Making the most out of a bad situation, getting rejected from boarding my flight to Japan meant I had 3 nights to spend in Vancouver. It was a really stressful setback and initially I was quite upset and annoyed. I knew this problem would end up costing me a lot of money and I was eager to get to Japan as soon as possible and get my quarantine over with. However, being able to spend that time alone, wandering the city put my mind at ease and made me appreciate that I’m quite fortunate to have my health, time, and not a lot of real adversity in my life.
Overall I enjoyed my stay in Vancouver. Being able to explore alone is always one of my favourite ways to learn about a city, and also, to learn about myself. I would walk for about 6 or 8 hours a day, just going from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, looking for interesting side streets, staring at diverse people and wondering what their lives are like, and considering my own place within everything. Sometimes I feel a little like a ghost, simply drifting through different scenes of life, observing, wondering, and reflecting before passing on.
The real highlight of my stay was that I got to see my classmates from teachers college, Graham, Alex and Louisa again. It’s crazy that it’s already been 4 years since we graduated, but seeing their faces and sharing a few simple laughs made it feel like we were still spending our days together. I’m so happy they’re all doing so well and have had quite a few amazing adventures since we last saw each other. In general, I’m terrible at keeping in touch with people, so this was a rare chance for me to make an effort and spend time with people I miss.
Vancouver has some beautiful beaches spread all along its coast. The sunset shines right on the West end beaches and I loved seeing how many people were wandering about, enjoying the beautiful summer weather.
Some of the most notable sights were;
- a girl practicing her roller skating skills, dancing to her hearts content with headphones on, tight pink short shorts and not a care in the world.
-the numerous families of Canada geese also enjoying the summer weather
-seeing the small sea planes docked near Canada place and wondering what kind of people regularly took them into the interior and northern parts of BC
This might have been one of my favourite parts of Vancouver. Nestled under this bridge was not only a gorgeous garden, meticulously taken care of, but also a beautiful chandelier and some stunning architecture that matched the bridge and surrounding space perfectly. I sat down and enjoyed a quite snack, just taking in the aura and feeling this little spot created.
I was also struck by uncomfortable feelings of guilt. This space, so beautifully designed and obviously taken care of, was not much more than a 15 minute walk from Hastings street, which is overwhelmed by the homeless who live there. To be honest, taking the bus and walking through Hastings street made me have a lot of mixed emotions. The poverty, mental health issues and suffering that exists there on a large scale is frightening to see. In another way, I felt very calm and at home there, knowing this was a real reflection of reality and life in Vancouver for a lot of its citizens.
It’s very strange because I was told by several people to avoid that area of the city and that it was very dangerous. While I recognize that it probably is very dangerous, I think seeing it and recognizing it for what it is, a symptom of a diseased and ailing society, is also incredibly important.
I often see a lot of homelessness in other Canadian cities, like Toronto and Ottawa, but I’ve never seen it on this scale and so localized to one area. Asking a local friend, he told me that its been that way for as long as he can remember. Knowing that Hastings street exists really made me think about how I viewed other parts of the city. On some of the west end beaches, you could see there were far less homeless or obviously poor people. I’m sure to a large extent, it comforts a lot of local residents to have the socially dejected confined mostly to one area. That idea is why I felt so guilty. I could see the effort, care, money and time that goes into making the beautiful parts of Vancouver so nice. I can also see the neglect, shame, anger and despair that goes into keeping other parts of society removed or contained in one area. It’s very sad to see how disparate modern society is.
The water front is incredibly beautiful, especially this gorgeous cute house boat. You have to imagine with BC’s mild climate, gorgeous mountains and access to the ocean, living on a house boat would be amazing.
This beautifully clever art piece was in the West End of the city, definitely an accurate commentary on the state of housing in Vancouver, with prices soaring to astronomical levels.
The housing market, and its ever soaring prices, is the number one topic of discussion all over Vancouver. From my friends who I caught up with, to the uber drivers and local staff, everyone can’t seem to stray from talking about how expensive everything is. Even in restaurants and in the hair salon, all I could overhear was real estate conversations. Again this brought my thoughts back to the housing issues, homelessness and segregation of society that is very visible in Vancouver.
It’s strange to see how certain things are kept apart from different socio-economic groups in the city. All the older tree’s and older neighbourhoods are obviously more desirable and you won’t see anyone homeless really around them. The trails, running paths and cycling routes along the ocean rarely have them as well. On Hastings street there is very little greenery, everything is concrete and low, cheaper strip malls or buildings. It’s strange but you get the sense that the best parts of nature, from parks, to tree’s, to the ocean views, is restricted and reserved for those who can afford it. I guess this is the same in every city and it’s human nature to want access to the best parts of nature. Maybe as a society we should move towards making them equally accessible for anyone? It shouldn’t matter how much money you make or what your situation is, being able to sit and enjoy a sunset or lay down under the shade of an old tree are things everyone can and should enjoy.
I don’t know when the next time I’ll have a chance to visit Vancouver will be, but in the future, I’d love to travel more around the surrounding city and off into the mountains. There is something magical about being able to touch such beautiful old tree’s. You can feel something greater than yourself and deeper within them.
