Jessy goes to Hawaii

Honolulu was fabulous! I really needed a couple of days in the U.S. There was Target, amazing food, clean streets, english speakers! You have no idea how nice that is. lol.
I didn't do much but beach and surf. It was a blast. My friend Tally's mom came so we stayed in a hotel with her and hung out by the pool a bit too. A pina colada never tasted so good. The weather was beautiful, blue sky's both days. We went out one night and met up with some locals who were just hanging in their little surf shack on the beach. It was so much fun. We spent the night singing Bob Marly to the ukulele and being convinced that Hawaii is the coolest place ever! The next day we played volleyball in the morning and went surfing in the afternoon. I could definitely see myself becoming a surf bum...I could've spent all day out there. literally all day.
I guess I think that Hawaii is a cool place to vacation, I dont know if I'd ever be able to live there...it's so far from anything else. One thing I have learned from this trip is that a beach is a beach, a city is a city, and people are people.
The trip is winding down and it's really a strange atmosphere. People are really excited to go home, and at the same time unbelievably sad to leave everyone they've become practically family with. Spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with people is pretty intense, I feel like I've known my friends here for my whole life and it's only been 3 months. Some people found boyfriends and girlfriends that live across the country. Other people are just trying to figure out excuses to see each other after the trip is over. A lot of people are staying in Miami the night we get back to the U.S., but it's not going to change that we've all gotten so close and it's going to be a sad day when we have to part ways. I'm lucky my friends go to school in boulder even though we're from different parts of the country. Talk to you after guatemala...

Japan I Can

Japan was really a surprise! We ported first in Kobe where we hiked to a little town on top of Mt. rokko called Arima which is famous for its  hot springs. Naturally I wasn't as excited as everyone else because I've grown up going to hot springs, but it was such a cute little town. There were little hot springs on the sides of the cobblestone streets where you could soak your feet. The bigger hot springs were all made into spa's which is definitely a breath of fresh air coming from the naked hippy infested waters of strawberry park. (though I'm not complaining)  After that my friends and I went around the city to get a feel for it. It was extremely clean,  but very much like the U.S. believe it or not. I was expecting it to be a little like China, but it was like night and day going from China to Japan. Everyone dressed so cute, and there was such order as far as crossing streets, and the metro...etc. Our last day in Kobe we were a little tired from our long night of dancing and sushi, so we went to a Japanese Bath-house. This will be a paragraph in itself.
        OKAY so we had heard that a bath house was like a public pool with separate spaces for men and women.  Failed to mention that bathing suits are not required, actually they're non-existant. So here we are 3 American girls running around the bathhouse like fools, trying to cover up as much as possible with our miniscule hand towels that we were given. I thought maybe the pools would be indoors with dim lights or something, but they were out in the broad daylight. No hiding there! Needless to say, it was the most fun, and most uncomfortable thing I did in Japan.
        After Kobe we travelled on the ship to Yokohama. As soon as we reached shore we went to Tokyo to spend the night and check out the city for a couple of days. After a 40 minute train ride we arrived in the city which is like NYC of Japan except gorgeously clean and new. It's very compact though with tons of skyscrapers as well as being very international. We went to Harajuku St. which was most important to me... For those of you who dont know it's filled with Japanese fashionistas called Harajuku's who get decked out in all the craziest styles. It's like disneyland meets 5th Ave...very interesting. My friend Katie and I had lunch with a group of old Japanese people who were trying to learn english. They were so cute, they were giving us gifts and they payed for our lunch... Other than that we mostly walked around the city and saw all the touristy stuff. We did  use the Metro though which was also much nicer and easier to use than in NY. They charge you by how far you travel on the metro instead of a flat rate, kind of nice seeing as how we never went too far. Japan was definitely expensive though, cabs started at $7!!!
        Tokyo is definitely a spot to see again!

ChiNA China CHINA

Hong Kong-City exploration for one day, super chic/hip
Beijing-Great Wall, Lesser wild goose pagoda, Tiananmann square, historical city,       UGLY...2 days
Xi'an-Terra Cotta Warrior museum/mosoleum, temple of heaven, museum of stone    tablets. Old city as well, very rich culturally. 2 days
Shanghai- One day, bizarre, highest building in the world, French Market, sight         seeing.


        Okay so my travels in China were non-stop, probably the most exhausting trip I've had so far...The one thing that I can say about China that I think sums it up for those who have never been there is that it is literally EXACTLY like China town in NYC(the only one i've ever been to so Im not sure about others). It was shocking.        Their fake market is unbelievable...i don't think any designer item holds any real value in China because of the amount and quality of the fakes. It was sad. Every single person had a designer bag and Christian Louboutin Heels. Ugh. The men wore Jackets about 3 sizes too big, the shoulders stuck out broad, and the sleeves covered their hands...I'm not quite sure why. The babies walk around with their butts hanging out of their pants because the leave a slit from front to back in the center seam...they apparently dont use diapers. GrOsS, they just go on the streets like animals. Nice.
        Another thing I found interesting was how sensored everything still is there. Our tour guide who took us to Tiananman Square didn't know anything about the Massacre and mass murder that took place because the government has erased it from their history. The internet is highly controlled as well... no YouTube, and Nothing about the negatives of  China's history and current state. Crazy I know.
        The Chinese people were so friendly...both times we went out ALL that we payed for was our cab service, other than that all of the bartenders and owners gave us free food platters and drinks all night. I've never experienced anything like it. They were really curious as to why we were in China, and what we were interested in.
        In the end, I'm not sure if I will return to China any time soon. however if I do, it will definitely be to Hong Kong.

VIetnam

We spent five days in Vietnam, two of which I spent on the Makong Delta and the other three in Ho Chi Minh City. It was surprisingly much like Thailand, or at least the part of it that I experienced, and the people were so friendly.
I got a dress made in Ho Chi Minh city, and also visited the Vietnam war museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Vietnamese soldiers lived during the war. It was pretty unreal to see how horrible it was. The traffic in Ho Chi Minh was absolutely crazy! The streets were constantly a sea of motor bikes, we even used them for taxi's...that was probably my favorite part of the trip. I think I could have done a better job making the dress though.
I went to the Makong Delta for a couple of days where we basically just toured the river. The portion we went to was where the floating markets were. People live in their boats with everything that they own, also doing business from them. They had dogs, laundry hanging, hammocks to sleep in...it looked soooooo cool, I kind of want to live on a boat now. Maybe one day.

LOL in the coffee shop

I know these are on my mom's blog, but I just thought that everyone should see them because they make me smile...

For the Love of Thailand

I will be moving to Thailand as soon as possible. It was the most fun I've had in a long time...actually since Jamaica. Anyways, it's relatively similar to the US, accept for the hookers roaming the streets all day and night. We spent a night in Bangkok, where we went to the river market and the Grand Palas. It was beautiful and warm, and had a really fun vibe...what could be more perfect ???Phuket maybe. AKA~the beach from THE BEACH movie, it was honestly like HEaVen. Turquoise water, soft white sand, tropical fish everywhere, beaches surrounded by cliffs. OMG!!  a little beach town with lots of tan people, cheap massages, and good food.( dried jelly fish, noodles, alligator...)
        I squeezed into a hotel room with 5 other girls, cozy to say the least. No... I actually prefer to sleep with people instead of alone. Anyways, we did Thailand to the fullest we could in 5 days. My friend Taylor got attacked by monkeys, Jack ran through a glass door, and we're pretty sure my other friend Carly has narcolepsy...What more can I say??? OH, I've renamed my blog because I think this name is much more appropriate. We travel and travel and dont sleep, and barely eat just so we can see as much as we can in the small amount of time that we're given. Binge Travelling. IT only took me 2 months to find an appropriate name. ugh. Catch ya later.

Incredible India

I'll start by saying I've never been anywhere so colorful in my entire life. I've also never been anywhere so dirty. The clothing was unbelievable though! All of the women dress in really bright sari's and cover themselves in jewelry and paint. My kind of place!
        First I spent the day in Chennai with some friends and did a little shopping and touring the city in a rickshaw. rickshaw's are these tiny little motorized gondola looking things that drive around like absolute maniacs, and people use them more often than cabs because they're super cheap. Anyhow, my friend an I had a bicycle rickshaw driver named Backher. Backher was about 4'8", 90 lbs, wore a skirt and no shoes while he hauled us around. He was 50 years old with 4 kids, he told us his life story as he took us around chennai. He was really cute even though he ripped us off. And by ripped off I mean we had to pay $4 instead of $2 for the tour.
        Anyways, the second day we flew to Delhi, which is a 2 hour flight and an hour cab ride on each end, and Backher drove us to the airport as well. We toured Delhi for the rest of the day and met a boy named Ahmer who took us to the underground market. The market was UNreal! It's like an underground mall maze that is never ending! I've never seen so many people packed into one place, and we were literally the ONLY white people there shopping so we obviously stood out a little bit. I now know why people say they cant hear themselves think, because we were bombarded by so many people trying to leure us into their shops I couldn't even think let alone talk! The stores had anything you could want, Shops FILLED with bengal bracelets, henna stores, bootleg movies, skin lightening booths, clothing and trade stores. I'll never forget it! We also saw the scene of the bombing that took place a couple of months ago in the town square.
        The next day we went on a guided tour to Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. The car ride was 4 hours, but it was worth every second once we got there.  After riding in the car, we had to take a horse and buggy for a little while because cars are not permitted close to the Taj, and then we walked the rest of the way. It was much less crowded and smaller than I had originally Imagined it would be, but just as beautiful. The marble was still really white, and all the fountains were filled. It was how I pictured after reading "Beneath A Marble Sky," (if you haven't read it do it now!) but our guide didn't tell the story how I know it. So i ignored him for that little bit. My friend Taylor and I were also a little confused because we were under the impression that Jasmine from Aladdin lived in the Taj Mahal, but the Taj Mahal isn't a palace, its a Tomb. It also says that Jasmine lives in Agrabar. Agra was just like in Aladdin... there were people everywhere! There were snakes fighting mongooses, people riding bikes with stacks of vases 3 meters high, cows roaming the streets, painted elephants, and fruit stands as far as you could see!  Anyhow, after seeing the Taj, we went to the red fort which was where Mumtaz and Shah Jahan lived as well as many other emperors. It was crawling with monkey's, it was really cool. Our tour guide was awesome and he filled us up on some crazy info. We headed back to Delhi the same night to sleep there.
        The next day we did Delhi once again. We went to some monuments, and ate some awesome food before flying back to Chennai. It's sooooo hot here, and everyone wears fall/winter clothing. AHHHHHH!!! The last day we spent going on a trip to the slums to see a womens self -help group and a disabled childrens school. It was really powerful. The way those people live is really scary. They live in basically wood forts or huts, the streets are sand, and all of the food is sold on the streets, but every inch is covered in flies. The smell was undescribable. A lot of the children didn't have any clothes so they all just ran around naked and barefoot.
        After the slums we had some time to burn so we went to a hooka bar called Mocha...probably one of the funnest things I've done. The atmosphere was amazing. It was outside and the walls were all painted fun colors with really eclectic one of a kind furniture. The hooka's themselves were all different colors of glass and painted really pretty. It was a good experience to say the least.
       I was sad to leave, but before we left we coincidentally ran into Backher and got a ride home from him. He must have been working for like 4 days straight. He had bought me and my friend necklaces and told us he likes to give his friends gifts. I gave him one of my bracelets and we parted ways. I will be going back to India some day.