Thousands of people had been either evacuated or put on evacuation alert as smoke from out-of-control wildlife fires in northern Alberta billowed across the province. As the afternoon worn on, the iron-grey blanket moved south for hundreds of kilometres looming over Jasper, and blotting out the sun and washing out the colours of the crystal-clear...
This time of the year is about the best time to visit the Jasper National Park. Less busy than the summer and the winter, but beautiful too. So, having been blessed with a perfect morning by the weather gods, we drove to the Columbia Icefield – the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains, and...
VIA Rail Canada provides two trans-continental services, Vancouver-Toronto, per week in each direction in off-peak, and three per week on-peak. Thus, the train schedule dictated how much time we could spend in each location before we needed to move on again. And, we stopped for three nights in a little town of Jasper in Alberta...
The sheer size of Canada, spreading across a total of six times zones, means that vast areas of the country are either completely uninhabited or sparsely populated with small communities and occasional farms flashing past. Along the way, it’s not uncommon to see the freight trains stretching for hundreds of metres – just like there...
Part of me was expecting that once the train left Vancouver, we’d slow down, settle into a relaxing rhythm, and maybe have time to write or read. As we were to learn, that wasn’t going to happen soon. The juice is in sharing experiences with fellow passengers, so in no time we made new friendships...
The sight of the enormous skies and the snow-covered Canadian’s Rockies had just been incredible. We could look at them for hours while the train meandered through narrow valleys nestled between the mountains, followed along shores of the lakes, or crossed bridges. And, we had never got bored. From time to time, ‘The Canadian’ slowed...
Have you ever thought about number one gift parents can give to their kids? To me it’s… ‘hope’. A hope of a better tomorrow, a hope that it’s possible, a hope that you can do it. And there is no better way to do it than by setting an example – fulfilling our own dreams...
After months of anticipation, the level of excitement had reached its peak when we arrived at the Pacific Central Station in Vancouver to board VIA Rail’s ‘The Canadian’ and begin our 19-hours haul to Jasper. I loved the lazy atmosphere of this old fashioned, historic transportation hub – fellow-passengers coming and checking-in, the crew settling...
The downtown of Vancouver casted its spell over us – skyscrapers, modern offices, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, yachts worth millions and the buzz of the streets. But a stone’s throw, at the Eastside, the city plunges into slums-like area where the homeless people live in poverty. The contrast could not be more drastic. All in...
We got up early and set off, starting with a lazy breakfast of fresh-baked muffins, bagels, hot chocolate and coffee at Gastown. Once upon a time – a birthplace of Vancouver, today – a mixture of souvenir shops, boutiques, galleries, decor stores and restaurants. Sitting down and eating together is quite often perceived as a...