Well it's true what they say - no matter how much reading and preparation you do, you can never fully prepare for the real thing. My flight from Vancouver to India took a stop in Hong Kong and Bangkok and all told from lift-off Vancouver, to touch-down Mumbai it was exactly 24 hours journey. However it wasn't as bad as it sounds as I got lots of rest, read and watched some movies/TV, and was fairly comfortable scoring an emergency aisle each time (ah, legroom).
Arriving at 3am local customs and baggage were reasonably smooth and I'd hired a taxi into Colaba, a fairly well-traveled area of Mumbai. The Sassoon dock, promised to be a hub of fisherman activity turned out to be a sketchy spot in the pre-dawn so I was taken for a ride (both literally and figuratively) by my driver to the Gateway of India, only 500m away. Here I waited in front of the Taj Hotel (not the actual Taj) as the day lightened, getting some friendly tips from a German couple. There were many other 'friendly' Indians offering to find me a room and eventually I did get one though not until I'd stepped over sleeping people, and gone up super-sketchy lifts 5 floors while checking out OTHER hotels.
Once that was settled away I regrouped at the Gateway and took the Lonely Planet (thank goodness for Lonely Planet!) walking tour through the old British Fort area to the main train station. There are dogs, sleeping people, tiny cats with big heads, and yes - cows - all over the streets. Mostly I just cruised around on my own, feeling comfortable (at least when the sun is up) in any situation, while still exercising caution and sticking to somewhat busy thoroughfares. Saw the Mint, the Bank of India Reserve (btw don't try to take a picture of this, and if you do pull your camera out, then at least take the picture so you can delete it when the security guard forces you to!), and the University of Mumbai. Best of all there are huge parks in the heart of the city that overlook old English buildings, such as the Court House - a bustling place where security isn't all that good and I managed to climb to the 4th floor rooftop overlooking the complex.
At an Applied Art School I met a friendly fellow and swung a cricket bat - though the actual game fell through. Later on a couple young guys bought me a Chai tea (this tea is so sweet I actually like it!) before they tried to hustle me into buying a male Indian-dress before I caught on to the ruse.
Been an eventful day and a half.. my train was to leave at 7 this morning but has been delayed til 11. Almost that time now so I'd better go catch it!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Weekender
Saturday began at the local farmer's market where many new amazing things were discovered including amazing sourdough focaccia bread...and chocolate chip cookies with butterscotch sauce and Skor bits, and the squeakiest cheese curds!
Further wandering the neighbourhood we bought a printer... and took in an aboriginal theatrical production and toured Roedde House, a turn of the century (~1900) typical Vancouver home that had been fully restored. Natasha commented how it was perfect for me because they actually allowed you to handle the items.
Wishing for a sunny spot on the beach we finished out Blizzard and headed out into a summertime blizzard, or at least the headwind like one. The white caps were everywhere at English Bay beach, and despite cowering behind a large tree we came away tussled... and sand filled.
Some Bradford-turned-Vancouverites came over for a dinner of pasta.. and pizza and salad. Excited catching up came as a babble of conversation streamed by while enjoying a Granville Island IPA. We headed to Gastown to a bar called 'Six Acres' that was a beer drinker's heaven. Serving brews from around the world you could find a drink to suit any mood. My Coopers Stout was as flavourful as any. We steered clear of the drinks that were running $19.50... for a pint! Authentic falafels from my go-to after-bar grub house and off to bed.
Beautiful weather for the sixth straight day we walked the scenic Sea Wall to Stanley Park's Aquarium. My favourite of all public museums, art galleries, science centres and the like, we literally spent 5 hours taking it all in. The highlights were definitely the dolphins (all 3 shows, 2 above and one below water)... and the sharks, and the sea horses, and the baby belugas (3 and 15 months old) and the crocs. Making the experience that much more worthwhile was the free 4-D experience. Similar to a 3-D ride at Wonderland, however instead of moving seats there are all sorts of other dimensional effects such as the crack of lightning on screen is accompanied with a flash of light in the theatre... and the spray of a beluga's blowhole results in a mist of water on your face, and underwater 3-D on-screen bubbles are mixed with tangible bubbles in the theatre. It was a totally neat way to watch Planet Earth's Shallow Seas!
I promised no more walking and a ride on the free Stanley Park shuttle.. but it was located a kilometer up the path. Actually I'm not sure where it was located as we never found it but instead hiked up to a visually stunning lookout over the Lion's Gate Bridge. Attempting once more to find a shuttle stop we climbed aboard a bus that stopped where we were standing and took our seats at the back. We were very impressed to find the free shuttle also offered a friendly and knowledgeable driver who doubled as a tour guide. It was not until we drove out of the park and into the city that we realized we'd boarded a paid tour bus. Oops! Not the worst mistake we could have made.
Alas a fantastic weekend in Vancouver has come and gone. I won't enjoy another until February as my flight leaves to India in four hours. Excitement has trumped nervousness and I'm looking forward to the trip (minus the 20+ hour journey that will see me stop in Hong Kong and Bangkok before arriving finally in Mumbai). Goodbye Canada!
PS: These pics display the excellent handiwork of Tommy, the Asian hairdresser from the Gaybourhood with the meatiest, yet most gentle of fingers.
Further wandering the neighbourhood we bought a printer... and took in an aboriginal theatrical production and toured Roedde House, a turn of the century (~1900) typical Vancouver home that had been fully restored. Natasha commented how it was perfect for me because they actually allowed you to handle the items.
Wishing for a sunny spot on the beach we finished out Blizzard and headed out into a summertime blizzard, or at least the headwind like one. The white caps were everywhere at English Bay beach, and despite cowering behind a large tree we came away tussled... and sand filled.
Some Bradford-turned-Vancouverites came over for a dinner of pasta.. and pizza and salad. Excited catching up came as a babble of conversation streamed by while enjoying a Granville Island IPA. We headed to Gastown to a bar called 'Six Acres' that was a beer drinker's heaven. Serving brews from around the world you could find a drink to suit any mood. My Coopers Stout was as flavourful as any. We steered clear of the drinks that were running $19.50... for a pint! Authentic falafels from my go-to after-bar grub house and off to bed.
Beautiful weather for the sixth straight day we walked the scenic Sea Wall to Stanley Park's Aquarium. My favourite of all public museums, art galleries, science centres and the like, we literally spent 5 hours taking it all in. The highlights were definitely the dolphins (all 3 shows, 2 above and one below water)... and the sharks, and the sea horses, and the baby belugas (3 and 15 months old) and the crocs. Making the experience that much more worthwhile was the free 4-D experience. Similar to a 3-D ride at Wonderland, however instead of moving seats there are all sorts of other dimensional effects such as the crack of lightning on screen is accompanied with a flash of light in the theatre... and the spray of a beluga's blowhole results in a mist of water on your face, and underwater 3-D on-screen bubbles are mixed with tangible bubbles in the theatre. It was a totally neat way to watch Planet Earth's Shallow Seas!
I promised no more walking and a ride on the free Stanley Park shuttle.. but it was located a kilometer up the path. Actually I'm not sure where it was located as we never found it but instead hiked up to a visually stunning lookout over the Lion's Gate Bridge. Attempting once more to find a shuttle stop we climbed aboard a bus that stopped where we were standing and took our seats at the back. We were very impressed to find the free shuttle also offered a friendly and knowledgeable driver who doubled as a tour guide. It was not until we drove out of the park and into the city that we realized we'd boarded a paid tour bus. Oops! Not the worst mistake we could have made.
Alas a fantastic weekend in Vancouver has come and gone. I won't enjoy another until February as my flight leaves to India in four hours. Excitement has trumped nervousness and I'm looking forward to the trip (minus the 20+ hour journey that will see me stop in Hong Kong and Bangkok before arriving finally in Mumbai). Goodbye Canada!
PS: These pics display the excellent handiwork of Tommy, the Asian hairdresser from the Gaybourhood with the meatiest, yet most gentle of fingers.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
By the Numbers
Caught the #44 Bus at 9am to take Stair #4 down to Wreck Beach off UBC Campus. Saw 1 loose seal pop his head up just off shore two times.
Retreated 400 stairs up Stair#5 to see at least 8 totem poles and 100's of roses in the Rose Garden.
Pushed our way through the 50,000 undergrads to meet 2 of Natasha's physics friends for sushi. Only $7.50 gave me 1 tofu teriyaki, 3 pieces of tempura, 6 avocado rolls and 1 salad (plus I nabbed 2 tempura rolls off Natasha's plate!)
Traveling with 0 companions I scrambled down 470 stairs to see about that many butt cheeks on the "clothing-optional" part of Wreck Beach. After 2 hours I met Natasha for a single long-island iced tea at Koerner's Grad Pub.
Due to 2 swollen tonsils there was 1 Final Fantasy concert canceled, leaving 2 extremely disappointed people (probably many more actually). After 9 Chick'n Nuggets and 1/2 a Sleeman Honey Brown we walked 500 miles, through Yaletown to the water where we witnessed the the 1 time/month bike demonstration Critical Mass roll by that must have had 250+ participants.
A long walk around Chinatown, carefully avoiding East Hastings, turned out to be one giant waste of time as the Night Market season has come to a close. To partially fill the void we split 1 delicious strawberry-raspberry bubble tea, as I shot rapid fire up to 9-at-a-time pearls out of the oversized straw.
Long Island Iced Tea Recipe:
1 part vodka
1 part tequila
1 part rum
1 part gin
1 part triple sec
1.5 parts sweet'n'sour mix
1 part Coke
1 Yummy Drink Altogether
Faves
Thursday was for redoing many favourites from my stay in Vancouver 3 summers ago.
- It started with a morning jaunt to Stanley Park which is just beautiful and basically downtown.
- Following the park and lunch we went down to play on Kits Beach which is regarded as one of the nicest areas to live in the GVA (and also is home to the "Dollar Surprise" store that really is full of surprises).
- Dinner at The Naam restaurant is a favourite and extra-ordinary experience as I am able to pick anything off of the fully vegetarian menu (went with the enchilada and sesame-potato wedges with miso gravy).
- Post-dinner entertainment turned out to be a new experience, as we happened upon a comedy troupe that rather hilariously acted out skits involving gay evil-villains, wish-granting beggars, and a PSA with the message "Use hand sanitizer - or perish!". Of course all of this was much, much funnier than I describe.
- Back to previous favourites... Headed to the Railway Club which hasn't changed much since 2006, riding a good-thing since it has been in business in the same location since 1931! It's a magnificent old music venue with a large wooden bar stretching along it, a stage and the best part of all - a working miniature train that circles the place all night. The bands weren't much to speak of but the atmosphere was and I think Natasha's decided it will be her favourite too!
- It started with a morning jaunt to Stanley Park which is just beautiful and basically downtown.
- Following the park and lunch we went down to play on Kits Beach which is regarded as one of the nicest areas to live in the GVA (and also is home to the "Dollar Surprise" store that really is full of surprises).
- Dinner at The Naam restaurant is a favourite and extra-ordinary experience as I am able to pick anything off of the fully vegetarian menu (went with the enchilada and sesame-potato wedges with miso gravy).
- Post-dinner entertainment turned out to be a new experience, as we happened upon a comedy troupe that rather hilariously acted out skits involving gay evil-villains, wish-granting beggars, and a PSA with the message "Use hand sanitizer - or perish!". Of course all of this was much, much funnier than I describe.
- Back to previous favourites... Headed to the Railway Club which hasn't changed much since 2006, riding a good-thing since it has been in business in the same location since 1931! It's a magnificent old music venue with a large wooden bar stretching along it, a stage and the best part of all - a working miniature train that circles the place all night. The bands weren't much to speak of but the atmosphere was and I think Natasha's decided it will be her favourite too!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
And they're off!
Remember that movie Final Destination? Where they have a premonition about the plane blowing up and refuse to get on it and then it does explode in a fiery inferno just after take off? Well my flight Tuesday morning went absolutely nothing like that. In fact it was smooth sailing, er flying, as I left humid, cloudy Toronto at exactly 10am as scheduled, soared atop the snow-capped mountains and slid to a stop on the tarmac of Vancouver International Airport a quarter-hour early. My only complaint being Air Canada's lack of any sustenance offering; Stefan needs to eat in 5 hours. Once I found the recently unveiled Canada Line transit extension it was like gliding from the airport right downtown where Natasha came running up the sunny sidewalk.
To play out the rest of the beautiful, but slightly jet-lagged day, I explored my old haunt with walks along the Sea Wall near Canada Place (pictured), and a nighttime visit to English Bay Beach.
Hustling the next morning to meet an old friend from my frat house experience three summers ago I was accosted by a disheveled man grabbing his crotch who I was forced to sidestep to carry on my way. Following that was a reunion in Gastown featuring underground fresh-squeezed orange juice (I can't say anymore due to health regulations), bubbling cheesy macaroni, and an unguided trot through Gastown skipping all of the sights including the steam-powered clock but arriving at the Police Museum which we explored thoroughly. Unsolved murders, confiscated weapons (including spiked mace(s?), and forks-turned-brass knuckles) crime scenes, a morgue and autopsy room complete with hammer-fractured-skulls and stabbed organs, a tickle trunk and criminal sketching computer program highlighted the visit.
After parting ways I walked S-pattern trying to find the bus to take me to Granville Island. There I met Natasha and rekindled my love for Granville Island Brew. Browsing specialty shops filled with everything from knick-knacks to umbrellas to silver-works, glass and stationary, we worked up an appetite which was satisfied by perogies from the market. We watched while the sailboats and kayakers floated underneath the Burrard Street Bridge with the sun reflecting off the condos opposing us on the other side of the river. Sufficiently rested we hiked over Granville Bridge and carried on past the offerings of jazz bars and beer bars, strip clubs and night clubs, dollar-pizza and 25-cent peep shows, eventually finding our way to the apartment.
Once home it took my last energy to make the apple crisp, and a second wind to consume it before dropping into dreamland.
To play out the rest of the beautiful, but slightly jet-lagged day, I explored my old haunt with walks along the Sea Wall near Canada Place (pictured), and a nighttime visit to English Bay Beach.
Hustling the next morning to meet an old friend from my frat house experience three summers ago I was accosted by a disheveled man grabbing his crotch who I was forced to sidestep to carry on my way. Following that was a reunion in Gastown featuring underground fresh-squeezed orange juice (I can't say anymore due to health regulations), bubbling cheesy macaroni, and an unguided trot through Gastown skipping all of the sights including the steam-powered clock but arriving at the Police Museum which we explored thoroughly. Unsolved murders, confiscated weapons (including spiked mace(s?), and forks-turned-brass knuckles) crime scenes, a morgue and autopsy room complete with hammer-fractured-skulls and stabbed organs, a tickle trunk and criminal sketching computer program highlighted the visit.
After parting ways I walked S-pattern trying to find the bus to take me to Granville Island. There I met Natasha and rekindled my love for Granville Island Brew. Browsing specialty shops filled with everything from knick-knacks to umbrellas to silver-works, glass and stationary, we worked up an appetite which was satisfied by perogies from the market. We watched while the sailboats and kayakers floated underneath the Burrard Street Bridge with the sun reflecting off the condos opposing us on the other side of the river. Sufficiently rested we hiked over Granville Bridge and carried on past the offerings of jazz bars and beer bars, strip clubs and night clubs, dollar-pizza and 25-cent peep shows, eventually finding our way to the apartment.
Once home it took my last energy to make the apple crisp, and a second wind to consume it before dropping into dreamland.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Pre-Departure
Welcome! If you came here in search of Stefan's Pies, please move right along. As the punctuation clearly indicates, there'll be no yummy baked goods on this blog.
To the rest of you: Whatever may have possessed you to visit? No, seriously - don't you know how boring this could get? Of course I'll do my best to keep things interesting as this space will serve as a catch-all for thoughts (likely quick jots) and pics (to give you a quick fix) from my travels throughout Asia. Join me (but feel free to nap along the way) as I delve into a world of Oriental unknowns!
Oh, and don't expect any more rhyming couplets either.
To the rest of you: Whatever may have possessed you to visit? No, seriously - don't you know how boring this could get? Of course I'll do my best to keep things interesting as this space will serve as a catch-all for thoughts (likely quick jots) and pics (to give you a quick fix) from my travels throughout Asia. Join me (but feel free to nap along the way) as I delve into a world of Oriental unknowns!
Oh, and don't expect any more rhyming couplets either.
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