17 August 2009

Vacation in Canada

From Monday, Aug. 10 to yesterday I was on a bus tour in Western Canada - Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, and the areas in between. Specifically, between those major cities, I visited Glacier National Park, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, the Last Spike historical landmark in central British Columbia province, a ginseng tea showroom, a farm, and a bunch of other small towns and places. For me, the best part of the vacation was visiting the Glacier NP, since it was a break from the extremely hot weather down here in San Jose.

In the later half of my week in Canada, I took a BC Ferry from Vancouver, BC to Victoria. The ferry included a parking garage and other amenities like a gift shop. Judging by the ferry route and the fact that I could pick up some radio stations from Northwestern Washington State, I thought I could brag, in the words of Sarah Palin, that I could see the U.S. from the boat! Well, I don't really think so, because on my way back to Vancouver I saw an island with a Canadian flag.

It turns out there's a lot of Asians in Canada. My family stayed in the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Richmond, just east of the Vancouver International Airport, and there were many plazas of Chinese-owned businesses and even a Chinese shopping mall. Even in the smaller towns (like Banff) there were Chinese restaurants.

Well, it's the last week of summer before I start college. Gotta make the best of it.

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