Amazing Alaska Asish Mukherjee It was 11.15 on a beautiful August night when we stepped out of Anchorage airport and hailed a cab. Our motley group consisted of two preteen children, their young parents Moon and Jit, and me and my wife Su who were older. We enjoy travelling together and had felt that a trip to remote Alaska would be a welcome break to our COVID-ruled daily lives. Aishani, the 10-year-old youngest member of our group blurted out in surprise, “I thought we were going to the Arctic area, this is no different from Michigan!” Truly, we had expected Alaska to be a wilderness where Eskimos live in igloos and wear animal hides to fight the bitter cold. Anchorage seemed no different from any mainstream American City as the taxi sped down a four-lane highway. The air was pristine, and the sky was sprinkled with stars. In the distance we could see silhouettes of rolling mountains that rose above the horizon and seemed to cradle this pretty valley. Soon we were in downtown. The roads were dotted with restaurants, stores and hotels. Familiar names like Marriott, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts were all around. We arrived at our destination Anchorage-Hilton and were shocked to see at least 20 persons, mostly airlines staff standing in a long line to check in. There was only one desk open. It was obvious that the evils of staff shortage have not spared this Shangri La. All on a sudden our phones sounded alerts and we were pleasantly surprised to see that the hotel app had activated electronic keys for our rooms. Thanking modern science after all, we took the elevator and hit our beds. As the first rays of the morning sun trickled through the curtains, I ran to the window. The still glassy surface of the bay lay still in the soft light of dawn, fringed by long mountain ranges. We soon finished our breakfast and headed towards the famous coastal trail. It took a fair amount of walking before we reached the starting point of the trail. knowledgeable smile “have you heard of Anthony Knowles?” Coastal Trail, Anchorage UPAHAAR 2021 উপহার ১৪২৮ 16 Aarit at 12 years age was the most energetic of the group. He was seething to start on this scenic hike. “Uncle”, Aarit asked with a
21 Publizr Home