I’m in Canada for three weeks…

… to catch up with a friend and some distant cousins. It’s not often I emit so much carbon (other than by owning an EV) and I like to think it’s justified. After reading the posts for this trip, I hope you’ll agree.

The highlights I’ve planned are 10 days in Montreal and surrounds. On the return leg I’ll take an overnight train through the Rockies to Vancouver Island where I’ll stay with my ‘Commonwealth’ family.

It took me a week in bed to recover from my sojourn to Poland last year, so I’m doing it differently this year. I booked a ‘sky couch’ on Air New Zealand. For twice the price of an economy seat (and 66% of a business class seat), I got about 8 hours of horizontal time on a 13 hour flight.  Well worth it, but remember to pack your own toiletries and eye pad.

Airlines are developing booking systems that make more efficient use of unoccupied seats in economy. On Etihad, neighbouring seats can be purchased through a bidding system. Qatar Airway is developing Economy Reserve which can only be requested at the check-in counter because it will only be allocated if the flight has spare seats. You may not be charged for it.

On board Air New Zealand the Maori language precedes English briefly, providing some instructive translation.  Kia Ora means welcome.  Australia had 500 Aboriginal languages in 1788.  Some survive.  Were there multiple Maori languages?  Apparently not, only dialects of te reo (literally ‘language’), which gained official status as one of New Zealand’s languages in 1987. 

In Vancouver for an overnight layover, I got some initial impressions of Canada: Logs on the mighty Fraser River, construction and immigrant workers, multiple cannabis shops, unkempt nature strips, big beautiful trees, investment properties and poorly maintained roads – all signifying to me a continuing addiction to endless growth at any cost, not unlike Australia.   I thought I was lodging in a quaint old English setting, but it turns out to be tacky Asian decor, ha ha.  Perhaps it’s just the neighbourhood.  Funny how a lot of people don’t pay the bus fare, or is there something I don’t know about?

I found The Marine Building (on Atlas Obscura), one of the world’s most exquisite examples of art deco architecture. When it opened in 1930, it had the distinction of being the tallest building in the British Empire.

It was a delight to find a green oasis of Edwardian homes preserved as a neighbourhood park in West End.  The collection of buildings at Barclay Heritage Park eloquently represent the character of the West End that has all but disappeared amidst apartment towers.

Montreal will be colored by my host’s situation. He’s asked to be kept confidential, but it’s the generic aspects that are interesting. For now, suffice to say that an international posting with the U.N. can be less than riveting.

Canada is huge, so I’ll fly from Montreal to Edmonton. The train trip to Vancouver only covers a quarter of the distance back and it isn’t cheap. I’m looking forward to the vista and passengers.

I hope you get some tips and insights from my trip and destinations that you’ll enjoy and benefit from.

Bon voyage!