Alaska Cruise - Ketchikan, Alaska (September 2026)

Joyce's family and we took an Alaskan Cruise. It has been on our bucket list for quite some time, and it was a wonderful opportunity to do it with Joyce's family. Joyce made a reservation with Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas that runs a 7-day one-way from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska. 

Alaska is the 49th state of the U.S.A. Its population is estimated to be less than one million inhabitants while its land size is 1.7 million square kilometers. It is 2.5 times the Texas to give you the perspective. 

We decided to arrive in Vancouver one day earlier to explore this beautiful city. Vancouver has almost the same population as the state of Alaska, and its metropolitan area has 2.73 million inhabitants. 

One of the landmarks of Vancouver is the Gastown Steam Clock. It is one of the rarest steam-operated clock. It plays a version of Westminster Chime using steam whistles. 

 

The steam closk contrasted with the high rise towers in the background. We strolled the Gastown District making frequent stops at a variety of souvenir shops. 

The next day, we checked in with the cruise ship and had the welcome dinner with Joyce's family. It was lovely to see our grandsons: Myles and Avery. Myles was three and a half years old and Avery was 10 months old. It was quite a joy!

We had dinner together for seven nights in a row. How wonderful the time was!

Our first port of call was at Ketchikan. It is an island where you can reach only through a ship or a plane. It is significant as Alaska's southernmost major port and the "First City" of the Inside Passage. It is renowned globally for having the largest collection of standing totem poles and its historic identity as the "Salmon Capital of the World." We had two full days of cruising only before we arrived in Ketchikan, so people were missing the land. 

We decided to walk around the town. But, we had to take a shuttle to get to downtown. It was flat and perfectly walkable. Before taking the shuttle, we had to pass through Ward Cove, an open market under the roof of a big warehouse. 

One of the places we did not want to miss was Creek Street. It is a historic wooden boardwalk over stilts over the Ketchikan Creek. It used to be a red-light district, but has transformed into a top cultural and wilf-viewing attraction. There are massive seasonal salmon runs peaking from July to September. We saw big groups of salmons in the creek.

The Ovation of the Seas had a slogan of Carpe Diem, meaning Seize the Day. It signifies the short nature of human life, so that people do not miss the opportunity, such as doing Alaskan Cruise, I think.

 We enjoyed the short visit to Ketchican, Alaska. - Jeffrey 

Samarkand, Uzbekistan (August 2026)

After finishing our 3-day trip to Tashkent, we took a day trip to Samarkand, an important historical city at the heart of the Silk Road. We took an express train from Tashkent to Samarkand and hired a tour guide and a van. The tour guide was an Uzbek lady who studied Korean at college. Her name was Jinari, and she was so fluent in Korean. We thoroughly enjoyed her guiding services. 

Tashkent Train Station

Samarkand Train Station

Our first stop was at Timur's Graveyard. Timur was a hero in ancient Uzbekistan. He expanded the territory by conquering the neighboring countries. In this conquest, he annihilated Christians. It was a tragic time period for Christians. But, he was famous and well respected among Uzbek people. His graveyard was well decorated. 

We walked around a few structures that are used for different purposes. To me, they all looked alike. 

Jinari explained the different decorations of the hijabs that women wear in Uzbekistan, depending on their marital status. 

We had salad and Tilaf for lunch at a local restaurant. It was a cuisine with rice stir-fried with veggie oil. Jinari explained that Tashkent people cook Tilaf with lamb oil, thus very oily. Our lunch was delicious. 

We also visited an old observatory. We saw a statue of Ulurgbek, a grandson of Timur. He was an astronomer and left significant achievements. 

We visited the Afrosyab Museum. This museum is significant because it houses the ancient history, culture, and trade of the prehistoric Sogdiana along the Silk Road. The Sogdian merchants traveled along the Silk Road to China and spread Christianity. In fact, they were the genesis of the modern-day BAMers. I remembered what we learned at the Eastern Christianity Forum held in Bishkek. 

Ancient frescoes were showing the archaeological treasures of the Sogdians, but the colors were tarnishing fast. I cannot explain them all here, but I am saving them for possible future reference.

Our last stop was at Shaidjinda, meaning the graveyard of the living. They represented the martyrs who never die; they believed. Jinari mentioned at the beginning of the tour that her tour would begin with a visit to a graveyard and end with a visit to another graveyard. It was true. 

It was a really hot day, but we survived it. We hoped to visit another town along the Silk Road, called Bukhara, but we could not this time. Nonetheless, our day trip to Samarkand was rewarding and very meaningful. - Jeffrey