the great stairs of china

Vietnam was by far the best traveling experience I have had. The first day a few of us found a taxi driver to take us to the Cu Chi tunnels where the soldiers hid during the war. It was unbelievably surreal walking on the paths and exploring the tunnels because all I could imagine was that it was once all real. It was just some fun adventure for us but in retrospect we had the opportunity to see our history books come alive. I pictured the soldiers in the underground kitchen cooking while American troops walked above them, unable to detect their location. Driving through the countryside was also amazing because we were outside of Ho Chi Minh City and we got to see the way people really live there. I couldn't believe that in a place where people were once so wronged by Americans, no one had any resentment towards us. Instead they were eager to try and communicate with us and help us get where we were going. Someone said to us, well thank God there's no oil in Vietnam...then we would really have problems. On the second day I went to the Mekong Delta and got to ride on the boats and visit a fishing village. We spent the last three days at Mui Ne beach on the coast which is about three hours from HCMC. We met up with Steph (my roommate from school) and it was so much fun. Our hotel was called full moon beach resort and it was perfect. The rooms were all so beautiful and they surrounded a long pool in the middle. I felt like we were living in a tropical cottage. The deck where we ate breakfast overlooked the beach and we got to sit around and watch the kite surfers. The bus ride back to the ship on the last day was hectic to say the least but we made it. I miss Steph so much already and I can't wait to see her when she gets home from Australia.
After three days on the ship, we arrived in Hong Kong. I only spent one day there because the next morning I got on a plane to fly to Beijing. The great wall was crazy. It really should be called the great staircase of China. Somehow we all seemed to miss the fact that the great wall is really miles of steps. After almost two hours of step climbing, we reached the top. I definitely understand now why it's one of the seven wonders of the world. We also went to a really crazy Chinese acrobat show. The lights reminded me of a bisco show and on top of that, I got the watch people perform some of the most ridiculous stunts ever. I was convinced that someone was going to fly off the stage (especially the little boys who were Kyle's age...I was really worried about them). Now we have two days until Japan and then it's the long 14 day stretch until we arrive in San Diego. I can't believe it's almost over. Time really does fly when you're having the time of your life. At the same time though, I'm really excited to come home. I along with a many others on the ship have recently come to the conclusion that we love America and we love our lives there. I am SO lucky to be me.