1. Rockies & Alaska Cruise by Jayant Doshi
The Heathrow airport terminal was abuzz with a
crowd of fifty three, quite early in the morning on
Saturday 23rd July, who were boarding a flight for
their tour of the Canadian Rockies and the Alaska
cruise organised by Navnat Vanik Bhagini Samaj.
Over the years, Bhagini have established a
reputation for precision and care in their planning
any trip. After the check-in was completed, each
passenger was handed a bag of breakfast goodies.
The food on the flight was inadequate and
inappropriate, and this thoughtful packet from
Bhagini came to the rescue of the passengers.
We flew directly to Vancouver, a flight time of over
ten hours, and then immediately took a flight to
Calgary. The long flight, the time difference and lack of food on the flight, drove all the famished
passengers to fill their stomachs with whatever was available in Vancouver airport. From Calgary airport we
were taken for a short city tour which included Calgary Tower which gives a panoramic view of the city, and
on a clear day one can see the Rockies. We arrived at our hotel, and went out for dinner. Every one was
exhausted. We had woken up very early, the flight was long and the time difference had started taking its
toll. Everyone opted for an early night.
After a good sleep, I woke up early and I had a nice early morning walk. Later we visited the Canada
Olympic Park which was used for the winter Olympics in 1988. Winter Olympics, always loss making, made
its first profit at this venue. We had a tour of the park and its facilities, and some of the members tried some
of the equipment. The park is now used for practice and training.
The rocky mountains, or rockies as they are well-known, of west Canada have a beauty that can not be put
to words. It has snow covered peaks; it has mountain slopes covered with tall fir trees and lush greenery,
and slopes which are void of any greenery; it has rivers, ravines and gorges of every description; water falls
abound in the area, and emerald green waters of lakes add colour to the beauty; it has thick forests, and it
has valleys with green grass; in short, nature has endowed it with all types of natural beauty. To preserve
this beauty, the government has created five huge parks, and have strict laws to preserve the nature and
the environment. However, this in itself has brought
a huge influx of tourists to savour the beauty, and in
turn this has been the cause of environmental
destruction. Banff is a beautiful little town which has
grown on the back of tourism. We visited a cave
which has springs of hot sulphur water coming from
the grounds.
We took a cable car ride to the top of one of the
mountains. The scenery was spectacular, the ride
was breathtaking, and the visit to the top worth its
while. The mountain peaks had snow, tall fir trees
and shrubs covered the slopes, and the river and
lake in the valley had azure blue waters of
distinctive hue. A wooden pathway, possibly over a
mile long, has been built leading to a lonely peak,
where a hut has been built by a recluse who lived
there and checked on the weather. The walk along that path was pleasant, the azure blue waters in the
lake and the river were stunning, and the scenery was a paradise for a photographer. After lunch some of
us went to a hot water sulphur water swimming pool. It is said that the sulphur water has some good
medicinal qualities. Later we took a stroll along the shops in Banff, and relaxed for the day. Some of us
walked down the street and visited some of the stores and did some shopping.

2. It was late departure next day from Banff. We drove through Yoho National Park. We passed through the
Spiral Tunnels, the turquoise serene waters of Emerald Lake and a natural Rock Bridge spanning the
Kicking Horse River. We stopped at some beauty
spots. Lunch was taken along the coast of a lake at
a lovely spot. We reached Lake Louise just after
lunch. The hotel was situated right on the shores of
the lake. On both sides of the lake, and the far side
too, one could see mountains covered with
greenery, and some had snow on them. I took a
long walk along the lake. The walk was pleasant.
There were steep rocks, almost straight, and
abseiling was being practiced by some enthusiasts.
The track led to some glaciers but as dinner had
been arranged early, I had to rush back and miss
the sight of the glaciers. On my return I was told
that dinner had been postponed. I was angry that I
missed the beautiful scenery and the glaciers
because of originally planned early dinner. Some of
us spent the spare time in the health club. There
was karaoke and music with dinner.
As we were not leaving hotel till late I had a long walk up one of the mountains. Today we were travelling
through Banff and Jasper National Parks, and the highlights included Bow Lake, the Columbia Ice fields
and the Athabasca Falls. We stopped at the Columbia Ice fields where we were transferred to specially
made ice coaches with huge tyres. Only these ice coaches could drive in that snow and the glaciers. It was
raining and bitterly cold. But having come so far, most of us spent some time on the glacier taking photos.
On the way to Jasper we stopped at two water falls with some stunning scenery and walks around the area.
We reached Jasper by evening. Next morning we visited Pyramid and Patricia Lakes, Maligne Canyon and
Athabasca viewpoint. In the afternoon we visited the sulphur hot pools and everyone enjoyed a dip in the
hot waters.
Rocky Mountain train is famous for the difficult terrain through which it has been built. But it also passes
through some magnificent scenery, lakes, rivers, falls, greenery, and mountain gorges and valleys. The
train is luxurious, and very comfortable. This train journey is considered one of the most wonderful train
journeys in the world. Our group had a coach of their own. The train journey was for the day time only, but
the journey would last for two days. Passengers are well looked after. Breakfast and lunch are provided on
the train, and tea is served twice during the journey. We passed Mount Robson, the highest peak in the
rockies, and Thompson river through the snowy peaks of the Monashee and Caiboo mountains and along
the rolling plateaus until it reaches the town of Kamloops. We spent the night in a hotel in the town of
Kamloops.
Next day our train journey meandered along the
natural path of the Thompson river, and travel along
the impressive Fraser Canyon. One of the
highlights in the canyon is Hell’s Gate, where
millions of gallons of water per minute rush through
the narrowest point of the canyon. We reached
Vancouver in the evening. Everyone took
advantage of doing some shopping around the
hotel. For those who appreciate nature, and its
beauty, this is a wonderful way to admiring the
beauty of this region at close hand. Perhaps
travelling by car and exploring the region at leisure
is a much better way of taking in this beauty. It is a
wonderful place for those who love trekking. But for
that one needs time, and the inclination to walk
over these mountains and explore its inner most beauty.
Victoria is a small island across the bay from the city of Vancouver, and we boarded a ferry for our full day
trip. We were taken to the world renowned Butchart Gardens spread over 50 acres of land. The wonderful

3. colours of flowers and the floral arrangements were excellent, and a delight for all photographers. We were
given some time to explore the beauty of the gardens. The garden was immaculately maintained. One
could spend hours and admire the immaculately laid and maintained gardens, but our time was limited.
After lunch we had a glimpse of the city which included Beacon Hill Park and the Parliament buildings.
We were ready by 9.00 to board our coach to take
us to the cruise ship. On arrival there we were
informed that we had some free time. Some of us
went up the high tower from where a wonderful view
of Vancouver could be captured with the naked eye.
We also saw a replica of the Big Ben clock of
London, but run on steam. We stopped to hear the
chime at 12.00 noon, and that was enchanting.
After lunch, we went on to our cruise ship
Norwegian Sun, our home for the next seven days.
The process of embarkation was smooth and fast.
Soon after embarkation, we were exploring the
facilities of the cruise ship.
Cruising in a luxurious ship means relaxed life for
everyone. After the hectic tour of the Rockies, when we were expected to wake up everyday at 6.00, and
always on the move, this was sheer luxury. Food was in abundance, and available all hours of the day and
night. There were a few swimming pools and jacuzzi, and steam and sauna rooms. For those who were
keen on their fitness, there was a well equipped gym and a jogging track. Our group of fifty-three was
amidst thousands of other passengers, but there was no pressure to wake up at any particular time, or to
do things what others were doing. Everyone could wake up when they liked, eat when and what they liked,
and do what ever they liked. There was some sort of entertainment every evening. These included comedy
sketches, dance extravaganza, magic shows or game shows.
The cruise ship travels along the coast of Alaska. We made four stops during the seven day cruise. These
included Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Wrangell. All these small towns were developed during the gold
rush, and today exist on the mineral wealth of the interior. The winters are so cold that these towns are
covered with snow for over six months. Most of the businesses belonged to traders from New York who
came here with their gear during summer and closed for the winter. Each town had its own characteristic;
but they all looked like the towns from the cowboy movies of Hollywood.
All these stops offered a variety of excursions from city sight seeing, and visit to some park or place of
interest, or boat ride to watch whales or fjords and glaciers, or sky plane ride to some remote beauty spot
or helicopter ride to the glaciers. There were
excursions to see polar bears, or to have a sky
view of the beauty of the glaciers, or a walk on the
glaciers. There were trekking trips to remote parts
of the region. Unfortunately weather played a major
part in these excursions. We selected some of the
exclusive excursions by helicopter, but they were
all cancelled due to bad weather. We walked
around the towns, and looked at the shops. We
booked to see polar bears and the weather
stopped the flights. We booked for dog sledging,
which we so much were looking to do, but we
spent the whole day hoping that weather will
change. But the helicopters did take off, but had to
come back in no time. This was a big
disappointment on the trip.
Some of the group decided to take a boat ride to watch the whales. They succeeded in having a cursory
look at the whales, which jumped out of the water and disappeared in the deep ocean at the same speed.
We decided to go for a boat trip that took us to give us the closest look at some of the glaciers. The boat
went deep into a fijord, and took us past many water falls. Whenever a water fall came, the boat would go
literally a few feet away from the falling waters. The trip was wonderful, and the close sight of the glaciers

4. was amazing. The boat waded through blocks of ice floating in the ocean. The floating blocks of ice were
from small block to huge blocks – similar to the size of a dining table to the size of a house. The turquoise
blue ice surrounded by white ice, gave a wonderful opportunity to take some nice photos. The boat took us
almost to the fringe of the glaciers, a distance of perhaps less then fifty yards, and what we saw was most
amazing.
After seven days of cruising, we arrived back to
Vancouver. We had a tour of the city which
included the Gastown and the Chinatown. We
visited the world famous Stanley Park and stopped
at the Totem English Bay beach. Then we went to
Queen Elizabeth Park, which is the highest point
and affords a wonderful sight of Vancouver. We
had our farewell dinner and next day we departed
for London.
Overall it was a good trip, with a friendly crowd and
some enjoyable moments during the trip. We had
problem on the flights as our food needs were not
catered for, in spite of specifically being ordered
and notified. Such tours are normally managed by
the tour operator himself or their experienced staff. With a large group there are problems, and there are
special needs and requirements, and a good manager can make a lot of difference by catering for the
needs of the group, and taking care of problems. But above all, the tour manager listens to the group, and
tries his best to accommodate their requests. Group members may make suggestions or wish to make
some changes, and it is the duty of the manager to listen and to try to accommodate them. The manager
does not impose what has been decided, even though it is possible to change that, and the manager listens
and tries hard to do what the majority of passengers want and are requesting. This was totally lacking on
this trip. The trip could have been wonderful if the manager had been more cooperative and listened to the
passengers. I have been on several trips organised by Bhagini; and every time we had the most
cooperative and helpful manager. I wish I could say the same for this trip.