Malaysia

After India we arrived in Penang Malaysia!!! We absolutely loved Malaysia!!! Maybe it was being there after India that made it seem so clean but it is definitely a modernized country. We spent most of our time there in Kuala Lumpur. It’s a lot like being in a big city like Chicago. The traffic is bad so everyone takes cabs and there are a lot of big buildings and hotels. It was really busy while we were there because they were hosting the formula one race. There was a lot of race action in town! We were all thrilled to be in a place with comforts of home, McDonalds, Chili’s, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks were some of the hot spots. “KL” has earned its place in my mind as the shopping capital of the world. The malls there are incredible!!! Some of them are ten stories high! They have every store you can imagine. At one of the malls we even rode an indoor roller coaster. We spent most of our time there wondering around the city. I would like to return to Malaysia someday to see the rest of it and I would love to come back to KL it’s a blast.

India

Hi Everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating our blog! We spent 6 days total on the ship from the end of March through April. But I still wanted to write about all the places we stopped!

After Mauritius we visited India, probably the most eye opening experience of the trip. There is no way to describe what it’s like to be in India. The poverty and pollution there is so emmense its hard to imagine anyone can live there. I know it made me feel very fortunate to be an American. The streets there are littered with trash and beggars and there is a constant smell of burning garbage in the air. The crew on our ship spent hours laying down cardboard and tarps all over the ship which I thought was a little over the top until I came back from my first afternoon in Chennai and my clothes and shoes were covered in black soot. Not only does it smell bad, but it’s hot as hell too! It felt like what I imagine standing right on the equator at the hottest part of the day is like. This description probably doesn’t make India sound too appealing but there were some fascinating and beautiful things there. The Taj Mahal is one of the most amazing buildings I have seen in person, no picture does it justice. It was incredible. We also visited Varanasi – the most holy site for Hindu’s. We were lucky enough to go on two boat rides down the Ganges while we were there. One at night and one at sunrise. At night there were tons of people chanting and it was all lit up, it looked like a festival was going on but that happens there every night. People come from all over India to put their feet, hands, or entire bodies in the holy river. I can tell you first hand it doesn’t look so holy – its murky and FILLED with trash. Tons of people bathe and wash their clothes in all of the trash every day. It’s also the place where they burn dead bodies and send their ashes down the river. We saw the crematories where they burn the bodies, it was very intense and somber. No one talked while we floated past that spot. Overall I decided I won’t be going back to India anytime soon but I am so glad I got to experience it and I will never forget it. It was both powerful and eye opening.

MAURITIUS

Mauritius- for the majority of the population, including us til we got on the ship- is just off the eastern coast of Madagascar, east of Africa! Which means it was very warm! We rented little villa style apartments with 10 of our friends & relaxed on the beach for a couple days! Jenna went on a drive around the southern tip of the island- the definition of the country song "On the Coast of Somewhere Beautiful" the water was SO blue & we were in the middle of nowhere! Our villas had a pool & lots of other SAS kids stayed in our complex & near by! Jenna rode on a moped a couple times, a leap of faith- putting my life in the hands of a college aged guy! Katie was smart & steared clear of the crazy moped rides & left side of the street driving! This was kind of like SAS Spring break- Mauritius is SO secluded & beautiful, we hope to come back for vacation or a honeymoon! Look up the island on a map, its only 20 by 40 miles! Love from paradise...

SOUTH AFRICA

Better late than never- SOUTH AFRICA WAS AMAZING!!! We are definitely going back sometime! Capetown was beautiful! We went wine tasting & horseback riding in the vineyards just outside Capetown our first day! Then the 2nd day we enjoyed the BEST day of our lives! We went SKYDIVING!!!! It was SUCH a rush & we're definitely going again in Colorado! (Sorry moms!) That afternoon we hiked 3,000 feet to the top of Table Mountain & saw the most amazing sunset ever! The sun was setting & the full moon was rising in a pink, blue & purple sky! SO BEAUTIFUL!! Our 3rd day we visited a township (shanty town) outside of Capetown & it was a great experience, we learned a lot! SAFARI for 3 days after that- we saw elephants, giraffes, lions, water buffalo, rhinos.... the list goes on! An elephant actually ground his tusk against our humvee! It was crazy! Sad to leave Capetown, but thouroughly exhausted we promise to make it back someday!!! Miss & love everyone! Heard the weather has been chilly in Colorado & Ohio- 80+ here... life is rough! :)

Oy from BRAZIL!!!

We arrived in Brazil on Fat Tuesday a.k.a. CARNIVAL!!!! We watched & celebrated from a camarote (a bar overlooking the whole parade) where we wore bright yellow Skol (local beer) jerseys & danced the night away! There were over 3 million people there & we are now officially a part of the largest social gathering to ever take place on earth! :) many people got robbed, but not smarty ktjb! we have spent the days at a beach, eating crazy Brazillian food - by guessing what sounds good & we walked ALL OVER Salvador! The views from the upper city are amazing! Last night we went to a local futbol game & Bahia won, so it was crazy- just a local game and the fans were SO intense! So we ate meat on a stick, bought them out of all their beer & cheered with the best of them! Tomorrow we are headed to an island of the coast called Itaparica, it should be gorgeous! then Saturday we set sail to South Africa! Much much love from Brazil, hope all is well!!!

WE LOVE PUERTO RICO!!!

hola from Puerto Rico!
we've walked about 20 miles in the last 2 days & gotten about 10 hours of sleep since we got here! Old San Juan is awesome, we salsa danced til 4 am & were happy to report we are becoming professional Salsa dancers, we learned from some very friendly & talented locals!!! Jenna has also learned to 2-step! :) we also took part in completely stopping traffic with hundreds of other people, while watching a drum band perform in the middle of the street at 2am! -it was like a scene straight out of drumline! we have found people who love country music just as much as we do! yay! (they're from texas) We saw all the famous forts El Morro included, weve walked every square block of the city & then relaxed at a gorgeous picturesque beach, Islaverde! Cab drivers here are crazy & we've been in a minor fender bender- we don't think there are ANY traffic laws here! This has been AMAZING so far, and we're only at our first port! we set sail tonight for Brazil, a 7 day voyage at sea awaits us! But thats okay, because its been 80 degrees every day on the ship so we can lay out by the pool and do our 'homework' :) Love & miss everyone!

ALL ABOARD!!!

hi! our ship set sail this evening from the bahamas & all the parents wished us off with tears and waves from the pier! katie's mama cried her eyes out, but its understandable, she'll be lonely! we were sad to say bye bye to Atlantis, but the rest of the world calls!!! We'll be in Puerto Rico on Saturday morning! yay- first port! we LOVE our room & all the kids on the boat!!! This is going to be AWESOME! As you can imagine knowing KT & I we have FULLY decorated our room with pictures of all our hottie friends, Dierks, & a Studs n' Spurs Calendar! We'll post pictures soon! hope everyone is doing well back on the Mainland... keep us posted on major life events! p.s. it was 80 today... jealous?