Alluring Alaska

If San Francisco is vibrant and colourful, then Alaska is pure and tranquil. Think snow-capped mountains, wild animals and untouched scenery. 

From San Franciso,we take a domestic flight to Anchorage and stay one night at Comfort Suites -- a small but cosy inn with clean spacious room, comfy bed and soft fluffy pillows - before embarking on the cruise ship Celebrity Millennium to Alaska. 

The room is adequately equipped with a microwave oven, mini fridge and a small kitchen sink. There are also free cookies, piping hot from the oven and beverages like ice cold water, hot chocolate, coffee and tea at the lobby for guests. This is hospitality at its best.


Cruise to Alaska

The cruise ship

The next day after breakfast, we rent a car and drive about two-and-a-half hours to the port to board the cruise ship at Seward. It is raining incessantly that day and the sea is very rocky in the night. Our concierge cabin is quite small and not much walking room due to the sofa bed. But the picturesque view from the balcony more than makes up for it. 

As concierge class guests, we have some privileges such as a bottle of sparkling wine, a daily platter of fresh fruits and delicacies and best of all, we get to select the type of pillows we want. I request for a body pillow which is supposed to be great for easing body aches. It turns out to be huge and occupies half the bed! The pillows are made from down feathers and are extremely soft and comfy. 

Alaskan king crab legs

The Celebrity Millennium is not a new ship but has everything a cruise ship has onboard -- jacuzzi, pools, library, spa and several restaurants. It is in one of their fine-dining restaurants, the exclusive Qsine that we have one of the best gastronomic experiences -- a sumptuous lunch of Alaskan King crab legs, crab cake and crab soup. Dipping the crab legs and crab cake into the melted butter sauce, the taste is phenomenal!


Stunning Glacier 
Our first stop is at Hubbard Glacier, which stands at 11,000 feet above sea level and stretches 76 miles from its source in the Yukon Territory in Canada to the sea at Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay. Measuring approximately 7-miles wide and 400-feet high, the glacier is a breathtaking sight to behold. Looking out from our room balcony, we have a first-hand spectacular view of glacier ice bergs in varying sizes and different shades of colours -- some are light blue while others are pure white and a few are even black -- floating on the seas. We are told by the cruise captain that some of these glacier ice bergs are more than 400 years old.  

Glacier ice bergs on the sea

Due to the huge chunks of ice bergs floating on the seas, the ship captain has to navigate the cruise ship carefully through the waters so as not to crash into the ice bergs. From our balcony, we are given a demonstration of the crew using some devices to move the bigger chunks of ice bergs aside so that the ship can navigate forward. It is indeed an eye-opener!


Quaint Juneau
 

Juneau town

Our next stop is this quaint little town named Juneau, which is also the capital of Alaska. It is nestled deep within the Inside Passage and is founded during a gold rush in 1880. The former gold mining town faces the water from the mainland side of Gastineau Channel where several magnificent fjords are located along the channel coast, and the majestic Mendenhall Glacier is just nearby. With a current population of approximately 30,000, Juneau boasts spectacular nature and wilderness. However, we are not able to catch a glimpse of any grizzly bears, not that we mind. 

If you are into shopping, you will be delighted by the eclectic mix of touristy shops comprising costume jewellery retail and souvenir shops selling uniquely designed T-shirts, as well as exquisite hand-painted Russian and Alaskan dolls. There are also some bespoke shops selling unique Alaskan artefacts and crafts.

Russian dolls aplenty

Amongst my best buys is a quaint crankshaft musical box which plays the Amazing Grace tune when you turn the crank; and an exquisite hand-painted Russian doll that comes in a set of five with each smaller one hidden in the bigger one. 

In summer when we are there, the shops are bustling with tourists but according to a shop assistant in a jewellery shop, the retail shops here are closed in winter as it's too cold for tourists to come here, so the retailers move to other parts of the United States, like the Caribbean, for business. Talk about versatility.


Historical Skagway
Skagway is another small town like Juneau but much smaller and less busy. It used to be a gold mine town but now boasts mainly jewellery shops like Juneau, except that Skagway has a historical museum that records the history of the town and its gold rush era. It has also preserved a frontier spirit complete with saloons and dance clubs.

Skagway Ivory Museum

Picturesque Icy Strait Point

Breathtaking Icy Strait Point

Unlike Juneau and Skagway which are populated with many tourist shops, Icy Strait Point, located near the city of Hoonah which is the largest native Tlingit Indian settlement in Alaska, is a breathtakingly beautiful place flanked by high mountains, rocky beach and clear blue sea. Home to a historic cannery, the port's connection to the sea is significant. It is not uncommon to spot humpback whales, orcas, seals, sea otters and five species of Pacific salmon in the sea here. Its spectacular nature is almost unspoiled except for a handful of cottages, craft shops and restaurants, as well as several holiday-makers sunbathing in the cool summer.


Bustling Ketchikan

Ketchikan - Alaska's first city

Our last port of call is a sleepy little town named Ketchikan, which means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle" in Tlingit Indian. Squeezed between the 3000-foot Deer Mountain and the sea, the rustic, picturesque town which is once a fishing camp, sprawls out in the shape of an eagle in flight, hence its name. Like the other towns in Alaska, Ketchikan is surrounded by beautiful nature and wilderness. This is something city-dwellers like us will not get to embrace in our concrete jungle.

Overall, the 7-night Alaska cruise is a wonderful experience that opens up our eyes to a whole new horizon of spectacular nature and awe-inspiring wilderness in beautiful Alaska. The wide expanse of deep blue sea, towering snow-peak mountains, quaint little towns dotted with pretty cottages and dipped in rich history, with a breathtaking sunset to behold -- these and many more will form a collage of beautiful memories of Alaska in years to come.

Savouring San Francisco

San Francisco was a stop-over for our Alaska cruise trip in June, so we decided to stay a few days to sight-see this vibrant and colourful city. We were not disappointed.  

Brunch at Home Plate

There were several eateries around the neighborhood of our motel -- the Coventry Motor Inn at Lombart Street, but we were too jet-lagged to travel far for lunch so we were relieved to find Home Plate -- a nice, cosy eatery within walking distance from our motel. The ambience of the brightly-lit cafe was inviting and homely. We ordered potato pancakes, beef steak sandwich and roasted chicken omelette, and they were all delicious. As an added bonus, they served us plain water in two big glass bottles -- free of charge. 

Lombart Street

After a satisfying lunch, we walked to the famous spiral Lombart street (crooked street) that required good manuovering skills to drive through the very steep and narrow curves of path at Lombart Gardens. Even though we went on a Monday, the place was still crowded with tourists, jostling for the best spots to take selfies or picture-perfect photographs of the breathtaking view of San Francisco Bay in the background.

Cable Car

When in San Francisco, you must take the Cable Car (which is actually a tram but it runs on cables). It was quite a unique experience as the Cable Car travelled up and down the steep streets of San Francisco -- like travelling in an ultra slow motion roller coaster. It's usually packed and seats are limited, so be prepared to stand.

We took the Cable Car to Chinatown, where San Francisco's large Chinese community congregated. There were a lot of shops selling fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs and medicines, as well as cheap souvenirs and T-shirts. If you missed Chinese food, you would be spoilt for choice here. There are more Chinese restaurants here than anywhere else in San Francisco.

Hailing a cab or taking the public transport was not exactly a walk in the park. We had to walk a long distance to get back to our motel. By then, we were so exhausted and just picked a diner nearby to have dinner. Saiwalks served mainly Vietnamese and Asian fare and the food was just decent, not great.

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

There are several touristy but interesting places in San Francisco that a first-timer must visit. One of them is the Fisherman's Wharf. But first, make a stop-over at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market since they closed in the afternoon. We went on a weekday so it was less crowded than expected -- more tourists than locals. There also seemed to be less stalls open, but there were enough to keep us enthralled with their display of fresh fruits, vegetables and assorted flowers. The strawberries were bright red and huge, and the apricots were so sweet and juicy that we bought a bag to munch along the way.
 

Seals sunbathing at Pier 39

Along Fisherman's Wharf, we stopped by at Pier 39 and witnessed a school of seals sunbathing on the decks. It was quite a sight to behold watching the seals lie lazily on the wooden platforms and making loud "orh! orh!" noises, oblivious to the many people watching and photographing them from afar. There are no lack of restaurants and souvenir shops at Fisherman's Wharf. The place is touristy but it is an iconic landmark of San Francisco, so do spend some time here.
 

Golden Gate Bridge

We ended the day with a nice coastal drive to the Golden Gate Bridge -- another iconic landmark of SFO -- and saw first-hand the famous bridge I have seen countless times in magazines and travel books. We stopped at the fort point and had a picturesque scenic view of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the waves lashing against the rocks below and the beautiful sunset in the horizon. Due to time constraint, we did not go on the bridge but I have no doubt it will be a very different experience looking down from the bridge.

Master Yoda Fountain

If you are a Star Wars fan like us, you would not want to miss the opportunity to stop by the Lucas Film Headquarters located at 
The Presidio. Upon entering the sprawling, perfectly manicured grounds of The Presidio, we were greeted by the Yoda Fountain of Master Yoda. Inside the building, there were a few Star Wars character statues including a looming Darth Vader.

Queen Tulip Garden

Next, we drove to the Golden Gate Park to spend a leisure morning strolling through the North Dutch Windmill, Queen Tulip Garden (but we only saw other assorted flowers, no tulips as tulips only grow in spring.) and Rose Garden. There were a myriad colors and varieties of roses with fanciful names like Dreams Come True, Strike It Rich and Honey Perfume.

Mission Dolores Chapel

Another place worth stopping by was the Mission Dolores chapel -- San Francisco's oldest building. We did not enter the white stonewashed chapel but just admired from outside the exterior building. It was magnificent featuring an all-white decor with intricate details. 

The four days in San Francisco give us a glimpse into this colourful and vibrant city where the arts meet high-tech, and where picturesque landscape and quaint architecture blend in harmoniously.


Next stop: Alaska Cruise on Celebrity Millenium