Bonus country!

Since everyone kept saying it was so close and that I should take the chance, I crossed the Canadian border (twice) the day before leaving Seattle...with considerable help. Cliff, in a gallant fashion, did all the driving, while his girlfriend Katie and I took care of map-reading and/or feeding the driver.

We took a day trip up to Vancouver, B.C., and I experienced the Canadian Border Police (who looked disbelievingly at my passport and had great issues believing that I was Swedish... Perhaps I should go blonde and bust an accent, just to make the concept easier for people? ;).

We decided to do 3 things in Canada - see nature, eat chinese and go to the night market. It turned out we made really good choices...

Capilano bridge (built 1889) is a 136 m long suspension bridge, swaying peacefully 70 metres above the Capliano river, in a forest gorge that smells of cedar wood...

I would coerce just about anyone to visit the place, should they have any doubts about going!

Afterwards we looked at more bridges (and bays) from Stanley Park, down by the Vacouver waterfront.

We proceeded to Richmond (getting spectacularly lost on the way) to eat completely insane amounts of food (=meat) at the all-you-can-eat BBQ at the chinese restaurant 'Golden Bull Seafood' (?).

The good thing is that you have to do the barbeQ:ing yourself, directly at the table, so you don't stuff yourself beyond digestion but have to wait for the food. Kind of like a fondue-dinner, very interactive. (Note to self: NEVER drink chinese plum juice again, uuugh!!...)

Finally, we visited the Richmond Night Market, open 7pm to midnight.

With all its japanese stuffed animals, live goldfish (!), korean DVD:s, dim sum food stalls and boba tea shops, it was just like visiting a market pretty much anywhere in southeast Asia.

Notice that the name of one DVD in the lower middle is 'Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy'... ? how naughty...