Van Life pt 1

By Delight >-<

Halloooo readers! I'm not writing from a van... I'm in Vancouver! ~~woshhh, the ocean ~~ gawgaw~~ the oversized seagulls~~

I've been here about a week and let me tell you, it's entirely different from Toronto. Yes, I might have a pair of shiny, rose-coloured glasses on right now but whatever I love it here and I refuse to go home (to TO).

Anywho, before my mother drags me home or I get kicked out by my sister, I'm going to try my best to relish in the Vancouver-ness that is my life right now.

Here's what's been going on so far in the 1 week I've been here:

1. The plane

Oh my where to start. So I woke up at 5:30 am to catch my 7:50 flight out from Toronto Pearson. I was actually so tired my feet were dragging behind me and my eyes were more squinty than usual -.- <-- literally me

I got an everything bagel from Starbucks and hopped on the plane, yippee. It wasn't my first time flying alone, I'd say I'm quite experienced since I once visited my sister in the summer of grade 8 and went to Moncton last summer (I should yap about that too - please remind me, Distaste).

Sometime on the plane, I fell asleep - that in itself was a huge battle due to the constant whirr of the engine and random bustling of the passengers. Here are some tips so you can spare your sanity:

• traditional spongy ear plugs don't work, try waxed ones
• Bring a neck rest pillow thing! I didn't and I think it worsened my scoliosis...
• Wear your air pods - the noise-cancelling function is amazing!
• Don't be afraid to talk to the other passengers, I was on a full flight so I had to ask the lady beside me if I could turn off the air vent (her dry shampoo was very... pungent - my sensitive nostrils would not have survived)

Also if you're flying from Toronto to Vancouver, chances are you'll be flying over the Rockies - not even chances like you have to fly over the Rockies. If you want the very best view, you should sit in the front of the plane, on the right side, and obviously snag a window seat!

2. The beach + my shelling addiction

On my second day, I went to the beach! I collected seashells! I attempted to swim in the borderline inappropriate swimsuit my sister gave me and tried not to traumatize any children! I (sort of) suntanned! I got sea water in my eyes, RIP, please bring goggles next time future me.

Ok now to the fun part. I basically went to the beach 3 times in a row to collect shells. I would call it... a shelling high. This obsession was super productive - I found a ton of scallop shells! On the beaches, purples shells are super common, there are piles upon piles stacked up on the shoreline, but the creme de la creme are truly the scallop shells <3! Oyster shells are pretty cool too, I love their iridescent look, but again pretty common. Ok perhaps scallop shells aren't even that rare but the tourist in me thinks they are. Maybe you prefer the purple, just because something is common doesn't mean it's not great! To each his own.

~~~my sunset beach/seawall shelling guide~~~

• Try snorkeling! You get a much better view of the shells underwater, what I find is that the sizes of shell segments are roughly the same but you'll definitely get to see more variety without sand in the way!
• Scope out the rocky shores first. The sandy beaches can get picked clean of large scallop shells, so you should go where they are born! Scallops and oysters like to stick to rocks so the probability of finding a big, and unblemished scallop shell is much higher around those areas. I went to the spot in between Sunset and English Bay where all of the rock balancing is and found 3 beautiful scallop shells hooray.

I only took 3-5 shells home and left the rest for the kiddies to play with. I think it's A-OK to collect shells as long as there aren't any living creatures inside!

3. Richmond Night Market

After suffering through another week of summer school biology, I rewarded myself with a trip to the Richmond Night Market! Richmond is basically the Chinatown of Vancouver - according to my sister. The night market is full of fun street eats, reminding me of Beijing! There are also super cute trinket shops with stuffies, nail art, and temporary tattoos! For kids, there are plenty of games to play and also a giant bouncy house.

Tippies:

• get the fast-pass or go at 10 pm. The line was super long 30-45 minutes around 8pm. Bypass it with a 40 dollar pass, 40 is for your entire group ie. 40 dollars for 3 people, not for each person.

Food tips:

• The super long fries were pretty good, but the batter was 50% potatoes and 50% flour. I enjoyed it but don't expect a totally potato taste. Crispy and the garlic sauce was nice but for 15 dollars I'd think twice.
• Cheese coin, looks tasty, isn't really. The coin is the definition, the culmination, the symbol of Instagram food. It looks life-changing with its 1m long cheese pull, but the actual taste just isn't there. It was like a bland pancake mix with a cheese that wasn't as cheesy taste-wise as it was looks-wise. What can I say, I was catfished.
• Watermelon slush - Delicious! Can't go wrong! Probably buy 2 if you plan on eating lots of salty foods.
• Takoyaki, not enough octopus, sauce not tasty, and outside not crispy. "Nothing good about it" - sister's boyfriend
• Squid bbq - absolutely amazing; very, very good. Nice and seasoned, cooked to perfection, the sauce added a tangy element which was very enjoyable. Seriously recommend
• Skewers - good. As all skewers are good. Lamb is forever on top - again make sure to get a drink 'cause they're pretty salty.

4. Alouette River Tubing 

On a clear summer day (last Saturday), we drove up to Surrey to have the best day of our (my) lives. We parked at Davie's swimming hole and took an Uber upstream. Then I blew up my tube, got my phone nice and secure in its flimsy ziplock and made my way to the river.

Drifting down the river calmed and cleansed my heart. The water was so clear and the surrounding forest was plush with greenery and flowers. It was like a scene out of LOTR, where the elves lived. There was this sheen, halo-y, light that shone down on the river and the tumbling water was golden and refreshing to the touch. I felt like a mermaid, if mermaids ever lived in rivers. Put it was sosososo pinterest-esque. The leaky ziplock also made my camera lense capture photos like some elf-land photographer. Enough talk from me, let's look at the pics: