4001 Miles: Why fly to China when Vancouver is so much closer?

Is the title of this post racially insensitive? Possibly. Are there more important things to be said about Vancouver? Proabably. But the Asian population in the city is mind-blowing. I paid cover to get into a few clubs and I can attest to the fact that airlines are overcharging us. Those were the cheapest tickets to Shanghai I've ever seen.

Love you, Julia.

I kid, of course. I love Asians. My best friend is actually Asian. Here's a picture for proof.

Now, on to more serious matters: Vancouver was grand! It was one of the most enjoyable weeks of my life. The fact that I was even there for a week illustrates how awesome it was. I get antsy very easily and the fact that the city occupied me for seven whole days means I had fun.

For anyone who's wondering, my friend Mark made it to Vancouver, after quite the ordeal, for the weekend. More on that later. Let me tell you a little bit about what I did in the time that I was on my own.

Stanley Park easily topples Vancouver's other attractions as the premier hang out spot, for me at least. With 1000 acres of bike trails, beaches, and throngs of people nestled in the downtown area, I spent most of my mornings in Stanley Park. I laid on the beach and read, rode my bike unloaded (which feels more like flying at this point), and did lots of walking and exploring. Since Vancouver is so far north, the water itself was a bit too chilly to enter for more than a moment, but I did dip my feet in. That marked my first time touching the Pacific Ocean.

I also did a lot of exploring through all of the metal and glass that so clearly defines the downtown area. Although the architecture in Vancouver isn't particularly diverse, there are a couple of very unique structures including the city library and a residential tower that's essentially a cube hanging from a central pillar.

Vancouver Public Library

That's all rainbows and butterflies, but want to know what sucked about Vancouver? The word "absurd" doesn't even begin to describe how expensive it is. Rated the most expensive city in North America (yes, even more than New York), Vancouver drained me of $300 in a week's time. Minus my train ticket from Montana to Seattle, that's more than I spent in the last 25 days before I got into the city. I would be completely broke right now had Mark not come to my rescue and paid for our entire weekend. Thanks, Mark :).

It was realy cool watching sea planes land so close to the shore

After staying two nights at Ron's glamorous apartment, I massively downgraded to a hostel downtown. It was actually a really nice hostel, but anything was a downgrade at that point. One bed in the Samesun Backpackers Hostel cost $32 per night, surprising in most cities, but expected in Vancouver. I'm really glad I stayed there though. I met a lot of captivating travelers from Germany, Australia, England and other countries that have a lot of white people. I made a few friends with whom I went to restaurants and clubs with at night. They were all 21+, but since the drinking age in British Columbia is 19, I was at least able to get into the clubs.

Last Thursday night, however, there was a bit of a mishap in booking a bed for the night. I only pay for one day at a time since I don't really know if I'll meet someone else that day. So, at 9 PM, I hadn't yet paid for a room and the hostel turned out to be full for the night. I called a few others in the area: all booked. And I wasn't going to pay $300 for a hotel room. So I did the only thing a sensible teenager would do: I went out clubbing to solve my problems. And did that work? Hell no. Mostly because I wasn't in the mood to dance. I headed back to the hostel where I didn't have a room and, since I knew the code to get into upstairs area, I went to the common room and sat on the couch. I couldn't sleep there since the workers patrolled every hour or so, but it was a safe place so I stayed and watched season six of Weeds on my phone til the sun rose. Then I rode to Stanley Park and slept on a bench for six hours. It was divine.

Mark contemplating how sunburnt he will soon be

Mark arrived in Vancouver on Friday afternoon after an intense ordeal. He was flying as a standby traveler, courtesy of a guest pass graciously gifted to him by my mother, a Southwest employee, and my sister. However, Thursday's not a good day to fly so Mark got stuck in Nashville, Houston, Oakland, and Las Vegas before he was able to fly to Seattle and bus to Vancouver. After a 40-day absence, he was a shining ray of happiness in my life. I missed him so much and a weekend together was just what we needed. Also, he paid for everything so I have to say nice things about him.

Our last night in Vancouver, Saturday night, was another homeless one. It was British Columbia Day or something and so every hostel and hotel in the city was booked to capacity. That meant that we had nowhere to stay since we never plan ahead. So I came up with the brilliant plan of staying out at the clubs until 4 in the morning. Mark's bus left Vancouver at 5:30 so we got breakfast at Denny's after the club and then walked over to the station. We said goodbye and then I rode out for a full day of riding to Bellingham, WA. I didn't sleep for 40 hours. It sucked.

My favorite sculpture in Stanley Park

I woke up well-rested today though so it doesn't matter much. I'm going to do another post with stuff from today so look for that in a couple of minutes. Enjoy the rest of the pictures from Vancouver. Sorry I'm not in any of them, Mom. I'll take more with me in them from now on.