- Pack light and accessible. Space on the train is tight and you don't want to give up any of that valuable sleeping space to a suitcase any more than what is absolutely necessary.
- Bring flip-flops for the shower.
- If you have a lot of electronics and have the money, get a room(ette.) Unlike berths, the rooms have an ac outlet so you don't have to be tethered to an ac outlet during the day while waiting for your ipad/camera/cell phone to charge. Or, if your berth is close enough to the washroom, bringing an extension cord is a valid option too. Oh, if you're going with the extension cord, bring some duct tape so people don't end up tripping over your cord. Another valid (but riskier) option is to simply plug in your device in one of the Park cars overnight.
- Go for the early meal seating. Whatever you do, do not go for the last meal seating because you'll end up eating dinner at 9pm. No matter how strong you think your stomach is, it still needs time to digest a three-course dinner, especially if you have the dessert.
- Don't forget the (almost) daily time zone changes!
- Once you board the train in T.O., drop off your stuff and head to the dome cars. That's where the free champagnes and snacks will be served.
- Be ready for some internet detox. Four days without internet except for the four-hour pitstop in Winnipeg.
- Polish up your Scrabble skills. It's a great way to socialize with fellow travelers and just about the only game onboard.
- Leave the rail guides at home. Read them before you travel and make some notes, but they were not particularly useful on my travels. The mile markers can be hard to see (if they're there at all) and you'll be too busy taking pictures to be following the guides.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Postscript: Some ViaRail Travel Advice
4.27.2012 Art at YVR
The transit ride to the airport on my last day certainly put a damper on the otherwise positive impressions I had of the Vancouver transit system.
There was over an hour-long wait for the skytrain to YVR, an incredibly long time when you consider the fact that a train was scheduled to arrive every 12 minutes. To make matters worse, there were about 3-4 trains during that period labelled with the YVR destination, only to change their route in the minutes leading up to their immediate arrival at the station. It was enough to drive one crazy.
I'm just lucky that there was extra time on the itinerary dedicated to the airport because I wanted to take the self-guided YVR tour. The YVR actually houses some incredible aboriginal artworks, including the famous Spirit of Haida Gawaii by Bill Reid.
For reference, here's the pdf guide:www.coasthotels.com/resources/pdf/cva/Art_&_Architecture.pdf
Right off the skytrain station is Cedar Connection. You can't see it in the photos but inside the structure are weave-like patterns symbolizing the many uses of cedar in aboriginal daily life.
This piece is not in the pdf guide but it's called Celebrating Flight. There are light installations on the ceiling that are representative of the Northern Lights. I think the totem pole itself is supposed to be representative of the Vancouver community. If you look closely, the word "sky" in Chinese can be found on the totem.
The piece de resistance. The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid. It is much larger than I had anticipated. Most of the statues displayed in his gallery are much smaller in size.
The details are amazing. Every crevice is another surprise. There are so many different animals in this piece that half the fun is to see if you can find them all. Unlike the gallery, you can actually touch this great work of art. You can see where the patina has worn off from the touching and the rubbing. Maybe over time, the entire patina will wear off. It'll definitely be interesting to see the Spirit of Haida Gwaii without the patina.
More pieces of art.
Clayoquot Welcome Figures.
Just outside the airport. Three 'Ksams Totems.
Supernatural World. I really like the killer whale in the foreground.
Some much needed comedic relief.
Even something as mundane as an airport doorway is decorated with aboriginal art. Very cool.
There was over an hour-long wait for the skytrain to YVR, an incredibly long time when you consider the fact that a train was scheduled to arrive every 12 minutes. To make matters worse, there were about 3-4 trains during that period labelled with the YVR destination, only to change their route in the minutes leading up to their immediate arrival at the station. It was enough to drive one crazy.
I'm just lucky that there was extra time on the itinerary dedicated to the airport because I wanted to take the self-guided YVR tour. The YVR actually houses some incredible aboriginal artworks, including the famous Spirit of Haida Gawaii by Bill Reid.
For reference, here's the pdf guide:www.coasthotels.com/resources/pdf/cva/Art_&_Architecture.pdf
Right off the skytrain station is Cedar Connection. You can't see it in the photos but inside the structure are weave-like patterns symbolizing the many uses of cedar in aboriginal daily life.
This piece is not in the pdf guide but it's called Celebrating Flight. There are light installations on the ceiling that are representative of the Northern Lights. I think the totem pole itself is supposed to be representative of the Vancouver community. If you look closely, the word "sky" in Chinese can be found on the totem.
The piece de resistance. The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, The Jade Canoe by Bill Reid. It is much larger than I had anticipated. Most of the statues displayed in his gallery are much smaller in size.
The details are amazing. Every crevice is another surprise. There are so many different animals in this piece that half the fun is to see if you can find them all. Unlike the gallery, you can actually touch this great work of art. You can see where the patina has worn off from the touching and the rubbing. Maybe over time, the entire patina will wear off. It'll definitely be interesting to see the Spirit of Haida Gwaii without the patina.
More pieces of art.
Clayoquot Welcome Figures.
Just outside the airport. Three 'Ksams Totems.
Supernatural World. I really like the killer whale in the foreground.
Some much needed comedic relief.
Even something as mundane as an airport doorway is decorated with aboriginal art. Very cool.
There are so many more amazing artworks at the YVR. Unfortunately, not all of them are easily accessible by the general public. Some are located after the security check in the international terminal so I couldn't get to them. If you happen to be in the international terminal at YVR, go check them out. Here's a useful link: The YVR Art Foundation.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
4.27.2012 Whistler
Whistler at last!There was about 3.5 hours of free time so I decided to try one of the shorter trails (just a little under 10k roundtrip) up to Rainbow Park as suggested by the Info Centre.
It was great weather for a walk, during which I bumped into this little guy here (Left.)
A Steller's Jay, according to Google.
Alta Lake and Rainbow Park.
On the way back, an accidentally detour led me to this salmon-inspired artwork (?) I love bumping into things like this.
The way back to the village. There were some really nice (and I'm sure, expensive) houses along the way. 
I was starving by the time the village was in sight so I ducked into a random shop and ordered this - German cheeseburger. Not sure what made it German (the cheese?) but it tasted awesome (it should, it was pretty pricey for just a burger.) 
I still had an hour so I decided to check out the rest of the village. A lot of young people with their skis/boards (don't these people have school???)
The bridge just before the village square is decorated with all sorts of bronze items (geometric shapes, animal skulls, telescope, etc...) Not exactly sure the significance since I couldn't find any information on it, but it does look very cool. Almost as if someone pillaged Da Vinci's studio and installed the stolen items on the bridge. 
For the Olympic fans.
Somehow I looped all the way to the parking lot. And behind the parking lot was... a stream!
Skunk lilies, an apparent favourite among the black bear population. I came across many of these on my walk, but alas, no bears.
Village troll indeed.
Full Disclosure: The tour wasn't a full-on 10 hour guide as advertised. The drive back to Vancouver was really quiet, which I actually appreciated since half the people were asleep (myself included.)
4.27.2012 The Way to Whistler
Originally, the plan was to take the shuttle up to Whistler but after checking around and crunching some numbers, a tour just made more sense.
The shuttle costs $88 roundtrip, tax not included. After tax, it comes out to $98.56. Unfortunately, the shuttle schedule just didn't work for me. The first shuttle leaves at 10:40am but I would have to take the 3:30pm shuttle if I wanted to make my flight. The last shuttle at 7:00pm would have cut it too close for comfort.
On Expedia.ca, I was able to find a Whistler tour with the Westcoast Sightseeing Company, which includes a ten-hour guide and an additional stop at Shannon Falls for a total of $122.90 (taxes included.) Even better, I found a coupon voucher for the tour in my Vancouver City Passport. Sweet!
The driver/tourguide picked me up at the hotel around 8am. I was the only person in the tour bus for the first hour or so. The tourguide was so easygoing that it wasn't awkward at all. We made it all the way to Stanley Park before he had to turn back and pick up a few last-minute additions. He felt so awful about the sudden interruption that I think he actually added a new stop just for my sake.
A nice Australian family joined us and we were on our way. There were a
total of four stops before Whistler. A nice vantage point over Vancouver
(according to the best of my memory and Google Map, it was most likely
the southernmost edge of Cypress Provincial Park.)
Just as we were pulling out of the park, a couple of deer crossed the road right in front of us. The tourguide pulled the car over just so we could fully embrace our inner wildlife paparazzi and waste an exorbitant amount of memory card space.
He was also nice enough to point out the eagles in the sky (too far out to take a picture, but the shape was definitely not that of a seagull or a Canadian goose.) Totaling my wildlife sightings to 3.5 - a respectful number if I do say so myself.
Continuing on the Sea-to-Sky highway, there were some lovely views all along the way.
We stopped at the Proteau Cove Provincial Park for a nice short break. A small park to be sure, but one that has a terrific view. Vancouver is beautiful when the weather is like this.
That's Stawamus Chief, a popular climbing spot.
Shannon Falls. A completely different feel from Niagara Falls.
The sun was so bright when we got to Shannon Falls that half of my pictures turned out like a scene from an alien abduction.
Close-up of Shannon Falls. My coat was pretty wet after this photo. There's some talks about waterfalls giving off anions, which supposedly increase happiness. Can't say that there was a noticeable change in my happiness level after the visit but I did leave the park feeling pretty good.
Brandywine Falls. About 15 minutes from Whistler. It may very well be one of the most graceful waterfalls I've ever been to.
The other view from the observation deck. I think that's Daisy Lake in the photo but is not 100% sure.
The shuttle costs $88 roundtrip, tax not included. After tax, it comes out to $98.56. Unfortunately, the shuttle schedule just didn't work for me. The first shuttle leaves at 10:40am but I would have to take the 3:30pm shuttle if I wanted to make my flight. The last shuttle at 7:00pm would have cut it too close for comfort.
On Expedia.ca, I was able to find a Whistler tour with the Westcoast Sightseeing Company, which includes a ten-hour guide and an additional stop at Shannon Falls for a total of $122.90 (taxes included.) Even better, I found a coupon voucher for the tour in my Vancouver City Passport. Sweet!
The driver/tourguide picked me up at the hotel around 8am. I was the only person in the tour bus for the first hour or so. The tourguide was so easygoing that it wasn't awkward at all. We made it all the way to Stanley Park before he had to turn back and pick up a few last-minute additions. He felt so awful about the sudden interruption that I think he actually added a new stop just for my sake.
A nice Australian family joined us and we were on our way. There were a
total of four stops before Whistler. A nice vantage point over Vancouver
(according to the best of my memory and Google Map, it was most likely
the southernmost edge of Cypress Provincial Park.)Just as we were pulling out of the park, a couple of deer crossed the road right in front of us. The tourguide pulled the car over just so we could fully embrace our inner wildlife paparazzi and waste an exorbitant amount of memory card space.
He was also nice enough to point out the eagles in the sky (too far out to take a picture, but the shape was definitely not that of a seagull or a Canadian goose.) Totaling my wildlife sightings to 3.5 - a respectful number if I do say so myself.
We stopped at the Proteau Cove Provincial Park for a nice short break. A small park to be sure, but one that has a terrific view. Vancouver is beautiful when the weather is like this.
That's Stawamus Chief, a popular climbing spot.
Shannon Falls. A completely different feel from Niagara Falls.
The sun was so bright when we got to Shannon Falls that half of my pictures turned out like a scene from an alien abduction.
Close-up of Shannon Falls. My coat was pretty wet after this photo. There's some talks about waterfalls giving off anions, which supposedly increase happiness. Can't say that there was a noticeable change in my happiness level after the visit but I did leave the park feeling pretty good.
Brandywine Falls. About 15 minutes from Whistler. It may very well be one of the most graceful waterfalls I've ever been to.
The other view from the observation deck. I think that's Daisy Lake in the photo but is not 100% sure.
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