My father, Bernie, passed away peacefully October 1st, 2022 at St Michael's long term care. While it was a total surprise, we are also grateful that he had no pain and no anxiety. The nurse that was with him at his last last moments said that they were talking and then he suddenly stopped breathing and passed way. He was 99.

During my last visit, we talked about how he won a public speaking contest in university, how he managed to get the whole audience and the judges in tears, cheering and laughing. He himself was in tears as well as glowing with pride as he told me that he got perfect score from all four judges. 

According to his wishes, we had a small private gathering and his body was cremated October 6th. Part of his ashes was scattered around Fraser River.   

At the age of 97, my dad still try to refresh his language skills and the books he used most often are language books. My dad speak Cantonese, English, Mandarin, French, Japanese and Spanish.

• Being born in Hong Kong into a Cantonese family, Cantonese is his mother tongue.
• For his English, in Hong Kong as a British Colony, English is offered in almost all schools as a mandatory second language. Later, his work as a civil servant gives him lots of practices as well. Since what was taught in Hong Kong was British English, I am sure when he first came to Canada, he think we speak funny here. 😉
• For his Mandarin, when he went up north into Northern China to join the University of Political Science, he had a chance to learn and master his Mandarin. (So his Mandarin is much better than my self-learnt, from the movies as-near-as-ca-be accent. And for words I don’t know, I used off-toned Cantonese as substitute).
• For French, I remember that he learnt it through Alliance Francaise Hong Kong over many years. He participated in the student council and can speak it fluently. He was even interviewed once by a French TV station in French. I remember that quite often when I go ask him how to pronounce certain English words, he would do a roundabout and say how this word was originally French and taught me the French pronunciation instead. This means that when I use that in school, my classmates were laughing their heads off. While it expanded my knowledge, it certainly did not help in building my confidence in public speaking.
  

• As for Japanese, he learnt it for a few years, can do basic converstations (I imagine that it is like “How old are you?” “I am sorry, I don’t understand you. Just teasing.” and can make do while travelling in Japan. I remember that he brought me once to Japan’s Expo but I didn’t really enjoy all the lineups and visit of exhibits. So I managed to nag my dad to find one of Japan’s famous Judo training – Kodokan Judo Institute (講道館) . At that time, without Google Maps or a proper guide, the trip was quite an adventure. We had to ask our way to get there. We chose to take public transit too. We made it there after a lot of effort. I was well worth it because that was one of my forever treasured memories.
  
  

• For Spanish, I believe that he did not attend any Spanish school and learnt it through books and tapes.

************** Here is the way he described his language journey:

For me ? It is a Long Haul ! A grueling haul !
Why ? It’s simply because , Life is a Hijghway of Learning, it is not the destination that counts , but the landscapes along the way that bring the top thrills and total satisfaction!

I’m a Chinese, born and grow up in Hong Kong. Cantonese is our native language, but English was the official language in government and in business , because HK was then a british colony, under the British rule . It was only until recently in 1997 upon the completion of the 100 years Lease that HK was returned to China .

I learn to speak Mandarin, not until I left South China and went to North China to join the University of Political Science there .

Why then did I study French and Japanese ?
For French, I admire their long history and excellence in Arts !
For Japanese, I admire their struggle and hard work to become a world class country !
And Spanish ? It’s a language spoken in several countries in Europe and in all of the countries in Central and South America with the exception of Brazil where Portuguese is used .

For more details , I need to write a book !

Again Happy New Year for 2021 !

One unforeseen consequence of the lockdown was that it finally got my dad to write down past years via email – one little chunk (parcel) at a time. My dad is 97 and he is typing using a tablet with a software touch keyboard using his arthritic fingers – furthermore one of the fingers cannot bend because it was broken from a fight during his younger days – it never healed properly. So this is a big deal for him.

Note that at that era, there are things and viewpoints that we now frown upon. This is a somewhat private blog of what happened in those times, therefore, I made no attempts to change it to make it politically correct.

Mario

References:
La Salle Hong Kong
Wah Yan College Hong Kong
Hong Kong World War II

****************** (As written by Bernie Lam)
As promised, I start with my babyhood.

I was born a pretty baby. I was admired, praised and loved by the people My dad was well pleased and always bring me with him to join the big gathering with his friends, often in the Chinese great feast style. The guests always asked the nursing maid to show me to every table. I was not shy in meeting all of them. The maid, holding me in her arms, would bow and say thanks for me..Some playful guests would poke their fingers at me, and I quickly poke back at them , making everyone laugh…and the waitresses would gather round and play with me , and taught me to make monkey faces and to do other little tricks… I learned so fast that made them wonder! Some guests were amazed by the fun we had, they left their table and joined in, creating boisterous laughter……until my dad said to the maid to take the baby home, it was way past his bed time!

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OK, time goes fast and babies grow quick! This parcel (ii) takes us to the time I was already at the age of 6 or 7. Even at this early age I showed a tremendous delight in traveling, enjoying whatever landscapes or seascapes that came our way. My mom used to take me for rides around the Island of Hong Kong, to see its many
beautiful and breathtaking beaches and to have teas at the hotel lounges which were very plushy and cosy. I would have a glass of milk and an ice cream. Truly living life in luxuries. Our travel trails covered also Macao, a small Portuguese Colony, famous for its Casinos, often called the Las Vegas of the Orient. But our visit was in the other side of the city, in the residential districts, which were very quiet peaceful and comfortable. We visited also the Governor’s House on a very picturesque hilltop, surrounded by a dozen short range cannons, which were more as a deterrent to pirates in those early days, it’s no defense for any real attack.

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I received my basic education, grades 1 to 10 in Hong Kong where I was born, it was the British system we adopted. The teachers were mostly come from England, Italy or France. We called these schools Colleges. I did my earlier grades 1 to 6 in the Wah Yan College , and the advanced grades 7 to 10 in the La Salle College.

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To begin, I must emphasize that this period of my life lays down Not only the foundation of my education, but also builds into my mind and body an insatiable desire to learn – learning became my Highway to infinite Joy.
And Wah Yan College did all this Magic ?.!
Yes and yes. Please read on to find out.

This College was headed by a Malaysia born Chinese , robust in health , at his early 40s. Determined to make education his life career. Turning out students to be the cream of the Society. He would personally screen and select every teacher , making sure that all of them were as zealous and dedicated as himself! His relentless efforts has placed the College among the very Bests in Hong Kong.

*****************

Thanks to Two Outstanding Teachers , I excelled in the Subjects of History and Geography, Physics and Chemistry. These 4 subjects could be boring and downright scary. However, they were transformed into attractions , more inviting and thrilling than Oscar winning movies, keeping us glued to our seats. For example, for our History and Geography classes, our Teacher, nicknamed the ‘fat fellow Mr. Chan’ , he would tell us to put aside all our maps ànd books and look at the full sized screen, hung over the blackboard. He would then project a page from the Life Magazine, titled ‘What happened to the crews of the ship filmed in the Classic Movie ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ which was a hot topic on all newspapers and periodicals. This was a factual historical film…. The ship, wrecked and beached at the bay of an unmapped and unnamed Island. Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea… The crews were quite happy at first, but soon became homesick… and chaos started when a sailor discovered he could make a strong alcoholic liquor from the coconuts… grown abundantly along the Beeches…..and mutual killing began and became uncontrollable…until the end…not a single crew survived.
The Physics and Chemistry teacher too could turn his laboratories alive and fun filled. He would take us to visit other schools…to see their labs with new equipment… exchanging new ideas and exciting experiments…..His classes were always active, and interesting.

So this was the way our days in Wah Yan College glide by…. Our Way!

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It’s worthy of mentioning that, while we were enjoying our classes during the week days, our weekends were filled with fun and thrills by our Godfather Mr. Stephens, who took us to visit the poor, the sick and the suffering – in their homes or in the hospitals. It’s so rewarding to see the happiness and the smiles glowing in their faces!

Our visits usually took us to Aberdeen, Hong Kong where there was a unique floating population of fishermen, living in their 30 ft long boats which serve as a home as well as for offshore fishing. There was an assigned anchorage for each boat. They were out fishing for a week and then home for resting and replenishing in the other week. These boats made a very impressive view! Reporters from around the world came to do their filming and reporting!

Our Godfather and me, we were frequent visitors to some of the boats and we bring small gifts for the children, such as pictured books and color pencils. and small toys….they welcomed us with jumping joy.
We also visited the sick in their homes or hospitals. They were usually very lonely. Our visits, our company and chats…often brought tears in their eyes! When someone died, we visited them in the hospital mortuary. Their frozen staring eyes, open gaping mouths…they were such sad and heartbreaking sights…!

Our other places of visit include a School for Blind Girls… we sat to admire their performances…they played beautifully the piano… and they sing songs that move our hearts…they made us cry!
We gave a handsome donation every time we visited.

******************

Here is my last parcel (v) La Salle College days. Those were truly my happiest days. When things and classes became too dull, or when we were in a real bad mood. we simply started a mêlée, leading to a fierce fist fight, resulting in many swollen blue eyes and bleeding noses! That were the price we paid for the fun we had! And much worse than the injuries was the cutting down of our lunch allowances and pocket money for a whole month by our mom! Alas, alas!

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The La Salle days were exciting and unforgettable. I’ll try to give a gist of it as follows :-
Its students were multinationals,
Portuguese, Chinese, French, Italian, Malaysian,
Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Siamese,….
You name it and we have it .
With a mix of students like this, fist fighting were inevitable.
Starting with jeering, and making faces at each other, …. someone calling the Portuguese goose …. or someone calling the Chinese fleas …more and more students gather round … someone began pushing … and fists started flying… some noses bleeding, eyes turning blue, …teacher’s whistle started blowing ….fighters disappearing in seconds … Such scenes were frequently seen at La Salle College ! Haha !

There is a Chinese saying which says , ‘you get to know each other better, after a fight’ …. This came out to be fairly true when some Portuguese students became my very best friends . I was a frequent guest to their family dinners ……and when I had to say farewell to them in my departure for China, they showered me with gifts (some were from their own collection of souvenirs).

****************** (The following was in response to my question “So the reputation of La Salle being a bad boys school where there are lots of fights is true. So the best wah yun offered are 2 inspiring teachers but la salle gave uou the best fights?!”

The notorious reputation of the La Salle boys is only partly (tiny little) true ! Because later on in Society and in Life, in Peace and at War, they have been time proven to be the most dedicated and bravest , way above the other boys !
The School Anthem of La Salle College has a few lines which tell it all :,

*
There are famous schools in plenty
With their heroes by the score,
And they flourish high and mighty,
But La Salle has Something More

*
And in the records of the World War ll, it is evident that every word above is TRUE

In Hong Kong, back in the 1950s, cows and buffaloes are imported from other countries. They are slaughtered in Government operated facilities and distributed out. Back in those days, rifles were used to killed the animal in the most humane way. It is very important to kill the cow with a single shot, so that there is no pain. My dad worked in one such facility. One of his daily tasks were to be the designated shooter. Every day, about 30-40 cows were killed. My dad got his shooting training from the army days and with as the practices he gets every day, he was and awesome shooter.

That part of the job is quite mundane but requires utmost concentration and precision. Through that period of around 10 years of his career, he had several unforgettable incidents.

• Incident 1
  One time, a buffalo suddenly went crazy and managed to escape during transport. It was very dangerous if it escape into the urban areas. The buffalo was huge and its horns sharp and powerful. It can do a lot of damage to properties and may even kill anybody in its path. The police were called and my dad was part of the chase team. My dad had his rifle and was designated to be the primary shooter. The buffalo ran to a hilly area and then off the road down a hill. So someone had to kill the animal before anything bad happen. The police in the chase team told my dad to go down and they will be right behind him with additional guns. If the animal charged at my dad or my dad miss his shot, then they will kill the animal with the team firing. My dad went down the slope carefully by himself. The Winchester’s rifle that he was using is optimal only for 50 feet. To be able to kill the animal with one shot, my dad had to get within range and had to shoot him right in between the eyes. He saw the buffalo turned his head and looked, it presented the best opportunity, my dad raised his rifle and with a single shot, the buffalo went down and roll over dead. The team all cheered when they saw the kill. Everybody was relieved and safe. And the animal did not suffer either.

• Incident 2
  Cows from Siam arrived via cargo ships, then shuttle boats are used to get them onto land and trucked to the slaughter facility. One time, one of the bulls went crazy during the transport on the shuttle boat, everybody on the boat including other cows were forced off by the mad cow into the water and so the boat was drifting unmanned. My dad was called to help. He waited on the shoreline and luckily the wind brought the boat closer to shore. The only problem was that the boat rocks back and forth and so wasn’t exactly a static target. Again, you have to aim for the spot between the eye. However, my dad still managed to kill the bull with a single shot.

• Incident 3
  The cows are usually very gentle. Every now and then, a cow may give you the impression that they have intelligence and knows what is going on. My dad has experienced that twice. This one time, as my dad raised his rifle, the cow dropped to its knees with tears rolling down. My dad felt the connection and just couldn’t pull the trigger. He told his helpers to switch that cow to the end of the line so that he will shoot the other cows first. However, when that last cow came around again, the cow again dropped to its knees. My dad just can’t do it. He told his helpers to move the cow to the next day or hand the cow over to be slaughtered via the Muslim Halal method instead.

When my dad talked about the 3rd incident, he got all choked up and was in tears. My dad did the best he can given the situation and job responsibility back in those days.

My note: I am not trying to convert anyone to vegan. However, whatever your believes are, it is very important to treasure what you consume and not waste anything. Over indulgence is bad for your health. It is also a disrespect and waste for the overall circle of life.

The pandemic of 2020 is providing huge challenges for lots of families with aged parents/grandparents. The lock-down at senior care homes do protect them physically as the number of deaths in seniors long-term care slowed down. However, it is still hard on the seniors emotionally because face-to-face chit-chat (even of nothing), hand holding and hugs do mean A LOT to their complete well being. My dad is lucky in that he managed to learn how to type an email thru a tablet during the lock-down. He is starting to write to us and his friends again.

My dad is 98. He is physically weak and moves around in a wheel-chair but he knows exactly what he wants and clear in his head. However, he cannot hear too well anymore. So when me and my sister visit him (from outside his window), he is only half-guessing what we are saying. He is really bad at guessing hand-signals. I swear I won’t have him as my partner playing charade. I taught him how to read lips last September and that helped a lot. However, with the pandemic, face mask is mandatory and so all that effort went down the drain. Right now, we use pen and paper to help but that extra effort takes away from the natural flow of a conversation. Even worse, it highlighted what he conceived as “his disability”. It frustrates me as well but just last week, it dawned on me that if he cannot hear well, why don’t I get him to talk instead. So the following is Week One as told by my father and edited by me..

********

My grandfather is a military man but he is also well educated (能文能武). He is also a natural born salesman and has nerves of steel. This is what happened during the second World War during the invasion.

On the night of the invasion, everyone try to flee with their valuables to the mountains to hide from the enemy. In the mountains are lots of bandits who is trying to take advantage of the situation. My grandfather, with his 5 sons (my dad and his elder brother was in a different part of China at that time), got robbed 5 times already when he was stopped by the 6th gang. He told the leader of the gang “I really have nothing left, I got robbed 5 times already”. The leader said,”You must be lying. If you don’t give me everything, I will put a bullet through your head and kick you down the cliff”. My grandfather said, “I really have nothing but I have two last wishes before you kill me. You see my five sons over there, they are smart and strong. If you recruit them into your gang, they can be such a valuable resource and make your gang so much stronger and better.”. My grandfather continued, “If you can adopt my five kids and support them to get their education, they will be someone important and they will be grateful to you as their adopted father.”. The leader said, “Why aren’t you afraid of me? I can really put a bullet into your head and kick you off the mountain”. My grandfather said, “I am in the military and has many sneak previews of what death is like. What I have now is just bonus and I have no regrets if you can do the two wishes for me”. The leader thought it over and order his followers “Find some good clothing and shoes from our storage and give it to this family. Then put some money in xyz bank for the sons so that they can have assess to it for their education if they manage to stay alive after the war”. Then told my grandfather “Remember my name, I am Chiu San (趙三)”.

*******
I am not responsible for any errors or omissions but this is as told by my dad and he swears by it. 🙂

After closing up my story in Chapter 4, it came sharply to my mind that there were some missing events or experiences which were quite interesting and should be added to the story for friends and family to share.

10 Years older
Mishaps do happen sometime. On one of the evenings at the end of Supper, Annette asked to be excused and went off to the Ladies Room. Kim and I waited at our table, chatting and sipping whatever was remaining in our cups. Quite a long while passed, but there was no sign of Annette returning. We began to worry. Kim went twice to check at the Ladies Room . Annette wasn’t there ! O where ??? whee can she be.? ! Our anxiety rising ! I said she might be in our stateroom looking for something. Kim went running and came back panting to say Annette wasn’t there ! Now the waiters joined in the search ! And at the height of our panic, Annette suddenly reappeared, very much like stepping out from a magic box of the Magician ! I asked, in tears, what happened ??? Realizing the panic she put us into, she sighed, Aye aye aye !!! … Aye aye aye !!! Kim was unable to utter a single word ! Propping his head with his arms on the table with eyes closed .., finally picking up his breaths again, he shook his head and said, he was 10 years older !!!

Countless years Younger
Nothing heals and rejuvenates our Body and Spirit faster and more completely than taking a trip on a cruise boat. Coming back from my cruise to Alaska, I did feel like a snake shedding off its old skin and living a new Life in a new body ! My health ! my strength ! … they came back to me quicker than riding on a Bullet Train ! I felt years and years younger – I was so happy I I soared like a Skylark !

New Friends
We made many new friends onboard. First to come on the stage was our stateroom Butler. He looked after all our foods and comfort onboard. He was a very polite and intelligent person. Besides being attentive to our needs in great details, he wanted us to feel that his services to us are first class. He indeed spoiled us ! He brought to us, the first night we came aboard, a bottle of Champagne chilled in ice in a small tub, with compliments from our Ship, Celebrity infinity. From that night on, we used to joke with him when he asked what we like to drink, I always said, “Champagne” , and we all laughed !

Next came the team of waiters at our elegant Dining Parlor. These waiters were very formally dressed in their black suits with white shirts and smart neckties to match. This formal dressing is meant to show their respect and to give importance to their honored guests who were in their smart casuals (which is in the Ship’s terminology, a nice clean smart shirt and pants, with or without neck-ties.), This informal dressing is meant to give maximum ease and comfort to the guests.. To further enhance this friendly and cozy atmosphere, these waiters were witty and capable of cracking jokes and talking with humors. They would come up to call me papa or young man ! This made all the people around laugh !
This simple sincere warm heart moving friendship binds itself together like a Snow Ball ! growing in size every minute ! rolling out from our dining parlor to the whole ship, soaking all crew and passengers in a huge snowball of friendship joy and cheer ! Henceforth we would be meeting Smile after Smile on all the decks, praising the Lord for His Love of Infinity !!!

A touch of romance
In movies, TV and books we had watched and read so much about shipboard Romances ! And on-board celebrity Infinity, there must have been infinite novel-like romances drifting around like
leaves in Autumn ! gold red yellow and green ! thrilling and awesome !

Me too ! I happened to pick up a leaf which I called a touch of romance ! which really happened ! Not imagination !
There were Two Malaysian young ladies ! they dined most evenings at a dining table two rows across from ours. We (I mean the 2 ladies and I) we greeted each other with smiles ! and once or twice by raising our cups of drinks to wish our best of wishes of health and joy ! … and to me, this was a little Piece of Romance ! worthy of our Shakespeare’s writing a story on ! And if this was Not romantic enough ?! we still had our (Annette Kim and me, and the two ladies) dining together at one table on the last night’s Dinner. Kim was presiding at the end of the table with Annette and me sitting on his left side and the 2 Malaysian ladies siting on his right side, which means Annette and me, we were sitting face to face with the young ladies, who had, in the course of eating and chatting, proved themselves to be warm, friendly and sociable ! I was listening with interest and nodding a little to show my appreciation of their chats . The night was drifting away fast (too soon for us), we had to say farewell nevertheless. The 2 ladies came across the table to give me a big warm farewell hug (I thought they hug me out of their own wish, but Annette said I asked for it). Alast ! the little Magnetism left in me was Not enough to magnetize the ladies to come to me on their own ! Aye aye aye !!!!

Homeward bound through the Inside Passage
Leaving Ketchikan, our Ship sailed South, passing through the Inside Passage, toward Vancouver, our home port. This waterway holds a special fondness for us. First of all it is picturesque ! No photographic art can do justice to its snow capped mountains with their innumerable cute peaks like dancing fairies ! Dotting here and there in this stretch of water are numerous pretty little islands that we see also in Japan and in Hong Kong.
All these breathtaking sceneries and views we saw when our ship started off for Alaska, greeting us welcome, and again on our journey south to Vancouver bidding us Farewell and inviting us to come again !!!

An escapade (by the Taxi driver)
To end my Story with some more excitement, there was this false escapade by the Taxi driver !
It happened when, after our disembarkation from the Ship at the Canada Place Pier, Kim, Annette and me, we took a Taxi to go pick up Kim’s car at their home in North Van. On reaching home, the Taxi driver helped in unloading our luggage and then came forward to drive off with poor me still siting in his car ! I was quite unaware that the Taxi was leaving. It was only when Kim came running after the Taxi and calling the driver to stop that I realize I was alone with the Taxi driver, who gave Kim and Annette the FEAR that he was trying to kidnap me ! The driver stopped his car and explained that he was under the mistaken thought that he was taking me to my own home close by ! Kim and Annette took a deep breath, realizing that it was a false alarm !!!

Corrigenda : My daughter Annette has very rightly suggested the following errors in my previous Chapter to be corrected :

• Under the heading High Tea, the maids should best be called waitresses. I had naughtily called them maids with a subtle reference to the Swedish maids who are well known to be very well-dressed, pretty and sexy.
• Our Butler served us in the Michael’s Club.as well as in our stateroom. He did attended to us in our High Tea several times and recommended drinks and snacks to pleasure us.
• The camellmile tea should correctly spell camomile tea. I was under the mistaken belief that the word came from a Chinese herb Camellia which has a unique fragrance and many health benefits.

Let this be a winding up Chapter to bring to an end my endless chatter on Alaska, highlighting the most interesting experiences I’ve come across.

The Icy Strait Point

This was the first port of call of our Ship, a tucked away little fishing village for fishermen to dry and mend their nets. This is also a part of the Alaskan waters where their world famed Salmons thrive in great abundance. The fishing boats need only drop their nets, glide around the bays and raise their nets with a full load of Salmons jumping and flipping from the nets, Only the best big fat ones are picked, the rest of the catch are set free by lowering the net…

All these activities were shown in pictures in the little Museum in the village where an old disused fishing boat and other old fishing equipment were also displayed. Visitors can rest their tired feet in restaurants, some of them cater the world famed Alaska King Crabs ! We saw some visitors eating them. They proudly held up the huge red crabs with huge awesome claws for us to see ! There was also an old Fish Canning Factory displaying its well reserved old crude machinery and equipment. We were very much impressed by all these views and sights around the village.

Worthy of mention also is its incredibly well-built pier where even our 91,000 tons cruiser can dock. It extends way out from the shore with linking covered walkways for passengers to come ashore and to get to the village through long winding paths . Our Ship departed in the twilight of the evening, leaving behind our mind still lingering around this quaint village !

The Hubbard Glaciers

Our Ship continued to sail North toward the Hubbard Glaciers. It was not a Stop call. It was a slow gentle gliding along the U-shape strait surrounded in front and at both sides with a chain of snow capped queer shape Peaks, like many many Fairies clothed in White holding hands in a Greek line-dance ! All passengers came lining up the open top deck, gazing at the strange Sight with jaw-dropping breathtaking thrills and chills !!! We have seen this in TV, Videos and Magazines, but the thrill is not the same. To be there body and soul was like being transported physically and spiritually to the Heaven on Earth !!! All the passengers were busy with their Telescopic Cameras or Binoculars to catch the 360 degree panoramic scenery and views !!! Especially when our Ship was piloted by an experienced Captain, edging our ship close to the foot of the glaciers, almost close enough to touch them !!! From here our Ship turned South on our Homeward journey, stopping at 2 more ports of call, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Juneau

It is the Capital of Alaska, quite a busy port of call for all Cruisers. Its streets are fully lined up with dazzling Jewelry shops for visitors to empty their pockets for the purchase of diamond jewels for their beloved ones ! OR for those who have little or no money in their pockets (like me), we can feast our eyes with window shopping !
However, thee is the affordable thrilling Cable Tram ride up to the Top of Mt Roberts, and visitors can have a full breathtaking view of the town below. The beautiful harbour always has several Cruise Ships docking there creating another jaw dropping view !

Ketchikan

This is our last port of call before returning to Vancouver to complete the 7-night dream.
Here passengers can pick several Land Excursions to explore the wild snowy icy Alaska. Our dining table mates took the Dog Sleate Ride and shew us pictures which were truly exciting ! Annette Kim and me, we picked the Lumber Jack Show which was quite interesting and fun-filled too. It has competing teams from Canada . US and North European countries. Canada won most of the competitions. I liked the Tree Climbing,, the Tree Cutting, the Axe throwing, the log rolling by loggers to see who falls off into the water last … log cutting art of chopping off a little stool from a piece of log in minutes … etc etc. After the show, we took a leisurely walk around the little town with clean and quiet streets which were very pleasant.

Farewell, Sayonara , Adios … … to Alaska

If readers find it interesting, curious and delicious in my “Breakfast in Bed” in last Chapter, please read on with my “High Tea” in this chapter as an extension of curiosity and finger-licking tastes. Readers will come across two names Annette and Kim, my daughter and husband. who will soon become familiar to you throughout this Alaskan story.

High Tea at Michael’s Club

It is a daily thrilling event for Annette Kim and me to go to the Club to enjoy the High Tea at 4 pm. It is located at a not so conspicuous (mysterious), but quite easily found, corner of the Ship (if we look around). As in all clubs and bars, it is illuminated cozily and not too bright. Guests coming in are warmly greeted and attended to by well-dressed maids (waitresses). There is a long list of tea or coffee to choose from and our favorites were Camellmile tea or Cappuccino coffee. The pretty maids brings in trays of exquisite cakes and small-eats to choose. To keep the atmosphere romantic, there is always a duet to sing and to play by a singer, a pianist or guitarist!
So, it is one full hour in the evenings of drinks and snacks, music and romance!!

Ocean View buffet lunch

As for lunches, there is the Ocean View lounges which are a series of half circular glassed-in spaces with tables and chairs for eating and for enjoying a full view of the ocean. Alongside these lounges are a series of buffet counters providing a wide varieties of buffet foods for passengers to choose. Annette and Kim usually picked a table big enough to hold all the foods for the 3 of us. My lion’s share is usually a hot soup and fish or eggs …absolutely delicious!

No lack of on-board entertainments

So far we’ve been talking about foods and eating, but there is actually such a full range of shipboard entertainments to fill up our days and nights to keep us real busy! Our Ship sailed at 4:30 pm, departing from Vancouver ; and already there was a whole night dancing lining up at 10:30 pm at the Constellation Deck 11 with a live band, the Ship’s House Band, her Downtown House Band to thrill and to swing the night away!

Annette and Kim should have been there, but we were so busy unpacking, unloading our dresses and things in the walk in closet … and were so tired after that, we rather drop in to bed and leave the excitement to other nights. At day breaks, in the dim light of dawn, Annette and Kim were either exercising at the fully equipped Gym or jogging at the open deck, to give them the much needed stamina to go through the rest of the day.

There’re two Swimming Pools, one open and one covered, to satisfy those who want more exercises to flex their muscles and bones. … OR for those who want to relax and to meditate. there are the hot tubs and saunas to meet their wishes.

The real thrills and excitements come with the Night Shows waiting for us after our dinners. They were the Broadway Style singing dancing shows with a full live band. They were a feast to our eyes and ears, and they came to stage almost every other nights of our 7- night Cruise. … … And for those who think the Night is still too young, there was the tempting Casino to try their luck – to win a fortune or to lose it quick! It is the miniature Vegas on-board ship.

dear Annette, Mario and Kim,
With the big pats on my back from you guys, I am diving in (like a deep sea diver) again into the beauty and charm of Alaska! and continue to jot down whatever will stir up the curiosity and interest of whoever will take a peep at my story.

Breakfast in bed
Let’s start with my breakfast served to me in my stateroom in the dim light of early dawn! Although not exactly like the French breakfasting in bed, the leisurely mood and pleasure of sipping my fragrant coffee and savoring the steaming delicious foods … is the same! My breakfast, the foods varied each morning … my favorites are porridge, pancakes,soft boiled eggs, milk, coffee and smoothies … there were not many because they had to be prepared specially for me (who is a handicap plus denture troubles) by the cook with their special cooking skills to make them fluffy and soft which melt in my mouth without chewing effort! . I don’t know how to tell this pampering attention and care given to me by my ship, the Celebrity Infinity. This pampering! this care! it is truly like a loving mother holding her baby in her arms! so soul soothing! A touching and impressive picture!

My motorized wheelchair
A motorized wheelchair ??? Not a scooter ??? Sure enough!!! ‘cos my wheelchair is powered by Kim who is my 10 Horse Power Motor!!! With this 10 HP wheelchair I can wheel myself all around the 11 decker cruiser, to my lunching and dining, theatres and wherever I like to go!!! This 10 HP horse needs to eat and drink too! He is a real good company in eating, drinking and roaming around!!!

Not a lone miserable handicap
I was not a lone handicap onboard! There were quite a few fashionably dressed old ladies, and a few old gentlemen hulks like me – scootering around and greeting each other happily with our great bitter sweet Smiles!!! An indeed touching sight!

Some pretty people to look at
It was not all eye-sores onboard, there were many pretty girls and ladies to look at like what we see in the Movie “Titanic” who are breathtaking and jaw dropping! And there were those lovable children laughing and jumping around to cheer our hearts! And those amiable polite smiling crew and officers of the ship greeting and bowing
to all passengers they meet!

Ballerinas at sea
Not the ballerinas we see in the ballet shows or in the world famed “Swan Lake” . They were the sea giants! The whales with their giant heads spouting out into the air with streams of water like fountains and their giant pretty tails waving and greeting us! It was a fantastic sight! We call them the Ballerinas of the Sea! They are to be seen in large numbers in the Alaskan waters!

Hi! dear guys!

As promised I’m going to put pen on paper my Experiencing (tasting, savoring, smacking) Alaska!

The foremost thought that came to me is that it is NO propaganda , no exaggeration, no bragging in the saying that Alaska is a WORLD away from the world we live in !!! It is a stretch of Land so serenely and nobly covered with ICE and SNOW !!! Yes, no words! no description! no poem! no music! can equate this BEAUTY and CHARM in icy snowy Alaska ! It can ONLY be experienced and felt in our hearts which will eternally live in our souls and will keep coming back to our minds in the light of dawn of each day all our LIFE ! This Joy, this Thrill will creep in and creep out from our hearts to cherish us and to be shared with all our families and friends !

This story of mine will not relate all the data about Alaska which are so elegantly and beautifully displayed in magazines, videos and TV i will only touch on what stir up my curiosity and interest that I will not forget! And perhaps I would start with the Ship which coveys me to Alaska, to the Top of the earth!

My Ship, the Celebrity Infinity, 91,000 tons! which is Not a super huge cruiser but is big enough to accommodate all the possible luxuries of a floating Palace at Sea! She has squeezed in her all the comfort and fun we would like to have on-board a ship.
To begin with, there is an exquisite dining parlor for VIPs (including all her passengers on board) where a team of smiling entertaining waiters attend so zealously to each one of their guests … they are so intelligent and humor-filled as to make the dining parlor filled with roaring laughter! …. they dared to call me papa or young man and make the guests of our neighboring tables laugh! … And for me with my denture problems, they keep changing their foods until it is soft enough to suite me! Their untiring efforts to please me is truly touching, heart-warming and unforgettable!
Their menus are all embracing, Italian, Russian, French Japanese, name it and they have it! …
Their team of chefs and cooks (a long line of them) would parade the parlor for the guests to see and to admire!
which is really very impressive !