Boeing 737 MAX 8 Experience on Air Canada (AC 556 YVR to LAX)

I recently embarked on a quick trip to Los Angeles from YVR. As a big airplane nerd, I was looking forward to flying on the Boeing 737 Max 8. I was secretly hoping for a plane that can fly through turbulence with avionics that's so futuristic that passengers can't feel a thing. I also hoped for an airplane that is so spacious you would forget t
hat you are in an airplane. I have to say.. I was slightly disappointed because everything about the plane and flight felt the opposite. This post will be about my thoughts about the flight experience more than anything.

Not all that spacious and turbulence
Comparing to the older generation of 737's like the 737-800, I feel like the B737-max as the ceiling is higher. The mood lighting does make the airplane feel a bit more modern. However, compared to the Airbus 320, the seats are definitely quite small. For someone who is over 6 feet, you wouldn't have too much space in front of your knee. The cabin itself also felt a bit small.

Throughout the flight, there were a few patches that felt turbulent. Especially if the airplane was flying over mountainous terrain or near the coast or over thick clouds. Prior to landing in LA, the plane was also shaky. I thought there would be more dampening designed into this aircraft, but it doesn't feel like it could be as smooth as it could be (or perhaps global warming is making all of our weather patterns go more wild so there's wilder plane rides).

In-flight entertainment system
This was definitely great. The touchscreen and the amount of selection was great. Everyone gets a tv regardless of class. Compared to the airbus 320, where the screen required more pressure and sometime to load content, the system on the 737Max is great! There is little to almost no lag, the selection was great... and... there were games! I was surprised to see Angry Birds be one of the games that you can play. The only downside is that I would recommend you bring your own headphones. The headphones handed out by the cabin crew was not the best.

There's also a USB charger so be sure to bring your own wires.

Cabin Service
There isn't honestly too much to write about for cabin service. The crew were nice and friendly. They offered a small selection of drinks to the guests, but that was it. Because the flight was bumpy (yes.. I was disappointed at the absence of the make the turbulence go away avionics I was looking forward to), there were not hot drinks served.

Overall...I would say that this plane feels more 21st century. It doesn't feel all that more advanced from a passenger's perspective (but it might be more from a technological perspective). Honestly, if you are flying from point A to B in North America or flying to destinations served by a small handful of airlines, you might not have many options in-terms of aircraft type to look for, but the 737 Max does feel decent. 

SEARS Closing - reflections and how it shaped Metrotown today

Sun Setting on Sears

As I was walking out of the mall and on my way home, the rainy skies cleared up and glowed with a hint of purple as the sun began to set. Looking up, I saw a huge "STORE CLOSING" sign hanging beside the infamous SEARS logo and the symbolism of the sun setting on SEARS. Although it may not seem significant to the average person, to me, the closing of SEARS (or the sun setting on SEARS) have some deep meanings.

2nd last day of Sears.

   For starters, my blog is all about food, travelling and experiences (hence Vantraveller). However, in many places I travel to, retail and local stores are often associated with the local culture. This SEARS in particular is significant because it was here even before Metrotown was built.  SEARS helped shape what is now Metrotown. SEARS has been around even before I was even born. Metrotown used to be an area that people would travel through if they were commuting from Downtown to New Westminster or the surburbs. This was initially what drove the market here so SEARS and other places like Kelly-Douglas were built. This was in the 50's and at the time, this area known as Metrotown today was only populated by no more than a few thousand people. This was also the golden era of department stores and SEARS was one of the first to be in this area. It wasn't until the 80's that the current shopping mall of Metrotown was built and the actual department store got incorporated into the mall. However, it can be argued that SEARS was what helped shape modern day Metrotown only to be driven out by both a failing business and a demand for real estate. The irony being that this SEARS was one of the places that drove the demand here to begin with. More information can be found here: history of Metrotown.

Everything for 90% off

   Because of how long SEARS have been here, it has also helped shape this community. Personally, It was a place that my family visited to buy our couch (that we still use today) 17 years ago. It was a place that I would go and check out on boxing day or when they had clearances because sometimes the deals here were actually good. There used to be a diner in this location (now the Concord Pacific Show room). There also used to be a barber, optometrist and tailor here. Over the years, all of these businesses closed and moved as the core department store business stayed.
   After reflecting, I decided to enter SEARS for one last peek before they closed for good. Upon walking in, everything was already taken apart. It seemed like everything that was not attached to the building was for sale. From fixtures to office equipment (like binders, really old office supplies and more) to mannequins and more were all on sale. There were people everywhere trying to salvage what they can for a cheap bargain (it sort of reminds me of how Ray salvaged parts on Jakku... except the SEARS edition).  Personally, I would not buy any of the things because most of it is not useful to me.  However, walking around the place, you can last ditch efforts made by SEARS to restart sales. 

Sears branded pens

  This is the interesting part. SEARS, before going out of business seemed to have tried to go the Winner's direction. You can see from some of the products being liquidated that they were all SEARS banded things. From Kenmore vacuum cleaners (they store branded it "SEARS" ) to stationary (also store branded "SEARS") to face masks (YES... face masks that was SEARS branded), you can tell that they were trying to reduce the costs by using their own brands and selling lower end products in attempt to bring customers back to the store. Personally, I thought this would have been a good move if they did this much earlier on in the game when people like Amazon were just started. Doing it so late in the game (it's practically a rebranding) seemed to be unwise as something such as re-branding usually take a while for the consumers to click in and finally buy it.

Mannequins anyone?

    Further more, there are other elements at play such as poor management (they switched 7 CEO's in a short time period before they closed down), rise of competition such as Amazon (or e-commerce in general- they had an online store too, but I don't think marketing was executed on it too well) and a dwindling base of loyal shoppers (I find the SEARS customer base tend to be older in demographic) and also the high cost of having brick and mortar stores. There are probably more problems but overall, you can say that it was a multi-faced problem that caused the overall store to close down. That said, during its golden days, SEARS pioneered many things such as the print catalog (this did wonders and may companies such as IKEA still uses this and does it well).
So what now? Since the SEARS lot is not actually part of Metrotown, there are talks about building more condos here and changing Metrotown into a Yaletown style location (More info here). However the biggest take-away from it all (or take-aways) is witnessing the change of the skyline of a city; where this SEARS location helped shape the local community to be booted out by it. Furthermore, it is also the witnessing of how the retail climate is changing and how difficult it is to run a brick and mortar store and perhaps the need to change with time or get booted out. What do you think? Is change good? 

New Year's Sun Rise on Mount Seymour and Reflections

Mount Seymour is probably one of the places that is facing east that you can see a decent sunrise. My friends and I got up extra early on New Year's day to try to catch a glimpse of the first sun rise. The mountain roads open at 7AM but by the time we got there, a decent lineup was forming to go up. Along the way up, the sun was peeping through the mountains as the reflections of the sun was showing. Once we found a viewing point at the side of the road, we pulled over. As I reflected on 2017, I thought of a word that could encompass the year. Transitions - that's how I would describe 2017 if it comes down to just one word. Change happened at a speed of light for me in 2017. Not only change in speed of life, but ultimately the change in paradigm. I'll admit, my perception of the world was much different walking into to 2017 than walking out. I learned much more and definitely learning has taught me to be more humble and to be open yet confidence. Sometimes life isn't meant to have an answer, but rather what is to be enjoyed is the journey to find the answer. Thank you to everyone for your support, friendship and being there for me. I wish you all a happy new year and may the new year bring you hope and prosperity. 😘

Lights at Lafarge Lake - Free family holiday lights event

If I had to describe this place in one word, that would be WOW! There are so many light displays coupled with the natural setting of Lafarge Lake, it is just gorgeous. In addition, it is all free and walking through all of the lights (the lights span the ENTIRE circumference of the lake) takes a good 30 minutes (if you walk fast). When I was there, it took me about an hour to walk around all the displays. I saw many people with their dogs and families so it's a great family event. The lights are on display until mid-January and it is on everyday until 11PM.

My experience when I was there:

I was here with my friends. We drove and parked at the north parking lot. It was relatively busy, and there were many families around. Small children, dogs, couples... you name it.

   We began our stroll on the west side of the lake and the first thing we saw were light arches that extended all the way around the west side of the lake. The arches is really good photo material (if there were less people). There were also many small displays like Mario-kart like mushroom lights, and lights up trees. Towards the middle of the lake, you can see lights resembling animals as well as a fountain with lights underneath it. On the hill side of the lake, there is a display that writes "Canada". At first, looking at the displays close, it looks like "@ Canada" or "(c) Canada" (depending on who is looking at the lights). 

Towards the end of the arches, you will see a very cute family of reindeer made out of lights. 

We proceeded all the way around the lake. There were displays of elves on the benches and waterfalls done using lights and more. My favourite was a dining table that was covered in lights with chandelier made up of lights. The surrounding environment of the lake and the lone dining table gave the lights a mystical feel.  There are more lights like a caterpillar tunnel, sky lanterns and more.  The circumference of the lake is almost a kilometer, and the lights surround the entire area. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend coming here. Besides it being free, there are just SO MANY displays. Unlike many free displays where there are only small drizzles of lights, this place has ALOT of lights to see and you will find yourself here for an hour or more. 

Tips:

1. Because there aren't any concession stands (at least I didn't see one when I was there), it is a good idea to bring your own warm hot beverage. I'm a person who feels naked when I watch lights without a hot beverage so I made a pit stop at McDonalds' before coming here.

2. If you are bringing your dog, remember to bring a leash. There are many families and dogs here.

3. If you want to bring your +1, remember that this is a family event, so if you want to be super touchy-feely... don't forget there are kids watching

Transportation / Getting here
1. Transit: Lafarge Lake is located conveniently at the Lafarge Lake Skytrain station.
2. Driving: There are a surprising amount of car parking here. The city parking is free but there's also paid parking. I would still say transit is the best.

Here is the official event website:

http://www.coquitlam.ca/parks-recreation-and-culture/arts-and-culture/special-events-calendar/LightsatLafarge.aspx

The Summit Lodge Boutique Hotel Review (Whistler)

If you are looking for a stylish hotel that has ample space at a decent price, this is the place to go. I was in town for The North Face Whistler Half Marathon and I was looking for a hotel that was not too expensive. Being the procrastinator that I am... I decided to book a few days before the event and many places were either booked or ridiculously expensive. I managed to snatch a room here from Hotels.com on Tuesday for around $180 for 2 beds (versus the $200+ per room rate).
    My family and I went and we decided to drive. When we arrived outside, the parking was a bit hard to find because the entrance was tucked away at the side with a small sign. Before entering the parking lot, it tells you to go inside to pay and check in first (this is because the parking garage is activated with your room key...). After seeing this sign, we had to find a temporary parking for our car as I ran in to check in.
    The check in process was great. The guy at the counter was super charming... I couldn't help but feel a bit of my face turning red. There was margarita and chips at the lobby (it was free too), and I managed to grab some during the check in process. The process itself was fast and when informed the man at the check in about our car, he advised us to either park at Lot 4 (which was free) or we can pay $20 to park underground. Initially, I thought of just parking at Lot 4, but my dad felt it was too insecure so we decided to park underground instead. It was good we did that because later on at night, when I was walking and doing a course orientation, I noticed that someone was trying to break into a car.
   After we checked in, we brought our bags to our room. I must say, it was super spacious. There was a mini-kitchen, 2 balconies and a living room area. The interesting thing was that they used an iPad as an alarm and the kitchen itself was full of cutlery. It had a condo/ at home feel to it and it was great. The washroom was equipped with soap, lotion, conditioners that was very good. It was made for sensitive skin which was great for me. I also loved the smell. I later googled the brand and it was called Malin and Goetz, which is a luxury brand.
    When we finished dinner, my friend and I decided to check out the hot tub and swimming pool. Before we walked outside to the patio area where the pool was, I saw that in the small shop beside the check in counter, there was a coffee machine and it was complimentary! The coffee beans were freshly grounded too.
   I would totally come and stay at this hotel again, not only is it comfortable, but the price is decent! 

Renting a Car VS Car Sharing : Pros, Cons and findings

Sometimes you just need a vehicle that can get you places but you don’t really want to necessarily spend money to buy one. Renting would be the next option, but the amount of options out there is also pretty huge. After doing research, I deduced the endless options out there to 2 categories. The first category is renting a vehicle from a car rental place while the second one is opting for Car Sharing.

   Carsharing is a great way to get the job done as you can easily access a vehicle whenever you please and just pay for the amount you use. There are some downsides too such as the limitations of where you can get your vehicle, limitations on what you can do to your vehicles and the cost going up if you drive past the allotted mileages. The same goes for car rental places where it’s cheaper to rent for a few days at a time.

  I wanted to find a car that I can use just for a day, so I decided to compare the differences between a car rental place and having a car share account and this was what I found:

	Pros	Cons
Car Rental Place	Cheaper to for an entire day or more (long term). More options to the types of vehicles No long term commitment Some places don’t require a driving record… so there is less administrative work. More options through provided services (such as booster seats and more that you can’t get with a car share account). There are COUPON codes lying around... you can easily google one and find one.	Mileage not included so you would need to gas up yourself. (some car rental places may even have a surcharge for mileage past a certain amount). Insurance not included.
Car Sharing	More flexibility as cars can be rented for a small period of time (like a few hours or minutes) Included Gas (200km) and insurance Fluid pickup and drop off locations (some car shares let you pick up and drop off at different locations)	Jargon: Membership fees, annual fees, administrative fees. Insurance policies tend to be ambiguous (they say the deductible need Tedious sign up process (must get a driving record from ICBC and etc…)

I found that you can get a car from a car rental place, you can get a relatively decent car for $40 a day, versus getting a car from a car share location (which can go from $60 and above). You also have more access to varieties and more flexibility as what you can do your car. You also don’t need to have a membership and get membership approval like what you would need to do for a car sharing co-op. Hence, if you are going on a road trip that lasts over a day, I would recommend going to rent a car.

    With regards to damage and liability,  you definitely want insurance to cover yourself against damage/loss, and generally car rental places do provide insurance where they handle all of the claims and such. However, I found that rental places do tend offer insurance at a premium compared to buying the insurance from a separate insurance company. As an example, AVIS offers insurance for $29 a day while Allianz offers their insurance (up to $40,000) for only $11 a day (price as of May 30th, 2017).It is worthwhile to note that there may be a deductible (the price you would need to pay in the case that an accident happens for the insurance to work).  Also, some credit cards do also provide insurance (this is where you need to go into read the ant-like fine print from your credit card benefits) and this may be used towards a deductible.

   For short distances and shorter travel, car sharing would be the best option as it’s cheaper. If you are thinking about driving a lot but only on special occasions or to commute, getting a car sharing membership is worthwhile. The initial setup may be higher, but it’s definitely better for the long run due to the convenience of choosing a car at a moment’s notice vs having to book and go all the way to a rental place each and every time.

*Disclaimer: These are just my findings, and can be inaccurate. These are my own findings and I am not responsible for anything that is caused by anything written on this blog.

Super cute small town one-size fits all cafe (Euspiria Cafe Madeira Park Review)

I really love small communities and locally run businesses. We were driving by Madiera Park and were hungry when the Euspiria Cafe caught our attention so we decided to take a closer look.

   When we arrived, there were a few people sitting on the outside. What stuck my memory the most was this old man who sat there and stared into space as his beagle sits there looking relatively not entertained. When we arrived, his beagle began to wave his tail and wanted to find out who we were. I guess they don't get that many visitors here that often because that dog seemed to not have seen new people in a very long time.

   Once we got into the cafe, the cuteness alarm inside of me rang. Not only do they sell art like ceramics and first nation things, they also had tons of posters and business cards on the side. The actual cafe was nice and cozy and you can see the stove in the back of the cash counter. It wasn't the commercial stoves you expect to see at cafes, but it really was just residential stoves that you would have at home. This cafe sold things from soups to bakery items to sandwiches. 

    The prices of the sandwiches and food items in general is not cheap (compared to city prices), however being in a small town, I'd imagine it does take more to have things delivered here. It is about $8-9 for a sandwich and about $5-6 for soup. They also sell ice cream. They also had scones (which looked really good) so I decided to get a ham and cheese scone.

    The scone was $3.00 which wasn't too bad. The taste was pretty good too. It definitely had the taste of home to their baking which was also a plus.
   I would definitely visit again because it is super cute :) 

Dining with the sea and the mountains (BC FERRIES PACIFIC BUFFET REVIEW)

I’ve always seen the signs for the buffet when I board this route from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, however, I never been interested in eating here as I get turned off by the price. That said, if compared to buffets in Vancouver and other places, the pricing is relatively similar. In addition, I was starving after I finished running in the Victoria Half-Marathon, so I decided to go for it during lunch and boy was it good! Coming into the buffet, the dining hall is pretty big. However, the best part of the dining hall is the environment as it’s at the back of the ferry (if you are on Coastal Celebration) and you have a view of the sea as you sail. It’s not exactly 360 degrees but it is close to 300 degrees.

The view is pretty magnificent. After paying for the entry into the buffet, your host will take you into the dining area to be seated. The environment is more on the quiet side even with the dining room all full. The also had faint elevator music (I am not sure how to deUnlike buffets that I am used to going, they don’t ask you if you would like a drink (which is good because the drinks usually cost extra, so I don’t get it anyway). Here at the Pacific Buffet, there is a selection of coffee/tea and 6 different soft drinks to choose from. Of course, being the caffine addict I am, I went straight for the coffee.

 When it comes to the selection of food, it is fair. There isn’t a huge variety, however, there is a fair bit. The main entrees already have at least 8 dishes. The dishes range from shrimp to salmon to pork curry to spring rolls. They also have rice, and teriyaki noodles. My favourite dish was the vegetarian ravioli. The perfect blend of mushroom inside the ravioli coupled with the cheesy sauce made it a mouth watering combination. I also liked the pork curry and spring rolls. It had a fresh taste to them. Besides main entrees, there was a salad bar that contains a large variety of condiments on the side for you to choose from.
There was also bread (baguettes that were sliced up with a selection of either margarine and butter). The condiments ranged from shrimp to different dried nuts and lemons. Personally I didn’t have too much of this. The most impressive however, was their dessert selection. As a marathon runner and health nut I shouldn’t be advocating for this (because they only had 1 variety of fruits when I was here – watermelon), but their cake and sweets selection was NICE. There was a table just for cheese cake, whip cream and strawberry sauce. In addition, there was another counter for a variety of cakes and macaroons. YES… macaroons, that was the first time I’ve ever macaroons appear at a buffet. Have I mentioned the views?! Sitting here is just absolutely gorgeous. Surrounded by islands and mountains with the sea and the sun reflecting the trees off the water… it is absolutely gorgeous. Overall, I would say the Pacific Buffet is worth coming to. The price is fair and also it is a great place to view the scenery and have a great meal.

Air Canada Business Class from Vancouver to San Francisco (SF Trip Part 1)

Hey guys, it’s been a while since I posted. Life has been busy with new pursuits and goals,but I will try my best to be updating you! Recently I embarked on a quick trip to San Francisco. I was flying with a friend of mine from Air Canada so it was a new experience for me to be flying in Business Class. If I had to describe the whole experience of flying Business Class, I must say that it does make you feel special in a certain way that you get your own lines at check-in, expedited boarding and specialized baggage tags.
 In the airplane, the seats themselves were wide and the amenities included personal headphones (the quality could be better as they don't exactly fit in my ears nor does the sound comes out balanced when plugged in). The seats themselves were made of leather and every seat also had a pillow. In the front seat pocket is what everyone on the airplane gets - a copy of Enroute, the emergency evacuation procedures, a vommit bag (I'm not sure if that's what you call those wax lined bags you get... I've always assumed it's for vommit..). What was different was that an entertainment guide was included as the Business Class seats had a personal TV.

 Upon boarding, the flight attendant would offer you either orange juice or water. Personally I don’t really understand why those two are the options that is offered (I mean it does make sense to offer something like coffee or tea to wake people up) After, the flight attendant brought around the Business Class Menus.
 With regards to options on the menus, there were 2 main entrees to choose from. Either the omelette with sausage or the “healthy option” with fruits. The menu wasn’t too specific as to what the “healthy option” included, so I decided to go with the omelette option. As soon as the cabin door closed and the flight attendants were doing their final pre-flight checks, the service director came by and asked for my meal choice.
 Outside the airplane window, there were water droplets. I was looking forward to being airborne and see those water droplets zoom by. One of the best parts about being in an airplane is feeling the thrust of the engines as the magic of flight takes place. Here is a video that I took during take off. Being the first flight in the morning, it was beautiful to see the sunrise over Vancouver.  
 Once airborne, the service director came around and gave everyone a warm towel to wipe our hands with. I am not exactly sure if this has any anti-bacterial/anti-viral effects to wipe our hands with a warm towel, but it felt classy so I went with it. Afterward, she came by to collect the warm towel and then place an Air Canada tablecloth our tables and then came by to give us coffee/tea/ drinks and then individually to deliver us our meals.   The presentation of the meal itself was definitely a surreal feeling - actual bowls and plates vs aluminum. Second thought, in North American flights like this short hop, food isn’t even usually provided. Not only was there food, but it was presented on ceramic. In addition, the utensils were all Air Canada branded silverware. It was wrapped inside the cloth you would put around your lap (or use it for other things like wiping your mouth).
 When it comes to the food, the omelette was pretty good and so was the sausage and cream.The potatoes tasted like potatoes (I know that’s stating the obvious, but potatoes can be very dry or crunchy if not cooked properly…), which was good.
The fruit cup was pretty good too. After when the service director delivered the meal, she came around with a basket of warm bread. The bread itself were smaller than usual dinner rolls you would find at stores. I think this idea is great because definitely having smaller portions do reduce food waste. Also eating a lot during a flight isn’t a good idea anyway.

 Once finished, she came by to collect the utensils and the empty plates. With in a few minutes after that, we have arrived at our destination, San Francisco. The flight was beautiful in scenery and relatively smooth. In addition, the service and people working for Air Canada is fantastic. I love how personable the flight crew was. In general, there is definitely an added comfort with sitting in business class, Besides having a bigger seat, priority boarding and food that is served with real utensils and ceramic, Business class does have an added comfort compared to the economy class.

Landing in San Francisco (video to the right)

New Year's Eve /Steveston village

I know that New Year's Eve was a few days ago but I thought it would be cool to share what I did. During the morning, I went on a staycation to Steveston Village. I figured that there probably won't be too many people there because it's New Year's Eve. So we took the bus from where we lived (traveled with my mom and brother) and it took us to Richmond center.
There, we saw the 402 bus come and we immediately ran for it right after we got off the original bus. About a few minutes into the 402 bus ride, we realized we were on the wrong bus because it was going in another direction, so we quickly got off and boarded the 410. I'm surprised how frequent the 410 comes, by the time we walked back to Richmond center (sort of felt like we were, or at least I was, walking the walk of shame because I got the directions wrong), the 410 was already there.
 We quickly boarded the bus and then it took us to Steveston. When we got off the bus at Steveston, the place was practically empty. We walked south towards the waterfront toward Fisherman's Wharf after we got off the bus. On the way there, you can see the old fishing village, with tons of vintage shops. There was an old post office, old bakery that used the traditional brick oven stove. There were a few other small coffee shops too, as well as numerous fish and chips place. In the summer time, on the actual wharf, fishermen/fisherwomen would come in and then bring their daily catches for sales. But the day we went, the place was deserted. Even Pajo's was closed.
 After walking around for a while, I noticed something very interesting. They have a 4 way crosswalk in Steveston. It's pretty interesting to see such a sight because it isn't often that we see something like this in Canada. I think the last time I saw a 4 way crosswalk (like an official one with traffic lights rather than the intersections with stop signs), I saw it in Japan and Taiwan.
   Anyway, after standing at this crosswalk for a few moments for pictures, we decided to go to Ichiro Japanese Restuarant for lunch (you can read about the experience in one of my previous posts). After we finished here, we went a near by coffee shop for coffee before we left back home for New Year's Eve countdowns. On the way home, we stopped by Yaohan Center to buy some food to supplement rice we have at home. I must say, I love the food court here because it reminds me of how the market bazaar is like in Taiwan. You walk in there and the merchants are like hungry lions waiting for the antelope to come.
    They were all so eager for your business alot of praises like "handsome man" came out, and they tried to get you to buy from them. From what I noticed, it seems like all of the Chinese food are all the same, or they sell relatively the same stuff. At the end, we settled for Pak De, and we got 2 dishes that we took home.