 | Vancouver Local Customs | Tips 31 - 40 of 138 |  |
Visit Canada Place if you'd like to see all the flags of Canada in one place. This includes the 10 provincial flags, the 3 territorial flags, and of course, the flag of the country.
To get to Canada Place just find Howe Street downtown and start walking north. It's the large building with the white sails where cruise ships depart from. Leave a Comment
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The first "obvious sign" that cracked me up was on Kitsilano Beach, two signs at either end of a row of rocks that said "Rocks". I'm pretty sure most Canadians would recognize that those were indeed rocks......
The second "obvious sign" was one that I found on a pretty close to being dead tree which said "Water Please" hee, hee Leave a Comment
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Any ideas on why this fire hydrant is blue? Might it be Vancouver's attempt to be more unique? Good guess, but the city does have regular red fire hydrants just like in other cities.
But after earthquakes in Kobe, Japan and San Francisco, USA it was determined that a dedicated pumping system using saltwater from the ocean could be employed as a backup in case the regular fresh water pipes are destroyed.
If you'd like to read more about this special system then click here. Leave a Comment
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Major credit cards (especially Visa and Mastercard) are accepted at most vendors in Canada. I recommend using a credit card for any purchase over $10 as you will usually get a favorable exchange rate from your own bank.
Debit cards, however, work differently in Canada than in the States. If you aren't Canadian yours probably won't work or will at least confuse the cashier. Even if your debit card has a Mastercard or Visa logo the cashier may attempt to use the debit system with your card and fail.
To get by without confusion, just use your regular credit card or cash.
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The orphans fund is a wonderful charity that raises money for a variety of purposes, all of them connected to helping children in need. It has been running annually since 1945.
I particularly like this charity because 100% of the money raised goes to the kids. How is this possible? Because Corus Entertainment, the parent company of radio station CKNW, donates all of the administrative personnel to run the fund. It's a very, very good cause!
If you live in or near Vancouver then I strongly encourage you to donate to the fund:
CKNW Orphans Fund
Suite 2000
700 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V7Y 1K9 Leave a Comment
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The Vancouver skyline is dominated by glass and metal...lots of it. I'm no architecture expert, but I have mixed feelings about this style. During the winter months when it rains a lot, the glass and metal tend to have a drab color. Hence the whole skyline looks gray. On the other hand, during the summer, it's more aesthetically pleasing. There are many high-rise apartments, condos, and hotels that have floor to ceiling windows. Kind of neat, but also quite dreary during the rainy season. As a novice photographer, I love taking shots of reflections. That would give the glass one more advantage in my book. I'm still unsure overall what I think about the glass...let me ponder over it some more. Leave a Comment
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If the Canadian east coast is all about Tim Hortons, the west coast definitely is all about Starbucks! Back in 1984, the American coffee chain opened its first location outside of its Seattle home at the Vancouver Waterfront Station. It seems like Vancouverites quickly got hooked on Starbucks coffee because this is probably one of the cities in the world with the highest ratio of Starbucks per inhabitant! I have to admit that while I was in Vancouver, I too quickly picked up the habit of stopping by Starbucks every morning to get a delicious Vanilla latte. In my opinion, their coffee tastes way better than Tim Hortons', and they offer a much nicer atmosphere too: I spent a couple hours reading at Starbucks on a lazy, rainy morning, something I could never, ever do at a Tim Hortons. I guess that's a local custom I could very easily get used to! Leave a Comment
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okay, sticking out your tongue must be a local habit or something...
But these guys rock! They showed us the good spots in town and drove us to Whistler. Leave a Comment
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One thing that might be surprising if you're not familiar with the demographics of Vancouver is the quantity of Chinese-language advertisement you'll find all over the city. In most Canadian cities, English and French are the most common languages. However, considering that the five most common surnames in Vancouver are Wong, Lee, Chan, Chen and Li, it makes sense that the importance of the Chinese community should be felt throughout the entire city. I thought it was very interesting to see all the English signs along with their translation - although I'll probably never be able to pick up this rather difficult language, I, like many others, can't help but admire its intricate written characters. I guess that's yet another unique characteristic that sets Vancouver apart from all other Canadian cities! Leave a Comment
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Chicago has it's fair share of chain coffee shops and restaurants but I was absolutely blown away by the number of Starbucks that I found in Vancouver, I was beginning to think there was a law on the books that said there had to be one every 15 feet ;-) I forgot to take a picture but there was actually one corner that had TWO Starbucks kitty corner from one another.
Tim Horton's, on the other hand, which is a Canadian chain of coffee/donut shops, were in short supply, the only one near where I stayed was in a gas station. I never did get my caramel filled apple fritter :-( Leave a Comment
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