Great Expectations

"With great expectations, comes great disappointment." 

Okay, I took some artistic liberties with the Spiderman/Peter Parker quotation, but the quote still works.

I am trying really hard not to expect too much of VIA Rail. After all, it is a government-owned company. Videos like this one are certainly not helping. Look at the pretty mountains! Listen to that majestic music! And the food!

The overall consensus seem to be that the train will run late. The degree of lateness, however, is a matter of luck, ranging from an hour to 10+ hours. That's not exactly a good sign of things to come.

And while most of the reviews I have come across have been constructively positive, the negative reviews were scathingly so.

Doubt. Worried. Panicky. Jittery. I feel like I've just thrown the dice. The rest, is up to Fate. Let's hope she's feeling kind and I don't get an ambsace in return.

Doubt aka "Crap! What did I just do?"

Almost immediately after the ViaRail ticket purchase, reality/doubt sank in.


I stared blankly at the "NON-EXCHANGEABLE AND NON-REFUNDABLE" on the e-ticket for the better part of half an hour.

What the hell did I just do?

I can't afford this trip. What was I thinking? No matter how I added up the numbers, the train+accommodations+return flight alone was already going to cost a pretty penny. And to do this alone? WTF was I thinking?

Making matters worse, I converted that amount to Taiwan currency (a bad habit that I really need to break) and freaked out even more.

Breath.

"Go West Young Man"

Those who have seen the film One Week will no doubt know this scene. Those who have yet to see it, stop reading and go watch it now.  

I mean it. Go now. 

Although I have yet to see any such profound message in my own roll up the rim cup, traveling westward has always been on the list.

And what better way to see western Canada than on a train? Especially when you manage to snag a heavily discounted ViaRail ticket?

(A lot of thought went into this. Traveling by car is more expensive - factoring gasoline and overnight accommodations - and not to mention dangerous since I'm traveling solo. An one-way flight ticket from Toronto-Vancouver is faster and marginally cheaper but where's the fun in that? If nothing else, I got time. And while traveling on horseback would be highly entertaining, I imagine knowing how to ride a horse beforehand would be of somewhat vital importance. Cycling across western Canada would be awesome, but I doubt I have the patience/stamina to make it across the Prairies alive.)

Here it is. My train ticket (or rather, the precursor to my actual ticket.)

No turning back.