Trip to Vancouver/Whistler/Seattle - Day 1 and 2 - Vancouver
After a pretty long sabbatical, I guess I'm back to blogging - at least to write travelogues.
After all travelling is one of those few things I enjoy the most, and it would be unfortunate if I do not write my experiences for posterity - not just for others to read and perhaps get some travel tips to the places I go to, but also for myself to read and reminisce at a later stage.
Also, being in the line of work that I am in, I guess writing is the only way I get to flex my creative muscles, no matter how atrophied they may have become in the last decade of disuse.
Enough of a background, let's get to business.
This post would be about the recently concluded trip to Vancouver-Whistler-Seattle from 2nd August to 6th August, 2018.
Let me start by confessing that Canada is a beautiful country - even more so than it's disproportionately popular neighbor to the South. I have nothing against the U.S. - I lived there for 3 years before moving northwards, and loved every trip I had there - the states of California, Illinois, New York, Minnesota, Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont come to mind. But Canada is known as the land of the wild outdoors - The True North; with huge swathes the size of countries lying vacant and waiting to be explored. So having spent almost 10 months here without travelling anywhere outside the Greater Toronto Area ( a short trip to NYC notwithstanding), a Canadian trip was long overdue.
The opportunity presented itself when a long weekend came up, and my employer told me that any leaves not availed by the end of the year would elapse.
As for the choice of destination, it would have to be the top place in my travel bucket-list (besides Banff) - Vancouver. Plus as I'd also heard of Whistler as a world class skiing destination near Vancouver, we also added that to our plan.
So after all bookings were done, YouTube videos scanned, Google trips downloaded to the mobiles, we took off on 1st August by the evening flight to Vancouver.
We arrived at our hotel - The Marriott Pinnacle right across the waterfront. It was 11 pm local time (2 am Toronto) so there wasn't much to be done except wait for the next day!
The first thing we did on getting up was get a good view outside of the hotel, and it did not disappoint!
Next, we went straight to the lounge for the breakfast - nothing special - your usual eggs, juices, croissants and pastries with coffee. But the panoramic view of the waterfront here was even better than the room.
After eating a hearty breakfast, we set out for our city tour by walking out to the waterfront 2 blocks away from the hotel and getting on to the Seawall Water Walk. It was here that the ocean views truly opened up to the grandest city view I had yet seen - skyscrapers behind me, Pacific ocean to the right and the Rocky mountains to my left.
We walked along the cemented walkway along the waterfront called the Seawall towards Canada Place, which was like a central plaza for events as well as the main point of departure for cruise ships going to Alaska.
After spending some time walking around this area and getting a cup of coffee, we decided to rent a bike to go around to the most famous spot in Vancouver - Stanley park. A note about biking in Vancouver - of all places that I've ever been to, I've never seen a more bike friendly city than Vancouver. They have separate lanes for bikes everywhere, not just inside the city but on the highways as well!
Anyways, we experimented awkwardly with the tandem bike, and while it would've been fun to go around for a short distance, it was not easy to handle and balance for a longer ride. We ended up getting 2 regular mountain bikes for 6 hours for $60 - pricey yes, but then this was Vancouver afterall!
So we hopped onto our bikes and got on the track of the Seawall that circumvents the entire 400 hectare rain forest that is Stanley Park.
It was turning out to be a gorgeous sunny day and we stopped ever so frequently to take picture wherever we could.
The first sight (apart from the numerous natural wonders around) was that of the 9 totem poles that were brought here from different parts of BC. There was even a gift shop inconspicuously placed right next to the poles for buying customers, and I would notice this dedication to commerce being setup to extract the maximum possible tourist dollars in the days to come. But I digress.
Moving on, we stopped at multiple places on the ride around the park, and it won't be an exaggeration to say that this was perhaps the best part of the entire trip. If there's just one thing you do in your trip to Vancouver, then riding a bike / walking along the Seawall has to be it.
We also stopped right below the quaint green colored Lionsgate bridge, whose colour is a unique contrast to that of the similar and iconic Golden gate bridge in San Francisco.
Post the relaxing hour long break, we decided to check out Beaver Lake in the middle of the park via a gravel hilly path, not a wise decision in hindsight.
The lake itself was nothing to write home about, most of it was covered in moss and vegetation with a small patch of lotus flowers.
Later we took a bus (Ubers are banned in Vancouver!) to gastown and got off near the famous steam clock that blows at every quarter hour and coincidentally we arrived just in time to see the whistle and steam blow off within 5 minutes.
However, it must be said that like so many other things, this too seemed like just another tourist trap, though at least they didn't charge an arm and a leg for it!
We missed our bus back to the harbourfront, so decided to walk to take the next available bus from 2 blocks east. What we saw next was totally unexpected, distressing and the absolute worst streets that I've seen anywhere in North America (Mexico included).
What I did not know at the time, was that the street right adjacent to Gastown which was called Hastings, was the epicenter of homeless drug addicts in Canada. (I guess the only place with a non freezing winter would be a deciding factor for them). The scene that lay before us was like that from post apocalyptic zombie movie - scores upon scores of homeless people littered around both sides of the streets, and many could be seen shooting or injecting drugs in plain-sight. However, to their credit, no one really approached us while we nervously looked for the next bus stop. After an agonizing 10 to 15 minute walk through that hell hole, we finally found a bus stop and jumped into the very next bus that came up.
We got up early and finished our breakfast at the hotel and ventured out around 9am to central downtown to check out the shopping avenue known as Robson street (kindof the 5th Ave of Vancouver). Though it was a Friday, the place was lively and bustling with activity. After that we returned to the hotel and checked out, as due to unavailability for this hotel for the weekend we had booked another hotel for the last day in Vancouver.
We took the nearest subway line and got off at the Chinatown station, from where our hotel was about a 10 minute walk. I really wished they had Uber though, it just makes things so convenient!
We reached our hotel for the day, the Douglas Autograph collection, which gave the vibe of a pretty premium hotel from it's lobby. We were told our rooms would not be ready till about 4 pm, so we decided to leave our luggage in the lobby and head out to see the few remaining parts of the city.
Next we took a bus to the Enterprise car rental place to get a car to drive for the remaining leg of the tour - to Whistler and Seattle in the next 2 days.
We got a small car and drove it straight to the next place in our list - Capilano suspension bridge.
It was a short half an hour drive to the upper reaches of North Vancouver but I was surprised (not pleasantly) to see the ticket prices for entry to the bridge area - $50 per person. It was exorbitant for what it was, but since we were anyways here it wasn't as if we had any option.
The place was made like a small educational park for children with a boardwalk and a treetop walk, but the real attraction was the suspension bridge itself.
We completed a quick round up of the entire park - majorly the treetop walk and the boardwalk within an hour, and around 5:30 headed back to town to visit the last remaining place in our list - the Granville island public market which was due to close at 7.
We reached the place around 6:10 so walked around the market - it was comparable to any standard farmer's market in Canada or U.S., but was certainly not bigger or better than our very own St. Lawrence market in Toronto.
Anyways, we ended our day and headed back to the hotel. On arrival we were told that they'd upgraded us to the King suite! (It was priced at $1100 per day on their website!)
The grandeur of this suite cannot be overemphasized - it opened up to a large living room overlooking the BC Place (Olympic stadium), with it's mini bar and separate bathroom.
The bedroom was huge as well and had another bathroom attached to it, with a shower that faced full length windows outside as well as 2 separate basins.
After all travelling is one of those few things I enjoy the most, and it would be unfortunate if I do not write my experiences for posterity - not just for others to read and perhaps get some travel tips to the places I go to, but also for myself to read and reminisce at a later stage.
Also, being in the line of work that I am in, I guess writing is the only way I get to flex my creative muscles, no matter how atrophied they may have become in the last decade of disuse.
Enough of a background, let's get to business.
This post would be about the recently concluded trip to Vancouver-Whistler-Seattle from 2nd August to 6th August, 2018.
Let me start by confessing that Canada is a beautiful country - even more so than it's disproportionately popular neighbor to the South. I have nothing against the U.S. - I lived there for 3 years before moving northwards, and loved every trip I had there - the states of California, Illinois, New York, Minnesota, Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont come to mind. But Canada is known as the land of the wild outdoors - The True North; with huge swathes the size of countries lying vacant and waiting to be explored. So having spent almost 10 months here without travelling anywhere outside the Greater Toronto Area ( a short trip to NYC notwithstanding), a Canadian trip was long overdue.
The opportunity presented itself when a long weekend came up, and my employer told me that any leaves not availed by the end of the year would elapse.
As for the choice of destination, it would have to be the top place in my travel bucket-list (besides Banff) - Vancouver. Plus as I'd also heard of Whistler as a world class skiing destination near Vancouver, we also added that to our plan.
So after all bookings were done, YouTube videos scanned, Google trips downloaded to the mobiles, we took off on 1st August by the evening flight to Vancouver.
Vancouver
We arrived at our hotel - The Marriott Pinnacle right across the waterfront. It was 11 pm local time (2 am Toronto) so there wasn't much to be done except wait for the next day!
Totem Pole at Vancouver airport
Day 1
The first thing we did on getting up was get a good view outside of the hotel, and it did not disappoint!
Next, we went straight to the lounge for the breakfast - nothing special - your usual eggs, juices, croissants and pastries with coffee. But the panoramic view of the waterfront here was even better than the room.
View from lounge
After eating a hearty breakfast, we set out for our city tour by walking out to the waterfront 2 blocks away from the hotel and getting on to the Seawall Water Walk. It was here that the ocean views truly opened up to the grandest city view I had yet seen - skyscrapers behind me, Pacific ocean to the right and the Rocky mountains to my left.
Waterfront view behind hotel
We walked along the cemented walkway along the waterfront called the Seawall towards Canada Place, which was like a central plaza for events as well as the main point of departure for cruise ships going to Alaska.
Canada place
Olympic Torch
After spending some time walking around this area and getting a cup of coffee, we decided to rent a bike to go around to the most famous spot in Vancouver - Stanley park. A note about biking in Vancouver - of all places that I've ever been to, I've never seen a more bike friendly city than Vancouver. They have separate lanes for bikes everywhere, not just inside the city but on the highways as well!
Anyways, we experimented awkwardly with the tandem bike, and while it would've been fun to go around for a short distance, it was not easy to handle and balance for a longer ride. We ended up getting 2 regular mountain bikes for 6 hours for $60 - pricey yes, but then this was Vancouver afterall!
So we hopped onto our bikes and got on the track of the Seawall that circumvents the entire 400 hectare rain forest that is Stanley Park.
It was turning out to be a gorgeous sunny day and we stopped ever so frequently to take picture wherever we could.
The first sight (apart from the numerous natural wonders around) was that of the 9 totem poles that were brought here from different parts of BC. There was even a gift shop inconspicuously placed right next to the poles for buying customers, and I would notice this dedication to commerce being setup to extract the maximum possible tourist dollars in the days to come. But I digress.
Totem poles
Moving on, we stopped at multiple places on the ride around the park, and it won't be an exaggeration to say that this was perhaps the best part of the entire trip. If there's just one thing you do in your trip to Vancouver, then riding a bike / walking along the Seawall has to be it.
Near the lighthouse
We also stopped right below the quaint green colored Lionsgate bridge, whose colour is a unique contrast to that of the similar and iconic Golden gate bridge in San Francisco.
Lionsgate bridge
Near Third Beach
After this we rode all the way around the park right upto the Third beach, where there was a pretty little cafeteria up on the side of a hill. It was a gorgeous setting to say the least, with an open air seating that looked across the blue waters and green mountains behind them. We had burgers with Kombucha which was a kind of fermented cold green tea - apparently pretty popular with hipsters around here.Third beach kombucha
Post the relaxing hour long break, we decided to check out Beaver Lake in the middle of the park via a gravel hilly path, not a wise decision in hindsight.
The lake itself was nothing to write home about, most of it was covered in moss and vegetation with a small patch of lotus flowers.
Later we took a bus (Ubers are banned in Vancouver!) to gastown and got off near the famous steam clock that blows at every quarter hour and coincidentally we arrived just in time to see the whistle and steam blow off within 5 minutes.
Steam clock
We missed our bus back to the harbourfront, so decided to walk to take the next available bus from 2 blocks east. What we saw next was totally unexpected, distressing and the absolute worst streets that I've seen anywhere in North America (Mexico included).
What I did not know at the time, was that the street right adjacent to Gastown which was called Hastings, was the epicenter of homeless drug addicts in Canada. (I guess the only place with a non freezing winter would be a deciding factor for them). The scene that lay before us was like that from post apocalyptic zombie movie - scores upon scores of homeless people littered around both sides of the streets, and many could be seen shooting or injecting drugs in plain-sight. However, to their credit, no one really approached us while we nervously looked for the next bus stop. After an agonizing 10 to 15 minute walk through that hell hole, we finally found a bus stop and jumped into the very next bus that came up.
I've thought a lot about that scene since returning from the trip, and it amazes me that in a city with the highest cost of living in North America, the highest rents and property prices, and which continuously ranks as the most "livable" places to live in the world, how can the local government allow such a place to exist right next to the most popular tourist hubs in town? Why can't the government build shelters for these unfortunate people somewhere nearby?
I would have to admit that I've had nightmarish recollections of that walk through this neighborhood since that day.
Coming back to the day, we got off the bus at the waterfront station, and took the Seabus (ferry) to go over to the opposite shore to North Vancouver, hoping to catch a glimpse of Vancouver skyline similar to the one seen in the NewYork to Staten island ferry.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. The ferry was closed on all sides with windows, so whatever little there was to see of the skyline was just partially visible. We got off on the other side, had a gelato cone while watching the Vancouver shoreline from a distance, and then headed back to the hotel to end a long and tiring day.
Vancouver shoreline
Day 2
We got up early and finished our breakfast at the hotel and ventured out around 9am to central downtown to check out the shopping avenue known as Robson street (kindof the 5th Ave of Vancouver). Though it was a Friday, the place was lively and bustling with activity. After that we returned to the hotel and checked out, as due to unavailability for this hotel for the weekend we had booked another hotel for the last day in Vancouver.
We took the nearest subway line and got off at the Chinatown station, from where our hotel was about a 10 minute walk. I really wished they had Uber though, it just makes things so convenient!
We reached our hotel for the day, the Douglas Autograph collection, which gave the vibe of a pretty premium hotel from it's lobby. We were told our rooms would not be ready till about 4 pm, so we decided to leave our luggage in the lobby and head out to see the few remaining parts of the city.
The lobby of Douglas Autograph
Outside the Douglas Autograph
One place I had in my checklist of things to try was the Japadog - a unique Japanese take on hot dogs that seemed to be quite popular with vloggers on YouTube. It was a 10 minute walk from the hotel, right in the middle of Robson street. While the hot dogs were fine (good but not worth a side trip), the star of the lunch was their version of dessert which was a deep fried bun filled with ice cream (we both chose the Matcha flavour) - it was absolutely delish - reminded me of the shahi tukdas from back home.Japadogs - Japanese styled hot dogs
Deep fried buns with Matcha ice-cream
Next we took a bus to the Enterprise car rental place to get a car to drive for the remaining leg of the tour - to Whistler and Seattle in the next 2 days.
We got a small car and drove it straight to the next place in our list - Capilano suspension bridge.
It was a short half an hour drive to the upper reaches of North Vancouver but I was surprised (not pleasantly) to see the ticket prices for entry to the bridge area - $50 per person. It was exorbitant for what it was, but since we were anyways here it wasn't as if we had any option.
The place was made like a small educational park for children with a boardwalk and a treetop walk, but the real attraction was the suspension bridge itself.
Totem poles at the entrance to the park
The Capilano suspension bridge
As suspension bridges do, it wobbled vigorously as scores of tourists walked across it, and even I held on to the railings as it gave one the feeling of it about to topple upside down at times.We completed a quick round up of the entire park - majorly the treetop walk and the boardwalk within an hour, and around 5:30 headed back to town to visit the last remaining place in our list - the Granville island public market which was due to close at 7.
We reached the place around 6:10 so walked around the market - it was comparable to any standard farmer's market in Canada or U.S., but was certainly not bigger or better than our very own St. Lawrence market in Toronto.
Granville market
Anyways, we ended our day and headed back to the hotel. On arrival we were told that they'd upgraded us to the King suite! (It was priced at $1100 per day on their website!)
The grandeur of this suite cannot be overemphasized - it opened up to a large living room overlooking the BC Place (Olympic stadium), with it's mini bar and separate bathroom.
Living area - 1
Living area - 2
The bedroom was huge as well and had another bathroom attached to it, with a shower that faced full length windows outside as well as 2 separate basins.
Bedroom
Comments
Post a Comment