Very Vancouver

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By THOMAS E KING

Cities by the sea have long held a special fascination for many people.

Vancouverites are no different, declaring there’s no place quite like their city on the water. Apart from the fabulous harboursited metropolis in Australia where I have lived for the past 35 years, Vancouver - I must agree - has one of the most beautiful settings in the world.

Embraced by the Pacific Ocean blue and back-dropped by Coast Mountains green, Vancouver not only has scenic diversity beyond comparison but it also sports numerous contrasting recreational opportunities. Anyone with a desire for an active life can jog in Stanley Park before breakfast, then leave the central city by mid morning and go skiing less than an hour later on nearby Grouse Mountain, play 18 holes of golf at a chic country club in the afternoon, fish for salmon or trout at dusk and top off the day with a cooling swim at the stylish English Bay before dinner.

James Cook, the emergence of the fur trade and the discovery of gold, the decade of initial development was in the 1850s.

An eager entrepreneur heard of vast opportunities in this part of the Canadian province of British Colombia and set off to make his fortune. “Gassy” Jack Deighton beached his canoe on the shores of Burrard Inlet, landing with his First Nation (Native American) mistress, some furniture, a few chickens, a dog and a barrel of whiskey. His objective was to build a saloon.

With the help of labourers from the sawmill who were eager for liquor, a forbidden commodity at the mills, the saloon was built and ready for business by 1867. A small community soon grew up around the establishment and in 1871 Gastown, as it had become known, consisted of three saloons, two stores and a hotel. The town was close enough to serve the mill, but far away enough to be beyond its control.

Vancouver’s Canada Place … will be the glittering venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games clock with plumes of steam venting from its ornate top. A whistle blast regularly marks the time and cameras capture the moment at Vancouver’s most photographed attraction. Several blocks away is Chinatown, the second largest in North America, exceeded only by San Francisco. Walking along Pender Street I gazed at an odd assortment of old wooden curio shops, restaurants serving enticing dishes from most provinces of China and spacious oriental stores with the world’s thinnest office building included for good measure. (Barely the width of two outstretched arms more people come to photograph this architectural oddity than buy insurance from the proprietor!)

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During warm summer weekend evenings Pender as well as Keefer Streets become a bustling open air market. If shopping isn’t your game then explore the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Weather gnarled pines, limestone formations with character and

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If you had visited the area around Vancouver 160 years ago you could also hike, fish and swim but instead of the modern compact concrete and glass high rise-central city seen today, the tallest horizon hugger would have been a pine tree. Following Russian and Spanish explorers, the arrival of British Captain

The village back then housed a rather rough community. Occasionally mill hands would go on a spree in Gastown and work would stop for days. The only spree that’s likely in Gastown these days is a shopping spree, as the rejuvenated area centred on Maple Tree Square boasts of slick boutiques as well as swish restaurants, jazzy nightspots and trendy offices all located in historic environs. In mid summer when I walked along Water Street, the arterial that bisects this colourful district, Gastown was ‘tourist central’.

Every quarter of an hour, crowds gather at a rather unusual attraction midway along the street. The object of interest is an antiquated

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If you want to remove the watermark, please register occupies a narrow peninsula bounded on three sides by Burrard Inlet, English Bay and False Creek with Stanley Park at the tip. Originally the town’s military reserve, this 400 ha. retreat of native forest is crisscrossed by 17 km of motorable roads and 35 km of footpaths.

(Top left) Stanley Park is dotted with walking tracks that lead to flower gardens and totem poles carved by First Nation people.

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If you want to remove the watermark, please register the odd turtle swimming in sun-warmed lily pond waters are features at the only full-scale classical Chinese garden outside China. As you leave the sanctuary and the colourful area, you’ll walk past the three storey Chinatown Millennium Gate en route to the next point of interest.

Two more standout options still await discovery: a city park that’s almost as big as the city centre and an island that’s not an island! Granville Island, the tip of a squat peninsula that juts into False Bay at the edge of the CBD, was formerly an industrial area filled with musty warehouses. Located beneath bridge and highway overpasses and easily accessed, the district has been transformed into a lovely leisure area with a jovial marketplace, buskers, theatres, marina and galleries. The international food court dishes up Indian favourites which you’ll enjoy as much as I did during my foray through this city named after British naval captain, George Vancouver.

The fourth must-see is also located on a peninsula. Much of Canada’s third largest city

(Above) Accessed by scenic cable car, Grouse Mountain - a winter and summer sports retreat – has spectacular vistas over Vancouver.

(Left) The ski resort of Whistler will host 30 per cent of medal events during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. (Photo credit: Tourism BCRandy Lincks

Travel Notebook Vancouver

FLIGHTS: old Hotel Vancouver. A chateau-style hotel in the middle of the city, this elegant 556 room property oozes charm and dishes up a huge Canadian breakfast. Reservations can be made through the local office on 1800 804 456. See www.fairmont.com/hotelvancouver.

Visitors are seen throughout good weather days sniffing (in season) roses, photographing totem poles carved by First Nation people, waving from chauffeured horse carts and just admiring the magnificent panorama that incorporates mountain, sky, water and one familiar looking building in the distance.

With a soaring superstructure reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House, Canada Place is Vancouver’s most distinctive landmark. Built for World Expo 1986 as a convention centre and cruise ship terminal, the iconic structure will again be seen by a global audience next month. Canada Place will not only be the glittering venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and nightly victory celebrations, this futuristic structure will once more act as a glimmering beacon welcoming the world to a very special city by the sea.

INDIA & THE GAMES:

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Air Canada operates a daily non-stop service from Sydney to Vancouver. The 14 hour flight is in a Boeing 777-200LR equipped with a personal touch screen TV at every seat and in-seat power points for laptops. See your travel agent or contact Air Canada Australia-wide on 1300 655 767 for details of flights and fares. See www.aircanada.com

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TRAVEL:

The new Canada Line SkyTrain connects Vancouver International Airport with the CBD in 26 minutes. There is good bus, trolleybus and SkyTrain service in and around this city of 2.2 million. Public transport will become 24/7 during the games with the Olympic Bus Network operating frequent services to the ski fields of Whistler, 120 km north of the city.

ACCOMMODATION:

Except for the period encircling the Winter Games, accommodation is widely available in all price categories. During a midsummer stay in Vancouver, I enjoyed the cosy ambience of several Fairmont properties including the grand

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be India’s 8th international snow sports spectacular. A team of four athletes is scheduled to compete and hopefully bring back the country’s first-ever Olympic Winter Games medal. Even if this doesn’t happen, India is already a winner as Akshay Kumar was the only actor among 14 international celebrities to carry the Olympic torch in mid December. As well, the Bollywood superstar has been nominated as India’s Ambassador to the Games which will be held from February 12 – 28, 2010.

INFORMATION:

For advice on planning your holiday in Canada visit www.canada.travel or call the Canadian Tourism Commission on 1300 300 576. See www.vancouver2010.com for details and www.2010destinationplanner.com for accommodation during the games. Available from leading outlets, Lonely Planet’s Canada has substantial information about Vancouver and the rest of this diverse country.