Like A Teapot

Vancouver's Chinatown Summer Night Market is ongoing. It is a yearly commercial and cultural event, held to attract local residents and international tourists alike. It was originally conceived as an initiative to revive Chinatown. This evening was the second time I paid it a visit in the span of almost a decade. Like many, I had some apprehension over transportation. I had a hard time choosing between public transit and driving.

There is some distance between Chinatown and the nearest sky train (as opposed to subway, the train runs not only above ground but also up in the sky most of the time) station and I was not sure about walking the distance at night on my way home. China Town is also notorious for lacking parking space. In the end I drove all the way there just to save the headache of having to worry about return.

Since it was Sunday late afternoon, the traffic was not too bad. After a rather smooth local driving I got on a relatively new highway that runs along Vancouver's scenic Burrard Inlet. I had tried this highway once long time ago and forgot how wonderfully exhilarating it was to be driving on it. Most of the Metro Vancouver drivers use the mainstream Highway 1 to travel around BC's lower mainland and I was also accustomed to using that route. But where I am living now, it is less tortuous to use the (partially) scenic route and I need not compete with annoying big trucks. The disadvantage of using this route, however, is that the highway ends a bit early and there are many sets of traffic lights to deal with on one long stretchy street. The first time I used it I was so frustrated that I used Highway 1 on my way back.

Today, that long street was relatively empty, and I arrived at Chinatown in a peaceful mood. I also found a free parking spot after making a few turns. I only needed to walk two blocks to get to the night market. But I also realized that I had arrived at an awkward time, with all the permanent shops already closed and the night market stands just starting to make sales. Had I got there half an hour later, parking would have been a serious problem.

With that big problem (in my mind anyway) solved, my mood got even better. I had come to Chinatown with a mission - to take some pictures and find some cool stuff for a dear friend and his children.

(to be continued...)