BCYK: Vancouver & Squamish

I found myself back in Vancouver ten months after my previous trip (and a month before my next). We were here for a few days before heading up to Yukon, and I was excited to be back on the west coast less than a year after my last visit.

Squamish is undeniably beautiful but terribly touristy. I was looking forward to doing the Chief (link to the future!) this time, but unfortunately my hiking companions were not up for it.

A rush of adrenaline

If you ask Dan and I about a stand-out moment in Vancouver, I'm pretty sure we will both think of this day first.

We started the day off pretty easy. We didn't set any alarms and left our hostel at 10am. We decided to pay a visit to Finch's, a cute cafe we had passed by the other day.

Conquering the Chief

Stawamus Chief deserves a post of its own. I have been wanting to do this hike the last three times I was in BC, but things never worked out. We almost didn't make it here this time as well; it is difficult to visit Squamish without a car, but thankfully Ranee's roommate and Evo saved us!




The two more advanced hikers lost us pretty early on, and we started up the stairs and quickly realized we would need several breaks to get through this.

We hike to eat

We started the morning with a trip to Revolver Coffee, which was across our hostel in Gastown. We sat to write our postcards before venturing over to the post office.



We wandered over to Richmond to have dim sum with my aunt and uncle, and then went to pay Daiso a visit. There, we encountered the longest line I've ever seen on my life - it looped the entirety of Aberdeen Centre. When we asked a man in line what it was for, he said they were trading regular toonies for a limited edition Canada 150 one.

After spending a shocking amount at a "dollar store", we met up with Ran and took the bus to Lighthouse Park.

Back to the west coast

This is the dearly delayed post of last year's VIA Rail adventures.

The very first thing we did when we got off the train was book it to our hostel. After we remedied the 4 days of no showering, we headed out for brunch at the nearby Catch 122 Cafe Bistro.




We also lived by JJ Bean, and paid it our first visit of many.

The rest of the day was spent leisurely walking around downtown, picking up some Dollarama items for our room, stumbling across more bears, and ended with super indulgent ice cream and Messenger video chats.

4 nights on a train

The month of July was spent travelling around Canada with Dan aboard VIA Rail. We were among the lucky 4000 youths who snagged a pass, albeit with some panic and 3AM madness. I'm sure this will be one of the stories we tell young'uns when we're seventy, on our rockers and sipping a cup of tea.

As it was the first day of travel available for those with the pass, there were celebrations aplenty awaiting us at Union Station. They were squeezing every last bit of the marketing they could get from the crowds of youth lining up for hours atop their luggage. We were showered with free candy and sandwiches to keep up our spirits.

We spent 4 days and 4 nights on a train. No beds, no showers, and minimal food available. Misery loves company, and we had a lot of it. It just so happened that our nearby seatmates were travelling solo, and we made friends with them.







Our days consisted of sunrises, sunsets, prepackaged foods, silly games, naps, reading, journaling, and awaiting the next stop so we could stretch our legs and get some fresh air.

VIA Rail Canada 150

Today marks the last day of the VIA Rail 150 pass, and the end of our adventures this month. Thankful for all the amazing people we met during this trip, and personally amazed that my travel buddy and I did not kill each other. Success!

Beautiful British Columbia

Nine years after my last trip to Vancouver, I found myself back on the west coast to celebrate a family wedding. From September 2015 to September 2016, I found myself back there three times - even more often than some of my friends who originally came from BC.

I honestly don't remember too much about my previous trips there, but I always had a fondness for it and wished I could live there - that is, until one of my classmates informed me it was an earthquake haven.

This trip only served to remind me how beautiful the west coast is, with its temperate climate and plentiful mountain and ocean views. I couldn't help but draw similarities to what I experienced during my trip to Hong Kong - both places that have a special place in my heart.

I honestly didn't know what was on the table during this trip; I woke up one morning and found myself climbing the Grouse Grind (a.k.a. nature's stairmaster) in my knit sweater and fall jacket.

Back to BC

We left our hotel in the early hours and trekked over to the train station. I left to get everyone coffee, and I won't lie - it was my first time ordering coffee. I honestly didn't know what just 'plain coffee' was on their menu, and I had to guesstimate what "one cream, one sugar" meant. I had another London Fog as caffeine and I were still not terribly friendly.