Land Ho!

I’ve been unable to update the blog while in China because the WordPress app didn’t work with chinese Internet. I’m sorting out my backlog of drafts and will publish them soon.

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Being seasick on a ferry that you took for fun is a lot like having a hangover. As you crouch over the toilet bowl you ask yourself why you make these life choices and swear never to do it again… Until the sickness passes and you forget all about the promise you made and start planning next time.

The crossing from Shanghai to Osaka (Japan) got choppy on the second day at sea. It might have been due to typhoon 10 (the Japanese don’t give names, just numbers). The typhoon had already delayed us from leaving Shanghai for a day. We had gone through passport control and officially left China and then we were stuck on the boat, spitting distance from Shanghai’s famous Bund. The plus side being I got to see the Bund at night and got to watch the ships coming and going through the world’s busiest port.

I chose to travel second class B which means sleeping in a Japanese style dorm which is just a huge open floor with no shoes allowed where we each get a futon.

There are 6 white people onboard. Myself, a Swiss German named Rafael, An 83 year old American, a French speaking mother and daughter from Moscow and an Italian cartoonist. Later I met Chenyi: a German born to chinese parents and speaks fluent Chinese, German and English. Other than that, the passengers are mostly Chinese with a few Japanese. I spoke to a pair of architecture undergrads studying in Shanghai who are off building spotting in Japan.

The boat is full of interesting characters. Rafael pointed out this is because everyone sane takes the plane. The most noticeable is a Chinese guy who always wears a gas mask and carries a huge rucksack everywhere he goes onboard. Chenyi asked him about it and apparently its for religious reasons. He keeps coming to me with 2 compasses pointing in different directions asking which way we’re going. The American is also a character. Me and Rafael both agreed he reminds us of The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. He has tales from seemingly every country.

The food was mediocre and the gamesroom was locked. Chenyi, Rafael and myself passed the time by propping up the bar until the ludicrously late hour of 9pm when they kicked us out. They had a collection of empty spirit bottles and only sell beer (tsingtao or asahi) and a karaoke machine for 100¥ a song which broke on the last night. We made friends with Sansa, one of the young ladies working on the boat who is apparently not a fan of Game of Thrones.

After the swell of Thursday afternoon that sent everybody running to the bathroom or to bed, we wake to the American pointing out “Land Ho!” as Japan is now in view.

Coming into Japan the sea calms dramatically as we go between the two islands. We pass under several huge bridges as night falls and we gaze out at the industrial seaside of Fukuoka. We come so close at points to the shore that I feel like jumping off and swimming to land to get to Japan 12 hours early! At least there is phone signal here. I’m looking forward to the seafood in Osaka!