14 Days in Canada
I want to pen my thoughts down before I forget because as humans, we tend to be very forgetful creatures.
I was very blessed to be able to go to Canada with my husband 2 months post partum.
I took it like a honey moon came true since Jeremy and I didn't really manage to go for one with Josiah in me.
We booked the Singapore Airlines flight on a promotion and got the tickets at a really good deal. One return ticket (Singapore to Vancouver) was SGD 1,200 for one person.
It was a direct flight and took about 14 hours.
It was a full flight with the demographics of the people on the flight skewed towards Indian nationals. The air stewardess then mentioned that Indians typically like to take SQ for such long haul flights.
I hardly slept on the plane as there were many babies on board and the incessant crying made it tough for me to go to sleep. Jeremy also did not manage to book a window seat and hence for the first time on a long haul flight, I was seated in the middle of the plane. The advantage of this was that I got to go to the toilet without disturbing anyone as and when I wanted to.
Canada is 16 hours behind Singapore's time and when it was night time meant that the team in Singapore was working. This meant that our phones were constantly beeping with messages and for the first time ever, I had to silence my WhatsApp chat so that I could catch a wink. Ever since entering the bereavement ministry, I did not dare to silence my phone including WhatsApp notifications for fear that I might miss something important.
DAY 1
When we first arrived at the airport, I was already so sleep deprived. It was in the morning at about 7/8 am. Jeremy and I collected our luggages and attempted to take the train to the car collection centre where we can collect the rented car.
Temperature was close to zero degrees celsius. We stopped halfway on route to the car rental company to grab a bite at Tim Hortons for it is said that one should always try the Hot Chocolate there while in Canada. I guess food always taste better overseas when it might potentially be the same thing. We had to take an uber to get to the car rental shop afterwards as it started to drizzle. Apparently, Vancouver is known for being one of the rainiest country in the world!! So remember to bring along an umbrella whenever you're in Vancouver!
After collecting our Jeep, we drove to a nearby supermarket, stocked up for the following days and drove to Kamloops.
By the time we arrived at Kamloops, it was in the evening. Most attractions were closed and we simply took a stroll by a park nearby to try and catch the sunset.
DAY 2
We drove up to Sun Peaks Resort to ski. Jeremy booked ski lessons for us which costed about SGD160 per person. We spent the entire day at the resort skiing. Sun Peaks Resort has many ski trials with differing difficulty levels for tourists and locals alike. We are proud to say we tried the green slopes and were not just stuck at the bunny hills, unlike our ski experience in Switzerland. Skiing is our newfound hobby that we hope we can continue to pursue in the following years.
DAY 3
We went to Sun Peaks Resort again the next day for a dog sledding experience before trying the snow shoeing trials on our new snow shoes purchased at only SGD50 from Walmart. Usual rates for snow shoes purchased in Singapore are at least SGD100. The dog sledding experience was a bit on the high side at about SGD150 per pax for an hour of the dog sledding ride. We initially wanted to go for the dog sledding ride in Yukon, Whitehorse but alas, we booked too late and apparently, all the dog sledding rides are fully booked for the year?! I personally enjoyed the dog sledding experience. The
We booked our Dog Sled Tour with Mountain Man Dog Sled Adventures for about SGD180 per pax. Jeremy and I chose to share one sled as it was a more cost effective option and it didn’t make a difference since we were not allowed to control the sled. We were just passengers on the sled. It was an experience Jeremy and I would go for at most once in our lives. We were picked up by the owner ( I think he’s called Chris?) at one of the hotels and transported to the kennel by a van. Then Chris introduced us to all the dogs one by one by name. Soon, the dogs were attached in front of the sled. About 8 dogs were attached to one sled and Chris released the brakes on the sled to get the sleds moving. So apparently, there isn’t a real need to control the sled per se because the dogs will charge forward and the sled moves along as long as the brakes are released. There is no need to really tell the dogs which direction to go as well since the way is neatly paved for them to run.
I initially had the impression that the dog sled tours would be led by huskies but then was told that mixed breeds are preferred as the bodies of the mixed breeds are better suited for running.
As the dogs pulled our sleds along, it was really nice to feel the cold wind brushing against our faces. Since this was during Winter, the entire place was also covered in snow which made the whole tour really scenic. Sad to say, the actual time on the sled was only about 30 minutes which in my opinion is a little too short.
DAY 4
The following day was a long drive to Radium Hot Springs. Upon reaching, we were greeted by wild elks. Apparently, the outskirts of Canada is filled with nature and wild animals do roam about every now and then.
I really love the long drives although it can be pretty tiring for the driver - Jeremy. The drives are very scenic and magnificent views of the snow-capped mountains can be seen throughout the drive. It is also pretty amazing to see how the landscape changes as we travel further north. Temperatures start dipping and more wilderness can be seen.
In Radium Hot Springs which is a village in Canada, there is supposedly a swimming complex nearby where we stayed offering hot pools filled with nearby spring waters. Jeremy and I went there to check it out but the swimming facility was closed and hence we drove a little further (30 minutes) to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. It is like a public swimming pool with entry fees just that the water in the pool is warm. What I like about this though is that we get to soak ourselves in warm waters in a cold weather with a snow-capped mountain view. The best part was that it started snowing really lightly when we were in the pool! Stars could even be sighted at this place.
Day 5
We started our day early and drove to Banff National Park. The drive was super scenic and we managed to see the Canadian Rockies en route our way to Banff. First stop was at Lake Louise. As we went during winter, the entire wake was still frozen and people could walk on the lake. Skating was also commonplace. Lake Louise is my favourite destination. I can’t quite put a reason to why it is so but i felt really at peace just at the sight of the entire place. The whole lake was frozen and surrounded by snow and greens. The view was simply breathtaking. We stayed at Lake Louise for about 45 minutes before heading to the town centre of Banff.
At the town centre, we rented some crampons for about SGD8 per pair and made our way to Johnston Canyon. There were two hiking trails which leads to the lower and upper falls. We did both. However, there isn’t much to see since everything was covered in snow. The waterfalls were also frozen and what we saw were more like glaciers/ ice dangling from the top. What was cool though was that we witnessed first hand people ice climbing. It was like the scene from Game of Thrones where people had to climb the ice wall to enter the city.
DAY 6
Day 6 was just a day of driving from Kamloops to Vancouver. The drive was a total of 9 hours. Driving back was a challenge because of :
- the long hours driving on the road
- the road conditions
The weather was getting warmer as we got nearer to the city and the snow on the ground was melting. That means roads were slippery and the slush from the ground was constantly being displaced from the tyres in front of us onto our windscreen. Jeremy was super anxious when I was on the wheel despite my efforts to tell him not to be anxious.
DAY 7
We made our way to Granville Island where we got fresh oysters and lobster buns at The Lobster Man. Granville is actually an island separate from the main town of Vancouver. Thereafter, it started raining again in Vancouver. We walked around Granville. There was a public market selling food of all sorts and some souvenirs. Nothing too fancy though as most of the food choices offered were international ones that we can find in Singapore easily.
We then went over to Stanley Park and walked around for a bit before getting some groceries at Walmart and then heading back to our airbnb to cook our dinner. Meat is generally cheaper in Canada than in Singapore.
Go to my next post for a continuation of this trip to see how we sighted Auroras in Canada!