Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting !

I'M-IN-ASIA! I must say that when we first arrived in Osaka, Japan...for the first time, I felt REALLY far away from home. Don't get me wrong, seeing tribal dances in Papua New Guinea and sailing right next to the Sydney Opera House felt far...but now I feel REALLY, REALLY far. Our first stop was very brief for a memorial service at Iwo Jima, where Americans climbed the mountain to fight Japanese soldiers. The ship did a really nice service for all the veterans and we all gathered on the deck to see the famous mountain where the American flag was placed. There were also a ton of humpback whales all around the island, which we saw from the ship...amazing!

The next day we arrived in Osaka! Now Japan was nothing like I expected it to be. First of all, it was SNOWING! Full on snow, people. Freezing cold. I was definitely not prepared for that. A big group of us got off the ship and decided to go to Kyoto by taking the bullet train to see "The Golden Temple"...a temple in a beautiful garden all made from 24 kt. gold. Thank God one of the girls with us had been to Japan before, because nobody there speaks A WORD of english. I know to some I may seem like an ignorant American by saying that, but communicating in Japan is REALLY, REALLY difficult. It is not very tourist friendly at all. After taking two trains and the bullet train, we magically arrived in Kyoto and The Golden Temple was truly beautiful. The snow on the ground made it all the prettier. Unfortunately, it was a little difficult getting around because our group was so big that day. You also needed yen for everything as no where took credit cards...WHHHAT?!? Isn't Japan supposed to be all high-tech? One of the guys with us had a Japanese/English translation book and I got some pretty funny video footage of Mike and I in a cab speaking in Japanese to the cab driver and saying we were looking for our relatives, saying we were Britney Spears, among other things. We attempted to eat dinner in Kyoto, and stumbled upon this place where, again, nobody speaks a word of english. Fun. Everyone was given a menu of pictures of food, in which they pointed to what they wanted to eat. Umm, no thanks, I wasn't really in the mood to eat Felix the Cat. I stuck with rice and soy sauce.

The next day we were in Kagoshima, Japan, and again, it was FREEEEEEZING! The only thing really to do was to go to this outdoor mall. I bought nothing because I couldn't communicate my shoe size in Japanese. Bummer. My overall opinion of Japan....cool place, but definitely not somewhere I'm dying to go back to. The communication barrier makes it very difficult to do anything there.

After two more days at sea and much anticipation...we finally arrived in SHANGHAI, CHINA. Now THIS was more like it. Shanghai was not like I expected it to be at all! It looks like a combination between Las Vegas and Times Square. Tons of huge buildings, hotels, and bright lights. I must say it has been one of my favorite stops on the tour so far! It is a shopper's PARADISE!! I only wished that my mom, dad, and sister were with me because they would have LOVED it! Much different than Japan, everybody spoke english. Also, everything is insanely cheap!!! Cab rides anywhere are around 2 dollars. But I was completely unprepared for the utopia that awaited me at TAO BAO CITY....an indoor mall that may be the closest thing to heaven for a girl from Boca. Amazing designer knock-off purses, belts, jewelry, clothes, shoes....you name it! It looks like an indoor flea market where these crazy people take you into back rooms and show you all the chanel, prada, and fendi you could ever want. I think I died and came back to life at least 7 times. They also sell DVDs that are not even out yet (Sweeney Todd, Enchanted, etc..) for a dollar each!!! I bought a million. I also bought a huge Disney DVD set of 72, that's right, 72 Disney DVD's of every movie I could ever want for like 20 bucks. Bargaining with these people is like a highly skilled sport. By the end of the day, I got so good at bargaining that I refused to pay over 10 dollars for anything I got. I was doing all the bargaining for all the castmembers I was with...oh it was good times. Those Shanghai Chinese sure are a sarcastic pushy group! They literally pull you by the arm and drag you into their stores and in the "back rooms" for all the best purses. IT WAS GREAT! ;) I've never been so happy to be pulled in my life! I ended up buying a ton and all in all, one of the best days so far!!

We were overnight for 2 nights in Shanghai, and I got to see some gorgeous hotels including the Radisson, which had an amazing view from the bar on the 47th floor! But the following night was the best, as I had an amazing kobe beef dinner at the Hyatt on the 87th FLOOR!!!! Wow, that hotel was definitely the coolest hotel I have ever been to. It had two circular rooms, one on the 50th floor, and one on the 87th, with amazing views of the entire city. You can see the hotel from anywhere in the city, so it was awesome to actually be inside. I also spent some time at the "Real Mall" in Shanghai which is categorized by floor. Each "mall" (there are about 4 right next to eachother) goes up about 25 stories, and each level is grouped by either "kids clothes" with like 10 kids clothes stores, then "shoes" with 10 shoe stores, and so on. I thought that made shopping mush easier! And EVVVVVERYWHERE you try to walk in Shaghai someone is trying to sell you something. You look at your watch to find out what time it is and someone runs up and says, "Want to buy another watch???" NO! It started to get really funny when people are still trying to sell you fake Chanel bags at midnight. We found that the only things that make them go away are replying with strange noises or telling them you are deaf.

Well, you guessed it, tonight I am in my room watching one of my millions of new movies as we sail to Hong Kong! We arrive tomorrow and I hear it is just as fab as Shanghai....I cannot wait! I should also share the news that in my contract, the production company I work for is allowed to extend me if needed for up to 30 days. Well, they have extended the entire cast because of something to do with the next rehearsal process. So we are all hear now until June 2nd. The good news is that after we arrive back in Ft Laud on April 30th, we sail back to the Mediterranean and visit Rome, Sicily, Venice, and Sorrento, then Nice and Marseille, France in addition to Athens, Barcelona, and yes, from the Liza Minnelli song, Ring Them Bells...we go to Dubrovnik! Woohoo! Apparently a company has chartered out the ship for one of the weeks in May, so they are choosing all their own locations as well. While I'm sure I'll be anxious to get back on dry land, not a bad way to end my contract here.

Anyway, please write and say hi! Love and miss you all.

ASH xoxo

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