Vancouver

Extraordinary By Nature

Vancouver is a city like no other. For starters the Pacific Ocean laps right up to the sparkling glass towers of downtown. And the mountains are so close, in just 20 minutes you could be up there sipping coffee, watching the sun set!

Text & Photographs: Rozina Gaziyani

Believe me, if I tell you about all that you can do in Vancouver, that is apart from eating and drinking to your heart's content, you will feel exhausted merely reading about the options and possibilities. So I shall refrain and instead, just highlight my experience of three wonderful days of my life that I spent holidaying in this part of Canada, a country second only to New Zealand in natural beauty. Or did Canada beat NZ while I was busy chugging down a beer at a brewery in Gastown?
My love affair with Vancouver started right at the airport as I watched the First Nation's art on display. I was in Vancouver on an invitation by Destination Canada and believe me what was planned ahead for me was exhilarating, to say the least.
Driving into town was a song and 20 minutes later, before I could even check into my hotel, I was whisked away downtown by my minder for lunch. Miku, it was called; Japanese, as you can guess which is just the cuisine one needs after a 20-hour journey. Light, fresh and so aromatic, it was like being in a spa, with each morsel it felt like my stiff nerves were being smoothened out. The nurturing of my soul; Tuna Tartare Salad with edamame, Ebi Fritter with sweet chilli aioli, Soy Glazed Beef Shank and Aburi Sushi, flame-seared!
Lunch done, my schedule showed Grouse Mountain at 4.00 pm and I sallied forth on a shuttle bus, around the lake to go meet my tour guide at the base. From here we took the cable car to the top and brrrr was it cold!! Still in my 'Bombay' clothes, I froze up there. But for a happy, warm heart, I might have been a goner!
Grouse Mountain is everything and more. It's different things for different people, but for everyone, the most fantastic part is the distance from downtown. All of 15 minutes! C'est tout.
One moment you are in the heart of the city and the next totally in the lap of luxurious nature, eyeball to eyeball with a grizzly, yes, as in a bear! This was my first time and I can't tell you how excited I was seeing these animals, the ones we cuddled through childhood. No, I felt no urge to do like-wise even though the bears looked most friendly and very kindly. Or perhaps they were just sleepy...
Grouse Mountain is Vancouver's premier four-season attraction. It offers multi-season activities. You can walk, trek, ski among the many activities that go on all year round. The view from here is jaw-dropping. Such natural beauty! Vancouver Tourism Board is one proud and active body and generous too. During summer, there are free shuttle buses to and fro, all over, to help tourists get around. It's a nice feeling when the penny doesn't pinch.
Dinner was early, too early by Indian standards; 6.00 pm. But after a great lunch and a great deal of excitement all I wanted to do was head home, Grand Hyatt, and snooze and I did just that. On my first day, I had been through every mode of transport; car, bus, boat and cable! And of course I had walked, jogged and jumped and sung around aplenty!
I had opted for a drive out of Vancouver, so next morning saw me zipping towards Whistler, 125 km northwards. It took an hour and a half by car and reaching there I understood why everyone I know who has been there, waxes eloquent about it.
Whistler done, I had a date with Gassy at 3.00 pm, but unfortunately couldn't keep it, so I rushed to find my team at the first point on the iternary. Whether you have visited Vancouver or not, you will have heard of the iconic statue of John "Gassy Jack" Deighton in Gastown. His statue which stands on one of the five corners of Maple Tree Square where Water and Carrrall streets converge, is a famous meeting point. And this neighbourhood, Vancouver's oldest, with cobble-street charm is named after "Gassy Jack" who was a ribald seaman who opened the first saloon here in 1867.
It's a lovely district with narrow lanes and brickwork structures. Full of cafés and restaurants and high-end homeware shopping, including Versace Home Store, the luxury brand's first one, worldwide.
The Steam Clock, also in Gastown, was a delight. Everybody starts to gather around the clock, nearing 6.00 pm, which is when the clock starts to whistle and steam, huff and puff and then at sharp 6, emits a powerful burst of steam, like the Indian Railway's steam engine of yore! Charming, quaint, magical, nostalgic, all rolled into one.
But the fun part was yet to be. The Gastown Gastronomic Tour. Everyone does one, selecting a trail that best suits your taste. Remember there are about 70 or more places to pick from, for a culinary tour.
I was in a group of 12 and we embarked upon four small plates dinner places over a span of two and half hours. We ate, we tasted, we laughed and talked as we ambled from one restaurant to another, certainly a pleasurable time. The four we visited were Nicli Antica, TUC Craft Kitchen, Meat and Bread and Wildebeest.
In this state of euphoria I went to sleep that night, anticipating my next day. One of adventure and super adrenalin rush! I was going to Stanley Park, Vancouver's 1000-acre backyard since 1888. Also the third largest urban park in North America, this rainforest oasis includes the Beaver Lake and 27 km of forest trails, as well as an 18-hole golf course, just to give you an idea...
But nothing had prepared me for the pulsating excitement I felt, the next morning as I stood there on edge of the Capilano Bridge on the verge of stepping on it. "Oh my God, am I really going to walk that..." was my thought as I gingerly tread (or was I gently shoved?) on the endless swaying bridge. My heart was beating at sonic speed, my mouth was dry, I was definitely sweating on the brow– yup, in that cold!
Yet, once the first step was taken, I was ecstatic. I was on the world famous suspension bridge and I wasn't scared anymore. I was loving it. Walking along, savouring the experience. The bridge is 170 metres across and 70 metres above the forest floor and the beautiful river. The gorge is the most gorgeous one I have ever seen and am convinced the word "gorgeous" was coined here.
What followed was also fascinating, the Cliffwalk. Another endless walk on connecting bridges, circling trees, going around corners to find more trees and more bridges. It was like being in a forest fairyland, walking high above the ground, at a height somewhere at midpoint from trunk to tip on bridges literally hugging the giant trees, but which were in reality held by cables anchored to the trees. An idea so well executed and with such finesse.
At lunch time in Granville Island I was still reeling from the impact of my morning excursion. Takes a while to absorb all that glory. Plus, my lungs were not used to such clean air. Too much of a good thing ain't good either, goes the adage, right?
So now that I was at the Granville Island Public Market, I was inhaling another kind of smell... Ah, food, glorious food. What a place! Fruits, vegetables, flowers, both wet and dry, this market was bustling with activity.
Apart from the market, Granville Island, has innumerable other places to eat and is full of art galleries. And what you see is stupendous. I saw works of art made from every possible material; iron, brass, silver, leather, wood, paper, fabric– you name it. Artistry, creativity at its best.
Food is all around. Hamburgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, which is what I ate. The portion was so large I managed to eat just one third of it. That's North America for you!
Street food on carts, in kiosks, hundreds of cafés. And multiple cuisines to choose from too. Chinese, Italian, continental, even Vietnamese. Or if you want to grab some doughnuts or muffins, you got those too. The taste of the city is as diverse as the people who live here.
I came away with a bag full of gourmet shopping to take back home to India. Maple butter, maple syrup jam and mulled wine fudge.
And my dinner, by the way was at Sandbar. A fancy place where I ate Alderwood Grilled Sablefish. It was simply divine, marinated in miso soy, came with coconut jasmine rice and organic vegetables.
And so while my tour ended with that dinner, my tryst with Vancouver didn't. I had a cousin I hadn't seen in 20 years and he was now coming along to fetch me and show me some more of the city.
Azlim Virani and I started with downtown Vancouver, which looks just as awesome by night. And we walked through Davie Village, Gastown and Denman Street, which was full of restaurants. While the rest of Vancouver sleeps early (shops shut by 7.00 pm and home lights start to dim) life in the entertainment district only just starts to stir. On weekends it gets alive and kicking and goes well into the energetic night, pumping up the volume. There's theatre and movies, bars and breweries ....
A word on Davie Village. It's the happy playground of the LGBTQ2 community. For the uninitiated, that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and two spirit. Nowhere have I seen the fostering of or the unquestioning acceptance of people of such community as in this neighbourhood of rainbow crosswalks and bright pink bus shelters. I saw a poster for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival under the caption "Summer in the Gaybourhood" and thought it to be utterly charming. Live and let live, says Vancouver.
Driving to the airport I let my driver talk on... "You know, what BC stands for?" he asked me. I replied, "British Columbia." "Nooooo," he went, "it's Bring Cash; everything is so expensive here!" Did I think so? Noooo, I didn't come to Vancover to shop! And then he was asking me, more soberly, "So, did you like our Raincouver?" and added laughingly, "That's what we call it, rains so much here!"
The more rain, the more green. Can't have enough of Raincouver!