Vancouver! Canada’s Most Appealing City is A Personal Favourite

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Vancouver, Canada’s most appealing city is a personal favourite

Words: Len Rutledge   Images: Phensri Rutledge

Vancouver Canada, Melbourne Australia, and Vienna Austria seem to vie for the title of “world’s most liveable city” each year. It is perhaps no surprise then that, beautiful Vancouver is one of my favourite cities in the world. The city will appeal to all ages and budget levels with its mountain backdrop, urban beaches, wonderful Stanley Park, and excellent accommodation, restaurant, shopping and theatre/museum offerings.

It was four years since I last visited so when I was there earlier this year, I took the opportunity to reacquaint myself with many of the things that make the city so interesting. Amazingly, most were free.

Granville Island

Once mainly industrial, Granville Island is now a thriving social place with a relaxed atmosphere. You see it best at the Granville Island Public Market which sells fruit vegetables, seafood, drinks, and ready-to-eat items. Aside from delightful food products, this is home to dozens of artisans crafting jewelry, handmade soaps, preserves, candles and more. We love it.

The adjacent area has seen artists and retailers move into converted warehouses alongside theatres, galleries and restaurants. Close by, you can rest your weary feet and grab a table in the tasting room of the Granville Island Brewing Co. and perhaps even join one of their daily tours and see the manufacturing process. Alternatively, take a walk over to Rodgers’ Chocolate which serves up chocolates using 19^th-century recipes.

Small ferries connect the island to the downtown area and houseboats and pleasure craft crowd the small harbour.

Kits Point

We walked from Granville Island, past some of the cities prettiest apartments to Kits Point. This is the location of several interesting museums. The Museum of Vancouver is the largest civic museum in Canada.  It features displays on the natural, cultural, and human history of the Vancouver region. It shares its iconic domed building with the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, which is part space and science museum, part planetarium, and part observatory.

Nearby, is the fascinating Vancouver Maritime Museum which tells the story of the Pacific Northwest maritime history. Its main exhibition is St. Roch which was the first vessel to sail the Northwestern Passage from west to east and was also the first vessel to circumvent North America.

English Bay

This is one of the city’s loveliest and busiest beaches but it was far too cold to swim when we visited. Fortunately, it is also a place to walk, bike or roller skate and there are public art installations, shopping and high-end restaurants. On sunny days it is a great place to listen to beach musicians, rent a boat, kayak or see the Laughing Men statues, a wonderful, light-hearted piece of public art.

The place really buzzes for three nights in summer when crowds watch three nights of fireworks set to music as part of the Celebration of Light festival. The fireworks blast off at 10:00 pm each night, but there is also live music and other activities starting in the early afternoon.

Stanley Park

This large, lush park has been named the World’s Best Park by Trip Advisor. Eight million people visit here each year to walk the 5.5‑mile paved seawall path that encircles the green space or visit other specific attractions like the totem poles at Brockton Point, the Vancouver Aquarium, and a miniature train.

You can explore on foot, rent a bicycle from one of several outlets in Denman Street or take a slow horse-drawn tour. The one-hour tour departs about every 30 minutes, stops at the totem poles for photographs then goes by the famous Girl in a Wetsuit Statue and the Empress of Japan Figurehead. The ride continues on the north side of Stanley Park with views towards North Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge before returning to the stay point. Don’t miss it.

Back to the City Centre

A lovely waterfront pathway leads back to the city. On the way, you see several up-market hotels, numerous boat harbours, the seaplane terminal and some of the city’s famed flowers.

Finally, you reach Canada Place with its unusual roof. This is part cruise ship terminal, part convention centre and hotel, and part hub for sightseeing tours. The walkway provides wonderful panoramic views across to North Vancouver.

Robson Street is several blocks south of Canada Place. This is best known as a shopping centre but it is also the setting for many activities, particularly in Robson Square. This is where you find the Vancouver Art Gallery with its excellent collection of paintings. It’s housed in the former provincial courthouse and its exterior has been used in many films and TV shows.

An oasis of peace and calm in the busy city is found in Vancouver’s oldest surviving church, 125-year-old Christ Church Cathedral. The interior has been completely renovated and the woodwork, the stained-glass windows, the organ, and the altar are all stunning.

Gastown

This is the oldest part of the city and in recent times it has been gentrified with restaurants, galleries and shops set in carefully restored Victorian buildings. Cobblestone streets and iron lampposts help give the district a distinct atmosphere.

It is named after an early resident and a statue in Maple Leaf Square is a popular place for photos. So too is the nearby two-ton steam clock which uses steam to whistle and shoot steam from its five whistles in its version of the Westminster Chime every 15 minutes. On the hour it also gives a toot from each whistle.

Chinatown

Beyond the ornate entrance gate, interesting Chinatown is a mixture of the old and new. This area was once quite seedy and remnants of that can still be seen but it is safe to walk in daylight hours. A highlight is the pretty walled Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden which is modelled after a traditional garden from the Ming Dynasty. This has a C$10 admission fee but the adjacent Dr Sun Yat-Sen Park has some similar elements and is free.

Just south of here, BC Place is called Western Canada’s premier venue for live events and sports. It has a retractable roof which makes it suitable for events in all weathers, and it hosts the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Getting around

The driverless YVR Airport Skytrain is the most convenient way to get from the international airport to the downtown area. Buses and Seabus provide good transport around the city.

www.LenRutledge.com

Monument Valley is A ‘Must-see’ for Movie Fans

Posted on Jun 10 2021 

• North America
• Travel Tips

Words: Len Rutledge   Images: Phensri Rutledge

Anyone who is a cowboy movie fan has seen pictures of Monument Valley. It was originally shown to the world by Director John Ford who used the location for a number of his best-known films. Now it is a popular feature of Instagram. So, is it worthwhile to visit? My answer is definitely yes but international visitors will have to wait for the country to open up fully after the Covid19 shutdown.

It is located on the Arizona-Utah border in the USA and lies within the territory of the Navajo Nation Reservation. Because of this, it is not officially a National Park but the area that is most visited by tourists is known as Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. The main features are clusters of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 300 m above the valley floor.

Monument Valley isn’t close to anything. The nearest airport is in Flagstaff some 300 km away but most international visitors end up renting a car from Las Vegas (640 km away) or Phoenix (500 km away) and driving to the Valley. Access to the Tribal Park is from US163 and you need to pay an entrance fee.

This takes you to the Visitor Centre and the View Hotel and also allows you to drive Valley Drive. Organised tours, which you pay extra for, provide access to other parts of the park.

Valley Drive

You can access this unpaved road in your own vehicle or take a tour with a Navajo guide. The drive is 27 kilometres long and typical times for the full trip are 2 to 4 hours. The road can become very busy during summer days, with queues at the major overlooks. I recommend early morning at this time of the year as the light is better for photography and there are far fewer people than later in the day. In summer, the park opens at 6 am and at 8 am for the rest of the year.

There is much to see along the Valley Drive. This part of Monument Valley is one of the most impressive large-scale landscapes anywhere in the Southwest of the USA. The best to photograph are the tall spires and thin buttes, and the contrasting smooth orange sand all around.

The initial descent from the Visitor Centre traverses a steep, rocky hillside via a series of switchbacks, then the road levels out and passes by three of the most famous Monument Valley formations; West Mitten Butte, Merrick Butte and East Mitten Butte. Further on, the Three Sisters are a group of thin pinnacles, eroded remnants of a narrow ridge extending southwards from one corner of Mitchell Mesa.

John Ford’s Point is a promontory at the edge of a plateau overlooking a large area of uneven, undulating desert land with several isolated peaks beyond. This is probably the best overlook in the park and has a large parking area because of its popularity.

A permanent Navajo jewelry store is located nearby, and you might be lucky to see an iconic image of a lone rider on a horse standing at the edge of the viewpoint as there are horses stationed here most of the day just for this purpose. This is the site where the famous Marlboro cigarette advertisement was shot.

The road continues from here as a one-way loop past Camel Butte, The Hub, Totem Pole and Yei Bi Chei, Sand Spring, Artist’s Point, North Window, and The Thumb before returning to the crossroads near John Ford’s Point.

Lower Monument Valley tour

This is a popular excursion, recommended for people interested in a thorough visual, historical and cultural insight. As well as the regular scenic wonders, you visit a traditional home where you see a demonstration of traditional Navajo rug weaving.

You also get to experience a traditional music performance with either the traditional drum, customary chant or flute playing in one of the valley’s largest natural arch amphitheatres. Most participants return with a new enlightenment and unforgettable memories.

Mystery Valley tour

If you’re looking for something extra in Monument Valley, you might want to explore Mystery Valley, home to labyrinth canyons, sandstone arches, and ancient ruins. This is only accessible with a Navajo guide who will share an insider perspective of this iconic area and teach you about Navajo culture and tradition.

You visit the ancient Anasazi dwellings and ruins with petroglyphs that look like they could have been scratched into the sandstone yesterday. Another feature is walking under many breathtaking arches.

Eating and staying

Inside the park, The View Hotel has rooms with scenic panoramas and they also have cabins. There are also RV sites or wilderness campsites.

The hotel’s View Restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu of Navajo inspired dishes and classic American cuisine. The adjacent View Express offers deli sandwiches, hot and cold food to take away, and cold drinks and ice cream.

Guided tours to Monument Valley are available from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and some other closer centres.

www.LenRutledge.comhttps://www.youtube.com/embed/Wp4jKBtrC0Y

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Len Rutledge

Len Rutledge has been travel writing for 40 years. During that time he has written thousands of newspaper articles, numerous magazine pieces, more than a thousand web reviews and around 35 travel guide books.

He has worked with Pelican Publishing, Viking Penguin, Berlitz, the Rough Guide, and the Nile Guide amongst others.

This story appeared in Getting On Travel in February 2018

WHY IS IT A GREAT TIME TO VISIT LUXOR? READ ON…

LEN RUTLEDGEFEBRUARY 16, 2018

It’s a perfect time to visit Luxor, Egypt because you’ll be able to soak in 3500 years of history—without being surrounded by hordes of tourists.

If you want to see some of the world’s greatest temples, and what could be the world’s richest archaeological site, go to Luxor!

An hour’s flight up the Nile from Cairo, Luxor grew out of the ruins of Thebes, Egypt’s capital from about 1500 to 1000 B.C.

Now is a great time to visit Luxor!

Although Luxor has been one of the major attractions in the Middle East, the city is suffering badly at the moment because tourism has almost collapsed. Direct flights from many European cities have ceased and once-thriving river services to and from Aswan are virtually non-existent. Most of the 300 or so riverboats that took tourists along the Nile in relative luxury are now tied to its banks, many rotting away.

This means it is a very good time to visit Luxor: Hotels have cut prices, tour guides are readily available, crowds are nowhere to be seen, and everyone is going out of their way to be friendly, helpful, and courteous. Safety is on everyone’s minds and I must say my wife and I (two middle-aged Western tourists) felt completely at ease everywhere we went.

After dreaming about it for decades, we had gone to Luxor to see two massive temples – the Temple of Amun at Karnak and the Temple of Luxor – as well as the alluringly-named Valley of the Kings. Each of these attractions met our expectations, and we then discovered there was much more to see and do for those with time.

The Temple of Amun (Karnak Temple)

This complex of three temples built over a 2000-year period is probably the biggest temple on earth.

Our expectations were high and as we wandered the site, we became more and more impressed.

The stillness of the whole place with its stone columnssoaring against the brilliant blue sky was breathtaking.

The surfaces of the grand courtyards are all covered with fine carvings. The scale and detail is staggering. I thought of the vision, the work, and the investment that went into this huge structure and then was told that all this could not even be seen at the time by the public; it was only for priests, royals, and the gods.

A millennia later, the public entered. We saw marks on the columns where Roman soldiers sharpened their swords, and early Christian images of Mary and Jesus carved on the ancient pillars like graffiti.

The Luxor Temple

The Luxor Temple is all about the great warrior pharaoh, Ramses II, even though it was started 100 years or more before his reign (around 1380BC). Two 25-meter pink granite obelisks built by Ramses once stood before the entrance gateway but today only one remains; the other is at the center of the Place De La Concorde in Paris.

The Luxor Temple has been in almost continuous use as a place of worship.

During the Christian era, the temple’s hypostyle hall was used as a Christian church. Then for many centuries the temple was buried and a mosque was eventually built over it. This mosque was carefully preserved when the temple was uncovered and forms an integral part of the site today.

Originally, an avenue lined with sphinxes ran the entire three kilometers between the Luxor and Karnak Temples. This avenue is currently under excavation and reconstruction, and you see a short completed section near Luxor Temple.

The Valley of the Kings

In about 1600 B.C. there was a big change in the style of royal tombs. Until then, kings were buried in pyramids, but these were consistently being robbed, which meant kings were waking up in the afterlife without their precious earthly possessions. So, rather than mark their tombs with big pyramids, the kings started hiding their tombs underground in the valleys on the west side of the Nile.

Each buried king was provided with all the necessary things that would provide a comfortable existence in the afterlife, however, most of this has been looted over the centuries so most tombs were empty when they were rediscovered in modern times. After all these centuries, the condition of the 63 tombs that have been discovered and the details on their walls, however, is incredible. Most are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology.

The majority of the tombs are not open to the public. The entry ticket to the Valley allows you to visit three tombs out of several that are open but some require additional payment. The cost is reasonable, and the visitor arrangements are good, however, be aware that in summer the temperature can be stifling. Photography is not allowed inside the tombs.

The Hatshepsut Temple

The Hatshepsut Temple is, perhaps, the most spectacular structure on the West Bank of the Nile.

The mortuary temple was only discovered about 150 years ago and some on-going restoration work is still under way. The temple rises out of the desert in a series of terraces that from a distance merge with the sheer limestone cliffs behind.

This temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut, the first known female monarch, who ruled for about two decades. Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt’s history. Although unknown for most of history, in the past 100 years her accomplishments have achieved global recognition and her stunning mortuary temple has become one of the most visited structures on the West Bank.

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What’s appealing to the over-50 luxury traveler?

• Lack of crowds and helpful locals make traveling easy.

• Hotels and restaurants in Luxor are good and prices are very reasonable at present.

Take note

• There are few facilities for visitors on the West Bank. Most stay in Luxor and travel to the West Bank by bus or on a tour. All the major Luxor hotels offer tours.

• Because Luxor is in the desert, the surroundings are hot and dusty. Visitors of all ages, but particularly older travelers, need water to stay hydrated and perhaps a snack when you are visiting most of the sights. You might want to bring a hat along for protection from the sun.

• Don’t rush it! A minimum of a two-day visit is necessary to see the major attractions but we would recommend that you stay longer to really appreciate the lifestyle and culture.

• The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 2 Travel Advisory for Egypt due to recent terrorism.

 

*All photo credits: Phensri Rutledge