Vancouver – Kitsilano
A few friends have asked how I am enjoying Vancouver and my favorite suburb Kitsilano.
So herewith a few lines.
Seeing a poster on a lamppost saying the University of British Columbia school of music will perform Don Giovanni in a few weeks time and there being a bus stop for UBC a few blocks from my apartment I decided rather than buy on line I would go to the campus and get a ticket.
On the campus I saw a group of cheering children, with parents protesting climate change.
But very much in favor of pizza.
Walking back to the bus terminal I saw this etched into a bench on the campus.
On the way this young man asked me to take his picture using his mobile phone and I said sure. He asked I be certain to get all of him including his sneakers in the picture which I did. I asked if I could take his picture and it was his turn to say sure. His name is Okot, he is from South Sudan and is studying creative writing at UBC.
After getting my ticket I took an electric bus, Vancouver has had electric buses since 1948, back down 4th Avenue.
Some Photos I Missed
While in Pham Ngu Lao the backpacker district of Saigon I sometimes have breakfast, op plat (oeufs au plat), two eggs, a small baguette and a Vietnamese coffee on the sidewalk outside the La Vang Cafe, here the owner is having an early morning smoke, on Bui Vien street and watch the international tourist street life go by.
Some of the photos I missed while seated there.
The dog flying past me down Bui Vien street right to left at about 30 plus miles an hour, nose well forward and hair flying back in the wind, seated on the Vespa drivers knees with its paws in the middle of the handlebars, a not unusual sight in Saigon. The dogs here must be have developed a keen sense of balance, or the ones that didn’t fell by the evolutionary wayside.
This one was not quite so impressive. The wife hopped on behind and they drove off with the dog leaning out looking round the fairing.
The one I really regret missing, twice. The guy heading down the street straight towards me and the restaurant steering the motorbike with his right hand and a tray full of bowls of food, breakfast pho ? balanced on his his left. On both occasions I was so engrossed watching him make the right turn onto Bui Vien that I sat there with my fork in my hand and my mouth open.
Vietnam has a motorbike taxi service called Grab, you schedule a ride on your phone or flag one down, no insurance required. They are very visible, the driver wears a Green jacket or tee shirt and a green helmet with Grab logo on them, the passenger is provided a loaner helmet also with the Grab logo. Today I saw a Grab motorbike go by and the driver was wearing an Uber tee shirt.
It is an odd thing that the adults wear helmets, its the law but not the kids and they sit on the gas tank on motorbikes and stand upright in front of the driver on Vespas
OK we found the limes but did you bring the vodka.
Finally are there Venezuelan anti Maduro tourists in Saigon.
You Know You Are In Vancouver
Last evening I went to the University of British Columbia to see a production of Don Giovanni, they did a credible job, unfortunately they couldn’t make it shorter. On the leaving the UBC grounds 20 plus young Irish people boarded the bus, my guess is they rent rooms in the university dormitories in the summer, all clearly having had a few inexpensive drinks before heading for the expensive clubs and bars in town. It was quite a contrast, Don Giovanni and heavily dressed professionals singing about infidelity and young ladies in micro shorts and see through tops fully aware of the affect they were having on testosterone flooded young men going cross eyed trying not to stare.
You know you are in Vancouver when you see an ad announcing the Bicycle Lawyer of the Year.
You can take the metro to Richmond the predominantly Chinese suburb of Vancouver where the food court in the mall offers mainly food from different areas of China.
There is old 60s art on the back of a building.
And an ad for marijuana, it’s legal here at the front of the building.
You find there is someone with a sense of humor more warped than your own. Moral: A skunk drinking vodka and wearing sun glasses should not try to cross 4th Avenue at night wearing sunglasses.
A small dogs waits patiently at the door of the fish shop on 4th Avenue.
If you applaud and laugh with people going to a party on 4th Avenue they will try to persuade you to come with them. I told them I wasn’t dressed for it – but next time.
Walking along the beach you can meet Julia who is creating a memorial bench, the other benches are weather stained brown, for her husband who died 4 years ago. To express my appreciation for her making Vancouver a nicer place I went back the next day with a small gift of some chocolates.
For me this photo sums it up