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Vancouver Sunset Cruise

ashbina — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 04:10:00 GMT

Josh here. I've hijacked Laurens blog..

Summer has at last arrived in Vancouver. I'm not sure what took it so long this year, it must have got lost in the mail.

With a glimpse of summer and a free Friday night, Lauren and myself were invited on a cruise with some friends here in Vancouver. Not really knowing what to expect we headed down to the Plaza of Nations Marina in Downtown Van where the boat was moored. Conveniently it was located next door to where Lauren earned her first income in months, The Edge Water Casino, but that's a whole other story.

The company running the cruise was Golden Eagle Charters, a smaller privately owned charter boat that if I recall correctly held up to 28 guests, which was good since you tend to lose the personal touch with those larger boats.

Golden Eagle IV was the boat we headed out on and the skippers name was Fly. You know when your skipper's name is Fly you are in for a good time.

We headed out of the docks and made our way past photo ops such as Granville Island(anyone who's been to Van will know this place), Stanley Park and the modern hippy stretch of beach, Kitsilano.

We had joined a sunset cruise which in Vancouver at this time of year means 8 till 11. The sun sets late in ole Van City. I can honestly say that seeing the city from the sea is something you HAVE to do if you come to Vancouver. There was even a few snow capped mountains bordering the city, it look like something out of a post card.

It was BYO and I am still shocked to find there an absence of pre-mixed whisky and cokes in Canada. After sampling more than enough local beer over the past few months I settled for premixed Jacks and Lemonade, which is a strange combination. Half bogan/redneck drink of choice, Half Orange Mocha Frappachino. It wasn't too bad, apart from the taste.

Drinks aside the cruise was great. Someone even brought along Tofu dogs. Yep, apparently normal hot dogs still have too much meat in them for some people. I tried one and it wasn't too bad, but its definitely no Japadog that's for sure.

It was a bit chilly so we finished the cruise off in the cabin, but the massive windows it still gave us plenty of eye candy for the rest of the night. As the sun set in to the horizon and we continued the cruise in to the night, the city lit up like fireworks. If only I had a good enough camera to take some snaps.

Despite being a little bit windy o the way out, Golden Eagle IV cruised gracefully back toward harbour in the now near perfect conditions. If your ever in town check our the guys at www.goldeneaglecharters.ca

It was a great night had by all aboard and now it was time to head to the Casino. But don't worry, Lauren's got a system.

Photos: Cruising

ashbina — Tue, 6 Jul 2010 04:08:00 GMT

Golden Eagle Charters Sunset Cruise

Japadog

ashbina — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:32:00 GMT

In downtown Vancouver, there's a hot dog stand on nearly every corner. Most of the time, the wafting smell of the sausages cooking is delicious and very tempting. And then at other times, it's more like a stench of old meat that makes you want to gag. Eating a hot dog from a tin cart on the side of the road is apparently a gamble and we were not yet brave enough to try one.

During our first week here we came across one particular stand called Japadog. A line of people were queuing at the little cart, huddled as close as possible to its red umbrella. It was, of course, raining but this didn't seem to dampen the punter's eagerness to get their hands on a Japadog.

As we continued walking, Josh and I discussed the possibilities of what a Japadog could actually be. We decided that it's either a cross between Japanese food and a regular hot dog or a sausage with Hello Kitty's face printed on it. We were intrigued, but not enough to turn around and line up in the rain.

A few weeks later we were googling best cheap places to eat in Vancouver. And number one, as voted by critics and bloggers, was Japadog. Josh and I looked at each other in disbelief. A hot dog stand is number one?

So it turns out a Japadog is a hot dog with Japanese toppings (A little disappointed as I was hoping for Hello Kitty). But how could the voters and the line of people always at the stand, no matter the time of day or weather, be wrong? We decided it was time for our first Japadog.

Luckily, our local is only a couple of blocks away. After a quick walk, we excitedly examined the board of unusual hot dogs and basically chose two at random. Josh ordered the Beef Terimayo: a beef sausage with Teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise, topped with dried seaweed. I chose the Oroshi: a pork sausage with grated radish, green onion and special soy sauce.

Terimayo on the left and Oroshi on the right.

And they were pretty good. The Terimayo was the better of the two, as the mayonnaise was delicious and the seaweed was like a crunchy surprise. But don't think we'll be rushing back now that we know what its all about. It was the element of intrigue that had us so eager to try one. After I took my last bite, I said, “At least we can stop wondering now.”

Skiing Whistler

ashbina — Thu, 3 Jun 2010 10:06:00 GMT

After 3 weeks in Vancouver, we decided it was time to visit a picturesque mountain village, one that has become over populated by young Australians who snowboard all day and drink beer all night. I'm talking about a little place called... Whistler.

On Monday morning we woke at the crack of dawn to catch a Greyhound bus to Whistler. And by 10 am we'd arrived in the centre of the beautiful village. Not only was it a public holiday in Canada, it was also the last day of the ski season and the town was packed with revelers enjoying the fortunate break in rain and cloudy skies.

Without wasting any time, Josh and I hit the slopes of Blackcomb. Josh had never skied before, so this time I was the instructor. As we climbed higher on the ski lift, I began to feel more nervous. I hadn't skied in nearly 4 years, and that was once in Mt Bulla and before that was on a high school ski trip to New Zealand. And I was about to teach Josh?

Once off the lift, we had the option of skiing either left and right. To left was the "Zig Zag" run and to the right, the "Cruiser" run. Most people were going to the left, but they looked like they knew what they were doing. I thought Josh is yet to master stopping, let alone turning and Cruiser sounds easier than Zig Zag, right? So off we skied, thinking this isn't so hard. But just around the corner was 50 metre vertical drop off. I guess we should have gone left.

After nervously waiting at the top for 10 minutes, we were yet to sum the courage to attempt the ski down. Other skiers were flying past us, actually lifting off the ground as they sped down the cliff. I nervously babbled, "I can't do this! Josh you can't do this!" Josh started to panic too. "Why did you take us this way?"

But there was no use just standing there, the only way to go is down. Josh was the first to take off. He skied 10 metres and then fell, tumbling like a snow ball with his skis and arms flying in every direction. I was laughing hysterically. He managed to get up, only to fall again. But this technique worked, Josh had made it to the bottom and now he was waiting for me.

Well there was no way I was going to fall down the side of a mountain. It looked painful. I took off my skis and held them across my chest. I sat down on the snow and gave myself a little nudge. Suddenly I was rocketing down the hill, sliding on my bum and laughing all the way down.

From then on, we made sure we stuck to the green beginner routes and it got easier from there. Josh fell a few more times and our bodies was starting to tire from the effort but we were glad to have the hang of it. And soon enough, we were loving it!

Once the last hours of the winter season were over, it was time for us to return our gear and have a well deserved hot shower. As we trekked the kilometre back to the ski hire store, still wearing our boots and carrying our skis, I was singing "I'm walking on Sunshine" to myself. When in actual fact, it felt like I was walking on razor blades while wearing cement shoes with barb wire wrapped around my ankles.

The next morning we woke up feeling like we'd been hit by a train. Every part of our bodies ached and tried to lift our legs as little as possible as we walked. We found a t-shirt that we felt summerised our day on the slops: "If you smell burning, don't worry. It's just your thighs."

Hockey Night in Canada

ashbina — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:40:00 GMT

It's safe to say that Canadians are truly obsessed with Hockey. Canadians are often thought of as modest people with good sportsmanship, but on the ice, things can get ugly.

For the uninitiated, Hockey is a bloody brawl on ice. It's lighting fast and goals can be scored in the blink of an eye. Player's skates carve up the ice as they race towards the puck and then slam each other into the guard walls. Only a thin layer of perspex protects the spectators from decapitation. At times it can be downright vicious, but it sure is exciting!

Josh and I arrived in Canada at the height of hockey fever; the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And we quickly realised they take it very seriously. First mistake: You don't call it Ice Hockey. It's just Hockey. Canadians can be a little sensitive about this and it also gives away the fact you are new in town.

We noticed there were alot of men with unruly facial hair around town. So while on our hostel pub crawl, I took the opportunity to confront a guy with an Amish like beard. Second mistake: Don't make fun of man's beard during the Playoffs. He is growing it as a display of solidarity to his team and it is known as a Playoff Beard. This tradition can be traced back to the 80's. Players and fans alike stop shaving when their team enters the finals and do not shave again until they are eliminated or win the cup.

And so we completed our crash course in Hockey. We had caught snip-its of games, Wiki searched the rules and we had our team; the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks were playing in a series of best of seven games against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second stage of the Playoffs. We picked up the story on the sixth game of the series. The Canucks were three games to two down, with two more to play. If they lost this one, they would be eliminated from the Playoffs. It was a must win game for the Nucks.

Third mistake: Don't get attached to a particular team; they will only be eliminated. The Canucks lost the game 5 goals to 1. The irony was the Canucks lost the series on the sixth game, to the same team, exactly one year ago to the day.

The next day a dampened mood hung over the city and beards could no longer be spotted on the streets of Vancouver.

Vancouver, We've Arrived!

ashbina — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:03:00 GMT

After three midnight flights, two stop-overs and one week of frivolity in Hawaii, we finally made it to Vancouver and we love it! The city is beautiful, with the river and ocean to the south west, and snow capped mountains to the north. It seems that no matter where you look, there are something to be amazed by.

Apparently Vancouver has the mildest weather in Canada. But on our first day here, we couldn't believe how freezing it was! And it's meant to be nearly Summer? Josh turned to me, shivering and asked, "How can it get colder than this?" We started to think we might not be able to survive next winter, but we were just soft after a week in tropical Hawaii. Van's weather has improved everyday since and the sunny days are glorious. I wore a skirt for the first time the other day, and as I walked outside, I proclaimed, "Bare legs meet Vancouver. Vancouver these are my bare legs!"

On our first week in Vancouver, we stayed in the trendy and slightly grungy Granville Street. It's like a Canadian King's Cross, but better. The street, which was once lined with crack houses, now consists of night clubs, bars, restaurants, theatres, alternative clothing stores and pizza shops. And when I say pizza shops, I mean every second store is a pizza shop and most, like everything else, are open until the wee hours of the morning. Granville is the street that never sleeps, and consequently nor did we.

Despite the massive clean up of the city in the last 5 years, Vancouver still has the highest crime rate in Canada and there are homeless everywhere. But you have to give these people credit; they are very creative. But with so much competition, maybe they need to be. Each has their own angle to score a buck. Some take an honest approach, and say "Spare some change so I can get high?" While others use humour. One man we saw was holding a sign saying, "Need money for penis enlargement. I'm a little short."

We're really looking forward to our next few months in this great city. We've got lots on our to do list. We're planning trips to Whistler and Vancouver Island and want to spend the day at Stanley Park and go fishing at Capilano River. Since a lot of Hollywood movies are filmed in and around Vancouver, Josh has grand notions of doing some celebrity spotting. Work is the last thing on our mind at the moment. We want to put that off as long as possible.

Surfs up

ashbina — Fri, 7 May 2010 07:17:00 GMT

They say when travelling you need to do as the locals do, so when in Hawaii I guess you ride some gnarly waves and hang ten, if you can. Even though I had no surfing experience, we decided that, as Aussies, we didn't need surfing lessons. The waves were breaking 200 metres from shore which allowed for a long and smooth ride. So how hard could it be?

Josh is an alright surfer back home, on his short board and Perth's dumping waves but we were on a 10 foot long board and it handled like a boat. We failed to catch wave after wave and it was starting to get disheartening to see small kids tearing it up around us.

It was avoiding the reef, choosing the right wave and gaining enough speed that was tricky and we didn't really get the hang of until we were too exhausted to keep going. By the end of the day, Josh had rode a few good waves, I managed to get up onto my knees and my tan was looking pretty sweet. Wins all 'round.

During our last days in Hawaii, we hired a car so we could explore the island of Oahu. Unfortunately we chose the two days with the worst weather. Sheets of rain bucketted down and the wind was nearly enough to knock you over. For Josh, the designated driver, it took some getting used to driving on the left side of the car and the right side of the road. There were a few moments of confusion in the beginning, but Josh's plan was to think of whatever came naturally and to do the opposite. And for a while he was doing really well.

It wasn't until the second day, while in a small surfing town in North Shore, that a small mistake nearly spelt disaster. Josh had turned into the wrong lane and we didn't even notice. That was until a monster truck, with wheels as high as our car, appeared from around a corner and was heading straight towards us. We both screamed, Josh slammed on the brakes and the huge truck swerved around us. Still in shock and out of breath, we looked at each other and said, "Imagine trying to explain tyre tracks on the roof of our car to the hire company."

Aloha Hawaii and mahalo for a great week!

Say hi to ours mums for us!

Ps. Pub crawl was great and we made some new friends. Problem is, we drank too much to remember any good stories! *wink wink*

Chick Chick Boom

ashbina — Sun, 2 May 2010 10:27:00 GMT

After five days in Honolulu, we are picking up what the Yanks are putting down. We know the lingo and we're tipping like we've been doing it for years. And of course I love that we, as Australians, are a novelty here.

"Where you from?"
"Australia"
"Wow, I love Auzsees!!"

On Wednesday afternoon, a street hawker convinced Josh it would be a great idea to fire some guns and I reluctantly agreed. We followed the directions the hawker had given us and found ourselves looking down a cramped suspicious alley. All we could see was a small SWAT Gun Club sign in the top floor window of the furthest building. Even in broad daylight I had a bad feeling about this. I told Josh "This is the usually the last thing people see before they die."

I hesitantly followed Josh further towards the back, constantly turning around to check behind us. Rubbish littered the ground and upstairs apartments were almost definitely brothels. We began to climb the rustly external spiral stairs and Josh had to practically drag me up. I was mumbling things like, "We're going to die; they are going to shoot us."

As we walked through the door, I was relieved to see the Gun Club office looked quite professional, considering it was a converted apartment. A friendly Hawaiian welcomed us and got us kitted out with highly attractive goggles, ear muffs and protective bibs. We hoped the extra tip we gave him would mean he'd take good care of us.

I wish I could tell you what guns we shot but all I know is some were old police guns; others were James Bond baddie guns. And it turns out Josh is a better shooter than me. Well at least I let him think that. We got to keep our bullet ridden targets to prove our marksmanship. So if the end of the world does come in 2012, Josh and I are ready.

P.s Sorry Mum.

Aloha Hawaii!

ashbina — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:09:00 GMT

Not many people are fortunate enough to travel through time, but this week Josh and I got to live through Tuesday 27th of April twice.

Through the plane's window, we could see the sun begin to rise to reveal our destination: Oahu, Hawaii. We had just spent another sleepless night in cramped seats and after miles of ocean, we were thrilled to see land ahead.

Hawaii is just how I imagined, only a little more like Vice City in Grand Theft Auto. As we walked the streets of Waikiki, Josh had been offered "Hawaii's finest bud" 3 times in the first hour. But always when I wasn't looking or out of earshot. I'm a bit offended that I apparently don't look like I know how to have a good time.

A great way to pass the time when you so jet lagged is to watch a little TV. In our hotel room we have 40 channels and all quality American programming. The problem is the fast food ads are making us want to vomit; each is more unhealthy than the last. Piles of meat upon cheese upon bacon fill the screen and this is meant to be appealing? KFC proudly introuduced it's Double Down chicken sandwich and apparently there was "no room for the bun". Two bits of chicken are the bread!!

When out and about, you have to watch out for the scammers looking for foolish tourists. Some carry birds, that they want you to hold so they can charge you; others are trying to sell you scuba/skydiving. We might just be some of those foolish tourists. We have signed up for a Friday night pub crawl that, we are told, has been running for nearly 20 years. We will be representing Australia, so we hope to do her proud! We'll let you know how that goes.

Say hi to our mums for us!

Photos: Misc

ashbina — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:07:00 GMT

Sydney Town

ashbina — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 08:55:00 GMT

And so our Journey began on the midnight horror. Who ever said Jetstar didn't provide in-flight entertainment got that wrong. From the crazy bag/cat lady with her wild and random outbursts, the incessant beeping of a senile, and possibly deaf, old man's watch every five minutes, to the fainting of a nearby passenger; we found it hard to peel our eyes away from all the action.

We arrived at our Sydney hotel at 7am and we were on no sleep! We pleaded with the concierge for an early check in but he took no pity on us. We were left to wander the streets and curb sides, grassy knolls and park benches began to look like very tempting places to rest our weary heads.

As we strolled aimlessly through the near deserted city, we noticed that the few people around, were all young girls. What were all these 12 to 15 year olds doing out so early? We followed the thickening pack of increasingly excited tweenies and found ourselves in the middle of Martin Place, outside the Channel Seven studios. And then it clicked: Justin Beiber is in town. These squeeling girls were rioting just to get a glimpse of their pre-pubesent dream boat. So of course we joined in.

Josh asked "Who is Justin Beiber?" One of the mothers chimed in to let us know he was a teen Youtube sensation and her daughter's latest obsession. Thanks stranger. The police were out in full force and the actual Riot Squad were there to control the thousands of crazed fans. When it was all over, girls around us weeped and gushed. Josh overheard one say, calmly and seriously, "I'm going to kill him and then kill myself, so that we can be together forever."

It seemed we had also caught the Beiber Fever. I had "Baby Baby Baby ooooohhhh!" in my head for the rest of the day.

After five hours we returned to our hotel, filthier and more tired than before. But we were just glad to have a shower and a bed and to be off Sydney's dangerous streets ruled by Beiber fans.

Say hi to our mums for us.