getting to know Vancouver

For the last few days I've been settling into Vancouver life and I want to share with you what I've been up to. Top priority is getting to know the city, of course, and so I've done the tourist stuff like

- walking around Stanley Park (the circuit is 9km and it takes about 2-2.5 hours to walk around the city park along the sea dam);
- been to Harbour Centre and took the elevator up to the lookout (impressive views esp. after sunset) and the elevator ride is fun, too (the funny feeling inside your stomach is mandatory);
- done two tours organized by the hostel I am staying with right now and got to see Canadian rainforest, a big suspension bridge some people were too afraid to enter (I wasn't!), and a Salmon hatchery (you get to watch the salmon jumping upstream - poor bastards!);
- been whale watching on a 5 hour long tour that took me to U.S. territory as whales have dual citizenship and they don't care if being in Canadian or American waters - I saw heaps of fins, one or two spy hops and very rarely fluke clapping but had a great time anyway;
- been up Grouse Mountain, 'the peak of Vancouver' with fantastic city vistas, Grizzly Bears in a refuge centre, paragliding for the adventurous (sorry, nothing for me), an entertaining lumberjack show and a sunburn that came as a surprise (well, not really, but I need an excuse for not having any sun lotion with me...);

I also had one or two days where I haven't done much at all except sitting in the hostel, doing online research for jobs, emailing applications, keeping my blog updated and working on my many pictures I've taken during the last few days. I've also managed to open a bank account what took surprisingly little time (only 20 minutes) compared to Melbourne where I've spent almost 2 hours in the bank (!) and I also have a cell phone number now what works quite different to New Zealand or Australia. Down under you just go for a stroll and find heaps of mobile shops selling you all kinds of sim cards but in Canada you actually need to look for them. Buying a prepaid sim card is more expensive than having a contract and so I've signed one for 12 months.

There's not much else to tell you and I am focusing on finding a job and a flat in either Vancouver or in one of the many ski resorts for the coming winter season. Hostel life starts to bore me as I don't like having the same conversations every two days (where are you from?, what are you doing here?, how long are you staying for?), I hate sharing toilet and shower with dozens of other people and the 3 Japanese girls in my room are lovely but don't speak much English. Free wireless internet is an awesome complementary and so I get to do all the stuff that you usually don't have enough time to do when you travel (like writing this blog).