Once the Peace Ark had passed the Strait of Malacca and sailed into the Indian Ocean, the ship began to pitch and roll. Hard.

Luckily, I didn't feel seasick. On the contrary, I found the unusual motion very interesting. I felt like a slice of lemon in a cup of tea constantly stirred by a spoon. Sometimes I was scooped up to the surface and then pushed to the bottom again.

I was one of the lucky few unaffected by seasickness. An interpreter in the cabin next to mine told me that she once vomited 12 times in one day and sometimes she couldn't even hold out long enough to get to the toilet. "I had to carry a plastic bag with me all day long," she said. "My stomach was absolutely empty, but I still felt sick. I couldn't do anything but lie on my bunk."