Greater Vancouver Zoo

I hardly remember the last time that I have been to a zoo and I have always been interested to see the Greater Vancouver Zoo. It is rather sad to say that I have been here in Vancouver for almost 14 years and have never been to the Vancouver Zoo.

After my trip to the zoo recently, it didn’t surprise me that I did not go often - it is simply too far away.

Located in Aldergrove, the zoo is approximately 45 minutes from Vancouver. The 45 minutes refer to driving on Canada’s #1 highway at the speed limit of 100km/hr the entire way there. Of course, those who tend to “drive faster” will be there faster.

Never been to the Vancouver Zoo all my life.. I didn’t know what to expect.

Upon arrival, I found an empty parking lot, which meant there weren’t many people. The entire space is the parking lot and you see my lone car on the side.

Once inside, there was a vast amount of open space and land for animals to roam in their designated areas.

I am no animal expert but it appears that these animals are quite tamed and calm - unlike the wild ones we see on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel. Nonetheless, it was a learning experience to see all these different species in one place.

From top right clockwise: two camels, a lone bear, Arctic Wolf. and donkey from Shrek.

And here below…biggest rodents in the world. Literally, they’re huge!

Some other animals found in the zoo:

Obviously, this post is to give you an idea to visit the zoo and does not cover every aspect of the zoo.

There are other animals in the zoo like lions, tigers, and hippos that you just have to visit to see.

There are bike rentals, tour bus and mini-train rides available.

Admission for adults ( 16- 64 yrs) is $18 per person.
Admission for child (4 - 15 yrs) is $14 per person.

Greater Vancouver Zoo
5048 - 264th Street Aldergrove, BC V4W 1N7
604.856.6825

Summer hours are April 1 - Sept 30 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Winter hours are October 1 - March 31 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

For more information: www.gvzoo.com

Martini’s Restaurant

In so far, every time I wrote a post on restaurant it has always been those that are on my favorite list. And, this post is no exception. Martini’s is the place where I recommend to go for dinner to all those who wants a place to take their partners.

Martini’s Restaurant offers a dining experience of candle-lit, dim, wooden-cabin-like environment.

Martini’s have a full line of western dishes on their menu. Their entire line of menu can be found on their website. Also, they feature daily specials on drinks.

Prawn Fettuccine Alfredo & Martini Special Pizza

The service here is excellent - servers know what you want before you ask them (most of the time). The quality and quantity of food are great. Most entrees are served with Bread and Salad. Two entrees are plenty to fill two people and still have left overs. Furthermore, the price is reasonable. 30 or so dollars for two people.

Everything is great except that the restaurant itself is not very big. Reservation is recommended. Otherwise, eat at not-so-busy hours.

There are meter-parking on Broadway. However, beware of busy hours.

Martini’s Restaurant Ltd
151 West Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 1P4

Telephone: 604 - 873 - 0021

For more information, check out their website at http://www.martinis.ca/

New Home Depot In Town!

As I was talking about the new Home Depot on Cambie Street on my last post, the store has officially opened up this week with lots of great deals.

Inside the store, we have all the usual Home Depot set up. I was surprised that they have actually updated their website on the new store as well.

Click here for the link to new store

If you are interested to work at Home Depot, they are currently hiring a lot of new staffs. I found this job posting on their website. It is very interesting and I recommand everyone to browse around on their website.

http://jobb.jobline.se/getjob.asp?JobID=68942007&AVSDM=2008-02-24+13%3A50%3A00&Logo=0&brd=1&cy=CA&aj=Kanada

As you can see, I’ve also taken a picture of the Cambie street SkyTrain track. It is just a mess down there! I wonder when they will finish this project…

Nightmarket in Vancouver 2008

During spring to fall seasons in Vancouver, metro Vancouverites and tourists often flock to the nightmarkets for food and entertainment. Held annually, nightmarket is a shopping experience that mimics that of the traditional Asian shopping culture experience. In other words, night market is set out in an open district where store booths are set up to sell handicrafts, DVDs, gifts, household items, food and etc.

At prime times, more than 30,000 show up on opening nights for this event. With over 400 booths set up, booth renters often find customers interested in their products. Many products at nightmarket are often sold below retail store prices. However, there have been controversial issues with the legitimacy of some items being sold.

According to this source, “Richmond Night Market” for 2008 will be canceled. The author wrote that “the landlord who has been leasing out the property, where it has been held every year since 2000, has decided not to renew the lease.” Raymond Cheung, founder of Richmond Night Market, was quoted as saying that the Richmond Night Market hopes to find an alternative location for 2009.

According to Wikipedia, another promotion group, Lions Communications, not affiliated with promoters of Richmond Night Market will be holding “Summer Night Market” in Richmond in 2008. Lions Communications has submitted documents to obtain the permit required to hold the event. Unfortunately, no further information can be found regarding Summer Night Market.

According to the Chinatown Nightmarket website, Chinatown in nightmarket will continue this year on the specified dates:

May 16 - Sept 7, every Fri. Sat. & Sun. 6:30 p.m. - 11 p.m

Giant Clock in Metro Vancouver

Here is something I found while I was cruising around with my friends a while back. It is safe to say that even most Metro Vancouverites do not know where or what this item is…
This giant clock with actual moving “hands” is an actual clock that tells the exact time. However, the “hands” are movable by external means and can be deceiving.

For those who don’t know where this landmark is… it is located in West Vancouver. When you are in West Vancouver, head south on 15th street towards the sea and you’ll see it at the very end.