text: Snoozing Vietnamese man takes slow train to Alaska . ANCHORAGE , Alaska 1996-08-22 A Vietnamese man who tried to take a snooze in a railway boxcar in Canada found himself locked in and bound for Alaska with no food or water . Officials in the port of Whittier said on Thursday that they found Tuan Quac Phan , 29 , dehydrated , famished and terrified after sailing to Alaska from Canada in the boxcar loaded on a barge , a trip that takes about five days . Sgt . Dan Jewell of the Whittier , Alaska police department described Phan as " extremely cooperative " . " Seeing me in my uniform , he kept saying , Jail better . Jail better . ' " Phan 's accidental journey started last week in Prince Rupert , British Columbia , where he was searching for a fishing job , Jewell said . " He had climbed up in this boxcar to get out of the weather and to get some sleep , " Jewell said . " The next thing you know , the boxcar is coupled up and loaded up to a barge and headed north . " Police found Phan late on Monday when the boxcar , which was transporting lumber , was opened at Whittier , a port in western Prince William Sound . Officials fed Phan some soup , gave him medical care , kept him overnight and then fed him a large breakfast .