TOURISM IN CANADA
by Jessica N.
From : SMAK Penabur Gading Serpong
Grade : 12
Due to her inquisitiveness, Candy opened it. Looks like the scrapbook was a lovely-packed documentation of her parent’s trip to Canada before they got married. It was quite obvious from its cover : the scrapbook was covered by red-and-white suede cloth with a little maple embroidery attached on it. A young version of Candy’s parents were waving from a photo which also attached on the cover. So Candy grabbed a cushion, had herself a nice seat and started to read what her Mom had wrote about Canada… looks like it was an amazing story! DAY 1 : I have been so stoked about our one-week trip in Canada since months ago, and finally Roger and I arrived safely at Vancouver International Airport this evening. So glad to be here! We wandered for a while at the airport and the first thing I bought was a pack of postcards and stamps. I found myself getting more and more excited just by seeing the scenery view of Canada from those postcards. I also read a little information about Vancouver International Airport. It’s also known as YVR by its International Air Transport Association airport code. It was mentioned that YVR is a winner of several awards for best International airports such as the Skytrax Best North American Airport award in 2007 and 2010 and Best Canadian Airport in the regional results. No wonder, because the YVR leadership role is taken by the Airport Authority, a non-profit organization which keeps the airport improved and developed from the entire earnings. I thought it was fantastic, and so did Roger. Then we pay our attention to the architecture. It was mentioned that YVR has an award-winning art and architecture design. I could see it. YVR has an unusual visual connection between arriving and departing passengers through an atrium in the center of the building, and the visitors could enjoy the panoramic view of Vancouver’s sea, land and skyline through the glass-walled pavilion along the airport. What a brilliant idea! We took a cab for a short sight-seeing before bedtime at the hotel. We were a bit sleepy and tired actually, but it would be such a waste if we didn’t take some photos of Vancouver at night. Suddenly my eyes caught a tea shop in the street side and I asked the driver to stop. A cup of tea before the bedtime would be awesome! Thankfully Roger is an understanding man, so instead of grumbling, he followed me entering the shop and joking “I want to buy a pillow and sleep here, may I?” The teashop is called “Teaopia”. The place was so cozy, and it provided over 100 varieties of premium loose leaf tea, also charming yet high quality tea accessories. I ordered flavored green tea called “Love Spell”. Roger is less romantic than me, so he picked a cup of plain black tea. The tea tasted extra ordinary. I also read the “10 Reasons to Drink Tea” poster which placed on every table. After we finished sipping our tea, I bought a set of porcelain teapots and we were off to the hotel. DAY 2 : Our destination for second day is the famous Stanley Park. It was quite sunny but the autumn wind was still freezing. Roger was more excited this time because nature has been his first obsession since he was a little kid. Chlorophyll freak! But even a plant-hater would love Stanley Park a lot. According to a brochure, Stanley Park is 10% larger than the famous Central Park in New York with an area of 404,9 hectare. This urban park has several recreational facilities, jogging track, forest, zoo, monuments, beaches and bodies of water (such as lagoons and lakes). It means, you could really do a LOT of activities in Stanley Park with such a breathtaking view around you. Breathtaking was not overrated to describe Stanley Park. How should I start? We stopped by the Kitsilano Beach first, and even though we were having fall season, the beach still looked dazzling. It was not crowded there. After we were done collecting scallops and taking photographs, we moved to Vancouver Aquarium, one of Stanley Park’s recreational facilities and Canada’s largest Marine Science Centre. It houses 70.000 animals in current time and exhibition galleries including Arctic Canada, The Wild Coast, Tropic Zone, Amazon Rainforest, and Amphibians.
Roger and I visited the Vancouver Aquarium Gift Shop afterwards and we were so glad to find out the gift shop recycles 98% of paper, plastic, Styrofoam and another packaging in attempt to keep its commitment to the Earth. Our purchases also directly fund the Vancouver Aquarium’s research because this place is developed by a non-profit organization. After the Aquarium, we hit the Lost Lagoon. That was the moment when I couldn’t stop gasping. Lost Lagoon was beyond words. Roger saw that Stanley Park has also became a home for the wildlife such as ducks, raccoons, skunks (yikes!), coyotes, bald eagles and squirrels. What a wonderful place. I would really love to have a park like this next to my door. DAY 3 : No sweater and leather boots for today because it’s the time for silk cheongsam! Chinatown made our third day and the atmosphere made me distracted for a while. I was in the part of Canada where the golden dragons, pagodas and red lampions were everywhere. Roger refused to wear Chinese traditional suit, so he kindly let himself to be a photographer and bring all of the goodies I bought. We visited a lot of traditional restaurants, clinics, herb stores, clothing and art craft shops. I fell in love with the prettiest embroidery purse I have ever seen, also some mini bonsai that I could use to decorate my room. We dropped by a Kam Wai Dimsum Restaurant. The waitress asked if we were tourists when she brought our dumplings and Chinese tea. I answered, yes! She smiled and shared a bit about this Chinatown. What a nice lady. She told us that Chinatown in Vancouver is Canada’s biggest Chinatown, also the largest historic Chinatown in North America. (Looks like Canada collects a lot of huge places here!) Chinatown has been a big business area for old traditional Chinese clans who would like to make an investment in Canada. The first-generation immigrants from Hong Kong made the large presence of Chinese ethnic in Canada, especially Vancouver. It caused the fast growth of Vancouver’s Chinatown. Enhancement of security system and cleanliness, marketing promotions, heritage buildings renovation also implemented to improve Chinatown’s public relations. Roger gave an extra tip to the waitress. It was a great satisfaction to see a crowded and large oriental district in Europe. DAY 4 : Me and Roger were sprucing because we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery in this fourth day. Vancouver Art Gallery is a house for more than 10.000 artworks which involving the finest and renowned Canadian artists such as Emily Carr, Jeff Wall, Stan Douglas, Rodney Graham, Roy Arden and Ian Wallace. I loved the staffs! They were very helpful, friendly and kind. But I loved the exhibit even more, for sure. I’m not an art expert and don’t really understand about professional art techniques, but I did really enjoy seeing the exhibit. Besides the collection of local artists, Vancouver Art Gallery keeps historical collection from the Dutch artists in the 17th century, including Jan van Ravenstyn, Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes, Jacob Marrel, Renoir and many more. There were a lovely café at the rooftop, and we could saw the busy main shopping street while we were enjoying our lunch. On our way home to the hotel, we saw a big red double decker. I did a research about it later on Google and figured out that it was the Big Bus, the “Vancouver’s Best Hop-on Hop-off Sighsteeing Tour” bus. If we come back to Canada someday, I will join the route! DAY 5 : Yayness! Today was a big day, because I got dressed up like a crazily happy kid and we went to Playland at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition), the oldest amusement park in Canada. It has a wooden roller coaster! The coaster was built in 1958 and has been the Playland’s signature affection. Roger was dare enough to take a ride, but I was not. Playland owns 28 rides, including children attractions to keep the little guys safe. Those heart-shocking and adrenaline-increasing activities frightened me, so what did I enjoy the most was Westcoast Wheel, a classic Ferris Wheel which replaced the former one because it had reached the age of 80 years. Playland has it own operational season, from April until October in every year. We came at the right time then, but unfortunately we will miss the Fright Night, a Halloween event which featuring employed monsters, haunted houses and Halloween fair. DAY 6 : Time to store some calories in our tummies! We hopped to The Keg Steakhouse and Bar today for some juicy steak pieces I have been craving for. The Keg was quite famous because some of my friends recommended this place when I made up my destination list in Canada. And yes, the place was so crowded. We were in the waiting list for around 10 minutes but it was worth the wait. The service was excellent, so was the steak and salad. Roger chose to be gluttonous for bowls of Keg Caesar salad and bruschetta (as I said, he is truly a chlorophyll freak) while I was so voracious with my grilled top sirloin steak. We decided to not take a cab and walk instead. To burn the piled up calories as well, Roger said. Thankfully he brought the Polaroid camera with him, so we had something fun to do at the street while we were burning the calories. The night view of Vancouver was splendid. DAY 7 : Last Day in Canada, and I’m so sad! Our departure was scheduled at 11.00 AM. It was too early! To boost my mood up, Roger took me to La Casa Gelato after we checked out from the hotel, because he thought a cone of non-fat ice cream would be a great solution for my sadness. La Casa Gelato has the most delicious gelato I have ever tasted. Not only the finest and fresh gelato, La Casa has been serving its famous homemade gelato cake, dipped waffle stick, sorbetto and yogurt for over 20 years. The most amazing fact is, La Casa produces 508 (and still growing) gelato flavors with the unique Italian “no air” process. I had no need to feel sinful after ate thousand cones of gelato because it’s sugar-free, non-dairy, and harmless for my health. What a fantastic taste, fantastic number and fantastic advantages! La Casa’s gelatos also fantastically boosted my mood up, but still, I were down again when I had to leave La Casa and back to YVR airport. Thank you so much for the marvelous memories, Canada! This one-week trip was unforgettable, really. Roger and I have made a promise to come back, hopefully with our kids! We have seen the beauty of Vancouver in fall season, so we should discover the whole Canada in each season. We are extremely sure Canada looks fabulous in every season. So see you soon! 
