First stop at Vancouver
I really have a mixed feeling about vancouver. First thing first, it’s hard
to fully enjoy yourself when you get off the plane after an 18-hour long-distance flight including layover, and the destination has a 15-hour time difference than your home. It’s even worse when reality is so against your plan.
As the original flight schedule suggests, I should’ve arrived at Vancouver at noon, which should’ve left me enough time to running chores like setting up bank accounts and phone plan. However, due to the poor weather conditions at Guangzhou, I arrived at late afternoon and all the banks had already been closed. I went to telus store and picked up public mobile SIM card but found that only Canadian credit card can activate it. The next day, after getting SIN number unexpectedly smoothly, I tried to open a Canadian bank account but was told that Canadian phone number is required. I was like, What the fuck? I still managed to get a Canadian debt card but credit card will be mailed to me in 10 business days. I had to give up using public mobile and selected the more expensive koodo post-paid SIM card, which doesn’t necessarily require a Canadian bank account. Before that, navigation was a disaster.No data was available on my phone. Public wifi was not easily available. I also had to comtemplate about my life when waiting for the long line at service Canada for my SIN number.
The worst part is the flight from Vancouver to Calgary. As planned, I arrived at Vancouver on July 8 and left for Calgary on July 9, which will let me attend stampede from July 9 to July 12. However, I ended up staying in Vancouver for 2 more days. Why? On July 8, when I checked the flight ticket for the next day, it’s 6x more expensive than normal price. The price 2 days later was more reasonable, so I decided to stay in Vancouver for one more day. The money saved from changing the flight schedule is higher than the money for one more night’s stay at the hostel, though that means the pre-paid Calgary stay will be wasted. But my Chinese credit card couldn’t finish the purchase because the website asks for verification code from my Chinese mobile SIM card. I waited till the next day I obtained my Canadian bank account and SIM card, but the price for the same-day flight had already been up significantly. I couldn’t delay the trip to Calgary anymore, so I had to order the ticket. But I made a HUGE mistake by selecting the 7pm flight instead of the 7am flight, and I’ll miss the pre-paid rodeo event that afternoon. I couldn’t complete changing the flight since my Canadian phone number cannot receive verification number this time, for some unknown reasons. Even when I made it to the airport in the evening, the nightmare wasn’t over. The comparatively cheaper flight ticket I got is from a budget Canadian airline flair airlines, which eatra-charges you for any carry-on bag, checked baggage, seat selection, changing/canceling flight, any fucking service you want. I was told to get an extra carry-on add-on when I checked in my baggage at the airport because my backpack doesn’t fit the personal item criteria. So the 1.5h flight from Vancouver to Calgary cost me fucking $600 in total. For comparison, the flight from Guangzhou to Vancouver is only $800.
Anyway, I wrote most of the bad shit I experienced in Vancouver on the airplane to Calgary. Despite this, I still have many happy memories about the city. The people are nice, the scenery is beautiful, the vibe is cool, and living here is really comfortable. Enough words about these few days. Just let the pictures tell the story of the sweet moments.