Flight delays

                 I have never had a major flight delay before. Seriously. I know, with
the amount I’ve traveled, it seems ridiculous, but thus far I had managed
to beat the odds and routinely show up early to my destinations. My
ridiculously bad luck with getting my luggage off last… now that’s
another story. It was really just a matter of time before my airline luck
ran out, and my timer finally caught up with me on my way back to
Vancouver from a wild, exotic trip to Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
                It seemed like a good idea at the time – book into the KW airport and
save ourselves and one of Eric’s friends (who picked us up) the hour and a
half drive to Toronto’s beautiful, big, lots-of-flights-to-choose-from
airport. Plus it was CAD$30.00 less on a Westjet seat sale. But signs of
trouble brewed early, when, before we even left Canada, the airline
personally called me at home to tell me our nonstop flight was now an hour
connection in Calgary. Amazing customer service, though. Serious props
to Westjet for that. Plus, I’d never been to Calgary before, so this
could be fun.
                On the way there, it wasn’t bad. Our departure from Calgary was delayed forty minutes, but that just meant more time at the duty free, and I do love me some duty free. Side note – if I haven’t mentioned it before, I
freaking love airports. I love the way they smell, I love all the
luggage, I love the hustle and bustle and I even love the overpriced giant
Toblerones and amazingly cheezy souvenirs. The bigger the better – more to
see! So additional time in a new airport to me is like a little gift from
the airport Gods. Normally I have to haul my grumpy/sleep
deprived/hungover companions there early, only to have them collapse onto a padded bench seat and try to pretend not to know me as I skip through the terminal. This was far more efficient, espeically for a morning
flight. I was hoping to get the same fun in KW on the way home, but when
we landed and, before we even got off the plane Eric’s buddy Kyle texted
saying he knew we had arrived, because we were the only plane there, I
knew this wasn’t the party airport I was hoping for. The arrivals,
departures and luggage carousel were all in the same room, and only two
airlines flew out of here – Westjet and Bearskin – who only flies to
Montreal and Ottawa and whom I had never heard of, depsite all my years in
the travel industry.
                So on the way home after a fantastic week of sun and fun, complete with a family wedding and trips to Canada’s Wonderland theme park and Niagara Falls, I just wanted to get to the airport on time, get on my plane, and have more time to explore the Calgary airport (read: the airport where
there is something to do) on the way home. This is when lightening
struck. Literally. There were weird storms all over Eastern Canada, with
Halifax being lit up like a light show and rain in Kitchener/Waterloo,
despite the heat wave. Our gate (correction, THE gate) had a bar and a
coffee shop and a cart of used books. There was a great fiew out to the
tarmac. And there was no plane. About the time we were supposed to
board, the Westjet girl gets on the loudspeaker and announces that our
plane has circled the airport twice unsuccessfully trying to land, and now
needs to go to Toronto for fuel before trying again. Should only be an
hour delay.
               Five hours later, the recap was this: the flight spent four hours in
Toronto, during which time they were so sure they weren’t going to be able
to make it to KW that night that they offloaded all their passengers and
put them on a bus to KW instead of making them stay on the plane. In the
interim, we were getting half-hourly delays saying the “plane should be
arriving in KW is about 20 minutes”. Naturally. The look on the Westjet
lady’s face was one of pure regret every time she had to make another
announcement. We actually came very close to being boarded on a plane
ourselves and driven up to Toronto to fly from there, but just waiting it
out was determined to be the faster option, so we sat.
                Here’s the thing, though. This actually didn’t bother me all that much.  As an agent I know that the airline is legally obligated to somehow get you to your destination, so if there’s a chance to reschedule you/get you
going ASAP, they’ll do it. I wasn’t worried about that at all. And it
was kind of fascinating watching the reactions of the passengers and the
staff as they sorted through this uncomfortable situation. Normally this
is when I’d get a panic-stricken call from my client, demanding that I get
them to Wherever as soon as possible, despite the fact that I’ve advised
them that it’s way faster and more effective to just talk to the airline
lady yourself, she’s right in front of you. Then I’d spend a minimum of
half an hour on hold with the airline, listening to that spectacular hold
music, and then reschedule you on to the next flight (Which the airline
was totally going to do anyways!), or be told that the situation was
already resolved at the airport and all that holding was for nothing.
Maybe it was because we were such a small group at a tiny airport, or that
our average age was 55 and didn’t include any of the “my time is more
important than yours” businessmen, but most people were remarkably calm
and just went back to their newspapers. When we hit the four hour mark
and it became apparent that pretty much everyone who didn’t live in
Calgary was going to be forced to stay there overnight, people started
getting restless and anyone who could rebooked themselves on the following
day’s flight and went home for the night, leaving an increasingly small
group of us to watch the same newscast that had been on every half an hour
prior. There was a giant snake found in a bathtub in Calgary, by the way.
The group of us actually managed to empty out the little terminal cafe,
until there was nothing left to buy but a banana and some coffee. We took
it as a bad sign when they started bringing out breakfast sandwiches. You
mean we’re still going to be here in the morning?
                     At 1130pm, amidst loud clapping and some kids doing the wave, the plane finally arrived. We were loaded on immediately and took off for Calgary.  Two episodes of So You Think You Can Dance and a whole lot of House Hunters, combined with some horrible failed sleeping attempts and we were finally back at least in Western Canada. Wrong freaking province, but now we were at least within spitting distance to home. And it was 5am our body’s time.

               The instructions were to see the Westjet agents for accomodation
vouchers, and, since we were row 2 and there was nobody in row one, we
were the first off the plane and able to shanghai a gate agent all to
ourselves before we had to fight the crowds. They had a litle package of
a hotel voucher, a taxi voucher to get us there, and vouchers for
breakfast and lunch, if we needed it. Perfect. By now we were exhausted,
barely seeing straight, and grumpy, but the whole thing ran smoothly. Ten
minutes later we were in our room at the Holiday Inn Caldary Airport, and
let me tell you, that bed was so comfortable it was ridiculous. I could
have moved into that pillow for a week. What we got was less
than three hours. Our flight to Vancouver departed at 8, meaning we had
to be checked in and cleared security by 7, and we were on a 630 shuttle
to the airport. Getting up sucked. Seriously. Then some stupid shit who
clearly had a 10am flight and an ego figured he’d show up 15 minutes late
for the shuttle (for the life of me, I don’t get why they waited for him,
there was another shuttle 5 minutes after that), so it lead to some tense
line waiting at check in and security and then a sprint to a cafe to grab
a muffin for a 30 second breakfast before getting to our gate right as
they started loading. The lady at the muffin stand kept saying to me “buy
more, the voucher’s worth $20, you’re only spending $6 and you don’t get a
refund” to which, after the third time, I snapped “just give me my
freaking muffin and let me catch my plane before I hurt you!” You see, I
love airports, but I hate the possiblilty of missing a plane. Not gonna
happen.
              An hour later we were finally back in Vancouver, sunglasses on to cover the bags under our eyes and fueling myself with a slurpee in hopes the
caffiene and sugar would keep me awake. I hopped the train directly to
work and Eric went home to sleep. In my line of work, unless you’re
stranded somewhere that only one flight weekly departs and you have the
possibility to die of exposure/be eaten by sharks/stoned by cannibals,
then you’re going to show up to work. Why? Because the person next to
you has always been through worse. I have to admit, though, that for my
first horrible flight delay experience, it went really smoothly. It was
uncomfortable and exhausting, sure, but Westjet did take full care of us
with no effort required whatsoever by us stranded passengers, and no
additional cost required. Good on you Westjet. Apparently your
commercials are right, you do care.

Tags: Canada, Canada's Wonderland, delayed, Flights, Kitchener-Waterloo, Niagara Falls, Ontario, tired, Westjet

Come to Vancouver – we have the best weather!

               Ahh, summer in Vancouver.   Perfect days with a rare cloud punctuating the pure blue sky, a gentle breeze coming in off the ocean, the majestic mountains surrounding us in a comforting hug, and the sun glinting off the glass skyscrapers of the downtown core.  Damn, right it’s the best place on earth.  And you should all drop what you’re doing and come now.  Immediately.  Vancouver wants you.  We have perfect weather, so take advantage of it before stock runs out! 

                Summer finally arrived at the end of June, after the longest winter on record.  Well, technically winter was exactly the same length as every year, but this year it felt like we skipped spring entirely.  But once summer dawned, it hasn’t let up one bit.  We’ve now had nearly a month straight of “coat?  I don’t even need socks in this weather” weather, and I’m loving every second of it.  Life should operate at this temperature every day.  I guess it does in LA, but here we don’t need to deal with nearly as much traffic, garbage, smog, noise…  you get the point.  As much as I appreciate (and boy do I appreciate) the chance to finally thaw, this weather also shows off Vancouver at its best, and everyone needs to take full advantage of it. 

               Right now we’re in the midst of the Symphony of Fire fireworks competition for four consecutive Wednesday and Saturday nights, which floods the shores of false creek with thousands of “ooooh”ers and “aaaah”ers.  Soon we’ll have the Dragon Boat festival, too.  We actually don’t have a deep pool of festivals and events, but the attractions we have year-round are pretty damn spectacular, and when you see them in this fantabulous weather, they’re even better.  You can immerse yourself in the native culture of the pacific coast at the UBC Museum of Anthropology and then get your nekked on at Wreck Beach; shop Robson Street’s trendiness and then finish off the day at a waterfront cafe on False Creek; bike Stanley Park’s seawall, feed the squirrels and enormous raccoons, then visit one of the best Aquariums around to splash with the belugas and dolphins.  A few weeks ago I did the bike thing for the first time since I was like 6 and it was great.  It’s a really smooth, relaxing ride, and a 2 hour bike rental from Spokes on Denman only cost CAD$10.00!    And regardless of what you do, remember to snag a funky twist on lunch at the world-famous Japadog gourmet Japanese hot dog cart.  Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

          But honestly, I’m here in the best place on earth, and I cannot recommend strongly enough that you should be too.  What are you waiting for, people?  We have sun!!!!

Tags: aquarium, best, bikes, BlogSherpa, Canada, fantastic, fireworks, fun, Japadog, Stanley Park, sun, vancouver, weather

Vancouver – Olympic Detox

       OMG, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics are over.  They were AWESOME, but they’re done now.  Finished.  Kaput.  Put to bed.  We’ve been prepping for this for the past 10 years,survived the gut-wrenching bid process, the constant traffic disruptions that came with building the new venues and Canada Line skytrain, the protests, the adjusting to the Logo that no one initially liked, the crowds, the incredible excitement, the overwhelming patriotism, the nine-hour line ups for the maple leaf mittens, the best hockey game ever, and the raging hangover from the post-Olympics-and-hockey-game celebrations.  Phew.  Now all us Vancouver (and surrounding area) -ites are left tingling, walking around in a daze and thinking, what’s next?

        First thing Monday morning, assuming you were not one of the 40,000 people trying to fly home from YVR,  the most noticeable change was that there is now nothing on TV again.  That’s one of the fantastic things about the Olympics in general: the 24/7  TV coverage.  You can get up at 6 and catch up on all the short track speed skating and doubles luge action that aired the night before while you were watching the moguls skiing and biathalon.  And here in the lower mainland we had this on not one but four English Channels, as well as French, and occasionally Punjabi ones. Multiply this by 2 if you have HD cable.  Author’s note - If you’ve never watched short track speed skating with an over-excited French commentator, you’re missing out, it’s hysterically funny.  Particularly if you don’t speak French.  But anyway, now we have to watch the same boring crap as always, and it bites.

        And then there’s downtown.  The streets are still busy, but you have to walk down the (gasp!) sidewalkon Robson St. because it’s no longer pedestrian only.  The street performers are gone, too, and we miss the guy in the green skivvies on the giant unicycle already.  Thankfully many of the pavilions, art installations and the wait-in-line-for-two-days zipline are still open thanks to the Paralympics starting on March 12th, so it’s easing us back into regular life slowly, not a sudden  rip-off-the-BandAid jolt.  The biggest difference is that the people walking around are no longer all wearing giant maple leafs on their heads (backs/arms/dogs/children), just a few holdouts still are, and the rest are back in their business formal attire.  Oh, and the line for your Japadog is only half an hour again.

        We’re all kind of numb.  It’s over.  It’s OOOOOOVVVVVVEEEERRRRR!!!!  But it was incredible to have it here, we now have state of the art facilities that will help foster the new crop of Olympians, we have a new appreciation of Curling, and we have the most incredible memories.  We are, now and forever, an Olympic City.  We showed the world how beautiful our scenery and our people are, and, most importantly, showed them how much National pride flows through our veins.  Sorry guys, but Canada isn’t just going to sit by quietly anymore, we’re going to scream our heads off, wear red and white mittens everywhere, and apologize for beating you afterwards.  For that, we thank the Olympics.  They brought us together as a Nation, the home-soil advantage brought us out of our shells, and nobody was more surprised by it than we were.  We always knew our country is the best (I’m more than a little bit biased), but we never really laid it all out there to be seen before. 

Vancouver 2010 Olympics, we miss you.  And we promise to remeber you fondly.

But in the meantime, can you help me find something good on TV again?

Tags: BlogSherpa, Canada, excitement, mittens, Olympics, pride, TV, vancouver, zipline

Happy Hockey Day, Canada!

     It’s a national holiday here in Canada, the day we all take off to celebrate the wonder that is the greatest game on earth – Hockey!  Okay, so it’s not “technically” a holiday, but it might as well be.  Between noon and four pacific time, the streets are going to be empty as every eye in the nation is on the Canada/US gold medal game.  On friday at 6 during what was only a semifinal game the parking lots were empty and the BF and I had a whole grocery store practically to ourselves, so when you multiply that by Gold and Sunday you get the complete ghost town effect. 

              This is so big here, you don’t even have to like or know anything about hockey to be caught up in all the excitement.  There was a line up around the block at the Georgia St Shark Club sports bar already at six this morning, and that’s not even the most coveted seat in the city.  At this point, the only way you can get a seat in GM Place for the game (er, I mean Canada Hockey Place, I don’t want those Olympic sponsorship people on my back) is if you’re running a country, sleeping with someone who’s running a country or have suddenly been drafted to play.  Actually, sleeping with someone who’s running a country probably isn’t even a guarantee, unless you’re really good.  On the bus yesterday I overheard some guys planning their hockey drinking game: everytime we score, take a shot. Every time we hit them really hard (it has to shake the glass, the criteria were pretty specific), take a shot.  And every time the US scores against us, just down the rest of the bottle and hope you forget it quickly.  Win or loose, they’re going to be completely pickled by four pm, and it’s either going to be one hell of a crazy party tonight or they’re going to be unconscious, so they won’t have to feel the agony of defeat.  Now that’s dedication.  I like it.  I could never do it myself, but I like it.  I wonder if liquor stores are going to see a big sales day…?   Or are they just not going to open because all their staff’s at home watching the game? 

            Basically, the nation has come to a standstill.  Please, everybody, get your cheezies and Bud Lights now before the puck drops, because once that happens, the country could suddenly transform into one of those abandoned shells so often seen in zombie movies after everyone’s been infected.  Ooh, that analogy works better than I had planned, as we’re already infected.  All of us.  With Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Fever (OGMHF).   God knows, my new TV and earth-changing high-def channels will have every pixel focused so closely in we’ll be able to identify the exact tooth that comes flying from the US player’s mouth when we slam him!  It’ll be awesome!  I’ll update this later with a postgame analysis, but no matter what it’s gonna be good.  

      Happy Hockey Day, Canada!

Tags: alcohol, Canada, excitement, happy, hockey, Olympics, party, USA

Vancouver – Living amongst the flame

       The opening ceremonies last night were incredible.  Watching them at home I was just as blown away with the spectacle that is the Olympics as I always am, but then I take a moment and realize – that’s here.  Here here. Like “if I lean far enough out my balcony I can see that”here.   Going home on the skytrain yesterday the whole car just burst into the national anthem, a whole bunch of strangers heading to the suburbs and celebrating the true north strong and free.

Now that’s cool.

        Vancouver’s ceremony definitely did not disappoint.  It’s weird, I think we all have this slight Canadian inferiority complex that expects everything we do to be good, but always has the feeling that someone could have done it better.  I know, it’s stupid, but the show last night reminded us all to snap out of it, that we really are awesome and we’re going to prove it to the world.  Repeatedly.  While wearing a toque.  Preferably one shaped like a maple leaf.   My favorite moments were the projected whales breaching across the floor of BC Place stadium (oh, and just let me add while I remember, BC Place looked incredible, I kept having to remind myself it has a roof  – the first in Olympic history – and that the snow was fake.  The parkas worn by all the athletes were definitely not needed as it was probably 25 degrees in there, although Bermuda’s shorts were right on), and the beat poet’s declaration that Canada was here to kick some ass and take names.  It reminded me of the Molson Canadian ads from years ago that ended up printed on t-shirts and can most likely still be at least partially recited by 70% of the population.  Come on, you know it: “…the beaver is truly a proud and noble animal.  A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced ‘zed’!”

       As a city we were all pretty hyped up for the games before, especially getting behind the torch relay, but after the opening last night, we’re now officially Olympic mad.  I work in a mall, and both the Bay and Zellers – the official Olympic apparel suppliers – are packed.  I mean hold-on-to-your-children packed.  It’s crazier than the last minute Christmas rush to get your Canada mittens and tees, and there was actually a fight over the last scarf when I was in Zellers.    It’s like we were all laid back “yeah, I’ll get some of that stuff eventually”, but last night has spurred us and our wallets into action.   Personally, I’m one of the true north strong and cheap, so I’m waiting for them to go on sale after the games.  But as soon as those markdowns come, you can bet I’m going to look fabulous.

          And this is only day one.  Tomorrow we get the super fantastic combination of Chinese New Year, with it’s giant parade and great food, and the Olympics, so the roof is going to be blown off this town, that’s for sure!

Tags: BlogSherpa, Canada, Canadian, excitement, Olympics, opening ceremonies, party, pride, shopping, skytrain, the Bay, torch, vancouver

Back from Ontario at Christmas!

       I did it!  I managed to fly to Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario and back without becoming a strangely dressed popsicle.  And I didn’t freak out/scare off/offend any of the bf’s family as I met them all for the first time.  High five to me.

       I left Vancouver Boxing Day at 8am – if you want to get a great parking space at YVR, get there at 530am on Boxing Day.  The place was a ghost town.  So much for those holiday crowds.  This was the day after the underwear bomber in the US, but my plane was half empty and there was no increased security or anything.  My carry on backpack (I’d always wanted to travel with nothing but a backpack and fulfill that Amazing Race fantasy of mine – it was totally worth it!) was probably a little oversized, but there were no questions and I was still able to cram it into the overhead with a slight running start.

          Arrived in Ontario to 5 degree weather, actually warmer than Vancouver when I’d left.  You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.  I was wearing a down jacket (that’s like wearing a hug, it’s the best purchase ever!) and god-awful snow boots, and it’s warmer?!  I was vindicated the next day when it started snowing, and the snow continued off and on for the rest of the trip, so that was good.  I love watching snow, anyway.  When we get it in Vancouver it’s an event, so here, with everyone being so blase about it, I was the only one stupidly happy.  Whatever.  I was on vacation, if you’ve got one time to be stupidly happy, that’s it.  And the snow in Ontario is so different than what we get out west: dry and fine, it can snow all day and barely accumulate, and it doesn’t stick to the roads too much – the ground temperature must be freakishly warm or something.  It was cold, though, one day it was minus 14 Celsius before the windchill was factored in, and there was an extreme weather warning issued.  Sweet.

        Saw a movie (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – weird shit, but my odd art film loving bf was all over it), went go-karting with some of Eric’s friends, wandered around a mall without buying anything (because Canada has the same crap in stores on either side of the country, so there was nothing to get excited about), went to a Kitchener Rangers hockey game and watched his little sister’s jumping lesson on her gorgeous horse Romeo, but aside from that it was all family gatherings.  This was totally new territory for me - I’ve never gone on vacay to just visit with people before.  If I’m on vacation and someone I know happens to be nearby I’ll totally hang out with them, but it wasn’t the purpose behind the trip.  It was an enjoyable experience.  His family is all incredibly nice, and I was welcomed right off the bat.

           Of course, the Rockband didn’t hurt, either. 

          Let me explain.  I officially met everyone in one big shot as the second day I was there was the big family Christmas dinner on the 27th.  His Grandparents (who we were staying with) held it, and they bought a full Rockband/Guitar Hero 5/Beatles Rockband set for everyone to play.  Very little bonds people like some bad singing and crazy drumming, and we had already started when most of the relatives arrived, so their first impression of me was rapping out the Beastie Boys’ “So Whatcha Want”.  Clearly it was my most shining moment.  But it served as an awesome ice breaker!  I highly recommend it.  Thankfully they didn’t arrive ten minutes earlier when I was killing dogs with my fantastic take on Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer”.  That could have led to an entirely different outcome

           The days flew by and before I knew it we were flying home, back to the tropics of Western Canada.  I could have stayed longer, although I’d need to find a better mall to shop in…  It was a great adventure.  I like his family a lot, and I’m not just saying that to kiss ass if any of them read this!  I discovered that the bf and I can travel well together – that’s a test of any relationship, and from what I’ve seen as an agent, it can go either good or bad very, very easily.  Thankfully we passed with flying colours - and that down jackets are a gift from the Gods.  I’m really glad I got to go.  Maybe next time it’ll be warmer…

Tags: animals, boyfriend, Canada, Christmas., Cold, family, Food, friends, fun, Go-Karts, Hamilton, horses, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Rockband, snow, winter

Spooky Halloween around the world.

       Here in North America Halloween rocks.  We have a commercially-successful excuse to dress up, trick or treat, do crazy things (”but Officer, it was Halloween!”), set off illegal fireworks, sing Monster Mash far too loudly and eat the junk food we spend the rest of the year trying to remove from our waistline.  Personally, I can’t survive the day unless I’ve heard Michael Jackson’s Thriller at least three times - something I don’t think will be a problem this year.  In the US it’s now the second most popular holiday for decorating after only Christmas.  But if you think we can party, you should check out how they do it in other countries.

                  Scotland gave us one of the great traditions we over here have stolen/corrupted/commercialized into our standard Canadian holiday. Little Scots used to carry traditional lanterns called Samhnag’s made out of turnips with the devil’s face carved into them in order to scare away evil spirits. Nowadays they’ve switched to pumpkins for their jack-o-lanterns, mainly because it’s waaay easier to carve a pumpkin than a turnip, but some cities, such as Perthshire, are trying to reinstate the old ways.  Hopefully vandals don’t go around blowing up turnips like pumpkins are blown up here, as a turnip can do so much more damage since they don’t smush and splatter on impact! 

        In Wales Halloween is called Nos Calan Gaeaf (the beginning of a new winter) and legend has it that the fearsome spirit Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta took the form of a tailless black sow and roamed the countryside with a headless woman.  Needless to say, kids would rush home early.  This fascinates me, mainly because I have no idea how to pronounce Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta.  It’s hard enough to type correctly.  Your how-itch do-doo g-wah-ta?  Beats the hell out of me, but it’s fun to try.   

         Halloween in Mexico is just the start of three days of festivities, Witches Night (Halloween), All Saints Day and Dia de los Muertos (the day of the dead).  I mean, really, why shouldn’t the dead get to party, too?  Skulls play a huge part in these rituals, as wooden skulls are placed on alters dedicated to the deceased, sugar skulls made with late relatives’ names on the foreheads are eaten, and they dance to honor the dead while wearing wooden skull masks called calacas.  Sugar and dancing?  How have we not started celebrating this yet?  Sweet.

              Romanians have the perfect reason to celebrate Halloween, as Dracula himself, according to myth, lived right there in Transylvania (specifically the town of Sighisoara – another one I’m not going to try and pronounce).  Dracula’s spirit is believed to live here, as the city once was the site of public Witch trials (it makes sense to keep all your spooky dead people together, right?) which are recreated by actors amidst all the costume parties.  Can you just imagine getting pissed drunk and watching a live “Witch trial”?  Neither can I.

                 In Lebanon, Syria and the Palestine don’t actually celebrate Halloween, but Arab Christians hold Eid Il-Burbara (Saint Barbara’s Day) on Dec 4th instead.  The festivities are nearly identical to the Halloween we know and love here, and include wearing costumes, trick or treating and singing a Halloween song.  No, not Monster Mash, though I would love to hear that in Arabic.  Similarly, Kuwait and other Gulf states have Qarqe’an.  It’s not scary, but children wear traditional costumes and sing outside homes for handouts of candy and nuts.  There it’s actually cool to get nuts, and if you give them out you don’t have to worry about your house being egged later that night!

          And then there’s Japan.  There actually is no Halloween per se in Japanese culture, but think about it, do you really think they would pass up a chance to dress up in weird clothes (or weirder clothes) and celebrate?  Their Halloween is based mainly on American pop culture, but it has really caught on and I personally would love to see it. Carved pumpkins are a common sight and Disneyland and Universal Studios over there have huge festivities leading up to the big day.  A few years ago I was in Disneyland Paris just before Halloween, and the decorations were massive, with everything from a troupe of life-sized pumpkin men taking over Frontierland to the riverboat in the rivers of the far west being turned into a giant floating gray ghost, but apparently the decorations and theming in the Tokyo park are twice as impressive. 

            There are many reasons fall is one of my favorite times to travel, but if you really want a show, check out some of these countries and I’m sure you’ll have yourself a bewitching good time.  There’s just something about Halloween that makes we want to end this blog with a big Mad-Scientist cackle.  So i will.

           Mmmmwwwwwaaaahaaahahahahahhahaha!

Tags: Canada, candy, Europe, France, Halloween, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Middle East, Monster Mash, Romania, Scotland, Sweden, Thriller, traditons, USA, weird

Zipping over Whistler

           Get this: I work in travel.  I’m all about travel.  I live and breathe tourist destinations.  And never once in my 26 years had I visited Whistler/Blackcomb, the world-class tourist destination that’s only two hours away up the Sea to Sky highway. 

             Oops. 

           What can I say, I put all my energy into far-flung locales, and completely overlooked what was right under my nose in the process.  I’d been to the nearby town of Pemberton once in grade six for a school trip, but that doesn’t really count.  But this past April I finally made up for all the years of neglect and the BF and I took a long weekend mini-break up to the soon-to-host-the-Olympics village.

             The drive up alone was spectacular, the panoramas compelling me to take lots of pictures (that I got home and was like, “oh, look, another picture of a mountain with some snow on it”).  There’s a good reason why the British Columbia tourism slogan is ”the best place on Earth” (and I’m not biased at all, of course).  The highway itself is interesting, two lanes most of the way.  They’re working on that prior to the Olympics, and there’s lots of construction where they’re widening it, but there will always be some bottlenecks where they can’t go more than two lanes due to the giant rock face on one side and sheer cliff drop into water on the other.  This highway is actually the main reason why I hadn’t visited Whistler earlier, as most of my immediate family was not comfortable driving it (the “highway of death” nickname wasn’t helping things any), but I found it smooth, scenic and effortless.   Granted, I was free to gawk at the scenery while Eric (who’s only lived here a year and had already been to Whistler multiple times) could focus on the road without being distracted, so that helped.

              We went in April because I don’t ski (the one time I went cross-country I sprained my ankle and had to be evacuated on the back of a ski-doo), and more importantly, I don’t do cold.  I live in Vancouver, people!  If it drops below zero schools close, and it takes far less than that for my sensitive hands to turn “oh my God, are you okay?” white.  Turns out that by total fluke we hit the final weekend of the Telus World Ski and Snowboard festival, so the place was packed and free concerts/free promo stuff from the suppliers’ booths/free extreme sports demos/free-wheeling drunk Australians hanging naked out of their hotel rooms at 10am.  I’m not sure if that last part had anything to do with the festival, but when I go back I’ll compare and let you know.

             The village itself is adorable, in that perfect, Disney-does-a-ski-village way (I know, I compare everything that’s cute and clean to Disney, deal with it ).  I had booked us into the Delta Suites because it was the only hotel I could find decent last-minute space at, and even then I had to use my “I’m a travel agent” card to get us in (*sigh* membership does have it’s privileges.  They’re few and far between, but I’ll take what I can get).   Our suite had two fireplaces, a full kitchen, a bed you could loose yourself in and a mountain view, way nicer than I thought I’d booked, but very sweet.

            Most of our time was spent wandering the village, exploring and checking out the shops and events that went with the festival.  Our personal favorite was the dog day, where they had dog agility performances and – love this – a dog costume parade.  There was a woman in a Hawaiian shirt pushing a stroller with two pugs wearing leis and grass skirts, while the other three identially-dressed pugs followed behind, it was so cute!

             But the highlight by far of the weekend was the Ziplining.  Whistler Ziptrek  has a great setup, and, since I had ziplined before in Costa Rica and knew I loved it (the BF just went with it, he luckily had no fear of heights), we went for the higher/longer Eagle tour, as opposed to the beginner Bear tour.  We marched, in full harness-and-helmet glory through the festival crowds from the Ziptrek office to the van that took us up Whistler mountain, past the Olympic bobsled track en route.  The platforms and equipment was impressive (there was none of that ”I don’t trust this to hold all our weight” feeling), but nothing really mattered as we flew back and forth over the river to end right back in the village.   On the longest line if you made it in under 45 seconds you were going more than 80km/h, and the heaviest guy went so fast the  guide’s leather gloves literally caught fire as he tried to apply the breaks!

           It was a short journey to Whistler, but I finally get what all the hype is about, as the atmosphere in the village is buzzing and, if you’re a skier, you couldn’t ask for more options to be right at your fingertips.  It was still a lot of fun, and not once did I have to don technicolour ski pants (I mean, really, do all these people get dressed in the dark?  Or is it so they can be found by rescue crews in case they get lost?)  or waddle through the crowds in non-flexible ski boots.   We really do have a jewel right here in our backyard.  And I got another pin on the map!

Tags: BC, BlogSherpa, budget, Canada, dogs, expensive, money, mountains, scenery, ski and snowboard festival, Whistler, zipline

Insurance – why you want it, but don’t.

              It was embarrassing.  I was in highschool, looking forwards to going down to Seattle with my first able-to-drive-without-adult-supervision friends for a little outlet shopping, and Mom refused to let me go unless everyone going had travel medical insurance.  So we all paid the CAD$2.00 for one day’s coverage, went, and grumbled about how we didn’t even need to use it.  But now, looking back, I see how right she was.  That’s the whole point of having insurance, to have it but not use it.  If you do have to use it, it means something horrible has happened, and nobody wants their vacation ruined.  Plus - and take my word on this, I see it every day at work - all those unused insurance policies seem like a bargain the second you actually have to make a claim.  

            Here in Canada, we take a hell of a lot for granted.  With our free medicare we can go the doctor or hospital any time we need to and only have to pay for the prescribed medication.  But the second you cross any international boarder, all those luxuries are gone.  Years ago we had a client who drove across the boarder to play golf in Blaine, Washington, when he had a heart attack. You could practically see Canada from where he was, and since he wasn’t going to the US for long, he didn’t worry about insurance.  Then he got the bill for the medical treatment and ambulance transport back to Vancouver, and he had to mortgage his home to pay it off.  Granted, that’s an extreme case, but no one wants to go into serious debt in exchange for their health.  You shouldn’t have to trade one necessity for another.

                Then there’s cancellation insurance, the most underrated of all policies.  Nobody plans to cancel their vacation, if they did they wouldn’t have booked it in the first place.  But nowadays pretty much everything in the travel world is at least partially nonrefundable, so if you do have to cancel, you’re going to pay for it.  For the most part, cancellation insurance covers you if a serious medical condition pops up prior to your departure.  Just deciding not to go is not covered.  Some policies do offer “change of mind”, where, a certain number of days prior to departure you can cancel for any reason and claim back a percentage of your travel costs, but it’s never, ever, 100%.  If you break up with your boyfriend or get into a fight with your roommate and just cannot imagine traveling with them anymore, the change of mind clause would kick in and you could at least recoup some of your costs.  Once I had a honeymoon couple who called off their wedding right before it was supposed to take place, and were no longer speaking to one another.  They had opted not to take the cancellation insurance because they figured hey, it’s their honeymoon, there’s no way they’re going to cancel.  The bride ended up going on the vacation alone (most packages don’t allow name changes, so we couldn’t substitute a friend instead at that late date) while the groom stayed home and sued her to get his money back.  Last I heard they were still in litigation. 

                   Oh, and not getting your passport/entry visas in time is not covered by insurance.  Ever.  It’s considered your own fault for not getting the paperwork in sooner.  If you find out you can’t get your passport in time enough days prior to departure the change of mind clause in your cancellation policy may help you get some of your cash back, but for the most part, you’re hooped. 

             And please, God, do not assume your credit card will cover you.  Yes, some credit cards offer cancellation/medical insurance, particularly the higher-end platinum cards, but whatever you do, call the credit card company and double-check what coverage you have before you decline the optional insurance offered by the travel agency.  Sometimes the credit card coverage is all that you need, but they’re notorious for having low limits on how much they will pay out in case of emergency, or restrictive age limits.  One of my clients had relied on his Avion card for years without a problem, but when he did need to make a claim, he was told that, while his card did offer full coverage, he was a year older than the age limit, so he got no coverage at all.  So please, please call your credit card company and make sure you know all the details before you rely on their insurance.

         It hurts to add that extra CAD$200.00 or whatever to your already expensive trip.  I know.  But in comparison to the money and heartache that not having insurance can cause, it’s a small price to pay.

Tags: BlogSherpa, budget, Canada, cancellation, health, insurance, medical, USA

Ooh, Ontario at Christmas…

              So this year I’m going to Ontario at Christmas to visit the BF’s family.  It’ll be my inaugural trip to Central/Eastern Canada (or if you live in Ontario, the Centre of the Universe!), not counting the seven hours I once spent stuck in the Montreal airport when my flight from Paris was delayed coming home.  Not to sound like a total dweeb, but, having lived in Canada my whole life, I’ve actually seen very little of this great land of ours.  I’m working on fixing that, but with such an amazing world out there, domestic travel has always taken a back seat to someplace that seemed “cooler”. 

           Speaking of cooler, I’ll also be my first time experiencing an Ontario winter.  Vancouver is the paradise of Canada, we may get some rain, but we never go too hot (over 30 Celsius and we’re melting) and never get too cold (below -4 or an inch of snow and the city ceases to function).  I’m sure all other Canadian cities are jealous and that’s why they send all their homeless here…  Anyway, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the sub zero temperatures.  I don’t do cold.  Hell, if it’s below 15 Celsius I’m freezing.  Any tips?  I keep picturing the scene from “Cool Runnings” when the Jamaicans leave the Calgary airport wearing everything they brought with them, including their duffel bags, for warmth.  That has a very good possibility of being me!

              This will be a trip of new experiences for me, as I’ve never traveled at Christmas before.  Or high season, for that matter.  I’m in the industry, I know that when kids aren’t in school everything is super-crowded and three times the cost.  Growing up, my Mom knew this too and always opted for me to miss a week of school instead of paying through the nose and battling the masses.   Disneyland is awesome in January/February, by the way.  Small line ups, and lots of adults and Australians.  Back to the point, I’m kind of interested in seeing how the airports handle the rush first hand.  You know you’re in the right industry when stupid things like this interest you, but my curiosity is piqued.

           It’s six months away (book early to save money), but this’ll be fun.  I’ll keep you posted.  In the interim, I’m going shopping for the biggest, industrial-strength winter coat I can find!

Tags: Canada, Christmas., Cold, Ontario