Canadian Rockies November 4-21, 2012

Why Canada again after my visit in April?

Canada, the world’s second largest country by total area (9,984,670 square kilometres) is famous for its pristine nature. It shares the world’s longest land border with the United States (8,891km). It also boasts the world’s longest coastline (202,080km) and 31,700 large lakes (more than any other country). The Trans-Canada Highway is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia’s Highway 1, one of the world’s national highways with the main route spanning 8,030km.  Canada is however not on my ‘must-see’ list as I prefer to see less developed countries at this stage.

I spent two weeks in Surrey BC with Paulina, a good university friend for 37 years who was on chemotherapy treatment. While I was in the Balkans in September, I got the bad news that she had another fast –growing tumor in her tummy.  Soon, she was put in a palliative ward. I planned my second visit from November 4 to December 2. But two days before my departure, she passed away.

Study Group of 12 (Paulina behind her beige bag )

1978 Social Work Class photo

I decided to go ahead, stay with the bereaved family and spend time with her close friends who have been supporting her since last December. Her two teenage children, Genie and Wesley are mature and have coped well. Paulina’s brother, Alex and his wife, Marble came from Hong Kong to attend the funeral.

Paulina has many friends and is well-respected. Over 400 relatives, friends, colleagues and school friends of Genie and Wesley came to pay last respect at the viewing mass on November 8 and the funeral mass the following day. The funeral service took place in St. Bernadette Roman Catholic Church in Surrey, BC on a beautiful autumn day with blue sky, sunshine, crisp air and falling golden leaves.

Paulina, our beloved ‘Big Sister’ of Social Work Class 1978 of University of Hong Kong will always be remembered with deep respect for her determination, perseverance, righteousness and compassion. She is a devoted mom and a most caring sister for her youngest brother Po Chi. Paulina will be missed by her family and friends.  I am sure she is now resting in peace in heaven.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

Autumn colours

Park, China Town

As I had a ticket with restrictions, I could only depart on November 21. I therefore took a 7-day trip to see the Canadian Rockies and spent another three days with Linda, Paulina’s godmother who lives in Seattle.

7-day Trip Vancouver – Banff – Jasper – Banff – Vancouver

I was lucky in joining the last 7-day bus tour to the Canadian Rocky Mountain which is a World Heritage Site. The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, as well as the Mount Robson (3,954m), Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, form a striking mountain landscape covering some 180,000 square kilometres.

Collin, a 23-year old Canadian is our guide-cum-driver. We left Vancouver with nine passengers and six left after a 4-day trip ending in Banff. A Mexican couple, Thelma and Jose, and I returned with Collin to Vancouver at the end of the trip.

Parker Ridge

Collin & Moose bus

Danny (USA)

Thelma $ Jose (Mexico)

The weather was generally fine with snow in the Rockies. Our guide Collin is passionate, efficient, informative and energetic. I find the cost of living fairly high in Canada and I had to pay C$20-31 a night for hostels in Kelowna, Banff and Jasper.

Banff is beautiful and I had two free days there. I took the gondola to the Sulphur Mountain and had a wonderful view of the Banff National Park. I met two Chinese men who planned to drive to Lake Louise. I joined them and had my second visit to Lake Louise, Canada’s most photographed lake. We walked to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes. I had a wonderful time in the Canadian Rockies though pictures I have taken hardly do justice to its beauty.

Day 1 November 10 (Saturday): Vancouver – Bridal Veil Fall (Stop 1) – Hope (Stop 2) – Kelowna (Stop 3) (450km)

Bridal Fall

Ducks, Kelowna Park

Hope

Day 2 (Remembrance Day): Kelowna – Sicamous – Revelstoke (Stop 3) – Rogers Pass (Stop 4) – Emerald Lake (Stop 5) – Natural Bridge (Stop 6) – Continental Divide and Cross to Alberta – Banff (550km)

Remembrance Day, Revelstoke

Rogers Pass

Emerald Lake

Day 3: Banff – Lake Louise (Stop 7) – Bow Lake (Stop 8) – Waterfowl Lake (Stop 9) – Icefields Parkway & Columbia Icefield (a total area of 325 square kilometres) (Stop 10) – Tangle Creek (Stop 11) – Jasper (Stop 12) (350km)

Waterfowl Lake

Beautiful ice flake

Columbia Icefield

Tangle Fall

Hostel, Jasper

Day 4: Jasper –Athabasca Falls (Stop 13) – Weeping Wall (Stop 14) – Mistaya Canyon (Stop 15) – Peyto Lake (Stop 16) – Banff (Stop 17) (300km)

Weeping Wall

Mistaya Canyon

Atabasca Falls

Peyto Lake

Day 5: Trekking: Banff Tunnel Mountain, Banff Fall and Fenland Trail (10km)       

Banff

Riddle Mountain (view from Tunnel Mountain)

Banff Fall

Day 6: Banff – Sulphur Mountain – Lake Louise – Lake Agnes – Banff (120km)

New friends from Toronto

Lake Louise

Lake Agnes

Lake Louise

Bow River sunset

Day 7: November 16 (Friday): Banff – Vancouver (900km) End of tour

November 17 (Saturday): Vancouver – Seattle (220km)

I took an Amtrak bus leaving from the Central Pacific Station at 9am. There were few people at the border crossing and I arrived at Seattle at 12:30pm. The weather was horrible: rainy, grey and cold. I was delighted to meet Linda, Paulina’s godmother. Paulina studied in Oregon State University for a Master’s Degree and met Linda who was her host family in 1984. Linda was at Paulina’s sick bed taking care of her since last December.

I met her son Paul who is a musician and his grandson, Spencer. We went to a café in Alki Beach for lunch. We spent two hours at the Pike Place Market founded in 1907. The market is lively and colourful. I love fresh fish and Alaska king crabs. We also visited the first store of Starbucks Coffee Shop which was opened in 1971.

On our way to the dinner, Linda took me to a large Whole Food store where I brought over 6 kilos of chia rich in omega-3, quinoa high in protein, black figs, cranberries and black lentils to take back to Hong Kong. I paid less than US$100. Very cheap!

We then had a delicious seafood dinner in Chinook Restaurant, a favourite with locals. We had oysters as starter, steamed mussels as second course, fish as the main course and some nice house white wine. Linda also had a whisky which is good for her cold.

Josephine seeing me off to Seattle

Central Pacific Railway Station

Space Needle

November 18 (Sunday): Seattle

I had a good sleep and a late breakfast. I met Katy, Linda’s daughter and Brian, her son-in-law. Katy suggested we see an exhibition at the Pacific Science Centre on Tutankhamun:  The Golden King & Great Pharaohs.

It was raining and I liked the idea of spending a day indoor. We went to the Seattle Centre first built for the 1962 World’s Fair. This complex includes the Space Needle, the city’s landmark and the Pacific Science Centre which has exhibitions, numerous educational activities for children and lectures.

The Pacific Science Centre was packed. We had an enjoyable time at the tropical butterfly house before going to see a 40-minute movie called ‘Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs’ before our admission to the exhibition at 3:30pm.

I was ignorant about Egypt and the pharaohs before arriving in Cairo on my way to Oxford in 1979. I had an eye opening experience: I took an overnight train to Luxor, cycled to the Valley of Kings and visited tombs of pharaohs including the exquisite tomb of Tutankhamun, the pharaoh of the 18^th dynasty. He became king at the age of nine and died nine years later (ruled ca. 1332-1323 BC). His tomb was discovered by Howard Carter and George Herbert, 5^th Earl of Carnarvon in 1922.  In 2010, DNA test results confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten who ruled for 17 years and died in 1336 or 1334 BC.

The exhibition is properly one of the best I have seen in recent years. I was mesmerized by the painting in the tomb in 1979. The exhibits and presentation are outstanding and refresh my memories of my visit to Egypt.

Linda and I were hungry and we had a great meal in a Thai restaurant. We had seafood soup, tofu and chicken curry and spring rolls. What an excellent way to spend a raining and miserable day!

November 19 (Monday): Seattle, USA – Surrey, BC, Canada (180km)

Before heading back to Vancouver, Linda had a medical appointment at the Bastyr Centre for Natural Health. She believes in naturopathic medicine. After having a ‘hot and cold’ session for her cold, Linda felt better.  I picked up a brochure and found an interesting one-year course on Holistic Landscape Design. But it is too costly to study in the US especially for a retiree.

After a light meal in a Mexican eatery, Linda and I set off for Surrey, Canada at 3pm. There was not much traffic on the road and we arrived at Paulina’s house two hours later. Both Wesley and Genie like Vietnamese food. So we had huge bowls of yummy noodles for dinner. It was the last time I saw Leslie, Genie and Wesley before returning to Hong Kong.

Linda and I stayed in a hotel in White Rock which offered a reasonable rate. We even managed to go to the hot-tub for 10 minutes before it closed at 10pm. Hot water should help Linda’s cold.

November 20 (Tuesday): Vancouver

Before Linda returned to Seattle, we had brunch with Barry and Flora who have known Paulina through work since early 1990s. We talked fondly about Paulina and admired how much she has achieved in her life.

Linda(L), Barry(M), Flora(R)

Modern House Boat

In the afternoon, I took the sky-train to Vancouver downtown. As it was the 87^th birthday of my uncle and the 81^st birthday of my aunt, I went to Richmond to have dinner with them.  Though both are suffering from Alzheimer, they are healthy and happy under the excellent care of my cousin. They are lucky as not many couples in the world can celebrate their birthday on the same day and spend over 60 years together.

November 21 (Wednesday): Vancouver – Hong Kong

I stayed with Kong and Josephine. They took me to a Chinese restaurant for brunch.  The standard of Chinese food in Vancouver is very high and I enjoyed my porridge and fried rice noodles.

I took the sky-train to the airport for the first time. What a fantastic, comfortable and cheap way to go to the airport!

Remarks

This has been a discovery trip for me. I have learnt so much more about Paulina, her struggles in life and achievements. She is a devote Catholic and has done a lot of good deeds in her life especially for her family.

Second, I have come to know her family and close friends. I stayed with Leslie, Kong and Josephine and Linda and their hospitality is fully appreciated.

Third, I have known Kong since 1975 and Paulina, Kong and I went to India, Nepal and Bangladesh in 1978. Kong and Josephine, a lovely couple, have done a lot for Paulina and kept our Social Work class informed of her health condition since last December. I am fortunate to have them as friends.

Fourth, I had a chance to see the Canadian Rockies. My initial plan was to go to Yellowknife in search of aurora borealis. But as the airfare is exorbitant i.e. over C$600 for a return ticket, I went to the Rockies instead. The mountains are majestic and beautiful in winter. The countless walking trails and the 8,000-km long Trans-Canadian Highway from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean are appealing. I shall put Canada on my reserve list. My dream journey will begin at Vancouver Island, passing through the Rockies, reaching Yellowknife for autumn aurora viewing and Quebec for the foliage. But, I have to wait till I find buddies to take on this long driving trip!