1. In this picture there are pagodas! Pagodas are the type of temple I was talking about. I took that picture while standing on top of another pagoda at sunrise (certain types of pagodas you can climb up). Here's a closer view of one of the pagodas.
2. In Myanmar the money is called 'kyat' (pronounced 'chat'). Approximately 985 kyat equals one US dollar! This is what kyat looks like. The bill I'm holding is 1000 kyat, so just a little more than a dollar or a loonie.
3. We rode all over Bagan with the scooters! We drove on the paved roads which were smooth, but the dirt paths on the plains were dusty and sandy. At one point we even got stuck and had to run alongside our bikes while pushing them through the sand!
4. The monks with the red robes were everywhere in Myanmar! And we were allowed to go basically everywhere they were. Quite often they were just visiting the temple as well.
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1. For the first few hours it felt very, very strange to have my head shaved! Yes, my head feels very cold sometimes! I carry a scarf with me so if I am cold in my classes I can drape it over my head. And yes, because of the sun my skin is rather tan but my head was white! Now that my hair is growing back it looks less strange. Yes, I've still been using shampoo mostly because I don't know what else I would do. When I go out in the sun I am very careful to make sure I am wearing a hat so that it isn't boiling on my head! Here is a picture of what I look like now, a week after shaving it all off- I'm holding up my Semester at Sea ID card to compare how much hair I once had!
2. Yes, it felt strange to kiss the fish. It was cold and slimy. It wasn't that strange to kiss my professor's hand because everyone was doing it! It was just part of the fun. And I knew it wasn't going to be fish guts because we had seen them already dump it on a bunch of people before we went. If you want to see more pictures, here is an article on the Semester at Sea website with pictures of King Neptune and all the crazy stuff that happened that day (if you look closely I'm actually in it- I'm wearing a blue tank top and jumping into the pool)!
3. Hmm, the temperature differs a lot. While we were in the Indian Ocean it was very warm, close to 25-30 degrees. However, now that we are farther away from the equator and getting closer to Africa, it will be about 15-20 degrees. When we sail back up to Ghana I think it will get warmer.
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1. It was a lot of fun to go swimming with my friends on the beach! We didn't go very far out because a lot of boats were moored very close to the beach, and there was a roped off section to show us where it is safe to swim. The water only went just past my waist. Because of the rain, all the sand had made the water very cloudy, so we didn't see any fish. I'm grateful we didn't see any whales or sharks, I might have been scared!
2. I think my favourite country so far has been either Vietnam or Myanmar. Myanmar was very beautiful and unique but I met so many wonderful people in Vietnam so I think it is a tie. I still have a few more countries to go!
3. The rain was very hard at times! We were soaked in seconds. Other times it wasn't as bad.
4. For lunch in Mauritius I had this wonderful traditional Mauritian sandwich! I don't remember its name because it was in French, but it was covered in cheese and onions and tomatoes. It was very tasty.
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I love answering your questions! In two days I will be in South Africa. We are actually sailing very close to the shore, so I have been able to watch South Africa go by from the windows in my classes.
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