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