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Published: September 10th 2008
And so it was bye to Asia and the 'less developed' countries, hello North America and civilisation, I'll let you know which I prefer.I last left you whilst choking on my massively overpriced Subway sandwich and lamenting the cheapness of Asia, and thats pretty much where you find me today, only without the same sandwich obviously. For Canada has been, without exception, the most expensive country I've ever visited and travelled through, Bill Gates would need a second mortgage to fund such a trip. However, when considering such things, you need to weigh the expense and tears spent over it against the good things experienced, and in this aspect Canada definitely makes up for the price. I'm resisting doing my usual of proclaiming every new country seen as the best yet,its a close second behind Cambodia at the moment, but the Rockies are easily the most stunning thing I have seen around the world thus far, so its a happy medium I guess. We've seen such wonders as the Rockies, Niagara Falls, the CN tower, French Quebec etc,got physical by trekking mountains, covered matahon-esque distances on bike, gazed at wildlife, met some cool people and taken in some class and culture
at places such as Hooters, Oh Canada, we've loved it. I should have split it into two but didn't realise so its a fairly long read, and its been delayed as for some reason my stupid camera won't upload so all these pictures are Chris' but alas. Anyway, get settled in, get a cuppa, and a sickbag as I wax lyrical about how amazing Canada is..
"Travel may well broaden the mind, but it certainly narrows the bank account" W.Plunkett Toronto & Ottawa So begins the new adventure and the arrival of my partner in crime, the other half, the George Best to my Oliver Reed etc (you get the gist), may I introduce you to one Christopher Evans, recently handed back his badge and gun and allowed to roam free. The reunion was always going to be messy and so it proved, and certainly didn't help the financial situation, but after nearly 2 years apart (we sound like long lost lovers) it had to be done. We resisted tears at the airport on reunion, no slow-mo twirls with music playing,and tried not to talk about teaching for more than 5 minutes and went to explore Toronto. This
city grew on us over time, initially we thought it overrated and nothing special as it was lots of office buildings and cars and such, but after a couple of days we got better orientated, found the busy main street full of shops, people and activity, and found a good bar area to indulge on, whislt also doing the touristy stuff. The CN tower is a good example of our shift, it's iconic and apparently the worlds largest freestanding structure in the world, but gazing up at it didn't give us an impression of being massive or impressive, cool to look at certainly but not the real 'wow' factor, a shrug of the shoulders was about the most it got out of us. This changed when we got up the thing and saw the amazing views of the city, great lakes and fantastic city outline and layout, it definetly converted us. The following day we visited Niagara Falls, which as with many things here was surreal,it was very strange being at a place you have seen so often on TV and in your minds eye-when gazing at it you almost get the sense that you have been here already. Of
A bit of class at Hooters
Note my ridiculously happy grincourse the sheer size, magnificence, beauty and power of the place blows you away when you are actually there in person and I stood in awe of it for hours overall. Although not as high as I expected, impressive would be an understatement and I loved both Falls but the Horseshoe Falls were better than the American Falls in my opinion,it was a very special moment and sailing on the Maid of the Mist right to the very point of the Falls was an amazing experience and one to be cherished. Thankfully the stunning spectacle was not diminished by the dreadfully tacky main strip of gift shops, fun houses and restaurant chains, it was so bad we had to stand and laugh for a while. A quick visit to the quaint English like village of Niagara on the Lake restored some faith in the place though and also gave us our first insight into an unexpected phenomenon-Canadians are without doubt THE nicest and most helpful, friendly people in the world. They take the 'have a nice day' attitude to the extreme and we have had countless great experiences just buying things in shops, asking for directions or generally conversing with
people who have clocked the accents, what horribly nice people!
I must also at this point intorudce another new character, that being Dave,another fellow teacher (you can imagine the fun conversations we had!) who we also met in uni, he was over visiting his brother in Toronto by coincidence so he decided to join us for a week, so it was a triangle of messy times for Dave is never shy when drinking, conversing with locals or sightseeing, so was a great addition. Initially we met in Toronto and had some great nights out in a highly recommended place called Maddisons, and also took in some culture by visiting Hooters..good food served by girls in tight t-shirts and lycra shorts..a truly horrible experience..cough...Toronto also needs a mention to Dave's brother and wife who let us stay for a night and cooked us a stupendous breakfast, lovely people too. We split from Dave for a couple of days to visit Ottawa, the nations capital and home to, ummm not much. It reminded me a lot of Canberra, in the sense that it was a tiny, quiet place with not much going on but the politics and was inbetween the big
cities. It was a nice enough place, again very British influenced and was pleasant enough to walk around and take in the views. It was most notable for the hostel we stayed in, which was actually a converted jail, very surreal staying there behind bars etc and we also did a guided tour of the place which was interesting and indeed weird. Thankfully the prisoners have long since left as I am far too petite and pretty to be there, I would be everyone's bitch. Overall we spent 5 days in Toronto and 2 full days in Ottawa.
Montreal & Quebec We did most of our travelling by Greyhound bus, brave enough in itself as it dosen't attract the best kind of people. A couple of weeks before we arrived was a story of an innocent random guy having his head literally chopped off with a machete by an insane other passenger. (Ooh lets book a monthly pass right away!)We bussed it to Montreal where we met up again with the third leg of our tripod-Dave. The hostel istelf could have a whole blog due to the owner being Gary Glitter-esque and was miles away from the centre, but
we met some very cool people here and had some great times. Both places were fantastic to see although also very head wrecking, it was just bizarre to be in Canada and all English speaking one minute, to then hit these places and have everybody speak French, this was especially a problem in Quebec where many spoke only French. Ths called for lots of attempting-and I use that word heavily-to utilise our high school French, which invarioubly failed, especially with women-trying to ask them the time or directions to the swimming pool as a chat up line doesn't really work apparently. Fussy if you ask me. The fact they spoke French was a bit weird and Chris couldn't get his head around it, fancy a country outside the UK speaking a foreign language eh!? I really liked Montreal itself, it had a nifty CBD with everything you could want with shops, transport etc, and then a nice main street full of bars and clubs, it was therefore well orientated which we haven't found really in the rest of Canada and thus far the US. It also had the French influence so lots of good architecture, Old Montreal with its cobbled
streets, Notre Dame cathedrals etc and a pleasant stroll up the mountain which it is based around-Mont Royal-was nice enough and gave us some great views. Added to this was some good nights out, cheap local famous food in poutine (glorified gravy and chips with cheese basically) and us three having some great times and overall Montreal got a big tick from us.
Quebec was even better on reflection, more French influence and a great views walking around it, its a walled city so lots of interesting things to see, river, gardens, forts, cobbled cafe lined streets etc. The city was also remembered for its proportion of ridicuously good looking people, a night out to a bar or club was like a models convention, we stood out a mile and achieved looks usually reserved only for when you have just crapped on someones doorstep. Just to gay our 2 man trip up even more, Chris decided to take me on a date to watch Rod Stewart in concert. He is an Avid Merrion size fan of Rod and I quite like the old I'm born in England but am Scottish honest rocker, and it turned out to be a
great show, the old boy can still do it and had great banter too. Leaving here also meant saying goodbye to Dave which was a shame, he would have been welcomed on the rest of our trip with open arms and added a great extra dimenson, we had some amazing times-many of which are code black-and also included him somehow managing to crack his head open on a cubicle door whilst opening it towards him (sorry mate, had to mention it!) He travelled back to Toronto whilst we flew all the way over to Calgary, which took as long as my flight from London to Toronto-horribly big country!! We spent 4 nights in Montreal and 2 nights in Quebec.
Calgary Simply put,and without wishing to offend any Calgarians reading, we thought it was rubbish and were glad to leave after 24hours, and like Forrest Gump thats all I'm going to say about thaaaaaaatttttT. The only memorable thing was the flight there, which we can laugh about now, and I must mention at this point that Chris is not, well, the best flyer shall we say. So the fact it was a heavy storm, thunder and lightning before takeoff, and
an hours delay didn't help. To then board the plane(just about-we had our names called over the tannoy) and be told there was a problem nearly broke Chris. The captain had an announcement to make, and please allow me to quote him:
"Hey folks, just to let you know we have a slight problem and so there'll be another short delay. There's a light flashing on the console so we're just going to have to reboot the computer, its going to need a little Ctrl,Alt, Delete (he actually said this) as its gone a little whistle(he actually made a little whistle sound here) so everything is going to go black, but not to worry and its a good chance to check out the emergency lighting" Chris' face was a treat.Anyway,we got there in one piece and Chris' trousers remained unsoiled, just.
Banff & Jasper Undoubtebly the highlight of Canada, and so far my whole trip, the Rockies just blew my mind and I can't find enough superlatives to throw at it so forgive me if the desciptions are bland,I just can't speak highly enough of the place,my words won't describe it well enough and the pictures won't do it
justice, do yourselves a favour though and come check it out one day.We arrived in Banff, which is a small yet busy and compact town right on the edge of the Rockies. We ended up staying here for 7 nights but the temptaion to never leave was ever present. The scenery around Banff was serene and stunning, you literally couldn't look anywhere but at snow peaked mountains as you walked down the streets or sat in your hostel or bar, it was overpowering. Standing slapbang in the middle of the main street afforded you a 360 panoramic view and many a person was spotted gawking up into the skies and surroundings. Truly awe inspiring. The prices here for accommodation (although thankfully not beer) were astronomical in backpacking terms-$37 a night- but well worth it for the views and proximity to Banff and Jasper National Parks. After an initial bad day of weather the rest was clear and sunny so like Olivia Newton John we decided to get physical. Far from me to blow my own trumpet (I have no musical talent for a start) but we were fairly well known around the hostel and made some great friends in roommates,
randoms travellers and most of the staff, to be fair its hard to ignore 2 idiotic Weshmen. We made good friends with some Aussies and with them did most of our trekking etc,and the young pups showed us up usually. One day we went to the Hot Springs and basked in 37degree natural springs whilst staring at the Rockies and even saw a wild elk on the walk home,a tough life.
The following day we decided to reduce our lifespan by about 7 years, so if I don't make it past 50 you can blame the psychotic Aussies Will and Garth (which sounds like an Aussie gay TV show now I look at it). They told us they were going on an easy mountain bike trek through the great scenery and did we want to join, well it sounded fun, a nice pleasant bike through some good views, stop for a picnic and a gaze, have a jolly good time and then pedal gayly back into town, delightful. It was actually hell on 2 wheels and I think the most physically demanding, draining and painful thing I have ever experienced-half marathon with a dodgy leg aside. We all set
off together but were quickly left behind by the young nubile 20 year old Aussies,who beat us to every checkpoint by about 30minutes, had to leave notes at each point congratulating/comiserating with us and giving directions to the next place, I felt about 75. Bastards. We had to go 18km mainly uphill through the Rockies as just the start point, which in truth did give us some nice views of snow peaked mountains, forests, lakes and even some wildlife, but in return damn near killed us as we puffed, panted, wheezed and walked our bikes up 90% of the hills! Sadly most of the views were lost on me as I struggled to see throuh a haze of dizziness, blood, sweat and tears, mainly the latter. People going in the other direction must have thought I had tourettes as I cursed myself, Aussies, the Rockies, anything really, as I tried to push on.Eventually me and Chris made the end(the Aussies had the only map) and were dismayed to discover the only way back was around the other side of the mountain and an even longer distance, or back the hellish rocky way we just came. Cue two very broken welshmen
in the middle of the Rockies, halfway up Mt.Rundle after doing 18km, no energy to get back and the stories of grizzlies roaming and a cougar killing 2 skiiers recently. We went for option C, which was to go a bit further up, then down to a town nearby called Canmore,and then bike the freeway back to Banff, which seemed easy enough. Only when we got to Canmore we were told it was another 25km to Banff. Pain, sheer unadultered pain, by the end of the day we had cycled well over 50km (30 plusmiles)and our asses felt like they had just done a year in the Ottawa jail. At one stage I even got a nosebleed out of nowhere through sheer physical exertion. Chris nearly killed himself by going over the bike and starting to fall backwards down a hill before being stopped by a bloody big tree, great fun this.The sight of us limping back into town will be talked about for years to come I'm sure.
After a days rest (I needed about 23) we decided to trek up Sulphur Mountain which had us worried if the bikes were anything to go by. Luckily this was
a touch easier and we even kept up with the Aussies the whole way, mainly through sheer determination that the Poms could actually beat them at something. I will forever be glad that I did it, for the view at the top was that view which I term 'the best I've ever seen', here is where my descriptions fail me.I've just never experienced anything like it, 2451m at the top of a mountain, with a complete unhindered 360 view of perfection, the mountains stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions, some snowcapped, others gloriously bare, trees not being seen for the forests, lakes and rivers running off the glaciers that were as blue as any sky could offer. Random wildlife like mountain goats and chipmunks just topped it off. The blog is long enough so I'll save more sickeningly over the top descriptions, just amazing. Even the gondola ride back down was spectacular. Just to top Banff off we had some great nights out overall and had too many good times to mention with a whole load of different people, mainly the Aussies of Will,Garth, Burnsy,Nick and lots of randoms like Heath, Stephen etc, too many
View from Sulphur Mountain
Town of Banff and Rockies surrounding to mention really. I must say hello though to Kelsey and Denean, 2 amazing girls I met on my first travels many years ago,who I will forever be grateful made the time to come and visit me in Banff.The original plan was to go to Edmonton and see them but the beauty of Banff meant we didn't want to leave, thankfully they had time to spare so we reunited and was great to see them, they also did Sulphur and had some fun nights out, I'm sorry I never made it to Edmonton but next time I promise!
On recommendations and due to loving the Rockies, we then changed our plans and booked on a Moose Tour through Jasper National Park, and it was maybe the best decision we will ever make. We had a good group and a guide with great banter, as we drove around and stopped off at about 10 different stunning sights. For the sake of brevity I will do this section quickly and the highlights, but for the record I think Jasper overall even beat Banff, although not that one view. First stop was Lake Louise, an emerald couloured lake framed by mountains and
glaciers, the lake itself was only 4degrees centigrade,and due to sheer peer pressure from Jay the guide saying he had never had a group where somebody did not get in, me and Chris therefore had to be the idiots to do it. Watched on by about 20 different tour groups, mainly old people and families, we stripped off and jumped in...cold people, tres cold. We could hardly speak for the cold and went quickly numb, apparently you can only survive 12minutes there without hypothermia. We stayed long enough for the pictures then tried to leave, only to be told to stay so all the other spectators could get pictures. Ever the attention seekers we persevered and even earned a round of applause. We stumbled out of the lake to be greeted by a load of people, one who asked "so where ah you boys from?" we replied Wales and here merely said "ah, explains it", we had just got over this comment when another old guy asked "so when are you guys due back in the assylum?" our teeth were chattering too much to reply. Cleared the hangover mind.
Next up was Mistaya Canyon, which was a very scenic flowing
river that had carved an impressive canyon and formation into the rocks. Finally that day was the Athabasca Glacier, which was 6km long, 6km square surface and 1000ft thick in places. The size of the glacier was phenomenal and was once again framed by great views. We had lots of fun climbing it a fair way, drinking its water,jumping around it, over it, under it and exploring the cave at the front. Next day we saw the Athabasca Falls and Bow Valley, both stunningly beautiful and worth a look, the picnic stop we ate in overlooking one of the valleys I could have stared at for days. Finally the amazing lakes, Peyto and Moraine, which the pictures don't even come close to showing the colours of, such a pretty colour of blue I have yet to see, almost left me lost for words, almost. The overnight stay in the rustic hostel was also eventful, we had been promised lots of sights of bears on the 2 days but had seen none, very dissapointed, but on arrival at the hostel we pulled up and no more than 20 feet away was a mother black bear and a cub sat munching away
on berries!! Sadly the owner was in the process of scaring them away but a great sight. Sadly as the stupid camera won't work I can't show you the snap I took, wasn't a grizzly anyway so dosen't count! Seeing as the hostel was rustic it also meant that we had to go use the outside toilet, knowing there were bears nearby!Overall the Rockies, both in Banff and Jasper were out of this world.
Vancouver And so it was on to the other side of the country, which has pleased me as we have covered a lot. We started off middle-ish, went fairly far East and then ending up traversing all the way across to the West Coast. I know we have missed out a large chunk of the country as its so big but I feel we have done a fair majority of it and am pleased.
"Right on the verge,just one more dose, I'm travelling from coast to coast,my theory isn't perfect but its close" Red Hot Chili Peppers-Wet Sand That said, Vancouver was a slight anti climax for us, well at least in terms of nightlife and people as it had been bigged up
a lot to us. Some of the sights were great, we did the 9km walk around the outskirts of Stanley Park giving great views of the city. We also trekked up Grouse Mountan,known as the Grouse Grind-which was a 2800feet climb vertically up 3km, much harder than Sulphur Mountain-but not the bikes!! It gave decent views but sadly the best ones were blocked by high trees and the gondola, we are now all for deforestation. We did get to see a Grizzly bear at the top though, albeit in an enclosure so it dosen't really count, after going right through Canada and the Rockies this grizzly and the one black bear in the wild are the only dangers we saw, we think its all a tourist myth and have put them on a par with the Loch Ness Monster. We stayed in Vancouver for 3 nights, no real events. One day saw a visit to a bar to watch a game of soccer, sorry football, and I bought 2 Heineken's, just your standard pints of beer, it came to $18, add a tip and you have $20, so thats a tenner for 2 beers.Once I got up off the floor
I handed over the money. Canada is like that, you see a price so go to pay it, then they add on tax, and in Alberta etc they ALSO add on another random tax I forget now, and then you have to add on a tip as well. Heartreaking. One month in Canada has blown my budget and I have spent about as much as I did in 3 months in Asia, whimper. Still, next up is USA, first Seattle, then Portland, San Franscisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, LA, San Diego and into Mexico, living the dream. Stay well people,miss you all, been gone 600 days now (madness) but home soon..
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Chris
non-member comment
So jealous...
Mate, looks like you're having an amazing time. I'm so jealous, wish I was there. Oh wait, hang on...