Saturday, May 08, 2004
vancouver recollection
being a tourist for 3 days in vancouver has made me realize at least two things.
the first is that a refreshment is always crucial—especially after passing a hectic period of time—so no matter how shabby the condition that we face, it is important to make it as enjoyable as possible. we departed late due to a union strike. we stayed in a crappy hostel due to our budget constraint. we even have to tolerate the not-so-friendly weather on tuesday and the rain that kept pouring on wednesday morning. nonetheless, after we toured ourselves around, the initial disappointment lurked out and a refreshment is indeed what we got.
the second is how great the city really is. as my third encounter to the city, i found it surprising how little i've traveled around on my previous visits. so we decided to become real tourists by dropping by to almost all attractions that vancouver offers.
our first destination, naturally, is the harbour centre tower—the tallest building in town—where we can go up to vancouver lookout! and have a 360° view around the city. although the day was very cloudy, we could still see as far as mount baker in the states (though not very clear) and an enthralling view of the burrard inlet with west and north vancouver in the background. we next drop by at canada place on harbour side. we didn't go inside (it's a cn imax theatre) since we too have a similar thing in victoria, but we at least could enjoy the harbour scenery, lonsdale quay and an excellent view of stanley park. 
before the night approached, we managed to go to gastown, the original block of vancouver. the place is famous for its steam clock—the first one in the world—and is the oldest part of the city, yet one of the most exciting. although what we can find there is the same as what we could find anywhere else—shops, cafes, restaurants and clubs—what makes them special is that they are placed in more-than-hundred-year-old buildings (the place was founded in 1867). by the time we left gastown, the weather didn't really permit us to go elsewhere, so we just strolled around downtown (without leaving out virgin megastore, of course).
the next morning was raining. dissapointed, we went into the public library until (hopefully) the rain stops. the library itself is a great place. we spent a lot of time there but the rain won't stop, so we just decided to go to stanley park anyway. thankfully the clouds cleared up around noon, and the sky was blue for the rest of the day. really, it was a great day to spend walking around the famous stanley park. being north america's third largest urban park, the park is located at the cape downtown vancouver and home to all kinds of attractions.
the first place that we went was of course vancouver aquarium, now becoming one of my favorite spots i've ever seen. why? because the place really has a lot to offer. we spent a good 2 and a half hours wandering around the aquarium. we watched 4 outdoor shows: the dolphin, the sea lion, sea otters and, my favorite of all, beluga whales of the arctic. in fact these animals are the reason why i found the place is very attractive:
the smiling mouth attached to their big white fat body. aside from that, the aquarium also have a section of amphibians, a section of the pacific canada, a section of the BC coast, a section of the tropic zone, and the most amazing, the amazon section. here, aside from just aquariums (which of course have the arapaima), they also build an imitation of the rainforest, included inside are anacondas, boas, sloths and even the birds. satisfied, we explored the rest of the park by foot (though only part of it, the park is huge!) wishing we have a camera in hand. at first we thought we could rent bicycles and have some ride around the park, but some parts of the seawall were renovated, so instead we just looked around brockton point where they have totem poles of the first nation people. our next destination was granville island. the island, which located on false creek just below the granville bridge, isn't really an island because it actually attached to the mainland.
but it's an interesting site nonetheless, with lots of weird shops, artists' studios and restaurants to visit. the public market is a great place to have some free snack in the afternoon. from the ferry place, we could see the south part of downtown and if we want, we could take a ride using water taxis to yaletown marina, but due to our limited budget we decided not to. and so we spent the afternoon there until it's time for my friend to go back to victoria while i stay for another night. later in the evening, i met up with monique at her workplace in the pacific centre and she kindly accompanied me having dinner at tropika, an indonesian restaurant downtown. it's been so long since the last time i taste cah kangkung or even sate ayam and tahu isi with nasi uduk, that i couldn't control my drool when they arrived on our table. yes, i am that pathetic. too bad that was the only time we could meet up, we said goodbye in the skytrain on our way home.
and so finally came the last day. and that day i went to dr. sun yat sen classical chinese garden in the heart of the chinatown, just as i've planned before. the garden—the first full-scale classical garden constructed outside china—despite its lack of size, is a haven of serenity and has a long story behind it. 
it's amazing how a garden that small takes more than an hour tour full of explanation. before the tour started, we were advised to stroll around by ourselves and see it from our perspectives. what i saw was a beautiful chinese garden. after the tour, however, our view changed dramatically. the garden is now an extraordinary piece of man-made artwork full of not just aestethical, but also architectural, historical and spiritual value. and i felt mentally tranquilled. so, after having my heart refreshed, i didn't have many choices to go. of course there are still a lot of attractions around the city that i haven't visited yet: the museums, science world, capilano suspension bridge, grouse mountain, fort langley, other parks and gardens, etc. but i was running out of time as well as money, so i chose yaletown instead as my last place to visit before i go back to victoria. while it's basically just another part of the city, i found the marina is simply wonderful and the modern buildings are incredible. my dream place to live in. really.
pardon my excitement. this is the villager inside of me talking, mind you.
on a side note, one of two books that i've finished reading during my stay has become one of my favorite books: life of pi by yann martel. if anything, as the main character claims, the story will make you believe in God.
being a tourist for 3 days in vancouver has made me realize at least two things.
the first is that a refreshment is always crucial—especially after passing a hectic period of time—so no matter how shabby the condition that we face, it is important to make it as enjoyable as possible. we departed late due to a union strike. we stayed in a crappy hostel due to our budget constraint. we even have to tolerate the not-so-friendly weather on tuesday and the rain that kept pouring on wednesday morning. nonetheless, after we toured ourselves around, the initial disappointment lurked out and a refreshment is indeed what we got.
the second is how great the city really is. as my third encounter to the city, i found it surprising how little i've traveled around on my previous visits. so we decided to become real tourists by dropping by to almost all attractions that vancouver offers. our first destination, naturally, is the harbour centre tower—the tallest building in town—where we can go up to vancouver lookout! and have a 360° view around the city. although the day was very cloudy, we could still see as far as mount baker in the states (though not very clear) and an enthralling view of the burrard inlet with west and north vancouver in the background. we next drop by at canada place on harbour side. we didn't go inside (it's a cn imax theatre) since we too have a similar thing in victoria, but we at least could enjoy the harbour scenery, lonsdale quay and an excellent view of stanley park. before the night approached, we managed to go to gastown, the original block of vancouver. the place is famous for its steam clock—the first one in the world—and is the oldest part of the city, yet one of the most exciting. although what we can find there is the same as what we could find anywhere else—shops, cafes, restaurants and clubs—what makes them special is that they are placed in more-than-hundred-year-old buildings (the place was founded in 1867). by the time we left gastown, the weather didn't really permit us to go elsewhere, so we just strolled around downtown (without leaving out virgin megastore, of course). the next morning was raining. dissapointed, we went into the public library until (hopefully) the rain stops. the library itself is a great place. we spent a lot of time there but the rain won't stop, so we just decided to go to stanley park anyway. thankfully the clouds cleared up around noon, and the sky was blue for the rest of the day. really, it was a great day to spend walking around the famous stanley park. being north america's third largest urban park, the park is located at the cape downtown vancouver and home to all kinds of attractions. the first place that we went was of course vancouver aquarium, now becoming one of my favorite spots i've ever seen. why? because the place really has a lot to offer. we spent a good 2 and a half hours wandering around the aquarium. we watched 4 outdoor shows: the dolphin, the sea lion, sea otters and, my favorite of all, beluga whales of the arctic. in fact these animals are the reason why i found the place is very attractive: the smiling mouth attached to their big white fat body. aside from that, the aquarium also have a section of amphibians, a section of the pacific canada, a section of the BC coast, a section of the tropic zone, and the most amazing, the amazon section. here, aside from just aquariums (which of course have the arapaima), they also build an imitation of the rainforest, included inside are anacondas, boas, sloths and even the birds. satisfied, we explored the rest of the park by foot (though only part of it, the park is huge!) wishing we have a camera in hand. at first we thought we could rent bicycles and have some ride around the park, but some parts of the seawall were renovated, so instead we just looked around brockton point where they have totem poles of the first nation people. our next destination was granville island. the island, which located on false creek just below the granville bridge, isn't really an island because it actually attached to the mainland. but it's an interesting site nonetheless, with lots of weird shops, artists' studios and restaurants to visit. the public market is a great place to have some free snack in the afternoon. from the ferry place, we could see the south part of downtown and if we want, we could take a ride using water taxis to yaletown marina, but due to our limited budget we decided not to. and so we spent the afternoon there until it's time for my friend to go back to victoria while i stay for another night. later in the evening, i met up with monique at her workplace in the pacific centre and she kindly accompanied me having dinner at tropika, an indonesian restaurant downtown. it's been so long since the last time i taste cah kangkung or even sate ayam and tahu isi with nasi uduk, that i couldn't control my drool when they arrived on our table. yes, i am that pathetic. too bad that was the only time we could meet up, we said goodbye in the skytrain on our way home. and so finally came the last day. and that day i went to dr. sun yat sen classical chinese garden in the heart of the chinatown, just as i've planned before. the garden—the first full-scale classical garden constructed outside china—despite its lack of size, is a haven of serenity and has a long story behind it. it's amazing how a garden that small takes more than an hour tour full of explanation. before the tour started, we were advised to stroll around by ourselves and see it from our perspectives. what i saw was a beautiful chinese garden. after the tour, however, our view changed dramatically. the garden is now an extraordinary piece of man-made artwork full of not just aestethical, but also architectural, historical and spiritual value. and i felt mentally tranquilled. so, after having my heart refreshed, i didn't have many choices to go. of course there are still a lot of attractions around the city that i haven't visited yet: the museums, science world, capilano suspension bridge, grouse mountain, fort langley, other parks and gardens, etc. but i was running out of time as well as money, so i chose yaletown instead as my last place to visit before i go back to victoria. while it's basically just another part of the city, i found the marina is simply wonderful and the modern buildings are incredible. my dream place to live in. really. pardon my excitement. this is the villager inside of me talking, mind you.
on a side note, one of two books that i've finished reading during my stay has become one of my favorite books: life of pi by yann martel. if anything, as the main character claims, the story will make you believe in God.
