Random things I took note of as a South African traveling Canada
I’ve just returned home after a month long trip to Canada and have been reflecting on some of the random little things I took note of while I was there.
So many Teslas
Before this trip I had never seen a Tesla in person, but after arriving in Richmond & exploring Vancouver I feel like every third or fourth car was a Tesla. And on that note if it wasn’t a Tesla then it was some other brand electric car, it’s clearly a big thing here. I even got to drive one which was super fun! Even some Ubers we took were Teslas as well.
Toilets flush in reverse
I know that sounds super strange and maybe to a lot of you readers this might be normal, but for me it wasn’t. So to explain what I mean; the toilet bowl has a lot of water in it already and then when you flush, it sucks the water and all the stuff away and refills. At home the bowl is pretty empty and when you flush water pushes in from the top to push everything down the drain and then refills a little. (No, sorry, I don’t have any photos or videos for this one)
Safety
I know coming from South Africa it might not be a fair comparison, but it was really striking the safety. Barely locking doors, walking around late at night and I know there are still break ins and stuff, but it really doesn’t seem like being robbed or hurt on the street is a big worry at all. I felt extremely safe and speaking to family who are women said the same thing which I feel says a lot.
Asian Culture
There are so many great Asian restaurants and we spent a lot of time in Richmond where a large part of the population is Asian. There’s a lot of history that I’m not gonna get into here on this short notes list but we visited some museums and heard all about the immigration stories and stuff and it’s a lot to go through so definitely recommend you go check out some of the talks and museums around here and Chinatown. We also did parts of the Richmond Dumpling Trail and that was absolutely phenomenal. Definitely some of the best dim sum I’ve had.
Taxes not Included
When you’re in the shops the price you read is excluding taxes. It got me every damn time. Oh that’s only $4! After getting to the till: Oh that’s actually like $5. I know that seems like such a little thing and it’s on me for forgetting all the time but when you’re making bigger purchases it really makes a difference.
Driving right side of the road
We did a roadtrip and it was very confusing in my brain. Every turn we took seemed like we were going into oncoming traffic and every time I was driving up front as a passenger I always went to the wrong side of the car. As I mentioned earlier I also got the chance to drive for a little in a Tesla and I was constantly veering too close to the curb and had to be reminded to move over.
SNOW
I touched snow for the first time!! When we were doing Peak2Peak in Whistler the very highest you get to after taking the Gondola and Chairs to the top still had snow even though it was pretty much peak summer. It was a little muddy and icy but it was still snow!
Life in a movie
I know this one is necessarily specific to Canada, but also actually to the US, but being in South Africa a lot of the media you consume is probably 85% from the US or Canada, but none of the things you see are available or seen in South Africa. So being in Canada I got so excited by such little things like Wendys, Dairy Queen, Tim Hortons and other random candies and chocolates that I see all over movies but never in my stores. It truly did feel like I was living in the movies I always watched. It was like I was meeting a famous Hollywood celebrity, but I just saw some KD mac & cheese in the checkout aisle or a FedEx truck in the drive way.
Thanks for reading along on this one. I know it’s a bit random, but these are the little things that still stick out in my mind from when I was traveling over in Canada.
Wishing you the best,
Cheers,
Josh.
