23; You are a young adult trying to figure out what you can offer to the world and vice versa. You want to be independent, but yet you're so dependent. And before you realize you are turning 24... :O!
Anyways, back to my travelogue. Even though Canada is just a drive away from Seattle/Buffalo, I have only been there twice - once when I was really young and the second time in August.
Facts about Canada:
World's second largest country by total area
Official languages are French & English
Member of Commonwealth Nations
Is a federal parliamentary democracy & a constitutional monarchy.
Uses the metric system
I used to think that USA & Canada are somewhat similar. But if you think about it, they are totally different from each other. They just happen to share the same language and continent. Also, everything is 1.5 more expensive in Canada. People tend to be friendlier and more polite too. It is a VERY clean country. The cleanliness makes me feel like I am in Singapore.
Vancouver is 3.5hrs away from Seattle by car. In the 4 days that I visited Vancouver, we managed to visit Victoria Island (Butchart Garden & Legislature Building), Capilano Bridge & Old Town Vancouver. There aren't many tourist attractions there, unless you love natures & mountains. One thing I noticed about Vancouver is that there are many Asians, particularly Hong Kong people.
Hotel:
La Grande Residence Vancouver at the Sutton Place
855 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z2K7, Canada
It is a 5 star hotel located at the heart of Vancouver. The concept of the hotel is like a service apartment. One night at the hotel can easily cost you USD$300-400. Again, everything is expensive in Canada. However, the location of the hotel is favorable. There is a supermarket that is one block away and there are many restaurants nearby.
Food:
As I mentioned earlier, there are many Asians in Vancouver. Thus, it is no surprise that the city has many good Asian food.
1. Japadog (www.japadog.com) - a Japanese Style Hot Dog. This is not just another hotdog, but one of the best hotdog I've tasted. You can taste the juiceness of the meat and the perfect blend of the sauces. Those are the 3 hotdogs that we tried, my favorite is the Kurobuta Terimayo Hotdog. YUMMMM..
2. Salathai (www.salathai.ca) - this is a normal Thai restaurant located just across our hotel. Mum usually takes her group to this restaurant so I guess it must have tasted decent. True enough, none of the food we ordered taste bad. One downside about this restaurant is that the service is EXTREMELY slow. It took us 10 minutes to order our food, and drinks came 10 minutes after.
3. Kirin (www.kirinrestaurants.com) - we had dimsum at this restaurant. It is about 10 minute walk from the hotel. Everything we ordered tasted good. I guess the restaurant is popular among Indonesians because even the server could speak Bahasa!
Attractions:
1. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park:
3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver, BC V7R4J1, Canada
Capilano Suspension Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is 140 meters long and 70 meters above the river. Aside from the suspension bridge, it is also a national park. The park is well known for having many suspension bridges. I would say that Canada has one of the cleanest and well-kept parks/gardens in the world. There are 3 main places/attractions that you should visit while in the park - first being the Capilano suspension bridge, second the cliffwalk and third the treetops adventure.
2. Butchart Garden
800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC V8M1J8, Canada
Entrance to this beautiful park ranges from low CAD$30s to high CAD$30s, depending on the time of the year. The high season would be in Summer and that would be about CAD$37. Imagine an entrance fee to a garden for that much! You will NOT be disappoint once you get into the garden and see how well-kept it is.
I was fortunate enough to visit the garden in the Summer. It was a really sunny day and all the flowers were blooming. I love LOVE flowers and this garden is definitely one of the best gardens filled with variety of flowers. Everything looked way too surreal because it's been so well-kept.
Facts about Canada:
World's second largest country by total area
Official languages are French & English
Member of Commonwealth Nations
Is a federal parliamentary democracy & a constitutional monarchy.
Uses the metric system
I used to think that USA & Canada are somewhat similar. But if you think about it, they are totally different from each other. They just happen to share the same language and continent. Also, everything is 1.5 more expensive in Canada. People tend to be friendlier and more polite too. It is a VERY clean country. The cleanliness makes me feel like I am in Singapore.
Vancouver is 3.5hrs away from Seattle by car. In the 4 days that I visited Vancouver, we managed to visit Victoria Island (Butchart Garden & Legislature Building), Capilano Bridge & Old Town Vancouver. There aren't many tourist attractions there, unless you love natures & mountains. One thing I noticed about Vancouver is that there are many Asians, particularly Hong Kong people.
Hotel:
La Grande Residence Vancouver at the Sutton Place
855 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z2K7, Canada
It is a 5 star hotel located at the heart of Vancouver. The concept of the hotel is like a service apartment. One night at the hotel can easily cost you USD$300-400. Again, everything is expensive in Canada. However, the location of the hotel is favorable. There is a supermarket that is one block away and there are many restaurants nearby.
Food:
As I mentioned earlier, there are many Asians in Vancouver. Thus, it is no surprise that the city has many good Asian food.
1. Japadog (www.japadog.com) - a Japanese Style Hot Dog. This is not just another hotdog, but one of the best hotdog I've tasted. You can taste the juiceness of the meat and the perfect blend of the sauces. Those are the 3 hotdogs that we tried, my favorite is the Kurobuta Terimayo Hotdog. YUMMMM..
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| Kurobuta Terimayo |
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| Okonomi |
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| Oroshi |
2. Salathai (www.salathai.ca) - this is a normal Thai restaurant located just across our hotel. Mum usually takes her group to this restaurant so I guess it must have tasted decent. True enough, none of the food we ordered taste bad. One downside about this restaurant is that the service is EXTREMELY slow. It took us 10 minutes to order our food, and drinks came 10 minutes after.
3. Kirin (www.kirinrestaurants.com) - we had dimsum at this restaurant. It is about 10 minute walk from the hotel. Everything we ordered tasted good. I guess the restaurant is popular among Indonesians because even the server could speak Bahasa!
Attractions:
1. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park:
3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver, BC V7R4J1, Canada
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| Admission Fee to Capilano Bridge |
Capilano Suspension Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is 140 meters long and 70 meters above the river. Aside from the suspension bridge, it is also a national park. The park is well known for having many suspension bridges. I would say that Canada has one of the cleanest and well-kept parks/gardens in the world. There are 3 main places/attractions that you should visit while in the park - first being the Capilano suspension bridge, second the cliffwalk and third the treetops adventure.
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| Capilano Suspension Bridge |
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| View from the suspension bridge |
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| View from the suspension bridge |
2. Butchart Garden
800 Benvenuto Ave, Brentwood Bay, BC V8M1J8, Canada
Entrance to this beautiful park ranges from low CAD$30s to high CAD$30s, depending on the time of the year. The high season would be in Summer and that would be about CAD$37. Imagine an entrance fee to a garden for that much! You will NOT be disappoint once you get into the garden and see how well-kept it is.
I was fortunate enough to visit the garden in the Summer. It was a really sunny day and all the flowers were blooming. I love LOVE flowers and this garden is definitely one of the best gardens filled with variety of flowers. Everything looked way too surreal because it's been so well-kept.
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| All the pretty flowers |
3. Victoria Island - Legislature Buiding
We managed to visit the Parliament building that is located near a dock. The area itself reminds you of Fishermen's Wharf & Santa Monica Pier. Really pretty place and the whole area is very lively with people playing music and many tourists. You can go inside the viewing gallery of the legislative chamber. Even though it is a sunny day, bring your jacket along because it can get very windy since it is by the pier.
4. Lions Gate Bridge
Our final location is the Lions Gate Bridge. This bridge is a suspension bridge connecting Stanley Park/downtown to the North Shore. If you are driving, you can stop over before crossing the bridge to have a photo session. This area can get windy and foggy, but I was lucky enough to have a clear and sunny day during the visit.
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| Lions Gate Bridge |
Stay tune for my upcoming trips which I am very excited:
- Israel: It is mind-blowing to know that the holy land is a living proof of God & the Bible. Will be my 2nd time visiting the country
- Toraja: Very intrigued about this city in Sulawesi Island. They have a unique tradition of honoring the dead people.
- Japan: Will be my 3rd time visiting Japan but I never get enough of it.
I might visit New York & Los Angeles for Christmas and New Year. :D :D :D
2014 is coming to an end and I might not have accomplished much success in terms on monetary value. However, everyone has their own definition of successes in their lives. Some consider finding the love of their life a success, some even define success as having excess amount of monetary value and/or knowledge. As for me, being able to travel so much in a year is a huge accomplishment. I am truly blessed to be given this opportunity and would love to travel and explore the different cities & cultures in the coming year.
With lots of love,
Claraaaa <3
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