Alaska...

Alaska...

I had read about it in my high school Geography lesson, the aurora borealis, the gold rush, the wildlife and nature's bounty. But had I ever thought I will one day visit it first hand? The answer would be not in my wildest dreams. But then I hadn't dreamt of going anywhere at all, Bangalore, Shanghai, Chicago, San Diego, Toronto... it all just happened... and so did this.

As fate would have it one evening I found myself talking to my parents and my dad at that time happened to be watching this documentary about the state, he seemed fascinated and was seriously considering visiting the place... (my dad has a king-size travelling heart too you see and i am his daughter), so when I was trying to find this perfect get away, which I swore to myself wouldn't be the paradise in Nevada, I remembered that little chat with my dad.

In the beginning I was very reluctant to entertain the thought and so I kept stalling and stalling... I talked about it, asked for advice from friends and kept debating it in my head. 5 days, the July 4th weekend, a very expensive getaway and not to mention the very very long flights, I could as well fly to Europe for lesser price and same time. I almost put it off, but then suddenly, out the blue, from nowhere, exactly 2 weeks before the weekend my traveller heart suddenly starts nagging me about wasting the precious little time I was getting off. I love escaping my habitat as soon as and as often as possible, I dont know what is with me and being rooted in one place. Somehow I grow uneasy if I dont see an airport every six months or every couple of months to be honest (guilt face).

So at the last moment I found myself booking the flight and in less than half an hour, during my lunch break :) over a long distance call I booked my whole travel and stay within the largest of the 50 states.

I had already read a lot about the natural beauty of the place. The idea was to see the most in the least amount of time. I was to land in Anchorage and go all the way to Denali and then to Fairbanks just a few miles shy of the Tropic of Cancer. Eat the local trout... or at least watch someone eat the local trout (ze Alaskan Salmon), drink the local beer (dint do that, had a terrible cold, I was wheezing all the while so instead got loaded on spiced rum in hot water and lemon... no clue what the name of the cocktail is or is it even fair to call it a cocktail... i would call it a distasteful concoction if you ask me... and thanks to the bone chilling July rain of Alaska the concoction didn't help).

But in short the idea was to escape... just escape... and thats what i did. And here is an account of what followed:

Alaska Rail

Nothing in words could explain what I experienced in Alaska... I am a "Garhwali" girl from the foothills of the Himalayas and yet Alaska had its own beauty, it mesmerized me. Oh the trees, the rivers, the marshes, the mountains and mounds of gravel (the major industry of the state in question) all passing by me as i took the train across the land. Of course there were few spottings of moose and i did see a swan and the rarest of rare - houses.... as the tourist train passed by weirdly colored houses, blue, pink, even violet, the enthusiastic travel guide announced their viewing and a brief history of their occupants, most of whom worked for the railways and had been living in those serene, romantic surroundings for decades. Ah, how i envy them, if only i could leave all civilization and its temptations behind me, and settle down for a simple life, a mouthful of sky and the bountiful earth (hmmm, i forgot i was talking about Alaska so perhaps permafrost-ed earth).

And I could hear myself wheezing all night...

Anyways, coming back. Guess whom I met in Denali, a Hollywood character artist, from Ohio. He was our chauffer and the hotel manager and local guide all in one. The room was a small motel room, that costed me 100 quid a night and i was silly enough not to be able to find the thermostat in the room, hence it was a rather cold night, (i think i just assumed that such a small rickety place wouldn't have heat but surprisingly, as i discovered too late, after i had already caught pneumonia, it did).

But coming back to Denali, ladies and gents, Denali is the home of Denali National Park, (find more info on wikipedia and please donate to them :)) but other than that, it is a place where apart from trekking and bungy jumping and river rafting you can play golf, they even provide colored balls for winters. But besides all that, Denali is the place where you can listen to your breathes coming and going and your heart beating and you dont have to be a romantic to appreciate it. And if you've watched Into the wild, then this is the place where Christopher "Alexander Supertramp" McCandless found the abandoned bus.

Into the wild, what awesome find.
Always ask your hosts for places to visit, locals  are the best travel guides

The other stop was Fairbanks, the home of Aurora, the sweet sightings dont happen in summer, if the sole purpose of your going to Alaska is seeing the dancing spirits, then here is what i was told -Happens in winters, in the middle of the night around 12 to 2 am. Happens for very short time so in the middle of the night if someone comes rapping at your door, and wants you to come out to see the appearance, then saying "Oh wait, let me wear my shoes" is the wrong thing to say. There, your travel tip.

Second tip, you wont find Salmon everywhere you go, of course when you find it, it will be fresh and glorious but dont take it for granted, I have seen cheaper "Alaskan" Salmon in India.

Third tip, I shall reserve for the end.

So Fairbanks, the home of University of Alaska, i was surprised to find Indian students there. Apart from that i had decided to stay at a fancy cottage and my God was it overrated. Lets make my promised third tip, fourth. My third tip: Dont stay at fancy 5 star hotels if you want to be a traveller because they are filled with tourists and heady staff, who think they are doing to you a favor by being good to you and they never have good food. The stupid chef could not make me a grilled cheese until i was blue with anger at the miserable service at the so called "fine dining" shit hole that did not serve anything vegetarian apart from french fries and by the standard of their Haddock, apparently they couldn't manage non-vegetarian food either.

I thought it was lake Otto, but apparently it was just a bog,
I was happy nonetheless, hence the picture....

Anyways, Fairbanks is good for being close to the Arctic and Aurora but place wise, not so good on the nature front oh yeah not good for souvenirs either, buy those from Anchorage please.

And that brings us to the flight to Anchorage, I have travelled around the earth, mind you i know the phrase is 'around the world' but i was talking literally... to LA to Tokyo to Shanghai to London and back again so 1 round precisely ;) but never have i ever passed an airport with no, absolutely no security check. I thought it was a mistake but no, it wasn't, Alaska is a nice little trusting place.

Denali National Park

So at the end heres my last tip: Go during the winters, something i will definitely do in an year or two, because boy if the summer was so breathe taking you can only imagine what heaven this cold land must be when it is all night and white with sleigh dogs and the spirits of playful children dancing. :)

1AM in Anchora

In the end i quote one of my favorite poets,
"I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more." - Wordsworth.

For those of you who thought Alaska was only trees and brooks and wilderness....
There are plenty of bars, restaurant and discotheques that stay open till early morning... perks of having no nights ;)

Me...