Canada & USA Trip 2014
Vancouver:
Heard about it before, but surprised to experience myself that Vancouver was a lot like Melbourne.
Found a great ramen place across the hotel.
Went to Vancouver Aquarium, way smaller than Osaka Aquarium, but they have a pair of cool Beluga whales.
Vancouver downtown was nice, Gastown was pretty cool.
West End neighbourhood was very relaxing.
Lake Louise:
The bus ride to Lake Louise was full of beautiful scenery, really fitted the idea I got from cowboy comics about North America.
The Rocky Mountains were splendid, gave chills when I looked at them. The trees, the ice/snow at the top.
Lake Louise was beautiful with unique turquoise colour.
Had a delicious pork for dinner at Deer Lodge.
Hiked up to the historical Lake Agnes Tea House. The view was amazing from up there. The hike up took hours, was memorable, tiring, lots of slippery ice, but I had the most delicious scones and tea up there. The hike down was even more memorable because we took the wrong track meant for horses, not humans.
Ate dozen wings at Fairmont Hotel while watching England vs Uruguay, half Frank’s Red Hot, half honey garlic.
Banff:
I love Banff! A nice relaxing small town to walk around.
Lots of Japanese tourists. And Japanese-run souvenir shops.
The wife ran a half marathon for Banff Marathon 2014. They changed the route last minute due to intense wildlife activities, bears and moose.
Encountered a 3-year-old wild grizzly during our walk back from Lake Vermillion path to the town.
Rode up the Sulphur Mountain with Banff Gondola.
Nice Starbucks hang out on the main road.
Toronto:
Toronto felt like a busy, messy finance center.
Air Canada Stadium was closed, didn’t see many signs of Toronto Raptors on the streets.
On the other hand, tons of Blue Jays fans.
Niagara Falls was overrated, it wasn’t anything like the pictures. Not as big, not as blue.
The train ride to Niagara Falls was nice, had a great sleep.
Montreal:
Stayed near Chinatown, lots of nice Hong Kong food there.
Went to Montreal Jazz Festival 2014, very crowded, nice vibe though.
Watched a Cirque du Soleil show, Kurios. My favourite part was the session with chairs piling and the mirror action from top to bottom.
French speaking city, felt like Europe in a way. A tiny version of Europe.
New York:
Very different to what I see on TV or movies.
Central Park Zoo was tiny, dirty, and there’s no lion, zebra, giraffe, or hippo.
Central Park itself was average. Nothing like Alexandra, Korakuen, or Luxembourg gardens.
Shocked to see garbage bags being piled on street corners at night.
Lots of homeless people.
Wall St wasn’t as exciting like in the movies.
Walked through the Brooklyn bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Took nice pictures of Manhattan at night.
Went to see Macy’s 4th of July fireworks from Brooklyn's side.
Subway train was fast, but subway station was dirty and hot.
Couldn’t find nice coffee or nice cafe.
Wired magazine was so cheap.
Times Square wasn’t as expected. Broadway show was nice (The Realistic Joneses), and saw George Takei after the show.
Liberty Island was meh. Security screening prior to boarding the ferry was airport-like.
New Yorkers were mostly rude. Some really nice people though. Some elderly people talked to us.
West Village was very nice, very much like Fitzroy in a way.













