Happy New Year!
A slightly weird thing about me is that I kind of enjoy being surrounded by sights and sounds that I cannot understand. Which is why, when I saw in the newspaper that Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year was about to happen, AND found out that the largest festival outside of China is only as far away as Vancouver British Columbia, Thomas and I decided to go.
We stayed in a "hostel" which really means, really bad hotel in the wrong part of town, but if we call it a hostel, you'll think you're having an adventure and come anyway. Now, I could be wrong, because I'm not that familiar with Canadian hotel customs, but I think we were next door to a brothel (do canadian hotels usually have neon lights that say GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS on them?) When we checked in, the desk clerk reminded us to take everything out of the car and then leave the glove box open so the potential theives could see there was nothing to steal.
However, we forgave them, because the location was great. We were just a few blocks from chinatown, and we could easily walk into downtown. We visited the shopping districts of Robson Street and Gastown, walked along the waterfront, had a drink in Yaletown, took a water taxi to Granville Island Public Market, and just generally had a good time, but the highlight really was the Chinese celebration.
We went to the event in the expo center there on the eve. (We would have gone to the temple, but it was a long way away). There was a modeling contest, tons of booths, some great food, and about a million games you could play if you could figure out the chinese directions, or if the vendor noticed you were white and spoke english.
The following morning we headed back into chinatown to pick up a wealth beckoning cat and to see the parade. It was phenomenal. Thomas and I went to a bakery in Chinatown to get some snacks (I had a deep fried egg ball... it's better than it sounds) and then found a spot near the start of the parade route. It started at noon, and at 1:10 there were still groups going past, but we were so cold we could hardly move, so we decided it was time to head home. The whole thing was full of life and color, and it was a great adventure.
Wishing you a happy year of the Dog...
We stayed in a "hostel" which really means, really bad hotel in the wrong part of town, but if we call it a hostel, you'll think you're having an adventure and come anyway. Now, I could be wrong, because I'm not that familiar with Canadian hotel customs, but I think we were next door to a brothel (do canadian hotels usually have neon lights that say GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS on them?) When we checked in, the desk clerk reminded us to take everything out of the car and then leave the glove box open so the potential theives could see there was nothing to steal.
However, we forgave them, because the location was great. We were just a few blocks from chinatown, and we could easily walk into downtown. We visited the shopping districts of Robson Street and Gastown, walked along the waterfront, had a drink in Yaletown, took a water taxi to Granville Island Public Market, and just generally had a good time, but the highlight really was the Chinese celebration.
We went to the event in the expo center there on the eve. (We would have gone to the temple, but it was a long way away). There was a modeling contest, tons of booths, some great food, and about a million games you could play if you could figure out the chinese directions, or if the vendor noticed you were white and spoke english.
The following morning we headed back into chinatown to pick up a wealth beckoning cat and to see the parade. It was phenomenal. Thomas and I went to a bakery in Chinatown to get some snacks (I had a deep fried egg ball... it's better than it sounds) and then found a spot near the start of the parade route. It started at noon, and at 1:10 there were still groups going past, but we were so cold we could hardly move, so we decided it was time to head home. The whole thing was full of life and color, and it was a great adventure.
Wishing you a happy year of the Dog...
posted by Maren @ 11:28 AM
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