Just a short and maybe very random post, haha. Today I shared with Shuwen and Hui Lin some tips on grocery shopping, cooking and doing laundry in North America:
When you hit a foreign supermarket
When you go to a coin laundromat
Well, I was just rambling on about what I could remember from my previous trip. Nevertheless, these should serve as small practical tips for my friends I hope! Yes, I do have a domestic side to me...
"This is how you choose tomatoes - red big and juicy ones.."
Winibread - your trusted choice.
the beauty of travel 5:14 AMTravelling can be bothersome and tiring, especially when every day you inevitably awake to a whole morning of hustle and bustle, stuffing things into backpacks and always rushing for some other hostel someplace else. Perhaps it is all made worse if you fall sick and plunge into a constant state of fatigue on the every day journeys. Yet, despite all the possible misery that entails, there are also the good and unexpected things that may/will happen which will brighten up and enhance the whole experience.
The People – There are the friendly locals who are always willing to listen and readily lend some help, whether or not we really need it. Or maybe it’s just in Canada, where people are generally chirpy with big hearts and warm smiles. Even the drivers too are extremely gracious and never honk at anyone! But all in all, yes, we have met very nice guesthouse receptionists, waitresses, fishermen, passers-by who let us play with their dogs and many more, and this certainly has made our trip more pleasant on Vancouver Island.
The Ambiguity – Perhaps the beauty of travel also lies in the uncertainty of exploring places on our own, whether behind the wheel or on foot. Reading maps is not an issue for us generally, but there were times occasionally when we only “roughly knew the way” or got stuck by the many “No Left/Right Turn” road signs that made us go round and round the town aimlessly. Nevertheless, it is a good feeling indeed, to navigate on our own and eventually get to our destination. Ultimately, it is about being in control of where we are and what we want to do, transforming such mundane things into a personal learning experience.
The Learning – On learning, well, all I can say is that learning can happen anytime, anywhere, issues big to small alike. The latter, for example, happened once this morning when we were at Tina’s Diner at Nanaimo. In our first few days in Canada, we had learnt to tip waitresses about 15% of the total bill, but we never knew how exactly we should pass them the money. Sometimes, we took back only part of the change and left the rest untouched; other times we left a sum of money at the table. Today however, our change never got back to us – the waitress happily and apparently assumed the remainder to be kept for herself! Well, it’s not a huge sum of money and we were perfectly fine with it, but it was something small that we would keep in mind indeed, just like the parking fine we had in Victoria (today, we were really obedient and abided by the parking rules)!
Well, the sights of Nanaimo town and Oceanside (Qualicum Beach and Parksville) have definitely provided us with inner peace, quiet and fresher air to feel better amidst the travel fatigue. We are ready to head to Newcastle Island tomorrow in the day (Friday), then back to mainland Vancouver for 2 days to finish this first leg of travel.
coombs country, qualicum beach and parksville 5:14 AMThursday morning, we drove up north to explore the Oceanside area. Basking in sunshine on the east coast of Vancouver Island, Oceanside is one of the finest year-round vacation destinations in Canada, boasting spectacular sandy beaches, coastal mountain vistas, and lush temperate forests. The tourism region of Oceanside incorporates the holiday communities of Coombs Country, Qualicum Beach, and Parksville, among others.
The Coombs Old Country Market was a highlight, famous for its family of goats that resided permanently on its roof. The little market-town was a pretty sight, a rustic complex of galleries, boutiques and trinket emporiums centred around a large food store stuffed with bakery and produce treats.
The famous signboard "Goats on the Roof", and its very colourful interior
The King of Cheese, and a whole lot of bread!
Typical scene of the goats on the roof - somehow they never fall down (or jump down)..
We also visited Judges Row in Qualicum Beach, a street full of exquisite houses (and mostly surrounded by thick hedges). From what we heard from the locals, these houses are owned by very wealthy Canadians who only stay in them for 2-3 weeks in summer every year. This was also where we saw a unique black German Schnauzer and stopped by to have a great conversation with its owners.
Qualicum Beach
The black German Schnauzer
Houses in Judges Row
My personal favourite - Js somehow took this candid shot and I was bunny-hopping in mid-air! Haha.
I thought this looked like Alice in Wonderland.. so Wini tried to climb into Wonderland too..
And I got in - the grass is not as green on the other side though! Hahaha. Okay, this is all fake.. I didn't climb and this picture was taken at a different place, heh.
The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, a short drive from Parksville, was also another intriguing place to visit where we saw birds and animals of all kinds (even a black bear!) which are now protected due to Man’s reckless road accidents and irresponsible pollution and hunting habits that endanger many of the existing species. Anyway, a funny thing that Shuwen said today while we were looking at the turkeys – “I’m hungry and thinking of a dinner.. *pause*.. a dinner like him!” Haha.. at that point in time we were really tickled.
Not many pics shown here but we did take quite a few..
So it was a pretty short day today, as compared to the last few days. We are gradually catching the travel fatigue syndrome it seems, or perhaps even so for a sick me. :(
We took a 2-hour drive from Victoria to Nanaimo on Wednesday afternoon. Located on Vancouver Island, Nanaimo is about 55km west of Vancouver, separated by the Strait of Georgia yet directly linked to Vancouver via the BC Ferries, which is how we’ll get back to mainland again on the 29th.
It is really beautiful, peaceful and serene in Nanaimo town, or more better well-renowned as “The Harbour City” due to its close proximity to the islands and hence abundance of ferries, yachts and seaplanes. The skies and waters are incredibly, erm, blue... and breathtaking. The air is fresh, dogs run free, people everywhere stroll around and appear so worry-free and friendly. I guess the only noise or disturbance we heard were the seagulls, who cried out even late at night – I used to really love them, but now they are tad irritating at times, haha.
The Painted Turtle Guesthouse (our best so far, offers free wireless and very good, clean and cheap amenities). The Carpe Diem shop which looked quite cool though we never got to go inside at all..
Harbour City with its ships, seaplanes etc. Last picture depicts the Nanaimo Harbour Ferry to its neighbouring islands.
Little eateries like Troller's Fish and Chips (local legendary place) and Penny's Palapa are also seen along the jetty. Their ocean catch is well-known to be fresh and caught alive - "Our fish slept in the ocean last night!" - Troller's tag-line.
We tried exploring Nanaimo on foot after dinner, attempting to learn more about its nightlife, or rather, the lack of it. Yes, to our horror, shops here close as early as 3pm or 5pm and there was not a hint of activity at night! It was rare that we found 1 or 2 pubs that were still open at 9pm, and we popped over for some drinks, becoming some of its very few patrons.
I didn’t want to drink of course, I was still feeling unwell. Still, I didn’t want to miss the pubbing experience here and tagged along, and ended up sleeping at the pub table while my friends sipped on local beers and a martini.
i-not-silly 3:33 AMWednesday morning I witnessed a sight which set me thinking about how Singaporean parents bring up their children. We were at the Dutch Bakery, a quaint old-lady styled coffee shop which served both pretty-looking and pretty-tasty pastries and cakes.
There was a lady with 3 very young children seated near us, and I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on what Mummy said to her kids. It was all interesting and intriguing because it is definitely in stark contrast to what we always hear in Singapore, the incessant booming of “See la! Tell you not to run you still run!” and “Boy ah! I say don’t go there, you don’t know how to listen is it?!” Instead, over here and in many other parts of the world, parents are so much more encouraging. Mummy said, “See, this is what happens when you are silly!” and smeared a little whipped cream on her nose, leaving her toddlers highly amused and entertained. But most importantly, she told them that it was always okay to be silly, that it was not the end of the world, and that it was important for one to always learn to laugh at himself.
Of course, cultural differences are never as simple to instill or learn, but this is really why many Singaporean children grow up to be risk-averse, to be afraid of failures, and to not manage themselves nor their expectations well.
xx
A random but interesting thing that happened to us, which my friends told me to blog about: we actually had to pay parking fines today in this foreign land! Apparently there was free parking till 9am along the street near our backpackers’ inn; thereafter the parking meter reactivates. Having only checked out at 11am, we had not remembered the time, and were issued a parking fine of CAD 20.
It wasn’t all that bad initially, but we thought we’d just head for breakfast before settling the fine. Little did we know that in Canada, there is a time limit for paying fines; 2 hours later, we were issued yet another ticket! Roar. But it was an experience indeed, and we definitely learned to laugh at ourselves for our silly mistake.
Okay, today's pictures from Victoria!
This hostel was full of "xiao3 hun4 hun4's"! But it was quite cosy, though we had to purchase wireless connection and it was really horrible. So we kept pacing around the room to find a hotspot where we wouldn't get dc. :S
Interesting quotes outside the Ocean Island Backpackers' Inn. I like the one on the right!
Dutch Bakery - look at the amazing display of cakes and pastries in the window, and the old-lady style interior.
City Hall, where we paid our fines.
Victoria Harbour
This is the "W" from "Welcome to Victoria", the whole line spans over a large area of the seawall!
Victoria's Parliament Building, and all the effects/angles to capture the beautiful clouds.
Campus Green, anyone?
the butchart gardens 3:32 AMThe highlight of Tuesday was the visit to The Butchart Gardens near Victoria, one of the world's premier floral show gardens. Albeit the costly CAD 26.50 for admission, it was all worth it when we saw the wide array of horticulture on display – 55 acres of vibrant and vivid colours wowed, amazed and cheered us up; everywhere was just so beautiful. In fact, over one million bedding plants in 700 varieties are used throughout the gardens.
The peace and quiet of the garden surroundings allowed me to better appreciate the slow-paced and seemingly stress-free lifestyles of the Canadians more. Over the next few months, I will definitely take in the sights and sounds of this beautiful country and be more at peace with myself.
Anyway, it has been raining, making every night incredibly cold. Coupled with the inherent lack of sleep and constant travelling, I’m down with a slight fever, headache and a very bad sore throat. Trying to regulate my intake of Redoxon Vitamin C pills now, and hope it all goes away soon. :(
In the process of mastering the Art of Connection with Nature.. haha.
An interesting signage we saw (vancouver is a dog's paradise, everyone has/keeps a dog)!
The little cute handsome and polite boy, Liam, whom Shuwen and I "koped" for a photograph!
Some of the many breathtaking and pretty sights we saw.
Flowers that look like angels!
The famous Sunken Gardens, which was created by hand in an original limestone quarry (underground, hence "sunken"). Totem poles to the right are a common sight all over Canada, probably because they are hand-carved and uniquely created with a mixture of "animals" on each pole.
All 4 of us, and there's a Singapore flag here!
Wini behind the wheel.
Whee.. a great day today! :)