Poky Little Wanderer

Slowly wandering my way everywhere

Tag: Solo Travel

In Vietnam motorbikes dominate the roads

Semester at Sea: Visiting Vietnam

Published October 30, 2019 / / 7 Comments

*This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through these links (at no additional cost to you) I will earn a small commission. Click here for the full disclosure*

For the MV Explorer’s next port of call we were visiting Vietnam. The ship docked in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon without any customs delays. Unlike previous ports though, we were given landing cards that we were required to carry with us at all times in order to get through the security between the ship and the port. While the official name of the city is Ho Chi Minh on all official documentation, many of its citizens still use Saigon interchangeably.

Continue reading
Trees in mist near Hakone, Japan

Semester at Sea: Independent Travel in Japan (Part 2)

Published January 24, 2019 / / 2 Comments

*This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through these links (at no additional cost to you) I will earn a small commission. Click here for the full disclosure*

*I’m going to apologize in advance for the lack of photos as I lost many of my photos from my travel in Japan in an unfortunate situation in Beijing (but that’s a story for another day).

Independent Travel

After finishing up my tour of Yokohama and Tokyo with Semester at Sea (which you can read about in part 1 of my Japan posts) on my second day of travel in Japan, my plan was to meet up with a group of friends in the city. However, my afternoon did not go as smoothly as I had anticipated. One of my friends had a cell phone that worked internationally which I was to call when I reached Tokyo Station so we could arrange where to meet.

Continue reading
Sign on the MV Explorer stating how weird things about shipboard life make it better

Semester at Sea: 5 Weird Things About Shipboard Life

Published October 17, 2018 / / 8 Comments

Signs on ship warning of strong winds and not to use certain doors

Weird things about shipboard life included signs you wouldn’t see on your campus at home…

When I sailed with Semester at Sea during the Spring 2010 voyage, it was aboard the MV Explorer, a converted cruise ship from the Mediterranean Sea. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to circumnavigate the globe visiting ten countries throughout the semester, but there was so much more I got to experience as well. There are some weird things about shipboard life that took some getting used to as it was completely different from the last 2.5 years I’d spent at college. Continue reading

Semester at Sea logo on MV Explorer at sunset

Studying Abroad: A Semester at Sea

Published August 21, 2018 / / 10 Comments

Semester at Sea… What’s that?

As a Tourism Management major in college, my professors often talked about different destinations around the world and how they handled tourism. One fateful day in February 2009, my professor mentioned that a fellow student in our program was currently studying abroad with Semester at Sea (SAS). He gave the briefest description that this student was studying abroad on a ship going around the world. After class I returned to my room and immediately looked up the program to get more information. Continue reading

© 2024 Poky Little Wanderer

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑