Vancouver: So Much to Do, So Little Time

Vancouver has many faces. Here's a typical day of vacation in Vancouver. Skiing in the hills north of Vancouver in the morning, sailing in the harbor, picnic in Stanley Park, shopping till happy hour, and a hockey game at night. I only had a few days to see it all, and it rained the whole time I was there. Don't let the rain get you down though; I'll show you my recommendations of what to do, see, eat, and experience in Vancouver.

1. Stanley Park - It's the Central Park of Vancouver. About as big as downtown Vancouver, it is the backyard for the citizens, a place where you relax and have fun. Since it rained while I was there, and I only had so much time to see the whole park, I didn't do much. But when it's in the high 20s (what it's supposed to be in the beginning of June [Oh yeah, that's about 70-80ºF]), you can do much more stuff than just walk in the rain like I did. The park is located on the northwestern part of the city; Georgia Street divides the park in half. There is an eight kilometer (about five miles for the metrically-challenged) path surrounding the park where you can bike, skate, walk, jog, run, walk your dog, walk a ferret (Yes, I saw that while I was there.), or just watch the views go by while you stroll along. The interior of the park houses sprawling fields, trees that seem to be balding, and the Vancouver Aquarium. Trails wiggle their ways around flowers and other plants.


2. Gastown - Every city has a historic section. This is Vancouver's. I read that the name of the area gets its name from the numerous gas lamps that light the street at night. Located almost in the northeastern suburbs, it houses many chic apartments and stylish boutiques selling anything from furniture to cheesy postcards. One of the famous landmarks here is the old steam-powered clock, one of the only ones made in the world. It chugs out steam like a volcano, telling the time, chiming every hour. It's just north of the area that I like to call the Homeless District. The alleyways shelter many druggies that are usually harmless but very annoying. I got asked for food, money, and drugs all in the same area. Yeah, a fourteen year-old is going to have all that.


3. Chinatown - Chinatown is a few blocks south of Gastown, sandwiching that hobo neighborhood. It feels like San Francisco. Markets selling dried fish and nuts that I've never seen before. Everything is written in Chinese (It's all traditional Chinese and has lots of Cantonese and Taiwanese influences.) and English. Shiny orange ducks hang by their necks in the greasy windows. Old women, staring at you like you're one of those druggies, pass by speaking some dialect that I've never heard before. The food is excellent though. Mongolian noodles, seafood, stir-fried vegetables and rice, meats flavored in sugary brine. There's nothing like it here in Atlanta, Georgia where I live. And even though I'm half Chinese, I've never had so much Chinese food before.


4. Vancouver Public Library - When you go through the city, one of the weirdest shaped buildings is the library on Georgia Street. Colosseum-like in its shape, it towers over the busy people of Vancouver. It's colossal! There's a whole section in the far right corner that has all foreign language books. French on one end and Punjabi on the other with Chinese, Tagalog, Italian, German, Spanish, etc. in the middle. At my public library, the only foreign language book is Spanish for Dummies. High school/college students sit around tables, looking like they're hard at work, studying. Computers are used, so I can't get on. I could spend a whole day just taking it all in.


5. People-Watch - It's pretty fun to do, and you could do it anywhere. Just sit at that down-to-earth, all-natural supermarket or the mall or just walk on the street, buy a coffee or something, and just watch people walk by. It's fun guessing who those people are, what they're like. And since Vancouver is so diverse, there's a lot of variety. Hey, look! It's that old couple from the middle of Kansas! They look a little lost in their Maple Leaf ponchos. Oh wait! Over there! I think that old Chinese couple is talking about me down the way a little bit. Let me go accidentally bump into them. That guy over there is so annoying! He's talking into his Bluetooth like he's at a rock concert. Ha! Look at those little kids! They're whining to their parents to go on the carriage ride. Tough luck; your parents are going to say it's too much and it smells bad. Look! That gay guy almost tripped over the newspaper box! He's so consumed in his cell phone/music player combination.


6. Take in the Architecture - Because Vancouver is so diverse, it has a very diverse architectural style. Skyscrapers line the northern coast of downtown. Orange and blue machines work hard on the other side of the water. As you move farther south, you'd find much more types of architecture. Boutique hotels and designer stores dot the landscape. A copper dome, now green with age, peeks behind the buildings. Art deco banks snuggle up next to modern condos in the drizzle. Dr. Sun Yat-sen Garden is a great place to see old and new sit side by side. A tranquil pond is home to geese below. Flowers and willow trees hang above. The sloping roof is a stark contrast to the cranes constructing new apartments. To the west is Stanley Park, tall trees create a patch of green in the middle of concrete gray and harbor blue. At the southern edge of Vancouver, overlooking False Creek, you can see the B.C. Place dome and the Science Museum's Epcot-esque landmark. Low-lying restaurants can give you the feel of a Roman coffee shop, that great noodle shop in Hong Kong, or a Parisian tea shop. The SkyTrain zips overhead. It's an architecture's paradise here.

These are just some of the things that you can do. A few days is not enough to experience the city. You'd probably need a week or two just to know everything about Vancouver. And that's just the downtown area. There are suburbs surrounding the city with malls, nature activities, ethnic neighborhoods, and much more. With the 2010 Olympics coming around the corner, Vancouver has definitely put itself on the map with its breathtaking sights, fun activities, delicious food, and a casual yet sophisticated vibe that resonates throughout the city.

This blog post is listed at the Carnival of Cities. Go check it out!