Famous last words

"It's raining once again today"

Typical. Right after I posted yesterday's entry, the sun comes back up. It actually turned out to be a beautiful day, though not as comfortably warm as the day before. I spent most of the day hanging out with my ad-hoc crew, consisting of Dave, Dom, and Charlene.

As a result of a hasty heads-or-tails decision, in which, incidentally, heads won out, I was on the verge of purchasing a Martin Backpacker at the nearby music store, but after much deliberation about transporting it to Australia, I did not end up buying the cool little thing.

"I don't think I'll go out tonight"

My plan was to pack my bags before too late in the night, then relax a bit before heading to bed. Alas, I was weak to the power of persuasion. We had a quick stop at Tim Hortons before going to the liquor store, where Charlene planned to buy some beer. The boys and I spotted a beer called Dude, and we bought a six-pack for the sheer novelty factor. The beer itself tasted like tin and is without a doubt the worst beer I've ever had, but its name produced endless jokes.

"I'll just have two beers" turned into "we'll buy you a drink because it's your last night" and eventually ended up in some escapades, including the obligatory sushi, and a particularly amusing incident involving a fire escape. Once we got back to the hostel, we hung out on the first floor for a bit. I eventually retired very late in the night, my bag still unpacked.

It's actually brought a huge two years full circle. I remember partying hard on the night before Dave and I left for that trip to Europe, which was, at the time, my biggest overseas trip to date. Now, what will probably remain my biggest overseas trip for a long time has now come to an end with another huge night with friends.

"I'm going to have that steak tomorrow"

I was also planning to drop by The Keg today, but a combination of tiredness, laziness, and shortness of funds led to a boycott. I suppose I could pay for the steak using credit, but that's where the laziness comes in. I think I shall opt for some Vietnamese instead. On the way to our daily Tim Hortons stop, we discovered that there's a Vietnamese restaurant just two blocks away from the hostel that had somehow flown under our collective radars for the past couple of weeks (and my personal one for about four). I'm also hoping to get one more B.C. roll into my stomach before I go without it until the next time I visit the country.

It's nice and sunny again today, but I don't think I'll be doing a whole lot. I'll probably head to the airport soon after all that food, most likely via the airport shuttle. After eleven months, it'll finally be time to say goodbye to Canada and North America. If all goes okay, I should land in Sydney very early on Saturday morning.

Vancouver overview

Days spent: 29
Sushi: Cheap and plentiful
Panhandlers: Cheap and plentiful
Theme song/s: The Living End - 'Til the End, Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye