Goodbye Denali National Park

This morning was a relaxing one. We had breakfast then started to pack up as check out time was 10am. The bus was to bring us to the train station at around 11.30am. Bought some things from the hotel gift shop and daddy took several shots of the scenery.

Here's a picture of us in the room which was taken on timer. Daddy's getting to be a pro with the tripod. He can set it up and get it all ready very quickly *grin*.
Here is the hotel from the outside:
Before we arrived daddy had done a quick check and found not very good reviews of the hotel. Well we found it to be simple but it was ok and really near to the village. It was just a quick walk down the hill. And of course the view here is amazing...

The bus finally arrived and it was time to go to the train station. The train ride back to Anchorage is to be an 8 hour ride. Yup.. even longer than the bus ride! We were dropped at our platform and waited for the train. While waiting we took several pictures...

Here's a picture of you "taking a picture". Ever since the Tundra Wilderness Tour, you'd taken a fancy to "taking pictures" either with your imaginary camera or with my phone's camera.

At last the train arrived...

We hopped on and enjoyed the view.. You also enjoyed the view.. in your sleep.

The train even had open areas for passengers to take pictures of the scenery and it was narrated. So before we arrive at some scenic spot or historical spot, we'd be informed to look to the right or the left of the train.

Picture of the train from our carriage

After you woke up, had some snacks went to the loo MANY times (you were fascinated with the water which was used to flush the toilet as it was blue in colour). A good thing we had an activity book to keep you occupied too. A little colouring, numbers and we finally arrived at Anchorage.

There were buses to bring us to our hotel and we were given our keys immediately to check in. After a walk to Anchorage to get dinner (it's Friday and lots of places were crowded). At last we decided to head to Club Paris which was listed as a place voted with the best steak. Yay.. a late dinner, and we were asleep almost the moment we got into bed.

The Tundra Wilderness Tour

In actual fact we were prepared (sort of anyway..) for a walking tour. OK, it only means we didn't really find out enough. But the night we arrived, I took at look at the information provided by the tour representative, Paul and found out that we did not need to walk. Instead the Tundra Wilderness Tour was a bus ride.. for 8 hours. Yup, EIGHT hours! Oh goody.. I was wondering how I'd keep an energetic 4-year old entertained in the bus for 8 hours.

After waiting for a while our bus came. It was not those beautiful buses which we saw (and sat on the way to Denali). Instead it's just a normal bus, similar to the one we sat on that morning to see the sled dogs in the park. Our bus driver was Justin and he started off by giving us a little background information on the bus drivers, the tour operators and most importantly about the park. After picking more passengers from another hotel, we headed back to the park.

This tour operator were engaged to run the tours in Denali National Park and the 33 bus drivers had an average of 17 years working in this tour with many of them with a Masters or a PhD! These buses were the only mode of transport allowed into a certain section of the national park. Some people who opt to walk around the park can take the shuttle buses which are non-narrated and they can hop on and off whenever they feel like it.

We were told that the goal for visitors on this tour was to see the "big five" which is the moose, the wolf, the grizzly bear, caribou and Dall sheep.

Before we even reached the park road which is closed to private cars, we spotted them: moose. The bus driver had a handy video camera which was hooked to some TVs around the bus. It was to help those who could not see the animal or had no idea where to start looking to have a look at the animal on the screen. He'd zoom out also so that you'd know which direction the animal was and you'd be able to see the actual thing (instead of on TV).

Then we drove off. As we reached the controlled area (mile 15), we stopped for the park ranger to hop onto the bus and greet us. Then our ride began. Some people spotted the Dall sheep. There were only a few so we didn't spend too much time on them. Justin was confident we'd see more later on, and we did! There were so many we re all trying to count how many there were, not easy since they were really far away. And then.. we spotted them. There were grizzly bears on the other side of the valley.. a mummy bear with 2 babies! What luck!!

We drove on and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and saw eagles moved on and saw lots of Dall sheep. Then we spotted a a caribou and even a moose trying to remove its antlers. The scenery throughout the drive was breathless. And at times we held on to our breath too.. as the bus tries to drive carefully past another bus and not to fall off the very steep cliff!
Our journey was almost complete. But we did not get to see the grey wolf yet. Just as we were stopping at Tolkat River, where the buses were supposed to turn back, Justin asked if we were willing to extend the trip a little and he'd drive us further along the road and hope to see a wolf. We drove and spotted several buses stopped all along and as we pulled pass another bus, Justin checked and the other bus driver said that there was a wolf. We stopped and waited and suddenly the wolf just sprang up by our side.. It was over in a split second as it trotted away from our bus (on the opposite direction).

We continued our journey and came to this sign. It's all damaged because a bear decided to use it as a scratching post! If it weren't for the nails which acted as a deterrent (too painful!) the sign would probably not be there at all.
A little further on there were buses stopped everywhere again. This time there were 3 grizzly bears crossing the road. By the time we got near enough, daddy only managed to get a "bum shot" of 2 of the bears!

We headed off and saw a family of 5 caribou having a drink in the river and soon we got to the point which was designed for buses to turn back. On the way back we saw another grizzly busy eating berries. Then we went off. And we saw it.. the grey wolf. It was ahead of us then disappeared behind some bushes.

Justin quickly drove to where the road which the wolf had taken would join ours. And a few seconds later.. it appeared. Daddy managed to get a beautiful shot of the wolf! Wow.. and now our journey is complete. We saw the "Big 5".
One last little animal we saw was this little Arctic ground squirrel. It had its back to us but just as Justin moved the bus a little and stopped with the squirrel right next to daddy's window, it turned.. just in time for this shot:
We all headed back home satisfied. Dinner was late and we went to this other restaurant "The Overlook Bar and Grill". The food served was good, too bad it was a very limited menu as they were getting ready to close for summer, just like other shops and restaurants. This was the first restaurant which had very little choices as it seems that they close earlier than other restaurants and they also open for the season later than other restaurants.

This was an amazing trip for us all. As for you.. you didn't stay awake through out the 8 hour bus ride, but you did get to see the Big 5 too. So seems like you knew when to wake up and when you can nap! Good timing.

Doggies in Denali

We had the morning half free so the tour guide had suggested that we have a look at the dog sledding show which was given by the park rangers or there was another one which was a paid show. As we weren't too sure whether you'd be able to wake up or not, we decided on the free show IF you could wake up.

Well, we managed to get you out of bed on time. First to get up was daddy and the room felt rather cold. Why? Because your daddy was outside taking pictures and he left the sliding door open. And when he got in, e was complaining about how cold it was. But then again, I guess it was worth the cold. This was the picture he got from our balcony:

After breakfast and a shower, we headed back to the hotel lobby where we waited for the complimentary hotel shuttle which drops people off at the little down nearby or the Visitor Center in the park. When we arrived at the Visitor Center, we hopped onto the park bus which waited a while for more passengers before bringing us to the kennel where the sled dogs were kept.

When we arrived, a Park Ranger, Jamie hopped onto the bus to brief us about the dogs and their behaviours, what to do and what not to do with the dogs and about the 3 little sled dog puppies (not that small sized.. ). Then we walked a short distance and saw them:

There was a sled on display which we took pictures with and at a fixed time, we all stood at the stands and waited for Jamie to do the dog sledding demonstration. Before that he gave us a history about dog sledding and how that area became a national park. After that he got the dogs all ready for the demonstration. It wasn't just us who were excited. The dogs were all excited too. They were barking and barking as the Park Rangers carried them to be harnessed to the sled. And once they were ready.. away the went...

Before we left for the buses, we walked one more round to look and pet the dogs again. We even took a picture with this particular dog which really seemed to like you. In fact Jamie the Park Ranger had already told us that the dogs would like "little people" in particular. But if the dogs were to get too rowdy we were to walk away from them. There was one dog which just went crazy when he saw you and kept barking at you.. maybe to ask you to play with him?

This is the nice dog which was happy to let you pet him:

Lava the sled dog

We were not allowed to feed any of the dogs, except for this dog, Buck.. hehe.. he really loves dollar notes and would make do with coins too:

On the way back we hopped onto another bus and the bus driver was telling us a lot of interesting facts about the Denali National Park. Just as we were arriving at the Visitor Center.. we caught sight of this:

... as moose! It was busy eating the leaves and couldn't be bothered by the many buses and cars which were parked on the roadside and the many camera and eyes watching it! We finally left the moose and arrived at the Visitor Center.

While waiting for the shuttle from the hotel, we decided to take the opportunity to take pictures. It's a good thing daddy bought a new tripod, making it easier for us to get a family picture with everyone in it and no need to ask someone to help us take a picture (and worry about whether they are able to use the camera).

Isn't the view breathtaking? We headed back to the Denali town for lunch and then headed back to the hotel after that to repack our back for the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

Walking Around Anchorage and The Ride to Denali

Woke up that morning and had the complimentary breakfast. When everyone was ready, we went out for a walk around Anchorage. After walking for a while Ah Ma got tired as her knee was still painful. So she headed back (or actually made a detour to buy some things) while we tried to look for the Ship Creek viewing platform which was marked on the map where we were supposed to be able to watch the salmon run.

So we walked. And we walked.. and we walked some more and we walked. In the end, daddy and Ah Kong had to take turns carrying you as you complained of being tired. We got a little lost trying to find our way to the bridge. We walked along a road which was rather quiet, wondered if we should cross the train tracks and didn't. So we walked along the tracks and saw this:

Coca-Cola Bottling Co of Alaska

And we finally found the proper place to cross the train tracks. We sure walked a lot that morning.

And we continued to walk more and at long last found the little path that led to the viewing platform:

So guess how many salmons did we see? Er.. none. Haha.. walked all the way there for nothing! So it was time to start our journey back to the hotel to get Ah Ma and go for lunch before our bus comes to pick us up. Before that we decided to stop and look at the Ulu Factory.

After taking this shot as daddy was keeping his tripod, we saw the "Free Shuttle". Ah Kong asked and the driver said that he was leaving to the tourist center in the city center soon. Yay! No need to walk back (we saw a shorter and more direct way back as we passed the train tracks but it was still a long walk back to the hotel).

Here you sitting on the bench of the bus (or is it a tram.. it's a bus which looks like a tram!)

We got back to the hotel in a short time, packed up and checked out before heading to a Japanese restaurant which we saw the day before. Too bad it was not opened that day. Ah Ma said that she was not hungry so she went back and we walked around to look for a place for lunch. In the end as we were out of time, we bought take away and went back to the hotel where the bus driver was already waiting for us. The 5 of us packed into the bus and off we went to pick up more passengers.

As we were waiting for the passengers, the nice bus driver even let you sit on his seat and pretend to drive his bus:

You were certainly excited pretending to drive the bus

We were then dropped off at the Anchorage Museum where we quickly gobbled down our lunch. Then we headed to the museum to have a quick look as we were given a free entrance ticket each.

Finally it was 3pm and time to board our bus headed to Denali National Park. It was a bus ride similar to what we had in New Zealand. There was no tour guide. Instead all the information and any questions we had were answered by the bus driver. Our driver for that day was Mike. As we drove to Talkeetna he told us all sorts of stories and shared many information about the Alaska.

You napped for almost 2 hours on the bus and by that time we reached Talkeetna where we got off to stretch our legs and to drop some passengers who were staying in the hotel there.

After that we headed to the Denali National Park. It was an amazing ride. We could not take our eyes of the beautiful view.

The first picture on the left is a gorge (I cannot recall the name). If you look carefully you can see just how far the drop is. The bus driver managed to stop for us to take pictures as there was no other traffic on the bridge. We even got to see rainbow. We could almost see both ends of the rainbow.

And at long last we arrived at the town area where we dropped other passengers off at their hotels and we finally arrived at our hotel, The Denali Bluffs. We met Paul, the agent who was there to help us arrange any additional tours in Denali. We were all given our room keys and after dropping our luggage we headed to the hotel's restaurant for dinner. We had thought that it was late (nearly 9pm) and so we decided to just have dinner there than to walk to the nearby town (which was just down the hill) for dinner.

After dinner you KO-ed even before I was done with my shower!

Way up north, way up north...

".. north to Alaska". That's a Johnny Horton song which I used to listen to when I was young. It was way before my time, but what to do.. Nanna loved those songs.

Oops... got a little side tracked. We're in Alaska. That's why this song found it's way to my mind suddenly *grin*.

Although the flight was full, not everyone on board stopped at Alaska. But we all had to clear immigration at Alaska. After clearing immigration, chatting with a friendly immigration officer and collection our luggage we were finally in Alaska. This is the first thing which greeted us:

We waited a while and finally our ride from the hotel arrived. The ride to Anchorage from the airport wasn't too short. After checking in, we relaxed a bit and walked out to have lunch. We headed for a place called "Humpy's" which was recommended by the receptionist at the hotel. Lunch was lovely although I could not finish my food.. the portion was way too big.

Went back and everyone was tired. Especially you as you'd only taken your nap (2 hr sleep) on the flight and could not sleep anymore after that. Can't blame you (although I was in a bad mood because I could not sleep if you didn't sleep) as the time (in Malaysia was too early for you to sleep. So we all took a nap and after that headed out for a walk before dinner.

We went to this place called Resolution Park which had some beautiful flowers, binoculars with directions to spot Mt McKinley and a statue of Captain Cook.

Walked around and took some pictures around the city. This is a moose in front of a gift shop. The other was a totem in front of some government building (if I'm not mistaken)

In the end as lunch was too heavy and we weren't too hungry, we decided to have some take-away pizza. Wow! Yummy!!! And such large pieces too, almost a quarter of our large pizza in Malaysia. And you managed to finish around 3/4 of a slice.

This is the longest 31st August for us. It was the 31st in Taipei and 31st started again when we arrived in Anchorage!

On the plane

It was a rather full flight. They called the passengers for boarding by batches. While waiting you were happily chatting with Ah Kong, looking at the plane which had an upstairs section. And "No" Ah Kong told you, we were sitting downstairs.

Finally our rows were ready for boarding. You fell asleep shortly after take off. I guess it's time for your usual afternoon nap. Daddy got this picture of you napping.

This is a picture of our dinner on board the flight.

Oh yeah... did I mention that your wish came true? We got to sit upstairs. As they scanned out tickets, there was a "Seat Change" message and I even asked the lady why the 3 of us were not seated together. Her response "You have been upgraded". OoooOoo... no wonder there was a seat change. Hehe..

Now you know why we were served dinner with "real" cutlery and not plastic cutlery and on plates course by course instead of everything thrown together on a tray!

Lucky us. We had a very comfy ride. A wonderful way to start our trip.

Welcome to Taiwan

By the time we arrived in Taiwan it was past 7pm. You had your meal on the plane then went to sleep all the way. You took the PCM and yet the fever would not go down! Daddy was very worried as there was a thermal scanner in the Taiwan airport. What if the thermal scanner picked your fever. Would we be allowed to enter Taiwan?

In the end, I had no choice but to give you another dose of Voltaren around an hour before we arrived in Taiwan. Thank goodness all went well and we headed to the bus stop to wait for our transfer to the Novotel Taoyuan Hotel. It was raining non stop and finally the little shuttle arrived and we headed to the hotel and after checking in had our dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Waiting for mummy to check-in

After dinner we went back to the room to have a rest. By then, you seemed perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened 10 hours ago!

Our hotel room. With a very modern design

We had initially planned on taking the free half day tour around Taipei. But in the end, we wanted you to get enough rest and there was a risk that after checking out and queuing for the free tour we may not get a seat as it was on a first come first serve basis. So instead we lazed around the hotel. And I should have packed our swimming costumes as the hotel had an indoor heated pool. Oh well.. but they had a "Kids Corner" so that's where we headed:

What a big teddy bear!

Trains..

Before we went up to pack and check out, we went out to take some pictures with the water fountain which you had spotted.

We checked out then had out complimentary buffet lunch before taking the shuttle back to the airport. As we had ample time, we slowly wondered around the shops and we found this:

Thank goodness you were OK when I told you it was time to go off. And soon we were in the departure lounge waiting for our turn to board the plane.

Today is the 30th

.. and you decided to have a fever which would not subside since yesterday night! It started yesterday evening on our way back from Gurney Plaza. We'd bought a new luggage bag as daddy's bag is not big enough to carry all our stuff.

It started as a low grade fever and I had hope that it would go off.. but no.. instead, it raised higher and higher. So instead of going to work for the morning half, we stayed at the hospital waiting for our turn to see Dr Mary. The nurse took your temperature and I told her that I'd given you PCM in the morning, she came back to me shortly after to say that Dr Mary was on her way and that she needed to give your Voltaren. I had to carry you and your creamed into my ears as she put the medicine in for you.. in your bum! I could feel my ear drums rattle as you screamed right into my ears!!

The moment Dr Mary saw us she asked if we were back from our holiday. She looked really worried when I said that we were supposed to leave in the afternoon. She checked you and as you had complained of an uncomfortable tummy, which meant a possible bout of diarrhea and vomiting, she prescribed many medicines and I had to take notes on when and what to give you. She also wrote a letter to allow me to carry you medicine onboard.

Went back, packed the digital thermometer and all the many medicines in double layers zip lock bags and we were all ready to go.

What a way to start our holidays!

Being Chinese

According to my little man, we are "hua ren" which you had learned in school. So "hua ren" need to speak Chinese. Hhmm..

So presenting the "hua ren" singing his mandarin song:

The only other song which you can sing is "Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni..." (Only this part of the song!)

On another note, today is the 30th. So D-Day is here.. Looks like this blog will temporarily be abandoned.. until we are back.

Haircut day

We tried to see if you could get your haircut the day before, but Uncle Austin was busy. So Ah Kong and Ah Ma brought you to the shop the next afternoon as Ah Kong also wanted to get a haircut before we went off.

Daddy and I had lunch around that area, so we decided to head to the shop to see how you coped with your haircut.

As always the time get your haircut was very short and you coped very well. You saw quietly and rarely moved while Uncle Austin cut your hair. We left after that and you played with Ah Ma while waiting for Ah Kong to have his hair cut.

Good. Now you are all ready and handsome looking for our holiday.

Countdown..

You know that D-Day is on the 30th. So starting from Saturday, you've been going:

21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29- THIRTY--- YAYYYYY!!!!

Picture Time

I was just clearing out the memory stick of the camera and saw these pictures of you goofing around:

This is one of my favourites from the many pictures that daddy took:

And you doing your famous yoga "tree pose":

Days of the Week

I recall once when daddy was trying to teach you the days of the week. You were doing a big business and I was in bed listening to your "lesson":

Daddy: Monday

Evan: Monday

Daddy: Tuesday

Evan: Tuesday

.. and continued until Sunday. Then came the test.. to see if you could repeat what you'd just learnt

Daddy: Can you say from Monday to Sunday?

Evan : Monday to Sunday.

Yay! You er.. got it right in a way.. But of course that was not what daddy was expecting. But good try. That was over a year ago.

So how far have you gotten to learning the days of the week? Let's see:

Mummy: What day is it today?

Evan: Monday (or whatever day it is.. you managed to name them correctly)

Mummy: Tomorrow is poached egg day. So what day would that be?

Evan: WEDNESDAY!!! Yay!!!

Mummy: What do you do in school on Wednesday?

Evan: Swimming

.. and on a Friday, this is what Ah Kong and Ah Ma gets from you:

Today is Friday. No need to take a nap!

Even in negotiating:

Evan: Mummy, today is Friday so I don't need to sleep early. Can I watch Alvin and the Chipmunks (2) tonight?

Well, one of the ways that you learned the days of the week was through this:

Can you guess what it it? Hehe.. it's little underwear with the different names of the day.

I'm proud to say that you now know the days of the week very well. In fact you even know what days are "weekends" and what days are "weekdays". So looks like you've finally learnt all the days of the week. Good job, little man.

All KO-ed

That was me the whole afternoon, since I was down with a bout of food poisoning. So who keept you company, on top of cleaning up the mess I made in the car and keeping you away from me while I rested and serenaded the toilet? Why, it's super daddy of course...

I'm all better now, that's why I am able to post about it. And I cannot believe it, it's only 9.30pm and you've already been asleep for 20 minutes! It's an achievement as you last most weekends without a nap and still be able to last up till close to 11pm. Hhmm.. I think I should get daddy to put you to bed in future.. since he's certainly doing a better job than I am.

Weekend baking...

Ok, this was 2 weekends ago. But better late than never...

I love the time we spend baking. Yes, there are times when you drive me up the wall by spilling my flour everywhere or "taxing" from the cookie, but it's all in then fun and spending time together. Here's my little assistant helping me make another batch of those yummy cookies:

Sifting the flour.. and spilling some all over the floor and worktop



Rolling the batter into small balls before baking them (and taxing some of the choc chips too!)

By the time all the cookies were ready, it was just in time for us to head to the club for a swim. We had pizza for supper that day too. So guess who was my little assistant again:

"Food taster" testing our the tomato puree

Our 3-Cheese Pizza

And this is how we have most of our weekends.. Filled with food and fun.

Cars... and something else...

It's interesting how you are still crazy over cars. Of course, you are no longer interested in Myvi's anymore. Instead, you are more interested in the Audi.. specifically the Audi TT! Although there was once when we saw the Audi TT and the Audi R8 in the workshop and you instantly fell in love with the R8.. and abandoned the TT.

But a few days later, you've reverted back to talking about the TT... probably even forgotten that the R8 looks like. Also, your fascination with cars have also included another specification to the car. The more exhaust pipe the car has.. the faster the car is supposed to be. Which is good for you..

As for motorcycles, as long as they make a loud "vrooommm" they are classified as "superbikes" even if it's just a little bigger than the normal motorcycles which we see on the road.

Yesterday, we saw several REAL superbikes, so I wanted to take some pictures of you with them. But when I asked you to put your hand on the motorcycles, you were afraid to do so.. maybe worried that the bike might fall down?

See.. you look so rigid and nervous next to to motorcycles:

In the end, you finally agreed to let me put you on the motorcycles seat. And you were so happy. You even commented that the handles were too far for you! What to do.. short arms...

You are even asking me to buy you a TT. You told me to use all my money to buy a car for you. Yeah.. the only TT you'll ever get from me would be a model Audi TT!! Sorry.. unless I strike lottery tomorrow. And before that happens, I'll need to buy lottery first! Any suggestion for numbers, Evan?