Kara Zucker's World Traveling Experience: Breezy and quite freezing Beijing!

Ni hao or known as hello in Mandarin!

Even though I am now on my way to Kobe and Tokyo in Japan, I would like to update about my experiences in Hong Kong and China. I was in Hong Kong for about 24 hours and that was not enough. The city is very westernized and makes New York look like a small town. I have never seen so many skyscrapers in my life. It was beautiful arriving into Hong Kong, with so many big buildings surrounding the ship. It was expensive there at least compared to all the other ports we’ve been. After the ship was cleared I spent the day adventuring with my friends Lindsay and Dalia who both attend Chapman University. We caught a ferry to Hong Kong Island (we were docked on Kowloon) and took a double-decker bus tour all around the city. It was pricy, but we got to see all the buildings and hear the history about each of them. Some of the places we saw included the Mandarin Oriental Hotel where lots of U.S. President’s have stayed, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Victoria Park, Queens College and along with a few others. There was not a shortage of Starbucks and McDonalds here. Then again, there was a McDonald’s in India, which was interesting. They had no cheeseburgers because Hindu’s are vegetarians. Can you imagine a McDonald’s with no cheeseburgers? Pizza Hut is also known as a very nice sit down restaurant, pretty strange. Anyway, we got off at the Peak Tram station and our tram tickets were included with the bus tour which was awesome. It was a Tram which went up a hill and gave a view of the entire city. It was pretty foggy on the day we went but we were still able to see a bunch of even more tall buildings. It was pretty cool. Shopping malls were everywhere here. You had to walk through a mall just get off the port. There was a shopping mall (like six stories tall) where the tram ended as well.
After that we wandered around some of the streets into yet another mall to find some lunch. We ended up at a great dim sum restaurant which no one but the hostess spoke English. We ordered a whole bunch of different things to try and it was fantastic!! There was a lot of pork as well as many fried options- but it was really yummy. Afterwards I found a little glasses store and since I accidentally lost one of my pairs in Vietnam I decided to order a new pair. They just used the pair I had on me for a prescription and it was pretty cheap compared to the U.S. Plus, they’re really funky and modern.
We got back on the bus, toured around some more and then made the hike up a few streets (which we realized later that a street over was the world’s largest escalator) to visit the synagogue in order to buy some matzah for Passover after Japan. After some heavy security and some convincing, they opened up their small store downstairs just for us, so we would have matzah on Passover. We were so happy to know we would survive Passover on the ship! We then walked through a cool market and got some delicious frozen yogurt.
After taking the ferry back to the ship and changing to go out, we went to watch the largest light and sound show in the world. It was along the harbor and was absolutely incredible.

There were so many cool lights. After we walked around Nathan road-which also had a plethora of neon lights, we found a little noodle place along some side street. It was Macanese food and was delicious. I ordered a chicken noodle dish and it was very creamy and flavorful. We enjoyed some beer at this random Irish pub (we were the youngest people there) and then found this really cool jazz club with amazing music. There were a lot of oldies and American songs, I really enjoyed it. It was a fun night, and I realized I’m definitely coming back to spend more time here.
The next day I woke up early and walked around Hong Kong with Kristina. We hadn’t been able to spend much time together in the countries because of different schedules and we enjoy our quality time alone and hanging out. She truly is such an amazing girl and is still my best friend on the ship. I was able to buy some snacks for my trip, which I left in the morning to fly to Beijing for a few days. The ship traveled during this time to Shanghai, most people got off and traveled around China and met the ship in Shanghai, but some people did stay on. There was A LOT of us on this trip, because we did it independently because it was a lot cheaper than going through Semester at Sea. Anyway, the Hong Kong airport was HUGE! Definitely one of the largest ones I’ve ever been, or at least it felt really big. I bought some delicious ramen noodles for lunch which were a perfect balance of spicy amazing-ness and we soon boarded the plane. It was an easy flight and only lasted 3 hours. Upon arrival, which was already early evening we had buses arranged to take us to the hotel which was in a pretty unpopulated part of town. It was late at this point, so about four of my girlfriends and I (the twins Kate & Sarah Shields, Brittany, and her roommate Danielle) all went to dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.
One waitress spoke a little English and they had an English menu. We pointed at what we wanted and ended up staying there for 2 and ½ hours. The food was so flavorful and we just enjoyed sitting, talking and eating while being each other’s company. It was a lot of fun. The spring rolls were really sweet too, they had purple filling! We also had some hot pot which is similar to fondue, but not cheesy, they prepare it at your table. It was just nice to enjoy a nice sit down meal with friends. By the way, it was cold in Beijing. I was in a sweatshirt, another sweater, long-sleeved shirt and long underwear underneath my jeans (borrowed from my lovely Minnesota roommate-love her!). It was chilly!! The hotel we stayed at was beautiful, I shared a room with a friend, but we each had our own comfy beds.

The next day we went to see the Ming Tombs, which begins with a great marble gateway more than four centuries old. We also saw the Sacred Way which had 36 enormous stone guardians including military and civil dignitaries and a dozens of pairs of animals, real and mythical, including lions, camels, elephants, unicorns and chimeras. The tomb was of Emperor Wanli who reigned from 1573-1620. It took 30,000 workers six years to build this underground palace, the only tomb on this site to have been excavated. It was really cool to see.
Then we drove to the Great Wall which was about 2-3 hours from Beijing. We arrived at a less-touristy part of the wall (as in we were the only ones there).

We climbed up a bit and watched the sunset. It was incredible. I felt like I was on top of the world. Imagine numerous mountains all around you. You’re with some of your closest friends who you have only known a few months and it’s like you have known them your whole life. The sun is warming your face while the rest of your body is freezing and wearing three layers of clothing. Towers of the Great Wall of China go off into the distance on both sides. It was just…inscribable. I feel like I overuse adjectives in these entries, but there are sometimes no words to describe most of my experiences. After getting dinner at a restaurant near the wall I experienced the worst bathrooms in my life. They have “swatters” in China, so basically a hole in the ground with no toilet paper-not fun.
We then camped on the wall and it was so much fun! We even told ghost stories and just hung out talking till late, but it was freezing!! It was about 5-6 degrees Celsius and some of our water bottles froze. I don’t think I have ever been so cold before in my life and I freakin’ go to school in Colorado. We have been to such warm places and I think it was a little shock for the weather, but it was a nice change at the same time.

Woke up at sunrise and had some snacks and coffee before starting our 6 mile hike on the wall. It was very challenging but the views were just out of this world! Did you know the wall is over 3,700 miles long? It usually takes up to a year or longer for someone to climb the entire distance, some Americans have done it!
It was crazy to go up and down these handmade stairs that are centuries old. I can’t wait for you to see my photos! I did upload some from Cambodia (Angkor Wat ones are awesome!) and Vietnam. Definitely check those out. After the hike (Chinese moon pies were sooo good along the way!), I zip-lined down to the bottom of the mountain where we had lunch. It was so much fun!

After another delicious Chinese meal we made our way back to Beijing. I loved the food here, but I was starting to get sick of it at this point, I totally gave in and got McDonald’s later that day. I NEVER eat fast food (In and out Burger is an exception and I am having withdrawals) at home, but sometimes a little normalcy is nice. We then had a tour of Beijing in little Pedi cabs and were able to see the Hutong or known as the alleyways of the city. We were able to see a traditional Chinese courtyard in a family household which is formed in the middle of a family’s land with rooms around it. It was really cool to see this little courtyard which had been the center point of the family for over 200 years.
We were then able to see other part of the city and visit a kindergarten. The kids were so adorable! After getting back to the hotel, we quickly showered (it felt so good to shower) and we tried to see an acrobatic show but they were sold out. I ended up hanging out with three of my good guy’s friends I made on the trip and we walked around the silk market. They were so helpful with bargaining!! I got ripped off a little, but it was still less than the U.S. I bought some art for home on rice paper and a few other things. Two of the boys ended up eating at the hotel, so one my guy friends (who’s actually from AZ!) and I found this little vegetarian place to eat. He’s a vegetarian so I tried out some fake meat, which was actually really good! We were the only ones in the restaurant and the food was delicious! The waitress spoke a little English and we basically got some spicy noodle dish and spicy fake chicken which were awesome. They kept taking picture of us too, which was crazy. At all the big tourist sites we went to, it was as if we were famous. People would just tap you on the shoulder and ask to take a photo with you. It was crazy! After dinner we found this cute bakery and bought a ton of cookies and ate them on the cab ride back to the hotel. It was awesome.
The next day we woke up early to visit the Forbidden City, which was actually off limits to the public for 500 years. It was built from 1406 to 1420 and was the residence of 24 emperors and their families for over 200 years. There are also 9,999 rooms and I really enjoyed seeing the Imperial Gardens with different rock formations and cherry blossoms. It was like it just keep going and going forever. It looked just like Mulan (go watch the movie, it’ll remind you of your childhood and you will enjoy it) and the large staircase she walks up to see the emperor is totally there. They have the emergency torches too, which I enjoyed seeing. They also had large pots sitting outside the buildings for water because the roofs caught fire easily. I thought that was pretty crazy. We learned all about the emperor which I enjoyed and then made our way to some lunch (it was called Chinatown) and we were relieved that they had western toilets! Later in the afternoon we saw the beautiful Summer Palace, which is about 700 acres and includes “the Long Corridor” which is a wooden gallery about 728 meters connecting all the buildings. It was right near the Kunming Lake and had beautiful views. After the summer palace, we headed to the train station for our sleeper train to Shanghai. The train was beautiful and we had our own little cubbies, it was nicer than the train in Thailand. We just hung out and I wrote in my journal and basically called it a night.
When arriving in Shanghai, we were bused to the ship and I dropped off my bag and quickly changed.

The ship left that night and I wanted to see as much of Shanghai as I could. I met up with Kristina and our friend Andrea and we walked around for a bit to get our bearings. Most of the city was pretty populated and under construction for the World Expo in 2010. We headed to the Bund, which is a walkway along the harbor. It was cool to check out some of the larger, older and more colonial buildings. We went to the Yu Gardens Shopping center and all the buildings were traditional Chinese architecture and we shopped around a bit, and enjoyed a bunch of street food. We must have had 4 or 5 types of boba or bubble tea which was good. I had this amazing crepe-omelet type thing with onions, vegetables, some sauce and crunchy things in it. It was hot and delicious. It was fun to just hang out and walk around.
I was able to talk to my mom and sister, which was nice. I miss her and Amanda along with all the friends and family I have back in the U.S. It’ll be weird to go back. I don’t think I’m just ready yet. After walking around, I ended up jumping on an SAS trip to see the tower and get a great view of the city. It used to be the tallest building in the world. Today Shanghai had the 2nd, 3rd and 4th tallest buildings in the world. It was so cool to see. We also rode on the fastest train in the world. It was controlled by magnetic energy and “floated” its way from the airport to central Shanghai, look it up online. You didn’t feel how fast you were going until you passed another train. What a car ride to the airport would take two hours, took us only 7 minutes. It went about 400 km per hour.
After the trip, we all returned to the ship and I realized we really don’t have much time until this voyage is over. Besides other stuff happening in the countries, I have also formed so many amazing friendships on the ship. There are so many families I would call my own. I really have enjoyed getting to know the professors, lifelong learners, students and our LLC’s (like our Residential Advisors) on the ship. I’m going to be sad to leave. I would totally be fine to just leave in Guatemala and backpack all over South America. I have been a little overwhelmed and stressed with classes, schoolwork and internships. I have applied for about four or five internships for this upcoming summer and people are becoming more and more selective with the economy. It’s really tough. I was lucky to have a friend (thanks Kaylie!) register me for classes as I was in Shanghai and I’m hoping things will work out for the summer. Also, my housing fell through, so I’m out on the look out for housing this summer, please let me know if you hear of anything! I am really looking forward to Japan, but also after Japan to catch up on my classes, readings, and just have time to breathe for awhile before Hawaii. It’s going to go by fast though.
I hope things are well back home and I miss you all lots. I will get arriving in Phoenix on May 7th, as mom will be picking me up in Florida. A few days later I will be getting my wisdom teeth pulled out (hello smoothies & ice cream!) so I would love visitors before and afterwards to catch up. My only request is that I choose the restaurant/coffee shop as there are so many things I am craving! Keep me updated about what is going on at home! I would love to hear from you! I might just take me a bit to get back to you, with classes and other stuff going on around the ship. I am planning and putting together the sedar on the ship and will be attending a sedar for Passover (Jewish holiday) at the Tokyo JCC! That should be interesting to see it in all Japanese, but it might be in English, its taking place at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
**If you have been watching the news about North Korea and Japan, I wanted to let you know that we are completely safe. The test of the long-range missile left no debris on Japan and we were told by our risk managing company which Semester at Sea goes through that all residents in Japan and travelers are unaffected. We’ll still be there and there’s nothing to worry about!