3 Days in Vancouver: Day 1 (Morning)

 Day 1, Part 1:

I got up pretty early with the worry about money on my mind. This was my first experience with the idea of paying up front for a hotel stay; so the previous night I had to hand over a substantial amount of my spending money for my time in Vancouver. However the hotel, the Vancouver YWCA  (see picture to left) turned out to be a perfect base, within easy walking distance of all the places I wanted to visit. Also the air conditioning and mini fridge were wonderful allowing me to cool down from the heat, as well as to have cold water to drink. My room had a view out at the Stadium which I found out when I arrived lit up various colours at night. I set off for my first day in Vancouver just before 10am.

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen public garden.

I started walking to China Town in Vancouver. I wanted to see the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden. I didn’t know that you have to pay to enter some of it. I decided to stick with the public areas that were lovely and tranquil. The only thing giving away you were in a city, being the large blocks flats on the skyline.

From China Town I began walking back towards the downtown district. The night before the hotel receptionist had given me a city map and promptly scribbled out an area I shouldn’t go. Well in typical fashion it seemed I had wandered there. It seem perfectly ok to me. Like most places in a city I feel it might have been a little more daunting at night, rather than in bright summer sunlight. On my wanderings back towards the city I came across the Jimmy Hendrix Shrine, passed by BC Place Stadium and took in this new and exciting city).

A friendly face in Vancouver

 My next stop was Gas town where I took in the famous clock and as you can see met myself a cheerful Mountie Moose (see above).  Then onwards to the Vancouver Lookout. Now this is a place that I would recommend to anyone visiting Vancouver. I got a student ticket that was less than  $10 (about £5), which allowed me to return at any point during the day.

View of the docks from the Vancouver Lookout.

The lift takes you up to a circular viewing room, which can be seen as a distinctive marker in the Vancouver skyline. One thing to note is that a certain point the lift moves from inside to outside which gives a little bit of a thrill. I noted that guides were on hand to point out sights and give further information to visitors. I headed back down after taking in the views and made plans to return later in the day.

Information on Day 1 in Vancouver will continue in my next post.