Canada

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Grouse Mountain

Grouse Mountain

Vancouver from Grouse Mountain

me on capilano bridge

steve,simon,jill and al

a deer at grouse mountain

me and some weird men at capilano bridge

a wolf at grouse mountain

a bear at grouse mountain

capilano

capilano

What a difference a day makes.Jet lag has finally worn off and I had a great 7 hours sleep although if it wasn’t for the 2 scotish guys who never made it back to the room it could have been a totally different story.Both were totally pissed as farts and 1 fell asleep in the toilet across the corridor and the other somehow couldn’t manage to even open the door to the room so he ended up asleep on the corridor floor.After deciding on the agenda for the day we decided it would be a visit to the Capilano Suspension Bridge followed by Grouse Mountain.We got the seabus to North Vancouver and then the bus to the bridge.It was certainly an awesome experience and my heart was poundind several beats faster as we stepped onto the bridge.It stands 230ft above and 450ft across the river.Walking across it at first was nerve wracking but a few more steps later we were shaking it about abit for a laugh.Then once over it we enjoyed walking around the tree top paths and it was a very enjoyable experience and well worth it.
Grouse Mountain was next and without a doubt this was worrying me a lot.The cable cars were going to a height of 3700ft and they looked terrifying but after Jill decided she was going up I had no option but to join them and we got in the queue.Once packed in like sardines in the cable car we shot upwards at a hell of a speed but it didn’t bother me at all.At the top we went to watch a film on 2 grizzly bears that had been rescued which was fascinating and then walked around looking at the 2 bears and 2 wolves.The size of the bears was unreal and they still weren’t fully grown.After some food we then noticed the clouds and mist had cleared from the summit of Grouse Mountain which was another 400ft up at 4100ft so we all walked up the steep climb.Halfway up I met 2 guys Steve and Al who had been out hiking all day.We ended up spending the rest of the day with them and it turned into a very very enjoyable day,helped very much by how funny Steve and Al were.On the way down to the restaurant we spotted some wild red deer which were as close as 5 metres away from us.All 5 of us sat in the restaurant overlooking the views of Vancouver and had a few beers and some food.When it came for time for us to leave Al very kindly offered us a lift back to the hostel in his car which showed how nice people have been so far.Back at the hostel I was soon in bed at 8.30pm after the best day so far.

statue in chinatown

vancouver city

Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden

Yet another sleepless night and I take friday night back as the noise and new scottish roommates made this the night from hell. I woke up at 1am and was promptly woken up again at 4am and again at 4.30am.The hostel being bang in the middle of town was not helping at all.Vancouver is certainly very busy and lively at the weekends.Police sirens seemed to be going off every 30 minutes.Mind you after drinking to much the previous night that didn’t help and I had a banging headache.After breakfast the plan was to look around Gastown and Chinatown which putting it mildly was certainly an experience.It was certainly the dodgy and rough part of Vancouver and made certain areas of London look posh.The rundown buildings in Gastown were a complete mess and the people didn’t look like the kind to mix with.We even saw a guy in a wheelchair going backwards yelling at people (you fucking parasites) at anyone walking by.Chinatown though did have some some very nice parts especially the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden which was modelled after the gardens of the Ming Dynasty Suzhou.It was very peaceful and tranquil and I could have been very happy to sit there with a book all day.But the highlight of the day was was a trip across the water in a small boat to Granville Island where there was a festival with boats that had pirate flags and people dressed as pirates and everyone including us throwing water bombs at them as they passed.We found a restaurant overlooking the water and had yet another very nice meal.After a walk around the market simon wanted to find the car hire place where we are collecting the car from on Tuesday and after what seemed like a 20 mile hike in the heat we found it.Somehow he then managed to get us a free upgrade on the car and a lift back to the hostel ‘the guy could talk his way out of a prison sentence’.Later that night simon and I went to the hostel bar for a couple of beers and some food while watching Mike Tyson take a beating in the boxing match.It ended up being a fairly early night and I got in around 10.30pm praying some sleep of a good few hours was on its way.