(Check back tomorrow for the words of this post. Too tired now to think about what to write. But I couldn’t wait to show off pics so here are the pics first haha. as usual, click on pics for slideshow.)

Very much English, Victoria is a quaint capital that is reminiscent of London, somewhat. Be it the architecture, the way the boats are lined on the river, the entire setting of the place illuminates it’s associations with Englishness. With a small population inhabiting the capital of British Columbia, the main attractions are the Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, and Butchart Gardens.

(Click on any of the images to view slideshow)

At UBC, in Vancouver, in Canada. The final 10 days (till my next visit, of course!).

Slowly, I’m trying to cut the strings of attachments.

I’ll always revisit the memories created in this lovely liveable place, and with its people I befriended so easily (you must know how anti-social I was/am in Fudan). It remains on the top of my list of places to live/retire in (if I can afford to).

(And of course, the place to sign marriage papers if someone asks)

Click on the pictures below for pictures of UBC, and other memories in Canada.

Sunday, November 25

Families headed downtown to watch the Santa Claus Parade that delighted kids and adults alike. Roads were blocked, buses were rerouted, and we were part of the packed crowd. We even bumped into the boss of Prima Taste there (remember how nice he was during my birthday dinner?)!

It was fortunate that we encountered good weather (finally not raining) that day. Though cold, kids’ smiles brought on my performers’ smiles brought warmth (this sounds super cliché but that was how it was!).

The crowd in anticipation

The kids await in the best position

Look over there, Daddy!

All the kids had the best views from above

Fluorescent Tigger

Finally, the arrival of Santa

Crowd dispersal

One of the benefits from having flickr host your pictures is the possibility of your pictures being wanted.

Check out my picture of Bard on the Beach on Schmap Vancouver Guide. (Place your mouse over “Bard on the Beach” and look to the picture on your right. See the credits? Clicking on the image will lead you to my flickr pictures. Cool attribution, huh.)

It’s not a great picture in terms of artistic quality, but it’s a good focus on Bard on the Beach. I remember I actually lost my way that day while trying to find the site, climbed up to the wrong place, but had a good view of Bard on the Beach, so I took a snapshot, and then had to walk round the back to get down to the site. Worth it for this acknowledgement.

The weather the past few days has been like this (left), and the weather today was like this (right):

So I figured, why go to school? Looks like this is the best weather we can get before the impending gloomy winter, so I called up my hiking friend and it was easy persuading her to skip classes with me to climb up the Grouse Grind Trail once again. Heh. I’ve been hungering after that sense of fulfilment.

We climbed slower today though, because the rocks were really slippery from all the rain the past week. It also got dark really quick, and I was quite worried we wouldn’t be able to reach the top before sunset, which pushed me to keep climbing I guess.

This was taken just when I reached the top. So if I took any longer to climb, it might have made my last leg of the journey too dark to clamber.

Vancouver, by sundown.

My hiking friend craved for laksa after the hike, but we arrived at Prima Taste a tad too late for last orders. We met the boss of the place, however, and I hope we made a lasting impression, if not for future discounts, then perhaps as a networking contact.

So we had to make do with tacos.

And we saw two police officers having their break with burritos. Guess what Squarface asked the police officers?

For a photo, of course! Such friendly people, and I guess a foreigner can get away with this kinda request. The male police officer is really formidable.

North Vancouver are the mountains I see from my bedroom window, and it’s amazing how city and nature can blend — you can be taking an elevator of a high-rise one minute and be trekking through the forest the next.

Okay, maybe that’s a far-fetched analogy but the truth is, if I want to do some hiking or trekking, it’s only an hour and a half’s journey by public transport from UBC at Vancouver, but within half an hour the moment you are in North Vancouver.

Anyways, there is the much hyped-about Capilano Suspension Bridge (tourist trap) that stretches over 137 metres and 70 metres above Capilano River. It costs over $20 to enter. Then there is the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge that boasts to be as entrancing as Capilano’s, and is free of charge. Guess which the thrifty (not cheapskate ok) Squareface decided to check out?

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is suspended at 50 metres high, and the best thing about going to Lynn Canyon Park in contrast with Capilano Suspension Bridge is that we can actually walk down to the falls and rivers in Lynn Canyon Park. Which we did, and actually spent quite a bit of time doing so because I couldn’t make the little leaps of faith, but more on that later.

This is how the bridge looks like. I took minimal pictures because I am not a fan of walking on such a shaky architecture suspended high above a shallow rushing river (yeah the height bugs me, I admit).

But the nerve-wrecking walk across the bridge (okay, it’s actually reported to be 100% safe) is worth it when you get to trek down to the river.

And observe such serenity.

However, my gung-ho friend decides to leap on the rocks in the midst of the rushing river to get to the other side. Another friend was clever enough to escape from our gung-ho friend’s persistent urging and walked over to the other side on safe ground instead. I, on the other unfortunate hand, was pushed to join her in the leaping from rock to rock.

This picture shows the start of the journey. The destination was many rocks away. Most of the rocks had pointed tops so I was very hesitant to step on them for fear of tripping and falling into the river. It should have been easy, but I handled it the hard way because I hesitated at every step. The trick to getting across is to keep going unthinkingly. Find a rock quick, and step on it only to step on the next in a second. Stopping at every step only made me worry endlessly about the next rock being unsteady and the fear of falling got enormous. Make the little leaps of faith.

I did feel a sense of accomplishment after, though in a lower magnitude than when I completed the Grouse Grind, but the push factor at every step comes not from wanting to go forward, but because there is no turning back (it’s hard to turn your body on that small space your step takes on the rock).

Aren’t you happy for me that by doing these things I spout such aphorisms?

Remember a while back I wrote about my trip up Grouse Mountain on a gondola ($34.93)? Today I only paid $5 for a ride down.

Others take the gondola, we climb.

2.9km at 1128 metres elevation. Less than 2 hours. It was a great climb, but only in retrospect.

I went with a really unexpected climber-enthusiast.

The awkward Asian

She hikes up the Grouse Grind trail (the way up to Grouse Mountain) every other Friday. She totally doesn’t look it, right? I mean, okay here’s a close-up picture of her:

I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover but this cover is way off! Contrary to what I initially thought, she’s actually wayyyyy fit and very hardcore! Haha…gosh. She kept having to wait for me at every quarter of the climb.

Can you see my look of trepidation? And two very commonsensical rules to abide by, especially if it’s the first time you’re embarking on such a hike, is to ditch the bag and put on a pair of gym pants instead of the jeans I was wearing today. Duh. Oops.

The first quarter of the climb was the hardest to complete, because turning back is an option. And a very compelling one at that, as the first quarter seems so long and you know going on is just gonna get tougher. I have to admit I kept thinking of turning back during the first quarter. Fortunately, this friend of mine was way ahead and I couldn’t express such an idea to her, and so I could only swallow my defeatist attitude and trudge ahead.

For most part of the hike, there were steps (steep) to climb, but there were occasions where there were only rocks like this:

So you had to find your footing somehow and just get your ass up. I was on my hands and legs and climbed like a spider or something.

It was a hard climb, and throughout those eternal couple of hours, images of comfort such as watching a movie, or having a good meal kept coming and going as I pushed myself up on every step with quaking knees and aching calves. Considering that I had resistance from carrying a 2kg bag, it’s really quite an accomplishment.

There were many instances during the hike when I felt really all alone in the heart of this vertical forest, and could only hear my thoughts and breathing. Sometimes I heard birds chirp and the leaves of trees rustling, and I couldn’t determine whether they were mocking me or urging me on. I guess I chose to believe the latter or I wouldn’t have been able to get higher up to hear the distant waterfall signalling that I’m edging closer to the destination.

One thought that kept coming to me was how controlling my temper might be a hell lot easier than climbing a mountain.

5 - 8 Oct 2007

4 days 3 nights. $249. 55 tourists.

54 ESL (English as Second Language) people and 1 supposed native speaker (me la).

My clique in the trip: 5 Chinese friends (4 from Fudan, 1 from Shanghai Jiaotong University)

My photo-taking partner, ZCJ. We are trying to act like we wanna commit suicide on railway tracks in this pic.

Me, the photographer wannabe. I was happily helping 3 Thai girls take a picture with their Nikon DSLR. Do I look pro or what.

Embracing Lake Louise

Watched others embrace each other with Lake Louise

Presenting Emerald Lake

This is the look of liberation!

Taught my friends to do the jump.

More pics here and at Squareface’s Shots.

I’ll be at the Canadian Rocky Mountains over this Thanksgiving weekend!

Photo by dbarronoss

I so need a photography crash course, eh?

Check back in 4 days!