Though you can explore the downtown entirely in less than an hour =p. (That excludes the time spent in the museum/heritage center of course). So, the sun goes down at 12am and before it gets completely dark, the sun rises at 4am. And there goes my hope for encountering the stunning Aurora…

But the good thing is, you’ve got 24 hours to go around Alaska in summer =D Like, you can still go canoeing at 12am:

(That’s the tiny weeny white/red canoe at the left corner) Taken at 1230 midnight at the University of Alaska Anchorage lake.

me me!

some random guy lol

We stayed at the UAA dorm for just usd30 per day =D

And then zhengjun saw this:

and insisted that we follow the sign so he could/might find some kind of mm paradise =__=

we got attacked by alaskan mosquitoes (which are huge and very slow-motion) along the way

only to realise mm means

(many) mosquito(es) lake =____=”

Anyway, a few more pictures on campus before pictures in downtown:
The very artsy library:

main entrance:

Bus stop:

Moving on to the city center:

ok this is NOT the center of the city center, but the edge of the city center =D. And that’s my big boss with his leng (ok with some cvpr conference participants)

in the city center! the shops are mainly souvenir shops, travel agencies and restaurants – very tourissy!

with lots of stuff like this for you to pose with

lol

oh and not forgetting the many skin/fur shops:

i’ll bite you if you don’t leave a comment =p

or even skinned you… I know this is cruel – I guess hunting is pretty common here therefore the abundant skins/furs.

and gold mining industry too:

rings with gold nuggets

even watches

some graffities around the corner:

So, in short, the downtown is more like a place to stay/eat/get creative souvenirs (seriously, the tee-shirt’s designs are much more interesting than any other states’ designs). I did a few outings (other than the cruise) in Alaska and will write them up next yo =D.