A new year, and a new start

It’s a new year for Ben in British Columbia, and with it comes a renewed wealth of opportunity. 2008 was an interesting one for me. I visited three continents, lived on two of them, and ended the year roughly 7,000 kilometres away from my sleepy Northamptonshire village, living on the west coast of North America. However interesting my year seems though, I can’t really compare it to the year that Tom, my brother, had.


He started 2008 in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, the tiny former Soviet nation sandwiched in the Caucasus bordering Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Tom originally arrived there as part of his global bicycle ride attempt, Ride Earth, and planned to stay just three days, before heading southeast, into Iran. As it happened he was stuck there for an extra few weeks, due to the delay of a sleeping bag he was expecting. Fate, it seems, kept him in Yerevan, as one evening he bumped into Tenny. Nine months passed (no, it isn’t that sort of nine months), and he was still there, renting a cramped, Communist-era flat in the heart of the Armenian capital, editing websites in his boxers, spending many hours and days of quality time with his new Armenia-Iranian girlfriend, and planning to continuing his cycle ride with her.


Now it’s November - a few short weeks before Christmas, and in the Allen house in Middleton, Northamptonshire there’s a knock at the door. It’s Tom. He’s home. And Tenny is with him. They’re back in England for a short time only, having travelled back by a combination of hitch hiking, train rides and ferries over the course of 16 days. They came from Tenny’s family home in Tehran, Iran - having previously cycled there from Yerevan. It took a train ride from Tehran to Istanbul, another train from Istanbul to Athens (before the riots started), a boat up the Adriatic to Venice, and from there they hitched most of the way home. After spending Christmas in England, Tenny is now back in Tehran, having flown home a few days ago, and Tom is hitch hiking back to Istanbul to collect his bike, and carrying on, taking a very route scenic back to Tehran. You can read the full story on the Ride Earth website. It’s an interesting story, I highly recommend it.

But anyway, back to my year. It has definitely been an interesting time. Having returned from my trip to Ghana in February I sat around and pondered what to do with life. I’d done various shorter trips abroad in the months since finishing University, but something was missing. I decided, eventually, that I needed to move somewhere else – to experience what it feels like to live thousands of miles away from home in a totally new environment, where it would just be me – a whole new start, and a whole new challenge.

Eventually I came across Canada – and the ease in which young English people with a lack of desire to pursue a career could obtain temporary work visas. At the time I knew nothing of Canada apart from it being close to the United States, and it was big. Pretty limited then. Having chatted to my folks on this winters afternoon about the possibility they told me that Vancouver, on the west coast, was supposed to be extremely nice.


Cue Google Image Search. “Damn”, I thought, as I stared at aerial photographs of skyscrapers, sea, beaches, parks and mountains – all in one shot. “That looks cool” With that, a trip to the library followed to get a book on the city. Five pages was all it took – I applied for the program that same afternoon.

In hindsight, it was the best thing I ever did. It has been an eye-opening, culturally fulfilling, broadening experience. As I said, I knew nothing of Canada at the start of 2008, so coming here, learning about how varied the landscape is (sea, to mountains, to prairies, to lakes, to arctic tundra), how it is the second largest country in the world (geographically – after Russia), how you can fit the UK into British Columbia roughly four times, and how it’s a buzzing, cosmopolitan feast for the senses, due to being almost entirely made up of immigrants from absolutely everywhere, has been amazing for me.


My opinions on globalisation, immigration, and diversity are all for it. I think it is an extreme positive when people from other backgrounds and other cultures come together – and Vancouver is a melting pot for that. The city welcomes it with open arms, positively encourages variety, celebrates different cultures, lifestyles, and opinions coming together to form one, diverse, liberal society. In Vancouver there is something for everyone, and I feel totally at home as part of it.

So what have I been up to recently? Well, Christmas has just been and gone, and with that came an epic dump of snow which battered the city for two full weeks. Vancouver isn’t generally considered a snowy place – due to a jet stream from the South Pacific keeping temperatures, and thus snowfall, to a reasonable level, but a few days before Christmas Day, the city was treated to a blizzard of biblical proportions. Being totally unable to cope, the city ground to a halt. Buses were unable to run, cars were buried, shops and businesses closed, and people were unable to get to work. It was chaos. Brilliant chaos. We took the opportunity to go sledging – something I’ve personally not done for about 15 years, and Vancouverites celebrated their first white Christmas since 1998.


Our Christmas Day was pretty memorable also. My flatmate Sophie had her family over to visit from England, and after a few days in the city, they had all driven up to the Olympic ski resort, Whistler, to stay at a chalet over the Christmas period. Thomas, my other flatmate, and I, drove up on Christmas morning to spend the day there. The highway up – known as the Sea to Sky, was extremely treacherous, given the current conditions, but after three separate pant-browning moments on the way we arrived.


I have to say Whistler is a truly spectacular place. I visited before, at the end of summer, with my folks when they came to visit, but in winter it is something else. After having breakfast at their chalet (a seriously beautiful chalet I might add) we wandered up to Whistler village. The whole place was a hive of activity, transformed from the quiet, relaxed atmosphere we experienced in September. We went up Whistler Mountain on the gondola, revelled in not-a-cloud-in-the-sky weather, and took the new “Peak 2 Peak” gondola across to Blackcomb Mountain, and stared at the valleys, and surrounding mountains. Awe-inspiring.


After that I could not help myself, but to spend the afternoon snowboarding down Blackcomb, with Sophie’s dad, brother and sister. I’d not been on a board in about two years, but it was worth it, and everything came back very quickly. The afternoon flew by, we got to the foot of the mountain, went back up again, and before we knew it, it was time for Thomas and I to drive back to Vancouver. We had a 20 pound turkey in the oven, and two friends (Aussie Dave, and Sara from Toronto) patiently awaiting our return – for Christmas Dinner.


So now, the holiday season is over once more. A new year has begun, and that means a whole new start. The ski season is in full swing, the days are fresh, but very cold, and I have all my snowboard gear together. I think 2009 could be another interesting year.

Time flies when you're having fun

Wednesday marked six months of living in Vancouver.


What can I say really? It has flown by, well and truly. Having said that, living in the hostel down at Jericho Beach does seem an age ago, but the memories are just as clear. Our days consisted of getting up late, sitting on the beach, eating Banana Bread, watching Euro 2008, meeting new people, playing soccer in the park, and catching the 44 Downtown.


Things have changed a lot since then. I've had endless jobs, periods of financial security, and periods of financial ruin. I've had two bikes, one puncture, two trips to the 'States, one bus pass, three plane rides, one train ride, endless bus rides, one Racoon bite, many good times, and a few bad times - but ultimately I have had an incredibly fulfilling time here, made so many new friends, and made memories that I will cherish forever.


I've found Vancouver to be such a friendly, welcoming place. The people here are from all walks of life, all corners of the globe. Some are rich and some are poor, but everyone is equally friendly. Until I came here I'd never met anyone from places like Jordan, Hungary, Iran, Serbia, Eritrea and Bolivia; but in Vanouver the people are from everywhere.

With this cosmopolitan atmosphere comes a wealth of choice when it comes to food and drink. Just yesterday I sampled the delights of a South Indian restaurant for the first time - a contrast to what we would call traditional Indian dishes in England. Gone are the Kormas, Tandooris, and pieces of chicken. What we ate was far more vegetable based, with potato, pickle, yoghurt, extremely light fried bread, rice, and dishes that contained pots of a large variety of different foods to mix with your bread. I had no idea what most of it was, but I sure did enjoy it. I ate a lot.


I've also sampled the delights of Lebanese food. It seems similar to Greek, with fried chicken, rice, houmous, pita bread, salad and spicy sauce - and it is truly exceptional. Sushi is another favourite in Vancouver. It can be found in abundance here, it is of the highest quality - and is also extremely cheap. My experience of Sushi in England wasn't great. It was edible, but at the same time it was overpriced, and didn't taste anything like as good as what I've sampled here.

As well as this, there's plenty more world foods on offer. Everything you could want you can find almost anywhere in the city. Try Malaysian, Chinese, Kenyan, Thai, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian. Whatever you want is here. No stone is left unturned.


So, my feelings for Vancouver, a place I have come to adore, remain. I find the outlook on life here so positive, the people upbeat, strangers more willing to chat, people generally being happy. I still have plenty of time left, and in that time I will try and cram in as much as I can - be it visiting another Canadian city, going to the Rocky Mountains, spending the weekends snowboarding, making a trip to Vancouver Island, or just relaxing in the city - all money permitting. I, for one, cannot wait.

Snow time like the present

As you may have gathered by the incredibly well-crafted title to this post, the time has come in Vancouver to don an extra layer of clothing, some thicker socks, and to arm yourself with an umbrella. Yes, you've guessed it - winter is in full swing.


Vancouver seems a very different place now compared to what it was just a few short months ago - cycling Downtown in the morning sun, getting a tan on Jericho Beach, sitting at the Quay in North Van. They all seem very far away now.

The T-Shirt and shorts-wearing days have now been firmly confined to the past, and everyday clothing now consists of jeans, jackets, hoodies and hats.

However, it's not all bad. Vancouver is a lot milder than other Canadian cities such as Toronto or Montreal in winter, and there's still plenty to see and do here. Having finally spent $73 on a monthly bus pass after being here six months, I can use public transport to get wherever I want, whenever I want, instead of buying endless tickets. Getting the bus to Lynda and Andrew's house or heading Downtown on the Skytrain can now easily be done whenever the feeling takes me.


But where the winter in England brings people indoors: to their homes, the local pub, the cinema, bowling alley, or shopping centre; residents of British Columbia instead put away their flip-flops and volleyballs, pull out some thermal underwear, strap on a pair of skis and throw themselves down a bloody great mountain, at high speed.

There are a multitude of options in the Vancouver area for people who want to ski, snowboard, or just spend time in a mountain cafe relaxing. Whistler-Blackcomb, the world-famous ski resort, is probably the best in the area, with thousands of people flocking there every year. The village, which will play host to the 2010 Winter Olympics, is located only 70 miles from Vancouver, and officially opened for the winter last week.

Back in September I was lucky enough to take a float plane to Whistler with my parents when they came to visit, and through the rain that poured throughout that memorable day, was met with the picturesque Whistler village, nestled between the mountains of Blackcomb, and Whistler itself. The village and the two peaks make up the resort, and whilst the summer offers an array of activities such as quad biking, hiking and downhill mountain biking with a monsterous bike-park, Whistler at winter comes alive.


The village itself is small, with a population of only 10,000, but in the winter this swells to around 40,000. Whistler's facilities are world-class, and this season a new "Peak2Peak" Gondola that directly links the tops of the two mountains opens on December 12. The skiable area is 8,171 acres, comprising more than 200 runs, and the 38 lifts can handle 65,507 skiers per hour. Not bad, especially considering you can get here from Vancouver in under two hours.


Whilst the resorts world-beating facilities and endless slopes are all well and good, the fact that Whistler has so much to offer, and the hype surrounding the place due to the Olympics, can make time spent there expensive. Fortunately there are many more local alternatives available, some of which can even be reached using Vancouver's public transport system.

Grouse Mountain, which I climbed a couple of times over the summer, is also a ski resort over winter. I remember back in July, tackling the 'Grouse Grind' with my friends Andrew, Dylan and Sabrina, culminating in a snowball fight in the warm sunshine at the top, as we found a big patch of left over snow from the winter. Now, looking up at Grouse from the city, snow is slowly taking over the peaks, and soon enough the resort will be open.


Compared to what Whistler has to offer, Grouse is tiny. The mountain contains only 26 runs, but it's more than enough to keep someone like myself, who hasn't been snowboarding for a couple of years, happy for now. Additionally, Grouse is a fair amount cheaper than Whistler, and with it being only a Seabus and a bus ride away from Vancouver, it's extremely easy and cheap to get to.
Alongside Grouse Mountain, there are the resorts of Cypress, and also Mount Seymour locally, and slightly further afield over the US border, there is Mount Baker. All-in-all it is everything a winter adreneline junkie could wish for.


Having recently moved flats, and having had a fair amount of time off work the wallet isn't currently bursting. Fortunately my new job, working as a receptionist - something that keeps me so busy that I can sit here for an hour and type this, means that I have a regular income again, at least for the forseeable future. With that, I too will soon be strapping myself to a piece of fibre-glass and wood, before throwing myself down a mountain. Let's hope I remember how to stop.

Notes from other places

I've always felt that it is important to write things down, to note interesting happenings in life, and to generally record your experiences. It's one of those things that doesn't take a lot of effort, but the rewards over time are great.


More than a year ago now myself and (my good friend from Uni) Luke drove around Central Europe for a couple of weeks in my Mum's long-suffering Vauxhall Astra. On most days of our journey we used Luke's laptop to write a short journal of what had occurred; how many miles we'd done, where we were at the time of writing, and what song was on the stereo - if anything. We had both just completed our Journalism degrees at Southampton Solent University, although I will refrain - at this point - from calling us graduates, as our Uni had the backward tendency to do things in an 'alternate' manner, thus we didn't get our results until many other people who completed courses in 2007 had already graduated. Anyway, as a result of completing said course our musings tended to occupy the more flowery-side of the writing-in-a-flowery-manner spectrum - if you know what I mean, and reading our journal back in recent times always causes me a laugh or two.


Certain things that happened over the course of our journey from Portsmouth on England's south coast, to Rauris in the Austrian Alps would probably no longer be with us in memory now, if it wasn't for our blog. Writing with events fresh in your mind always helps with detail, as over time memories fade, stories are obscured, and as a result trying to record things in an accurate manner would be difficult.


Thinking back to the times we had, and being able to read about specific conversations that would otherwise have dulled into nothingness now makes that small effort back then so worth it now. The same goes for photographs. Anyone who knows me will know that I spend far far too long taking photographs, and I also over-use (and mis-use) the term "arrogant" when describing them. However I feel that in this digital-age, where memory cards will hold over 500 multi-million megapixel photos at 2256x1496 resolution, it's not unjustifiable to take a picture of absolutely everything. Photos jog your memory, as do words, and so when you see that shot of the time you passed out in the a car outside a youth hostel in Salzburg, or when you randomly spent a day aimlessly wandering the chaotic streets of Casablanca due to a botched transit flight, it brings a smile.


Mine and Luke's journal isn't online, and so it's only us who actually gets to read it, but at least it exists, so in years to come we can both dig it out and re-live past joys. We also took 592 photos of our experiences, and some video footage too, so the time I jumped into the freezing depths of Lake Königssee in Bavaria, whilst wearing nothing but my boxers will be always there in all its glory.

I also wrote about my experiences in Ghana. The West African nation is a place I decided to go many years ago now. I remember clear as day walking into my Uni housemates room in what would have been January 2006, seeing on the TV the African Cup of Nations being played out in Egypt and thinking "I could go to that". The next one was being hosted by Ghana, in January and February of 2008. At that moment I made a decision, and although didn't do much about it until summer 2007, always had it in the back of my mind that I would go. 2008 came around, and in the preceding months I'd contacted a number of people in Ghana, mainly due to a family friend, who is also my Doctor, Paul, being part of a Christian missionary project over there. He put me in touch with Paul Sefa, a Ghanaian chap who also part of the project, and a great friend of Dr. Paul, who helped me out so much during mine and my friend Katherine's trip over, and he also became a great friend of us both. He served to guide us around his country, was kind enough to let us stay at his house, made sure we got tickets to see some of the games, and was hooked-up enough to ensure we got to meet the Ghanaian national football team in their hotel. He also went to the lengths of picking us up from Kotoka International Airport in Ghana's capital Accra at 5am, after our flights were delayed, leaving us stranded in Morocco for 24 hours. All-in-all our experiences were so special, a huge part of that being down to Paul, and I made sure I kept a diary of what we did every day.


Upon arrival back in the UK I made a conscious effort to write the diary up into article form. It took a few hours - time I could have spent doing hundreds of other things, but reading that back now makes it so worthwhile. It's online now, located at the website I made but never bothered updating, as well as on my Facebook notes, but at least it is there, and so the memories will last.


All-in-all I think keeping a Blog of your experiences is important, especially when doing something like travelling. It's not just for others to read, as in all probability hardly anyone - aside from close friends and family, will read it, but it is great to be able to look back on what you've done and smile. I only wish I'd written about everything now.

Rest, relaxation, relatives and reflection.

Looking back on my time in Canada so far it is easy to see the stages I, and the friends I've made, have been through.

Arriving on a drab and grey afternoon at Vancouver International Airport, in what seems a lifetime ago now, was the start of the first stage. The feeling I had at the time was of being lost, and having no idea what would happen within the next hour, let alone the next day. Who would I meet? Where would I live? What sort of job would I get? Would I get settled here?


I would not go as far as to say I was scared at the time, but it was a period of living by each hour, living on the edge. I can remember clear as day sitting in my room at UBC soon after arriving and worrying that I had so far only met one person (Helen - at Heathrow Airport!) and would end up hating my Canadian experience.

Fortunately, Stage Two began shortly after - beginning with my move from UBC to the Youth Hostel down at Jericho Beach. This experience was the complete opposite of my first week in Canada. Everywhere I went in the Hostel there were people, all of whom who were keen to make new friends and share experiences. I met so many people there, and made friends from all parts of the globe. For those three weeks life was a whole lot of fun from dawn 'til dusk. Each morning the British Columbian sun would rise over Downtown Vancouver, Jericho Park and the Youth Hostel, we would head down to the beach, play soccer in the park, or sit outside and watch an England-less Euro 2008 play-out with a massive group of travellers.


The highlight of that time, however, was undoubtedly Canada Day - July 1st. Our group of friends had been together for around three weeks at the time, and now many were moving on to new places in the world, and many of us staying, but moving away from the Hostel to rent rooms in houses or flats. Almost everyone I knew from the Hostel was in attendance, and the sun beat down upon the huge outdoor party the Hostel staff had organised. The smell of BBQ food was in the air, the drinks flowed, nations fought hard in the Beer Olympics (with Brazil emerging victorious), and everyone had the time of their lives. We went to, and got massively burned on, the beach, relaxed in the park, and had an impromptu 6-aside soccer tournament, which was won by a team of spirited Irishmen, who beat our own 'Holland' team (comprising only one Dutchman) in the final. The favourites Italy were knocked out in the semi-finals, and the Irish took their chance to overwhelm a Holland team who were a man short for the duration of the match. The day ended with everyone heading to the beach, to watch the Canada Day fireworks taking place just off English Bay, and our time at Jericho was over.


Stage Three began abruptly the following day, with a 6:30am wake up call. It was my first day at my new job, and once I returned that evening, I would be moving to my new place on Granville Street - a 15 minute bike ride from Downtown. It had taken me a couple of weeks to obtain employment in Canada, and I'd got this job - at Business Objects in Yaletown - through Kelly Services, a job agency in the city. I was employed as part of a team of temporary workers, who were there to sort out the mess of data following a merger between two multi-million dollar software companies.

The work at Business Objects was dire, but that was offset by my fellow temps all being a great laugh, and the fact that there was a table football game and roof patio on top of the building. The team mainly consisted of other travellers on work visas, so I made more friends from Australia, England, Scotland and Ireland - as well as the Canadian contingent in the office. We made the most of our time there, and I left after about seven weeks. That was enough time there for me.