Bucket list--Alaska Day 3 Ketchikan (Part 1) 阿拉斯加之旅 第三天 克奇坎 (上)

The Rock statues

Day 3 Ketchikan

After sailing in the sea for one and a half day, I guess everyone was excited to see a land. Now I know how did captain Cook and his crews felt when they found a new continent. Just kidding. Ketchikan is the southeastern most populated city, also known as “the salmon capital of the world.” However, when I asked the local people where did they get their fish-- “something like fishman whalf’s”?? The answer is-- Safeway! I wonder if all the fishes were exported with a higher price tag and then re-import for the locals at the chain-store price? Misty Fjords National Monument, the Yosemite of the North, is 40 miles east of Ketchikan and we did not have time to explore the wilderness at this visit.

Private local tour stand right outside the berth 4.

SUPER HUGE HUSKY! Everything is bigger in Alaska!

Since we would have a short stay in Ketchikan (from 6AM to 1:30PM), we got up EARLY (7:15AM during vacation is considered early for me) and tried to maximize the time that we could have in Ketchikan. This was the first time that we could catch the breakfast in the international dining room as we woke up late and came after 9AM yesterday----I really admire those who can wake up early EVEN in the vacation and they deserved to get the prize. =P

We visited the naturalist’s ranger station in the Piazza and picked up some materials before we got off the ship. However, the best place to pick up maps and materials is the visitors bureau by the ship dock berth 2 ( Located at the Waterfront promenade cross section with Mission st). In there, you could also make reservation for excursions provided by the local tours. I’m sure it’s cheaper than the excursions booked through the cruise but you just want to make sure that you will come back before the ship takes off.

Shops on the Waterfront Promenade

The "Welcome Arch"

The Creek Street

We used the 2012 official Ketchikan walking map as our guide and explored around the town. Since Ketchikan is such a small little town, it only took us ~2 hours to finish touring the entire downtown. We started with the landmark of Ketchikan- the “Welcome Arch” (located at the Mission street cross section with the Front street) and then walking along the Mission street until we hit the big sign of the Creek street.

Houses on Creek Street are built over the water.

The Creek street is built over the water and it was once the home of bootleggers and prostitutes. Creek street is known as the Ketchikan’s old red-light district and in 1920’s there were more than 20 bawdy houses in this area alone, making prostitution was once the number 1 industry in Ketchikan. Since the houses along with Creek street were built over the water, bootleggers would row their rowboats right up the stream during high tide and delivered the smuggled Canadian whisky to those bawdy houses and backroom saloons in the middle of the night. That’s why a lot of those houses had a hidden trap doors underneath the house --- to pick up the delivery!

Right in front of the Creek street sign is Bawden street. We walked along Bawden street and then turned right on Park Ave to look for the salmon ladder. Obviously May is not the season for salmon and we didn’t see any fish at this time; however, according to a resident who lives nearby the salmon ladder, said “when the salmon comes back spawning, the whole area will smell really stinky and fishy that you are guaranteed to puke.” Hm, really? So am I considered lucky to not seeing the fish?

Salmon Ladder at the Left Lower Corner

Salmon Ladder- picture from Experience Ketchikan.com

Following the wooden boardwalk from the salmon ladder, we were led to the Married Men's Trail. The trail is quite a steep muddy path and I thought that’s how it got the name: a married man is tough and strong so taking this arduous short cut should be a piece of cake to him. Why he wants to take the shortcut? Of course~ he couldn’t wait to go home and see his wife. Haha~ how jaded, huh? Well, I laugh my head off after I found out that this trail is a secret backdoor that men can discreetly visit the houses in Creek street without being busted! 

A peek from the "Married Men's Trail"
You can see the Creek Street and downtown from the hill

This is the top of the hill where the Married Men's Trail
will lead you to.  Behind the totem pole is the
Ted Ferry Civic Center

Cape Fox Lodge on the top of the hill

We followed the highlighted route in the map and we passed by the salmon spawning area by the Ketchikan creek, the salmon row, the hatchery and eagle center, the totem heritage center, the Stedman street bridge, Dolly’s house, etc. Later on when we went back to the ship, a lot of people raved about the totem heritage center. They said they were really impressed with the authentic, non replica, huge totem pole in the museum. Each totem pole has a story description next to it and it worth the $5 admission fee if you like history and story. 

Chief Johnson Totem Pole

阿拉斯加之旅 第三天 克奇坎

航行了一天多, 終於看到陸地了. 所有旅客都像我一樣興奮!! 現在我能體會Cook船長以及他的船員在航行數十天後,首次發現新大陸的那份喜悅. 克奇坎Ketchikan位於阿拉斯加的東南邊, 也是東南方人口最稠密的城市. 克奇坎Ketchikan的別名是”三文魚的首都”. 我隨口問問當地居民他們是在哪裡買魚的. “是魚市場嗎?”--- 他們的答覆是”Safeway超級市場”我在懷疑阿拉斯加把魚都外銷,然後再利用超市的批發價進口海產供當地人食用. Misty Fjord National Monument 又稱北部的優勝美地公園, 位於 克奇坎Ketchikan 的東面 40英里以外的範圍.而這一次旅程未能安排去探索這個地方.

由於遊輪只會在 克奇坎Ketchikan逗留數小時(早上6時至下午1時30分), 我們提早起床, 盡量爭取多些時間在克奇坎Ketchikan遊覽. (對我們來說, 旅遊其間 7:15起床是蠻早的!!) 早起的鳥有蟲吃--這一次,我們趕得上在International Dining Room吃早餐. (昨天我們睡晚了點, 9時過後才到餐廳. 結果餐廳在9時已關門了) 真的很敬佩那些在旅遊期間還能如常早起的人, 他們應該得到應得的鼓勵及獎品.

在離開船前, 我們到船中心Piazza護林員的資訊展示攤位拿取地圖及資料. 但其實位於2號船停泊處的旅客資料局 (位於Waterfront Promenade夾Mission Street) 那兒不但有地圖及資料, 更有私營的旅行社能幫你安排短線的旅遊景點. 他們的價錢一般都比遊船公司的價錢便宜得多, 但閣下就必須要控制回程的時間, 免得過了遊船指定的登船時間而被遺留在岸上.

我們用2012 Ketchikan官方散步地圖作指標去探索四周. 由於Ketchikan是一個規模不大的小鎮, 我們用了大概2小時便完成市中心的跡察. 我們由地標”歡迎”的拱門/牌坊 開始, 沿著Mission Street 一直走,走到 Creek Street的牌坊前.

歡迎的拱門/牌坊

Creek Street 沿河建造, 曾經一度為走私酒的人及娼妓們臥虎藏龍的地方. 這兒是Ketchikan 最早期的紅燈區. 在1920年, 單單在這條街就有超過20 所妓寨, 令賣淫事業一度成為最賺錢最普遍的行業. 由於房屋都是沿河而起, 走私酒的人一般都會在夜深人靜,潮漲的時候把划艇划到妓寨或酒館的秘密室旁,利用秘密門運送加拿大走私的威士忌.

Creek Street

在Creek Street 的前方是 Bawden Street. 我們沿著 Bawden Street 一直走,直至到Park Ave右轉. 我們找到三文魚產卵的階梯. 由於五月並未是三文魚的繁殖期, 所以我們沒有看到三文魚. 剛巧碰到一位住在附近的居民, 她說:”當三文魚回來產卵時, 這兒會 變得像個魚市場般,四處都是魚腥味, 又臭又腥. 那時你定必作悶作嘔” 那今天沒有看到三文魚產卵算是幸運嗎?

跟著木板路走便會來到 “已婚男人”路徑. 這條小徑是一條 又險峻,又難行的泥路. 天真無知的我以為這條小徑的名字由來 是由於: 已婚男人比較強壯, 所以這艱巨的體能考驗對他們來說, 應該是輕而易舉; 為什麼要走捷徑?? 當然是要盡早回家會嬌妻噢!! 哈哈~~ 真的是入世未深. 其實這條捷徑是方便那些愛”偷食”的男人為免被捉到嫖妓, 特別設置後門出入妓寨 免得在正門被抓到.

我們跟著地圖的指示遊覽其他地方, 例如 靠近Ketchikan Creek的三文魚繁殖地區, 三文魚棚, 老鷹及孵卵所, 圖騰柱 (totem pole)文化遺產博物館, Stedman Street 大橋, 多莉之家 (Dolly’s House),等等. 後來回船後,聽到很多遊客都對圖騰柱 (totem pole)文化遺產博物館 贊口不絕. 他們說所有的圖騰柱都是原著的,並不是複製品. 每一條柱都有故事簡介及解釋. 他們覺得這裡的歷史價值及原著性會令你覺得這$5 入場卷是絕對值得的.

Bucket list--Alaska Day 2 阿拉斯加之旅 第二天

Day 2 -- At sea

It’s usually everyone’s nightmare to sail in the middle of nowhere with no place to embark and nothing to look forward. On the second day of our cruise, we had a whole day in the sea, which is what everybody called the boring day. I think Princess cruise has done a pretty good job in organizing activities and jazzing up the day. Actually, I think I have as much action and excitement on day 2 compared to the rest of my voyage.

After having a quick bite at the Horizon Court (the buffet), we started our day with “The $1000 Treasure Hunt”, which basically wants the guests to get familiar with the ship by having them to collect 10 stamps located in the different part of the ship. We finished that in 10 minutes~ but no luck in winning anything. Meanwhile, there are a lot of enrichment classes that we can take throughout the day. E.g photography@sea, creativity@sea: origami, fruit & vegetable carving demonstration, floral arrangement demonstration. “Scholarship @ Sea” is one of my favorite among those enrichment class. All presenters, especially our naturalist Sandra Schempp, are at professional level and they are a walking library.

After attending the naturalist lecture: inhabitants of the Alaskan coastal water, we had lunch at the international dining room. We were seated with a tourist flied from Tokyo, Japan and he does not speak any English at all! WOW! I really admire his courage to travel alone and doesn’t speak the language in the country he travel. I managed to use my broken Japanese to translated and communicated with him. It was a really interesting conversation with both of us guessing what were we trying to say-- I think he was saying “his wife will get seasickness and thus she is not coming with him; after 3-11 earthquake, people in Japan, especially in Tokyo are still scare of the 2nd wave of earthquake; Sapphire Princess is very famous in Japan as it was built in Japan by Mitsubishi heavy metal-- he thinks it is a very nice ship...” 恥ずかしく...日本語

Philly Cheese steak, half the portion

London Mixed Grilled

We continued our exploration of the ship after lunch~ we found out that the skywalkers nightclub kind of like an observatory during the daytime and a lot of people love to bring books to read in that “glass room” (I think the nightclub is 75% surrounded by a ceiling-to-the-floor window). We checked out the “movies under the stars” by the Neptune’s Reef & pool--- showing the latest movies but way too cold to sit in an open deck for movies at this time in Alaska. Then we headed back to our stateroom and get ready for the captain’s night. 

Cinnamon Rice Pudding

Berries Fruit Tart

For those who have cruised before will know that “captain’s night” is stand for alcohol, pictures, and indulge. Tons of people are crowded at the bars and the Piazza to wait for the captain’s champagne waterfall party. I made an effort to stay away from the drink here but I couldn’t say no to Kary’s friendly offer as he insisted to treat us a drink-- otherwise he will keep saying “it hurts my feeling”. We indulged ourself with good food, yummy drink and great “neighbor-talk-and-laughter”. We went to the theater for the show after dinner and the we called off our not-boring-at-all day.

Calpyso & Reef & Pool--with hot tub

Calpyso & Reef & Pool

Neptune's Reef & Pool-- hot tub

Neptune's Reef & Pool

Movies Under the Stars

Table tennis right above the Calypso pool, on the second level

Skywalker Nightclub-- Daytime

Captain Nick at the Piazza

Grilled Mignons of Beef Tenderloin with
 Madeira-Truffle Demi-Glace
Vegetable Medley, Almond Croquettes

Sauteed Shrimp Newburg with
Shellfish Cream
Pea pods, Carrots and Saffron rice

Caramelized Pear in Flaky
Puff Pastry Crust
French Vanilla Anglaise

Nutella Icecream

阿拉斯加之旅的第二天: 航行海中心~

許多人都認為航行在四邊無制, 嘅無風景又無登岸目標的大海中最 為難熬. 旅程的第二天, 遊輪全程航行在海上, 往目標全速前進--這就是大家所指的無聊日. 本人認為Princess 在安排節目活動這方面做得非常妥善, 令我們的”航行經驗”生色了不少. 感覺我在這天的活動不比以後幾天的旅程少.

在自助餐餐廳吃過早餐後, 我們便開始參與船上的活動. 我們先玩了”$1000大元尋寶”--其實遊戲的目的是為了讓賓客了解船上的設施,在不同的店舖搜集不同的印花,然後抽獎. 我們花了十分鐘便完成,但與獎品無緣. 與此同時, 船上有許多資訊性或附娛樂性的興趣班供賓客參與:例如 攝影, 手工藝班, 蔬果雕刻,插花,等等. 我最感興趣的莫過於學術班. 所有學術班的導師,特別是自然家 Sandra Schempp都有專業水平或以上, 可以稱得上流動圖書館.

上過自然學課: 阿拉斯加的沿海”居民”後, 我們到餐廳去吃午餐. 我們被安排到坐在一位由日本東京遠道而來的旅客旁. 真佩服他的勇氣: 他完全不會說英語, 又沒有朋友親人跟他一起來,完全沒法跟服務員溝通. 我用了我那l不流利的日文來幫他翻譯,溝通. 我們互相猜測大家想表達的意思. 我想他想說: 他的太太會暈船,所以沒有一起來; 經過311 大地震後, 日本人,特別是住在東京地區的居民, 都很怕會有第二次的地震; Sapphire Princess/ 藍寶石公主號 在日本也蠻有名的---因為她是日本三菱重工的結晶品.~ 恥ずかしく...日本語

飯後,我們繼續在船上勘探-- 發現Skywalker 夜總會在早上的時候會被乘客當作瞭望台或閱讀室使用 (整個夜總會有75%以上是落地大玻璃). 我們到”星光下的銀幕” 看戲~ 銀幕在Neptune & Reef 海王星泳池旁. 播放的,是最新的電影, 但是阿拉斯加在這個時候還是很冷, 不太適合坐在甲板上看戲. 之後, 我們便回房休息, 準備今晚船長之夜的晚宴.

相信很多有坐過遊輪的朋友們都會知道船長之夜是相等於喝酒, 照相, 及放縱自己. 當我們來到中心Piazza 廣場時, 已經看到很多人已擠擁在酒吧或廣場的四周等待香檳派對的開始. 我們努力地抗拒香檳的誘惑, 但我們無法抗拒kara的熱情款待. 他堅持要請我們喝酒/飲料, 若果我們不領他的情, 他會詼諧地說我們傷了他的感覺. 跟Kary及Marilyn 足膝長談, 舉杯暢飲, 沉醉於美食中~不亦樂乎. 晚飯後, 我們到劇場去看歌舞表現, 然後回房休息, 結束了所謂的無聊日. 

Bucket list--Alaska May 19-29, 2012 阿拉斯加之旅 第一天

Day 1 Vancouver

Everyone has a bucket list and some like to start it after their retirement. I choose to start it early just because I think life is short and nothing will stay the same in the next minute. I also see a lot of my young patients are confined to bed before they can have a taste of life-- this has made me think about what is life. Recently I've read a paragraph about life and I totally agree with it: Life is being happy and no one is responsible for your happiness, except for yourself. And here I am, taking the voyage and explore about the 49th state, Alaska.

Glad to know that our ship will depart from Vancouver, BC Canada at Canada place, which means we can have a lot of fun before we get on the ship. I love Vancouver where you can see greens and flowers everywhere during summer time. You can have the best dim sum in the world as those dim sum pastry chefs from Hong Kong have emigrated to Vancouver before the handover of Hong Kong back to China in 1997. A diverse city with activities that fit people with different age and culture-- which mean a lot more activities you can do!!

We took an early flight from LAX to YVR Vancouver ,BC to make sure that we will have plenty of time to spend in the city. After we landed, we dropped off our luggages with the Princess tour counter at the airport and then we headed to the skytrain station right across the airport. I think LAX should build something like the skytrain here- all you need to do is to hop on the train and it will take you to the heart of the city. We took a train heading to Waterfront.(CAD $7.5. $5 will be added to any train leaving the airport/sea island) If you need to go to Richmond for dim sum like we do, just transfer at Bridgeport station (where River Rock Casino and Hotel is) and take the southbound train to Brighouse-Richmond.

Once you have arrived the Brighouse, the terminal, walked downstair and crossed the street. You will find a bakery store called Kam Do Bakery <http://www.yelp.com/biz/kam-do-bakery-richmond> just right to the Richmond Center. This bakery store is famous for their “Wife cake/ Lo Por Beng”. We bought the egg tart, red bean paste “Sa Yung” (deep fried bread similar to donut but with different bread dough), and Lo Por Beng. Everything tasted so good and I think it’s far better than a lot of bakery in Hong Kong.  

Walking toward the north for about 100 meter, you will meet the Westminster Hwy and make a left turn onto Westminster Hwy. Walking for ~ 200 meter, Kirin Seafood restaurant should be on your left (there is a sign of the restaurant in the aisle, the actual restaurant is on the 3rd floor). http://www.yelp.com/biz/kirin-seafood-restaurant-richmond If you didn’t make any reservation on a weekend, expected to wait for an hour. It’s that popular seriously.  

Har Gow 蝦餃

Siu Mai 燒賣

Scallop/Shrimp Squash Dumping 南瓜白玉餃

Deep Fried Crab Claw Wrapped with Minced Prawn

 百花釀蟹鉗

帶子蒸腸粉

Scallop Steamed Cheung Fun

Durian Mochi

榴槤 糯米糍

We ordered the typical shrimp dumpling (Har gow $4.78), siu mai ($4.78), scallop cheung fun (steamed rice noodle roll $5.25), something called pumpkin dumpling with scallop, shrimp, squash and cilantro ($4.98). We ordered a side order of deep fried crab claw wrapped with minced prawn ($5.95 each) and they are freshly made-to-order. For our dessert, we ordered a durian mochi ($5.99)-- fresh durian with whipped cream wrapped in a thinly stretched mochi-- the BEST durian mochi that we have ever had!!. It’s quite pricey but you pay for what you get. I guarantee you can’t find a better dim sum place in US, not even close. In Hong kong? Hm... I’ve never tried those high end dim sum place in Hong Kong Island but since most of the dim sum pastry chefs have moved to Vancouver, I think the chance of having elite dim sum in Hong Kong might be much lower than in Vancouver.

After lunch, we took the skytrain from Brighouse and it took about 25 minutes to get to Waterfront ($2.5). We knew that there will be 3 ships departing from Canada Place and was told not to come before 2pm due to severe traffic. We were redirected to wait in the convention center next to the Canada Place. After waiting for ~ 2 hours, our number got called and we were finally taken to the US custom followed by boarding the ship. 

Phew~ what a long~day. Our ship departed 3 hours later than the scheduled time 4:30pm. We explored around the ship and it was quiet---I guess people just went to bed early tonight after such a long and hectic day. We had our pre-reserved dinner at Vivaldi dining room (7:30 pm) and met our waiter Apollo and his assistant Marco. They are friendly and funny- Apollo said he and Marco are meant to work together-- so that they are Marco-Pollo! We also met our neighbor-table friends-- Marilyn and Kary, who is a retired nurse practitioner and a court officer in the orange county respectively. They kept us company for all the dinner for the rest of the voyage.

The Vivaldi Dining Room

Lobster and Seafood Pate, Dill-Mustard Sauce

Frozen Rum-Infused Piña Colada Soup, Pineapple Dots

Slow-Roasted 5-Star Prime Rib of Beef

Natural Rosemary Jus, Char-Grilled Tomato, Loaded Idaho Potato

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Double Cream
Steeped Berries

Warm Passion Fruit Souffle
with Vanilla Custard

Hazelnut Icecream

旅程的第一天: 溫哥華.

每個人都有一個”人生必做 的事” 的清單. 有些人喜歡在退休後才開始實行, 我卻選擇現在就一一的把它們實現. 選擇早一點實現夢想是因為本人認為人物事件每一分鐘都在變. 眼前看到的,在下一分鐘未必會出現. 而且看到很多年輕的病人,尚未體會人生便病逝, 令我再三思索人生的意義. 最近看到一編短文,本人深感認同:人生是 為了尋找快樂而活; 除了你自己外,無人需要為你的幸福快樂而負責. 有見及此 ,我便計劃我的第49州阿拉斯加之旅,朝著目標 開始起行.

得知遊輪會從溫哥華出發後令我格外興奮! 這代表我們可以先在溫哥華玩個夠才上船!! 我對溫哥華格外鍾情--喜愛她夏季的時候四處綠草如茵, 花兒滿佈; 喜愛吃最好吃的”飲茶點心” --九七回歸前, 很多香港的點心師父都紛紛移民到溫哥華去, 所以點心都是以傳統方法去製作. 溫哥華有著各式各樣的文化及活動, 總有適合不同文化及年齡的人來參與.

我們一早就乘搭加拿大航空由洛杉磯飛抵溫哥華--這樣才確保我們有足夠的時間遊市中心. 抵達溫哥華國際機場後, 我們把行李交託給機場裡Princess櫃檯的職員處理, 把行李直接送到船上. 我們走到機場對面的建築,走上二樓乘搭skytrain. 我覺得加州應該認真考慮建設相同的交通工具--- 只須坐上列車,便能帶你到市中心的各個地方. 我們坐往 “Waterfront”的列車 (由機場/sea island出發到任何地方到會加上$5加幣, 共$7.5) 若要往南走, 像我們一樣要到 richmond “飲茶吃點心” 可在Bridgeport 站轉車(river rock 賭場亦在此站) -- 到對面月台去乘坐 往 Brighouse-Richmond的列車.

抵達Bridghouse總站後, 往地面(下一層)方向走,然後經過交通燈走到對面. 在richmond center 的右邊,你會看 到金都餅店.它們的”老婆餅” 最為有名. 我們買了牛油餅皮蛋撻, 紅豆沙翁, 及老婆餅--全部都很好吃--甚至比一些香港的餅店還要好吃.

由餅店往北走,大概100米左右,你會看到Westminister hwy. 左轉,走大概200米左右, 在小巷中會找到麒麟海鮮酒家的招牌. 餐廳就在三樓. 若果沒有定位,又遇上是周末, 那你得等一小時了.

我們點了蝦餃( $4.78加幣) ,燒賣($4.78) ,帶子蒸腸粉($5.25) , 南瓜白玉餃 ($4.98, 有蝦,帶子, 南瓜及莧茜) 百花釀蟹鉗 ($5.8一只) 及 榴槤 糯米糍 ($5.99). 蟹鉗 包著新鮮蝦膠來炸, 即叫即製; 糯米糍內有新鮮 榴槤及忌廉- 從未吃過如此美味的糯米糍!! 真的想知道師傅是怎樣製造出 如此薄而有口感的糯米糍皮. 這裡點心的價錢確是有點兒貴,但我覺得這是物有所值的. 我能打賭美國的點心酒家沒有一間能夠比得上麒麟酒家的點心. 香港嘛~~我尚未有機會去品嚐香港最頂尖的食府, 但若果大部份的點心師傅都移居到溫哥華去了, 要找好吃的點心真的要花一點工夫去找了.

午餐過後,我們由Brighouse乘搭往Waterfront 的skytrain ($2.5) ,25分鐘內便到達Waterfront 站. 再由Carl’s jr 出口出站去找 Canada place. 遊輪公司有呼籲叫我們這些自行到達的群眾們(沒有乘坐遊輪公司的接送專車的旅客) 最好在下午二時後才好到達候船室--因為這天,Princess 及Holland america 共有三首船由溫哥華出發. 預計會有9000人須要通過海關, 場面會非常混亂. 我們在下午二時後抵達Canada place, 再轉介到convention center 輪候叫籌. 等了大概兩小時後, 我們終於能夠到美國移民局,過海關登船.

真的是漫長的一天喔!!!!! 我們的船足足遲了三小時才開啟. 由原定的4:30pm, 延遲到下午7:30pm 才離開溫哥華Canada place. 我們四處參觀, 可能是大家都覺得很累,早已回房休息, 所以四處都很安靜. 沒什麼賓客. 我們早已預約好每晚 7:30pm在Vivadi 餐廳用膳. 我們認識了我們的侍應Apollo及他的助手Marco. 他們都很友善及風趣 Apollo說他跟助手Marco 是注定了在一起---因此才有Marco-polo. 我們亦認識到Marilyn 及Kary, 他們坐在我們的隔壁用膳. 他們陪伴了我們所有的晚餐時間, 令旅程生色不少.