Indian Aggressor Visits Vancouver

[joncha]

All good suggestions. If I was still in town I'd buy you a drink.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Asher
Bring an umbrella and wear condoms.

What kind of a fetish involves having sex with someone, using an umbrella?

[LordShiva]

What's a better location for the one night I get in: The Renaissance Hotel Harbourside (1133 West Hastings Street) or the Residence Inn Downtown (1234 Hornby Street)? I just found out I need to stay the night before starting the Rockies tour the next morning, and either of these places would be free with my Marriott Rewards Points (and both are within 1km of the Burrard SkyTrain Station, where I need to be to catch the bus the next morning).

Also, is there some sort of convenient public transportation that would get me from the airport to somewhere near one of those hotels? I'll only have a small bag, so I won't need a cab (and don't want to buy CAD at the airport).

[KrazyHorse]

Hint: use ATMs to withdraw cash in CAD. As long as you withdraw enough to overcome the ATM fees (imposed both by ATM and your bank) ATMs have the best conversion rate.

If you need a small amount of currency for immediate use upon arrival I have about 20 CAD in toonies (2$ coins) you can buy from me at nominal rate (~0.92 USD to the CAD) on Monday.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by LordShiva
What's a better location for the one night I get in: The Renaissance Hotel Harbourside (1133 West Hastings Street) or the Residence Inn Downtown (1234 Hornby Street)? I just found out I need to stay the night before starting the Rockies tour the next morning, and either of these places would be free with my Marriott Rewards Points (and both are within 1km of the Burrard SkyTrain Station, where I need to be to catch the bus the next morning).

Also, is there some sort of convenient public transportation that would get me from the airport to somewhere near one of those hotels? I'll only have a small bag, so I won't need a cab (and don't want to buy CAD at the airport).

I'd probably say the Renaissance is a bit closer to the Skytrain station. Plus, you may luck out and get a room with a harbour view (probably one of the nicest views from a hotel you'll ever get). Where are you staying when you're actually spending time in town?

There is public transit (bus) from the airport, but it's not the most convenient. If you don't want to take a cab, I'd highly recommend the Airporter bus. It stops at either of those two hotels and costs $13.00.

http://www.yvrairporter.com/

Just make sure you grab the right one based on which hotel you choose.

As KH said, just use a bank machine to withdraw cash - there are a few at the airport. You're going to need it anyway.

[LordShiva]

Good call on the ATMs - I'll do that.

This is going to be on a Thursday evening, and I'd like to walk around, find something to eat, and maybe grab a drink.

[Kontiki]

Head over to Robson Street - there's any number of places to grab a bite and a drink. There's a Cactus Club Cafe there that's good, or Earl's on Top. Better yet, go to the Earl's at the Paramount. It's only a block or two away, has a great atmosphere and maybe the hottest waitresses in town.

[LordShiva]

I need to pack. Should I take anything for cold weather? Vancouver is warm, according to weather reports, but what about places in the mountains (Mt. Robson, Banff, Kamloops, etc.)?

[RedFred]

Warm is a relative thing. I find 20 - 25 quite pleasant, but I had to go to the Indian consulate in Vancouver 10 days back and was surprised to notice a couple of recent arrivals from India in sweaters and fleeces.

Certainly bring warm clothing - especially if you do some hiking in the Rockies. The Columbia Icefields is a bit out of your way if you are only in Banff, but even away from any glaciers, the nights in the Rockies can get cold.

Here at the west coast the evenings are milder, but rain is never a surprise. Kamloops I don't really think of as the mountains, but then I grew up in the Kootenays where it is one mountain range after another.

I hate to say it, but Kontiki's restuarant reviews makes me wonder if he lives somewhere else. His suggestion of Lumiere is the exception, but only if you have an infinite supply of money. Rain City Grill truly sucks. We will never go back. See the recent online reviews - they have changed their chef. The Sophie's recommendation is also surprising, it hasn't been anything more than ordinary for the past 10 years. But restaurants are an individual taste kind of thing. Give us an idea of the type of restaurants you like and we might be able to give you better directions.

If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me. I have lived in Vancouver for the past 17 years plus I am used to questions from Indians about Vancouver, given that many of my wife's family came here last year.

[Tingkai]

Mount Robson can get cold at night at this time of the year. Are you hiking in that area? The hike to Berg Lake is great, about 20k in and 2,000 feet up. A great mountain walk and seeing a small lake with ice bergs (from a glacier on Robson) is worth the hike.

Banff is also cool at night, but I was there in March and a fleece was enough.

As for Sophie's, I was there in March and the food was good as it was when I first started eating there over 10 years ago. It's not amazing like the Spring's brunch, but the price isn't as expensive either.Still, to each their own.

[LordShiva]

Cool, thanks for the advice all. I have, unfortunately for my Indian ass, a high tolerance for cold, and a low tolerance for heat, so it sounds like I don't need to pack anything heavy.

As for food, I'll try and give some of those suggestions a shot. Gastronomically, I'm not hard to please. The bigger challenge will be finding the nicer clubs (with good music and strong drinks); any ideas?

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by RedFred
I hate to say it, but Kontiki's restuarant reviews makes me wonder if he lives somewhere else. His suggestion of Lumiere is the exception, but only if you have an infinite supply of money. Rain City Grill truly sucks. We will never go back. See the recent online reviews - they have changed their chef. The Sophie's recommendation is also surprising, it hasn't been anything more than ordinary for the past 10 years.

I do live somewhere else, Toronto, but I spent most of my days in Vancouver. I didn't know Rain City had changed chefs, so there you go. I didn't recommend Sophie's, and wouldn't, so that's that one. I was at Glowbal in December and loved it, as did my wife and friends that were there with us. Not sure what you have against the other ones.

[LordShiva]

Well, I'm here, at the Renaissance Harbourside. I ate at Cardero's on Coal Harbour, and it was awesome. The waitresses there are hot. Some of the condos on the harbour are ****ing sweet - I should get rich and buy one, and a yacht, too.

Going to go check out the clubs now. My cab driver tried to get me to go to a buddy's buddy's buddy's strip club, but I'll pass on that.

The one thing I found surprising was the ugliness of the highrise architecture of the downtown buildings (especially the ones you see coming across the river from the airport). Those bland, glass buildings (with windows of different tints making them look broken) don't do it for me. The Coal Harbour side is much nicer, though.

[Asher]

Originally posted by LordShiva
Well, I'm here, at the Renaissance Harbourside. I ate at Cardero's on Coal Harbour, and it was awesome. The waitresses there are hot. Some of the condos on the harbour are ****ing sweet - I should get rich and buy one, and a yacht, too.

Going to go check out the clubs now. My cab driver tried to get me to go to a buddy's buddy's buddy's strip club, but I'll pass on that.

The one thing I found surprising was the ugliness of the highrise architecture of the downtown buildings (especially the ones you see coming across the river from the airport). Those bland, glass buildings (with windows of different tints making them look broken) doesn't do it for me. The Coal Harbour side is much nicer, though.

Vancouver City Council is famous around the world for demanding buildings be uglified before built. One building has two different kinds of tint on it because halfway through construction, they changed their mind and ordered new stuff installed.

[Kontiki]

They didn't exactly change their mind - the building was supposed to have the lighter glass from the get go, but the developer managed to get a low level clown to approve a "minor" change for the blue glass to match his other towers in the complex and the City forced him to change halfway through. The developer wouldn't remove what he already put up, so what you got is, of course, ridiculous.