[mobike008]

Whistler, Canada (December 16th, 2023)

To get a better context of this trip, it’s worthwhile to take a gander at these 2 photo blogs first.

Goa Trip :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5680900 (3 BHPian’s Drive to Goa - “Dil Chahta Hai Style” Road Trip)

Dubai Lay-over :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post5687652 (24 Hours in Dubai : Things to do during a layover!)

Taking full advantage of the “temp” bachelorhood, decided to do my first ever “solo trip” to Whistler, Canada which is 425 miles (700 kms) roundtrip from Seattle. Yup, never did a solo trip in my life. That’s not my style as I like company, somebody I can chit chat with and talk about something. Alone means just listening to the constant drone of the “B58” which in this case, wasn’t such a bad idea. LOL!

This is my 6th trip to Canada in 2023. British Columbia so you can imagine my fascination for B.C ever since I discovered its beauty. It’s a gorgeous place and must visit for folks visiting the US or Canada.

The plan was simple, drive straight to Whistler after crossing the U.S border and drive through the beautiful city of Vancouver and reach Whistler by noon.

Spent a good 7-8 hours exploring the beautiful town of Whistler which you might not know was the location of “Winter Olympics in 2010”

Whistler is also considered as the “Skiing” capital of North America. It has the largest network of lifts to access the surrounding mountains (Backcomb Mountains) and some of the fanciest hotels earning it the title of the largest skiing resort in North America.

Beautiful drive via. the “Sea to Sky” highway with ocean on left and mountains on right.

Some of the pictures you see are of Whistler from 3pm-5pm as it was slightly snowing, foggy and simply surreal atmosphere with lot of skiers partying in the village.

Enjoyed some great drinks and burger in village and also a cow ice-cream in the MINUS CELSIUS temperatures.

Drove back to Vancouver late in the night amidst heavy fog on the dangerous sea to sky highway which is a twisty mountain road for about 75 miles to a Chinese meal in Vancouver (Vancouver is full of Chinese folks) and on to a beautiful cozy Airbnb that I booked for the night in Vancouver.

Whew, what an eventful day (To be continued in my next post…..)

Cheers to Beautiful PNW and Whistler !!!

Driving North towards the Canada Border- Foggy Morning in U.S



Within an hour- Approaching the Canada Border.



As usual- Long lines but, I noticed hopping over to Canada is easier than hopping back into U.S.



Yay- Now into Canada.



PNW continues and like Washington, Pretty as a peach.





Passing Vancouver Downtown.



Signs of Whistler come up now....







The famous " Sea to Sky Highway" comin' up..







Imagine driving with this view for about 75 kms (~ 50 Miles). I had to slot the car in manual and use the paddle shifters and leave everyone behind.







Isn't this pretty???



Pit-stop on the Sea to Sky Highway- It was very difficult to get back on the highway as the roads are curvy and had to be super careful to join back as cars were zipping from both sides and due to mountain the visibility of cars till last minute was difficult.



It was like being on the clouds as they were almost eye-level.







Posing in the clouds.





No wonder the AQI is below 20. Always !!







Almost there...



Whistler, Canada. The place for rich skiers to enjoy this thrilling sport.



Blau Rakete- Preening in pretty surroundings.

[mobike008]

Day 1 (contd...)

After reaching Whistler, I parked by car safely in an underground parking garage by paying a $40CAD parking fee for 8-hour window. This was important that the car is safe and parked with ample time on the meter. Then I walked out and started exploring the small town of Whistler on foot (changed into my hiking boots).

It was slightly snowing and flurries were continuously falling and it was pretty cold. Weather was in the minus celsius but, I was absolutely prepared for it as I had on an inner for upper and lower body and a long coat which in fact made me little too warm for my comfort.

Enjoyed the beautiful town of Whistler as it seems to have a lot of influence of Europe and structures are unlike American. I understand that hotels here are super expensive and range from $500 to $2000/night especially on weekends. After exploring for about an hour, I was tired to went into the village and grabbed some lunch which was an amazing burger.

Post lunch, resumed walking and visited a few momento stores and bought some mementos . I saw the transition from daylight to night (it was getting dark around 3:30pm in the afternoon) and lights came up and it was festive and beautiful.

There was a bar with outdoor area where a DJ was playing and it felt like some club and this was at 5:00pm in the evening. These skiers know how to party. LOL!

After spending time until 8:30pm, I decided to head back to Vancouver to a Chinese Place for Dinner which was a 1.5 hour or 85kms drive back. I had a lot of difficulty driving back as the Sea to Sky highway was heavily fogged and with those twisty roads (ocean would be on my right side while going back to Vancouver), I had no mood to take a dive into the ocean with the car. So had to be careful how I navigate through the fog and twisty roads for about 50kms.

Finally, reached the restaurant at 10:00pm and enjoyed a lovely dinner before heading to my cozy and beautiful AirBNB for a restful nights sleep after driving for nearly 275 miles this day.

A beautiful bridge just before reaching Whistler.



Quaint town of Whistler, Canada.



Snowy Mountains in the backdrop- Some Olympian Skiier must be conquering those slopes.



Whistler Downtown. Pretty & Cute.









Burgers are my biggest weakness. Enjoyed a hearty burger for lunch.





Town Center/Downtown. The streams were completely frozen. The weather was around -2 to -5 C.





Pretty town nestled amidst mountains.



Whistler-Venue for Winter Olympics in 2010.



Posing against the "Rings"



This is Bear country. Spotting bears in the mountains and sometimes even in Whistler is supposedly not very surprising.



This is at 3:00pm in the afternoon. The whole town was decked up with lights due to Christmas and NY's.





Skating/Ice Sliding Ring.



Exploring Whistler on foot. This is at 3:30pm in the afternoon. It was almost dark by now.





Lots of snow everywhere and it was super foggy at 3:30pm. Absolutely surreal atmosphere.



Loved this place. Need to go back in February/March to explore the snow capped mountains via. Skiing and Gondola rides which I could not do in this solo trip.



Famous COW ice cream. Made from Cow's milk.





Enjoying an ice-cream in -5 C is fun.







As it become darker. The lightings came to life and the whole town center was looking visually stunning.





Check the time in the clock. It felt like 10pm at night. LOL!

[mobike008]

Day 2 (December 17th, 2023)

This was the 2nd day on of solo trip. I got up leisurely and decided to head to the nearest Tim Hortons to grab a light breakfast and my morning dose of Caffeine. Enjoyed sitting on the curb in sunshine and having that coffee and watching the Blau Rakete parked in view and also watching people walk by.

Post breakfast, decided to drive to Stanley Park which was a few kms away. Enjoyed a nice walk by the beach and then drove the entire length and breadth of the park which is as always is a beautiful feeling as I have never seen any other large park kept so beautifully as Stanley Park (Not counting Central Park in New York).

Then drove to Downtown and always enjoy a drive by Canada Place which is hip and happening with tourists, shipping vessels and something going on.

Drove back towards Surrey and stopped to grab some late lunch at a new Punjabi restaurant. Also, got lot of food packed (saves me cooking time and/or, ordering crappy Indian food in Seattle). And, around 6:00pm, I decided to head back home.

There was a long queue at the border but, somehow unlike India, queues here move super fast. I was out on U.S side within 20 mins (not bad, considering the super long line of cars you see in the pictures below) and after making a brief stop to gas-up, I was home by 8:30pm bringing a lovely solo trip to an end.

Cheers and Hope you enjoyed this virtual photoblog tour of Whistler, Canada.

P.S : All pictures taken with my iPhone 13 Promax & iPhone 14 Promax.


Olympic Rings looked beautiful in the evening lightings.



Streets of Whistler in evening looked surreal.



Skiers after a hard day up in the snow-capped mountains were partying really hard.





An awesome "Indian inspired" Chinese Dinner in North Vancouver.





Entering my beautiful AirBNB home at almost midnight.



My beautiful and super large room.





This fish dish blew me away. It was simply delicious.



You are in Canada. Paying visit to TIM HORTONS is mandatory. Breakfast Sandwich and a Black coffee sitting by the curb watching people walk by. Totally enjoyable.







Sigh! I never get tired of clicking pictures of this "Desirable Object"



I love Apple Maps. Don't use Google at all. Look at the clean UI and 3D view of Buildings etc. Just like their OS, Fluid and Goodlooking.



Post Breakfast, I decided to go for a drive + walk in Stanley Park in Vancouver Downtown. I have never seen a prettier and more well kept park. And, it's massive and runs in many kilometers.







Stanley Park also has a beach.



Look at the greenery. Signs of being in #PNW.





Drive by the Canada Harbor which is in Downtown Vancouver.







Lovely weather and typical of PNW. Sunny, Cold & Cloudy too.



An awesome Punjabi Lunch in Surrey. Picked up lot of take-away food as well to last me 3-4 days.




Long queue at the border. More people want to get into U.S than folks wanting to go to Canada. I always note this phenomena.





Some serious American Camper|| Overlander returning home to US. His truck was lugging 2 ATV's, Boat, 4 Bicycles and What Not. LOL!

[mobike008]

Sharing some videos of this trip as a separate post. Hopefully, these videos will give you an inkling of the place better.

Cheers and Until the Next Photoblog....

A gorgeous drive via this massive bridge structure when passing Vancouver Downtown.

https://youtu.be/iORndYWJo60

https://youtu.be/KaeFv2uc9fI

Sea to Sky Highway. This road is perfect for "Auto Enthusiasts". This is where one can truly enjoy driving a car.

https://youtu.be/ljk7w3JwbIg

https://youtu.be/x6CxlW1da6M

Pit-Stop on the beautiful Sea to Sky Highway.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4b7pg-Av8yM

Exploring Whistler on Foot.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UuzKhXh0SmQ

Festive Lights in Whistler, Canada.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Or4-xJbgA

This is how skiers party in Whistler, Canada

https://youtube.com/watch?v=POlzvSsSBQI

Peaceful drive in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada.

https://youtu.be/28dX9FPS6Y8

Exiting the Park, you get on to this beautiful bridge with lovely Ocean views.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Injmja2q1MA

A few more pictures of the beautiful home (AirBnB) that I stayed in.









Blau Rakete parked in Stanley Park while I explored the beach.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[RaviKBobba]

As usual loved your post for the write-up, scenic pictures and drool worthy food pictures.

[Turbanator]

It reminds me of our Trip to Vancouver in 2020 when we negotiated a deal to exchange our GX to LX. Good days when this exchange will cost us less than Fortuner of today





On the way back to Edmonton, we stayed at Fairmont Chateau Whistler. The next day was like 15 hour non-stop drive from Whistler, but who cares when you have the vehicle of your choice

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by RaviKBobba

As usual loved your post for the write-up, scenic pictures and drool worthy food pictures.

Thank you. Please do look out for another photoblog that should come out soon.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It reminds me of our Trip to Vancouver in 2020 when we negotiated a deal to exchange our GX to LX. Good days when this exchange will cost us less than Fortuner of today

Nice. I'm sure drive back from Vancouver via. Whistler to Edmonton must have been wonderful assuming from the picture it was peak summer.

What is a GX and LX? Sorry, I am so wrapped in the BMW world.

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by mobike008

What is a GX and LX? Sorry, I am so wrapped in the BMW world.

Both are models from Lexus. More details here.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by mobike008

What is a GX and LX? Sorry, I am so wrapped in the BMW world.

No, you don’t have to come back to Vancouver. There is another way. We took highway 99 and then right towards Kamloops though there’s another way via 100 Miles. It was September and the road from Whistler is a small mountain road to Cache Creek, and it took a lot of time. We were not in mood to stay overnight so took the highway. In hindsight, we should have stayed. These are parts of Canada that are incredibly beautiful and one should spend maximum time. But in those days, Jasper from Edmonton was more like a lunch drive

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8jJ6ViqY4FEck26i8?g_st=ic


GX- lexus equivalent of LC Prado. And LX is Land Cruiser. Covid days, people were selling everything

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

No, you don’t have to come back to Vancouver. There is another way. We took highway 99 and then right towards Kamloops though there’s another way via 100 Miles. It was September and the road from Whistler is a small mountain road to Cache Creek, and it took a lot of time. We were not in mood to stay overnight so took the highway. In hindsight, we should have stayed. These are parts of Canada that are incredibly beautiful and one should spend maximum time. But in those days, Jasper from Edmonton was more like a lunch drive

Sorry, What I meant was Vancouver-Whistler-Edmonton.

When you say that part of Canada is beautiful. I can totally agree. Not sure if that still comes under British Columbia.

But, as you know PNW region is B.C & Washington and Oregon of of these states are pretty as a peach.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

GX- lexus equivalent of LC Prado. And LX is Land Cruiser. Covid days, people were selling everything

Got it. All I know of Lexus and LC brands is they are huge SUV's and luxurious from the past and they were popular back in the day with our Bollywood industry....and also used as vehicles of choice in Dubai Sand Dune bashing.

I'm sure driving that across that terrain would have been comfortable and non-tiring.

Thanks for sharing.