​Alaska and Yunnan-Tibet, the wonderful wilderness

The Alaska trip in 2022 reminded me a lot of the scenery I experienced while backpacking on the Yunnan-Tibet route(滇藏线) in 2008. Mighty snowy mountains, vast expanse of tundra, countless braided rivers, indigenous people, and their historic native cultures. Alaska and Yunnan-Tibet have so much in common, but each has its own unique characters. Many places in Alaska are only accessible with waterway or airway. The proximity to Arctic and vast coverage of frost-white glaciers makes Alaska so mysterious and powerful. You would hear the power of nature when iceberg calving occurs from a distance (ice chunks breaks from the edge), it sounds like a crash of thunder but much louder because you could be just a few hundreds meters away.

Unlike Alaska faced the ocean, Yunnan-Tibet is an uphill 1200-mile long route in the west of mainland China, the whole journey is on the high altitude. The starting point, Kunming, is at 2000 meters(≈7000 feet) which is already considerably high. From there, the route is getting higher each stop all the way to the Tibetan regions which range from 3500 to 4500 meters (12000 to 14000 feet) in elevation, the worst challenge on that route was not the constant uphill part, it was the altitude sickness caused by reduced oxygen and change of air pressure. However, because of the extreme elevation,the route covers the lushest scenery and best-preserved traditional cities. 14 years later, the time spent in Alaska reminded me all the wonder experienced on that route, but not always the same.

Prince William Sound and Whittier - the sound appears so elegant and wild! It can be accessed through 3 major ports. We accessed the sound through Whittier which is a peaceful, odd, eerie, and gorgeous tiny town born in WWII after the Pearl Harbor attack. It’s a bizarre outpost built as a secret military installation. After military pulled out in 1960s, the buildings had fallen into despair,ruined and some of them remain in limbo. In danger of becoming a ghost town, it somehow survived and become a popular cruise ship port. Nowadays Whittier economically relies on fishing and tourism, all of 200 residents live in an incongruous 14-story apartment tower, I spotted a few trailheads near the tower during a morning run, but I was a bit too afraid to go in. Roads are unpaved, dirt and gravel throughout the town. I chose Whittier because it’s an easy drive from Anchorage and a stop of the Alaska Railway. Getting in Whittier involves in driving through a tunnel that was also built for military purposes. Despite how bizarre it is, I found it rather interesting given the history. Besides, it has offered the best experience we had in viewing glaciers!

Spencer Whistle is a stop on Glacier View route by Alaska Railroad, only accessible by train or helicopter. It’s one-hour scenic ride from Whittier. Peaceful and remote with spectacular views, the only way to get close to glaciers is by kayaking or hiking. With small children, we turned round after 3 mile hike. It’s a place that I would come back for staying above the glaciers overnight.

Kenai Fjords National Park – located on Kenai Peninsula southwest of Alaska, one could spend a month in Kenai and still just see a fraction of the region, it is massive! Top pick for lots of explorers and it offers the true wilderness adventure. Kenai is dominated by marine mammals -humpback whales, finback whales, orcas, porpoises, sea otters, seals resting on the ice, bears strolling on the beach. We saw them all in there! City of Seward is the gateway to the Kenai Park and can be easily accessed by boat, road, and rail, very touristy, overly crowded at the harbor and downtown. It is the port where major cruise lines dock and tons of cruise ship passengers flood in town. My first impression about Seward is that it looks like a mini version of Santa Cruz. In comparison with other many other authentic Alaskan towns, Seward is a place to recharge, time to refill groceries, food, gas, tools and everything else.It’s convenience but overall, I feel it’s a bit too “civilized” for Alaska.

Talkeetna – a sleepover town on the way to Denali. By nature, it’s more of a village that has maintained many traditions and things from 100 years ago. It can be very simple, amazing, old school, and artsy. Standing by the river of Talkeetna on a sunny day, you could see the peak of Denali appear above the clouds. The view was surreal!

Lastly, the mighty Denali!

The continent’s highest mountain. Highly popular in the summer for backpacking and camping. It requires 4-6 months to plan and make reservations. I planned only 2 nights at Denali National Park, which I found not realistic only when we got there. For kids, it might be enough, but for Denali itself, it’s not even enough time for a start. Denali, in native language, means “the land”. It’s everything Alaska was meant to be. June is one the best months to view Denali because the tundra comes alive with hundreds of animals, clear sky with the views of Denali mountains. Hunting was never allowed.

There is only one road through the park - the 90 miles unpaved Park Road which is closed to private vehicles after 15 miles. Park shuttle buses are the only transportations to get in further other than hiking and trekking. It’s indeed a place where you bring all your gears and camp out in the wild mountains for as long as you wish, because it’s the only way to fit in and feel the Denali! The clear view of the Denali peak(Mt McKinley) resembles Meili Mountains(梅里雪山) I saw near Tibet, it was also the most magnificent view along the Yunnan-Tibet route.

We couldn’t hike inside too much further during this trip,but it has brought me back the memories of hiking in the wilderness for days and nights at my 20s. I would love visiting this place many times during my lifetime because there is so much more than just the view. It’s a lifetime experience, and the view just happens to be the reward.

We’ll come back whenever everyone is ready. We’ll be back on the road again!

I went to The Philippines in 2009, it was my first time to experience island countries in Southeast Asia which is commonly known as the exotic and exciting paradise.

Philippines consists of thousands of islands, countless beaches, but my trip was for business, so I ended up spending most of my time in office buildings and hotel conference rooms in the capital city Manila. Despite the intense work schedules, I managed to spend a day to tour the historical part of the city and visited San Agustin Church, Manila Cathedral, and Fort Santiago which were the most important historic sites in Manila. Those were built in 1500s and went through several times of destruction and reconstruction during the time of Spanish Empire and World War II. Even though I loved to explore the historical charm each time I visited a new place, Metro Manila was more impressive with its vibrant night life and street food. There were parties everywhere! Cover bands performed in every restaurant and bar, mixed crowds of locals and tourists all came out sitting outside in the balmy, warm summer night enjoying music and delicious street food.

Sisig, which is a typical Filipino dish that can be found everywhere on the street, is hot, sizzling pig face with lots of herbs and chili peppers seasoning and a runny egg on top. Spicy,chewy, and fatty, possibly the best thing one could ever eat with a cold beer!

During the weekend, I flew over to Boracay for beaches. I remembered reading from a travel magazine that Boracay was awarded as the best island in the world that year, and famous for many things. Well, I happened to be in the country, why not to go check it out! I didn’t have time to see everything, but there were 2 things I wanted to check out – one is the white beach, the other is scuba diving. I remembered taking a short flight, a local motorized tricycle, then a boat to get to the beach. There are many small islands around Boracay, the main one has all the water activities and great nightlife experiences. The scenery is beautiful! I must admit that it’s the most beautiful beach I have seen, it still is! Among all the beaches I have visited - in Southeast Asia I went back to visit a few more times later, in Mediterranean, Europe, North and South Americas. I didn’t find anywhere that was as calm, gentle, and fine as Boracay beaches.

It’s so true that Boracay was such a lush tropical paradise, and diverse, too. It’s a place that attracts people around the world, some people visit, and visit again, eventually settle down and live there. My diving coach was just like that. I forgot his name but remembered the story he shared - he came from Singapore and wanted to dive for the rest of his life, he was looking for beach that looks like a paradise and settled in Boracay. Learning and trying scuba diving just came naturally when staying in a place like that, you always wondering what’s like under the paradise. The lessons were short but very intense. I had to digest lots of knowledge, to learn about the gear, and to practice the skills in a very short period given my limited time there.

The diving group had 7 people including the diving master, we flopped off a boat into the middle of ocean. The deepest point I went down was about 35 feet below the water where I saw some really cool eels, I don’t know the kind, but they were dark purple color and teeth were visible when I swam close to them, I was reaching out to them before they slipped into corals and rocks. It was astonishing! It felt like landing on a foreign planet that is so full of bright colors. It’s so stunning that at some point, you would just forget that you are a human that must use gear to dive and breath! A couple of year later, I did scuba diving in other places, but the experiences in Boracay always seem to be more dazzling!