Scenes from Vancouver's Chinatown

Today I had to go downtown for an appointment. I decided to stop off in Chinatown as I wasn't too far from there and I needed to find myself a bamboo steamer (to steam frozen dim sum).

I always enjoy the street scenes and today was no exception.  The array of product in a store in Chinatown is always astounding. There are also a lot of exotic to me things that I don't get to use or see every day. I  still remember my early days in Vancouver and how a trip to Chinatown was always such a delight. Buying simple things like Sandalwood soap (heavenly fragrance) was a true cultural experience.

Truth be told I only walked a square block and a few extra streets in Chinatown.  There is actually much more to see.

I loved the artful tree in front of this traditional looking roof top. There is even a bird perching on top (see side right as you are looking straight at the photo).  The sky looks rather gray. It was actually an overcast day today though it cleared up and became quite warm.

If you look off in the distance of the photo below you will see the sky scrapers. They are located in down town Vancouver just a stone's throw away.

These plants make a nice, colourful addition to the street. I am not sure if they are on sale or if they are gifts to the store owners for a new business perhaps.

All over Chinatown the evidence of economic decay is present. So many shops have closed up. For many years now Chinatown has been declining and many shop owners have migrated to the suburb of Richmond (near the Vancouver International Airport) where there is a sizeable Asian community.  I admire the business people who stick it out in Chinatown and try to keep things going. I know there have been some efforts over the years to try and revitalize this area. Sadly I think the revitalization is going to change the entire nature of the area.

Already today I saw several businesses that just do not match the historical charm and nature of the businesses here. I also saw evidence of numerous residential building projects that are going to bring in masses of residents and change the nature of the area too.

I know change is always happening but I will personally miss the charm of what was.

It was nice to see some beautiful murals in the area.  The one depicted in the photo below is adjacent to an empty lot which is scheduled for a condo project.

This ruby red lamplight  post with Chinese writing at the bottom is quite beautiful.

This sign alerts the passersby to the coming condo development. There are several other developments in the general area.

This fast food restaurant, Kent's Kitchen is a very well known and highly frequented restaurant. I stopped by for lunch.

I love this charming, yellow building. At the bottom of the building you can see that other ethnic businesses are moving.  There is now a Filipino Restaurant in what used to be a clothing store. In the next block I saw businesses run by Caucasians and Vietnamese people.  Chinatown is losing it's historic and distinctly Chinese ambience and I'm guessing that building owners are giving good incentives to other businesses just to keep things going.

I just hope that in years to come there will still be a distinctly Chinese flavour to this area even if things change.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday today.
My the time does fly!
Have a great weekend everyone :-)

Rainy Saturday Adventures

It was another wet Saturday in Vancouver but I had to go out. I was making my way to Trout Lake Farmer's Market where I had an appointment with my hat maker.

I took this photo as I was crossing a street to make a bus transfer. It's not cold as you can see the gentleman in the foreground doesn't have a jacket on.

After my transfer I had to get off and walk several blocks. I don't often come to this place so I always get off too soon and end up walking too far. In the old days this wouldn't have been a problem. These days it is a bit more challenging.

As I walked down the street, I noticed that the building which is undergoing restoration is a senior's residence.

This was a rather short street with very few homes on it.  I found this modern styled home.

I liked the simple, yet effective front entry with the small garden and potted plant. The door colour is nice too!

I didn't expect to find a restaurant here just a few steps away from the modern house. It looked like a well used coffee shop.  There aren't too many coffee shops for several blocks radius since this is a residential area although I understand that there is now a coffee shop in the newly constructed Trout Lake Community Centre across the street.

I didn't have a chance to go inside the new Centre but it is newly constructed and opened in February 2012. I believe the old buildings were demolished because they probably didn't meet current building codes for fire safety.

The community centre seems to have two buildings.  You can see one in the background in the photo below.  I also noticed the interesting shrubbery in place of grass. I think it is probably to make the space more eco-friendly.

Now I am about to enter the park area. Every weekend during the farmer's market this sign is put up to let non-residents know that they are not to park in this area.

Trout Lake is set in what is known as John Hendry Park and is the only lake in Vancouver proper.  This park is a real gem. I don't get to spend much time in it but whenever I do get there I see the locals having a wonderful time. The lake itself is in a beautiful setting. One always sees mothers and dog owners, taking their children and dogs for a walk.

The little dog in the photo below was friendly. It came up to me but when it realized I had no food, it didn't stop to visit.  It just kept right on going.  His owner, the man up ahead in dark blue rain coat, was patiently calling  "Maisie", as she dawdled along at her own pace.

You can see how deep the puddles were in various places along the pathway. By the time I got to this stage of my walk, I was soaking wet.  The rain soaked through my rain coat which is not rubberized for heavy duty rainfall.

I was going to the place you see just up ahead beneath the leaves....

But first, one last look and photo of the lake and the nice walking path along the waterfront.

At last! I make it to the market but I didn't take photos of the hat lady's stall. By that time I was just too wet and was more interested in drying up a bit and trying on hats.  Sadly, she had made two hats for me but neither of them fit just right despite giving her the measurements beforehand. She has to make some adjustments and I have to wait a bit longer. *sigh. I did manage to find a new hat for my mom and got a bit of a discount even though the hat still cost a lot more than my mother would ever want to pay. I've told mom that I will take the hat if she doesn't like it.

Here is a photo showing just how much rain was accumulating.

After I left Trout Lake, I decided to go to Chinatown to buy some new medicines and get another foot reflexology treatment.  The medicines I bought last time were not doing the job. 

I also wanted to get more photos for my Namibian blogger friend, Graham.  I admit that once again I didn't get the best photos but they add to what I posted last time (you can click here for the last visit). I will of course be making future trips and hopefully at some point the weather will be nicer and show a different side to Chinatown.

The first thing that caught my eye was this red street light. The bottom of it has Chinese characters but I have no idea what is written.

This is a long view of a street. You can see at least 5 street lamps in the middle part of the photo.

I love the streets of stores in Chinatown. You will find all kinds of stores with stuff for sale out in front, on the sidewalk.  During the early part of the day these shops are very busy with older Asian people buying their daily veggies and fish for dinner.

In this store window you can see various cakes which are waiting for their customers to come and pick them up. I especially love the cakes with the fruit on top as they have fresh cream in the middles and more fruit inside.  This is what they call "Fruit Cocktail Cake". The cake itself is a chiffon cake and very light in texture.

In another part of the window, you can see what events are going on if you can read the Chinese characters on the brochures.

I always love to see all the variety of things for sale as displayed out on the sidewalk.  Some of it is medicine and some of it is food. For example, this store had all kinds of beans and dried berries out front.

I bought some goji berries (wolfberrys) to put in  my cooked oats.  These berries are called a superfood because they are supposed to be very high in antioxidants.  However as always it is good to check with your medical practitioner before taking such things. For example this berry has been known to cause problems in some cases with people taking warfarin (a blood thinner).

Some stores sell food and herbs and some strictly sell herbs; like the one in the photo below next to the Fido (phone) store. If you click on the photo you can see all the medicines and herbs in jars.

Here are some dried shrimp.

And here are some dried mushrooms. These can be reconstituted and used in your stir frys and other foods but I've only ever used dried mushrooms to date. I did not like the particular brand I bought and prefer using fresh mushrooms.

That's it for my tour of Trout Lake and Chinatown for today. I'd love to hear your comments or questions.  

I'm joining in with Our World Tuesday here. Please check in there and see what others are up to around the world.

I hope you come back soon.  Have a wonderful week ahead.

I'm 

My Visit to Chinatown

I had a quick visit to Chinatown today.  I'm afraid I had a number of errands to do there and was trying to hurry myself along so I could get to a movie.

A long view west on Pender Street in Chinatown. You can see the historic old buildings in the foreground and the Millenium Gate in about the middle of the photo (above the red car).

The way the the one tourist is dressed with a winter hat you would think it was cold out today.   I think she was wearing it to protect herself from rains which really turned out to be almost negligible. I found it rather humid today and was too hot in my thin jacket.

The first thing I did when I got to Chinatown was have a wonderful but short session of foot reflexology.  I haven't had one of these for at least 12 years or more. I enjoyed it a lot but it was too short and so I've got to return and get a full treatment. After the session, my feet felt so much better for about half an hour. I may decide to go every so often and treat my feet well since I have more problems with them than most people. Anyway, enough of that.  My main reason in going to Chinatown was to get some medicines and after many stops at different stores, I came away with a month's supply of the main medicine I want and need. The other one, I'm not so sure about, so I only bought one bottle.  Altogether I only spent $10. and that is the best bargain I've had in awhile.

Here is a slightly better view of Millenium Gate. The movie theatre is just past it to the left. I was in so much of a hurry due to being late that I didn't stop to take good photos.

I also wanted some new plastic basins, one for having an epsom salt foot bath now and then, and one for doing dishes or light hand washing. I managed to find them but at a different store from the one I planned to shop at since it is now.  Yet another casualty of the poor economy.

I bought two basins like the green one in this photo. The other one is yellow.

After this purchase I hurried off to walk to the movie theatre about 5 blocks away. Along the way I stopped to buy a wiener bun and egg tart at the Chinese bakery.

I stopped again at a wonderful little shop where I found all kinds of Chinese lanterns and fans and lovely chopstick sets, etc. I quickly selected a few different fans, some for my mother and some for me. I chatted up the store owner and told her what a lovely shop she has. Funny I'd never been in it before but have passed it by many times over the years. Now that I know what a treasure trove it is, I will certainly visit again.  I'd like to get a few colourful, paper lanterns to hang in my home.  This cute little shop sells the paper lanterns at half the price of a store further up the street from where I live.  I'm always looking for a bargain!

I managed to get to the movie,"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", but I was a bit late. Missing the first part didn't take away from the enjoyment of the second part. The movie stars Dame Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith and a host of other great actors. It is about a group of British retirees who travel to take up residence at what they believe is a newly restored hotel in India only to find out otherwise. It is quite lovely and charming in unexpected ways. I recommend seeing it if you can although I believe it will appeal to the older set more than to the younger generation.  When I mentioned this movie to my nephew's girlfriend yesterday, she said she thought it would be a good one for her grandparents who are nearly 90 years old!. I'm not nearly that old but I still enjoyed it.

If you'd like to see more of what other were up to on Tuesday, please visit Our World Tuesday. If you missed my post about missions needs please read here.  Thank you for visiting.

Victoria Day Weekend 2011

I spent a fruitful and fun weekend.  It is my birthday weekend. Normally I am not even home when I have my birthday so it was nice just to do things I don't normally get to do.  It was raining but that didn't stop me.

The first stop was Dressew on Hastings and the Army & Navy Store. I was on a shopping expedition for stretchy knit jersey fabric to make my mom some plain coloured skirts to wear this summer. I found just what I needed and the sales lady was very nice and helpful. I got served and assisted and my fabric cut in no time at all.  This was delightful considering how some of the reviews (which you can read by clicking the link above) would have you believe that the service in this shop is terrible. Now I just  need to find some time to make the skirts. I also had a great chat with another shopper and found out we share an interest in sponsoring children in Kenya. She sponsors hers through SOS Village and I sponsor mine through Compassion International Canada's office.

As I was walking from Dressew to Army & Navy, I could not believe my eyes and my luck. I turned my head at the first corner and recognized a woman I have been trying to find for years. I don't even know her name but I know that she makes and sells hats. I bought one from her years ago at a Garden Show and I've since lost it and needed another one. I stopped to talk to her and sure enough it was the woman I've been looking for. How fortuitous. I gave thanks to God because truly he knows how I've been searching for this woman for such a long time.  It turns out she doesn't even live in the city anymore!  She was only here to sell her hats at  a local Farmer's Market. She gave me her card and told me I could drop by the next day.  I was thrilled.

I carried on to Army & Navy and was happy to find a suitable pillow there but not a suitable sofa cover. Sofa covers are not so readily available here in my city so I'm thinking maybe I should order it online instead. However that will have to wait because Canada may be having a postal strike as soon as Wednesday of this coming week. While there I was getting hungry so I stopped at their small lunch counter for a grilled cheese sandwich. The young woman who served me started to chat with me about the "end of the world". I told her I didn't believe that the day would bring the end of the world because the bible says "No man knows".

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:36

Then I told her that the Bible does give a hint as to the end of the world and I asked her if she wanted to know what it is.  She said "yes". I told her that the Bible says the gospel will be preached to every nation and then the end of the world will come (Matthew 24:14).  I let her know that there are groups that monitor the number of  unreached people groups  and that the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  I said that the end of the world was not likely May 21st but it seems to be coming soon.  I gave a silent prayer of  thanks to God for giving me an opportunity to share what the Bible actually does say given that there is so much misinformation out there from people who claim to know the gospel.

After my shopping and a stop for a sandwich, I made my way to Chinatown and the International Village to take in a movie called Water for Elephants. I enjoyed it immensely though there were some very harsh scenes of violence toward animals and people. It was very well done and I think very realistic about what times must have been like for a struggling circus during the Great Depression.

Here is the beautiful Millennium Gate in Chinatown.

The 'China Gate' on Pender Street was donated to the City of Vancouver by the Government of the People's Republic of China following the Expo 86 world's fair, where it was on display. After being displayed for almost 20 years at its current location, the Gate was re-built and received a major renovated facade employing stone and steel. Funding for this renovation came through some government and private support; the renovated gate had its unveiling during the October 2005 visit of Guangdong governor Huang Huahua.

I think the gate is a beautiful addition to the City and really captures the essence of this part of town.

On Saturday I was up late as I had stayed up very late. My first stop was at the Farmer's Market at Trout Lake in Vancouver. I was on my way to buy a hat.  I needed a new summer hat and since it was raining I decided to buy a rain hat too! I forgot all about taking photos of the lake which is a pity since I don't get to the lake very often and I wanted to show you photos of this little treasure in the city. Hopefully I will get there again this summer and I will show you then. I did take photos of my hats for you. I was blessed because the hat maker gave me the summer hat for $10.00 off as a repeat customer. I was also pleased because the hat was already $10.00 less than when I bought it many years ago so that was a $20.00 savings on the hat.

My summer hat.  I'd like to own these in several different colours.

My rain hat.

After that I made my way to Commercial Drive where I had Chinese food and stopped at various stores.

I stopped in at Design Dreams to buy kapok to refill some of my sofa cushions. Unfortunately the shop doesn't sell kapok anymore but the nice young man who worked there gave me some ideas as to how to fluff up my pillows.  I also discovered that the store now sells buckwheat.  That is good to know because my buckwheat pillows need to have the buckwheat replaced.  I will have to go back there when I have more time to work on the pillows.

I stopped at one store that sells international goods and purchased an animal print shawl. I then went on to a thrift store that I haven't been to for many years. On my way I stopped to ask for directions and talk to a young mom with her baby. It turns out that the woman moved here with her husband from Switzerland and while we both waited for the bus we had a very nice chat.  At the thrift store, I bought some Croc type shoes for $2.99 and two books, one was Anna Karenina for $1.99.  The shoes and the book are in perfect condition and haven't been used.  Again, I felt very blessed because the two paperback books are actually $4.50 each but the sales clerk gave them to me for $1.99 each.

This print scarf is reversible with brown as the main colour on one side and cream as the main colour on the alternate side.

These Crocs are a pale pink and will go with a lot of my neutral and jewel toned clothing. Great for the summer.  They fit perfectly and are more supportive than the last two pair I've owned.

This book hasn't been read. I look forward to reading it and breaking it in.

I spent more this weekend than I have in a long time but all in all I needed these items and I am happy. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and today the rain continues so I am staying inside to catch up on a knitted dishcloth in a new to me, pattern.