Category: Blog

Short Getaway: Victoria for Victoria Day! Pt. 1

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Hey all,

For Victoria Day, the boyfriend and I decided we’d take a short getaway to Victoria— the island. You know what? I didn’t realize that Victoria Day was to celebrate Queen Victoria until probably two years ago. I always thought it was a random day to celebrate the island where our Parliament resided.

Anyway, get ready for picture dump.

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We took the coach to Victoria. It was my first time coaching since my family had always driven onto the ferry, but I can say that it was a great experience and I’d be alright with doing it again. The bus drivers are super friendly, and not having to deal with lining up to board the ferry on foot was great. You also get first dibs to lining up for food in the ferry, and those lines can basically take the entire ferry trip.

We got to our hotel at around 11AM, having taken the 7:30AM coach and luckily enough, they had a room ready for us! We dropped off our stuff and walked downtown. Our hotel was not super close to downtown, but we decided to walk it to see how far it was. We stopped along the way to visit Chinatown. We had expected it to be super boring, but the two blocks or so we visited were pleasantly interesting!

We checked out Fan Tan alley, which is rumored to be haunted. We didn’t find ghosts, but we did find very interesting shops that sold trinkets and toys we remembered from our childhood (chinese finger traps anyone? whoopee cushions?). But we couldn’t stop long since we had planned to eat at Fisherman’s Wharf. So we left Chinatown and headed straight there. With a few detours to do touristy stuff like take pictures in front of the Parliament and look at the Empress Hotel:

By the time we finally got there, we were starving. Which was good because it made the food that much more delicious! We shared fish and chips, an oyster sandwich, and a three-salmon chowder. It’s was so good and definitely worth it. As we ate, we watched kids feed the seal, though a random sea otter kept vying for the food.

After our nice meal, we rounded it off with ice cream! Sea salt caramel with caramel cups that were soft on its inside! How do they do that? Nobody knows!

Taking our ice cream, we walked to Beacon Hill Park. My bf said there was a petting zoo there, and I wasn’t super excited. Mostly because I was exhausted from walking all day, and plus, what would be there? A lamb or two? I was wrong. It was a pretty amazing petting zoo. The entrance fee was by donation, but it was well worth it.

They had:

These aren’t all the animals. There were pigs, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, and lots of other small animals. The lambs and goats were really the only animals you could “pet”, but kids sure did try to run at random chicken who had escaped their enclosure or grab at squawking peacocks. The alpacas were the cutest things there! They were so derp. I’m glad we visited the petting zoo. Not only had I not been to one for years, but I don’t recall them being this good.

We ended the night with going to Sushi Matsuri. We had a list of restaurants we wanted to visit during our trip and this was one of them. Walking in, we knew we made the right choice. They were playing our favorite documentary there: Jiro Dreams of Sushi. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do. The food there was really fresh!

After returning to the hotel, it mainly consisted of us pigging out on popcorn, marathoning Storage Wars since it was on TV, and then passing out because we were so physically tired. Not bad for a first day! It also felt very long, which felt very satisfying.

For days 2 and 3, I’ll put up a separate post. This one is getting a tad long!

– Karen

Free Comic Book Day 2015!

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Hey all,

Went to my first Free Comic Book Day!

I first heard about this about three years back, but I have always been too intimidated to actually go to comic book stores during the event. I had no idea how it would go. Was it awkward if I just took books and left? Do I just grab free books? How do I know which ones are free? Why are they free? *suspicious glare*

Well, now you can learn from my experience. It was positive, and one word of advice, go early. The earlier the better.

Why are stores giving away free comic books? The aim is to get comics back into the hands of the people. You get an issue to get you started, and hopefully you discover your love for comic books. For me, it mainly gave me new reading material to discover, allowing me to stray from the usual comics I would read. It’s also a great way to get people to visit their local comic book stores. Free Comic Book Day happens every year on the first Saturday of May. Make sure to check the official website to see which North American comic book stores are participating! Don’t show up at a random comic store expecting free comics.

For the actual free comics, let’s look at Golden Age as an example.

The line up was out the door, and when you got in, you loop around the store. It’s nice in that you get to look at their merchandise and books as you lined up (great idea to get people to buy their stuff! I don’t blame them at all!). The whole line took about 40 minutes to get through. At the back, you get to an island of free comic books. Most of these have “Free Comic Book Day” printed on them by the publishing company, so you know they’re safe to take. If not, and the store has extra overstocked comics they don’t think they can sell, and they’re nice enough to give them away as well, it’ll be marked.

At Golden Age, they limit you to 4 comic books per person, and you should be taking different titles so there’s enough to go around. There was a huge selection. You grab your four, and then make your way to the front to get a bag for them.

Again, go early. My friend and I had a whole route mapped out for comics, but we eventually found that stores run out pretty fast.

My haul!

My haul!

If you didn’t go this year, I suggest you go in 2016! You do have to put up with the lineup, but hey! It’s free stuff!

-Karen

Contingent Contemplation: Summer? No thank you.

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Hey all,

One thing I’ve realized since growing up is my view on summer. Let me start with what summer used to be:

Summer was one thing I always looked forward to. Once I returned to school in September, I started a mental countdown towards summer in my head. What would I be doing once it gets here? Basically what I’ve always done since the first summer vacation I can remember: do nothing.

There’s something amazing about being gluttonous, filling up on food, and mindlessly spending all your time watching TV or gaming the days away. It just felt right to not do anything.

Here’s my problem: I’m no longer happy with doing nothing.

opening in trees

My dilemma since January when I returned to school after working for two school terms was wondering what I would do this summer. I applied for a few jobs I was interested in, but I didn’t land a position. Then there was the idea of starting my own project, or developing an idea for the summer. But that seems so un-concrete and not satisfying because I did not know where that will lead. I guess it’d also help if I had an amazing idea I could pursue, but right now, I don’t.

Then I thought about traveling. Broadening my horizons, and getting inspired through learning new cultures. Quickly another roadblock came before me: I didn’t have money for travelling.

I liked last summer when I knew I was working on multiple projects at TrojanOne. I liked the summer before, when I spent it interning in Hong Kong, allowing me to travel and work. What in the world am I going to do with the four month break ahead of me?

It’s weird how something that I used to see as paradise now looks haunting and ominous to me. I want more experience, and I want to do something productive with my time. I want to throw my heart and soul into something for the next four months. I WANT TO DO SOMETHING!

I guess we’ll see where I end up?

– Karen

Beautiful British Columbia: Our BC Backyard

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Hey all,

That’s a lot of “b”s in my title I now realize.

I recently took up hiking again, since Summer’s just around the corner! I was itching to go explore nature again, and luckily, my boyfriend was super on board! Since we don’t have a car, the bothersome thing about hiking is the commute. Getting away from civilization takes at least an hour or two. Then getting back sucks because you’re tired, but you’re not home for another two hours.

I think spring is the best time to go hiking. The air isn’t muggy, but crisp and fresh. Mosquitos aren’t roaming for human flesh. And students are still mostly in school, so there’s slightly less people hiking the trails.

There are times when I cannot believe that we have views like this right in our backyard:

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Pack a sandwich, grab a fruit, fill your water bottle. It’s nice to escape away from the city. Something about knowing that the snapping of twigs you just heard was made by nature, and not by something man-made. If you live in Vancouver, go out there and seize what you’ve got! (Believe me, having lived in asian countries where they’ve ran out of natural land to develop and had to turn to land reclamation, having natural trails within arm’s reach is a blessing.) I’d recommend using Vancouver Trails to figure out which trails to go to!

– Karen

Late night cravings – Vancouver edition

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Hey all,

If you’re a Vancouverite, you’ll realize that when you’re looking for somewhere to grab at bite past 11PM, things get a little iffy. When I moved back from Hong Kong, I was creeped out by how early everything closed. I thought I might make a post to point out a few places I’ve personally been to when I get late night cravings! They’re in no particular order but are 24 hours.

1. Duffin’s Donuts
Location: East Van
Hours: 24 hours

duffinsDespite their name, they serve a lot more than just donuts! You can get anything from shaved ice, fried chicken, vietnamese subs, tamales and more! They operate much like a fast food joint, so you can pick up your food and go, or you can stay and take a seat to finish off your food.

2. No. 9 Restaurant
Location: Richmond
Hours: 24 hours

No. 9 is famous in Richmond for being the place to go after your late night happenings to grab some food. If you’re into asian food, this is probably the perfect place for you. It’s a part of Lansdowne Mall, but has their own entrance since it is 24 hours. They have fried rice, noodles, chicken wings, asian desserts, soups, etc. Basically, anything you’d expect to find in a Chinese diner. Everything here just tastes better at night!

3. Lucy’s Eastside Diner
Location: East Van
Hours: 24 Hours

Lucy’s has an amazing breakfast menu. In fact, even if I go there for lunch, I get a breakfast option. They serve shakes, burgers (they have a burger challenge you can try your hand at!), eggs any way you like it, and basically anything else traditional diners serve. You can also spike your shake with a bit of alcohol 😉

4. Breka – Bakery and Cafe
Location: East Van, Downtown (x2)
Hours: 24 hours

Photo credits: yelp

Photo credits: yelp

I have only ever been to the Breka on Fraser and the one on Robson, but I know there’s a third location near Davie street. Breka serves cakes, bread, sandwiches and wraps. Of course, they also have a selection of crafted drinks, and occasionally has soup. This cafe is great for late night studying (but during finals seasons, don’t expect to find a table here), but also if you just wanted a place to sip on a drink while having late night convos with friends. If you manage to grab a seat, it’s pretty cosy and nice! Free wifi.

5. Pho Extreme Xe Lua Restaurant
Location: on Broadway
Hours: 24 hours

If you wanted a late night bowl of Pho, look no further. There’s a few other 24 hour pho places in Vancouver, but Xe Lua is close to more modes of transport (Canada line, busses), and is in a more popular part of town. When I came here, I ordered vermicelli, which came sprinkled with peanuts. I apologized for not having notified them of my allergy, and they were more than alright with making me a new bowl 🙂

6. Waves Coffee & Blenz (Richards street, downtown)
Location: Downtown
Hours: 24 Hours

Photo credit: Vancouver School Bus Charters

Photo credit: Vancouver School Bus Charters

Waves was my favourite place to study (not really in school anymore since I’m technically working)! Bigger chains are less likely to kick you out of the cafe, even after you’ve been there for more than six hours. I once had a barista there ask me if I stayed overnight because I was there the night before before she ended her shift, and I came back the next morning to study again. So when she clocked in, she saw me in the corner again and couldn’t help but ask. It’s mostly a regular cafe with a few sandwiches and desserts. Waves is always bright at night, which is perfect for studying (many coffee shops are dim, and makes me sleepy). And the big bonus here is that if Waves is full, across the street is Blenz—also 24 hours. I just prefer Waves in general. Free wifi in both places, except Blenz makes you re-connect every hour or two.

Last but not least—a myriad of fast food places:
– McDonalds (Main & Terminal, Knight and 57th are the only ones I’ve been to)
– Denny’s (Your regular diner food, except overly greasy. But I mean, no one cares at 4AM)
– Church’s Chicken (The branches that are 24 hours may not have seating. So you’ll have to drive thru!)

Siegel’s Bagels is also 24 hours and I’ve always wanted to go, but it’s too out of reach for me, especially when it gets late. I’m not even going to recommend Calhoun’s because it’s always packed with students, given its proximity to UBC, but by all means, I really liked their sausage roll!

This list is not exhaustive, but I still wish there were more 24 hour options in Vancouver. Or even just later night in general. But I guess as a culture, the city decides to shut down earlier, and everyone has kind of revolved around that. And in Hong Kong, there’s a culture of keeping things opened later? Anywho, happy late night food hunting!

– Karen