A journey through South-East Asia - visiting the temples of Thailand, floating down the Mekong in a slow boat, seeing the sunset in Laos, waiting for the quiet of night in Hanoi, drifting through Halong Bay, trekking the mountains of SaPa, travelogue, trip, travel, journey, road, Asia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indochina, Mekong, Halong Bay, Hanoi, Vang Vien, Chang Mai, Bangkok, slow boat, Luang Prabang, Pak Ou

 
 
 

 







Baked Alaska
Part 4: Into the glaciers

Traveling around Alaska the week before the cruise set sail, I'd driven up to see Mt. Denali, the great one, paying $160 for an hour's "flightseeing." We climbed into the tiny prop plane arranged by weight. I sat in back with 3 cameras (1 panoramic,
1 b&w, 1 SLR). We flew into Denali, into the glaciers.

I gazed at the mountain face, otherworldly and coming fast, and completely lost it. Face awash in tears, was I close to God, or dying? The woman in the next seat put her arm around me, while the pilot made fancy maneuvers. The good Samaritan squeezed my hand and shot photos with my camera. (When I developed them weeks later in California, the results were spectacular.)

The following day on the national park wildlife tour, the couple in front of me on the school bus spotted animals everywhere. "Moose at 10 o'clock," the husband called. He had a giant pair of binoculars and a camera with a 3-foot zoom lens. They wore matching trenchcoats. "How come you're so good at this?" I asked. "Oh, hunting," she replied.


Part 5: Ketchikan


this travelogue is part of the subside travelzine
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