Out and About

So it Begins

I’ve always wanted to travel. To experience a new place, town or city in its entirety, so much so, that I would eventually know the place. Travelling for the sake of mass tourism was not something I would say has ever appealed to me (not knocking it either, it’s just never been how I have thought of wanting to experience the world). With that being said, it was the notion of understanding a place, the people and the culture of what makes the city what it is that really struck my interest in travel.

Being the tender age of 23, I had not travelled much (given education, more education and working in between for education). But when I was 21 years old, it also happened to be the Canada’s 150 (a celebration of colonialism, but thats not the point of this article). Via Rail decided to celebrate by selling youth summer passes that would allow for unlimited travel across Canada for the month of July worth a mere $150. Hearing about this amazing opportunity versus trying to actually get tickets was a task in of itself. I began trying to get tickets at around 3 pm Vancouver time, I didn’t end up getting tickets till around a quarter past midnight. But with a ticket in hand, I was set on taking my first solo trip that would have me crossing the country. My trip spanned 24 days, leaving on July 4th and arriving back home on the 28th. I made stops all along the Canadian (the longest Via-Rail line crossing Vancouver to Toronto and vice versa). I travelled leaving from Vancouver to Edmonton, which brought me to Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and finally Ottawa (everything east of Toronto were part of shorter lines that Via Rial has). The only stops on the Canadian that I missed were Jasper (the hostels booked up extremely fast before I could make a decision) and Saskatchewan (mostly because, Saskatchewan). For my return journey, I took the train from Ottawa to Toronto and straight from Toronto all the way back to Vancouver, and oh my was that a long one.

Oh the Places You'll Go

Arriving to the train station in Vancouver, you could visibly see the excitement and jitteriness in everyone’s faces. I was a ball of nerves and excitement on what the trip would hold for me. Waiting in line was definitely trying, everyone just wanted to get on and waiting and lines definitely do not help calming the nerves either. Eventually we made it on the train, with each train cart representing each final destination. Thus, everyone on my train were making there way to Edmonton as well. I was lucky enough to have a nice enough seat buddy to share this journey with. His name was Marcus and he was going to be meeting up with his sister (since she had left earlier and was in Jasper).

Edmonton was my first stop, we arrived about three hours late bringing us to around 1:30 in the morning. Arriving to the hostel was quite the adventure. Having to locate the bunk I was in, without bothering the others in the room was definitely a little stressful, but having a flashlight on your phone is by far one of the greatest inventions. Edmonton was a really nice city, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was also the city where I made my first, and probably most worthwhile, friend. Her name is Amanda and she was also in the same room as I was. We quickly bonded over our mutual love for Shoppers Drug Marts (and drug stores in general) and our similar taste in music. It was also convenient that Amanda and I were set to leave Edmonton on the same train (which ended up being four hours late with the initial departure at 1:30 am quickly turning to 5:30 am). Once we finally left, I was making my way to Winnipeg for the next stop of my backpacking extravaganza.

Winnipeg was not the most elaborate destination I visited. But it was probably one of the most authentic hostel experiences I had. The hostel was located in a house (with old creaky wooden floors and all) which allowed for all of its guests to closely interact with each other. It created a real sense of community which made it really easy to quickly become friends with the other guests. Besides the hostel community, there wasn’t much else particularly noteworthy (sorry Winnipegers, although the Musuem of Human Rights is pretty damn cool).

To get to Toronto it was a couple day trip. Northern Ontario was really pretty, covered in trees and foliage, it was a nice scenic change from the flat canola fields of the prairies. Toronto was nice, I got to spend it with a high school friend of mine and was able to save money and stay at hers (especially fortunate given the higher prices in Toronto). We spent a lot of our time exploring, hanging out and having fun catching up.

Montreal was the next stop, and was by far my favourite stop to explore. I loved walking along the cobblestones of Old Montreal, trying a classic Montreal bagel, and just being able to get a feel of the city itself. The cityscape and people there felt so full of life and exhurburant — it’s energy really did rub off on me. There were several street festivals that were going on during the time I was there so that helped pass the time and was another great way to see the city, people and culture. However, as much as I loved the city nothing quite was as nice as having an outlet for each of the individual bunkbeds.

Old Quebec City was gorgeous. I met up with Amanda again for this leg of the trip and conveniently were staying in the same hostel as well. We trekked the falls at Mont Morency, where it was pouring rain the entire time, saw a bunch of sailboats and got lost amongst the hills of the Plaines of Abraham.

My last stop along the trip was Ottawa. I spent my teenage years in Ottawa and was able to visit with my high school friend group. It was so great to be able to see them and catch up since the last time I saw them. We explored downtown and went to a diner that had great milkshakes. We also did a day trip to Sandbanks and spent some time chilling in the sun there. Saying good bye was not easy, but when are they ever?

I took the train from Ottawa to Toronto and then straight from there to Vancouver. This trip was long but was made easier with great company. My seat buddy for the four days was Dylan (a friend Amanda had met previously and who I met from Edmonton to Winnipeg). Winnipeg was about halfway through the trip and I decided I would wash my hair while we were stopped in Winnipeg to refuel. Thus, came the fun of washing my hair in the bathroom sink of the Winnipeg train station. Another memorable moment came from Dylan’s need for chicken nuggets leading us to quickly take a taxi in Edmonton to McDonald’s and going through the drive through and running back to train (making it just in time).

I learned a lot on this trip, about myself and others. I grew so much, from the responsibility involved in travel to how I carry myself around others as well. As much as I may have felt like a bundle of anxiety prior to the trip, I am so grateful to have had this experience and for everything that it has taught me along the way.