Arabian Nights

March 25^th

Dubai

 I woke up really early (and by really early I mean 7:30 am haha) to get on a jeep to take a crew tour into the desert. Now, our driver Musthava (or something like that) was really quiet and the ride into the desert felt kind of tense. However, when we got into the desert and literally went off roading in an air conditioned Toyota van…( haha I thought it was going to be jeep)it started to be really fun. This ride was better than any roller coaster I have been on. I mean, riding through the sand dunes in dubai? It was quite amazing. The sand is so soft and so beautiful, and the land seems like it goes on forever. We were in a jeep with 8 people, and I felt bad, cause one of the guys stomachs’ could not handle the bumpy ride L poor guy. After that, our driver decided to slow it down. We then stopped at a camel farm and saw about 30 camels come right up to us. They were so cute! Then they took us to a place where we could actually take a ride on the camels. Funny thing is, it was just for pictures, cause the ride lasted 2 minutes. It was cool though, being on the camel. I couldn’t believe how crazy high I was. It also amazed me how they got off the ground. Their knees are double jointed. It’s really strange. After taking a few snapshots on the camel, we got to sand board down a slope. I didn’t fall surprisingly! Haha and I have never snowboarded before! It was quite smooth! We then all sat down in a tent and tried some shisha (hookah) and dates and coffee. The whole tour was an experience, but it felt really forced. Like all we were doing was taking photos. Being in the desert, I thought I would be dying of heat, but surprisingly the weather was really nice. The tour was cool, but again, kind of forced touristy fun.

We then rushed back to the boat to go to rehearsal for our next show, but we got out in an hour. Before coming on the ship, Linda Moffitt a great family friend (hi Linda) told me about a woman she met at a theater conference Paula and her daughter Ana who lived in Dubai. So, I contacted Paula and we had been corresponding for a few weeks and I actually got to meet up with her in Dubai. It was so great! My friend Eli and I had our own tour guides. We went to the mall, and saw a water show set to the music of “conte partiro” It was almost like the water was dancing. This mall was huge! I have never seen such a large mall, and that is shocking coming from California. It was kinda like Vegas on steroids. I had so much fun with Paula and her family. She treated us so well.

After some perusing around the mall, Eli and I went back to the ship to get ready to go out for the night. We had heard of this outdoor souk, so we had to go see what that was like. We then got on our outfits and set out for the night. PS, it was really hard to decide what to wear when I had to be covered to be respectful. In other words, no miniskirts L We got to the souk and it was gorgeous. There were so many beautiful fabrics and paintings and people on pillows in the middle of the souk smoking shisha. It was very well built. However, everything was way too out of my price range, so Eli and I decided just to sit down outside and have an appetizer. Well, the outdoor area was just so cool; we had to sit out under a tent. We had some hummus, wine and shisha and it was a pretty penny folks. But it was worth it. The atmosphere alone, with the water taxis and Christmas lights, was just awesome.

Dubai was overall very presentational. I felt like it was something Walt Disney could have built. It was almost futuristic. Though I had a great time, meeting up with people and touring around the city, I would have to say, I would not go really want to go back. It was just not for me. It’s Americanized and totally wealthy. I am not really into shopping malls or tall building, or even cities for that matter. The outdoors and nature are more my thing. Dubai was very cool architecturally, but it was all man-made. Give me some of that real stuff, the stuff money can’t buy, and I’m a happy gal.

india

Bombay Dreams

Mumbai, India

Ok, so day 1 of Mumbai was in short, overwhelming. I didn’t really know what to expect from India, besides what I have seen in the movies. Which by the way, Slum Dog Millionaire is a pretty accurate depiction of Mumbai.

One of the first things that happened to me, to welcome me to India (I kid you not) is that I tripped over a steaming pile of ELEPHANT poop. Awesome. Someone across the street shouted to me Happy Holy! So maybe it was good luck? That’s a hell of a lot of good luck my friends haha. Then I saw a cow sleeping on the sidewalk. This wasn’t the first cow I saw all day either. This is a normal thing here. I was quite amazed.

So, before heading out, Jessica, Heather and I heard that there was a holy festival happening all morning where people celebrate and throw colored chalk all over you. Of course we had to go. The night before, one of the natives told us not to go near the slums because they play rough with the colors and throw more than that. So, we decided to wear white t-shirts and old jeans and head to the main square in Mumbai. We were told that is where the Taj hotel was (where Obama recently stayed) and the great Gateway of India. It was beautiful, but we looked around and there was no festival happening around there. So, we kept asking around. And almost every 10 seconds people stopped us for a picture with them. We were different, and so they all thought we were famous. It was really funny at first.

Then, we continued to wander around town searching for this festival of colors. We saw people with red dust all over them and of course we said…..we want that! Where do we go? Almost every step, people would try to sell us something. I must have given away half of my money to street beggars. It was so sad.

But by far the saddest moment of the day was when we were being followed by an adorable 5 year old girl who kept asking us for money. We all said where is your mother? Where is your family? I know it sounds bad, but I knew this would happen and that she is working for some sick older man using her to beg. We looked behind her, and there was a man following her….lurking around the corner. I refused to give her money because I knew she wouldn’t see any of that, so we took her to a fruit stand and asked her to pick something to eat. She bought the packaged, most expensive fruit, and I am not even sure if she got to keep it…bless her heart. It really made my stomach ache thinking that she was being used for greed. She was such a beautiful little girl. And she wasn’t the only child beggar I saw all day. There were hundreds of them under the age of 7, some of the kids carrying other kids.

Ok, back to the festival. After wandering for about another half hour, we came across Cabala Street, which was a market full of colors and people shouting in the streets “Happy Holy!” We went to buy about 10 bags of chalk color and we went right in. People were constantly rubbing our faces with powder…..putting it all over us and into our hair and all over our clothing. We were told to go to the kids if we want to see real color….so we played with the children in the street. They were all so funny shouting “Happy Holy”. We looked like works of art. It was so life-giving. But our native friend was right….they play rough. Haha Jess got egged and I got a bucket of dirty water poured on me. Heather ran when she saw the children plotting to get us back. Oh well, I had elephant poop on my foot and dirty water on my back…..I was living the lifeJ.

After taking tons of pictures with the locals, we wanted to go get something to eat and drink. We were so exhausted and really dirty. We tried to get into the Taj hotel, but they wouldn’t let us because of how dirty we were. I don’t blame them!

We then wandered to an amazing restaurant that had a juke box and tons of people in it. It was so fun and the food was to die for. I absolutely love Indian food. It’s spicy, and you can taste each spice…it’s not just hot. Then randomly, Eli and Ray came to the same restaurant, so we sat with them for a while. We then waited for a taxi outside of the restaurant to take us to the clothing market, and while waiting, 2 adorable children came up to us to talk to us. They were just precious. Their mother was right by them, so I knew it wasn’t about begging. I gave them each a dollar and I have never seen a bigger smile on a kid. I felt so blessed. These kids have nothing. Their lives are so much harder than I can even imagine. This trip was a real eye opener.

We then got into the cab and drove down to the market. I wasn’t in the mood to shop, surprisingly, maybe because I was really overwhelmed by everything.

Then all 5 of us crammed into a tuk tuk and went to another part of town. Totally not safe, but totally worth it. We had a marvelous time exploring the city, but we really needed to go back and wipe some of that grime off of us!

So we went back to shower and decided to go where the crew was going for dinner. It was a very nice restaurant, and the food was great. However, I ordered a salted Lassi (what was I thinking, it smelled like armpit and tasted like athletes foot) but the rest of the meal was incredible.

Jess and I decided after the meal, we wanted to go meet half of the crew that went to the hookah bar. So, we went to the hookah bar, which was closer and hung out there for the rest of the night with some of the crew. The other crew went to the hard rock café…and I was not about to go there since we can go there in the states. I talked to a group of local boys who claimed they were doctors and engineers haha yea sure….it was fun though. Everyone was really nice and the whole day was so interesting.

Day 2 of Mumbai, We didn’t have as much time, so I definitely wanted to explore as much as possible with as little hassle as possible. It’s definitely hard to bargain when people everywhere won’t take no for an answer. It was exhausting for sure! Jess and I decided to take a tour for 15 bucks each all around the city to various hot spots.

The first place we went was the outdoor laundry. It was crazy to see people standing in the water hand washing all of their clothes by smacking them on the brick. I have never seen anything like it. We then wandered to the fishing area. This place did not look clean by any means, but it sure was colorful. The boats were beautiful and they had so many flags on them. After that, we went to the beach. Jess bought some street vendor food, which I was not about to do, but she said it was really good.

Then we went to the temple. It was gorgeous. Before going in, we had to take off our shoes, spit out our gum and make sure that we didn’t turn our backs to the idols while taking a picture. I was kind of nervous to go in because there were so many rules; I didn’t want to offend anyone. It was amazing inside. There were so many colors and so many idols. There was a group of women singing and sitting in the middle of the floor and beating a drum. They were all dressed beautifully. People would go up to the idols and touch them all over while chanting. There were also grains of rice all over being made into shapes, like the opposite of a swastika. I guess it means peace. There was not a section of the temple that wasn’t colorful. It was incredible.

We then went to the hanging gardens and met a vendor boy who was 19 named Ravi. He showed us all around. I had to find a restroom, and I had to pay for it. And it wasn’t even a toilet; it was a hole on the floor. Haha what a rip off! It’s a privilege to pee J Anywho, Ravi sold us some peacock feathers, but then gave us some for free just because he liked us. He was so sweet, telling us everything about where we were. He also continually said my friends I hope to see you again here. I am always here. It was nice to actually meet a friend. He was so sweet.

We then wrapped up our day with a spice market and being way overcharged by our taxi driver….but oh well. Indian experience right? Next stop, Dubai! J ahhhhhh

Cochin, India

March 18^th

Cochin, India

Today was just what I needed to get me ready for Mumbai. A little taste shall we say for the overnight we will have there. Cochin was really cool. I felt so overwhelmed with color and smells of spices; it was almost too much to take in. A few of my friends and I took a tuk tuk ( a small open door taxi) for 5 dollars each (which now I realize was too much ahha) all around town cause we had a limited amount of time to explore before our show at night. It was so cool going around town. We stopped in a fabric shop, a spice market, the beach and at a festival for our final spot. I think the tuk tuk drivers worked out a deal with the shop owners that they get free stuff if they take us to their shops. I now know I can bargain a lot more than I thought haha. It’s sad, but our money is worth soooo much here. I was amazed at how crazy the driving Is there too. There are no stop signs or traffic signals….just slow down signs. It was a little scary at times when all he would do is beep right next to a truck. The festival was the coolest thing we got to see though by far. There were about 8 elephants in headdresses with people in costume on them marching across a field in chains (kind of sad) with horns blowing and people celebrating. It was really awesome to see that. I cannot wait for Mumbai….there is so much I want to see and I cannot wait for some amazing Indian food! Ahhhhh!

Amsterdam Awesomeness

What day is it right now? Honestly, after 2 days of flying from Miami to Heathrow, Heathrow to Singapore, I feel really disoriented. Haha But we made it! And the Amsterdam is GORGEOUS! My room is HUGE and so is the ship (compared to the Prinsendam). We are all Jet lagged because night is day and day is night for us right now. We have a lot of rehearsal right now because in 2 days we have a show. H20; our lovely show about water. We have to re-block a lot of our shows because the stage has risers and a turn table. That should be interesting with clumsy me along with a rocking ship J Oh well, such is life. We travel to Cochin, India the day after our show. I never thought I would be able to say I went to India. Looking forward to exploring a whole new world. (can you tell I’m disoriented? I am being really cheesy…..wait ,that’s always)

New Chapter

I didn’t expect my night in Panama to be as exciting as it was considering my very normal day here. Jessica met me back on the ship, and our original plans were to go out to a bar right by the peir because the last tender back to the ship was at 1 am. We for sure did not want to miss that! We would have had to swim back J But anywho, she told me about how Panama was having it’s Carnival for the next few nights and we had to go. I was kind of sketched out about it cause several of the passengers said that when you got into town it was really dangerous. But, I figured if we had two guys with us, it should be fine. I also talked to a few crew members who said they went and got really soaked and dirty. I mean, a day ago I was covered in gunk. Not sure I wanted a repeat of that! Haha, but again, when in rome….

We decided to go. We get off the boat and it takes us about 30 minutes to convince the cab driver we wanted to go and that we would be fine. He said to us, you will be grabbed, you will be robbed and you will be the only American people there. Which I was with one Icelander and one Chilean, so I didn’t feel like that even mattered. But he decided to act as our personal security guard. As we went through the ghetto of Panama, listening to perfect music setting the mood, I started to get a little nervous. But , If you act like you know what you are doing, its better than acting scared.  So we get there, and it is so much fun! There is live music everywhere, tons of people dancing and kids throwing confetti and silly string into my face. We walked through the crowds and into an area where they were about to start playing a concert on a lawn. They were speaking in Spainish and throwing t-shirts out to the crowd and playing small clips of dance music. Then, the band started. Oh my gosh, the music was amazing! There was a group of teenage boys in front of us all dancing together in a line and Jess and I joined them. This is not the sort of thing that would happen in the states. Think about it….a group of men dancing together. Gotta love Latin men and their culture. After that, we headed back to port. The whole thing was awesome, but I didn’t feel very nervous. I mean, there were adorable CHILDREN everywhere. Twas an experience, and now I can say I went to Carnival in Panama J

The next port we were in was Aruba. I didn’t think that I would be able to go out at this port since I had IPM and a show that night, but Eli and I decided we really needed some beach time. The water was clear blue and the sand looked like baking flour. It was so hot and the most wonderful day to be outside. It also was incredibly American and touristy in that it had Starbucks and Victoria’s Secret. Oh, and they were very polite to pedestrians……. I definitely felt like I was at home for a split second.

Well folks (haha nerdy) I am on to the next part of my journey on the Amsterdam! I am so looking forward to the places I will see on that ship and the people I will get to meet. I am the luckiest girl in the world! Also, I feel like I got an opportunity to test out ship life, now I know what to do and what not to do before I settle in to the next chapter of my life J

New Chapter

I didn’t expect my night in Panama to be as exciting as it was considering my very normal day here. Jessica met me back on the ship, and our original plans were to go out to a bar right by the peir because the last tender back to the ship was at 1 am. We for sure did not want to miss that! We would have had to swim back J But anywho, she told me about how Panama was having it’s Carnival for the next few nights and we had to go. I was kind of sketched out about it cause several of the passengers said that when you got into town it was really dangerous. But, I figured if we had two guys with us, it should be fine. I also talked to a few crew members who said they went and got really soaked and dirty. I mean, a day ago I was covered in gunk. Not sure I wanted a repeat of that! Haha, but again, when in rome….

We decided to go. We get off the boat and it takes us about 30 minutes to convince the cab driver we wanted to go and that we would be fine. He said to us, you will be grabbed, you will be robbed and you will be the only American people there. Which I was with one Icelander and one Chilean, so I didn’t feel like that even mattered. But he decided to act as our personal security guard. As we went through the ghetto of Panama, listening to perfect music setting the mood, I started to get a little nervous. But , If you act like you know what you are doing, its better than acting scared.  So we get there, and it is so much fun! There is live music everywhere, tons of people dancing and kids throwing confetti and silly string into my face. We walked through the crowds and into an area where they were about to start playing a concert on a lawn. They were speaking in Spainish and throwing t-shirts out to the crowd and playing small clips of dance music. Then, the band started. Oh my gosh, the music was amazing! There was a group of teenage boys in front of us all dancing together in a line and Jess and I joined them. This is not the sort of thing that would happen in the states. Think about it….a group of men dancing together. Gotta love Latin men and their culture. After that, we headed back to port. The whole thing was awesome, but I didn’t feel very nervous. I mean, there were adorable CHILDREN everywhere. Twas an experience, and now I can say I went to Carnival in Panama J

The next port we were in was Aruba. I didn’t think that I would be able to go out at this port since I had IPM and a show that night, but Eli and I decided we really needed some beach time. The water was clear blue and the sand looked like baking flour. It was so hot and the most wonderful day to be outside. It also was incredibly American and touristy in that it had Starbucks and Victoria’s Secret. Oh, and they were very polite to pedestrians……. I definitely felt like I was at home for a split second.

Well folks (haha nerdy) I am on to the next part of my journey on the Amsterdam! I am so looking forward to the places I will see on that ship and the people I will get to meet. I am the luckiest girl in the world! Also, I feel like I got an opportunity to test out ship life, now I know what to do and what not to do before I settle in to the next chapter of my life J

Kiss the FISH!!!!

March 4^th and 6^th

Manta, Ecuador and Panama City

So I forgot to blog right after Manta, because the day was so hot. We were right by the Equator and all I did all day was wander around, shop (of course) and swim in the ocean….ahhh tough life right? Haha. I had a great day though, with the exception of losing a pair of sunglasses I bought for 8 dollars haha….came right off in the ocean. And then I bought the exact same pair from the same guy and convinced him to lower the price to 5. Hey, it worked J

Well the day after was a sea day and it was quite eventful. Worthy of a blog entry I think haa. So it is a tradition on all ships I guess, that when you cross the equator, there has to be a ceremony for all the crew on board that have not been initiated into King Neptune’s Kingdom…. In other words, it’s playful hazing of the newbies. I was shocked at how much the passengers ate this up. I was a Polywog (one of the victims) and there were mermaids, pirates, nurses and doctors and of course King Neptune and his wife. It was literally a show. The only thing we were told before going to this ceremony is that we had to be there and that we should wear clothes that we could throw away. I knew they were going to throw food at us, but I did not know it would be this disgusting. They put all of us newbies in a cage in the pool and drenched us in water. 3 at a time, they called us up to the front where King Neptune was and he decided our fate. When it got to the entertainment department, there were three of us and our youngest passenger (who got out of this easy haha) and he said we must kiss the fish. It was a huge fish frozen in an ice sculpture that smelled disgusting. After that, (they saved us for the last so we could have the most repulsive food thrown on us) we each were put onto a table as they stuffed slimy noodles, beans, marinara sauce, chocolate and warm chili on our faces in our hair. It looked like vomit. One of my cast mates, David, slowly poured the most disgusting things in my hair. Oh it was so gross…..and then I opened my mouth to scream….BAD IDEA. I got a mouth full of dry flour…..It was stuck in my teeth for hours.  It took forever to wash it out…..but it was all in good fun. I am still finding meat particles and lettuce in places they should never be.

Today I am in Panama. And so far, I have not been exploring, rather uploading photos and taking advantage of the one day I have free internet haha. The whole port is very Americanized, so I didn’t feel the need to look at the TGIfridays around the corner….OH MY GOSH we go to the Amsterdam in 5 days! I cannot believe how fast this time went by. I had so much fun with the people on this cruise and I so look forward to meeting new people as well. Oh I love ship life. It’s been full of adventure. Not a dull day J

Peruvian Ghetto

2/28 and 3/01

Callao Peru (and Lima)

When we first docked in Callao, Peru, I felt like we needed to bar the ship. It was kind of scary when we had to get off the ship and do a drill. This place was not safe, even the locals said you needed to take a taxi directly to Lima, otherwise you will get mugged. No question. So, after our epic boat drill in the morning that took literally 3 hours, myself, my friends Pablo (guitar player) and Jessica (the other singer in m cast) decided to find an artsy part of town to go listen to music and get coffee. It took forever to explain (even with a Spanish speaker) that we didn’t want to go shopping; we just wanted to go where the cool locals go to have fun. So, we split a cab that was 15 bucks per hour, and we headed to a place called Barranco. But our cab driver was determined to charge us more than 15 so he didn’t even end up taking us to our destination because he went over the hour. We ended up stopping in an Incan market, which was really cool anyway. But since I am trying to at least attempt to pinch the pennies, I thought we should try to find this place that people told us about called Barranco. So, having my Spanish friend Pablo with us, we trusted him to find the cheapest transportation there. We then hopped on this tiny van/ bus that looked like a clown car while it was still moving and just laughed and went for it. We were so crammed in there. The bus was so tiny, but it was built like a regular city bus with hand railings and ceiling bars. We were totally the only people in there that spoke English. It only cost 50 cents though, so it was worth it for the experience. We then got to our little area of town and it was exactly what we wanted. There were locals, hippies and backpackers everywhere. It was ideal. We were a little hungry, so we wanted to stop and get come coffee and food. Turns out, we loved the place that we stopped and stayed there for 2 hours drinking the native drink (Pisco Sours which have Lime, egg whites, agave nectar, and pisco, which is distilled grapes) and eating their snacks (Fried popcorn kernels) and homemade Ceviche. Oh my gosh, the food and drinks were amazing! But even better than that, we were the only people in there, so we OWNED that place. Jessica played a few of her songs on their piano, Pablo picked up their guitar off the wall and played his Chilean music, and I attempted to play a few songs on the guitar while Jessica and I sang. It was so much fun. We were just living the life of a local. This had to have been one of my favorite days. The owner of the restaurant said to us he was so delighted to have us musicians in his “house” and that he wished we could stay longer. After many Pisco Sours (haha) we decided it was time to explore. We then went around this cool little town and saw a hostel for backpackers. We wanted to maybe stay in town for the night since it was such a neat area, so we explored this adorable hostel. It was so cheap, we really wanted to stay, but Jessica had her expensive camera with her, so we didn’t end up staying. We then wandered a little more, because it was just so nice there. Pablo began to chat it up with some Chilean selling jewelry on the street. I remember thinking; this really reminds me of Venice Beach right now. There were TONS of hippies and artists and surfers right in the area. We asked if this place was happening at night, and the locals said it’s not safe on weekdays, don’t come back. We were kind of bummed, but thanked them for their honesty. We then wandered more to check out a cathedral and the other side of town. There were these motorcycles with plastic covers that we really wanted to take us back into town. They didn’t go all the way back to Callao, just around town (I can see why now, these are REALLY dangerous) Thank goodness we are alright, but we hopped in and took a ride to another part of town, clearly not as safe. A day later, I found out that no one takes a risk of riding in those things because so many people die. Whoops (sorry Mom) I got out without a scratch haha and it was so much fun! After that, we hopped on a bigger bus. Thank God for Pablo because Jessica and I would have been dead if he did not speak Spanish for us to get around. There were two older ladies on the bus who told us to really watch our bags because they assault people right off the bus. I was scared, but really aware of my surroundings. The bus took us closer to where we needed to be, but not to Callao. We stopped several cabs asking them to take us to Callao, but none of them would take us. Ya’ll this was the ghetto! People apparently break into cabs and rob them. We finally found one taxi driver to take us only because he had no idea where he was going. Ah ignorance is bliss. If I would have known how dangerous this part of town was I wouldn’t have slept with the windows open! But again, we were fine. I truly think there is something said about sending out fear energy when you go out. If you act confident, people tend to think you know what you are doing. In other words, act like a local and people leave you alone. It’s the naive tourists who 90 % of the time get mugged. But caution is always good too. We finally made it back to the ship and didn’t go out again at night. They threw a party for crew only to make sure none of us went out. Apparently last year, a crew member was beaten severely. So, we found the best part of town and had a blast while it was still safe. I didn’t go out the next day either since I had friends visiting on board and tons of adorable little orphans on the ship that day. I don’t regret it since I’m not even sure how we made it to that little gem of a place called Barranco, and I am not sure if we could have found it again. Twas a little slice of heaven. J

Sea Lions and Penguins and Pelicans OH MY!!!!!!

Feb 27

Pisco, Peru

I felt like I was on an animal planet show called The Birds. If they don’t have a show like that, then they should go to Peru’s Galapagos Islands and take a look at the millions of species of birds living there. I was lucky enough to go on this tour for free since I went with the passengers and was an escort. It was much easier this time since all we did was get on and off the boat….(no counting or losing old people haha)  We all got onto this boat right off the ship and traveled to this incredible island. I have never seen so many birds, or sea lions. The entire island was white….(I think you can guess why haha) Didn’t smell so great! But there were penguins, pelicans, Peruvian boobies (yes, that’s a bird) and many native birds I can’t remember the name of. But it was filled! Not a section on the island without something on it. It was also kind of eerie because it was cloudy and there were birds swarming everywhere! I felt like I was going to get attacked at points and I am so shocked I didn’t get pooped on! Phew! The coolest thing I would have to say that we saw was the colony of sea lions! There were babies, females and full grown HUGE males! It was so loud! They were all shouting and moaning. It was really quite the experience. After getting soaked on the way back on the speedboat, I met up with a few crew to explore the area for the rest of the day. Right off the boat, you would not think that there would be any sort of civilization around. It looked like I was on the road to Vegas. But drive 30 minutes and there was a happening beach town. It was very cute, but I did not have much time to explore. So we just sat down and soaked in the weather with a few drinks and friends. It was a great day.