Monday, June 29, 2026

Day 6 - Victoria + The Butchart Gardens

but I traveled a long way
and it sure took a long time
to find you, yeah, but I sure did find you
... and He blessed my soul ... yes, He did
I Found You - Alabama Shakes

I love that song a lot and I wonder if it would ever apply to me, but at this age I think we have to be realistic it may not. Anyways, I felt quite blessed on day 6, so let's have that song on. Day 6 started early again. I was taking a day trip to Victoria and The Butchart Gardens and this involved taking 1.5 hours ferry ride back and forth from Vancouver to Victoria, so the day was going to be long. Meeting time was 07:05 AM. Breakfast for that day was the Lee's donuts which was okay I suppose. The donuts I got were more cake like which was a bit much perhaps for an early morning, but I finished the two I got. I got to the meeting point and there were already many others waiting. Most were like retiree couples. I wasn't in the mood to socialize so I just hung around the periphery. We got picked up and I got a seat for myself and I thought good, but then we picked out one last couple and since most of the seats were taken, I ended up sitting with a guy and I was like urgh :( The guy was like saying, I won't make any trouble. I wasn't the friendliest I suppose, well I'm not a morning person and I really wanted to sit alone, so I guess I just nodded and gave a weak smile (if I smiled at all).

Somewhere along the way, he tried to make conversation again and was like, how is it going so far. I was like, actually I'm still very sleepy, but then this somehow got us to start talking. They're from Arkansas, just outside Little Rock if I'm not mistaken. Obviously I couldn't point where Arkansas is on a map and I think I told him this and I googled it on the spot :) He and his wife were going to do a cruise to Alaska and I said I was planning to go to Alaska last year, but I didn't, and I'm avoiding America for the time being. He said he got it and then he continued, well we just tried to tell people we're not that kind of Americans - meaning MAGA Americans. He happened to wear a red hat and I wanted to joke, okay let me check your hat real quick if it's MAGA :D but I didn't. He was quite interested about Singapore when I said I live in Singapore. I wonder if these people's exposure of Singapore is from Crazy Rich Asians. He was like the food is great right and I was like, food, err ... okay I'm Indonesian, I would say it's better in Indonesia. I did try to give a better impression of Singapore though and I was saying yeah if you have a chance go there, there's nothing like it, because that's true. I've been places and Singapore is kinda one of a kind, but then forgive me because I also said something like, it's soul crushing but there's nothing like it. Geez, I cannot help myself. I know there will be some Singaporeans out there who will be up in arms with my statement. This might be a split opinion. Well I hope it's a split opinion, I hope there's not like only 30% of people in Singapore who disagree with my statement. Anyways, the guy's name is Kevin. His wife is Christina. They have 2 kids, their son's leaving home for college soon and their daughter is 12 who likes K-pop (man, I am amazed of this K-pop influence). He speaks lovingly of his family. Somehow to me he looked a bit like Mike White, but at the same time because he wears glasses, he also brought to my mind The Minions Kevin. That car ride on the way to the ferry terminal in Vancouver was the longest time I spent with Kevin because after that Kevin and Christina wanted to sit together; this kinda caused a bit of chaos to the rest who had to change seat. Our conversation was short, but I cannot explain it, it's like we just formed a connection, like we're just locked. Like you and me, we friends. It would take a cosmic miracle for me and Kevin to meet again. I already forget his face and I will not recognize him if we meet on the street, but if somehow we do, I think it'll be like, I got you. It's so weird, really weird, but at the same time because I'm quite anti-social, it feels really really good that I could make a connection with people. Believe me, I don't take this for granted. To have it happen so fast, based on so short interaction, well I'm just amazed. I hope it's not just me feeling this way, but I don't think so. When we arrived in Butchart Gardens, he gave me a high five as I got out of the van, just because. I don't know what his wife thought - is it weird? Yeah somehow these two weirdos connected :D

Anyways, back to the trip. The van parked at the lower compartment of the ferry. Kevin said it reminded him of a film he saw. I wrongly said Inception; only much later I realized it should be Tenet instead. We all got out of the van and dispersed. It would be weird if I hung around Kevin, so I just went my way. The ferry has like a cafeteria and the breakfast food looked good. It's crowded though with all the passengers. Since I already ate, I didn't bother. I did get a hot chocolate if I'm not mistaken. I think I just walked around and stood outside, but I didn't really take any photo on this ride to Victoria it seemed. As we're approaching Victoria, we're told to get back to the car. This is where we did wrong. I was waiting at the lift as instructed by the guide and all our travelling companions were there too. Then somehow they decided to go down to the parking area themselves. I was like, Kevin, do you know where we're going. We did not and it was like the blind leading the blind and we're lost in the parking lot. I regretted not being a good Asian who followed instruction and waited for the guide :D At some point this Kevin and Christina went different ways. I do not understand why they did not stay together. I chose Christina, because Christina looked like she's more determined and can solve problems and Kevin looked more like the type, we'll just see as we go. Took some scrambling but I spotted the guide and I was thankful for that. Then it's up to Christina to figure out where Kevin was and get him back :D

When we got into Victoria, the guide was telling us about the area a bit. He was telling us as we're passing Chinatown, there's the oldest Chinese Temple in Canada, as well as the most narrow alley in Canada. Now we're about to get some time to spend in Victoria and I did not plan at all what I was going to do. So when I heard all that, I was like so interested. The guide dropped us not near Chinatown though. We're dropped by the Royal BC Museum. I forgot how much time we got, maybe like 2 hours and I thought I could do it. Google put walking time around 15 mins or so and I could walk and so I did. Passed some interesting shops on the way there, but I was focused on the goal. When I got to the temple as Google indicated, I couldn't find it. I was like what, where?!?! I had to ask Google back where the entrance is and the AI was like saying yes indeed it's not obvious. What I was seeing was like a row of shophouses and Google indicated the door to take and I found it. When I opened the door immediately I saw stairs. When I started to get in and walked up, the door opened again and I heard some Indonesian. What are the odds?!? I turned and was quite happy to be speaking Indonesian and I asked them if they're going to the temple. I told them it seemed we needed to take this stairs. Perhaps they were a bit hesitant, but they indeed followed suit. The temple's name is Tam Kung Temple. When I got there, there's an old uncle caretaker who didn't seem to speak English - see him a bit in the picture below. I was a bit surprised of the temple. It's actually just a room, not very big at all. You paid / donated 2 dollars to visit. I wanted to pray and saw the sign it's 10 dollars, so by pointing and all, somehow the uncle understood me and he got me the joss sticks set. Then he proceeded to light the candles and joss sticks for me and basically led me to the sequence of altars. It's a bit much to be receiving this treatment because I felt like I'm a bother for him (he also moved kinda slow), but at the same time I understood. This is a small room and he needed to make sure all are placed correctly lest there'll be fire. In fact it was really on my mind, like I cannot imagine this temple having as many joss sticks as the temples I usually go to. Even in the temples I usually go to, both in Indonesia and Singapore, there would be caretakers who take out the joss sticks from time to time because they do not want the joss sticks to suddenly catch fire if they're all crowded together.

Except for the main altar where it's on a table, the rest are on the floor. There's one of its balcony too and the last one was the Kitchen God. I know because there's a small write-up in English next to the altar. Seeing it, I was so touched because my house has a Kitchen God, so I immediately thought it's the sister God or perhaps brother God to be more correct and my mind was like thinking is it like a portal, does the Kitchen God at home see me now? It almost like I could reach and be there at home. After this the uncle indicated for me to hit the bell and drum three times each. I was a bit embarrassed doing this. Mind you, the Indonesian group was there watching me, but I followed whatever the uncle said. Then came the burning of the joss paper. This totally skipped my mind. I didn't think of it at all because the temple is just a small room. Even in a normal temple, this part could get me nervous. I like to see a straight line from where the candle is to the usually pagoda-shaped furnace. I like to be quick, almost to a run. When I was a child, I'm pretty sure there was a moment when I wasn't quick and the paper was burning a lot that I was scared that I dropped it on the ground and it didn't reach the furnace - this is bad. There were also moments when I was scared so I didn't want to light the paper too much on the candle that the fire died when it reached the furnace - on cases like this, I could only hope there's other burning joss papers in the furnace to help mine. So when the uncle handed me the joss paper, I was like, what, how?!? Trust the process I supposed. So I lighted the joss papers on the candle by the Kitchen God and then the uncle opened this little red door on the wall and so that's where the small furnace it. It's so so interesting. Here's a photo that I tweeted at Bluesky, it's the Kitchen God on the floor. You can see the drum and bell and the little red door on the wall is where the small furnace is.

It was truly a touching moment for me. It's because it's very rare that I go overseas and I found a temple where I could pray. There are churches and I do spend time to say a little prayer in some of them, but a Chinese temple that I could understand, that's familiar to me, that is rare. Of course that's because I usually go to Western countries. The only other places where I had prayed in Chinese temples were in Hong Kong and Taiwan with the parents. In Japan, the prayers were not quite the same. So all this, this experience that God had given me, that's so unexpected, it's just so so precious. After I finished, I asked the uncle if I could take some pictures, he said yes. The Indonesian family already went down by this time. I googled the temple as I'm writing this and I found out they recently had a fire :( It seemed there's a lot damage. I hope the uncle is okay. The news said the main deity statue in the main altar is okay despite of the fire. I am a bit sad and stunned that for such a historical place, the temple is just a small room on the upper floor of a building. I guess it goes to show that when you're so far away from your root, some things perhaps couldn't take hold and flourish as much. I hope the restoration of this temple after the recent fire would go well and the temple will get better. I said thank you to the uncle and then I left. Back on the street, the Indonesian family was still there and I chatted with them a bit more. It's the parents with some other family or friends visiting their daughters who are studying in Vancouver and they're taking that day to go visit Victoria on their own. I knew where I wanted to go next, so I said my good bye.

Where I wanted to go next was Jam Cafe which is visible from the temple. Jam Cafe is a popular brunch place, like it's a recommended place to go in Vancouver and I already kinda thought I was going to go there the next day being that it's not so far from my hotel. It's not super ideal though, the next day being a Saturday, that would mean I had to get up early so that I didn't have to wait long in the queue. I hate queueing for food. So it was kinda like a fortuitous blessing that the Victoria branch is nearby, like how lucky! There wasn't any line when I was there and it wasn't overly crowded but they still put me at the bar counter, which was fine, it wasn't filled with people. They have savory and sweet dishes and all of them are very interesting and it's not easy to choose. I should most probably go with savory considering what I had already eaten thus far, but somehow I couldn't. I chose the cinanamon bun pancakes and look at its beautifulness below. It's three stacks, I don't know how they did it with the cinnamon swirls in the pancakes. Look at the very generous maple butter. I was a bit unsure if I was going to like the cream cheese icing, but it all worked well together. They were really really good. I couldn't finish it though, it's too much and I did feel sad that I couldn't finish it because it's so good and the chance of me having it again is low.

I still had quite a lot of time to get back, so I didn't have to rush. I didn't explore the Chinatown, but I did go to the narrow alley. It's called Fan Tan Alley. There's actually shops in there, but I didn't go in any of them. Then I reached the harbour where there's many boats. Then I explored the area by the British Columbia Parliament Buildings where there's the Knowledge Totem Pole - the frog below is part of it. Can I just say I like totem pole and I love things that get chosen into a totem pole. I just googled, I didn't realize that a totem pole is from one single log, not separate items being stacked together. The artists making these are amazing. Then since our meeting point is by the Royal British Columbia Museum, I explored its small garden outside while waiting to get picked up.

Our last stop was The Butchart Gardens. I read a lot of nice reviews about the garden, but when I was there I felt like it didn't live up to my expectation. I thought this is no Keukenhof, but when I had finished seeing everything I realized this garden has its strong points too. There's a sunken garden and a Japanese garden. The landscape is more varied, so it makes it quite inetresting. This is also where I finally saw blue poppies (see below). I have to say they're not as what I expected. I thought it would be darker blue, not baby blue. It's not my favorite colour of poppies. Then there's the tall trees, the redwoods, the beech. There's a dock with boat; I don't know where the boat ride would take you. There's a carousel for the kids. I like that we're given a plant guide booklet that shows the pictures of the plants / flowers and their names, though I didn't go hunt for each of them. I guess in the end, I do like this garden afterall. It was quite nice exploring it.

On the ferry back, I made sure to take note where the van was parked and the way to get there. As I recall, the cafeteria was closed. I chose to spend my time outside. Tried to find a quiet spot and didn't really find it. I found a place to sit, but there was this lady who I think was practicing Spanish on the phone and she was kinda loud :( It was very windy which made it chilly and after some time she thought of it too and she took her small dog inside. I didn't get my peace and quiet though because behind me there were some bros sitting and I have to say, I do not enjoy bro talk. I didn't realize it would be rather banal to me. To be fair if they have to sit through girl talk, they may feel the same. There was nothing offensive, thank God, but there were things I found really boring. A guy was saying he was like in a bar or something in Thailand and was rather invested on the UFC fight playing on the TV and thought it was live and only after he realized it wasn't and he was disappointed for being so invested - okay ... I guess in a way it's good that these bros have friends, what with the male loneliness epidemic kinda thing. They too finally moved inside, so I did get some peace and quiet. I took some pictures on this ferry ride back. I didn't seem to take any on the way to Victoria, I'm not sure why. I must have spent time outside as well, but I just didn't. Anyways, we passed other ferry and our ferry would sound its horn when it happened. You know, I just realized that this ferry trip between Victoria and Vancouver crosses the US water on some parts.

We arrived in Vancouver at 8 PM something. A couple in the group asked to be dropped off at some street which I found out was very close to my hotel, so I followed suit. Turned out that couple was staying at the same hotel. I said my goodbye to Kevin and Christina. It would have been nice if we had talked more, but I was rather shy. Anyways, the sun was still out, but I didn't want to go far or take too long for dinner, so I went straight to the nearest Burger King. Now, I stayed in a hotel that's nice. I don't think it's a shady neighbourhood, but I told you about the very visible homeless people in Vancouver. On my way to Burger King, there's this homeless man about to take drugs by the corner of the block of my hotel. You might be asking, how do you know it's drugs, do you know what you're seeing? What I was seeing was this man having an aluminium foil on one hand and a lighter on the other hand. On this aluminium foil was substance. It was off white, not pure white, which made me wonder what it was. Truly the whole thing was fascinating to me. I have never seen a person taking drugs in real life. I've only seen them in movies or TVs - not Singapore one, taking drugs is highly censored; not sure what the censor is like in Indonesian cinema. This was about to happen live in front of me and I was so so curious. I have so many questions, even now. What is the substance? How much does it cost? Is it easy to get? How do you afford it? How do you do it? How fast do you feel the effect? I wanted to watch it, but obviously I cannot. I couldn't take pictures and I had to keep it moving. Fascinated might be the wrong word and perhaps it's wrong to have this much curiosity, but I was truly fascinated and curious. I wonder if all the many sirens I heard in Vancouver were all the paramedics trying to help overdosed people.

Anyways the Burger King was having the Mandalorian meal thingy. I had the chicken fries, onion rings (its breading was different than Singapore one), and a blue shake which I didn't know what, it was very sweet though. The staff asked if I wanted a crown with that, I said no. Perhaps I should have said yes; I could have worn it while eating in my living room. It was a good end to a good day - sitting in front of the TV, eating all the junk food. The day was really good. The many unexpected blessings, the serendipity of it all - God blessed my soul indeed. For pictures from the day go here.

:) eKa @ 9:37:00 PM • 0 comments

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Day 5 - Sea to Sky + Whistler

but you were always gonna make it through
that's what's so great about you
Water Ballet - Christian Lee Hutson

I took two day tours in Vancouver and they all started early so I couldn't have leisurely breakfast. Me needing a lot of time to get ready also meant that I needed to wake up early to accomodate all I needed to do in the morning. Luckily I could wake up and it wasn't a crazy rush. Breakfast was the Breka's donuts and they were good. The meeting point was at a hotel two blocks away at 07:05. The pink alley was visible from my window and I decided to walk through it. It's interesting and cute, but there's still a vibe of uncleanliness about it. Kinda nice that it's quiet that early in the morning. The alley after it was looking even dirtier that I didn't walk throught it.

When I arrived at the meeting point there's already 2 American couples who were related waiting. One of the ladies was quite friendly and we chatted a few times. One of the couple were from Florida, so I wondered if they were MAGA. It seems not because the lady has a son-in-law who doesn't want to have his child vaccinated and this really upsets her. Our other travelling companions also included a Canadian family of three who are Romanian if I'm not mistaken and a dad from New York who's travelling alone and would be hiking a few places in Canada. He said he drove into Vancouver from Seattle and would use that rental car to explore other places. Truly if I could drive, imagine what craziness I would get into, how far would I go, and yet I don't seem to have that desire to learn to drive. Maybe one day there would be a trigger that starts me on that journey of learning that life skill. Although as I told one of the American dad in the couple, driving is not really considered as a life skill here as in America. As for our tour guide / driver, he's a young guy originally from Chile. Kinda cool that he could make it work in Canada. He has travelled to parts of South East Asia and loves it a lot and I wish him a chance to get to Indonesia one day :) Our first stop was the Porteau Cove Provincial Park. The water of Howe Sound is in front of us. I guess because we're quite early, it's very nice that it's just us with not many people around.

Then it was off to Shannon Falls. The walk to see the falls is not very far and it's nice with trees all around and a stream. I remember thinking it's amazing that I could walk. I was still on Aleve at that time, but still it felt miraculous to me that I had to thank God that I was okay - praise be to God! I hate starting the day so early, but I cannot deny the advantage that there weren't many visitors yet when we were there.

Then it was off to take the Sea to Sky Gondola. I shared the gondola with the dad from New York. We were given some time to explore the area ourselves when we reached the top. The view of Howe Sound from up there is really nice. Also great that we got such nice weather and blue sky. There's also a suspension bridge. In the picture below, you could see my travelling companions, the couples, crossing it. The guy (whose wife is way ahead) is teasing his sister-in-law who's nervous about crossing. There are a few walking trails you could do in the area. I did the short Spirit trail and parts of the Panorama trail. I couldn't complete the Panorama trail because I didn't have enough time, but that's where I most probably took the picture of the rocky wall of Stawamus Chief.

As I was about to leave, I saw a group of parents bringing their little babies. It's very interesting that they have this group doing things like this, introducing their little babies to nature. The people nearby perhaps have like an annual pass to the gondola because when we got up, we also saw a few people going up to do yoga. Anyways, after we all got down, the next thing we did was visit Brandywine Falls. The walk to the viewing platform wasn't hard as well and it was a nice walk. One interesting point was crossing a train track. The waterfall itself falling into a gorge is quite pretty.

Then we went to Whistler. I did not have any photo of it. The only photo I took of it is in my phone of the Olympics rings. It hosted a Winter Olympic one time. The reason why I didn't have any photo is because I didn't find it particularly interesting. The little town is filled with shops and what I did there was eat. I had a crepe which wasn't all that good that I couldn't finish it, but it filled me a bit much that I couldn't get a Beaver Tail :( I settled for ice cream from COWS and being that I was in Canada, I made a point to choose maple things. I chose Cownadian Maple in a cone which is maple ice cream with maple cookie chunks which was not bad, but was rather too sweet even for me. Then I just spent the rest of my time walking here and there. After Whistler, the last thing we stopped for was the Green Lake which wasn't green at all when we were there.

For photos from the day, you can go here. It wasn't the most interesting day, but I did enjoy myself walking on my own on the quiet trails after the gondola ride up. It was an easy trip which I think was good for me in getting back on my feet, back to 100%. One thing that kinda ruined the day for me was that I lost my llama key chain. Ruin is a strong word, but it was on my mind a lot that day and I just couldn't understand how it happened. It's still a mystery that bugs me, though with less intensity now. This was the llama key chain that got the security guard in Nuremberg Castle came asking if it was a chicken. I got it in Peru. I think it was sold in a set of 5 or 10 and I may have shared them with la Gioia, I can't remember exactly but I think I have 5. I was never one to put a key chain on my bag but I put this fuchsia one on my bag and I kinda like it because the weird me attach meaning to things and I feel this llama is almost like a charm or a protector for me and the bag on my travels. I realize it was gone when I returned to the car, I think after Shannon Falls, and the ring that was holding the llama was wide open. I didn't bring my bag that time when we walked to Shannon Falls, so it was gone while it was in the car? I couldn't understand it. Did it fall? I tried to look around the floor of the car, but I couldn't find it. It was just gone :( gone gone gone :( Now the rest of what I'm about to say is so ridiculous and me writing this out loud is actually embarrassing, but hear me out, or maybe don't, don't watch me lose any dignity or credibility, but here we go. I couldn't make sense how it could have gone. The easy explanation was that it fell. It might have fallen earlier and I only noticed it then, but the way the ring that was holding it was wide open on the seat of the car was super strange to me. So in my attempt to let it go (because I can't really), I asked myself what if it's taken by power you cannot see. I do believe in spirits, protectors of places. So what if the spirits took it, could be as a token for you walking on their land, could be for the protection they gave that you were okay as you walked upon their land. What if, this was what they asked. It's not much and it's a cute llama. As much as I think it's a small ask, I was still very bummed for losing the llama. I need to let it go, but even now when I think of it, I feel sad for the llama, I hope it's okay - yes, I attach way too many meanings on things. That being said, I think I have 4 llamas left somewhere in one of the containers in mom's house. I need to dig it up. I do want to get a new llama on my bag. If it turns out, I actually don't have any llama keychain left, I would be very sad. What are the odds I get to go back to Peru?

Anyways, we arrived back in Vancouver not too late that I decided to go to the Gastown area which was filled with tourists. Dinner was at The Old Spaghetti Factory. This place was big and packed. There's like a trolley car inside - I cannot explain it well. I guess people like the set of main dish, soup, and ice cream. I suppose it's value for money. I chose my go to of seafood marinara. It wasn't the best, but I managed to finish everything. The waitress who served me was really pretty that I was thinking if I was looking at someone who's going to be famous one day. You know how many celebrities have story of them waiting tables while they tried to make it work. What if this waitress was trying to be an actor at the same time or maybe it's not that at all, she could be some student trying to make a bit of money. She's Chinese looking and speaks it too that she was able to serve a table of Chinese speaking people well and took their photo. After dinner on my way back to the hotel, I stopped by Lee's Donuts. Well I was also waiting for the steam clock just opposite it to do its thing. I think it's a bit much to have donuts two days in a row, but I heard they're good, so I got two, couldn't remember what, most probably maple things. Then I went outside for the clock to puff its way to 7 PM. Many people were watching too. Then I went back to the hotel. I wanted to watch Stephen Colbert's last show and I tried my best to stay awake. I managed to watch his monologue but I decided to just skip the rest. It was late, I was very sleepy, and I had another early day the next morning. One last picture for this post, the pink alley at night from my window. The big ball changes colour and I kinda like watching it from the window.

:) eKa @ 8:41:00 PM • 0 comments

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Day 4 - Off to Vancouver + VanDusen Botanical Garden

honeybee
could you imagine where our lives would lead?
Honeybee - The Head and the Heart

I woke up on day 4 feeling much better. I could feel it's not 100%, but much better and that felt miraculous. I don't know if it's the Aleve, the sleep, the prayers, or perhaps all, but thanks be to God! I was leaving for Vancouver that day and being able to stand and then walked to A&W for breakfast gave me hope. After breakfast I took another Aleve; AI was saying not to take it on an empty stomach and I followed this advice. My ride to Calgary airport was at 09:30 AM, so it wasn't a rushed morning. Once I was ready, I checked out and walked the short distance to the hotel next door for my shuttle to the aiport. Luckily the driver (who seemed to be from Hong Kong) was already there and I was the only one he needed to pick from there and so we set off to pick up the rest. Once we picked all the passengers in Banff (mostly single girls, aside from a couple), we went to Canmore to pick an Indian family. The ride away from Banff was so different than when I was arriving. This time I had blue sky and sunshine and to see all the mountains around, it's a reminder how special Banff is. I like Banff a lot. I like all the things that I saw and I do wish I could see the lakes when they're not frozen. Unfortunately the way my life is now, travelling in July is rather tough and August would be rather impossible. Let's hope that I could get there again before the visa expires.

Arriving in Calgary airport, I remember there's quite a few walking to be done and though I could walk, I noticed that I was slower and thought there's nothing that can be done and walking slowly might be better. I had plenty of time, so there's no need to rush. Once I found the gate, I just sat down all the way, aside for the time I went to the toilet. Usually due to boredom, I would walk around and check all the stores, but I thought I needed to conserve my legs. The Air Canada flight to Vancouver was great because there's in-flight entertainment and they gave snack. Arriving in Vancouver, it was pretty smooth all the way - getting my luggage, buying the day transport pass from the machine, and then getting on the train. The aiport was the end of the line, so finding a seat was easy. I needed to get to the Waterfront station which is the other end line and this was where I was stupid. Thinking that Waterfront is the end, the train would stop pretty long and passengers would be told this is the end line and to get off - maybe all this happened and I was not paying attention, but the next thing I knew the train moved again and the stupid me was going back to where I just came. I only realized my stupidity after I have passed a station and so I got off at the next one and then took the other train again back to Waterfront, urgh :( I'm disappointed at myself.

Back in Waterfront station, at least I managed to find the correct exit which would be nearer to my hotel. I have studied on the direction to walk, but I failed this too. I chose the wrong direction and there were moments where I was lost and it wasn't pleasant because this is a city city where there were a lot of people and I was dragging my big luggage and I always think this state is the most vulnerable state not to mention embarrassing where you have a big luggage, you're lost, and you need to figure out where you need to go by checking your phone. Luckily while I crossed a few junctions uselessly, I managed to reorientate myself quite fast and found the hotel. I found the wrong entrance though because when the doorman / security guy open the door, it was stairs and he didn't help me with my luggage. He said something about they could help if asked, which I didn't even bother because that would mean I need to tip. So I huffed and puffed and got my luggage up the lobby myself. When I checked in, I found out the other entrance at the side where the car drop off is is the better entrance to choose because there's no stairs - Google Maps fail me because they didn't tell me this.

Anyways, got to my room and it was nice. It needed to be nice for the price which I thought was expensive. It's a suite which means the living room is separate from the bedroom. I didn't need it, but that was the only option available when I booked it. In terms of suite though, not my favorite - that place is still being hold by Puro Kraków Stare Miasto which of course I'm bias because I was upgraded without extra fee. Anyways at least this Vancouver suite is nice and clean and I guess because of the price I was brave enough to ask for slippers - I could just imagine my mom complaining when nice hotel does not provide things like that. The staff at the lobby then asked if I needed bathrobe too, which I didn't - side note: Puro Krakow just provided all that without being asked.

After I had settled all my things, I needed to decide what to do next. Initially I had wanted to go to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge and explore the nature around it. The thing is though, that evening was Survivor 50 finale and I wanted to watch that and so I needed to be back by 8 PM. It's possible by my calculation, a bit of a rush, but it could work, but then I wasn't physically 100%. So is it really a good idea to go across the water to North Vancouver and hike around? I ran it with the AI, it felt like it may not be a good idea and my second option, VanDusen Botanical Garden, was better. I'm stubborn right so even as I waited at the bus stop, there's still the thought we're not doing this? The bus stop where I was waiting is the same for either bus and the bus to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge came first and I was really hesitant, then I thought no let it go. That bus came a few mins late and my calculation relied on exact timing so those few minutes could derail a lot. Then the bus for VanDusen came and I took it. Since I didn't plan or study for this, my way to get there was not the best. I realize now taking the bus all the way is not a good idea because it's a long journey. I could actually shorten it by taking the train first and then the bus and that would give me more time in the garden :( I'm not sure if Google Maps gave me that direction or if I didn't see it. I spent the bus ride booking for the ticket to the garden, trying to understand the weird cable contraption in the bus you can pull to indicate you want to get off. I saw a guy by some corner waving Palestinian flag alone, I was very curious why he chose that spot. Basically I just tried to absorb and understand this city.

I arrived at the garden at around 4 pm which left me around 2 hours to explore, not ideal but I just had to make do. I had the map on my phone, but I was pretty aimless on my exploration. There's a disbelief that I could walk quite okay and I thanked God a lot as I walked. I was there on a Wednesday and starting that weekend, they were having their Fleurs de Villes exhibition and there were staff setting up their installation arts, hence the mannequin in the picture below - I don't think she's completed yet. The tree with the yellow flowers is Laburnum which the AI told me to enjoy because they're blooming - I had to ask it what it was - but they were indeed beautiful. Other blooming plants were the many different azaleas. As I was trying to find the waterfall, I met a couple who told me there were blue poppies which got me really excited, but I couldn't find them. Other things that got me super excited are the big trees. When I saw the Douglas-firs, Cedars, Redwoods, Giant Sequoias, I almost turned to be a tree hugger, I didn't, but I thank the good Lord that somehow I was still given this opportunity. The garden is really nice. A really good place to walk around in. The waterfall didn't have water running when I was there. There was a maze but I didn't want to risk tiring myself walking unnecessarily that I didn't enter it. By 6 PM, I thought there would be staff directing visitors to the exit, but no such thing or even an announcement the garden was closing. So I only exited after 6 PM.

For photos from VanDusen Botanical Garden, go here. I needed the bus to get back so I checked Google Maps for where the bus stop is. Got there only to see the sign that this bus stop was not being used, use the next one - arrrgh!!! All that walking and now I had to walk to the next one, God help me. Being spoilt here in Singapore, I often get shocked when I go to these first-world countries and then see things like their bus stop which was just a pole with sign that one can miss easily, no shelter, sigh. Anyways, I made it to the next bus stop with time to spare. This time I got smart and got off when it reached a train station and completed the rest of the trip with train which saved me a lot of time. Back in the neighbourhood of my hotel, I first went to Breka to get some things for breakfast the next day. I settled on donuts, which were good. Then I was thinking of ramen for dinner but as I made my way to the ramen place, I noticed another Japanese place just across the street from my hotel. Their tempura looks good, so I went there and it was the first and only time I had rice on the trip. I like it when things fall into places. I had enough time when I got back to my room and I was all cleaned up and ready for Survivor at 8 PM. Funny how there were people who I liked during their first time in Survivor, but this second time around I do have to say my opinion of Jonathan and Joe diminished. I can't say I like the remaining 5, but I did feel sad when Tiffany was gone, and then I applauded Aubry when she won.

Okay, first impression of Vancouver. Somehow I felt there were a lot siren sounds. I had to ask myself, was it like this too in New York. Then, again this is about me and how we're so sheltered in Singapore, but to see quite a number of homeless people in Vancouver, well that was so jarring to me. I had to remind myself, it's different out there in the world unlike Singapore no matter if they're rich first-world countries. Street cleanliness wise, well nothing compares to Singapore, right? My best-friend, Dewi, once said she's annoyed when all these foreign tourists say Indonesia is not clean, etc. She feels if they're not from Singapore or maybe Japan, they have no right to say that when their countries are not spotless. She might be right :D

:) eKa @ 9:40:00 PM • 0 comments

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Day 3 - More Lakes, Cave & Basin, and Banff Gondola

and only you know where you have been to
only you know what you have been through
there's better things you're gonna get into
and I wanna be there too, yes I do
Only You Know - Dion

I don't know who Mr. Dion is (I feel the need to add Mr), but I love this song and his voice in it. Sadly I'm not as positive as the song and sometimes when I hear it I feel Mr. Dion is being positive for me. Anyways, A lot of photos and words for this post; it's kinda indicative that I did do a lot on day 3. I over-exterted myself that by the end of it I had real concerns. It started early because of this silly thing that got in my head. When a thing gets in my head, it's almost impossible to get it out until I just see it through. Somehow I thought the day trip the day before would include Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake, but it didn't and so I thought why don't you go there on your own. So I did. I took the first bus to Lake Minnewanka and though I was alone waiting for that bus, there were already quite a number of other people in the bus. It didn't take long to get to the lake (less than 30 mins) and the lake was practically empty at 08:30 AM something. I walked to the shore, took out my camera, and was ready to take photo when I realized it cannot be switched on. First thought was did the cold ruin my camera and then second thought was please don't tell me there's no battery inside. Yep, your dumb dumb truly somehow didn't put the battery back in after it was charged the night before, arrrghhh!!! Very often when something didn't happen, I'd like to say to myself, okay God says no. I wanted to say this time too God said no because He wanted me to focus and we had a tight schedule to keep what with the bus schedule that comes hourly, but let's be honest and just say this was my stupid mistake. What to do, for this leg on Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake, the photos are from my phone. Here's a few of Lake Minnewanka.

I have to admit when it's quiet like that, it's actually really nice to just enjoy the lake and explore the surrounding. I however didn't do any hike around or even explore the lake in its entirety. I was the typical annoying tourist who tries to cram so much, ticking off list, that one doesn't really fully appreciate the place. What I wanted to do was to see Two Jack Lake too and take the bus back to town from there which would come just after 09:35 AM. That gave me around 1 hour to get from Lake Minnewanka to Two Jack Lake. Google Maps' direction was to take the main road where the traffic is and it would take around 40 mins walking. Google itself indicated that there's a walking trail and its AI was telling me to get off the road, but I couldn't find it even with its direction. I even asked a lady, but the lady herself didn't know if such a trail exists and was more like follow the road as what Google Maps also showed on her phone. I could perhaps have walked along the shore, but I worried that the path might be blocked or there's actually no path that would get me to Two Jack Lake, so the safer option to me was to really walk on the road. Luckily while there's cars, it wasn't a lot. All the while I tried to keep a good pace trying not to stop to take photo often though I did take some photos of the mountains and very often I checked the map to make sure my direction was still correct and to get an updated time on how long more the walk would be. It was the case of me looking down at my phone that when I finally looked up, there's these sheeps in front of me, like just one metre away. They were sitting down and as I approached they stood up and started to move a bit, but it's like they're unsure. I was pleasantly surprised and in that moment what I thought was these sheeps must think that I'm so so silly. I took their photos and since there's no car, I even stood in the middle of the road to take more photos. Look at them, they might be thinking, girl what are we doing? I can't help grinning and laughing because girl, we're so so ridiculous. I thank God for this moment on unexpectedness that's truly beyond my imagination.

Not long after the sheep, I arrived at Two Jack Lake. I stopped where there's a bus stop nearby. The bus stop I chose was Two Jack Day Use and the lake around this area at that time was also quiet. There was a youth group who were going canoeing it seemed. The view was pretty and though I didn't have a lot of time, it was really good that I made it.

Not wanting to waste my effort by missing the bus, I went to the bus stop earlier and double checked that I was waiting at the correct place. When the bus came, the bus driver was surprised; he was like how, did you walk here? I nodded and chuckled. It was perhaps rather odd to get passengers and he wasn't expecting any, at least at that time of the day, that I was the only passenger all the way back to town. Back in town, I quickly got back to my room to get the battery for the camera and contemplated on the original plan for the day. The original plan for the day was to cycle around and then to end the day with Banff Gondola. That's why I was so unprepared for Lake Minnewanka and Two Jack Lake; I didn't study them. I supposed I may have contemplated of just spending more time in the lakes which looking at what I know now was perhaps a better choice and I would still have enough time for all, but I didn't, oh well. Anyways, first order of business after getting my battery was getting to town and eat. The morning breakfast was a brownie which was good, but now I needed more food if I was going to cycle. I found the place which I had googled beforehand and ordered omelette with crab and asparagus which wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. It was okay good and I managed to finish it, but not mind-blowing.

As I had brunch, I tried to stop the pressing question in my head, we're doing this - cycling? At least let me enjoy the food in peace, please. I had to get to an answer though. People may not understand or expect this from me - going to a country you've never been before alone is scary for some people and I've been doing that and yet the thing that put a lot of doubt and fear in myself are things like this one small component, cycling alone. Up to that point, I thought this was the biggest hurdle I needed to conquer, but just you wait. The last time I cycled was in 2019 in Gili Trawangan with the family. I wasn't so much scared about me losing my ability to cycle - thank God this is one of those skill that doesn't leave you - what I was scared about was direction and having to navigate traffic. Cycling in Banff was like a later thought that came about. I planned to cycle in Vancouver, but Banff ... is it doable? I studied the map, the PDF I found online, the recommendation and what not, but still it seemed at one point I had to cycle on the road and this scared me. As I paid the bill for my brunch, the answer was clear - come on, you cannot be defeated by fear - so off I went to the bicycle rental place that I had googled. I chose that because I think that would reduce the amount of time I had to spend on road. The guys there took a long time to process me renting their bicycle that I quickly departed after one of the guy gave me the helmet and showed me how to lock the bicycle. I just wanted to leave fast that I didn't really make sure the seat was okay that as soon as I crossed the road, I stopped and adjusted the seat.

My first stop was to get to Vermilion Lakes. As I left town, I might have been too consumed on making sure that I was okay - I might have been repeating to myself, you're fine, you're fine - that I missed some signs for the bicycle / walking trail (which there are a few), that I did cycle on the road for some time (stay on the right, stay on the right). Thank God traffic wasn't heavy. My eyes eventually found it and when I got to the trail that's when I got more relaxed. It was a quiet trail, not many people were walking or cycling and it wasn't a very long ride to get to the lake.

I think I went to two different viewpoints and it was great finding oneself totally alone there. The weather wasn't all sunshine though and there's a bit of a drizzle that I decided to get to the next part, visiting the Cave and Basin. On the way back, this was when I found out I missed some signs earlier and how the cycling / walking trail is connected nicely into town. It's actually all very convenient. It made for a very comfortable ride and the view was interesting.

Cave and Basin National Historic Site was something that I wasn't sure if it's worth the time or money, but time was all I had so I thought why not. There's a bit of nervousness on the part of the direction to get there but I made it and I even found the bicycle rack where I parked the bicycle. By the way, Banff is inside Banff National Park and you actually need a Banff Park Pass when you enter and spend time in this national park. The blogs talk about it for all the people who drive, that they need to place the pass visibily on the car dashboard. How about people like me though who do not drive? The official answer is I need a pass too but no one in the Internet can point out that a walking person has been asked for a pass. I didn't get one for the day I arrived. For the next two days I took day tours that took care of it. So then how about this day when I was exploring on my own? I decided to be good and got one day pass at 12.25 CAD. There's a blog that mentioned the staff in Cave and Basin did ask them to show the pass when they got the ticket, but I wasn't asked. It's okay though. One thing I like about Canada (or at least the places I visited so far), they have many clean free public toilets. So if this money goes towards maintenance such as that, then I'm for it. Anyways, the Cave and Basin wasn't very crowded with visitors. I actually didn't spend a long time there. The cave with its sulphur / eggy is small. Outside there's a pond where the ranger explained to visitors about Banff Springs snails which is critically endangered. You cannot touch the water in this small pond for the sake of the snails. They're quite small and look like rocks and if the ranger didn't tell me which ones they were, I wouldn't know. Other than that, there's some exhibits and artworks indoor and outdoor.

After the Cave and Basin, I thought I should explore the Sundance trail which the cycling leaflet I found categorized it as a family friendly ride. I thought that means it would be easy, but I was so wrong, but this could be because I'm not physically fit. The Cave and Basin entrance is actually on a slope from where I parked my bicycle, so first I went down to get the bicycle. Then as I consulted the map, turns out the trail actually starts from behind the entrance which means I had to cycle up the slope which I couldn't remember if I really did, I may have walked the bicycle instead because it was hard. The trail did level up and it became more manageable. There's the Bow river and mountains view. Again there's not many people here, though there were some people walking.

After a while, the river is no longer visible and it's a trail with trees all around. This trail was hard because it's going up and up. The elevation may not be so visible, but I definitely felt it. There's no other people coming or going so there wasn't anyone watching me stopping multiple times. I had to tell myself, okay you need to get going.

Going where though? Is it stubbornness? Is it me having to see things through that there's no point in this whole thing where I was like stop, what are you doing, go back? During my stops, I may have checked the map multiple times and I guess I was just going to the end. The end I did arrive. There's still a path to hike through if you want to I suppose, but for the bicycle it's kinda hard. In the end there's like a shed (was it toilet, I wasn't sure), there's also a picnic table and bench. There I was at the end, it was slightly drizzling, I was all alone, no one on earth knew exactly where I was. It's kinda weird to be feeling that alone, but comforting in a sense. I was okay and feeling safe. At that moment there's nothing that was expected from me. There's no shit that I need to deal with. It's perhaps silly at the same time because what am I doing? But I just had to stand for a moment and feel all these feelings. I looked at the path I came from, the path ahead, the trees all around me; felt the drizzles and the air. It's like feeling your existence. Then I went to the little stream in front of me and to memorialize this thing that I did for what I don't know, I took video of this stream. Sometimes we do things without an objective and I cannot say I'm not glad that I did this trail.

I had to eventually go back. This time because it was going down, I was gliding - I like the Indonesian word to describe this better, meluncur. It was so so fun. The chicken me of course got nervous that I had to pull the brakes a bit so that I wasn't going too fast. Back to where I could see the river and mountains, I stopped longer to take photos.

As I was leaving this trail, I saw some people riding horses. This was actually something that I really considered doing. I've never been on one and I thought it's a good time to get it off my life list. In the end the bicycle won though, I guess because it's cheaper. The next part that I thought of doing was cycling the Golf Course Road loop which the leaflet said was an easy ride. I needed to get on the either side of the Bow river. After I did, I was following the trail in front of me not really actively looking for the start of this golf course loop, then some things became familiar to me. I was in the area which I explored on the day I arrived. This time, I saw some deers in the woods.

I saw the Bow Falls again and I also reached the beach area I was alone in in the snow. This time the weather was better, there were more tourists, and you could see all the many mountains that were hidden on my day 0.

After that I put more effort to find the start of the Golf Course loop. I think I found it. I reached a road where on either side there's people golfing. The road seems not dedicated for walking or cycling though, like cars could also use it though I didn't really any see car coming or going. I cycled in it for a little bit then I decided no, I think it's enough. I was getting tired. It was never something that interest me cycling around a golf course and though I saw an interesting view of a mountain, I thought it's enough cycling for the day.

Now it's time to get back and return this bicycle. I remember at leaving this golf course trail there was a slope that I just couldn't get up on that I was walking the bicyle and I remember thinking at least no one sees this embarrassement. After that slope was done with, the way back to the bicycle shop was uneventful. There's a part where I knew I needed to deal with traffic and that made me rather nervous. Google Maps was giving me direction which I ignored and luckily I did because my way was correct and I got back pretty smoothly. Sometimes my sense of direction is not so bad. By the time I returned the bicycle, there was a heavier drizzle happening.

The last thing to do in Banff was the Banff Gondola. I haven't bought the ticket beforehand and I may have bought it while I was on the bus to get there. The thing with booking Banff Gondola is that it asks you for the timing you're going there and I thought that would be very strict and I couldn't commit beforehand and as such I was buying it just as I was about to go. I do recommend not buying on the day though because it is more expensive :( Anyways I waited for the bus in a rather heavy drizzle and that wasn't ideal, but Google was saying it's only for that hour and it was so correct. By the time I arrived at the bottom station, the rain had stopped and it was looking rather okay. It turned out there's not many people. I got a gondola all for myself! I don't have any fear of height, but I wonder if it's forming. Somehow being on the gondola alone, there were moments where I was like this is kinda scary. The gondola is going up Sulphur Mountain and on its top quite a lot of snow was still covering it and I could see instead of rain there was a light snow falling. You can walk up and down the mountain without the gondola if you're so inclined but that would never be me. I saw someone walking down with their dog and maybe walking down is easier but the trail was kinda covered in snow so thinking about how it could be wet and slippery, I think it's rather scary.

Arriving on top, I didn't immediately go outside. There's a short film being shown and I went to watch it first. Outside it's colder and snow was still all around. The winter wonderland vibe was still going on here. Now, I'm not one who gets excited about going up high places to see the view and I have done many and many have made me feel just ... okay. This was rather different though. It was way way more captivating. My expectation was low, but my mind was rather blown. I didn't get the perfect weather, many mountains were covered by cloud, but it was still so breathtaking. The snow may have added to the wonderful impression I was having. It was really something else and I do recommend this. Going outside, the goal was to get to the weather observatory on Sanson's Peak. There's a nice wooden boardwalk which makes the walk up there not so bad but I was already tired because of all the things I already did that day that I was taking it very slowly. Along the way you see stunning view. There's a plaque indicating the mountains you see but I couldn't remember any. I could see Lake Minnewanka where I was that morning and it was great to see it from this view with the mountains surrounding it.

When I got to Sanson's Peak, I noticed a older Chinese uncle / grandpa walking about. I don't know if he's local or from China. His travelling companions were some ladies who were excitedly taking photos on an area where there's ice that I didn't bother to explore because I thought I was gonna slip and fall. Anyways so seeing that uncle, I thought of my dad, how he never had a chance to see anything like this and if he's gonna be mesmerized as well. I'm sure he would because it was so beautiful. Then I thought if he was there with me which would make him have the chance to see all this. Then I also thought if he were there, were all my dead aunts, uncles, cousins there too and if they were, that's very nice. I tried to spent a bit more time here to absorb everything, but as the snow was falling I thought it's time to go back. It's the tiny snowball and I realized because they don't melt instantly on touch, that's why the boardwalk wasn't wet.

Back at the visitor center, I explored the different floors. There was a place where the staff was distributing marshmallow that you could roast outside. I think it was free but I was too shy to ask - despite of all the things I managed to do on my own, there's still the childlike of not being brave enough to ask people. When I had built up the courage to do so, the staff was no longer there :( Oh well. I'm not that fond of marshmallow and if it had been the full on ingredients for s'more, I may have built the courage faster. Anyways, so after that I went down and again I was alone in the gondola. I needed to wait a little while for the bus back to town but it's all good.

Back in town, I went to BeaverTails to gather things for dinner. Got the hot dog poutine and cherry lemonade, but the real reason of me going there was for the BeaverTail. I chose the one with banana and hazelnut on account that I thought I didn't have enough fruits during my trip. I got all to go and the staff gave me an unnecessarily big bag, but perhaps because they didn't have anything smaller. Cherry lemonade wasn't good. The poutine, well you already got me when you doused french fries in gravy, but I don't care much for the sausage and cheese curd. Portion was rather big that I couldn't finish it and I still had the big BeaverTail to tackle. I had some imagination of what it would be like eating this fried dough. Since I didn't eat it immediately and the cold may have affected it, I acknowledge that I didn't eat it when it's in its perfect state, but man there were still parts of it where I was like damn this is good, but it's easy to get me to like this kind of things. The BeaverTail, big as it was and they were generous with the topping, I managed to finish it all. I wish I have had more time to try the different flavours. Some of it would be way too much sugar though even for someone like me.

After that I got cleaned up and was ready to just relax and I realized I was in a lot of pain. Oh my God! My legs were just like ... it's hard to even stand, I had to hold on to things. AI was telling me it's Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) or acute muscle fatigue - maybe it's right. It's telling me to hydrate and elevate my legs. It's so painful that I was very concerned. Then I realized I had Aleve and so I took it and AI was telling me good. I was still very concerned though, what if I couldn't walk the next day where I would be leaving Banff for Vancouver. There was still pain when I was going to sleep. Luckily the sleepiness won and I could sleep quite okay. I'll leave what happened in the next post and end this very long post. For photos from all the lakes and canyon in Banff National Park go here. For the things in Banff the town, go here. For Banff Gondola, go here.

:) eKa @ 8:15:00 PM • 0 comments