Getting Around Vancouver: Our first tourist sights, a scary encounter, and pot (not the kind you throw…)

Vancouver is a great city for people who love to walk.  We parked our car when we arrived from Seattle, and didn’t see it again until it was time to head back to the States.  While the city small enough for the robust walker to navigate entirely on foot, more relaxed vacationers like us have many additional options to get around this beautiful town. 

From the easy-to-use bus system to the private trolleys that stop at major tourist destinations, to the largely Prius taxi fleet (this is a seriously green city), to the water taxis that whisk you over to Granville Island, you’ll have no need for your car unless you really want it.  You can also rent bikes, roller blades, canoes, kayaks, and just about any other self-propelled contraption known to mankind.  This is a very outdoorsy, athletic place, and the populace doesn’t seem to be happy unless is it moving.

For our first day of sight-seeing, we plan for a combo of foot/trolley/water taxi.  We stroll a few blocks north from our hotel to the Burrard Inlet, visiting Canada Place, site of the Expo ’86.  Today it houses conference space, the City’s IMAX theater, the hip Pan Pacific Hotel www2.panpacific.com/en/Vancouver/Overview.html, and the cruise ship terminal.  There’s not actually a lot to see here, but because the structure juts out into the inlet, a stroll along the promenade affords a lovely panoramic view over the water to Stanley Park and the Coastal Mountains.  You may also enjoy some floatplane takeoffs and landings, as the terminal is just to the West. 

We continue on foot to Gastown, the heart of Old Vancouver.  All the tourist guides will send you here, but between you and me, we didn’t much care for the place.  The main area is a small street of touristy shops and restaurants, albeit decked out with loads of pretty flowers.  We read about, but did not find, the hip clothing and interior design shops, art studios, clubs, and professional offices.  This is an up-and-coming area of urban renewal, but perhaps the stronger emphasis is still on urban.

Most come to Gastown to view the 1977 Steam Clock, an expressly-built tourist attraction. Though we didn’t experience this personally (probably a good thing), I have it on good authority that local fraternities haze new pledges by making them climb up and down the clock buck naked. 

The other main site was a small statue of the area’s namesake, “Gassy Jack”, the long-winded founder of the city’s first saloon who catered to the needs of the thirsty timber-mill workers beginning in the 1860s. 

Mark and I intended to pick up the Vancouver Trolley Company trolley here, then ride it on to Chinatown and to the rest of city’s sights.  We somehow got turned around, though, and within no more than a block or two, found ourselves in the heart of the city’s homeless area.  We tried to keep cool as we walked with feigned purpose past the boarded-up storefronts, breathing in the unmistakable odor of urine.

But there was another scent, too, something we weren’t used to in Atlanta, which has its own share of homelessness.  Was it …. I recognized the smell… could it be?  Yes- it was the unmistakable aroma of marijuana.  How about that?  A taxi driver later told us that some of the continent’s best pot can be had here.  From his tone of voice, he was clearly not soliciting us, but rather stating his utter distaste for the entire matter.

Perhaps ready access to this mellowing agent contributed to the fact that the homeless we encountered were completely laid back- no aggressive panhandling like on the US East Coast.  In fact, we passed a large expanse of grass (the kind you walk on) where homeless and hippies alike were laid out, soaking in the rays, enjoying a perfectly relaxing afternoon. 

Seems that the worry was all in our heads, and we managed to get ourselves out of Gastown and back on track to Chinatown without incident.  We did, however, feel in need a stiff drink.  We’d have to wait to get to Yaletown for that...

Next stop, Chinatown for the Sun Yat Sen Gardens, then on to the best beer in Vancouver.  But beforehand, I’ll share a word about our wonderful hotel, The Wedgewood Hotel and Spa…