Back Home

Well its been about a week since I've back home and I'm getting back into "normal" life again. Pulling into Leominster for the first time was certainly a wierd feeling. I have never been away from my hometown for 3.5 months before. While the feeling i got was strange, at the same time I had felt like I had never left.

The voyage was absolutely the most incredible thing i have done with my life. Being in a different country every week, meeting people, seeing the landscapes, and travelling within the countries gave me new eyes from which to view the world, and it certainly gave me a different perspective of America. I can't wait to be able to travel again, to see more parts of the world and to experience different cultures and different lands.

While the countries and the experiences in port were nothing short of unforgettable, so too was what we came to know as the "12th port", the MV Explorer and the community that formed on it over the course of 100 days. We all went through a lot together, whether it was having an amazing time travelling in countries, enjoying the preports and other ship activities, or dealing with the news of the V-Tech shootings, we all formed a bond over the voyage that will always be there, no matter where we live in the country, or the world. I made some amazing friends that I miss already and I truly just savored every moment of living on a ship, going around the world.....at twenty miles an hour (as Dean Mike would say).

I want to just thank the incredible people that made this voyage so enjoyable, my friends and everyone I traveled with, the administration, the crew of the Explorer (who are some of the nicest people I've known), and the faculty and staff of Semester at Sea. And of course none of it would have been possible without the support and help of my family at home. I hope that I will again be able to experience an around the world voyage, or even just a reunion voyage.
As for me, I've already started my summer internship in Framingham, MA and will be returning to Babson in the fall for my senior year.

I still plan to post pictures from the last few ports, no idea when they will be up though.

coming soon...

sit tight, ill be making a concluding entry and be posting pictures of japan, hawaii, and our arrival in san diego soon.

its great to be home, but i already miss the ship and everyone onboard....maybe i can be a stowaway on the summer voyage....

Hawaii

Just about to board the Explorer for the last time (tear). I spent the day going to Pearl Harbor and Waikiki Beach. Be back in Mass a week from today. See everyone soon.

Japan

    The past few days on the ship have been quite hectic as the semester is winding down, but nowhere near as hectic as my five days in Japan were. In 5 days I traveled to five different cities and there were miles of walking, not much sleep, and a lot of sightseeing. For the first time in months, the Explorer docked in a country that is considered "1^st world" and it was strange to be in a place that was so developed, both economically and culturally. I guess it was a good primer for coming back to the States in just a couple weeks. Despite being so developed and modern, Japan is rich in culture and tradition. For example, even aboard the trains, the crew would bow upon entering and exiting each car, as a sign of respect to the passengers. At the same time, Japan is an extremely formal culture. Every male in this society wears a full suit, day in and day out. I constantly felt underdressed in Japan.

    Anyway, here's the rundown…

Day 1: We were welcomed onboard the ship by a group of Japanese students and a group of Japanese drummers. The performance was amazing and after they exchanged gifts with the officers and captain of the ship and some of the administration of Semester at Sea, it was our first glimpse at the level of respect that the Japanese have for us as visitors to their country. Even before we got off the ship we felt welcomed by Japan. Once we did get off, we spent a chaotic afternoon picking up our Japan Rail Passes and getting tickets to head out to Tokyo that evening. After standing in lines and running around to different train stations, we boarded the bullet train to Tokyo in the early evening. As you might expect by the name, these things are fast. I don't recall the exact speed, but I know it was well over 100 mph. Not only that, but throughout my travels in Japan, they served as the best place to sleep because the chairs were so comfortable and the leg room was unmatched by any other form of transportation.

    Anyway, we got to Tokyo in a little over three hours and set out on a mission to find some authentic Japanese dinner, and boy did we. Slava, Ali, Sashia and I ended up at a restaurant where we had to take our shoes off and sit on the floor to eat our tamporo and noodles. After our dinner, we headed towards Tokyo Tower, which is the highest steel structure in the world at 320 meters (yep, higher than the Eiffel Tower). We took the elevator to the observatory and then up even further to the special observatory for some incredible night views of the city of Tokyo.

    Our plan for staying overnight was to find what is called a "manga" café. More or less, these are internet cafes that are open around the clock and offer rates that you can sleep over in some really comfy leather chairs. For $12, it was the most economical choice for staying the night. The only problem was that these places improved impossible to find and after walking around the city for about 3 hours, we finally settled in to a café around 11:30pm. We planned on getting some sleep so we would be all ready for a full day in Tokyo, but when you live on a ship where internet is 30 cents a minute, unlimited internet is really attractive. That and sleeping in a place with lights and music on is not the easiest thing. Needless to say, I think I got about an hour and a half of sleep before we got up early to go to the fish market.

Day 2: Five AM rolled around real quick and we all headed out of the café and got on the subway to go to the largest fish market in Japan, and probably one of the largest in the world. Although we were all half asleep, the place was pretty amazing. We saw Tunas worth over $10,000 being traded and cut up, not to mention every sort of fish, octopus and other sea creatures all being put up for sale to the hundreds if not thousands of restaurants in Tokyo. They use these little flat bed trucks that zip around the narrow aisles of the market and I could have sworn I was about to be run over at least a dozen times in the short time that I was there.

    After roaming the fish market for a while, we set out to find some breakfast before heading to the Imperial Palace. We found that the only thing open was the fine establishment of David and Deluca's and killed an hour or so there while waiting for the palace to open at 8:30. The imperial palace is still a functioning complex and we found out that we were not actually allowed to go in. However, the surrounding grounds act as an oasis in the middle of the city and the area is wide open and quite large. We spent a while just sitting in the grounds, taking it all in and watching as the everyday life of Tokyo buzzed around us.

    The rest of the day we spent visiting different districts of Tokyo and in mid afternoon we took the train back to Kobe to spend the night on the ship. We were all quite exhausted from lots and lots of walking and lack of sleep, so the Explorer was a happy site at the end of the day.

Day 3: We caught a morning train to Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Once there, we headed to a castle that we were able to walk through. Many of the shoguns of Japan ruled from this place and the artwork and architecture inside and outside of the castle are quite amazing. The hardwood floor inside was actually engineered to make the sound of a mockingbird under footsteps so that the shogun would know if someone had entered his castle. Four hundred years after being built, the floor still works and as we walked through the 30 rooms of the castle, we could hear the mockingbird chirping. Surrounding the castle are many gardens that are kept immaculate, we even saw a woman trimming blades of grass by hand.

    After touring the castle, we headed to the golden pavilion; a shrine that (as you may have guessed) is covered completely in gold. Like the castle, the shrine was surrounded by beautiful gardens. From the pavilion, we took the city bus to the Ito district, which has been left relatively untouched since ancient times. The narrow streets were lined with wooden buildings built in traditional Japanese architecture. We walked a little ways out of the district to a 5^th floor restaurant that overlooked the city for a late lunch. Following lunch, we headed back to the train station and got on a train to Osaka.

    Once in Osaka, we headed out on a planned walking tour that we had found in one of our guide books. The first stop was the floating garden observatory, a skyscraper that consists of two towers connected in the middle by a donut shaped observatory. It's difficult to describe, but the view from the top was quite incredible. Osaka is a city that is divided by many canals and waterways and it was an incredible site to see the sun setting over the waterways and the skyscrapers of the city. After coming back down, we walked towards Hep Five, a giant ferris wheel in the middle of the city. We took a ride that lasted a good 20 minutes because this thing is so big and had another great view of the city. I'm not sure what it is about Asia and ferris wheels, but I think that each of the last four countries we have been to have had a giant ferris wheel.

    We next headed toward a district that is famous for its many restaurants. On the subway, we met a Japanese man who was actually raised in SoCal and had recently moved back to Japan. He talked to us for a while and was nice enough to bring us to the restaurant we had been looking for. This area of Osaka was plastered in neon billboards and huge crowds of people. It really looked like the Japan you see on TV. At the center of these advertisements and billboards was a 3 or 4 story tall poster of Dice-K…Go Sox! After dinner, we headed back to the train station to take a train back to Kobe for the night.

Day 4: I was excited about this day for quite some time as it was the day the four of us were headed to Hiroshima. We arrived early in the morning and after standing in line to buy tickets for the Hiroshima Carps baseball game that afternoon, we headed to the A-Bomb Dome, which is right across the street from the baseball stadium. This is one of the only remaining buildings standing after the A-Bomb was dropped and it stands as both a memorial and reminder to the world of the dangers of nuclear war. While at the dome, we were approached by a man who said he was a survivor of the bomb and was now a free tour guide. He was in his mother's womb when the bomb went off and experienced many health problems as a child from the radiation. He showed us around to some of the sites that we would have never caught had he not shown us. Among these were the hypocenter of the bomb (where it was actually dropped) and a statue that displayed the shadow left by the blast. It was a surreal experience standing in the space right below where the Atomic bomb exploded.

    The guide gave us a great tour throughout the Peace Park, which is an incredible memorial, and left us at the museum. The museum was an incredibly moving experience and probably hit me harder than anything I have seen thus far on the voyage. The four of us did not speak one word or take one picture for the time we were in the museum. The artifacts, anecdotes, and photographs of this low point in history were shocking and heart-wrenching.

    After the emotional experience of the museum and Peace Park, it was certainly a good change of pace to head to a Japanese baseball game. The day was absolutely perfect for baseball, about 75 degrees and sunny. The Carps were taking on the Tigers, which are one of the most popular teams in Japan. Despite being the underdogs, we decided to support the Carps and all bought T-shirts. A Japanese baseball game is unlike anything I've seen before. The crowd is completely into it all nine innings. The stadium is divided perfectly in half between Carp and Tiger fans and the crowd conducts organized chants throughout the whole game. It's completely different from the atmosphere at an MLB game. Speaking of which, I can't wait to get home and watch baseball after hearing the Yankees are in the cellar and the Sox are tearing it up. After all was said and done, the Carps pulled out the upset and beat the Tigers 8-4.

Day 5: After four days of traveling, we were ready to spend the last day in Kobe. The first thing on the agenda…Kobe beef. Kobe is famous for its incredible beef. The difference comes from the way they raise their cows. By constantly massaging the cows and feeding them beer, the fat is evenly dispersed throughout the cow and the result….absolute heaven. Kobe beef is the most incredible thing to ever enter the confines of my oral orifice. It literally melts in your mouth. I could honestly go on for pages about how good it was, but I won't seeing this entry is already way too long. After lunch, Ali, Dan, and I went to a saki museum and brewery and took a little stroll alongside a river way that was lined with Japanese families enjoying the day. We then headed to an internet café, and then to dinner before heading back to the ship.

So we have completed our last foreign port and only a day in Hawaii stands between us and San Diego. Everyone on the ship is getting pretty emotional about leaving, as well as being stressed about end of the semester school work. It seems that everyone is bittersweet about going home, we are all excited to get back to our friends, families, and hometowns, but at the same time everyone is disappointed to leave such an incredible voyage.

     I probably won't post again til I'm back in Mass as internet minutes are running quite low, but maybe I'll get the chance to make a post in Hawaii.

Hong Kong and Beijing

    Hong Kong is labeled a "Special Administrative Region" of China, meaning that it is technically part of the country of China. However, Hong Kong is governed both politically and economically independent of China. Because of its success in finance, banking, and manufacturing China allows Hong Kong to take care of itself. As for China, we all know that its economy is growing at an incredible rate and is reaching the status of a world super power. Throughout my stay in Beijing, the city was rapidly preparing for the 2008 summer Olympics. The history in the country is beyond rich. The thousands of years as an empire has left the country with several landmarks that are among the world's most impressive.

Day 1: As the Explorer pulled into Hong Kong harbor, the most developed and expansive metropolis I have ever seen slowly revealed itself under the cover of clouds and fog. The skyline is incredible and spreads for miles and miles. I couldn't wait to see it at night, but more on that later. After disembarking, Kyle, Slava, Dan, Ali, Sashia and I headed across the harbor from Kowloon Island to Hong Kong Island aboard the Star Ferry. Our first mission was to find some lunch, preferably dim sum. We ended up finding a dim sum restaurant and some fantastic Chinese food. Ordering was comical to say the least, as the waiters spoke no English and we did not know the correct process for ordering. Fortunately, we took some guesses and figured it all out.

    We walked around for a bit and visited a historic temple before finding the world's longest escalator. It is actually a series of escalators that takes passengers from the lower portion of Hong Kong to the upper portion. I'm not sure exactly how long the escalator is but if I had to guess I would say it travels for the better part of a mile. We discovered that the end of the escalator was the lower cable station to get to the top of Victoria Peak, which we were planning on doing later that night. We walked back down to the central subway station and hopped on the subway to go to Mong Kok, an outdoor market on Kowloon Island. The Hong Kong subways are incredibly fast and extremely clean. The six of us split up when we got to the market and spent a few hours shopping before heading back to the ship to drop off our purchases.

    After asking around for a good place to have dinner, we ended up at a restaurant that overlooked the skyline and was very upscale. After conquering the task of ordering, we had another great meal. It will surely be hard to go back to what Americans call Chinese food. Every night at 8:00pm, the Hong Kong skyline conducts alight and laser show like no other that is completely synchronized to music. The show was incredible and I was able to get some great pictures. At the end of the show, we stayed on the viewing platform for a while taking some goofy pictures and just enjoying being together in such an incredible place. Just as we were leaving, the sky opened up and for a period of about 20 minutes there was a torrential monsoon type rain and wind that swept up everything that wasn't secured in the area. Kyle had to save a Chinese couple that got taken out by a tarp.

    Once the rain had stopped, we took the ferry to HK Island again and walked our way to the escalator, then to the cable station. By this time it was 11:30 and the rain had cleared the clouds that had covered the city for the whole day. We boarded the last cable car of the night to the top of Victoria Peak. Being at the top of Hong Kong, overlooking the most awesome skyline in the world is surely something I will never forget. We were able to spend about a half hour at the top before taking the final train of the night back down.

Day 2: Slava and I were signed up for a trip to Beijing hosted by the University of International Business and Economics. We arrived to the campus after a 3 hour flight and short bus ride. We met up with some Chinese students and they proceeded to give us a tour of their campus and ask us questions about our home universities and American life. Following a dinner of Peking Duck with the students, Slava and I met up with our friend Jing from Babson who has been studying abroad at UIBE for the semester. It was great to meet up with a friend half a world away from home and the three of us had a lot of fun over the next few days. Jing showed us the area around UIBE before heading back to campus for the night, where we were staying in guest apartments.

Day 3: We traveled with the SAS group to downtown Beijing where the bus dropped us close to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Because we had plans to meet Jing at a market in about an hour, Slava and I split off from the group and walked through the square and Forbidden City very quickly, some power tourism if you will. The City and Square are both incredible and humungous. Like many of the Chinese historical places, these sites displayed the richness and power that the Chinese Emperors held. We headed to the Silk Market where Jing proceeded to manhandle the shopkeepers with bargaining. After being in markets in several countries, Slava and I thought we had a pretty good handle on bargaining, but Jing quickly put us to shame. He doesn't take anything but the lowest possible price from the shopkeepers.

    After filling two large duffel bags with purchases, we met up with the SAS group for lunch and an afternoon visit to the Temple of Heaven which was as amazing. After dinner back close to the University, Jing took us out to meet some of his friends and to some of the local bars that they frequent.

Day 4: We boarded the bus in the morning for the hour and a half trip to the Great Wall. I'm not sure how many stairs it took to get to the wall, but I was pretty winded by the time we reached the base of the wall. Like standing at the Taj Mahal, it was quite difficult to fathom that I was standing on the Great Wall of China. The wall is quite unlevel and much of it consists of long staircases between the guard stations. We were able to spend over an hour on the wall, just taking it all in and taking plenty of pictures to remember the experience. Thankfully, to get down the wall, there was a much easier way than all those stairs. There was a stainless steel toboggan track that we could take to the bottom of the hill that was over a 1.5km long. This thing got going FAST and it was probably one of the most fun experiences I've had on SAS.

    That afternoon we met up with Jing again and he took us to the Summer Palace. This is another imperial complex that is incredible in its stature and beauty. I realize I'm not offering much description for these landmarks, but this is because it is pretty difficult to put into words. After spending a few hours at the palace, we headed back to UIBE, passing the 2008 Olympic venues on our way. We had a small issue with our taxi driver that we eventually resolved and headed to get some cheap DVDs and some dinner on the street. After arriving back on campus, we met the rest of the SAS group and the Chinese students at a nightclub close to campus. This was quite the experience as none of the students had ever been to a nightclub or bar before, so they were pretty intrigued.

Day 5: Since the rest of the SAS group was headed to the Summer Palace, me and Slava used to morning to do some calling back home and emailing in Jing's dorm. After lunch on campus we headed to the airport for our flight to Qingdao. Around 7:00pm we arrived back at the explorer and grabbed a bite to eat before heading out to a nightclub that we heard about while on our flight from an American living in Qingdao. Kelly, Sashia, Slava and I spent the night at this Chinese hotspot where the dance floor bounced up and down like a trampoline. We were the only Americans in the place and it was a very interesting way to view the culture in China. I hadn't gone out too much in the other ports, so it was good to be thrown into a local place where the four of us were alone amongst a couple hundred Chinese.

Day 6: There is not much to do in Qingdao and if Semester at Sea needs any more incentive to change this port, the fact that the top attraction was Wal-Mart is pretty convincing. (I'm pretty jealous of the Spring 08 itinerary, as they get to go to Shanghai instead). Anyway, after sleeping in for a bit Ali, Kelly, Sashia, Slava and I headed to the area were Wal-Mart was and spent much of the day walking around, shopping, and just enjoying the area. We stopped back at the ship for a bit before going out to dinner. Before we had to head back to the ship for on-ship time, we stopped into a starbucks to take advantage of the free internet. (There were just way too many American things in this day).

Japan is up next and is our last country on the itineraryL. The next few weeks will be tough, knowing that this voyage is nearing its end. I already don't want to say goodbye to this experience, or to the friends I've made, or to this incredible community that has formed since the beginning of February. All there is to do is live each of these last weeks to their fullest and enjoy every moment that we all have with one another.

Picture Update

Vietnam and some of my hong kong pics are up. China wont be up til im in japan. blog update should come in the next few days.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ggallant1

Good Morning Vietnam

    I was pretty excited to come to Vietnam because of its interesting place in US history. I guess my expectations were that it would be a country still heavily affected by the war three decades later. However, I found that Vietnam has virtually forgotten about the war and has moved on. Unlike Americans, the Vietnamese just look at the war (known as The American War) as another conflict in a long and turbulent history.

    Our interport lecturer for Vietnam was the owner of a software company and holds a Phd from the Sloan School of Management at MIT where he was a Fulbright scholar. Needless to say, the guy was really smart and I, being a business student, was very interested in his story. Even though Vietnam is a socialist country, it is moving towards privatization and the economy is benefitting greatly from this. The economy is the second fastest growing economy in the region.

Anyway, as usual, here is a look at how I spent my time in Vietnam.

Day 1: Slava and I had a very clear mission for our first day in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon): Find suits for as cheap as possible. We headed to the largest market in the city and finally found a price and tailor that we liked. We got measured and placed our orders and our price was $190 for four suits. Take that Men's Warehouse! We continued the day shopping around the market. Vietnam is a hotspot for a good list of really cheap things: North Face, Puma, Polo, LaCoste, Diesel, and DVDs.

    We came back to the ship late in the afternoon and then met up with Ali, Kelly and Stacey to go out to dinner and to the night market. We had an awesome dinner at a place called Blue Ginger. It was a pretty upscale restaurant, yet no one paid more than $10 for their meal. We headed to the night market, which was outside. After a little while we all headed back to the ship because several of us (including myself) had trips that were leaving at the wee hours of dawn.

Day 2: My trip was to Hanoi and Halong Bay, which are both in the northern part of Vietnam. After the usual combination of planes and busses, we reached Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam) and visited a complex that doubled as a temple and school of literature. The complex had a very rich history. After, we headed to what is known to American Soldiers as the "Hanoi Hilton". This is a prison where many American soldiers were kept after having their aircraft shot down or being captured during the war. The most famous prisoner here was Senator John McCain, whose flight suit is still on display in the prison-turned museum.

    After lunch, we boarded busses for the 3 hour trip to Halong Bay. The ride was very scenic, as we passed through rural villages and miles upon miles of rice patties. Our hotel overlooked the bay and was close to a night market that we checked out before dinner. I got some pretty cool goodies here, including a silk robe embroidered with dragons, and yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds.

Day 3: We woke up early to head to the bay for our boat ride. Arriving at the pier, I saw the most chaotic non-land scene ever. Basically there were 100s of boats jockeying for position along the dock, rubbing and crashing against each other. Boarding the boats, we had to walk through a couple other boats and hop decks to reach our vessel. The boat departed and for a relaxing day on the bay. Halong Bay is a natural wonder where thousands of islands rock formations jut out of the water. One even houses an enormous cave that we were able to go into. A few people went swimming in the bay, diving off the top deck of the boat. After swimming, the crew cooked us a Vietnamese seafood feast which was to die for.

    After a relaxing day on the bay, we took the bus back to Hanoi for the night. Before turning in for the night, we took in a water puppet show which is an cultural tradition in Vietnam. Hidden puppeteers tell stories and legend through moving puppets across a pool of water. They are very talented and it was also great to see traditional music performed live alongside the puppet show.

Day 4: This day was jam packed with touristy things. We visited the war museum, where I felt like that Vietnamese was holding some stolen American items, namely some fighter jets, helicopters, and remnants of a B-52 bomber. It was pretty interesting how the Vietnamese worded their heroics in the war and our tour guide pointed out that the museum was full of propaganda about the war used to make the Vietnamese armies sound a lot better than they actually were.

From the museum we headed to a complex which housed many official buildings, including the president's house, Ho Chi Minh's house on stilts, and the mausoleum that houses Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body. It was my first time seeing an embalmed body and I have to say, he looked pretty good for his age. After some free time in the old quarter of Hanoi, we headed back to the airport for the flight back to Saigon. I took a Boeing 777 for the first time, and let me tell you this a beast of an aircraft. The coolest part? The TVs on board show the view of take off and landing, as there is a camera attached the underbody of the plane.

Day 5: Our last day in Vietnam was once again dedicated to some shopping and picking up our suits. I headed out early with Slava, Kelly, and Ali. After finding out my suits wouldn't be ready until the end of the day, we headed to the market and I proceeded to purchase way too many Polo shirts (I just cant say no to $3 shirts). After a couple hours walking around the market, we headed to lunch at a local hotspot. I had some fantastic lo mein. After lunch, Kelly and I headed back to the market to pick up some more goodies, but not before an ATM decided to "detain" my card. Surprisingly, the bank was able to give me my card back after showing them the only form of ID I had on me, my ship ID, which is nothing more than a hotel key. I found this pretty comical. I eventually picked my suits around 5, which I look damn good in if I do say so myself.

    Back onboard the ship, the night consisted of some Grade A shannigans which consisted of an unnamed party cross dressing (no, it wasn't me). Let's just say I have some great blackmail pictures to take back to Babson.

I had a great time in Vietnam, as I do in every port and im very excited to head to Hong Kong and Beijing in just a few days.

No promises for pictures anytime soon as school is real busy these next couple days.