"Is that a dinosaur?" - Beaty Biodiversity Museum UBC Overview and Tips

My feet compared to a dinosaur's

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum has got to be one of the coolest places to visit for both UBC students and the general public. From the outside, you can see this big blue whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling (or to some they think it's a dinosaur). I used to walk by here during the times I was doing my degree and I came in here a few times to check it out (it was free for students). However, it was hard to appreciate the things in here in its full entirety as a student as my priorities were dedicated to exams and graduating.

The big blue whale 

   I decided to come back here today as I saw a 2 for 1 deal on Groupon (UBC Alumni gets a 2 for 1 deal already). There was a "save 20%" deal on Groupon and I used Ebates so the total came to less than $12 for 2 people (which was roughly 75% off the regular price). I came here with my +1 as he loves animals (and I do too, but I'm a nerd and loves everything) and we were in the area for a meeting.
    The museum itself isn't super fancy, but it has all the bells and whistles a museum should have. There is a mini-gift shop, a small cafe (which I believe is closed) and an admissions desk at the top level. Upon showing my groupon, the volunteer at the admissions desk checked it off of my app.
No flash photography, foods or drinks are allowed in the museum. After entering the lower level through a ramp, you enter the main hall area where there are some displays and the entrance to the theatre. Inside the theatre, they feature a documentary on how the big blue whale skeleton was found. The movie wasn't playing when we were here.
    After walking past the main hall, you will see rows upon rows of black shelves (I am not sure what you would call them... maybe cabinet? We'll call them shelves - lack of a better term). There were over 30 rows of shelves. It looked sort of like a library at a glance. However, once we walked into the first row, it was impressive to see the displays. The very first row is a display of animals that went through taxidermy encased in glass cabinets. There were so many of them. For each animal class, there were numerous species in display. From goats to jaguars to different kinds of birds, insects and their eggs. This row was mainly an overview row I think. However, I genuinely enjoyed the captions that the animals had.

  We decided to start from the back and work our way forward. The very back section of the museum contained fossils of plants. If you keep walking into the sections, there are displays in the ground (such as a dinosaur feet). While we were comparing our feet to the dinosaur's, a volunteer was pushing a cart with a bunch of bird feet. It wasn't encased in anything, so we decided to take a closer look. The volunteer also had pictures (like full body ones) of each bird and she was showing us how birds that prey have clawed feet while birds that swim would have webbed feet. Looking at the wide variety of specimens of different bird legs was interesting as it painted a story on how animals adapted to their environments.
    During our conversation with the volunteer, I asked her if many students visited here. To my surprise, she said no. She was mentioning how ignorant some students were and how some students actually asked her if the big blue whale skeleton over the main hall was a dinosaur. I had a chuckle when I heard that (the skeleton didn't even have legs, how can it be a dinosaur?!). She also referred us to the hands on area hidden at the back and how we can feel some of the taxidermy animals.
    The hands on area was like a classroom. Before you are able do anything hands on, the volunteers would ask you to wash your hands (understandably, as you are touching fragile specimens). In the back of this hands on section were cabinets. When we were here, a volunteer had one open and inside were jars of animals placed in formaldehyde. My eyes grew wide open as I started to question what they were. Before we knew it, we were in a deep conversation with the volunteer and he opened every cabinet to show us everything they had. There were very interesting things from road kill (like skunks) to turtles, fossils and more. They even had taxidermy of many types of birds (they didn't do the eye part too well on this part, but it was cool to see none-the-less.

The hands on section of the museum

    Overall, there is more to the experience than I can write with this post. There are so many different animals and things you can learn about the living world here. From the animal kingdom to the fungus, there are specimens from all 5 kingdoms of the living world. Moreover, this place is actually used by researchers, so it is interesting to know that by going to the museum, you are contributing to research efforts as well as recognizing the work that many people put in, in the field of life sciences. Whether it's kids young and old, I definitely recommend coming here. The amount of things you learn is well worth it.

Tips:

One of the sections inside the rows upon rows of displays.

• If you want to save money, take public transit (remember, it's $1.75 per every half hour of parking at UBC, and no there's no combo pricing for anywhere under 6 hours)
• Students, faculty and staff go in for free, alumni can get in with a 2-for-1 deal.
• If you are not associated with UBC, you can get a Groupon for a 2-for-1 (they are not always available, however when the Groupon is available and you combine it with a Groupon sale) and then a further 6% off with Ebates.
• Website: http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/

2 for $3 Samosas (Maurya Express UBC Review)

Being one of the only places that specialize in Indian food on campus, Maurya is an average place to get your dose of India. I was going to Staples with a friend when I noticed a strong scent of curry. Being a huge curry lover, I decided to investigate and it brought me to the door steps of Maurya. 

   The first thing I noticed was the special offer they were offering on a poster at the door. Apparently, it was 5 dollars for two scoops of rice and a choice of curry. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal (or should I say, spicy deal? ;)), however I wanted something small. I noticed that the samosas were 2 for $3. That seem to be a good deal so I went in.

    The inside of the restuarant was small and felt like it was designed for the take-out sector. There weren't many dine in seats and the seating was awkward. It was right in front of the cashier, so I'd imagine it wouldn't be too comfortable sitting there.

    After looking at the pretty uninteresting menu (there wasn't much to it beside black and white words. You'd think there would be a design of some sort... but noooo. ), I ordered the samosas.

   The cashier had to warm them up before giving them to me. This makes me wonder how fresh the food here is.

       Has it been sitting in the heater all day? The samosas themselves taste pretty average. It was on the small side and it wasn't as spicy as I'm used to from the samosas at the other Indian restaurants I've been to. Nor are the portions as big. This samosa can be put togther with another one to make a bigger one. Overall, the place is pretty average and price is slightly on the high side because of the smaller portions. Otherwise, the samosas were good.

Finally Got Rid of Fatty Liver Disease and Journey to my first Marathon

Me finishing the Sun Run 2013

In December of 2012, I was overweight, and I didn't take care of my body. I was also struggling with Fatty Liver Disease. One night when I got home after school at 2 AM,I turned very sick, and couldn't move. I was sent to the Emergency Department when I found out that I was suffering from an infection. At that moment, I decided that I needed to make a change.
  Along with the infection, I was struggling with Fatty Liver Disease since I was very young. It was discovered one day when I was starting high school by accident when my mom was doing a check up via ultrasound when the doctor suggested for me to check up too. At the time, I was borderline obese and the doctors wanted to make sure I was healthy. Since then, a heavy burden of weight kept me down. I had some insecurity issues and not to mention, year after year, the depressing thought of having the Fatty Liver Disease inside of me.
Starting with running a 10km (Sun Run) non-stop as a goal. I practiced for that tirelessly and starting with running 2km non-stop, it quickly became 10km.

Finishing the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

  I thought I should challenge myself some more, and I signed myself up for the 2013 Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon. For that, I trained tirelessly, and even though I was unable to run a full 21km non-stop, I was able to finish it with some walking. After the half-marathon finished, I learned about the BC Children's Hospital and Grouse Mountain's campaign to help fund-raise for the hospital, I decided to challenge myself to do 50 Grouse Grinds and fund-raise and raise awareness for the Hospital at the same time.  

Completing 50 Grouse Grinds

Starting with having trouble to do one Grouse Grind non-stop, I was able, over the span of two months and tire-less training to complete all 50, with the last 12 Grinds completed within 6 days back to back (so 2 grinds/day). After the Grouse Grinds finished, I lost about 25lbs of weight, and I wanted to become faster and a better runner.
   I decided to challenge myself by running the half-marathon faster, and I trained for the 2013 New Balance Fall Classic. I would go out training in the rain, snow and during class to train. After 3 months of hard training, I was able to beat my own time for the half-marathon and complete the Fall Classic 25 minutes faster than my first Half-Marathon.

Fall Classic Half Marathon

  After the Half-Marathon is finished, I wanted to do a fundraiser for Burnaby Hospital Foundation (for the way they inspired me when I was sick to make a change and also so that they can help out more people). I decided to take on the grand daddy of all races, which was the full marathon.
   It was very difficult because being at 42.2km, the full marathon was not an easy beast and I had a lot of doubt (like, what if I can't finish? what if I can't train for it?). I decided to not think about what I can't do and decided to focus on what I can do, and I told myself as long as I try my best, I am happy.

Finishing within the top 5% of all Sun Run Finishers in 2014.

  Starting with running 10km everyday to running 21 to 30km on weekends, I gradually increased my mileage. I would sometimes run from Metrotown to UBC, or do a loop around Burnaby's town centers (such as Metrotown-Brentwood-Lougheed-New West and back to Metrotown). Eventually, the miles racked up, and I accumulated about 800km of running in 2014. It was very difficult to balance life and school with the marathoning. I often find myself running at weird hours and in weather that was pretty extreme.

Finishing at the Vancouver Full Marathon

 I am proud to say that with a finish time for 3hrs and 42 minutes, under pouring rain, I was able to finish my first full marathon. After my full marathon, I took about two weeks off before I challenged myself to go even faster on the half-marathon.
  Recently, I completed the 2014 Vancouver Scotiabank Half-Marathon in June with a finish time of 1hr and 32 minutes, which was about 11 minutes faster than my last half-marathon. Also, for the first time ever, my test result for the Fatty Liver Disease was negative.

Finishing the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon in 2014.

  Currently, I am trying to finish a couple more grinds to 100 total lifetime Grouse Grinds to help raise awareness for the Canadian Liver Foundation so that they can help out Canadians that are struggling with Liver Disease. Please visit www.liver.ca for more info on how you can help them!
   I would like to say thank you to everyone who have supported me so far. You do not know how difficult it is to go out in crazy weather or when you suffer injuries (such as tendinitis, stress fractures not to mention a continuous supply of blisters). Your words of encouragement is what keeps me going and ultimately you are my inspiration. This journey is much more than a simple blog post can do it justice, however, it does summarize it.
Currently, as of July 8th, I am 31 grinds away from 100. I will be updating my progress on my blog with the heading "Journey to a Marathon". Stay tuned :D

Bernoulli's Bagels

Bernoulli's Bagels This is one of the most legit places to grab bagels in town. There are not many places in Vancouver that specialize in making bagel, let alone good tasting bagels with variety. I guess one reason that there aren't many specialty bagel shops around because you can buy bagels in bulk for really cheap at grocery stores like Costco and Superstore. That said, taste is a different story.
Bernoulli's Bagels uses quality ingredients to make their bagels and is a reason why people keep coming back. That, coupled with their reasonable price ($1.10 for a bagel or $1.50 for bagels with butter), is also one of their biggest selling points. They have a wide variety of bagels that comes in flavours that can't be found elsewhere. Some of these specialty bagels include the chocolate chip, sun dried tomato, pesto, to name a few. This month (February, 2014), the bagel is the curry flavour.

I was on my way to an evening exam and I was hungry, so I decided to grab a bagel on my way to the exam. Because the curry bagel was the speciality this month, I decided to give it a try. Perhaps because I just ordered the plain curry bagel without butter(to keep calorie count low, mind you bagels are sources of carbs). I must say, the taste was pretty good. It wasn't too thick or too light, but just right. The bagel wasn't greasy either, which is always a plus. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the bagel that came right off the shelf was so hard it was as if I was trying to chew a hammer. I probably should have asked them to heat it up. Otherwise, the bagel was pretty good tasting and good value. TRICKS TO SAVE: Make sure to ask for a stampable bagel card (buy 10 get 1 free!)

Mercante (UBC)

I am impressed, UBC Food's newest food outlet is more than just a food outlet but almost more like a restaurant. The Pandosa commons just opened up and it was very close to where I had class so I decided to check it out and grab a bite to eat.
From the outside, you can see that the inside is specially designed, the lighting reminded me of Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It looks slightly dark with lights that were abit yellow in colour.
What is really special about this place is that the main feature is Italian food. They have a huge flame oven (I think that's what they are called, the ones where you put a pizza in and the flames inside will cook it). Not only did the oven add on to the authentic feel of the place, the way the people preparing the food were dressed also added to the touch. The chefs making the pizza were all wearing the full white garments that you see a chef would usually wear.
 The food selection here is pretty special too. Because the theme is Italian, they have quite abit of selection such as hand made pizza ( like you can see them making the pizza and working on the dough) and pasta. In addition, they also have an assortment of baked goods like biscotti that you wouldn't usually find at a UBC food outlet.
With regards to drink, it didn't seem like this place had anything special. Because all of the UBC food places seem to use the same machine to prepare their coffees/ handcrafted drinks, the selection of drinks are the same. The taste is also similar as well. Overall, I like this place, it is abit on the busier side when it comes to student traffic, but it is definately worth it to give their pizza or pasta a try.

UBC Law Cafe

Out of all of the UBC food outlets, this outlet is probably one of the smaller understaffed ones. They usually only have one person working behind the till. (Or atleast everytime I visit, there is only 1 staff member) That said, with one staff member, the staff needs to prepare things like rice, handcrafted drinks, as well as ring in the tills. When it comes to variety of foods, they have what every UBC food outlet offers, such as sandwiches, salads made by Thinkfood. They also have bottled drinks such as Odwella juice and soft drinks. So pretty much everything and anything you would expect at a food outlet run by UBC.
However, what is really special about this place, is that they have a cabinet of baked goods that you don't see at other UBC food outlets. They way they organized the cabinet really makes the breads inside look fresh. Not only does the baked goods look good, they have a good variety of pastries and baked goods too. From an assortment of scones (like cheese, apple scones) to croissants (ham and cheese, chocolate to name a few) to some Danish Pastry, there are so many to choose from.
When I was there today, I decided to get the chocolate banana cake. For about $2.00 for a piece of cake that's generous in size, it is totally worth the value. The taste is average but abit on the overly sweet side for me. Actually a funny thing, after I took a bite of the cake, I wanted to balance out the sugary after taste in my mouth with something bitter like coffee.
So I went back to get coffee. But the thing is, it's abit late in the afternoon and I didn't want to put caffine in my body (or else I'll be up all night jumping like a monkey), so I asked for a decaf. Unfortunately, they don't have decaf unless you get the latte or cappuccino, which costs over $3.00 for a small. Honestly, I think $3.00 for a small latte that is machine made is abit too much for me. I decided to wash the cake down with water instead... But the water coming out of the water fountain was slightly yellow looking. Sat the end of the day, I just ended up eating the cake with nothing. Talk about going around in a huge circle to be back at where you started eh?

Starbucks Caramel Flum Latte

I got an email from the Starbucks Rewards Program that I was eligible to recieve a free Caramel Flun Latte for free, so I decided to go to Starbucks after working out at the gym between my classes. I decided to go to the Starbucks at the University Village because it was after lunch time, and I predicted that there would be less people there. I was right, I barely waited in line. This Starbucks is probably the largest Starbucks (if you don't consider the one in the Student Union Building with the seats of the Pacific Spirit Place as part of Starbucks) location on campus.
They have a huge table in the middle with plenty of tables at the side too. They also have tables outside, but it is not really useful for rainy days. When I went to the cashier, she was very nice and friendly. I think this is the norm at Starbucks because I don't ever recall running into a rude Barista. I asked for my Flum Latte and I gave her my coupon. Because I am running and training for the 2014 Vancouver Marathon, I asked her if I can have the no-whip, half syrup version of it.
 When I took the first sip, I must say half syrup was still slightly sugary, but I really like the flavour. It was definately abit more full when it comes to flavour compared to the plain expresso. Without whip cream, it tasted pretty awesome. However, if someone asked me to pay $4.50 for this small (or they would call it "tall") cup of coffee, I think it is abit on the expensive side.

Caffe Perugia

      Like all of the UBC Foods Outlets, you can get most of the foods offered at UBC Foods, like the Salads, baked goods, sandwiches. However, what make Perugia different is that it is one of the biggest outlets of UBC foods, it is an actual restaurant with a closed section for people to eat their food.

    They offer a full service coffee counter that you can get hand made drinks in as well. In addition to the regular Allegero coffee offered at all UBC Food joints, they also have Decaf coffee. Today I took my own stainless steel cup to grab a cup of coffee. I guess it depends on the day, sometimes their coffee tastes slightly dilute, but today it was really nice and full of flavour. 

If you are a UBC Student, I find that it is cheaper to load money on to your UBC Card because you save the GST, also bringing your own cup gives you a discount as well. Be sure to ask for a coffee card because if you buy 12 cups of coffee or 12 cups of handmade drinks, you get one for free.

The Loop Cafe

The Loop Cafe

Located in the CIRS building, I must say out of the tons of UBC food outlets, this one is one of my favourite. They have a good variety of food and food that are more freshly made (such as their daily entrees) than most of the UBC Food Outlets. They do offer the conventional things like the refrigerated foods like the sandwiches from Thinkfood and UBC baked goods.
What I like most about them is their daily entrees, on average they are about $6 to $7 but, some of it tastes really good. Sometimes they have butter chicken, and others they have mashed potato like things with beans. The daily entrees aren't what you would find at other UBC Foods outlets, so this place is definitely a good place to go for lunch if you are hungry. That said, their containers are the compostable kinds... and I find that it's composting while you eat (like if it's excessively liquidy, the liquid will seep through the container. I would recommend bringing your own container (you also get a discount if you bring your own container)

Pie R Squared UBC

Located in the Student Union Building at UBC, Pie R Squared is one of the best (and probably one of the few places you can get pizza on campus). I really like some of the varieties that they have. Like some of it includes chicken (but with a bunch of vegetables and spices, as disgusting as it sounds it tastes great!). My favourite part of their pizza is the crust. In addition they always have alot of toppings on top of their pizza and many of the materials are locally sourced. Unlike many traditional pizza places where the crust is thick and taste like bread, their crust is never too over baked but not soggy and under baked. The price per pizza is $2.50 and even though compared to other pizzas joints it is on the expensive side, just two slices is enough to fill an average person up not to mention the amount of toppings.

Blue Chip Cookies (UBC)

      This is one of my most favourite places on campus and anywhere in Vancouver to grab coffee and baked goods. Unlike major coffee chains, all of the baked goods are made in-house and taste hand made. Compared to the ones at major food chains, where the food is made in factories, the baked goods at Blue Chip Cookies is higher in quality.
       Not only are the quality of the baked goods better, but there are more selection at Blue Chip Cookies too. They have different types of pastries like Spinach croissants (they call it something that starts with F and with a double C in there somewhere but I don't remember what it's called), they also have muffins that are pretty good. I also like their scones as well. Mind you, I've noticed almost all of their baking involves butter so if you are on a diet, be careful of the portions you are having. That said, the pricing of the baked goods are pretty fair too.
      Besides baked goods, they also have a variety of coffee. They feature different kinds of blends in all different sizes (like 8oz,12oz,16oz, 20oz... Etc). The coffee that they brew is by ReSIProcate which is a coffee company that sells fair trade coffee. The pricing is great, you can get a 8oz cup of coffee for $1.25 and then if you bring your own cup you get $0.25 off!
     I would recommend this coffee shop for anyone who's on the go (but it wouldn't be good if you wanted to sit down because there aren't chairs and tables that you can sit at,  though, the Student Union Building do have chairs and tables. 
TIP:
They have a coffee card so that when you buy 10 cups you get 1 free (if you bring your own cup). Also, if you come early enough, they have yesterday's baking in a basket and everything's $1.25.

In A Cup (UBC)

   This place is one of the newest food outlets at the SUB at UBC. I've always walked by here but never gave them a try, but one thing's for sure, the smell of the bbq meat is strong, you can smell it as you come down the stairs.
    Tonight I decided to give them a try, compared to a regular restuarant or food outlet at the foodcourt, they have less selection. All of the menu items is either vegetable+meat+egg or kimchi+meat+egg, or bibibamp. They also have assorted rice rolls (not sure if they are called sushi or not, they look like sushi but the seaweed is on the outside). In general, the rice bowls are $7.00 each.
    I got the pork+kimchi+egg rice bowl. The size seems pretty fair, it came in a bowl with bed of rice, kimchi, egg and pork like how it was described. The taste was pretty good, the bbq pork was abit fatty (i've had bbq pork before that was on the lean side), the kimchi was good, but wasn't as spicy as the average kimchi. I think the price is abit on the expensive side because of how simple the food is, like there isn't much to the rice bowl other than bbq pork, kimchi and an egg. $6 would be a more reasonable price.
     That said, I would recommend this to everyone who is craving Korean food on campus because this is one of the only places for Korean food on campus.

The Honour Roll (UBC)

  I must say, after eating here countless times, I honestly believe that this place is a sushi factory. During lunch times you can see the employees rolling sushi rolls after rolls, not stopping.
   Besides the amusing factory of sushi rollers, the Honour Roll offers sushi, bento boxes at relatively acceptable prices and taste. Starting with their rolls, the Honour Roll always have the same kind of rolls in the coolers. This includes the chicken teriyaki roll (tastes just like any other chicken teriyaki roll, nothing special); brown rice chicken teriyaki roll (for slightly higher price, you get rice that's abit more "healthier"), scallop rolls (absolutely love these, but they cost abit more at $3.95); the honour roll(which is the special UBC roll that includes tuna); dynamite rolls(their dynamite rolls are bigger than the average I'd say) smoked salmon roll just to name a few. Usually the sushi comes in 6 to 8 pieces and range from $3.50 to $5.00. The portions are not too small but usually you will find you need two to three rolls to fill up.
   In addition to the rolls, they also have entrees like bento boxes, donburis and noodles. I've noticed that you need to microwave the food to heat it up after (usually they put it in the freezer so that it's faster for people on the go). I think this compromises the quality of the food, as you have to reheat food that is already cooked. Never the less, the price of these donburis and bento boxes range from $5 to $7 and they are pretty filling. Their taste is pretty acceptable too, so I would say they are worth it. 
   Besides these main dishes, they also have snack items like dorayakis, pocky and Ramune. The price is usually higher than the super market prices but are still acceptable.

    If you are at UBC, and craving some sushi then the Honour Roll is a pretty decent place to go. However it isn't a place that is worth getting out of your way to eat from.

The Moon (UBC)

   This is one of the only places on campus that have one of those food court like Chinese cuisine. I come here pretty often because of the convenience of it's location, especially if you are staying late on campus and don't feel like eating burgers or pizza. 
    For starters, there is not many choices when it comes to the numbers of entrees featured. Usually they only have fried rice and/or noodles and 6 to 8 other kinds of vegetables and meat to choose from. I've noticed from the times I've eaten here that mixed vegetables, sweet and sour pork, mixed vegetables with chicken is always in the warmer.
   The food tastes pretty mediocre, there are times when the rice or noodles tasted under cooked, or the vegetables tasted like it hasn't been put in the boiler long enough (like it's super hard to chew), then there are times when you are so hungry you can just eat whatever and it tastes good.
    The pricing is pretty good I say, for combo A, which is a rice/noodle (you can choose both too) it is only $5.00 and combo B is $6.50 for one more entree in addition to combo A. The portions used to be big when they used to use the rectangular lunch boxes (now they use the cylindrical ones that people put soup in). Now the portions are just fair but I say still worth the $5.00. It also depends on who is serving the food, some days you'll get someone who will give you so much food they'll need to squish it all in with the lid while other times there would still be enough spacing in the container to fit more food.
    Besides the food on the counter, they also have custom made food like noodles and whatnot that you can order.
    Overall, I would recommend this place if you are on campus and is craving Chinese food because it's convenient
 

, otherwise, there are better places in town for Chinese food.

UBC Bookstore

This is the place that everyone at UBC knows to get their UPasses, textbooks and campus merchandise. It is the only one of it's kind that sells everything at UBC. At the book store, you can get your hands on electronics (such as a wide range of apple products, MP3 players. They also carry regular books too, like travel books, novels that you can find at your regular bookstore (ie Chapter's).
They also sell food. Recently, they introduced some brand of sandwiches, that if you buy 9, you get one free. I havn't tried it yet, but I might give it a try someday. Besides food, they also have a huge selection of stationary. I like the way they have the stationary laid out where they are all put on a shelf and you can choose what you would like individually (instead of buying the wrapped version where you can't test it before you buy it).

Tips and Tricks
The prices at the UBC bookstore is not always the cheapest. Surprisingly enough, you can find many of the items, especially textbooks cheaper else where. For example, you can usually find the textbooks at a cheaper price (identical item) at the discount bookstore above Mcdonalds at the University Village Plaza just 2 blocks down from the UBC bookstore. This selection that is cheaper at the Discount bookstore includes iClickers, textbooks and more. Also, sometimes the price is cheaper online too. It is always good to double check your prices before you buy.
Electronics tend to be cheaper elsewhere too. For example, for Maxwell brand batteries, you can purchase at the dollar store. However, the UBC bookstore sells it for atleast 50% more.
So before you go shopping, make sure you compare your prices. Mind you, custom course packs and some rare books usually can't be found else where other than the bookstore. Also, things like the Physics lab notebook, which is UBC custom made is also only avaliable only exclusively at the bookstore.