Journaling about China and Sailing with the ship in transit to Hong Kong
107 out of nearly 700 Passengers Sailing In Transit
Jan 31
China Day 1:
Travel Buddy- Unexpected
Field Program
The other day I took a picture of a few field program
descriptions that I was interested in. With no concrete plans for China, I got
up and worked disembarkation like any other day that we arrive in port. One of
the RDs had field program tickets that had been turned in and were now up for
grabs. Lucky me, one of the tickets was for one of the programs that I took a
picture of in the field program book. So, I left with the group around 9:30 and
off we went.
We visited a local village and got to tour their community
center, browse the library, play ping pong with the locals, hear about the
computer lab, and have lunch in the home of a local family (prepared by a sweet
Chinese lady who spoke absolutely no English). She had prepared a large table
for us in what is usually her living room and we gathered around. She showed us
how to make dumplings and even let me try making one myself.
The food was delicious and plentiful! We had approx. 20
dishes (egg fried rice, dumpling soup, duck, chicken tenders, tomatoes, quail
eggs, bok choy, chicken with mushrooms, and cutie oranges to finish off the
meal).
We left her home and went to a fresh food market where the
locals buy their food and also shop for clothes. It was freezing so we walked
around and after 35 mins were able to board the bus and head back to the ship.
After an hour on the ship to warm up, I ventured out and
found a man on the ship who spoke English and walked with me to the subway
where I took it 3 stops (one transfer) to People’s Square. I was proud of
myself for navigating there and stopped into a few local stores for snacks, ate
dinner at KFC, and then found the shopping area where I was amazed by the 6
store mall and all of the people out at 10pm.
Feb 1
I lead a group of 23 on the Shanghai Old & New Field
Program. We learned the following:
-
1,500 Starbucks in Shanghai
-
The Russian Embassy was located a mere 500
meters from our ship in a prime location along the river
-
1st Post Office in China was in
Shanghai (we drove by it!)
-
Popular cars include: Buick, Audi, BMW, VW, and
Tesla
-
Magnum train operates at speeds up to 430 km/hr
-
Until 1978, the tallest building in Shanghai was
the Hyatt Hotel, 24 Floors
Now, the tallest building is 126 Floors
(construction was finished in 2016)
We started the day by going to the Urban Planning Museum
where we saw exhibits on the green efforts being taken in Shanghai to reduce
smog and pollution, the evolution of transportation, and a 3D diagram of the
inner city (both old and new). Old Shanghai is to the east of the river and new
Shanghai is to the west of the river. We then took pictures on the Bund and had
a traditional Chinese lunch at a fancy hotel. After that we took the magnum
train one stop to the airport and back. The train reached 301 km/hr in speed.
It was very clean and easy to navigate. Finally, we took the world’s fastest
elevator to the top of the 3rd tallest building in the world. The
elevator moved at the speed of 10 km/sec and got us to the top in less than a
minute.
I enjoyed a last minute quick trip to East Nanjing Road for
a snack and to but a souvenir because I realized I hadn’t purchased any. And
then was forced into a light jog to the ship as to avoid missing on-ship time,
which was 18:00.
Feb 2
In-Transit (Shanghai, China to Hong Kong)
I slept in until 11am and didn’t feel bad about it. I
coordinated a few movies to be shown in the Kino Cinema for today and tomorrow
and ordered popcorn for our game night that we’ll have tomorrow evening. We’ll
play bingo, board games, and card games!
Lunch was okay but dinner takes the cake. Our Assistant
Executive Dean, Field Programs Director, Medical Doctor and myself wore of
casual and comfy clothes to Fancy Dining and had a blast! We talked about
everything and everyone and genuinely shared good laughs and lots of smiles. My
favorite was the ice cream sundae at the end!
Feb 3
In-Transit (Shanghai, China to Hong Kong)
Workout this morning, which felt so good! The weather is
noticeably warmer and the sun is peaking through the clouds.
We’ve played movies and had fun sitting around talking to
students.
Forrest Gump
Aladdin
The Black Klansmen
10 Things I Hate About You
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tomorrow we'll dock in Hong Kong and have two days to explore. I hope I get to see a few things but have duty on Day 1 so it will be a quick visit for me!
XO Kayla
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