Vancouver
Leaving the trans-Canada train after 3 1/2 days
and catching a short hop on the Skytrain
to the YWCA where I am staying, Vancouver has proved to be a marvelous place to relax and stretch the legs. And the weather has certainly helped. I have been here 3 days (I leave tomorrow afternoon) and each day has been a perfect summer’s day. Great for walking and biking and I have been doing quite a bit of both.
Downtown Vancouver is virtually an island, encircled by the sea on all sides except for a narrow isthmus. Situated on top of a hill, the city slopes down from the center, to the sea no matter which way you walk.
And an attractive city it is. Full of well-designed high-rise blocks of hotels, offices and shopping malls, it could be like any other city, but somehow they have managed to create a feeling of space, orderliness and relaxation which is hard to define. Maybe it is the proximity of the sea, and the profusion of sidewalk cafes that lends to this impression.
I have to say ‘though, that I have been surprised to see many beggars in the city streets: people with a paper cup in hand, asking for money, and quite a few trundling their worldly possession in a trolley of some sort. Canada would be a very expensive place to try and exist on hand-outs. And I was further surprised by what I encountered this morning when I went for a walk after breakfast. I went to have another look at the Steam Clock (and forgot to take my camera!) which is like a grandfather clock whose driving weight is lifted by steam power, and whose ‘chimes’ are blown by steam on a series of whistles. Moving on from there I went in search of China Town and in so doing, wandered through an older part of the city.
This part was from another world: the shops were dingy or boarded up and populating the streets were an assortment of people from ‘the other side’: someone high on something, unsteadily jiving to a tune only he could hear; someone climbing out of a waste bin with an armful of ‘trophies’; a bedraggled old lady pushing a cart of belongings; a brightly painted lady saying hi to anyone who walked past; and all over the place people of all shapes, sizes and ages just sitting on the sidewalk or hanging around, obviously with no purpose in mind for the day. It was depressing. I wondered what sorry set of circumstances would lead to people ending up in this hopeless condition? And who is at fault? And what could be done about it? To be honest, I was pleased to be out of the area, not having any real answers in my head.
I hired a bike for the day and managed to take in quite a lot of the city and the nearby parks and museums. The city has a great network of bike/walking trails which enable you to get around to most places without fighting the traffic. The views of the city were attractive, as you can see.
I made it to the Vancouver Museum too,
where they were staging an exhibition celebrating Vancouver’s involvement with the Cycling revolution. A good display of bikes of all sorts plus a history of the City’s growing acceptance and promotion of cycling as a means of transport. Interesting.
Canada, more than most countries, has a real need for float planes, because of the endless lakes which cover the country, and Vancouver has a busy float plane airport right next to the main shipping terminal. Fascinating to watch boats and aircraft all seemingly sharing the same space on the harbour!
Vancouver has been quite a treat to visit – a very pleasant end to my ‘Canadian Experience’. But I have to confess I am quite keen to re-join the Camper vans and resume our wanderings across the UK and Europe
Tags: Observations, Travel, Weather, Tag Index
kiwijoe
July 20th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Did you have to wear a kilt (and wig) in the YWCA?
You seem to have enjoyed rather better weather than the rest of the family! Thanks Joe – we found the blog very interesting.
M & F