Venturing Vancouver - 2

Now I remembered the name of our first hotel we stayed in - The Buchan Hotel at Haro Street. This nostalgic and cozy hotel, built in 1926 was just within walking distance from Standley Park but since the space of the room was quite limited, Patrick found another hotel at Robson Street nearby. So, we checked out of Buchan the next day and moved into Robson Strasse Hotel instead. This bigger apartment-type hotel even came with an open kitchen, just what we needed at that time, and at a cheaper price too! Now, the boys had a bigger space to move around and Patrick started exploring this so called one of the most happening streets in Vancouver. He came back stocked up with loads of food from a convenient store just around the corner. We called a friend up and decided to meet in the next few days and all of us finally felt settled in eventually. One of the great treasures we discovered on Robson Street was also a fantastic Hong Kong restaurant called Hon's where they served big portions of Hong Kong dishes and take-aways. Ryan would love to sit at the window overseeing the snowy mountain peak and the hustle bustle street down below (he once spotted a skunk running across the street and jumped in excitement!) while Aidan started to take his wobbly baby steps around the hotel room. Meantime, I was busy surfing the food channels on TV. Since the weather was quite cold outside, the boys and I stayed in the hotel most of the time while Patrick ventured further till University of British Columbia on bus. The first bus trip we took as a family was a trip to downtown Chinatown where one could almost mistaken it for home. Faces of Asians, mainly Hongkies were everywhere. A familiar dialect (Cantonese) was floating in the air. It was quite a heartwarming feeling. The next few days, we went to Standley Park and visited the Vancouver Aquarium there. That was also the first time we saw those white beautiful gigantic baluga whales swimming gracefully in the aquarium, among many other species of animals compartmentalized into different sections and shows. It was definitely worth the experience for all of us. Now, come to think of it, this is a much better aquarium than the local one we visited last year for our KL aquarium costs a lot more comparatively, but with less species to look at. Good times did not last long for Ryan fell sick and had to go to the doctor. He lost quite a bit of weight but lucky enough, their spirit remained high and they had adjusted to the weather, place and time pretty well, very much to my surprise. Robson Street was indeed a happening place, lined with all sorts of boutiques, cafes, restaurants, hotels and many others. I had a chance to take an easy afternoon walk one day while the boys were sleeping. Everything seemed new yet exciting. What greeted me along the walkway were people in their best winter clothes (could not help myself but to check them out - the winter attires looked gorgeous! They came in all styles and textures) and a chilling winter breeze that could also freeze me momentarily if I were not in fact walking. I went back the hotel feeling great and almost feeling rejuvenated after staying in the hotel room for some time. Though the sun set but the people seemed to come alive even more and the street itself started to drown in the streams of vibrant and colourful lights, full of sights and sounds. You see people walking on the streets, hugging, panting, holding their hot coffees, rubbing their hands, sitting on benches, outside cafes, all in a chilling cold winter night. We even stopped to have a man from China made a sketch of Ryan for a mere C$10 on the street. Though to us, it cost quite a bit at that time but we were glad that we could contribute to his survival and art on the streets of a foreign land.

to be continued...