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Sunday, September 24, 2017

Canadian Rockies: Day 6 (Banff, gondola ride)

Canadian rockies reminds you a lot of Switzerland and no town reminds you more of the Swiss alps than Banff. Coupled with a gondola (or ropeway, in Indian terminology) that takes you on top of a mountain from where you get panoramic vistas of snow-capped mountains, forest cover at the bottom and a town (Banff) far away, it reminded me of Lucerne.

View of Banff town from Sulphur mountain

is a beautiful town if you are to explore. A typical summer resort in an otherwise cold region, Banff is a very residential town once you go past the Banff avenue; the town's main road filled with souvenir shops and restaurants. Once you cross the bride over Bow river and turn left in front of the Cascade gardens and drive up the hill, you go past by cosy homes and sub divisions. People are seen tiding up their garages, watering their plants, getting their cars ready to go on hiking trips, neighbours chatting and catching up. We drove past the majestic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. It looks like an English castle from a distance. This hotel was started by the Canadian Pacific railway ages ago to bring tourists to the Rockies. Eventually, Fairmont group of hotels, a Canadian luxury hotel chain, took over. Barely 15 minutes later, we were inside the gondola, going up to the Sulphur mountain. Once up, we walked to the old observatory and the cosmic ray station, which was a good 15-minutes climb up many flights of stairs.

Last winter, a bear came near this public telephone booth, searching for food. It ripped apart the telephone and took it away and left its powerful paws' impression

There's always a rush to move on when you are in a group tour as they normally pack in so many things. So after a quick cup of chocolate milk and a hurried stroll through the gift shop, we were down and out of the gondola and back in Banff town for lunch. Then, the float ride over the Bow river followed. It was quite slow, at a glacial pace, but allowed to soak in the beauty of the countryside. The river is popularly used for kayaking and on many days during summer, we see groups of men and women kayaking along the river. We saw three Elks in the river curiously looking at us till we were out of sight. I think we interrupted their drinking. On one edge of the river, there were hoodoos; rock formations that look like interesting patterns. I think it took us more than an hour to reach the destination. we bid adios to the boatmen and went back to Banff town.

The Elks in Bow river

The hoodoos on the Bow river (below)

For dinner, my friend and I decided to try Chinese since I was in the mood for Chinese food. The table was at the balcony right above Banff avenue, so that was good. But the food was quite ordinary. Give me Indian Chinese food any day.

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Canadian Rockies: Days 11-13 (Vancouver)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-11-13-vancouver.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 11 (Victoria whale watching)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-11-victoria-whale.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 10 (Victoria)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-10-victoria.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 9 (Jasper)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-9-jasper-and.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 8 (Jasper)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-8-jasper-national.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 7 (Lake Loiuse)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-7-lake-louise-and.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 6 (Banff national park)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-6-banff-gondola.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 5 (Banff)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-5.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 4 (Glacier National Park)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-4.html

Canadian Rockies: Day 3 (Waterton)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-day-3.html

Canadian Rockies: Days 1 and 2 (Calgary)

http://kayezad.blogspot.in/2017/09/canadian-rockies-days-1-and-2.html

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Canadian Rockies: Day 5 (Banff)

Canadian Rockies is known for its lakes, amongst other nature beauties. But the most eye-catching of all lakes are the glacial lakes where water comes from the glaciers. These lakes reflect either dark greenish or blueish hues. Our first lake stop today, after we had lunch at a pitstop, was the Two Jack lake.

Two Jack lake

Since we reached there around 3ish in the afternoon, we didn't see the bright colours that this lake is supposed to reflect. But it was still beautiful. Then, we went past Lake Minnewanka, which I thought was prettier than the Two Jack lake, but that's debatable. On a side note, towards the end of our trip, Robyn our tour guide, took a poll on people's favourite lakes. And the verdict was quite split up.

a food truck (more like a bus than a truck) in Canmore

Lunch stop was at Canmore; another beautiful town in the area. Canmore is just a few miles before Banff. Just the sort of weather where you'd like to outside in one of the many Al Fresco restaurants with some lunch or snacks or even a cup of tea. We reached Banff; our destination for the day and where we'll spend two nights. Banff is a pretty town, quite touristy at first. The main street of Banff (Banff avenue; our hotel was right on it) reminded me of the Fisherman's Wharf; filled largely with souvenir shops and restaurants and lots of people, shopping and eating. But it is a much, much sober version of the Fisherman's Wharf. After checking in, freshening up and nice hot cup of tea in the room, my friend and I head out to explore Banff. There are several walking trails and we chose to walk on the one that took us at the edge of Banff avenue, over the bridge across the Bow river to Cascade gardens, then through the forest trails meandering in a forest cover, bordering the river, right up to the Bow falls. The spot of Bow Falls was like a mini beach that served as a good picnic spot for many.

Banff avenue, as seen from Cascade gardens

For dinner, we chose a nice Greek restaurant on Banff avenue. The place seemed to be popular because there was a waiting list and we had to wait for about 15 mins for our table. It was Greek night; the patron told us. We bet they would be saying this to all their guests, everyday. But it was quite fun. There was a belly dancer who danced away to glory, entertaining all of us with her moves and music, and nudged all of us to join the frivolity. The host, then, came in and asked if any of us are celebrating anything that night. Somebody was celebrating his birthday with his family and the birthday boy got to dance with the bellydancer. Soon, he asked for volunteers to learn the greek dance and many volunteers came forth and they all danced all around the restaurants. We were taught greek dance in seven easy steps. The grand finale: well, ofcourse, to break plates. In perfect greek tradition. This got all the kids in the restaurant excited; all of them came on the floor and got to break plates to glory. Fun night it was. And the food was good. My first-ever Greek cuisine.