The Vancouver Mural Festival had taken place on August 20. I didn’t have time to go out and take in all the murals that day. However, the Friday after I went in search of the murals on a hot and sunny morning.
I got off the SkyTrain at Main Street Station and went north thinking there might be some murals between the SkyTrain and the viaducts. At least that’s what the Vancouver Mural Festival map suggested to me.
Hong Kong Island is one very hilly place. Most visitors and tourists would only venture up the hillside to visit The Peak. Even then, most people would likely take The Peak Tram (which in itself is a tourist attraction). If you have an extended period of time, then it may be worthwhile to explore off the beaten path into non-touristy Hong Kong.
On this January Sunday, I was meeting up with an old high school classmate. I don’t think I had seen him since my university days in Vancouver. So it was a great chance to meet up with him and his wife. We had set a time to meet at the Starbucks at Park Road and Bonham Road. Okay. I’ve heard these street names, but I had no idea where it was. Thank goodness for Nokia Maps and their downloadable city maps.
On my map, I found the intersection and ran a straight line down from there to the tram line along Des Voeux Road. It happened to follow along a street called Eastern Street. This street would be the subject of my pre-meeting exploration.
After a quick fix of caffeine and WiFi (plus a chance to rest our feet) at my uncle’s place in Sheung Wan, we were back out on the street. It was Sunday, so my uncle took us down to a weekly market that closes some streets in the area. There were some performances on a stage and a lot of ladies lining up for some freebies at one tent.
I was in Hong Kong over the holidays for a wedding. Thankfully, my sister and I managed to find some time to do somewhat touristy things. With all the large meals we were subjected to, it was actually very nice and refreshing to actually get out and walk for long distances about town. This is what we did in the small streets of Central in Hong Kong. Our uncle played neighbourhood guide for us for this walk.
Continue reading “Walking the Small Streets of Central”
Here’s a snippet of photos from along 5th Avenue in Downtown Courtenay. The downtown is not very big. Most of the shops are centred along 5th Avenue, although you can find some shops and services along the adjacent 4th and 6th Streets. Interestingly, the cross streets starting from the river go more or less alphabetically. The Cona Hostel is on Anderton Avenue. B is missing, … Continue reading Downtown Courtenay – Along 5th Street
This is the last part of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation‘s walk along Burrard Street. We went south down Burrard Street past Nelson Street. Maurice pointed the two hotels near Nelson and Burrard. There was the older Century Plaza Hotel on the west side of the street and then the Sheraton Wall Centre, which stands on the tallest point on the Downtown Peninsula. He retold the … Continue reading VHF Burrard Street Walk – Nelson to Davie
After the Christ Church Cathedral, we headed south to Burrard and Robson. Burrard and Robson is the busiest retail intersection in the city. It’s the start of the Robson Street shopping area with all the big name retail chains. It’s also where playoff hockey celebrations tend to happen as cars with crazy Canuck fans honk their way up and down the road (but not this … Continue reading VHF Burrard Street Walk – Robson to Nelson
The Christ Church Cathedral was the highlight of my walking tour along Burrard Street organized by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. This tiny unassuming church has been on the corner of Burrard and Georgia Streets since 1889. It may look like an old English countryside church on the outside, but the inside is magnificent. We were very fortunate to have one of the pastors, Peter Elliot, … Continue reading VHF Burrard Street Walk – Christ Church Cathedral
Burrard Street is home to our current Central Business District. It is where Vancouver does business. The stretch from Hastings south to Georgia is home to most of the corporate headquarters in British Columbia. We walked south along Burrard from the Marine Building while Maurice, our guide extraordinaire once again, introduced some of the buildings to us. One of the first buildings we came across … Continue reading VHF Burrard Street Walk – the Central Business District
After walking from Dunlevy and Hastings to MacLean Park, then onto Hawkes and Prior, we crossed busy Prior Street to the Strathcona Community Gardens. These gardens are very well used. On a sunny day like this day, it was full of community gardeners tending to their tiny little plots. It seems like the local gardeners knew each other and were sharing tips and stories of how their plants were growing.
Continue reading “Walking Vancouver – Strathcona in March (2)”
metro babel 