Vancouver, Canada
After resting and enjoying Brazil, it was time to go back to Japan... Still, it's at the other side of the planet, so why not stopping somewhere else on the way?
With that thought, I had also put Vancouver on my list. The only thing I miscalculated was the need of a visa. Since I was going to stay more than 48 hours, a transit visa wouldn't suffice. And a tourist visa is a little annoying to take when you don't have any specific business, are not part of any travel agengy trip and don't have friends at the place who can vouch for you.
Add to the fact I didn't know there was a document certifying I was receiving a scholarship from the Japanese government, so I submitted documents without any clear indication of income. My first reply after I applied through the Canadian embassy in Japan was negative.
The second time was in Brazil, and I couldn't afford any more mistakes, so I submitted many extra documents that might have been unnecessary. At least I got the visa.
This was the bad situation before arriving. On the good side was that my mother mentioned we have a relative there when I was looking for a hotel... A distant cousin, nevertheless a relative. Too bad I only found this out after I submitted things for the visa. Anyway, I'd have some help there!
Then, after leaving Brazil on September 16th and a transit in Toronto, I arrived in Vancouver on the 17th (morning). And after riding a taxi to "I" (my cousin)'s apartment I realised that years in Japan made me forget an important unwritten rule in countries like Canada and Brazil: tipping.
Japanese usually don't give tips. And when working also don't like to receive them. That's one thing I like. If you like the service or the place you can just go back often or buy always with the same clerk. Nevertheless, it's not true in other countries... and I only noticed something was wrong after I paid the taxi and got no change back, giving the driver less than a dollar tip... Whoops! (Just for the note, the "standard" in Canada seems to be 15% tip)
It was not part of the plans staying at "I"'s place, so after some settling down, we went to look for a hotel, since he knows some cheap ones around Downtown...
... We just forgot it was still high season. Therefore, hotels were full, and even the ones who were not increased its prices to something two to three times more than my cousin thought. Solution: I ended up staying at his place.
Since it was "I"'s day off, he decided to guide me to some places on the first day. He has some experience in recommending place to Brazilians in Vancouver (although it's not his job). Sightseeing begins!
The first spot was Grouse Mountain, one of the mountains at the north part of Vancouver. It has a good view of the city (but the weather was not perfect for that kind of shots) and changes a lot from summer to winter (when it becomes a skiing spot).
Then we went to Canada Place, home of, among others, the Vancouver's World Trade Centre. It's also the a cruise ship terminal for the region, where most of Vancouver's cruises to Alaska originate.
End of one day, beginning of another. The last one I had for walking around. And the first point chosen was Stanley Park. And it's huge! About one third of the whole Downtown area. A nice place to exercise or just relax. Visit the Vancouver Aquarium inside the park is also an option. After seeing Okinawa's Churaumi and Osaka's Kaiyukan it's not so impressive, but it's nice and has some presentations at scheduled times.
After that, I went to UBC looking for its museum of anthropology some people recommended. I walked around the campus, but couldn't find it! Damn! But thinking about it I was very stupid... I could just have asked someone...
Back to Downtown, I decided to spend some time strolling around and going to Chinatown to see the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first of its kind outside China. And one curious observation about that Chinatown, it doesn't have that many Chinese. Although it sounds weird, I've heard that's because price of properties in that area became too expensive, so Chinese immigrants and their descendents moved to the suburbs. Stores with Chinese and Japanese ideograms are noticeable on the path from the airport to Downtown.
After that, meeting "I" and J ("I"'s roommate) after the former left work and go dinner some ribs and watch "The Last Samurai" in Blu-Ray... And the quality is VERY impressive.
September 19th. Time just for packing and saying goodbye before going back to the airport and returning to Japan on the 20th afternoon.
Impressions about Vancouver: it's a nice city I would live in. The atmosphere and people are nice, with a nice mixture of ethnicities and there are good spaces to exercise and enjoy the day or night. "I" mentioned that although the usual diet is not necessarily healthy, people exercise often preventing the "Super Size Me" effect.
Another thing is there are many Asians around. While Chinese and Filipino are usually residents, there are many others, especially Japanese, who go to learn English. It was clear when I was at UBC and could see many Asians, some of them speaking Japanese (and not looking like they were raised in Canada).
Too bad I couldn't stay too long in Vancouver. There are a lot more of things to see and do. Naming just the main touristic ones: Victoria Island and Canadian Rockies. But each of those would demand at least one whole day to visit.
Special thanks for "I" and J. Sorry for stopping by so suddenly and hope we see each other again!
For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.
With that thought, I had also put Vancouver on my list. The only thing I miscalculated was the need of a visa. Since I was going to stay more than 48 hours, a transit visa wouldn't suffice. And a tourist visa is a little annoying to take when you don't have any specific business, are not part of any travel agengy trip and don't have friends at the place who can vouch for you.
Add to the fact I didn't know there was a document certifying I was receiving a scholarship from the Japanese government, so I submitted documents without any clear indication of income. My first reply after I applied through the Canadian embassy in Japan was negative.
The second time was in Brazil, and I couldn't afford any more mistakes, so I submitted many extra documents that might have been unnecessary. At least I got the visa.
This was the bad situation before arriving. On the good side was that my mother mentioned we have a relative there when I was looking for a hotel... A distant cousin, nevertheless a relative. Too bad I only found this out after I submitted things for the visa. Anyway, I'd have some help there!
Then, after leaving Brazil on September 16th and a transit in Toronto, I arrived in Vancouver on the 17th (morning). And after riding a taxi to "I" (my cousin)'s apartment I realised that years in Japan made me forget an important unwritten rule in countries like Canada and Brazil: tipping.
Japanese usually don't give tips. And when working also don't like to receive them. That's one thing I like. If you like the service or the place you can just go back often or buy always with the same clerk. Nevertheless, it's not true in other countries... and I only noticed something was wrong after I paid the taxi and got no change back, giving the driver less than a dollar tip... Whoops! (Just for the note, the "standard" in Canada seems to be 15% tip)
It was not part of the plans staying at "I"'s place, so after some settling down, we went to look for a hotel, since he knows some cheap ones around Downtown...
... We just forgot it was still high season. Therefore, hotels were full, and even the ones who were not increased its prices to something two to three times more than my cousin thought. Solution: I ended up staying at his place.
Since it was "I"'s day off, he decided to guide me to some places on the first day. He has some experience in recommending place to Brazilians in Vancouver (although it's not his job). Sightseeing begins!
The first spot was Grouse Mountain, one of the mountains at the north part of Vancouver. It has a good view of the city (but the weather was not perfect for that kind of shots) and changes a lot from summer to winter (when it becomes a skiing spot).
Then we went to Canada Place, home of, among others, the Vancouver's World Trade Centre. It's also the a cruise ship terminal for the region, where most of Vancouver's cruises to Alaska originate.
End of one day, beginning of another. The last one I had for walking around. And the first point chosen was Stanley Park. And it's huge! About one third of the whole Downtown area. A nice place to exercise or just relax. Visit the Vancouver Aquarium inside the park is also an option. After seeing Okinawa's Churaumi and Osaka's Kaiyukan it's not so impressive, but it's nice and has some presentations at scheduled times.
After that, I went to UBC looking for its museum of anthropology some people recommended. I walked around the campus, but couldn't find it! Damn! But thinking about it I was very stupid... I could just have asked someone...
Back to Downtown, I decided to spend some time strolling around and going to Chinatown to see the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first of its kind outside China. And one curious observation about that Chinatown, it doesn't have that many Chinese. Although it sounds weird, I've heard that's because price of properties in that area became too expensive, so Chinese immigrants and their descendents moved to the suburbs. Stores with Chinese and Japanese ideograms are noticeable on the path from the airport to Downtown.
After that, meeting "I" and J ("I"'s roommate) after the former left work and go dinner some ribs and watch "The Last Samurai" in Blu-Ray... And the quality is VERY impressive.
September 19th. Time just for packing and saying goodbye before going back to the airport and returning to Japan on the 20th afternoon.
Impressions about Vancouver: it's a nice city I would live in. The atmosphere and people are nice, with a nice mixture of ethnicities and there are good spaces to exercise and enjoy the day or night. "I" mentioned that although the usual diet is not necessarily healthy, people exercise often preventing the "Super Size Me" effect.
Another thing is there are many Asians around. While Chinese and Filipino are usually residents, there are many others, especially Japanese, who go to learn English. It was clear when I was at UBC and could see many Asians, some of them speaking Japanese (and not looking like they were raised in Canada).
Too bad I couldn't stay too long in Vancouver. There are a lot more of things to see and do. Naming just the main touristic ones: Victoria Island and Canadian Rockies. But each of those would demand at least one whole day to visit.
Special thanks for "I" and J. Sorry for stopping by so suddenly and hope we see each other again!
For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.
1 comment:
Igao,
A 2a foto esta muito boa! Gostei muito!
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