I recently just got back from a six day long trip to Vancouver. Despite living on the island, I have never actually been to the big city. So it was something I was both nervous, and excited to experience. I was there for medical reasons to take long assessments, which was very exhausting. As someone who has lived their life in a small town all their life, Vancouver is very overwhelming. When you are used to having so little choice for things such as restaurants, night life, stores in general, you can become easily overwhelmed by how much more choices you have. I will say the best part of my trip was being able to experience so many good places to eat I now sorely miss. Especially a spot that serves the best poutine ever!
The bad part however, I was not able to do as much exploring as I wanted. The weather was not suited for going far on foot, and due to some finance issues and people I counted on not being around to show me around, I had to cut back on my taxi trips outside what was covered for me. I made the mistake of visiting Chinatown, since I thought it would be nice to experience some foreign culture for a change. Get to explore hidden shops with ultra exclusive nick-knacks, hang out at the street vendors, and meet new exciting people. That could not be any further from the truth. When I arrived, it was nothing but the most hostile human wasteland I have ever seen. It looked like a post apocalyptic scene out of a movie.
Nothing but homeless junkies and schizo people shambling about like zombies, arguing with themselves and giving me the side eye. Entire streets were filled with groups of them clogging up the roads that I avoided. The further deeper I went, the worse it got. All the shops I found ranged from cell phone repairs, women's support centres, insurance agencies, to just low end stores you could find anywhere else. Anything authentically chinese I was looking for was either absent, or locked up behind iron bars and dead bolted doors. Had I known, Gastown was a much better spot to look around that was nearby I should have gone to. The taxi driver who picked me up warned me of how dangerous that place can be. Especially at night. That it has regular stabbings, despite a heavy police presence.
The hotel I stayed at was nice. Sort of. It came with a nice kitchenette and a washer/dryer, with a nice view of the city. Unfortunately that was soured by the constant noise of police sirens, people shouting from the streets, and occasional gun fire popping off. Their was also a fire alarm the hotel decided to spring on everyone without warning which wasn't pleasant. The elevator also broke in the middle of this alarm. One of the tenants next to me was a woman bound in a wheelchair who would have been essentially trapped had this been a real alarm. The guests were rather pissed off about this.
Overall a mixed bag trip. I wish I could have stayed longer and splashed out more money, but I suppose theirs always next time.