Leaving the Quebec/Ontario area was a strange experience. Being back there was awesome, but also in a way kind of surreal. I've definitely changed since I was there and in my mind, a lot of people that I was friends with haven't changed a whole lot. It was amazing to be back there for Christmas and everything though, people were amazing!
Vancouver
I flew into Van on a Tuesday night. We got delayed due to de-icing and had to stop for a lengthy time in Calgary, but thankfully I did get there! I stayed downtown at a super cool hostel. It was cheap, clean, had an AMAZING free breakfast (to the point where we took stuff for lunch) I spent the first day there simply walking the city. It is one of my favourite things to do when I get to a city that I don't know a lot about. I love the anonymity. You manage to become a part of the city, by simply doing as the locals do. It's an incredible feeling that I absolutely love. I spent that night at a cool place grabbing cheap lebanese dinner. I met a great Aussie guy and a French guy and we also got a beer afterwards. The next day, 3 people from my hostel decided to go Grouse Mountain. Grouse MT is 15mins away from the middle of the city (think of it as 15mins from the opera house) we thought it was simply a tourist attraction with a great view. Turns out it's a ski mountain!! So the boys decided to snowboard and I was trying to save cash, so I didn't. However a lovely Irish guy gave me his gear and said "GO" so I did. And let me tell you they don't tell you how fricking hard snowboarding is! Getting up on the board is such an effort, but once you DO get up(which took me a while) it's awesome fun! Mind you it hurts like hell when you fall off, but meh it's cool. I managed to cut straight across guys who were doing freestyle boarding, but I couldn't help it, I didn't know how to stop!
SO, Vancouver was awesome. The city itself is gorgeous, very very clean and friendly. After a few days there, I moved onto Whistler…
Whistler
Whistler is just like everything you've ever heard about it. It's 30% more expensive than anywhere else in Canada, the population is 75% Aussie, yet there is something that makes me want to stay here. With most people it's the mountains, but since I don't ski or snowboard, for me it's something else. There's a great feeling. Obviously the whole village is geared to tourists, yet it doesn't have that horrible over marketed feel that a lot of 'tourist' towns do have. It's open, friendly, absolutely stunning and I can't wait to live here for a while!
I met up with the ONE person I know in Whistler, Alex Timms, which was great. It was so nice to see a friendly face. He's having an absolute blast over here. It’s great to have someone to ask stupid questions to as well. I stayed for the first few days at the most beautiful hostel ever. It was a log cabin, right on Alta Lake. Views all the way up to the top of the mountains, and I was lucky enough to be there on a particularly clear day, got some brilliant pictures, which I will put up online as soon as I get a chance. I can’t explain how beautiful this whole area is. I just wish I could get everybody over here to show them, it’s unbelievable. That’s the one downside to travelling alone, I don’t have the opportunity to share these amazing sights with anyone. Having said, I’m snapping a picture at every opportunity.
After a couple of days I moved hostels, which was actually good, because the Alta Lake hostel was soo far out of the village. This one was a 10min walk from the mountains, which is great. So much is happening all the time so it’s great when you’re close to the village. I met some awesome people at that hostel. I actually ended up chatting to this Aussie guy, who turns out was from Randwick. So we did the whole “where did you go to school, etc?” turns out I went to school with his sister and he went to school with my cousin. Trust me, when I say it’s ALL Aussies in Whistler, I’m not exaggerating. It’s totally insane.
In that time, I managed to get an interview for a job that was advertised as ‘free room and board in family home, in exchange for 3hours housekeeping per day’ I went to meet the lady of the house, in a lovely suburb called Nicklaus North (named so because it’s on the Jack Nicklaus golf course). They have a beautiful house, 6 children altogether, but only 3 live at home. I was lucky enough to get offered the job on the spot. A couple of days later, I moved in!! I have my own room, my own bathroom and in fact, there is no one else living on my level of the house. They have 2 beautiful dogs ( A Burmese mountain dog and a little mutt) and 2 cats. Funnily enough, that makes it rather difficult to vacuum! Nonetheless, it’s a great deal. I work there from 8-11am 6days a week. Basic cleaning of bathrooms, vacuuming, making beds. Nothing terribly difficult and I’ve managed to cut it down to about 2.5hours. Which hopefully means I can cut it down even more as I get into a groove.
Meanwhile, I’m still looking for a daytime job to bring in some cash. It’s great that I have a roof and food, but I need spending money!! There is quite a few jobs going, it’s just a matter of being persistent. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’m going to get a job I applied for on the weekend at Second Cup (like Starbucks) The staff seem very friendly and the managed seemed confident that I’d get it, so fingers crossed! I can’t wait to start working, apart from having extra money, it’ll give me a chance to meet people. Right now, I don’t really know anyone!
Whistler is a funny little town. There’s a big distinction between people who have loads of cash (they’re the women who walk around town in matching designer gear, that matches the design on their skis) and then the backpackers (namely poms and aussies) who obviously are working incredibly hard at crap paying jobs. It’s also interesting that all the taxi drivers are young, incredibly good looking guys. Totally different to Sydney! Personally I think Sydney would be a better place if we had those kind of guys driving us around…
So everything is great, I’m planning to get ski lessons within the month. There is a half price deal starting, so I’m waiting for that. I’ll probably be a complete and utter gimp, but at least I can say that I tried! Who knows, perhaps I’ll come back a complete pro! (don’t get your hopes up)
