Are most people in BC on vacation somewhere else now?

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I went to the mall yesterday. Not because Im Filipino and thats what we do. I used to love going to the mall when I was in high school too. But not now that Im older, going to the mall could mean ruining my budget. I learned from another travel blogger that the mall is the best place to go people watching. I forget why but I do know that there should be lots of people there. I dont see a lot of people here. Compared to Asia where most sidewalks are teeming with people. Here I only see a few cars. I dont know where all the people are. I walked around a village in Burnaby in the afternoon looking at the pretty houses. It was like a ghost town. Of all the houses that I saw walking around for about two hours I only saw two houses that had people in it.

I didn't hear any music. It was so quiet. Maybe theyre not allowed to turn up the volume here or something. I dont think they have karaoke machines in their houses. Those are the things that are normal to me. Every house has people in it playing loud music and watching TV. Maybe there are no jobless people here. But what about the kids? Surely theyre not in school all day. I did see a school. Deer Lake School. I am not exaggerating when I say I did not see any kids there. Perhaps they had a field trip? Even the buses are practically empty. I think they only have about 20 to 25 seats in their buses. Usually only one fourth or less of those seats are occupied. Buses in the Philippines sit 60 and when every seat is taken people stand in the aisle. Back to back. So its common to see 100 people squished in a bus. People have it so good here. No wonder they think Survivor is difficult. They Are very privileged. Most Filipinos live realities far more difficult than what you see in Survivor. Maybe thats why they have dwindling church attendance here. People don't need God here. Their government can be relied on. Everything works perfectly. People feel safe and secured. No need to hope for a better place in the afterlife. This looks like the afterlife that many people in third world countries dream of. Beautiful gardens, snow capped mountains, no pollution, people are nice, everything is quiet.

There are places in the Philippines with houses as nice as the ones I see here. Only they are in gated villages with security guards with guns. Those villages are surrounded by walls that sometimes have live wires that would electrocute the ones who would try to break in. Rich people here do not even need protection. They say when people win the lottery, they'd be on TV and the papers. I know someone who won one million pesos in a raffle that was televised. They had to move because there were some shady people watching their house. If they didn't move fast they would have gotten robbed inside their home. Or killed. Plus they had so many people knocking on their door asking for "balato" money you give freely to your friends and family when you win big in gambling.

Perhaps I should explore at night? It looks safe enough in Burnaby. Its a very posh upper middle class place. I've been told by a Filipino guy I met here not to go to Surrey. Maybe thats their answer to the Bronx in New York. If I wasnt traveling alone maybe I'd risk it. I can run pretty fast. But Im sure muggers run fast too since its part of their job description. Too bad because I looked at Groupon and they have a horse riding deal that I want to try.

Anyway the mall. Great idea to visit the mall. I think I read somewhere that they have an ageing population here. Go to the mall and you'd think that the average age of Canadians is seventeen. The majority is Asian. More than half of the people in Metrotown Mall are Asian. I visited a sports store and they had lots of that stick that you use for hockey. It really is that popular here. They even play hockey on the street. I saw a father and son practicing on the street. I learned from a kid that the puck is hollow. So it wouldn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

At night I went to a Chinese restaurant that served quid legs and squid lips. I wonder what those look like. All the other restaurants in that strip was nearly empty. But that Chinese place had me waiting for about 15 to 20 minutes. I felt old in that place. I'm 29. Nobody looked older than 23. Their slushy was very popular among the teens. I've been told that this place has good slushy. Its an ice dessert. It didn't cross my mind that Im in Canada, its winter, and its 9PM. Now I know what the expression "bone chilling" means.

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Photos

A slushy during winter
Then you go outside

Comments

[JayExiomo]

Nice!
I would agree with you on Vancouver having very great conditions to live in. Yung parang feeling na makahanap ka lang dyan ng trabaho kahit minimum wage lang, parang mabubuhay ka na nang maayos. Ang ganda pa ng tanawin. Hehehe. Have you tried going to the English Bay? There's a street there, I forgot the name, but it has cheap restaurants. Anyway, are you there for work or bakasyon lang?