Canada's diverse cities

Victoria

Victoria is my favourite city in Canada. It has everything in a city that I love. There's the harbour that has spectacular views that lead out to the sea, as well as museums, cafes, restaurants and an awesome book store! The city has a very English feel to it. The Empress hotel felt very British, it's a remarkable building that is sadly sinking into the ground at a relatively slow speed.
The city is also a great base. Being on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, you're just a boat ride away from the mainland, with Vancouver to the east and Seattle to the south. If I could pick one place to return to in Canada it would most definitely be Victoria.


Vancouver

Only a shortish boat journey away from the quaint city of Victoria lies a more modern take on Canada. Vancouver didn't feel like one city to me but several miniature cities creating one big one. There's the old town, which is worth visiting just to witness the steam clock strike the hour. Chinatown is how all Chinatowns seem to be, once you're in it everything and everyone turns Chinese, a very surreal experience. The modern part of the city is filled with skyscrapers and attractions to see and do. There also seems to be North Vancouver and West Vancouver. The only negative thing I found in this city was a long street of run down buildings, dodgy looking hotels and closed stores, littered with homeless and rough looking people. Hopefully this street no longer exists...


Nelson

Although so small I would class it as a town, Canada doesn't have many cities, so have to claim what they can! Nelson is a very laid back city, with many friendly people all seemingly willing to help you out or have a friendly chat. There's a great little market, that sells a range of items from varying stalls. Nelson is also well known for a great number of restored heritage buildings. This is a city to take it easy in and chill out for a few days. A great spot to do this is down by the river, with the view of the mountains and a pretty red bridge.


Calgary

An underrated city in my opinion. It is a city that is under constant construction, but when you have so much space to build like the Canadians do then why knock anything down? Just keep building! There's plenty to do in Calgary, such as the Calgary Tower, which isn't as tall or grand as the CN Tower in Toronto, but still is well worth the trip to the top. Calgary is also a nice city to bike round, especially towards the suburbs. 


Ottawa

The capital of Canada is somewhat overlooked in my opinion. It is a great city for the sightseers. The parliament buildings have a very European feel to their architecture. There are also museums and art galleries filled to the brim with culture and history of the country. Ottawa is positioned right on the border of two provinces, the predominantly French speaking Quebec to the east and Ontario to the west.

Toronto

Toronto is modern, big and in your face. There are skyscrapers galore, including the CN Tower, which was the tallest tower in the world at one stage. It's littered with bars and restaurants and there's so much to do from cinema or theatre to ice hockey and sightseeing. Toronto is a vibrant city and a week can easily be spent enjoying the sights and culture.

Travelling in Vietnam

     Vietnam is a country rich in history and breathtakingly beautiful scenery, which will always make it a popular country for those backpacking in South East Asia. However, journeys in Vietnam are not something to be admired. The first clues were there once we arrived at Hanoi airport. We managed to avoid the eager taxi drivers and found ourselves on a shuttle bus, costing the two of us only 60,000 Dong (less than £2). A great bargain for a relatively long journey, but we did have to share the 11 seated shuttle with 13 people and 13 rucksacks. It was very overcrowded, but for such a bargain we weren't going to complain, mainly because we weren't the ones who had to sit on rucksacks.
     We were given two important pieces of information from tour guides during our time in Vietnam. The first was - if you are trying to cross a road then the best thing to do is walk slowly across whilst holding your hand up in the air, so that motorists know you are crossing and mopeds can drive round you easier.

     Hanoi is diverse, busy and exciting. The highs and lows of our day trip to Ha Long Bay reflected our whole 2 weeks in Vietnam. The scenery was astounding and the place was beautiful, but the drivers and tour guides constantly overfilled the transport and appeared to have no idea what they were doing. Each trip that we made felt as though it was the first time that the tour guides had ever made the journey and they had no idea how to organise it. When I mentioned that I was a vegetarian I thought the person I spoke to was going to have a heart attack.
     When you have kayaked in the beautiful bay and walked through their caves, all the issues feel insignificant. However, the fact that the driver of our shuttle bus decided that he didn't want to drop us off at our hotel, but basically abandoned us several streets away leaving our guide to lead us back to our hotel was ridiculous.

     Our night bus to Hue was much more traumatic. We were picked up by a mini bus, but then had to wait for half an hour while the driver fetched the other passengers. Not long after setting off we soon stopped again to cram in more passengers, so many in fact that the driver's colleague had to stand on the edge of the van as it took us to the night bus. The bus set off around 7:15pm and I was constantly in and out of sleep, not just because of the stops to pick up more passengers, but because of the driver constantly beeping his loud horn! You see, a certain Vietnamese trait is to beep the horn whenever anything happens on the road, including overtaking other vehicles, being overtaken by other vehicles, turning a corner, stopping, passing pedestrians and cyclists (even if they are not on the road), speeding up, slowing down and sometimes just beeping when there's no one near them and they're driving in a straight line. By the time we arrived in Hue at 5am I was truly in need of a good night's sleep.

      Our next journey a few days later was a mere 6 hour bus journey to Hoi An. As it was not a night bus we naively believed this would be a much more comfortable journey. However, when the bus picked us up it was full, so we had to sit on tiny plastic stools in the aisle. Thankfully this only lasted for about 10 minutes before the bus stopped and about half a dozen of us had to get off and find our bags that we had just spent a few minutes trying to squeeze on. We were told to wait further down the road for another bus that would be taking us. We hung around wondering what was happening for another 10 minutes when the bus we had got off pulled back up to us, unloaded more passengers and we had to get back on. At least we were able to sit next to each other, which wasn't the case for another couple who weren't so fortunate. As the only remaining pair of seats were reserved for a woman from the bus company, the guy had to squash onto the back seat, while the girl had to sit at the very front on a dodgy looking unsecured seat.
     The air conditioning didn't work for the entire journey, so passengers cracked open windows and from time to time the driver opened the door to let in some air. However, the driver did not like the windows being open, so when we stopped for a toilet break he walked around the bus and closed all the windows from the outside. At our next stop an hour or so later he did the same thing, this time giving me a smack on the arm before slamming my window shut. We were glad to reach Hoi An, as the driver had also turned the journey into a race, as he sped alongside another tourist bus as they tried to overtake one another, in what seemed a desperate attempt to reach the destination first.

     Hoi An is a beautiful town. The buildings are a lovely yellow colour and it was a truly pretty town to walk round and explore. However, our next journey to Nha Trang was another night bus and had all the same problems as the previous journeys. Once again we believed it would be better this time, as the tour operator we booked it with actually gave us seat numbers. How foolish we were...not only did the driver not even look at the seat numbers we had been allocated but we weren't even allowed to sit in the spare seats we wanted. We were told to sit at the back on the bottom row, which was a row of five seats where we couldn't even sit up straight due to the second set of five seats above our heads. We were crammed in with two Italian guys and an Australian girl, who unfortunately was about 6 foot and as she got the last seat in the middle of us she had no room to stretch her long legs out. I did try and reason with one of the workers, but when I tried to ask why we couldn't sit in the better seats he simply waved me off, told me to return to the back seat and physically shoved me away. So, I reluctantly returned to the crammed cave at the back of the bus for a long and uncomfortable night.
     We tried to be clever on our journey to Saigon, by taking a train. That wasn't such a good idea. A 7 and a half hour journey was spent on a train in desperate need of maintenance  Our seats were broken and we struggled to enjoy the wonderful scenery as the the curtains were half pulled across and broken. Women walked up and down the carriage selling raw, not chilled fish, which I thought was a very unusual item to sell on a long train journey. How about fruit or something that didn't reek of death?
    Vietnam is a beautiful country, full of history and culture with some of the best scenery I have ever seen,  and I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to visit. So, if you can cope with squatter toilets on buses, dangerous driving, being treated like prisoners and never feeling sure that you'll reach your destination then I highly recommend Vietnam.
 
    The second important piece of information that we were given - if you do not like the fast driving in Vietnam the best thing to do is...close your eyes and go to sleep......If only they would stop beeping their horn, then that's exactly what I would have done.



   

6 of the coolest things in Chicago

Chicago is one of the coolest cities we've visited. There's a great vibe to the place that we felt the moment we arrived. The diversity of the city gives it great character, from the astounding architecture such as the Bean, to the quint little beach on the lake. These are just 5 of the cool things to see and do in Chicago...

Lincoln Zoo
The zoo is only a short bus ride away from the city centre and from the entrance there's a wonderful view of the Chicago skyline. We spent the best part of a day here and took a ridiculous amount of photographs! Although I always feel slightly sad at seeing so many amazing creatures trapped in a cage or fenced area, it is also a great way to see wild animals in the flesh. I would have to say that my favourite animals were the excessively cute red panda and the solitary polar bear, that had more water in its cage than land.


Take a ride on the water taxi
A ride on the water taxi is a much more interesting way to travel to certain parts of the city, and at only $3 for a single, it is certainly worth a trip. The uniquely built buildings along the water's edge tower over the river and the water taxi gives you a unique view of the beautiful architecture around the river. The murky green water and rustic steel bridges are a nice contrast to the unusual buildings that are crammed in to every spare inch.

Cloud Gate 'The Bean'
'The Bean' as it's called by the locals for obvious reasons is a fascinating modern art sculpture. The sculpture looks out of place against the buildings that surround it. The Bean looks awesome from a distance and when you get closer it only gets cooler. We had a lot of  fun taking photo after photo of our slightly distorted reflections.

Navy Pier
I loved the pier in Chicago. It is huge and I felt that it could quite easily fit in to an English seaside resort, except everything is on a bigger scale, obviously. The Navy Pier has a good food court, so you won't go hungry and there are stunning views of the lake and the city. There was a volleyball tournament taking place when we visited, but we couldn't afford to pay to watch, but I did manage to grab a sneak peak before scooting back outside.

Sunbathe on the beach
That's right, the city of Chicago which is nowhere near the sea has a beach. A beach on the lake. There is a large main road right near the beach, which makes it look even more out of place. But I love the idea that a busy city can have a beach for people to enjoy at the weekends or maybe after work. Who says you have to go to Australia for that kind of lifestyle...


Take a stroll down the Magnificent Mile
 The magnificent mile is a mile long stretch of road that has been given its name because it is crammed full of shops, hotels and attractions. A day can easily be spent walking up and down the mile eating, shopping and sightseeing. Some of the tallest buildings and best architecture in the US can be found here. The road is really well located for accessing other parts of the city or hopping on the water taxi. The magnificent mile is an interesting and unique road, with enough variety to suit everyone.

Christchurch- An unfortunate disappointment

   At the time we booked to go to Christchurch, New Zealand, there had already been a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Saturday 4th September 2010, causing widespread damage to the city and minor injuries, but there were no direct fatalities.
   We were planning a round the world trip and Christchurch was one of our many stops along the way. We're not ones to avoid researching a place before visiting, well, I say that despite leaving to travel Canada without a coat....but we did look into it and the damage wasn't bad enough to be concerned about. Also there was plenty of time for the city to recover by the time we were going to visit.
   A month after booking the trip an aftershock measuring magnitude 6.3 struck the city on 22nd February 2011. Although it was smaller than the September earthquake, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area, with the death toll well exceeding 100. On 13th June 2011, less than a fortnight before we visited, Christchurch was again rocked by more powerful aftershocks, the largest measuring at a magnitude 6.0. However, by this time it was too late for us to avoid the city.
 

   We landed in Christchurch on 26th June 2011 in an airport barely affected by the quakes. We only spent two days in Christchurch and thought we'd planned well by staying away from the closed off city centre out on the coast in New Brighton, where we thought that they were less affected by the quakes. However, our driver decided to relay a story about how the houses we were passing were all being bought by the government, as the land had effectively turned to jelly, which had made all of the buildings totally unstable. Moments later he pulled up at our hostel....
   There were portaloos everywhere and a sign in the hostel toilets that clearly until recently had said 'do not use the toilets', but had been changed to now say 'do not use the toilets for number twos'. As it was winter I couldn't bring myself to do it, as I believed many other people in the hostel did either.
   There were warning signs up on the beach to stop people going near the sea. The sewer systems were damaged and the sea had become toxic and too dangerous to go near. Though it was winter, therefore not really paddling season, it was thoroughly depressing that we couldn't even go near the sea. The whole town felt deserted, shops were closed down and streets were eerily quiet. It reminded me of Niagara Falls out of season, but much more soul destroying.
  On our first night we were woken by an aftershock. Thankfully it was only a minor one that just shook the building and moved furniture across the room. However, with the devastating aftershocks that had occurred, the fear was in us that this aftershock could have the potential to kill us. Despite this, in my jetlagged, disorientated state the fear lasted barely a few seconds before I was back to sleep.
   The next morning we caught a bus to the centre of Christchurch. One of the main reasons we wanted to visit this city was to walk around the square, enjoy the beauty of the cathedral and ride the tram. We knew that the cathedral spire had fallen, the tram was out of the question and parts of the city were inaccessible, but we weren't aware that the entire centre was still closed off. Buildings stood in crumbled states of disrepair, a small spire stood fenced off on the road next to its church and buildings had signs on their doors declaring whether or not they were safe.
 

   Though bitterly disappointed that the city centre was closed off, it was a humbling sight to witness and I'm grateful to have been able to see the reality of the city's devastation. Even if it was only for a couple of days, we were able to catch a small glimpse of the daily struggles of the people whose lives had been turned upside down. Our short stay in Christchurch was not how we envisioned it and we felt sad that we weren't able to enjoy it before the quakes ripped the city apart. This once vibrant and busy city had become a ghost town, with many people having left their homes and moved away (up to 50,000 residents had relocated to other parts of New Zealand or Australia by this point).
   I personally would have packed up and gone after the earthquake in February 2011, as daily life would have been too much of a a struggle. I understand why people stayed, after all, it is their home. Although with the city sitting on a tectonic plate maybe it would be better in the long run to just let go and rebuild the city in a safer region. Then again, that would be a lot of effort and the tectonic plate cuts right through New Zealand anyway.
   Christchurch was a disappointment, but only due to unforeseen circumstances that were out of its control. However, that doesn't mean that we regret visiting. Neither me or my partner had ever been to a city that was trying to rebuild itself after a natural disaster and it made us realise how lucky we are.



Sources from www.bbc.co.uk

Bristol - Kooky Town

    We spent all of 3 days in Bristol and with the use of Tesco clubcard vouchers we were able to stay in a fancy hotel, by the river. However, I would have never paid full price for the hotel room, as it wasn't worth it's £150 plus price tag, even if it did have a TV in the bathroom.
    Bristol was different, it was kooky, individual and fascinating. The steep gradient of Park Street added to the unusual character. With the cathedral at the bottom, the university at the top and Cabot Tower just a short walk up a side road, the street was penned in by beautiful pieces of architecture that could challenge any city. There was even a Banksy on one of the buildings. It may have been vandalised but not even the blue spots of paint affected it. There were handfuls of individual owned shops, the majority were borderline kooky and some drowned in their own kookiness. I may not be of the fashionable breed but it was nice to walk round a shop that I wouldn't see in another city, another chain.
 


I was a huge fan of the £2 bookshop. Something that I couldn't quite believe at first. Surely every book wasn't just £2, yet they were and I managed to restrain myself to just the one book. The shops may have been independent but the restaurants weren't. However, I'll never say no to a meal at Nando's or Ask.
    There was plenty more to Bristol than Park Street, such as the harbour, with it's bars and restaurants, and the square with it's fountains. Also the modern area by the harbour was not to be missed, with new apartments, restaurants and an artistic square with statues of famous Bristolians and a mirrored ball that reminded me of the Bean in Chicago.
     Bristol is an English city not to be missed, there's enough shops, art and culture to keep you busy for much longer than 3 days.


 

5 of the best cities to visit

New York City, USA

Even though a part of me didn't want to like New York because of how much the Americans glorify the city, especially since 9/11, I couldn't help but love the place.
Nowhere is too out of the way in Manhattan with such a well connected underground we were only a couple of blocks away from a station. I loved everything about the city, from the awesome views visible from Rockefeller Center, Times Square and the Staten Island ferry, to the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street.
When I visited Ground Zero, it was only a few months away from completion, but it looked like it was going to be the king of all memorials and the US of A love a good memorial.
Central Park was less like a park than I had hoped. With a big road running through the middle of it and the majority of the grass areas fenced off with limited points of entry, it created a more controlled feel to the park, rather than the natural haven that it's made out to be.
However, this didn't dampen my opinion of New York, I loved the the typical Manhattan Chinese takeaway round the corner from our hotel, as well as the independent stores that littered the streets. I didn't mind waiting for a train in the subway because it meant I could marvel at the intricate construction while trains weaved in and out on lines that seemed to appear from nowhere.

Rome, Italy

I have a keen interest in everything Roman, so visiting Rome was always going to be a must. Although there were bad points about the city, such as the poor driving and general rudeness of the inhabitants, I couldn't help but love it. I think only in Rome I would be shoved onto a train on the underground by an impatient nun. I also saw a nun texting, which was a surreal thing to witness.
Nevertheless, I loved Rome. The architecture was astounding. To see so many ancient buildings still standing, such as the Pantheon, which is in impeccable condition, to the buildings of ancient Rome that still stand in their crumbled state in the old city. I took a tour bus that dropped me off at the Colosseum, and when it came into view I couldn't believe how big it was and how it dominated the landscape. Pity I wasn't allowed to walk centre stage though, at least I was able to do it in Assassin's Creed...

Chicago, USA

I immediately liked Chicago the moment I arrived. There was a vibe I got from the city that I loved. The diversity of the city is what makes it into my top 5, pushing Washington DC out. Even though Washington was awesome with all the memorials, White House and incredible architecture, Chicago had everything a city  could have. It's like someone created the city and couldn't quite decide what they wanted, so decided to have a bit of everything!
Chicago has shopping centres and awesome architecture, especially along the magnificent mile, which is a mile long stretch of shops. There is also a pier, which displays wonderful views of the city, and a river, which has water taxis running alongside the diverse high rises which make for good sightseeing. Lincoln Park Zoo can keep you busy for the most part of a day and Chicago even has a beach! So, whatever type of person you are- a shopper, sunbather, animal lover, architecture buff or food enthusiast then Chicago will deliver.

Paris, France

An old favourite and a cliche candidate for this top 5. However, I've been to Paris twice and don't feel like it can be left out. The entire city appears to be designed like it is an artistic structure all of it's own, with many roads leading in the same direction meeting at the Arche de Triomphe. I love that many of the buildings are of the same design, much like Turin with its slated rooftops. Paris is a must see, even if you aren't a romantic. With structures like the Eiffel Tower, museums such as the Louvre and enough history to keep you occupied for a month, broken up with countless numbers of cafes and patisseries, Paris cannot be missed.

Bath, England

Many cities could have taken this last spot, but I felt I should be slightly faithful to my country and give the last spot to Bath. In my opinion it fits the criteria I look for in a great city. The city has a lot of history, such as the Jane Eyre museum, where I even bought a bookmark, which I thought was rather fitting. It has architecture that rivals Rome, but then again some of the architecture is actually Roman..such as the Roman Baths, which was quite costly to get into, but was well worth it. I wanted to strip and dive into the hot bath, until I saw the colour of the water and the greenish tinge put me off the idea. Bath is well known for it's great shopping, and is littered with many restaurants and cafes, which like Paris breaks up the sightseeing. I only spent two days in Bath, and with it being my favourite English city I'd like to return someday.

Wwoofing Eh?

"Wwoofing Eh?" was the reaction I received from most Canadians while I was over there for four months. From everyone else - before and after the trip - I received confused silence or comments on how a dog communicates.
However, it is simply a way in which a cash strapped person can travel a country for a length of time, and "contribute" to a farm or garden, in which they will work 4-6 hours a day and 4-5 days a week. In return the wwoofer will be given food, a bed and possibly be shown around the local area.

My plan was simple; to spend four months wwoofing my way across Canada, from Toronto to Vancouver Island (missing out Quebec, because, well, I couldn't be bothered to learn any French)
As well as my aforementioned poorness, I had many reasons to why I wanted to wwoof, such as learning how to farm, gardening techniques and to understand a different way of life to my own. To my dismay, my first wwoofing experience was not quite what I was hoping for: on a farm in eastern Ontario with a volatile woman, a dozen cats and a deaf alsatian, I realised the two weeks I had planned to stay at the farm were too long to contemplate.
I travelled for over two months across Canada, before meeting up with my mum, who had been travelling the world for five months.
I found myself working through sixteen feet of snow and in the scorching temperatures of the Canadian desert. I slept on a school bus, began eating plants and experienced life like I never had before.
So...wwoofing...nothing to do with dogs.