Alaska Trip - 心得 Summary

花了兩個禮拜的時間，終於一點點地將遊記整理完，三千張數位照片也刪減到一千五百張。十幾天的放鬆將自己充電調整，也和家人遊山玩水，一同體驗大自然。以下是給自己的筆記:

Eventually finish the journal of the 12-day Alaska trip, 3000 digital photos are reduced and merged to 1500. It is a good relax for myself and spend all the time with family, enjoying ocean and nature together. Comments listed below are memo for myself:

Alaska Cruise:

1)	先決定旅遊景點、再找能配合的航行路線。
2)	如果經費許可，有陽台的遊輪房間很舒服。在床上躺著就可以看海，在陽台裡的風也比甲板上少很多。房間的位置在右弦有 3:1 的機會不用上甲板就看得到鯨魚和海豚。
3)	最頂層客房的下一層比較不會有游泳池和遊客嬉閙傳來的噪音。例如客房全部有八層，第六七層是視野好又最安靜的。
4)	Skyway 火車行程一定要去。我們還上了加拿大 Yukon，高緯度的風景也很漂亮。
5)	Glacier Bay 冰河灣國家公園一定要去，除非已經去過了。
6)	Juneau, Alaska 首都，買紀念品最齊全便宜。Ketchikan 也不錯，其他城市買東西都還好。
7)	九月衣服不用帶太厚。白天平均溫度感覺起來差不多15~20度，穿雪衣在行走時便成累贅，也太熱了。長短袖加薄外套差不多。
8)	望遠鏡一定要帶。船上賣的通常較貴，口徑也較小，看起來比較容易頭暈。想要買台口徑大重量輕價格又實在的，就最好是做完功課再買。8X~10X是剛好，我的是兩年前買的雙筒望遠鏡 Yukon Rambler (YK12008) 8X42, 25 oz (700g), US$72 @ Amazon.com。

1)	Decide interested visiting points first, then look for the cruise route which fit the points best.
2)	If it is possible, the room with balcony is preferred. Yo can enjoy the ocean on the bed, there is less wind compared to on the deck. In our case, I think living on right-hand side of the cruise has three time higher chance than the left-hand side to watch whales and dolphins in your own balcony.
3)	The floor below the top floor has less noise from the active top floor like swimming pool and restaurant. If there are total eight lodging floors, the sixth, seventh floor have best views and quite.
4)	Skagway White-Pass Railway is a must, remember to take the left-hand side for better valley view. We also continue to tour to Canada Yukon, the high-latitude forest view is breath-freezing.
5)	Glacier Bay National Park is another must, unless you had been there.
6)	Juneau, the capital of Alaska, the best place for cheap souvenirs. Ketchikan is good too, other cities are not as good.
7)	The day time temperature feels like 15~20 C (60~70F) in September. Ski suit is too much for walking and touring, and the temperature is well-controlled inside cruise. I think long or short shirt plus thin jacket are good enough.
8)	Binoculars is a must for wild life viewing along the trip. It is more expensive and smaller in lens, easier to get dizzy after viewing awhile. It is better to do some research to buy a light-weigh wider lens within reasonable price. 8X~10X power is the best range, mine is Yukon Rambler (YK12008) 8X42, 25 oz, US$72 @ Amazon.com, bought two years ago。

Travel:

1)	以後不用 Budget 租車。溫哥華的櫃台人員態度太差，所以一杆子打翻 Budget 整船。
2)	儘量不去中國城的餐廳用中餐。各個城市的中國城多是早期移民形成的，也以廣式料理為主。因為物換星移，大部份口味多變的新餐廳多開在中國城之外，最好做了功課再去。
3)	溫哥華機場的行李拖運跟目前所有我去過的國際機場都不同。Check-in 櫃台不收行李，所有行李得跟著旅客直到檢查站，所以在用餐處會看到旅客拉著兩三件行李在桌子旁用餐，很不方便也很占位置。
4)	溫哥華入境美國的檢查比美國、台灣都嚴格很多。金屬探測、脫鞋、毒品探測、搜身或超音波掃描二選一、液體檢查、護照驗四關。安全是很好，不過對我們這兩人帶一老一小大包小包枴杖加嬰兒車的很不方便就是了。

1)	Don't use Budget for rental car in the future。The check-in person of Vancouver Budget is not well-trained for attitude, so contaminate the complete North-America Budget.
2)	Try not to dine in China town for Chinese food. China towns in big cities are formed by early immigrants, and major in Canton foods. Time goes by, the new Asian-style restaurants are mostly opened out side China town. Better do a research before you go.
3)	The luggage check-in flow of Vancouver Airport is different than international airports so far I had experienced before. They don't receive luggage at check-in counters, all personal belongings need to be with passengers until security check station. So you would see people having lunch or taking break with two to three big cases, not really convenient.
4)	The security check from Vancouver to US is higher level than other places. Metal sensor, shoe checking, drug scanning, whole body ultrasound scanning, check passport four times. We do appreciate the high standard security check, just something we need to think about next time to Vancouver for us with one senior, one toddler, crutch, stroller, and belongings.