Vancouver Weekend Sightseeing

We had intended to go to Whistler/Blackcomb mountain for some snow activities. But since skiing is out for us (as the ski is recommended for intermediate right now), we thought we could try dog-sledding and some horse-riding activities. However, it seems that the activities we are interested were not available. So on sunday itself, we made Vancouver Flea Market our first stop. However, in the morning, we were still unsure of the transport system in Vancouver.

The buses simply state their final destination and don’t show any information on the routes they’re taking. And there are no maps or useful information at the bus stops. So if you think the bus is going through a route to its indicated destination, then you just hop on. When I first took a bus, I had no idea how to get off! There were no bells for us to press. So after a while, I realised that we indicate our desire to stop by pulling a line which is placed horizontally across the windows. So let’s talk about the fares. Transport is divided into 3 zones. So if you are travelling just within one zone, you get a ticket for CAD2.25. This ticket is good for 90 minutes. Meaning you can do unlimited transfer on the buses or skytrain within that 90 mins. You top up if you are travelling more than one zone. An interesting thing is, payment for travelling by the skytrain involves your integrity. There are no gates in which you slot your card in. People can don’t pay for the train and just get onto the escalator leading up to the skytrain. So technically, you can get free rides on the skytrains. Just your luck if you get caught…but it seems like there are rarely conductors.

So since we were not sure of what buses were available to us, we decided to walk to 4th Ave whereby there seems to be more buses. We strolled to Kitsilano Beach. It’s still cold for swimming in the water off the beach, so didn’t see anyone in the waters. What we did see was quite a number of dogs. It seems that Vancouverites do like dogs and their dogs are huge in size!! They are like bigger than the toy rocking horses that kids have. We came across a dog which was bigger than Kurlie girl and someone called it a cute puppy!!! Puppy?? It does seem like a full-grown adult!! But hey, what do we know about dogs here? They are big in size, tall and they seem to be really clumsy! If little panta comes here, she’ll be termed a newly born puppy! Okay, they do have small pooches here too….we just saw more big ones….clumsy but real cute ones!

At Kitsilano Beach, there’s a heated pool next to it…this pool is cool!! One side of the pool is that of a shoreline. It makes you feel you are stepping into the sea when its actually a pool. The lifeguard there seems really not ready to make any rescue if necessary, being as wrapped up as he/she is.

Then we walked and walked…first past Burraud Bridge…then to Yaletown…that’s like one hour later….then along Pacific Blvd…there, we saw a salad shop. We went in and picked the kinds of veg we want and the cost is according to the Lbs of veg/ fruits you have taken. We were happy with the salad….very fresh and yummy!

Then the walk continued…finally saw the skytrain (which we didn’t take) and then Science World (the big round metallic globe). So finally we reached the Flea market at Terminal Ave. I was in for a disappointment. First, we had to pay any entry fee (CAD 0.75)…well, seems like we have to pay before we can shop…just as well its 0.75 only. The flea market is small really, and while you do see all kinds of things there, its hardly anything that we find suitable for us. But, some stalls there do sell nice paintings and home decor stuff which we were tempted to buy but still yielded to our common sense. All that 2hrs walk for something not very fulfilling.

Then we headed over to Science World which was very near. The guy at the ticketing counter is quite charming!! Was patiently explaining to us the features showing in the iMAX and even allowed us to get the tickets at student price when we couldn’t show him our ID!! (Right now, it still feels weird to heard Asians (Chinese/ Hongkongers etc) speaking in English which is so accented.) So at Science world, we rather enjoyed the exhibits; there’s one which determines how tight our grip is – i can grip to a max of 15kg but Nicholas can grab up to like 50 plus kg…I knew it, I always had weak arms; shopping bags become very heavy after a while.

Then we headed to Metrotown to meet Nicholas’ friends. At Metrotown, there’s B.C’s biggest shopping complex. We reached there at around after 6.30pm. And you know what, all the shops were shut down by then. Turns out the closing time was 6pm!?! And I thought shopping malls in S’pore closed too early….seriously mistaken! But we still walked through the mall and boy, the range seems to be fabulous!! Quite a few brands which we don’t have, probably Canadian brands. I’m sure we’re going to get HOLES in our pockets pretty soon. His friends weren’t there when we arrived, so we saved them a trip.

We headed home to look for some dinner…ended up cooking ourselves. We didn’t realised how late it was (around 8 plus)….because the sky lights up here starting from 5am and its doesn’t turn dark till 9pm….at 7 or 8pm, it seems like the afternoon still….So, that’s something to take note of.

City Tour

While Nicholas was having his tour with the Uni ppl, I went to Robson street. Well, shopping is an experience here! First of all, the price tags. The price shown is the price before the taxes. So when you pay for it, you have to add in more money. So I think, the items i bought, they were not as cheap as I thought they were. Secondly, the sales people here, Oh boy, this is customer service! In more than one shop, where I was browsing through bags, holding a bag in my hands, girls came up to me and say “Oh, I simply love the bag you’re holding. The handle is blah blah blah and its available in blah blah colours. And if you are interested in it, I can get you new one. We have more at the back.” When I said Thanks, they smiled and move away! They definitely don’t hover over you, pressurising you. And girls, you know, when you are looking at something in store and someone tells you “I simply love whatever you are holding”, you feel like…erm proud! Like at least someone shares my good good taste!

Grocery Shopping and First Breakfast

There’s a chain of supermarkets here called Safeway. Its pretty much like Carrefour. There’s variety available in Safeway and if you can’t find what you need here, there are plenty of smaller scale minimarts which are usually operated by Asians. It best to have the Safeway Club Card when buying things from there cos you can get the things at a much lower price if you are a club member. For example, we wanted to buy a pack of smoked hotdogs…usual price was CAD 5 plus (pretty high price) but the club member price is like CAD 2 cheaper! So of course, us being savvy travellers, applied for the Safeway Club Membership and that our favourite supermarket now. And oh, Ben and Jerry’s here is only CAD 5.49!! We got the New York chocolate something flavour. Yum Yum!

The yellow cards seen here are tickets for the transit and bus system. Tickets for one zone here is CAD 2.25 and you can add one more dollar for travel in Zone 2 and another dollar in Zone 3. Each ticket ride has an expiry time of 90 minutes, during this period you can choose to do a transfer to other transit. Our host got us a book of one zone tickets which has 10 tickets and it cost CAD18. Subsequently, in the month of June, we got a June pass which is at CAD 69 and this is definitely more worth it!

Stephens

Our 3-bedroom suite on Stephens Street! When we first arrived, this looks like a scene from Desperate Housewives, with the long driveway and lovely houses lining the streets on both sides of the road. We arrived here at around 9.30pm and we, at least one of us, fell in love immediately with our accommodation. This will be one model we’ll be counting on for reference for our own place later on. The entire suite is not very big as one would expect from a landed property but the owner did a fine job in designing this place. There are plenty of mirrors, a commonly used method to project bigger place.

Right now, we’re sitting in front of a fireplace, which we can use; we might be using it more frequently over the next few days, as the entire suite is air-conditioned and no matter how we turn up the temp, it still cold. The bathrooms are lovely, with bath-tubs and lovely cabinets. The beds here seemed super-duper comfortable…they are rather high and I’ve to jump to get onto the bed (and NO, I’m not that short!), and they are extremely inviting. Kitchen is small but it seems to have everything – oven, dishwasher, electric stove and most utensils you would need in a kitchen; what’s lacking is chopsticks! Size of the rooms are quite small but really, with the comfy bed beckoning, who cares about the size!

Tomorrow, our host will show us around the neighbourhood, give us a quick tour and help us get transport passes. Maybe I’ll get to meet some of the Desperate neighbours…
We’re simply loving it here!!!

Stephens

The Neighbourhood

Taipei Taoyuan Airport Transit

We arrived at Taoyuan Airport in Taipei for transit to vancouver at 5.40pm. The entire flight to Taipei took us 4 hours and 20 minutes. We had our free dinner sponsored by EVA Air at one of the food outlets somewhere near Gate D, Terminal 2. Our next flight will be at 11.55pm. Our next plan is to buy a box of really economical pineapple tarts for our host at Stephens Street. (Heard he has never been to ASIA)

Feeling Cold?

Feeling cold? Yes, that is the question i am asking! I can feel it right under my feet now, so cold and icy underneath. 9 degrees! My God. With that kind of temperature, i will never have to sweat at night. I just can’t wait to walk on Whistler right now. Forget about turning on my fan to the highest speed! Forget about the aircon in the office! Forget about dunking ice cubes into ice water! Forget about craving for ice-cream! Forget about changing my clothes everyday! Two more days and I will be there.

University of British Columbia, Canada

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is the oldest university in Canada’s West coast province of British Columbia and the third largest university in Canada . Incorporated by the provincial government in 1908, the University today has a population of 33,000 students and 8,000 faculty and staff. The University’s 402 hectare campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean with views of the Coastal Mountains enjoys one of the most spectacular natural settings in North America.

Located on the West Coast of Canada, Vancouver is the country’s third largest city and is a stimulating blend of Asian and European cultures. Vancouver is a safe and cosmopolitan city and an ideal base from which to travel to Whistler, Western Canada’s Rocky Mountains, or destinations in the US Northwest, such as Seattle.

Information about Vancouver, Canada

About Vancouver – The University is located a few miles from downtown Vancouver, Canada ’s third largest city and one of its most important international business centres. Ideally located on Canada ’s Pacific Rim, Vancouver is home to
1.8 million people from different ethnic backgrounds whose traditions contribute to the rich cultural life of the city.

Vancouver is considered to be a safer city than most North American cities of its size, with clean streets and pleasant residential neighborhoods. The city has its share of world-class art galleries, hotels and restaurants, and hosts major sports, film, theatre and music festivals throughout the year. The nearby mountains and miles of public beaches and parkland provide residents with an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities year-round. If you enjoy winter skiing, North America ’s finest ski resort, Whistler-Blackcomb is a mere 90-minute drive from the city. Vancouver is a three-hour drive from Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver International Airport is a major connecting point for North America, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Adapted from SMU Summer Exchange Program.

Accomodation in Vancouver, BC

For those who are curious about our accomodation (a 3-bedroom suite), you can actually refer to the schematic above. For security reasons we are unable to reveal the exact address. Nevertheless we have included some photos below to let you have a sneak preview of the house before our arrival in Vancouver, BC. Keep your mouth closed while looking at it! Woo and aah over it!
Here’s a complete list of what’s offered by the owner:

i) Double-sized Bed (3 bedrooms)
ii) Cable TV
iii) Telephone is included.
iv) Wireless internet is included.
v) Bathroom
vi) Cleaning and Laundry once a week
vii) A kitchen with a Dishwasher, Microwave and Fridge; outdoor Barbeque
viii) An ensuite (within the suite) available with its very own kitchenette and private bathroom.

Canadian 财产 (with co-author yong)

This is our first trip out of Asia and also the most expensive trip that we will be undertaking. Look at the amount of canadian dollars in the photo! Total spending for this trip in cash amounted to SGD7,500 exclusive of accomodation, air fare and program costs. The exhange rate for CAD100 is SGD1.41 and SGD1 is TWD21.65 caa 19 May 07, 1700hrs. Well, the rate for the canadian was not that good as the CAD is appreciating. Bad timing to change though. Overall, SGD1 is equivalent to CAD0.70. However, the rate for the TWD is very good, at least i can convert SGD500 to TWD11,000.

For those who are keen to know how long the flight is, the flight details are enclosed:

DATE FLIGHT INFO FROM TO DEP ARR TRAVEL INFO
————————————————————————-
25MAY EVA AIR SINGAPORE TAIPEI 1310 1730 DURATION
FRI BR 226 L CHANGI TAIWAN TAOYUAN INTL 4:20
ECONOMY CLASS TERMINAL 1 TERMINAL 2 NON STOP
NON SMOKING
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-200
MEAL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED
————————————————————————-

25MAY EVA AIR TAIPEI VANCOUVER 2355 1920 DURATION
FRI BR 10 L TAIWAN TAOYUAN INTL 10:25
ECONOMY CLASS TERMINAL 2 TERMINAL M NON STOP
NON SMOKING
BOEING 747-400
MEAL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

————————————————————————-
The entire trip is about 14 hours (excluding the 6 hours stopover at Taipei). This is the cheapest flight as compared to the rest of the airlines, for those who are interested to fly to the west, EVA Airlines should be good enough. The total cost for the flight including the extension of my stay in Taipei after the program costs about SGD2,076 (inclusive of tax) [cheap right?]. The rest of the flight details for the departure from Vancouver is as follows:

26JUN EVA AIR VANCOUVER TAIPEI 0220 0510 DURATION
TUE BR 9 L INTL TAIWAN TAOYUAN INTL 27JUN 11:50
ECONOMY CLASS TERMINAL M TERMINAL 2 NON STOP
NON SMOKING
BOEING 777-300ER
MEAL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED
————————————————————————-
30JUN EVA AIR TAIPEI SINGAPORE 0740 1200 DURATION
30JUN EVA AIR TAIPEI SINGAPORE 0740 1200 DURATION
SAT BR 225 L TAIWAN TAOYUAN CHANGI 4:20
ECONOMY CLASS TERMINAL 2 TERMINAL 1 NON STOP
NON SMOKING
BOEING 747-400 MIXED CONFIGURATION
MEAL
RESERVATION CONFIRMED

————————————————————————-