Blog 14

This blog not about anything specific; its just some thoughts about life aboard the ship, random topics of interest, and anything that I've missed since my blogging sabbatical.

The date is March 29, 2010 and we are currently sailing southwest along the coast of South Africa. I found this out last night during my workout. The workout deck is on the starboard side of the ship on the 7. For all you back home, that is the right side if you're facing the way the vessel is, and our ship has 7 decks. The workout area has a covered top but open to the outside. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the passengers to look out into the sea. I was carrying on with my routine last night, when I noticed a coast full of lights. It is always very exciting when the ship can see anything but water, water, and more water. For example, the first time we saw another boat; the first time we saw a whale; and the first time we saw dolphins. I came back to the room to look on our closed circuit TVs to realize that we are in fact just sailing right along the coast for the next two days until we arrive in Cape Town. I am very very excited to reach Cape town. I'm scheduled for a 3 day Safari and I'm gonna hit a Rugby game and try to go Ostrich racing! We just watched Invictus the other night, and it got me even more amped about the country. I recommend the movie as well!

The rumors about people getting kicked off are true. At least most of them are. I can vouch for at least one. I hope I'm not throwing my good buddy under the bus by using his name but my friend who I've been exploring many port with, Mac, was released from the program in Mauritius. He will be missed, and there's not a worse kid for this type of thing to happen to. He is always a very happy and adventurous guy, with a smile on his face. He was down for anything and always willing to meet new people and try new things. I'm sure we will stay in contact when we get back. The story with Mack is he took a prescription drug known as adderall that was not prescribed for him. Adderall is a pill prescribed for individuals who have ADD like myself, but it apparently has some different effects on those who don't. My buddy, just took one to help him study for a big test he had. It's a damn shame, and a crock of shit, if you ask me. Because he took one little pill, he's thrown off the ship, missing out on the remaining 3 ports, receives no academic credit, and is stuck with the bill of a flight home from Mauritius. Poor kid. He was caught because he was drug tested and before the drug test, he admitted his offense and the still, they enforced full punishment. Other rumors, I know for fact are true, are that 2 other guys were thrown off in India from faking a prescription and trying to get drugs at an Indian pharmacy. Another one that I heard was that a kid was thrown off for heroin. I am pretty sure that one is true as well, don't know details but I heard he was quarantined in the lower decks for the remainder of his time here. A lifelong learner who I karaoke'd with in Japan is gone now for puffin the Maryjane in one of the ports, and he didn't even do it on the ship. I know that a lot of people are getting drug tested and that since I was friends with Mack, I'm on the chopping block. I don't have anything to worry about in that department though, and I'm thanking my lucky stars that I haven't made poor choices.

The administration here treats us like children, and have done a good job of instilling fear into the students and all the passengers, including lifelong learners. Kinda like Hitler did. There is very little freedom on the ship, we're treated like middle schoolers. Though we're all over 18 and I'm 22, we are still only permitted to have 3 drinks a night, and only on pub nights. We are not allowed to bring alcohol on the ship and but we have the option to pay $3.50 for a can of Budweiser or Dixie cup of Franzia. On pub nights, we are not allowed to play music, and if there's any drinks on a table, we can't play games there. They like to keep tabs on us if we roam the boat too late. The other night, I went to the front desk to ask for a stapler at midnight and the lady asked for my room number for "records". I would not be surprised if my room gets searched or I get drug tested after that. We are not permitted to take food outside the dining hall, and if you walk around with bare feet, you'll get dock time. Dock time is one punishment you get if you're in trouble, and it means you must be on the ship for a certain amount of time if the boat is in port. We have occasional talent shows and open-mic nights, which all must be PG rated. There have been kids who have been told they are not allowed to perform because the nature of their acts is deemed inappropriate and one act was affected because he was not permitted to swear in a stand-up routine for college kids. A little ridiculous.

On a lighter note, the sea Olympics were a riot! I had so much fun that day! We started with an opening ceremony in the union, which is our big lecture hall, where everyone showed their spirit and wore their seas colors. I was in the Aegean sea and we were light blue and I led our seas chant! All day, were events like tug-o-war, dance competitions, synchronized swimming, flip-cup (with water of course), lip syncing, and relays. It was like an adult field day, very fun! I participated in the pull-up completion, a pass-the-orange-without-hands relay, and tug-o-war. The day all ended with a big cookout with AMERICAN FOOD on deck 7! AHHHH!!!!! It was awesome!! Ribs and burgers, I think I had about 3 plates and then a 2 full dishes of ice cream. We ended up not placing in the top 3, but the day was very exciting and is still my favorite day on the ship so far. After dinner, everyone jumped in the pool with their clothes on, until we couldn't fit any more people in and everyone started chanting. The fun police eventually broke it up and we were asked to get out. A few days later we would get to India.

Between India and Mauritius, we had Neptune day. This was the day that we crossed the equator, and man! was it hot! I think I'm still peeling from that day. To celebrate Neptune day, a good chunk of the ship shaved their heads, even girls! So now the boat looks like a make a wish foundation, or a lesbian cruise. I decided not to shave my head because, well, it's nothing new for me. I should have shaved my beard, a clean shave would have really stunned my friends and family. It was the saddest day of the trip, though, a good percentage of girls went from hot… to looking like 4^th grade boys that morning. A damn shame! No, only kidding, the day was very fun and eventful. There was a ceremony where everyone got in a line and got fish heads dumped on them, then kissed a dead fish on the lips, and jumped into the pool. By the end, you couldn't see your hand 6 inches under the murky water. Yummy. That day, most of the students spent the day by the pool lounging, and they actually put music on that day. The only thing missing was the kegs, haha. That evening, we had a BBQ once again and watched the sunset out on the deck. Once again, a very good day.

There is little to be said about Mauritius, mostly because there was very little done in Mauritius (or very little I remember), but everyone just sat on the beach and drank beer. I will say that the country is absolutely, stunningly beautiful and it rivals the Caribbean in beauty. The terrain is very tropical and the towns are carved out of the forest. The beaches are white sand and the water is aqua green. I got the same feeling from the people in Mauritius as I did from the people of Hawaii. Kind of a laid back atmosphere, in which time or urgency was not an issue, and the pot may or may not have been plentiful. The SASers did use the port as spring break release, after the country of India and the stress of midterm exams, but treated it with much respect. We rented a house on the beach for a very reasonable price and were very impressed by the accommodations and condition of our stay. I would love to return to Mauritius!

Blog 13

Two days later, we arrived in Kochin and I was ready to give India another shot. We were cleared for landing much earlier that morning because there was only about 200 kids on the boat, the rest had traveled independently (most up north to see the Taj Mahal). We got off the ship once more to a city on the west side of the peninsula that is India, and we were greeted by a similar scene of hustling rickshaw drivers and vendors. Kochin, however seemed to have more trees and had less of in industrial feel. It was actually very pretty and kind of pleasant once you got used to the smells. The minute I stepped off the boat, I had a better perception of the country than the one I got in Chennai. The process of getting off and on the ship was very tedious and the security was very tight, apparently because there had been high terrorist alerts that day. We were checked by at least 3 different Indian officials each time in and out. However, this is not the first time the boat has been on alert for terrorist activity. When we sailed through the Strait of Malacca, we were going at top speed after the news of a cruise ship attacked by pirates the day before in the area. The Strait of Malacca is the stretch of water in between the islands of Malaysia where Singapore is. We stopped in Singapore one morning as well, to refuel but we did not get off the ship, it sure was beautiful though. I remember going through the strait, I was up on deck 7 (the pool deck) and the head of security was doing laps around and using is binoculars every few minutes or so to scope out every direction all day long.

Anyway… Back in Kochin, we found a driver who turned out to be pretty straight up with us and pretty legit about price and destination, though from our Chennai experience, we were very skeptical. This driver even told us that he wanted to take us to a few shops so that he would get a free tee shirt, we obliged him and admired his honesty, but bought nothing at the shops. We cruised through the city in a rickshaw and got an idea for the layout. Kochin was made up of about 4 or 5 islands and connected by bridges. The islands were all pretty similar and could be described as much more of a towny, working man's place. We requested a hotel from our driver and he took us to 3 different spots before we settled on one. It ended up being about 15 dollars a person for a four person room, or at least we were going to make it a four person room. The crew, once again was Mack, Sam, Yudai, and myself. The hotel was very interesting. It was all cement, all white, and was open to the outdoors beside the rooms. From the outside, it looked like an embassy. We cruised around the town seeing the sites for the rest of the day, snapping pictures of locals, seeing establishments and viewing temples. We went back and took showers and got ready for dinner. There was a place called "princess street", which I'm sure had no influence from the British Empire being in India, which was rumored to have good restaurants that we decided to check out. We walked down to this place through dirt roads, we passed night soccer fields that seemed to still be very alive and random groups of Indians on the move. There was minimal lighting on the street and most places had fences from the street to the entry way. After finding a restaurant with some fairly priced food and traditional Indian music playing, we had found our spot. We enjoyed a nice meal with VERY spicy curry and a type of flatbread that we were encouraged to eat with our hands, but there were utensils available as well. I started out with my hands, but then just to speed things up, switched to my fork. Have you ever tried to eat rice with just your fingers?

That evening, there was a girl named Amanda who was having a birthday party, so we decided to go that. I was impressed with the organization of this event. It was at a hotel on one of the islands about 20 minutes away and had a DJ, a bar, and a dance floor. The night was very very hot. I was sweating so much, my nice collared shirt was drenched from top to bottom and sticking to me. We made the best of the night and had a fun time, and an interesting experience.

The birthday party, I think made me feel a little more at home and familiar with my surroundings of people. I'm very pleased to have been able to see Kochin, because Chennai left a bad taste in my mouth. The country of India was not my favorite port, but I'm glad and thankful for the experience. The next day we would sail for Mauritius.

Blog 12

As I near Mauritius, I am recalling my experience in the country of India. Right now, I'll go ahead and excuse my blog from Mauritius. Mauritius is the equivalent to any other schools Spring break. This port, which is well known by the faculty and staff, is our party port. So, though some of you might like to hear about the wildness about to occur, I'm sure Gramma doesn't want to hear about beer bongs and booty music.

The first day in India, I got up bright and early with my Nikon. By 7:00 AM, I was on the front of deck 7, like always. This time, I waited and waited… but nothing ever happened. I started seeing the occasional cargo ship, and some fishing boats. Nothing new. I eventually got frustrated and went back down below deck for a while. We didn't end up getting docked until a little after 9 AM, if my memory serves me correctly. When we finally started pulling into the port, we saw that it was a very dirty and industrial looking scene. We were being tugged into a very brown, but very bright and hot dock point. We were running a little behind schedule as a ship, and were playing catch up in order to be let off in time after all the processing and landing procedures. Around 11:30 AM, we were finally able to get off the ship. I had an FDP at a disabled children's home for my Intercultural Communication class, for which I had to be back for at 12:30. I figured maybe I could get off the ship and find just a few cool sites, and snap a few pictures before the trip. I was in a hurry to get out of the port and look around. As it turns out, we were docked in place that was used primarily for cargo and was absolutely filthy. A walk down the street to the gate would cover you in dust and soot, and the walk was about ½ mile. The heat would make you sweat within minutes, not to mention the conservative culture which required that no knees and no shoulders be shown. I was wearing khaki pants and a white tee shirt. By the time I had gotten to the gate, where industrial trucks would speed by stirring up the air, I was filthy and we still had a sea of rickshaw drivers to ambush us. In this country, 4 or 5 to Indian hustlers to each tourist would actually grab you and put their hands on you to get your business. I kept walking with my camera and ignored them. I walked for about 15 minutes before it was time to turn around and return for the FDP.

After returning from an unsuccessful first journey out, I boarded a bus that would take us on our field trip. We drive for about an hour to get to the children's home, our final destination. We walked through an Indian village through dirt roads while chicken strutted around us, and Ox and cows roamed through the street. On foot, we zigzagged through the village following a young Indian man until we came to a fence. Once the fence opened, we were funneled into a building that was open to the outside and ended up in a very large room. In the room, we found a group of mentally handicapped individuals of all ages enjoying their lunch. They were all sitting in the floor eating with their hands out of large metal dishes. My first thought was that, these individuals were eating this mobid-seeming way because of their condition, but I then realized that all people eat this way in India. I noticed some kids who looked to have no visible conditions of being mental handicapped. I started snapping pictures and bonding with the people. We brought balls and toys for the kids and begin with the activities once the group had finished eating. I played with the little boys throwing a bouncy ball and attempting to play a form of cricket, as it is their national sport. A bit later, we were asked to help with the chores around the home. Some washed dishes, some swept, I cleaned cob webs from the ceilings with a broom that was just a palm leaf wrapped around a stick. Once everyone had finished, we return to the group and played with the children once more. By this time, the kids had gone haywire with the play-doe we bought them, and it was sure to be one big ball of dark brown play–doe soon enough. We concluded the visit with a dance when someone turned in some upbeat music and everyone joined in. One little kid, was clearly the star, and the others new it, as he took the floor and everyone else attention. I can't remember the last time I saw a group of kids so happy. We all took a picture and waved goodbye.

Once we returned to the ship, we had some dinner and took a short nap. Sam, Yudai, and I attempted to find a local restaurant to enjoy some nightlife. We set out to a 5-star hotel, taking the advice we learned from pre-port about the only bars or alcohol consumption in the city being available at these establishments. Once we argued with more rickshaw drivers, we finally agreed on a price and got into the rickety cab. Half way there, the driver, said you pay 200 rupees, which was double what we agreed to pay. I got angry and told him to stop, he did and we got out and started to walk away until he said "ok ok ok, 100 rupees." We reached the hotel, paid our driver, 100 RUPEES and entered the place. The bar was an Australian themed place where we were ushered immediately to the second floor. The lower level was packed with people and, apparently, was reserved for couples and hotel guests. Upstairs, it was pretty dead and the drinks were very overpriced. We got a pitcher of beer for the 3 of us and enjoyed some laughs and peanuts. A little later, we went to a dance type club joining another crew of other SASers. A little later that evening, I was asked to not dance to close to a girl on the dance floor by the bouncer who found it necessary to rush out on the dance floor to tell me. It was like I was back to my middle school dances. Outside, I was approached by an aggressive Indian who started to talk negatively about America. The night concluded on a less than average note.

The next day I awoke early and set off by myself. I was frustrated with the evening, but decided to set off by myself. I was trying to get some tank tops for the boat for the smoldering heat and was looking for some Henna for a gift. I hired the first Rickshaw driver I found, which I later realized, was a mistake. I told him I wanted to go to a market place called Spencers for 100 rupees and he agreed. He told me that Spencers was closed for the day but he would take me to somewhere very similar. I should have known that this was a mistake from the beginning. I rode around with this man for hours while I tried to tell him to take me to this market place while he continually lied to me and took me to little shops where he got kick-backs for bringing tourists there. It was shop after shop, even after I said "back to the ship, back to the ship". By the end of the day, I was so frustrated, hot, and exhausted. Once I finally got back to the ship, my driver angered me more by demanding an obscene amount of money. He underestimated the American rule of the customer is always right. Let's just say, there was a heated discussion and he wasn't happy with the outcome.

The ship was sailing that night for Kochin and I was pleased to be sailing on it.

Blog 11

The next day in Vietnam, I slept in a little bit more and awoke around 11:00AM. It was a slow moving day and I was still pretty tired. There was nothing on the agenda so far besides exploring the city and experiencing the culture. I ate lunch on the ship that day and spent the early afternoon deciding what to do. There was a group of kids who I was supposed to accompany to a resort-style location about 3 hours away from Saigon. Unfortunately, I did not return from the Cu Chi tunnels to catch the bus the night before. It would have been cool, but I'm sure I would have spent too much money. I decided to search for some internet activity from anywhere that I could find it. It was much tougher than I thought and I ended up unsuccessful for that day. So I paid another man on a motorbike to take me around so I could take more pictures of the city and all that surrounded it. I was trying to communicate that I wanted him to take me outside the city and snap a few urban shots so I kept saying "water" and "trees". The guy would always act like he knew what I was saying and take me somewhere interesting but not quite what I wanted. That was the day that I experienced the most smells. These smells had a very wide range and very few of them were good, though still very distinct and will always remind me of Vietnam.

After that journey, I returned back to the ship and found a group of friends who had dinner plans that evening so I decided to tag along. After a shower and a quick nap, I met my friends Aaron, Kim, Griffin, Chad, Lauren, Amanda, and Scott for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I had another Tiger beer(love that beer), and a full Japanese meal complete with edamame, miso, and of course – rice. Since Griffin had pointed out on a map where the restaurant was, and the fact that I had been walking around the city a good amount, I decided to walk to the restaurant while everyone else took motorbikes. That was a mistake. The directions weren't exactly where they appeared to be on the map, and I ended up walking around the city for 20 minutes until I stumbled across a lost Kim with a rogue motor bike driver, and then we found the place together. It was some good and fun bonding time for the two of us on a lost adventure in Ho Chi Min City. After dinner, we dispersed while I took a walk back to the ship – where I got lost again, and the others went to the night market to get measured for their suits. The plan was to meet up in an hour back at the ship and we would go out. As it turns out, I came back to the ship and fell asleep cold as soon as I hit the bed, it was a long and hot day.

I was ultimately glad that I didn't go out and party that night because the next day I would wake up and get on a bus at 7:30AM. This bus was one of my FDP's for credit, which stands for Faculty Directed Practica. Think of them as field trips to supplement our classes. This particular FDP, I wasn't signed up for or required to do, but was optional for my Intercultural Communication class. I was going to a disabled children's school across town for the day. It took about an hour to get there and there were probably about 30 total SASers participating. This includes the faculty, the young children on the ship, and the lifelong learners. Once we got to the school, the kids could not be happier to us. We were instructed to go to a big room where we would be organized and divided amongst the classrooms. As we walked to the room, the kids were standing in doorways and peeking out of windows, waving and smiling at us.

The principal of the school addressed us with a translator and then we were released to interact with the children during their recess. The kids ran around, waved, jumped, and played with unbelievable energy. I felt very weird because I felt excited to see this kids and I usually am terrified of the thought of dealing with kids. Some people were playing hopscotch with the kids, some were tossing balls, and I was taking pictures and videos and showing them to the kids. They would come up to me and point to my camera and then point to themselves. Then they would runaway and return with a flower or a friend or dance for the camera. At the end of recess, the principal banged on a big drum and all the kids ran back into their classrooms with which we, as visitors, were divided up into. Me and Griffin ended up… I think… in the mentally handicapped classroom, because they couldn't figure out how to play tic-tac-toe or color in the lines, but it was great non-the-less. We made the kids some bracelets out of some string and beads that we brought for them. After a while in the class room, we were summoned to meet back up in the big room. We said goodbye to the kids and headed back to the room, we were thanked by the teachers and staff, and then boarded the bus once more.

After the ride back; the girl who lives across the hall, Bailey; her friend Tracy; Griffin and I, went to lunch at the spot that I had eaten at with our motorbike guide two nights before. It was just down the street and we had some more very good Vietnamese food. There were noodles, rice, and fried chicken, I was hoping that I wasn't ordering an American style dish with a Vietnamese spin on it, but it was damn good either way. On the way home, we stopped at one of the vendors to get a pineapple-mango type drink, it was downright delicious and it was about 20 cents. The girls were very iffy on the drinks because they contained ice and we were instructed by SAS to not drink the water or even drink anything with ice in it, but I assume SAS is just covering their ass in case of a liability. I ended up finishing the girl's drinks myself. Ya know how you can't finish something because you have a mental block, therefore it doesn't taste as good… Kinda like trying to eat a milk dudes after seeing rabbit shit. I'm thinkin' that's why the girls didn't finish theirs

Once again… exhausted, I used the afternoon to take a short nap and watch my New Family Guy DVD's. I awoke and had dinner on the ship and got ready for the last night in the country. The last night is always the biggest night. Everyone goes out on this night and a lot of SASers get obliteratingly drunk. Also the following day is the day when kids usually try to sneak alcohol on the boat for the long haul to the next port. My pike buddies from Chapman had got back from their Cambodian trip and I was planning on going out with them that evening. A big luxurious and foreigner hotel in the country is called the Rex Hotel, and the bar at the top was where we planned to spend the evening. We set off with a very large crew, and since to go through the names would mean nothing too you as the reader, I won't bore you. Our crew decided to drink cheaper, and it just so happened that public drinking is fully legal in the country, so we set off with two destinations, a convenience store and a park. We grabbed a few beers and found a park which seemed like the local middle school hangout… because there were kids on BMX bikes all over the place.

After feeling a little looser and getting to know each other better, we headed on down to Rex, where the bar was on the roof, about 10 stories high. The rest of that evening I spent dancing and attempting not to spend money on drinks for girls. I woke up the next morning pleased to see that I still a good amount of money in my wallet. I went back out in the morning and had enough time to pick up my suit, skype Mom and Dad, grab some cheap DVD's, and make it back in time for the on-ship time.

Blog 10

Lt. Dan Viet-nam!

Alright, we left Vietnam a few days ago and I got a lot of ground to cover, sorry for the delay.

The first day:

I wake up earlier than normal this time, about 5:00AM or even 4:30AM. I was really having trouble sleeping that night. I got up on deck way too early that morning but eventually the sun did begin to rise off the shore. I turned on the TV that morning and saw the zoomed in map of the ships location. They keep us updated, on our location on the closed circuit TVs… kinda like how they do on flights with the screens in the head rest. I saw that our route would take us up a river to get to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We started down the river about 6 or 6:30AM and immediately there was evidence of the rich Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese sun was rising behind the lush green horizon where we could see rice patties that stretched for miles. There were fishing boats where early morning fisherman were up and active, and they would all wave to us as we went by.

I went back down below deck after a got some good shots and took a much needed nap, I woke up, did a very quick work out because I promised myself that I would, and then we were cleared for landing. We got off the ship with no particular plan in mind but I decided to roll with my buddies, Sam, Mack, and Yudai. Right as we walked off the gangway, it was an immediate surge of locals grabbing us every which direction and saying "where are you going?" "Hello" Where are you going?" "You buy?" As well, there was just a street full of motorbikes driving like madmen with no stop lights and very little signs posted. At first, we ignored the pestering men and started walking but 2 or 3 very persistent little guys followed us as we walked. About 300 feet later, we caved and realized the determination of these guys was unstoppable. He offered us a deal saying that for 5 dollars, he would take us around all day. Not a bad deal right? We couldn't pass that up. And the truth was, we really didn't know where we were going.

We decided to go get suits first thing. We had heard about the opportunity to get tailored suits for very cheap in Ho Chi Minh. The first ride on the motorbikes was a rush on its own. The way that the traffic worked was the opposite of American traffic mentality. There were no lanes and very few observable rules of the road. The first was that you don't make sudden movements. You try to keep a relatively steady pace and God forbid you shutter or confuse others with hesitant decisions. Everyone just accommodates one another. Crossing the street, you would wait for some kind of a small break in traffic and then just begin a slow pace across the road. The motorbikes and even cars would slow slightly or just weave around you. It was amazing.

We got to the first tailor and decided it was a little too expensive for our liking, so we would hold out for cheaper. We exited the shop and walked outside to our trusty motorbike drivers waiting to serve us. We had them take us to an ATM after because we realized that we didn't have any money. We really had a clear schedule for the day, so after we didn't really have a plan. We were standing outside with our pilots for the day and I remembered something that I saw in a movie and said "You guys wanna drink snake blood?" Mack was down for cause all the way, and Sam and Yudai were a little more hesitant… But the driver started making a gesture with his hand like a cobra striking followed by a gesture of taking a shot… He knew what was up

They took us to a place which lay next to a large pond, it was an outside bar that was a wood deck over the pond with a palm roofing. There were a few men in casual wear enjoying lunch at a nearby table and a row of stacked glass cages with snakes inside. Before we knew it, a lady had a bowl, a cup, a funnel, and pair of scissors. Another lady brought out a 3 or 4 foot black snake and the two snipped the head clean off.

We watched her ring out the blood from the serpent into the funnel and into the container. We ended up mixing the blood with vodka and taking it in shots, and then with the remains, we had a soup that they cooked up. After we enjoyed some high quality snake, we went down to the big market place. The first thing we noticed was how cheap everything was, as well as the variety of stuff that was for sale. The smell of that market is something I will never forget, they had everything from dried duck esophagus to the finest pirated DVD's. I picked up Family Guy seasons 1-7 for less than 250,000 Dong (about 10 or so dollars). The currency in the country was 18,000 dong to 1 USD. So when I would get out a hundred bucks at the ATM, I would get out almost 2 million Dong. After cruising the market for a short while and being grabbed my numerous Vietnemese market woman dozens of times, I was left with the DVD's and a tailored suit that was to be picked up in 3 days. The suit ended up costing me about 70 USD. The day wound down, we returned to the ship and had some dinner onboard.

The word for all the SASers that night was that the hot spot was a club called Apocalypse Now... I shit you, not! It seemed almost insulting to go to a club like that in this country, but I wasn't gonna say no. We got ready and dressed in the least clothes we could find, because the humidity in that country seemed to never quit and we were ready to rock and roll. Me and Mack were planning to meet another crowd at a Kareoke bar across from the ship. There we met Kiki and another girl with huge boobs who I don't remember her name. The 4 of us raised our glasses to SAS too many times to count and then set off for Apocalypse Now, it was a fun club with what seemed like all Foreigners and we danced and concluded the first night in Vietnam.

The next morning I woke up at 7:30AM to meet the same motorbike guys that we hired the day before. We had agreed to meet them at 8 AM and they would take us to the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels for a total of 25 USD. Yudai, Mack, Sam and I all made it out to meet them in time and the day seemed to be starting off as planned. We realized that we were in for a very long day on the back of some Super-Vespas. The trip to the Delta took about an hour and half, and my ass was not feeling so great, but I shrugged it off and forgot about it pretty soon after we got there. We stopped once to take a break before we got there and enjoyed coconuts from a local vendor. A little old lady waddled out from her hut toting a machete and hacked into a few coconuts, added straws, and then, aggressively demanded payment. Once reaching our destination, we bargained to get a trip around a few of the islands and see the sights. We got on a small motor boat, and toured many small islands before stopping to have lunch. The first island was an old Buddhist monastery where monks used to live, one in particular whom the island was named after. It translated to Coconut Island because there was one monk who only drank coconuts and ate nothing else ever. Also, on this island there were some crocodiles in captivity that we were able to feed by dangling sticks of raw meat over them while they snapped. The whole time I was just thinking how PETA would be up in arms if we were in America. Moreover, there were chickens in cages getting ready for cock fights right next to the crocodile pen.

After that island we went to a smaller island where they made a type of candy from sugar cane, we were able to see the simple process and even taste the candy. It was very good and actually tasted like caramel. We chose not to buy any and we moved on to lunch. Lunch was at yet another small island where we were served somewhere that was cut out of the jungle and had palm tree roofs. They brought us a big grilled fish on a stand, some prod, and of course, rice. We dug in, the only way that we knew how and it seemed to satisfy our hunger. Once we were finished, we learned that we were in rush, if we were going to make it to the Cu Chi Tunnels before they closed, so we hurried up and got back to the motorbikes. Once back, we strapped up, helmets and all, and set off. With a few minor set backs; filling up for gas, and stopping to get water, we had made it the tunnels at about 4:15PM.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are tiny little tunnels made specifically to not accommodate US soldiers and only the Viet Kong and North Vietnam during the war. Mostly collapsed or blocked now, they used to stretch for miles and miles connecting villages and allowing for people to live, work, and wage war from these tunnels. The first thing we saw was a hole in the ground about a foot wide and 8 inches long. This was the first example of the entrance to the tunnel. At this point, we each had a chance to try to get in, and believe it or not, I fit. Just barely though, my shoulders were the big part and I had to go diagonally and pivot. You'll have to wait for the videos. Next we saw all kinds of booby traps and strategies that our enemies used. They were all very clever and very deadly, and the only thing I could think was – you little shits. Last but not least, was the time that we were going to actually crawl through the tunnels. We went through the tourist entrance, which the guide informed us, had to be made bigger for fat Americans, all the way till the last exit as it got smaller and smaller. After that rush, he told us that there was another tunnel which wasn't adjusted for tourists that we could crawl through but it was optional and much smaller. So of course we had to do it

By the end of it, we were filthy from being on our hands and knees, except for Yudai, who was too chicken shit, but he held our cameras and back packs so, hats off to you buddy. If we would have shown up 30 minutes earlier, we would have been able to shoot AK-47's like the rest of the tourists but unfortunately, the park was closing. So we started off for the street and got ready for the 2 hour ride on the back of a motor bike, all the way home.

By this time, this sun was setting and we were riding through small villages and very rural and beautiful areas back to Ho Chi Min City. Everywhere we looked, people would be out and about, the women all in their rice patty hats carrying what looked like old fashion scales, full of stuff with their bodies as the fulcrum; and men, shirtless and skinny, working on boats or laying in hammocks. There were shades of green on the ride home that I have never seen before, and the Vietnamese sunset was nothing short of astonishing. We passed an open field to see a few kite salesman were having a successful day where at least 200 kites were visible and active. There were families with kids, parents, and grandparents all flying kites as the day came to a close.

We returned back to Saigon a few hours later and I was feeling refreshed and ready for some Vietnamese food. Our drivers took us to a place where we ate noodles and drank Tiger beer for under 5 dollars, it was amazing food too. The street that we ate on was just getting started, as it was a night market, so we decided to return that evening. After paying and thanking our drivers after the day had come to an end, we took short naps and then met back up to return to the night market. We returned toured around, and experienced looks of fascination from the inhabitants. We were definitely the only foreigners there. We had a very famous Vietnamese dish called Pho, actually I had two servings, from a street vendor. They were delicious and the vendors couldn't be happier to serve us. We concluded the night after strolling up and down the street and drinking a few more Tiger beers.

It was a big day and I was very tired…