Another uninteresting place is jet lag, they all say that you have to go abroad to reverse jet lag, but you also have to reverse jet lag when you travel widely in the United States, as mentioned earlier, the continental United States is divided into 4 time zones from east to west, and each time zone passes, you have to add an hour or subtract an hour. It doesn't matter if you're running around with nothing to do if you're running around idle, if you're going to run errands, or traveling by bus, this problem is troublesome, if you change the wrong time or forget to change it, then your date will definitely be in vain, and the shuttle bus you're waiting for must not be there, because the time is wrong.

There is also the question of watching TV, Hong Tao has stayed in many kinds of hotels along the way, both ordinary hotels and motels. The television stations that can be received in these places vary greatly. For example, ordinary hotels often only receive programs from the four major television networks, while motels are relatively more numerous, some can reach more than 40 stations, and there are adult stations in the evening, which is related to the cable television network in the United States.

In the United States, there is no national television network, only private television networks, and the national ones are ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and are known as the four major television networks. There are dozens of professional or regional cable TV networks, such as CNN News Network, ESPN Sports Network, etc., if you want to watch it, you have to sign a contract with these TV networks to pay, some hotels may not sign a contract in order to save money, then of course you can't see it. From this point of view, China is better, just one, sign the all-round look, don't sign all the looks, and watch those sports competitions, the World Cup or something are free to watch, unlike the United States, you have to pay for it.

The last thing to talk about is to buy things, if you want to shop in the United States, most of the goods are tax-included, and you can't enjoy a tax refund. And the tax rates vary from state to state, with higher rates ranging from 8.25% to Los Angeles, 8.8% to Seattle, and 8.5% to San Francisco, while lower ones are 5.75% in Washington, 5% in Boston, and 6.5% in Orlando.

So to go shopping. It's best to calculate the low tax rate in that place first, and then choose a discount promotion period to buy, which can save a lot of money, really a lot, and you can save more than half of it if you catch up. Stores in the U.S. are almost always on sale, but these are not too big, and only for a few fixed periods of time do the discounts hit very hard. For example, New Year's Day in early January, Easter in March, Independence Day in July, Thanksgiving in November, and Christmas in December are the time for store tear sales, and Americans like Irene want to buy something good. I will also endure it first, wait until these times come, and then buy it.

Hong Tao and Erin rested in Seattle for a few days before planning to fly back to New York. Erin's second-hand horse 6 finally came to an end, and the water temperature couldn't come down at high speed, and the air conditioning couldn't even be turned on, so it was finally sold to a local scrap yard and reaped more than $300 in selling money. As for buying a new car, the tax rate in the west is higher than in the east. And I have to drive back after buying it, Hong Tao has run up half of his life's mileage in more than half a month, and he has become addicted to driving. I really don't want to drive back again, so I'm planning to go back to New York and buy it again.

But the night before they left, a bartender in the hotel bar recommended them another fun option, taking a boat to Alaska!

Alaska! Frozen! Inuit (Eskimos are a slightly derogatory term.) So in North America it is better to say Inuit)! Whaling! These are Hong Tao's original impressions of Alaska.

"Why don't we go and have a look?" Hong Tao was a little moved.

"How much does it cost?" Erin didn't object, but asked directly about the price, which is the difference between men and women.

"My sister is from the cruise line. This is their promotional material, it is the off-season, so the price is very good, you can take a closer look first, if you are satisfied, I will ask my sister to give you a small discount. "This bartender is quite good at business, not humble or arrogant, not impatient or impatient, which can dispel some of the doubts of customers.

The cruise company introduced by the bartender is called Norwegian, and Hong Tao knows this company, and he and Erin went on vacation in the Caribbean and took this company's cruise ship. At that time, it was the wedding company to the agent, and it was said to be an old cruise company in North America, and the ship grade and service were very good. It is true that the hardware and software of the cruise ship are quite satisfactory to Hong Tao, since it is so coincidental that he has caught up with this company again, then he will patronize it again, this is all fate.

After determining the cruise company, it was a matter of price, and the bartender was not ambiguous, and called his sister directly. His sister is considered a beauty, at least in Hong Tao's eyes, Erin generally lets Hong Tao call the shots in front of outsiders, because in the American tradition, men are in charge, which is the opposite of Chinese habits.

Although Hong Tao is not the master who can't move when he sees a woman, he will not be too ruthless when talking about business with a beautiful woman, so the price will be negotiated soon. He and Erin spent a total of $3,100 to book a double junior suite, with a balcony unobstructed and to and from the coast.

Taking a cruise ship is a little different from taking a plane or train, and there is a difference between a nearshore cruise ship and an ocean cruise.

The cabin of the cruise ship is very important, which is related to the comfort of your trip and the amount of service you enjoy along the way. Generally speaking, professional luxury cruise ships are more than 10 stories high, with a living deck more than 100 meters long, and hundreds to thousands of cabins for tourists. These cabins are divided into many classes depending on the location and room type, and the price varies greatly.

Generally, according to the room type, there are standard double rooms, sea view rooms, standard rooms with balconies, small suites and large suites, as for what admiral suite, Caribbean suite, VIP suite and other names are the names of the steamship company itself, just to make people sound high-end atmosphere and grade, there is no practical significance.

The meaning of the inner cabin is that this room is in the middle of the hull, and the sides are not close to each other, so there are no windows, and there is a feeling during the day and night, so it is the cheapest.

The sea view room has one more window than the inner cabin, but this window cannot be opened, it is dead, and it is slightly more expensive than the inner cabin. And there are subdivisions of sea view rooms, for example, the windows of some sea view rooms are just in the position of hanging lifeboats, and the line of sight is blocked, and nothing can be seen.

Standard rooms with balconies are generally higher floors, and there is a small balcony outside the room, so the view is very good, and the price is naturally higher. This kind of balcony room also has the problem of lifeboat blocking, so you should also see it clearly and explain it clearly when choosing.

As the name suggests, small suites and large suites are the same as suites in hotels, with bedrooms, living rooms, and even small bars, and generally with a balcony, which is larger and has the best location, and is the most expensive room on the entire cruise ship.

In addition to the different room types, it is also important to choose the location and floor of the room. Generally, in the room at the bow of the ship, the shaking will be smaller, but the wind will be stronger; Then the room at the stern of the boat will shake more, but the wind will be small and the view will be wider; The room in the middle is generally windy and has a mediocre view; It depends on personal preference. In addition, the higher the floor, the more obvious the feeling of swaying, generally the best rooms are concentrated in the position below the top deck near the stern, and the lower deck near the stern may have engine noise, the worst.

The small suite that Hong Tao chose is at the stern, he is not afraid of shaking, and Erin is not afraid, in fact, as long as it is not to catch up with extreme weather, this kind of large luxury cruise ship will not have an obvious sense of shaking, and if you catch up with bad weather, even if you live on the bilge deck, you have to shake, there is no difference.

Since it is the off-season, the price of the room is relatively cheap, if it is in the months of 5, 6, 7, 8, especially during the summer vacation, this kind of suite will sell for more than 5,000 dollars. Actually, it's not appropriate to go to Alaska in November, because it's the coldest season there, and many ports are closed, so you can't go to many places. But Hong Tao doesn't care about this, he thinks that if he goes to Alaska, he should go in winter, so that he can see the purest ice and snow, which belongs to radish and cabbage, and everyone has their own love.

This trip is a total of 7 days round trip, which is a long-distance trip, so it is not enough to have a ferry ticket, and you have to prepare some daily necessities. In this regard, the bartender's sister gave Hong Tao and Erin very pertinent and detailed advice. At her suggestion, Hong Tao and Irene did not go to buy winter clothes, because they were sold in the shops on the ship and were tax-free; In addition to winter clothing, prepare swimsuits, formal dresses, hiking boots, goggles, binoculars, high-powered lenses, high-fat body oils, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and personal hygiene products.

Swimsuits don't let you swim in the sea, you have to freeze into popsicles, and if you don't care about the style of the swimsuit, you can buy it after you get on the boat, and it's cheap.

Formal dresses are mainly used for formal dinners on the ship, Westerners like to engage in this kind of thing, do as the locals do, Hong Tao comes to wear suits, leather shoes, ties, and Erin makes an evening dress, anyway, women don't think they have too many clothes.

The goggles are to prevent snow blindness, as there are also activities to go ashore, as well as hiking boots. As for the telescope and high-power lens, it is not a necessity, but it is definitely better to have it, those whale schools, polar bears, seals will not be too close, with high-power telescopes and high-power lenses, you can see more clearly and shine more clearly.

High-oil emollient oil and sunscreen are essential for women, although it is winter, but Alaska because the air is too clean, so the ultraviolet radiation is also very strong, and the sea breeze is very damaging to the skin, high-oil emollient oil can resist. However, Hong Tao and Erin are not afraid of tanning, so sunscreen is free, and the emollient oil will be bought on the ship. (To be continued......)