A classical Chinese garden in Vancouver BC. Entry fee. I didn’t make it there but ran across it in a top20 list.
Category: Canada
Dr Sun Yat Sen – he’s everywhere!
Well, just about everywhere there are significant Chinese population, it would seem (recall he is the founder of “modern China” who overthrew the last Chinese emperor).
There are monuments/memorials/roads/historical sites in honour of Dr Sun Yat Sen in Taipei (Taiwan), Maui (Hawaii, USA), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Penang (Malaysia)!
Given the large Chinese community in Toronto, I just googled it and found this memorial statue in Riverside Park.
YYZ: new Nexus lane at T1 security!
Woohoo, finally an expedited security lane in T1 at YYZ (Toronto) for Nexus (US/Canada trusted traveler program). It was empty. (asdie: T3 has had one for a while).
Gives me more time in the nice Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge (Star Gold access), which is better than United Clubs – real food like soup, salad and humus, plus serve your own beverages (even alcoholic). Nice.
Oh, did I mention I got a status upgrade on both flights today, even though they were booked using United frequent flyer miles. Sweet.
Amtrak train, Vancouver to Seattle (final leg)
I’ve only taken an Amtrak train once before, and not across the border, so I was curious to take the train instead of the bus, even though it’s 1 hour longer (but more comfortable).
First I had to pick up my ticket, since you can’t print it online – you get a reservation code which you give to an agent (actually, they only needed my name this time) who then gives you your ticket and picks a seat for you at that time (i.e. no advance seat selection).
Then I had to go through immigration and customs at the Vancouver train station (much like large Canadian airports have US immigration and customs onsite) and baggage x-ray. There is checked luggage which you hand in after customs, and your luggage appears on a carousel at the destination terminal, much like at an airport.
The seats (2 on each side of the aisle) were pretty comfortable (more so than an economy airplane seat), leaned back, with a regular power port and free wi-fi (ok speed, and it worked on both sides of the border). Unlike the bus, you can get up and stretch your legs, and there is a dining car with hot and cold snacks and alcoholic beverages. I just bought a cup of Ivar’s clam chowder which hit the spot. (Steve picked up a snack for me while I was in line because I thought I heard someone say that there was no dining car. Oops)
The train stopped at the border for 10 minutes, literally right next to the big Peace Arch car border crossing, where 3 US agents went through the train checking passports and collecting the customs forms (though they didn’t look at bags).
Semi-surprisingly, about 8 people around me were visiting boyfriends or girlfriends across the border.
A few stops and hours later the train pulled into Seattle. Voila. End o’ journey!
(32 hours door to door including the train; for a while on the train I could barely keep my eyes open, but I wasn’t able to sleep)
San Francisco to Vancouver (third leg)
SFO-YVR flight (2hr15min)
Enjoyed a nice meal in “first” class (thanks to my status upgrade) consisting of asparagus soup, Asian chicken salad and a warm cookie. Also the little bowl of warmed mixed nuts is always tasty.
The one downside was the plane was super cold – I put on my socks, zip pant legs and Icebreaker merino wool cardigan.
YVR airport
Walking from the plane (I think 90% of flights arrive at the 2-3 gates at the very far end of the terminal wings) to immigration, I passed through a First Nations display that included a water feature, and then next to the stairs/escalators down to the immigration hall itself, there was a pebbly-bottomed waterfall.
Breezed through immigration using the Nexus kiosk, then waited and for bags again.
So far, from wake-up alarm, this was from 2 pm Thu until 1:30pm Fri (both Pacific Times), or almost 24 hours.
But wait, there’s more!
After taking the SkyTrain downtown-ish to meet my friend Steve, he kindly drove me to the train station for my 4hr10min Amtrak train to Seattle…
In Vancouver for a few hours
Yes, I know it’s insane, but my cheap Taipei flight required me to return to Canada, so I flew to Vancouver and am taking the Amtrak train to Seattle in a few hours, after I visit with my friend Steve.
In short, my Toronto-Seattle one way flight, with a detour to Tapei, turned into:
YYZ-ORD-NRT-TPE followed by TPE-NRT-SFO-YVR-train_to_Seattle
Which also means I passed through US Customs & Immigration each way despite connecting through (unlike Japan where you could transfer through without immigration)
