Alaska: The Salmon City of The World

Alaska, June 2012

at the crack of dawn

Jet lag made me waking up early at 3.45 am, feeling hungry and my tummy was growling. I was looking for some chips when I saw beautiful gradient in the dawn sky, so I grabbed my camera instead and walked out to my cabin balcony. It was freezing outside but I wanted to indulge my first sunrise in Alaska.

Summer in Alaska means early sunrise (around 4am) and late sunset (around 11pm). My Alaskan cruise schedule coincides with the summer solstice, which mean the longest day of the year up to 19 hours of daylight a day.

During summer in Barrow, one of the northernmost town in Alaska, the sun doesn't completely set for about 82 days. From around mid May to end of July. But in the winter it has about 2 full months of darkness, from mid November to end of January. It's pretty amazing facts, right ?

so cute it looks like toy house

Ketchikan

After 2 days cruising the sea, we finally arrived in Ketchikan. Squeezed between mountain and sea, I was wondering how the town got Tlingit Indian name, Ketchikan which means "Thundering Wings of an Eagle". It's a small town, its long main street skirts a waterfront built on pilings over the sea. Short side street and steep wooden stairways lead to residential areas on the bluff above.
Ketchikan is the epicentre of Alaska salmon fishing. Thus the economy is based upon tourism and fishing. 

serene environment

float plane

I was walking around the town and taking pictures when it started to drizzle and very windy. Ugh....I hate that! I can cope cold weather very well but rain or wind will make me sick instantly *sigh*. So I rushed into one big building which was some kind of market place. I was browsing through some souvenir shops when I spot a nice cafe and I decided to sample some local dishes.

Most of their menu are seafood and their speciality is Alaska snow crab. But I wasn't in the mood and lacked of patience to struggle with crab legs so I ordered  Fish n Chips. It was cod fillets in beer batter and deep fried to golden perfection. The fish was very fresh and the batter was well seasoned. But my favourite was the prawns in coconut flakes batter. It was crispy and beyond delicious. Both dishes were served with a huge pile of tasty chips.

beer batter Cod

coconut battered prawns

Joyful face after the delish meal :D

Around 3pm, I boarded back to the cruise with a big smile on my face and a happy tummy. We were heading to Juneau, next destination in Alaska which were scheduled to arrive at 2.30 pm the next day...

to be continued >>> Juneau

Netherlands: A Flower-Filled Day In Keukenhof

Netherlands, March 2012

"The most beautiful spring garden in the world". That's what written on their brochure. And I don't think it's overrated though. Keukenhof or Kitchen Garden is also known as the Garden of Europe, situated near Lisse. It's open annually from mid March thru mid May. More than 7 million of flower bulbs are planted every year in the park, which covers an area of 32 hectares. So it's undoubtedly very gorgeous.

They choose a different country as the theme every year. "Poland - Heart of Europe" is the theme of the 63rd International Flower Exhibition at Keukenhof this year. And for 2013, the theme will be "the United Kingdom".

Welcome to Keukenhof

I went there just 2 days after the opening date, there wasn't too many people. Because actually the best time to visit Keukenhof is around mid April. When all the flowers bloom and looking their best. The garden is divided into 12 main areas which equally beautiful.

One of my favourite is the Children's Paradise because there's a farm where you can pet some animals from chicken, goat, pig to ponies. I went crazy and wanted to pet any animals there. I think I was the only adult who run and shriek excitedly chasing the animals together with a bunch of children. I know......sometimes I tend to be childish and overly thrilled when I see animals. I can't help it :p

make friends with Mr. Goatie at children's farm

too pretty it looks surreal

one size too big :p

I was greeted with a huge variety of orchids at Beatrix Pavilion. My jaw dropped. I've never seen so many variety of orchids before. In every possible shade of every colour imaginable. I mean green orchid? orange orchid? leopard print orchid???  I didn't even know they exist. Did you ? Perhaps I should learn more about flowers.

Besides orchids in other part of the park and pavilion, you can see huge variety of flowers like tulip, daffodils, bromeliads and etc and etc...I will need a flower dictionary if I want to list them all here :p
Anyway I was quite disappointed because I've been wanting to see and touch my favourite flower which is black tulips. But it has not bloomed yet when I was there :(

variety of orchids

one of the sculpture

the pond at Wilhelmina Pavilion

featured on Tripadvisor Facebook page :D

It was indeed a very flower-filled day for me. If you ever travel to Amsterdam around mid March to mid May, I would encourage you to visit this beautiful garden. It's open from 8 am to 7.30 pm. To avoid the long queue, I already bought my ticket online from their website: http://www.keukenhof.nl/. It was a combo ticket for the park entrance and bus return from/to Schiphol airport which cost me € 21. It took about 35 minutes from Schiphol to Keukenhof. I'd prefer to come as early as possible. Because around noon to afternoon, the parks become very crowded.

Have a colourful day y'all ! :D