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Adventure 3 - Week In Vancouver,
Canada
I've just returned from a wild week in Vancouver. And what an interesting
week it was.
My first two nights were spent in what I would call the slums of Vancouver.
In some ways, similar to the Outskirts of Brisbane Valley. I cannot believe
how many beggars there were. I was asked for change about 20 times. After
giving away a total of $5 Canadian to various beggars in the first 2 days,
I promised myself I had to toughen up a bit or I would go broke. I am
pleased to say that I have blatently rejected all beggars ever since.
The owner of the backpackers hostel in
the slums was very helpful. On my first day there, he warned me continuosly
not to go north, past the bridge as it's a real bad area of town. That
night, my room mate (a guy from Holland) and I wanted to hit the town.
So what did we do? We headed north, past the bridge to get into the central
city. It was a scary place. Fighters fought, dealers dealt, sniffer dogs
sniffed, ugly & bald chicks belched, mean guys looked mean. The only
comfort was that there were police on every corner and down one dark alley
was an army of riot police preparing for some sort of mission. We didn't
stay long enough to see what that mission was.
 I
vowed not to let my first impression of Vancouver be my last. I ended
up moving in with my Cousin and good mate, Peter Eastes who more successful
at finding much nicer accomodation near the beautiful
Stanley Park, on the other side of the city. I spent a fair amount
of time in the park. Kicking the footy, bicycling, checking
out the beach and getting into competitions to see who can swing
the highest with some local joggers.
I went to take some more photos of the beautiful
scenery but I must have slipped because after taking the camera home,
I realised I only shot
these two rollerbladers.
To the female readers of World Adventurer, I know what you are saying.
You want some guys to look at. Well, during a bus trip through the city
one day I saw some comotion up ahead. I readied my camera and trigger
finger and to my excitement, the bus stopped right
at the scene. I was able to take some fantastic shots of a handsome
brute getting arrested. I
should be a roaming reporter for cops. There you go ladies.
Somehow, without fail, I find myself in
a bit of a situation each week. This week was no exception. On a quiet
morning, after making dry toast for breakfast, dropped my bag of food
while placing it back into the communal fridge. After a quick inspection,
I was satisfied that nothing was broken so placed my shopping bag back
in the fridge. To my dismay, there was actually something broken. A 1
litre jar of thick, red spaggetti sauce. The broken glass was quick to
split open my shopping bag and then splooosh, the sauce escaped. Being
tall, I always use the top shelf and due to the open design of all shelves
below, the sauce was able to cover many, many different items in the fridge.
After spending over 1/2 an hour trying clean everyones food in stealth
mode, I still was not able to get it all. 2
days later, I took this photograph after noticing a few bits of sauce
that I missed. What a mess.
Other Stuff
Stop Press
I've now been in London for a few days. I feel like I'm in a Monopoly
Board. It's great fun. Have been riding around on a push bike, getting
lost (again). Tomorow, I embark on
a Contiki Tour through Europe for 3 weeks. Unfortunately, My adventure
updates will be limited to short busts at internet cafes during this time.
Until
Next time,
Rick Eastes.
World Adventurer.
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