the guys jersey that I bought never stepped foot on the field so everyone got a good laugh out of that.
Happy Birthday Pat and Kevin!

Sorry this took so long, my website would not load

Sunday March 25- India; the place smells, really smells. No one ever thought a fart would be used as an air freshener, (I always did) but in India it was. That’s how bad some smells were. Everyone in Chennai knows we are coming because there is nothing else here. One driver told me they wait for SAS students twice a year to come and they do great business.

Everyone should experience the rickshaw. A taxi cab that is a motorized tricycle with or without an engine and they have the nice little back seat to sit in; we squeezed three guys in which was very crowded; they look like clown cars, they are awesome. We leave the dock and jump into a taxi and one minute later he gets pulled over, so we were off to a great start. We then had to go into another cab because he could no longer drive. On the way over I smelt tons of random scents, none remotely close to being good.We went to Spencer’s plaza and shopped all day in a mall that had some nice stuff. We then went to lunch were my new friend Pepto Bismo was taken. The food was very good, not to spicy and very cheap. One US dollar equals to 43 Indian Rupee. We then went back to the boat on the auto rickshaw. Driving in India is an experience in itself. Once you get out of the rickshaws we got hounded by moms with their babies, you feel like a celebrity except when you realize that it is a bunch of poor people wanting your money. My friend bought a drum for 750 rupees then I used my bargaining skills and got one for 400 Rupees just to make him mad, I honestly did not want it but it was funny. Yhen everyone else on the boat bought them for two hundred so I felt like a moron. We then went back to the ship and went right back out to the same mall for a bit then dinner with one of my teachers, which was awesome. Lamb ca bobs and some good bread, it is called naan and it is awesome; it’s basically a thick taco that is heated up. I had the beer which was kingfisher which was very good. (This trip was not a drinking trip at all, there was a lot to see and experience and I think everyone on the ship knew that.) I got back at about 10 showered and went to bed so I can wake up at 3:30 in the morning to go see the Taj

India

Day two In India- At four A.M. 70 of us pack on a bus to go to the airport to hop on a plane. They never looked at our id’s and security was very low for us. After getting off the plane we went to eat and then the train station which was a nightmare. The poverty and wild monkeys ( which one person got bit in his butt because he got to close) did not bother me, it was the two hour delay and sitting in the hot sun that got me. We finally board the train. This train was something. I fell asleep right away for about 30 minutes and wake up to some women poking me for money, and two minutes later I saw this man with his right eye completely out of his head and hanging down. It was the last time I fell asleep because I had an aisle seat and did not feel to comfortable after that. The never ending train ride consisted of poor kids grabbing your legs and more ladies with little girls asking for money and people selling everything. We did meet two nice Indians that helped chase people off and helped us when out 30 yr old fan broke. When we got off the train it was more poverty at the station. (India is extreme poverty and extreme wealth) When we boarded our buses everyone was shocked by what they saw. People’s leg bent backwards, no legs, one legs, anything you can think of. Then came the one person that I will never ever forget; a young kid with elephantitis. His feet were absolutely enormous. It was sad to see, it was the only thing during our stay that really affected everyone. If he was able to wear shoes they would be around a size 40 and that is not exaggerating, that might even be a conservative estimate.

We got to our hotel, and everyone showered and loved it. We then had dinner and went to the streets to buy some gifts. Everyone went to bed early because we had to wake up at 5 to get ready for the TAJ MAHAL at sunrise. Upon our arrival I saw it in the background and it just looked enormous, and it was. It was awesome. The prettiest building I have ever seen and probable ever will see. It is made out of all marble and sits on the bank of a river. When we were leaving me and my friend took a richshaw (not a motorized one, but one you peddle) and the driver wanted us to drive it, so my friend did and as we were going we almost crashed head on to another one and everyone thought we stole it, and we could not stop laughing. After the Taj we went back to the hotel for breakfast and then went to holy temples, which were also fascinating. We went to a Hindu and my friend and I went to a Muslim temple which later we found out we were not supposed to go to because it was dangerous. It was also an awesome place to see. We then went back to the hotel at 12 to eat and check out. We then went to Agra Fort which was incredibly huge. The best part of that was seeing the Taj Mahal in the distance on the river which was a sight to see. After the fort we went back to the Taj for a couple of hours around sunset. The colors that the sun throws off at sunset and sunrise are amazing at the Taj. We went inside the Taj to see the gravestone of the women who it was built for. (there is a good story behind why the Taj was built but it is to long for me to write. So hung out on the Taj for a while then went back. On our walk back to our bus we bought some stuff from the vendors. The big thing that everyone bought was an Indian book called Kama Sutra which is a book on how to have sex and every position possible and what it meant towards their life. We then went back to the hotel, got some Pizza Hut which was nice to get after nonstop Indian food (which is very overrated, it’s the same thing over and over again. Rice and spicy meat) the train was again late, but only 30 minutes. So me and these two girls started reading Kama Sutra out loud to each other which killed time really quickly, except when a little kid tried to come over and read with us and our tour guide had to keep kicking him away.. The train came and we were not done reading so we all sat next to each other on the train and read it. This train was the first class train because they wanted us to experience the rich culture also. It was not to nice according to USA standards but to us it was a little heaven on earth compared to the last ride.

After the train ride we checked in to an awesome Indian hotel (and remember it is awesome for India, not USA) Once again the highlight was the shower. There turned out to be three groups of SAS kids here so there was about 200 of us and there was a nightclub there so everyone decided to party. Well earlier that day I decided to not take anymore pepto bismo because it worked to well. So after a while in the bar I had to make a run to the room and I could not find it which made it even funnier. Everyone calls it Dehli Belly because New Delhi was one of the places we stayed, we Dehli belly lasted until the next morning. At breakfast I took Pepto and felt fine the whole day. We then went to the Gandhi Museum (or at least the one’s who woke up. I might be one of the ten kids on this ship that has not missed a trip, that is probably my only rule on this cruise, if I signed up for it I have to go, no matter what. Self inflicted wounds do not get you out of anything.) at the Gandhi museum which is actually his house he lived in and got shot at was nice, except everything I touched broke and then when a group of us went into the last room the power went out right when I stepped in so I left the museum after that and hung outside where nothing could be broken, but I did see the place where Gandhi got shot. We then went back to the hotel checked out and flew back home. Everyone was so relieved to be back on the boat because it was SO SO SO SO SO CLEAN.

India- Thursday March 29- The thing of the day was to see a mongoose fight a king cobra, and we did. The cobra got trampled by the mongoose. We then wanted to go go carting but the drivers thought it was better to pull into every parking lot possible to get us to buy anything, after about ten minutes of that and losing our friends in the other rickshaw it became a yelling match. Then he started telling us stories and we did not say one word to him the rest of the time and he then brought us back to the ship and that was It for India.

We leaving for Malaysia soon which I think is going to be one of the best stops. About ten of us are going to a hotel with about 100 SAS kids who are doing a trip. Ours costs about 1/3 of what theirs did. We are going to Kuala Lum Pur and are going to see the two tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas towers.

If you want to learn some things come to India, I will never go back here but I loved it here for the days we were here. It is a country of mixed values, women do not count for much, it is a mans world here, cows are the most sacred thing ever; they just walk on the street doing what they want, which is pretty cool. They are nice people, a lot of them do not like to work, but then some love what they do, they love playing cricket, religion is most important they say, but just like every other place I’ve been money is still stronger. I will not miss the smell that’s for sure, but the beauty of the Taj, the forts, the temples and the president’s house will be missed. All the kids and adults waving to us was a sight to see, the snake man who came out of no where and scared me half to death will not be missed, but the living experience will be.

We have only 8 class days in April so everyone at school you have fun.

Monday April 2^nd Malaysia- We have gotten to Malaysia and we are in a fishing village called Penang. The water is very dirty, lots of garbage floating around. We have to take a tender boat to get to shore because no dock is big enough for our ship. After about a group of about ten of us got off the boat we went to get some food. We went to a place called munchies; (a little hole in the wall) It turned out to be awesome, and they had the best milkshakes I have ever had. We then walked around and man was the sun strong. We finally went to a bar, then me and a few people left to go to an internet café. After we went to another bar and me and my friend played pool against two locals. It was called the pool Olympics; we won the best of three series in three games. After the game we took some pictures but one of the pool players could not get in the picture because he was wanted by the FBI which was interesting. At dinner we went to a restaurant that overlooked the harbor and it revolved around so we had some awesome views. I went back to the ship around 10 because we had to catch a plane in the morning to go to Kuala Lumpur.

Tuesday- Asia Airlines which is the low cost airfare is the best airlines I have ever been on. They have a cold fog shooting out of the ceiling to cool everyone off, they have leather seats and very good looking stewardesses. On our arrival to KL we took about an hour cab ride, which only cost $40 for seven of us. Jen Jackson (Nichols cousin) and her roommate Brittany also from Hanover were along the trip. On our arrival we finally saw the towers and they are very tall. They didn’t lie about that. We got to our hotel early so we walked around and had some lunch. We all went back to take naps and then had a party in our room before going out. KL which is there capital is very nice. They got their Times Square, Chinatown, and various other places to go to.

Wednesday – We went out around 11 AM and got some lunch and then went to the towers. When we got there all the tickets were sold out for the tour so we walked around its 7 floor mall. (I think it was 7 floors, could be wrong.) Jen and I later went to Chinatown and got some very cheap DVDS, $3/movie. And they all worked. For dinner we went to Planet Hollywood where they were having lots of beer promotions because of the F1 race that was in town for the week. They did a lot for this event. They had tons of concerts, closed down streets, paved streets for the demo they were putting on. We missed the fun part because we were leaving Thursday morning and nothing big was starting until Friday. But it was a lot of fun. KL had a lot of American influence, all the music was American, every chain restaurant was there. At about three in the morning about half the SAS kids were at McDonalds.

Thursday- Nothing to special happened this day. We flew back and went to a mall and then got on the boat and took a long nap. About 200 of the 700 students got dock time for coming back late. Apparently they did not read the notice that said be back by 6:30 because taking the tender boats is a long process.

KL was a very nice city, and definitely a place to go see. Now we are on our way to Vietnam. Which will take three days, which means we actually have some class to go to. We only have around 39 days left which is not good, anyone thinking of doing this trip do it. I have already learned more here then I have in my last few years in college and it is pretty fun too.

Ryan thanks for helping me with my classes back in San Diego, I really appreciate it.