#i had to do ALL reception duties for 8 hours by myself barely a lunch break and still do my own job on top of it

[lifeasabashly]

Berwick

So I’ve been applying for this camp, through work for the last four years or so, and this year, after almost deciding that I didn’t need it anymore, I got picked to go. It is based in the Berwick Forest, 40km out of Dunedin in May which usually would sound like a whole lot of miserable to me (as I am a sad sack throughout most of Winter) but for some reason I was keen to go. 

Arriving at an empty airport in Dunedin and realising I had been left behind was a shit start that really made me question if I had made the right choice. But that was the last time I had that thought. I got picked up by one of the Lions Club members eventually and dropped at the camp where everyone was already sitting in their ‘watches’ with their GP lines and beanies. I was in Green watch which suited me fab, my fav colour. I immediately was thrown into the team building exercise where we were writing a story about a hole in a balloon. It’s interesting thinking back now to those people I met, and how those relationships changed and grew over the 8 days I was there. 

My watch was made up of Moe (said Moy) (60s), Mark (60s), Julie (50s), Myself (26), Max (24), Erin (21), Kohan (19), William (18), Mikayla (18) & Harry (18). Such a range of people from all walks of life. 

I’d miss the orientation session, along with Charlie and Morgan from Trustpower so we briefly sat down and went through this before heading to our bunks. Being last meant I got a top bunk - which I was fine with as it meant I was closer to the warmth (and farts I guess). 

We woke EARLY the next morning, about 5.40am to bagpipes blasting outside our room. I freaking love bagpipes so this actually put me in such a good mood. We got dressed and headed to our first activity which was like a brain teaser type activity in the common room. It was far too early for me to be able to contribute anything useful  and I’m pretty shit at these types of things anyway so was happy to let the team lead us to success! Finally at 7 we got breakfast, typical camp style lining up for cereals, toasts, porridge the works. I went hard out of fear of not eating again for a long time and a huge day ahead. Before I knew it we were kitted up in our wetsuits heading to our first big activity - Kayaking. Now I’m not really for or against Kayaking. Can be fun, sometimes it’s just boring so I was keen to see what they had planned. We started in a pool, the tiny, local community pool that used to be used by a school that was now shut down. The water was ice. I wore my socks in. They made us do flips in the kayaks and taught us how to safely exit if we did flip on the river. 

Then we were in the river. I had chosen my paddle and kayak that I felt would suit me best, plus they were perfectly colour coordinated so thought I was away for the win. We had barely disembarked before one of our watch Will, had fallen out of his kayak. He was complaining it was too small and hard to maneuver. Me being the good Samaritan *coughs* offered him mine. This was my first mistake and lesson learnt. Never be nice. His kayak was tiny, it took me 3 goes to get in the damn thing without falling out. I was wearing my sneakers (as the river was colder than the pool) and I was incredibly cramped and uncomfortable the whole river journey. To my dismay when I fell out on a turn, I was trapped by my sneaker and spent a good 3 minutes flailing about until Will caught up and was able to help me out. Overall it was still fun though. When I had to get out of the kayak at one point to - kiss the front (the things these instructors made you do) I bruised both legs and by the end of the float (due to falling out so much) I was a freezing, shivering mess. But I DID IT. I think they were worried about hypothermia though as they sent me straight to the van where the heater was blasting. 

We headed back to lunch which was sandwiches and hot pies. God I love a good pie. So delightful. Then we had tea prep so I spent the next hour peeling & chopping carrots with Mikayla. 

Straight into Knots & the Confidence course after lunch. I gotta say, I am possibly the worst knot tier in the history of the planet. I had to be shown about 300 times before it stuck and then the next day I still couldn’t tell you what the damn knots were called. Lucky I had a watch full of able humans who had done guides and were just onto it to help me through the rest of the week where knots were ESSENTIAL to survival! The confidence course was fun. The very first part was a tyre wall which I felt very prepared for after spending Intermediate sitting on the tyre wall at lunch times. I must admit, once I was at the top I was still abit shaky/nervous going over the top. Even more so when we had to carry a bucket full of water over too! Erin struggled with this one, she just would not budge at one point, saying her arms/legs were giving up, bawling her eyes out and Leanne (one of our instructors) would not let her give up. She made it over and I’m glad, but I definitely had a moment of - this feels like bullying. It just shows you though, some people need it. The rest of the course was pretty tame, tarzan ropes onto walls, that sort of jam. It wasn’t until the last bit - a firemans pole that I got a bit nervous again. I don’t know what it is about them but they freak me out. This one was exceptionally high too! Leanne was there giving me technique and before I knew it I was at the bottom. Embarrassed at how easy it was! Unfortunately Moe, was close on my tail and did it straight after me without any technique and sped to the bottom where she snapped her ankle in three places. I got to do First Aid, but poor Moe was gutted. Her ankle did the floppy thing like Harry’s arm in Harry Potter. It was pretty gross but intriguing. She was in no pain! Just shock I guess. Ironically that night after dinner, we had our First Aid training. I was in bed by 9 and asleep by 9.01 for sure. Absolutely shattered.

Day two! We had games first thing from 6am-7am. Again, puzzles in the morning, not my forte. Esp not before kai. After breakfast we had toilet duties which is always a barrel of laughs right? Then on to abseiling. This was based at camp. The hill to the top was a bit of a bitch to get to but abseiling was fun! We did it three times, the third time blind folded. Beef was our instructor. He was a spunk. After lunch we were back on to knots and bush craft which I don’t overly remember doing but again I think this is because I was hopeless at it and all the knots seemed the same to me. Looking at the schedule it’s hard to believe that this took up most of the afternoon. I remember we had to pull a pole somewhere and tow a truck though. Then Dinner, then night exercise. This one was us carrying a massive heavy pole from one side of the camp to the other as a team. It wasn’t awesome. The walk back under the stars was lovely though.

Monday was our first sports session - Netball. I loved it. It made me think how some days I would just play netball and that’s all the exercise I would do.... this was just the first thing for the day! Our team lost, JUST. But our commitment and passion was 10/10! Next was mountain biking which I was super excited for but MAN it was hard. We got kitted up with bikes/helmets and then did some practice stuff on the icy grass/mud. We then headed up the hill. I could bike up all of 2 minutes as it was steep AF. Everyone had to get off and walk most of it. We learnt how to jump logs and break/maneuver down steep hills. I came off the bike twice, one time landing on another stationary bike but it was so awesome! Then we got to boost down the hill. It was SO fast. I felt alive. I loved it. 100% Mountain biker for life.

After lunch we were back into it with a ‘Bridge Exercise’ - they gave us tiny hints to what we were doing throughout the course - but they never really helped. This was intense. When we realized what we had to do, get from one side of the bridge, underneath it and come up on the other side - there was a lot of planning involved. And actually doing it, (and trusting your teams knots) was pretty crazy! We aren’t allowed to share photos of this and I didn’t get any, any way but this was such a cool challenge. After dinner our night exercise this night was hilarious. We were all blindfolded and either had to lead or direct our watch around camp. It was pretty freaky putting your trust in strangers this way, especially at night. I DID end up in a swamp. But it was so fun. Making the most of our other senses and what not. Pretty cool. And just when we thought we were finally done for the night, blindfolds off. I hear this blood-curdling scream and Leanne comes racing up to us in full diva/drunk actor mode yelling about how she pushed her brother ‘Eric’ off a cliff and he’s dying at the bottom. So off we trot following her to save Eric. I got the fun task of taking care of drunk Leanne who was going on about popping cherries, working her ‘night job’ and the likes. Much to Harry’s disgust as Leanne is his mums best friend. So entertaining. Finally with Eric stretchered back to camp and bandaged we were allowed to go to bed. 

Tuesday Tramp Day! This was what I was most nervous about, a 15km tramp through the wilderness. Seemed like not far but boy was it ever. It took us 12 hours. We went the wrong way twice and not just a few steps like probably 2-3kms each time. No instructors, reception, just a map (that wasn’t the best if I may add!) The majority of the tramp was up hill and it was hard. Erin couldn’t hack it. She got blisters day one and the whole tramp (before she got taken out) she was moaning about them and stopping every 20 steps. It meant we moved incredibly slow - I didn’t really get a chance to get tired. She was though. I felt sad for her because everyone was tired/sore in some way and she couldn’t just push herself. Anyway, she got taken out with Max, who was borderline collapsing at every turn and then we could pick up the pace. By 7.30pm it was dark, cold and we were so over it. By 8.30 we were finally at The Hilton, exhausted and starving. I ate mince boiled with instant mash potato and peas. It looked like spew but I devoured it. Then I went to bed, it’s possibly one of the worst huts I’ve stayed in. Made New Beers look like a resort. But I slept solidly. 

Wednesday we were up early to make our way to the Mahinerangi Dam. Damn son. It was huge. We had lunch first - chicken AND ham luncheon sandwiches - just bread and butter no shit, dried apricots and a cup-a-soup. Gourmet I tell you. We set up our tents, wet and dirty from the previous 2 watches and then got set up for our dam abseil. First one, no biggy, no dramas for me. Second one... I’m not quite sure what happened but I was afraid. I didn’t realise I wasn’t going to be able to use my feet and would just have to lower myself down. I think the shock of that suddenly happening just set me off and I burst into tears. Sobbed the whole dam way down. Need any more damn puns? Damn. Others didn’t do the second one, but Harry and Max went all profesh on us, bouncing off the walls like Spiderman. Show offs.

After the dam activities, we were off for another wetties exercise. Raft building. Each team member had to sail out to the island and back without getting our lines wet or drownies. It was actually a really easy task and we finished it so early we had heaps of free time. FREE TIME!? At Berwick? NEVER. I went and set up my tent, I got nominated to tent with the boys as we only had 3 person tents plus we wanted to avoid the snorers (Mark, Will, Max, Erin...) Kohan, in my tent didn’t bring a bed roll, so Harry and I ended up putting our two together and sharing. We played some president which I was excellent at for once. We had some snacks, then went and made dinner. Pasta packets - Mac & Cheese. This was actually pretty tasty. I ate heaps! After dinner we had another activity. Learning to use a GPS. They are super legit - who knew!? And Geo-caching is a thing. I’m 26 and I’d never heard of this, but people leave notes for other people around the world to find. It’s like a world-wide treasure hunt! So cool! Thankfully we got to have an early night and headed back to the tent. I slept in full gear - beanie, puffer jacket, merinos, socks - the works and was still shivering. I’m actually so glad there was no way of knowing how cold it was that night but there was ice on our tent in the morning. 

Thursday was another 4 hour tramp back to camp. We got lost... again and were late getting back. We went straight into lunch then an Initiative course. This was probably the best ever. Or maybe it was just I remember it so well as it was near the end of the week. It was loads of team-based activities that weren’t physically demanding but just hilarious and you had to use your brain and trust your homies to succeed. I got heaved over walls, thrown through ‘spider webs’, held my fingers against holes in a giant drum while the team filled it with water #frozenfingers. I had to sit on Harrys shoudlers  so we could all fit onto this platform after swinging across a mudpit. We then had to dive into another mudpit/lake, do a massive flying fox, ropes again and more. Dinner, then more sport afterwards. Cricket, which would have been amazing except it was inside and you couldn’t smash it so I got out pretty quickly. Had a few successful bowls however. 

Friday morning we had more sport - football (lame but fun for others) then breakfast and cleaning. Everyone was back from the tramps Friday and we were on dinner so had to prepare a shit tonne for the ‘’roast meal’ (8 Roast Beefs!). It was a huge job. Then we were off for our ‘river exercise’ which we were told - all being well you shouldn’t get wet. I have to admit by this point, I had very little clothing left and reaaaallly didn’t want to get wet if I could avoid it. So when our first team mate came across the river and dropped to the side, a sodden mess- I was hugely disappointed. I think this was the only task we actually had to ask an instructor for help. We had to be split into two groups on each side of the river and using our ropes (not getting them wet) we had to get each team member to the other side of the river and back. Thankfully, by the time I had to go across, not only was I being pulled back and forth #noeffortrequired but I did not touch the river with any part of my body! Great success! Harry got dunked which was sad for him but hilarious for everyone else. Back to camp for a quick lunch then we had another group activity (bridge building) and then orienteering. Both were fun, but orienteering took us ages! Makayla, Harry and I were in a team and these two just spent the time waffling. I had to be mother hen quite frequently to keep them on the job at hand! We played some truth or dare which was great on my part because I am an excellent question master and kept orienteering fun, but it was cool because you got to explore the whole camp. I saw a baby wild pig! And there was probably 3 times total I said over the course - surely they wouldn’t make us go up/down/through there.... alas, it was the right way. When we finally got back, Kev the instructor was on his way out to us to check we weren’t dead. Dinner was a bit emotional as it was our last night... then we had to go do our performance ‘Welcome to Berwick’. It was in the tune to ‘My House’ by Flo Rida and our watches show was definitely the best. We even had backing music... just saying. After that we all headed back to the rooms to spend time together before lights off as I knew I had an earlier flight Sat morning and wouldn’t get to do the last relay or wind down drinks/BBQ. Harry was quite distraught. He was crying and saying he didn’t want to leave and that Makayla and I were his best friends and I was just amazing. It was all quite overwhelming for me. I loved these two, so easily and quickly in this weird environment we’d been thrust in - but I guess for me I had a lot of friends, Chris and life to go back to and neither of them didn’t have quite that. So I will try be good friends to them both, because I think they need that. I know they’re gonna do great things. It’s exciting to watch.

Saturday morning was spent cleaning, trying to find all my shit and then a few tears saying goodbyes (even from me! Shock Horror!) Kev drove me away in the van and it was hard leaving. I really could have stayed there another week or more I think. I just loved it.The truth is I really didn’t miss home that much, I was too tired or busy... I didn’t think I had missed Chris even until I saw him and burst into tears. Now being back, it’s hard to explain how life-changing and inspirational it was. I feel like a dick talking to people about it and saying that that’s exactly what it was for me but people don’t really get it unless they’ve been. I LOVED not using my phone or having it anywhere near me, I LOVED the people I met and stories we shared, I LOVED being outside, being dirty and being completely me without anyone's expectations. I loved learning all these new skills and really pushing myself and then finding out how awesome I could be!

Finally, I must admit though, I LOVED coming home to an ice cold bourbon with Chris too. #OGhobby

#berwick #camp #newzealand #dunedin #blog #personal #camping #outdoor #dangan ronpa lab experiment au #outwardbound

[drtanstravels]

When I finished off my previous post Anna had been attending a conference in Paris and the two of us had been wandering around the city, exploring the catacombs, doing a lot of eating and shopping, all the while trying to avoid stepping in dog shit. Now we had to fly over to Canada to attend a wedding.

Saturday, September 7, 2019 Today was the day that Anna’s cousin, Robin Wong, was to marry Kat Gan in Vancouver, Canada and nobody from Anna’s immediate family were able to attend so that became our duty. We had to fly out from Charles de Gaulle Airport at about 9am for a wedding ceremony at 11am being held halfway around the world, however, timezones would allow us to pull it off, but only barely. The traffic wasn’t be too bad that early in the morning so we got in an Uber, wound our way through the city, past the extensive vagrant tent villages en route to the freeway, and then we cruised relatively smoothly to the airport. Once there we kicked back in the lounge for some breakfast before boarding and, due to being tired from the little sleep we got leading up to that flight, were both able to snooze for the bulk of the nine-hour trek to Vancouver.

When we landed we had about 45 minutes to pass through immigration and get to the wedding. This meant that we had to change in the toilets at the airport, because I don’t think the tracksuit pants and t-shirt I was wearing to be comfortable on the plane were really appropriate wedding attire and Anna was dressed similarly too. Once we had changed and were in the cab the clock was ticking and we were cutting it extremely close. In fact, by the time we got out of the taxi, dumped our suitcases in a storage area in the lobby of the venue, and found our way to the garden for the reception, we walked down the aisle and found a seat less than a minute before the bride and her parents were to take the same path to the stage. It was a beautiful reception and when it was all finished we collected our luggage and caught a taxi once again to check into the Rosewood Georgia Hotel. Compared to our hotel in which we had spent the past few nights in Paris, our new room was enormous and, as an added bonus, it had possibly the best shower I have ever used, one we both took advantage of to wash off the sweat and stink of sleeping in a rather warm airplane for hours. This is where we were staying for the next four nights:

Finally a hotel we could both conveniently open our suitcases in

We even had our own corridor

Looking into our bathroom

This glorious shower was like having and endless bucket pouring on you!

We unwound for a bit in the hotel before the wedding dinner that evening, but there were other plans for a portion of the afternoon too. Another of Anna’s countless cousins, Catherine Sprunt, is married to a British guy called Darren and he is exactly like me in every way, but ten years younger, leading Anna to refer to him as my “Brother from Another Mother.” He even has the same tattoo of a plastic chair as I do, because the original idea that led to it was his. Anyway, Darren had stumbled upon a bar nearby our hotel that he thought I’d like called The Moose and he wanted to have a few mid-afternoon libations with the two of us before we went to the wedding dinner. That sounded like the perfect idea so Anna and I got ready for the dinner and then went down to meet Darren at The Moose. When we got there it turned out that he had found this awesome little dive-bar similar to my local back when we lived in New York, Jeremy’s Ale House, right down to the bras hanging from the ceiling. This place played great music and had cheap drinks, however, Catherine didn’t go because she is currently pregnant. She probably needed the rest anyway. It was a warm day so it got a tad hot wearing a three-piece suit inside and Anna felt the constant need to point out that Darren and I were wearing essentially the exact same thing to the dinner. We were a bit overdressed for where we were hanging out so I probably fit in better when I rolled up my pants to cool my legs.

We were having a blast kicking back in The Moose, but soon we had to make our way to the dinner at Floata, a Chinese seafood restaurant located in Chinatown, the name of which providing us with endless laughs. It was really good just eating, drinking, and chatting to a bunch of Anna’s cousins on our table, with whom I get on really well, and after the speeches were done and a bit more of a party-like atmosphere had set in I decided to bust out something I had worn under my suit for the occasion; an original Bryant ‘Big Country’ Reeves NBA jersey from back when the Grizzlies were originally in Vancouver, and a player that I used to love. It was only when I saw the photos that I realised how pasty my arms look when I’m wearing a black singlet indoors.

As the celebrations wrapped up everybody said their goodbyes, some guests filled takeaway containers with leftover food for the following day’s lunch, and a few of us, Darren included, went back down to The Moose for a while to see out a fun night, briefly interrupted by a crazy tramp coming in and playing the spoons. Some scenes from the ceremony, The Moose, and the dinner:

This pretty much happened as soon as we arrived at the ceremony

We had barely sat down when Kat came down the aisle

Kat and Robin taking their vows

Our view into The Moose later that afternoon

A bit warm inside

Darren and myself having a laugh

A great idea, but we had to get to dinner

Anna with a photo of her grandparents

“That’s tomorrow and Monday sorted”

Our official wedding attendance photo

To them I guess I qualify as ‘Big Country’

A selfie after I had put my clothes back on

Back in The Moose

Sunday, September 8, 2019 The plan for Sunday was lunch at another Chinese restaurant, this time in a different part of town almost an hour’s walk away so we decided to hoof it. We were staying in a pretty cool area of the city, but we didn’t realise how bad the homeless problem was right across Vancouver, there are derelicts absolutely EVERYWHERE, some just sitting, others wandering around, however, they don’t really hassle you too much. Just like pretty much all of the Canadians we encountered on this trip, they were really polite and friendly. The few that did approach us generally apologised in advance for having to ask us for money, the ones with politely written signs again apologising in writing, some to the extent of, “Sorry, I haven’t eaten since yesterday, could I bother you for some change,” that type of thing. Clearly you couldn’t give to all of them, otherwise you would become one yourself and they seem to realise this, just moving on if you decline. We figured there had to be a reason for the sheer amount of vagrants here and it turns out that Wikipedia has entire page entitled Homelessness in Vancouver, here is how the crisis is summed up in the opening paragraph:

Homelessness in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating over the last decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness describes people living in absence of proper physical shelter. Relative homelessness describes people living in poor conditions of health or security, including an absence of both personal safety and steady income despite having physical shelter to reside in. As of 2011, roughly 2,651 people in Vancouver are subject to one of these types of homelessness, or are transitioning between them. Homelessness as a social issue in Vancouver originated from federal funding cuts to affordable housing. After market housing increased, the cost of housing became one of Vancouver’s main causes of homelessness, alongside lack of income. The homeless population in Vancouver have developed or previously suffered from mental health and addiction issues, and they are subjected to high amounts of crime-related victimization. There have been several approaches to reducing the homeless population in Greater Vancouverby the city and other organizations. As of 2011, the rate of homelessness in Vancouver has stopped increasing, but it is not being reduced either.

That’s crazy when the 2016 census showed there were only 631,486 people in the city, meaning that roughly one in every 250 people in Vancouver is technically homeless. Even if that homeless number applied to the Greater Vancouver population of 2,463,431, it would still be staggering. This also wouldn’t be the last time we would encounter them en masse, not by a long shot.

Anna and I continued walking to the downtown area of Vancouver, passing Rogers Arena, once home to the Vancouver Grizzlies NBA team and now the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, past fields of geese in creekside park, and to the Chinese restaurant where we had lunch with members of Robin and Kat’s respective extended families. After lunch the two of us continued to explore this part of the city, looking at the sights and stores, but we both soon became exceptionally bloated, my stomach noticeably protrudent, even through a jacket. I guess Chinese food in Canada affects us a little differently than it does in Asian countries. It got so bad that at one stage we were both standing on a bridge, looking at our necessary arch enemy, Google Maps, to see where to venture next when I tried to discretely fart to release even just a little of the potentially belt-breaking pressure in my abdomen. I would’ve got away with it, too, if a gust of wind hadn’t blown up behind us just seconds after, wafting it back in our faces and causing and audible response of “Phwoar!” from us both. It was seriously that bad! We continued walking in the general direction of our hotel, Anna’s terrible eyesight cracking us both up along the way when we passed Homer St. Cafe and Bar and she thought the sign said Hombre’s, although it didn’t even remotely resemble a Mexican restaurant. We also kept seeing posters for a giant flea market on nearby Granville Street so we dropped in to check it out. The market was held in what appeared to be an old, disused theatre where the upstairs carpet was extremely sticky, however, there was some great stuff, but it was pretty expensive. A good example of this was the awesome original Married… with Children t-shirt I found featuring Al and Peg Bundy sitting on a sofa, Al with a hand down his pants as usual, but it was CA$150.00 (US$113.00)! I didn’t get it, but I did walk out of there with a cool Mr. T t-shirt.

After all that walking we went back to the hotel to relax for a bit before meeting up for a great dinner with our friends who had driven up from Seattle to see us, Momo and Takuo, as well as Takuo’s mother. After dinner they all went back to their hotel so Anna and I met up with Darren at The Moose one last time, or so we thought, as well as a friend of his from London that was in town, Harry, who looked identical to Seth Rogan. It’s very rare that you walk into a bar on a Sunday night and they are playing Children of Bodom at full volume, but we stuck around for a bit before opting for a change of environment. We found another cool bar upstairs in a nearby building that had a main area at the front and another bar around the back with a pool table and shuffleboard table. We were having a really great time just drinking and trying to figure out the rules of shuffleboard while playing when Anna and myself went over to order some drinks and a woman next to the bar had an amusing mishap that even had her laughing hysterically and telling her entertained friends. I won’t relay the story here as, despite it not being particularly offensive or triggering, this website is still blocked from being linked to Facebook after three months for some reason, a situation I’m still trying to rectify. Add to this the fact that my personal Facebook account recently got a three-day ban when I posted an interesting article that contained an image of a naked statue and I get the feeling they may be as sensitive as some Canadian millennials. Anyway, I saw the woman telling her friends what had just happened so I passed the story on to Anna, who thought it was priceless, and I then took a photo of the room so I could remember. The woman working behind the bar didn’t care when I told Anna the story, but as soon as I let Darren in on the comical tale, she told me I was objectifying women, insisted I delete the photo, and that we leave. Okay, I guess we’ll just take our money back to The Moose. Never be more upset than the victim. Looking around different areas of Vancouver:

Walking through the city

An outdoor stadium opposite Rogers Arena

Now outside Rogers Arena

The Canucks Store

Someone has been stacking rocks for some reason

Panoramic shot across the water

A field of geese

Trump dog kennel

Trump and Putin dog toys

I think we’ll be checking that out

Looking back toward the city

Inside Granville Flea

Looking down on Granville Flea

A portion of dinner

The shuffleboard table, the picture from the bar I was allowed to keep

Monday, September 9, 2019 It was now our third day in Vancouver, yet we hadn’t really explored much of the area in which we were staying so the plan for Monday was to take it easy and look around our general vicinity, as well as the Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver:

Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the creation of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Currently, it is a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest end of Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver.

Gastown was Vancouver’s first downtown core and is named for “Gassy” Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area’s first saloon.

Gastown is a mix of “hip” contemporary fashion and interior furnishing boutiques, tourist-oriented businesses (generally restricted to Water Street), restaurants, nightclubs, poverty and newly upscale housing. In addition, there are law firms, architects and other professional offices, as well as computer and internet businesses, art galleries, music and art studios, and acting and film schools.

It was a great part of town, but the weather that day was terrible so we intermittently got stuck in bars and cafes while waiting for torrential downpours to cease. The rest of the time was spent shopping and eating, but after a while we began to notice a pattern; every time we entered any business we were always greeted by someone asking us if we had been there before. When we replied that we hadn’t, we would receive an answer of something to the extent of, “Oh, because we do things a little differently here” and then told what makes their store, cafe, bar, dispensary, etc. unique. Even the owner of the secondhand store that was selling, among other items, a pile of 8mm pornographic movies from the 1970s said something similar, but he had a valid point because I hadn’t encountered anything like that in real life before, even while I was volunteering in a New York City thrift store. Another interesting sight was the Gastown steam clock:

Gastown’s most famous (though nowhere near oldest) landmark is the steam-powered clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Street. It was built in 1977 to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver’s distributed steam heating system, as a way to harness the steam and to prevent street people from sleeping on the spot in cold weather. Its original design was faulty and it had to be powered by electricity after a breakdown. The steam mechanism was completely restored with the financial support of local businesses as it had become a major tourist attraction, and is promoted as a heritage feature although it is of modern invention.

The steam used is low pressure downtown-wide steam heating network (from a plant adjacent to the Georgia Viaduct) that powers a miniature steam engine in its base, in turn driving a chain lift. The chain lift moves steel balls upward, where they are unloaded and roll to a descending chain. The weight of the balls on the descending chain drives a conventional pendulum clock escapement, geared to the hands on the four faces. The steam also powers the clock’s sound production, with whistles being used instead of bells to produce the Westminster “chime” and to signal the time.

We continued strolling around for the rest of the afternoon, including passing a pretty scary park in Downtown Eastside that contained the highest density of homeless people and junkies I had seen in a such a small area in all my life, and before long it was time for dinner. We went to a restaurant that had a great six-course tasting menu and it was fantastic, possibly because we had never been there before and they did things a little differently, but it would’ve been even better if we weren’t being constantly interrupted by a waitress who felt the need to keep asking us, “How’s everything tasting over here?” Once we had finished we went back to our room for an early night, but here’s a bit of what we saw that day:

The cafe that Anna had previously thought was a Mexican restaurant called “Hombre’s”

Anna having a bloody mary with brunch

Looking a little grim over the water

More like “probably”

I love the little trick pulled by the store behind the steam clock

A little background info on the term “Gassy”

A mural of stupid, sexy Flanders on a wall next to the pub where we got stranded

A shoe store used Nike Air Force 1s as vases

A statue of “Gassy Jack”

About the man himself

Clearing up toward the end of the day

Tuesday, September 10, 2019 Our last full day in Vancouver had come so we wanted to hit up a completely different part of town, but there was something else we wanted to try first; Japadog. Friends and relatives in Canada had been telling us all about how good these Japanese-style hotdogs are and there was a stand near our hotel so that was breakfast sorted. It was only a small stall so the full menu wasn’t available, but we were still happy with what was available and shared an okonomi dog and a spicy cheese terimayo dog, as well as pulled pork poutine, and all I can say is that if Japadog ever comes to Singapore, it wouldn’t take me long to get chubby again!

Mmmm, “Love Meat” (if you want to see the menu properly, just click here)

What we came away with

After we were done with the dogs our plan was to look around Granville Island, especially the Public Market:

In the 1970’s, Granville Island began its successful transformation from an industrial wasteland to one of the most beloved public spaces in Vancouver.

As Vancouver’s premier artistic and cultural hub, located in an urban, waterfront location and steeped in a rich industrial and maritime heritage, this unique destination attracts millions of visitors each year from Vancouver and around the world.

The charm of Granville Island lies in its unexpected mix of uses.  The famous Public Market, open daily from 9 am to 7 pm, is home to more than 50 independent food purveyors and contributes to the Island’s appeal as a renowned culinary destination. In the Net Loft Shops and Railspur District, many of Canada’s best artists and designers can be found. Granville Island is home to many cultural venues and hosts numerous performing arts and cultural festivals year-round.

Operationally self-sustaining, Granville Island is home to more than 300 businesses employing more than 3,000 people.

We walked down to the island (which is now technically a peninsula), entered the market, and spent a great deal of time going up and down the food aisles. Eventually we found Kaylin & Hobbs, a store that sold New York style pickles and anyone who knows me well would be aware of how much I love anything pickled. I started sampling a range of different pickles, eating as many free ones as I could, but it turned out to be honey mustard and the full sour pickles that I liked the best so I bought a jar of each. Even though not a lot of time had passed since we had had our Japadogs, seeing all of the great-looking food in the market was still making us hungry so we took a seat in the food court and ordered some oysters, a lobster, and some vegetables, me accidentally getting some lobster stuck to a window while trying to get it out of its shell.

When lunch was done we decided to catch a ferry back to the main part of town, taking a beautiful ride across the water. When we got off the boat we started to look around the nearby shops, even encountering a 24-year-old dog with the worst teeth in one store when it suddenly dawned on me — “Oh shit… I forgot the pickles.” Anna at first had a shocked look on her face, but that soon changed to one of amusement when it occured to her that this is kind of expected of me. She asked me if I wanted to go back and get them, but it was too much effort for a couple of jars of pickles, no matter how good they were. Instead, we just kept looking around at the stores before heading back to the hotel to pack in preparation for our flight the next day. When we had finished packing we went out for dinner and to enjoy our last night in Vancouver. We stopped at a couple of bars, but it occured to me that we were near one that had caught my eye the previous day in Gastown, an Irish pub called The Blarney Stone. You might be wondering why a simple Irish pub would stand out to me. Well, my favourite band, Ween, have a song called The Blarney Stone which sounds like it is being sung in a raucous pub in Dublin, however, it was a Tuesday night in Vancouver and this place wasn’t particularly busy, but we still had to stop by for a drink or two. A taste of our last day in Vancouver:

Looking over Granville Island and the market

Token panoramic shot

Entering the market

I could’ve happily spent the entire day sampling pickles

“One of each, please.”

Getting busier

About to have some oysters…

…and a lobster

The result of a lobster, not a sneeze

Catching the ferry back

Still going

Anna enjoying the ride

That’s one ugly dog

The sign out the front of The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone wasn’t as happening as I had hoped, but I still had to go on principle

We had to fly back out to France the next day so watch this space for the conclusion of this adventure when we spend some time in the small French village of Colmar and then a final couple of days in Paris again.

We loved Vancouver and its ridiculously friendly and polite citizens, but this part of our trip wasn’t about us, we wouldn’t have even been there if it weren’t for Kat and Robin’s wedding. Congratulations, guys, and we both wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

Traveling to Canada for a wedding and spending four days exploring Vancouver When I finished off my previous post Anna had been attending a conference in Paris and the two of us had been wandering around the city, exploring the catacombs, doing a lot of eating and shopping, all the while trying to avoid stepping in dog shit.

#bars and pubs #food #Gassy Jack #Gastown #homeless #Vancouver