The Day I Was (Finally) Born

my beautiful Mom

Once upon a time, there was this beautiful lady who had to go through several procedures in the hospital because after 11 months, her baby persisted to stay inside her womb still.  Yes, that stubborn baby was me. I don't blame if Mom was freak out that she was going to be pregnant for the rest of her life. I can’t remember though what facilities inside the womb that made me stay longer. It can't be the free WIFI for tweeting or FB-ing, right? Maybe Mom has eaten so much delicious food which I absorb greedily through the placenta. Or I think most probably was because I enjoyed travelling around the world for free. Carrying a baby inside your tummy doesn’t count as excess baggage, right?

the stubborn baby aka me

So today is my 17^th birthday……….well….OK, I lied, actually I’m turning 25 today…….What, that's not true?  Gosh! can’t you just pretend to believe that and make a girl happy on her special day? Fine, the truth is, I’m 33 years old now with wrinkles, grey hairs and fats here and there. I know, getting old sucks but still I'm grateful for every seconds of my life. I’m grateful for having wonderful family and friends, but most of all I'm grateful for having such amazing Mom & Dad who I caught the travel bug from. My parents jokingly told me that I was being “made” during their trip to Taiwan, Japan and USA in 1978 thus made me a travel junkie.

I’d like to make a wish before blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. What are they? Well, there’re some on my bucket list including catching Aurora Borealis, to work as a wildlife volunteer in Africa, to build a place for the stray dogs and cats and visiting countries I’ve never been.  Also I wish the best health for Dad and Mom, my travel companion.

Dad & Mom travelling to USA in 1978

Lots of people asking me why I often travel with my parents which they think such a nightmare and no fun at all. Well I beg to differ, because regardless their age (Dad is nearly 70 and Mom is nearly 60), they are so passionate about travelling more than anyone else. Last June just 3 days before our trip to Alaska & Canada, my Dad fell down in the bathroom and fainted for about 15 minutes before we finally took him to the hospital. Turned out his haemoglobin level has dropped to 7, when the normal haemoglobin level for adult male is 13, 8 to 17, 2. He had to do blood transfusion to boost his HB level.

I was so panic and was about to cancel our trip and lost all the money we’ve paid. But Dad insisted he wanted to see Alaska, even though the doctor strongly forbade him to do so. Because even after 2 days and 8 units of blood transfusion, his HB level was still too low to even get up from bed and walk without feeling dizzy.  In the end we flied to Vancouver. It was the most terrifying flight I’ve ever had. I couldn’t sleep the whole 13 hours flight because I kept checking on my Dad. The doctor has warned us that it’s very dangerous to fly with a low HB, one of the reason is shortness of breath. Thanks God even though he was very weak most of the time in Alaska and Canada, he has survived and was very happy to finally visited Alaska. 

He looked so pale yet happy

Actually the same case happened last year too before our trip to Jordan, Israel and Egypt. He was hospitalised 1 week before the trip for having gastric problem.  And guess what? He insisted to go even though he was far from well. He even walked 5 km through the Siq in Petra under the scorching hot weather and refused to ride a horse carriage.  He walked very slowly and weak, step by step while Mom and me were holding his hands. Seeing his face basking in happiness after we reached the Treasury was indeed priceless. I’m so proud of my Mom who has been so supportive to Dad no matter what happened.

He made it to the Treasury

So that would be my answer if any of you ever wondered why I love travelling with my parents. I've done many solo travel thing, backpacker thing, tour thing so why not travelling with my family? It makes me feel warm inside and family bonds grow stronger. They had been holding my hands and showing me the world since I was born. Now when they are old and weak, it’s my turn to hold their hands and guide them to explore the rest of the world that we haven’t seen. Thank you Dad and Mom for always being there for me every step of the way. Thank you for being who you are and making me what I am today. No words can express how proud I am to be your daughter. I love both of you…so much!

exploring 5 continents from Asia to Africa

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!

Age is just a number. 33 maybe sounds quite old but I still feel young. Because I believe that you're only as old as you feel !

I'm still young ! YAY, let's dance !

Alaska: Tracy Arm Fjord & Dog Sledding in Juneau

Alaska, June 2012

I was having breakfast in Oceanview Cafe (deck 10) when I spot the first iceberg floating not far from our ship. I excitedly walked to the open deck to have a closer look at it. Turned out it was a small one. So basically, icebergs are pieces of ice that formed on land and float in an ocean or lake. Icebergs come in all shapes and sizes, from ice-cube-sized chunks to ice islands the size of a small country. The term "icebergs" refers to chunks of ice larger than 5 meters (16 feet) across. Smaller icebergs, known as "bergy bits" less than 5 meters (15 feet) in size and "growlers" less than 2 meters (6.6 feet). If you want to learn more about icebergs, please read here.

It was a cold foggy morning and even though it was only 6 am, it seem like everyone has woken up. We were informed the day before that we would reach Tracy Arm Fjord early in the morning. And the ship would cruise along the area for few hours. So I guess nobody wanted to miss this gorgeous view.
  

chunk of icebergs

one misty morning in Alaska

the open deck

It was getting crowded on the open deck and rain started to pour, so I went back to my cabin and enjoying the view from my balcony instead. I think it's one of the reasons why it's worth to splurge a bit and have a cabin with private balcony. I wake up every morning to splendid scenery of Alaska. Or spend my afternoon lounging on my balcony wearing pajamas, sipping a huge mug of hot chocolate with Baileys while gazing at icy mountains of Alaska. Life is beautiful :)

The ship floated slowly and quietly toward Tracy Arm Fjord, a thirty mile glacial fjord that reaches deep into the Coast Mountains. The view was undoubtedly breathtaking. I've never seen such beautiful brilliant blue icebergs before. I read a fact that icebergs are sometimes bright blue because blue is the only wavelength of light able to make it all the way through the ice. I also spot several seals swimming close to our ship and were watching us curiously.

looking down from my balcony

beautiful blue iceberg

Tracy Arm Fjord

We left Tracy Arms Fjord at 10am and arrived in Juneau around 2pm. The ship tendered (anchored off shore) and we were transferred into some tender boats which took us to the pier. It was raining quite hard in Juneau that they had to cancel the snow dog sledding program. But there was another option to do dog sledding on gravel, so I went for it. I really wanted to meet those gorgeous Alaskan dog, I didn't mind whether it would be on snow or gravel.

tender boat

welcome to Juneau

Arrived on the pier, we were transferred to a bus. After 20 minutes drive along the rain forest, we arrived at the musher's camp and greeted by a bunch of Alaskan dogs. They barked excitedly waiting for us to board a wheeled golf cart. Every cart was attached to 12 dogs that looked really happy running while pulling a cart behind them. It was so fast, it felt like a roller coaster ride. The musher explained that it's some kind of sport for the dogs to keep in shape during summer. Super fun ! I'd love to do it again next time.

beautiful Alaskan Malamute

We ended the tour cuddling some of the adorable puppies in the camp. They were the most cutest blue eyed puppies I've ever seen. I was so tempted to sneak one of them into my bag :p
In case you've missed the part 1 of my Alaskan Cruise, read the story here