SUPER DELAYED...BUT..
AS USUAL: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!
After my parents left, I had one more cruise on the
Journey. Of course we had a day in Hong
Kong which was great because it was sunny and lovely outside. I spent the afternoon walking around
downtown, doing some shopping (I bought a winter coat which was totally
unnecessary but fabulous), and enjoying my last day in the very international,
busy, crowded, but totally awesome city.
That night, I went out with my friends from the cast and of course,
Slava. We were prepared to “crush China”
with our dance moves. We ended up going
to the same bar that we had gone to before.
It wasn’t that crazy, but we still had a good time showing off our
moves. We finished off the night at
McDonald’s (I can feel your judgement and am ignoring it because it was
delicious) so all in all, it was a very successful night.
After Hong Kong, we made our way to China. I have mixed feelings about China. Our first port was Shanghai which was quite
stunning to look at, but it wasn’t my favourite port to be in. We had an overnight there, so I spent the
first night walking around with Dzmitry (part of the Belorussian clan) and we
just had a look around. I enjoyed
looking at the lit up skyline and the flower wall/waterfront area when it
wasn’t so crowded. China is interesting
because so much of it is so technologically advanced, yet they don’t have
toilets that flush in some places. Also
nobody can speak English which makes it difficult to navigate your way around
the country. But all in all, it was a
good night. I had my show that evening
which went really well, and enjoyed a drink out in the city afterwards to
celebrate my LAST show on the ship!
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| Another crazy Belorussian |
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| Famous flower wall |
The following day, we had the morning/afternoon to see
Shanghai. Dzmitry and I went on the hop
on hop off bus (classic “HOHO” as my Mum likes to call it) and saw most of the
city from the bus which was great. There
are lots of different neighbourhoods in the city full of interesting
architecture and lots of people-watching opportunities. Our final stop on the tour, though, was the
tallest building in all of China. It was
quite an adventure walking there because we went on this special bridge/pathway
that went across the downtown area/freeway.
Very cool. The observatory was
also very cool. We went up 100 floors
(in a space age kind of elevator..felt like I was at Disneyland) and got to see
the entire city of Shanghai with a 360 degree view. We had to rush back to the ship to make it to
work on time so we were running to catch the bus and ended up being a little
late, but it was worth it.
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| Slava, Marcio, and I arriving in Shanghai!! |
Next, was Japan! I
was very excited to go to Japan. We
started in Kagoshima which was interesting...well, actually no it wasn’t. It was the opposite of interesting in that
there was nothing to see there and it felt like a total waste of time. Too harsh?
Maybe, but it’s the result of my experience. I went on an excursion which was LITERALLY
the dumbest tour ever. It was supposed
to be a hike up to a lookout point of the bay, but in actual fact, it really
was just a long bus ride through the
“city” which was polluted and gross, a 5 min. flat, paved, walk to a view of
the bay (again, you couldn’t see anything because of the pollution), and then a
tour of some distillery that wasn’t even a real tour it was just a bunch of old
people (and me) looking through a window at...nothing. Whatever WAS in there, none of us understood
because our guide could not speak English.
It was a disaster. I felt so
stupid coming back thinking that I missed out on some great city because I went
on this tour, but apparently the rest of the crew went into town and there was
nothing to see. So I guess that is the
bright side. Kagoshima was a
disappointment, but my time in Kobe was AWESOME making Japan one of my
favourite Asian countries.
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| "The hike" |
Kobe was so great because it was a very full day. I spent the day shopping, going to the zoo,
and walking about 50 miles with my friend, PJ.
We started off early in the morning, went to a Starbucks (obvi) and
enjoyed a walk to the famous “flower clock”.
My favourite moment was when I was in Starbucks and ordered an
orange/coffee frappucino because it was something different than what I could
get at home and I’m all about “stepping out of my comfort zone”. That’s when PJ
pointed out that I was in Japan and out of all the places to go, I went to
Starbucks. Whatever. The flower clock was....well a flower
clock. PJ seemed impressed. I was ready to move on. So then it was off to the zoo!
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| Me being "adventurous" |
We underestimated how far the walk would be and ended up
walking (uphill) for about an hour and a half.
However, it was totally worth it!
The zoo was awesome!! I felt like a kid again. We saw so many cool animals (and the cutest little
kids there on field trips who all wear matching hats. Precious.) and enjoyed the sunshine!
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| Welcome to the zoo! |
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| Love the matching hats! |
After the zoo, we took a cab to a traditional Japanese
shrine. We didn’t do much there because
we couldn’t really understand anything and nobody spoke English but it was cool
to see the traditional Japanese fortunes, see the women dressed in traditional
Japanese clothing, and have a look around.
We finished off the day walking back and stopping at
shops along the way. I didn’t go too
crazy-I only bought 3 pairs of shoes (which again, were totally unnecessary but
fabulous), a black dress (because I don’t have enough of those..) and a bunny
hug. Kobe was a cool city partly because
you would go into one store which was super expensive and then the one next
door was really cheap. It felt like a huge
accomplishment when you found a cheap clothing store. You can guess which kind of establishments I
bought most of my stuff in...Great.
Finally, we finished our cruise in Seoul, South
Korea. This was the port I was looking
forward to most out of my entire Asian adventure because I knew I would be
meeting up with my friend, Chase who has lived there for a year and a half
teaching English. Chase worked at FLBC
with my sister, Ingrid, and I first met him when I was twelve. Since then, he has become a close family
friend and has been to Calgary to visit our family many times. Now it was time for me to make the trip to
see him...! He was able to take the day
off of work and meet me in Incheon which is about a 90 min. train ride from
Seoul. We spent the train ride catching
up on literally YEARS of each other’s life and laughing loudly on a silent
train full of silent Koreans.
Embrace. The first place we went
when we got off the train was a stationary/trinket store. My fave.
I ended up buying calculators for Ingrid, Korean greeting cards, and a
bag that was literally a giant cat face.
And I hate cats. See how Asia has
changed me? We went to Starbucks next (a
MUST when Chase Chisholm meets up with any Odegard) and then took a few photos
with my new cat bag (necessary).
We then went to a trendy shopping area where we looked at
various boutiques. I tried on really
unflattering shorts multiple times, but hit the jackpot when I found a massive,
yellow scarf (AGAIN, unnecessary but fabulous.
I am sensing a pattern). I didn’t
even care that I MAY look like Jabba the Hut when I wore it. Because it was so fabulous. I also made a stop at an accessory store to
buy a million bows. Each one was only a
dollar so, really, it’s almost like I SAVED money in there...I feel like my Dad
would disagree with that logic but it’s fine.
As we walked quickly from place to place chatting up a
storm and laughing like idiots, we had a quick photo shoot. Good thing I brought my heels with me for
such an occasion. YES, that’s RIGHT
people, I LITERALLY packed the new heels I got in Japan in a bag in case a
photo shoot happened. I know. You think it’s fabulous. And it was.
We chose a random alley for such an event and with a few clicks of the
camera and the self-timer function, Chase and I were able to fully document our
time together. Then, it was back on the
train and back to the ship. It was the
most wonderful way to end my journey on my Asian contract and I am so thankful
that Chase and I were able to spend some time together, as brief as it was. Funnily enough, my parents ALSO met up with
Chase about a week later when they were on the rest of their Asian
adventure. PTL for great friends who
live around the world. Thanks Chase for
an amazing day!!
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| We're models. Take us seriously. |
Sadly, being in Seoul meant it was almost time to go
home. I cannot express how incredible my
10 weeks in Asia were with the Azamara Journey team. I have made lifelong friends that not only
had an impact on my time during my contract, but also my entire being. As I write, my heart longs to see so many of
the amazing people I met on my contract who touched my life in incredible
ways. Perhaps I will be back on the
Journey soon and will reunite with them once again. The good thing is, when I leave one contract,
I get to go home to my wonderful family.
While catching up and spending time with them, I’m also preparing for my
next contract on Norwegian Cruise Line’s “The Breakaway”
So...as one Journey ends (get it? The ship’s name is “The
Journey”), another one always begins.
The diva is signing out (for now)!
A
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