We visited Vancouver downtown today. Managed to figure out where the buses ran, accumulated 2 x $2.85 CAD in change, and took the 30 min ride over Granville Bridge to Gastown, a popular tourist destination within the city.
Overall, probably fair to say that we were a little underwhelmed, although Gastown does boast some cool clothes boutiques, hipster bars and heavily used bike paths. Despite the fact that it won’t officially be legalised in Canada until October this year, marijuana was also much in evidence, and we passed a number of retail outlets for this recreational drug.
The most distressing aspect of the city was the number of homeless people on the streets. Some of them withdrawn into doorways, others gathering together on the sidewalk, but overall a palpable sense of distress and affliction. As in many places, lack of affordable housing seems to be a key driver in the steadily increasing number of citizens who are down and out on the streets.
