Vancouver | We are 26!
- Apr 20
- 17 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
The city of Vancouver is one of the 16 cities across Canada, United States and Mexico to play host to FIFA World Cup 2026. We've got our tickets secured for round of 32 (Match #85) at BC Place stadium on July 2nd. Let's hope for a good match up between the two teams. Since we will be arriving on June 19, we might get a chance to watch the host team play against Switzerland (Match #51, Group B). The Swiss ( # 19) is slightly ranked higher than the host team (#23). The next match up will be on June 26, with the Kiwis up against Belgium at BC Place ( Match #64, Group G). Off course, Belgium (#12) is the stronger team over the Kiwis (#47). Whichever team wins or loses, it will be an amazing experience to watch them live at the stadium.
In the meanwhile, check out Grayson Repp's Vancouver Theme x FIFA World Cup 26!
Day 1 - Arrival At Vancouver
Our redeye flight with Air Canada Rouge 737 Max 8 went smoothly and on-time. Our in-flight dinner consisted of Korean Bibimbap and BBQ Glazed Chicken.
As far as sleep goes, we didn't fair too well as both of us are still recovering from a cold. As we approach Vancouver International, I managed to capture a glimpse of the largest Canadian flag on the slopes of Grouse Mountain. We will definitely have to get up close and personal to this location for some photo opt.
We landed in Vancouver at about 6:30am and made our way through immigration and customs. This time we did not sail through as our ArriveCan for some reason did not register properly. Regardless we made it through and picked up our Toyota Rav from Alamo. The drive to our house was pretty uneventful, but it was a really nice day in Vancouver with light winds settling in at about 72 degrees F.
We checked in and also did a supermarket run, before heading to our favorite Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver - Kopitiam Malaysia on Rupert Street. It never disappoints... with our usual favorites, Roti Chanai, Penang Prawn Mee, and Chicken Satay! What a great way to start our day! We were so eager to have our brunch that we forgot to take a picture of our meal...
After our hearty meal we then made our way to the Lower Grouse Mountain Highway Trail. At the top, we had seen the giant Canada Flag on its slopes. So we had to take a look.
The way up the mountain was steep but shaded. Lots of fallen trees and many old growth stumps along the way.
It is also the site of a Sabre fighter jet crash. This was off the LGMH on a connector to JetBoy. What remains is primarily an engine by a tree with a plate commemorating the fallen.
So we took our time climbing up. It was a beautiful day in the shade of the pine trees. At the top the flag was HUGE. As it was billowing in the wind and a deer came to visit! There were also several mountain bikers taking the Screaming Eagle chairlift back up the hill after their downhill run. There were also old logger buildings nestled in the trees at the top as well.
In all it was a really nice day to be out and about. See our video here of our LGMH adventure.
Day 2 - Roaming Around Vancouver
When we woke up today, it was hard to get out of bed! The body was stiff and the knees still complaining. So we decided to take it easy, and called it a no hiking day. We started out late as we chilled at the house before making our way out. We then went to find Sam Bo Loung along Kingsway. This is an incredibly long street; measuring in at 8.5 miles. It starts from 7th and Main street in the west and runs south east all the way to 10th Ave and 12th Street just outside of New Westminster. All along this street are Vietnamese businesses that then gives way to Filipino, and finally Korean. The busiest section being the heart of Burnaby's Metrotown. Having found our Vietnamese treat, we then made our way back to Burnaby Heights to savor the Hainanese Chicken Rice at Green & Oak Restaurant. It never fails to be moist, juicy and just plain tasty!
Having had our fill, we then drove through the heart of Vancouver City, passing the Science Center that was now dressed as a soccer ball. It will be crazy tomorrow with a match hosted at BC Place between New Zealand and Egypt. For today, it was also bumper to bumper through the core - unfortunately for the Lamborghini... It took us a good hour plus to get across what would normally take just 25 minutes.
To stretch our legs, yet not hike; we made our way to Cypress Mountain. It was the busiest that we have ever seen it at this time of the year. Lots of football fans out and about, so much so that the upper parking lot was almost full. We took a short walk around the main entrance, just enough to limber up a little without over taxing the already tired muscles. It was a cool 65 degrees F but with bright sunny skies. Perfect weather for hiking.
We then decided to go further north to Squamish. As usual, it was an excellent drive along the Sea to Sky highway. The old town center of Squamish was all decked up with flags and there were many tourists all around. We found the Alice and Brohm Ice Cream store where the ice cream is hand churned with local berries. We had to try the Black Berry Ice Cream - which turned out to be just right. In the background we could see Garibaldi's Diamondhead peak standing prominently. What a sight to have from your back yard.
Since we were out by Mamquam Road, we decided to drive inland towards Garibaldi Park. Here the busy streets gave way to an unsealed Forest Reserve Road. There were many folks up and about mountain biking in the area. We drove through the forest to the Elfin Lakes Trailhead. To our surprise the trailhead parking lot was pretty full. I guess summer is really in full swing and even more so with all the FIFA World Cup tourists in the area. Our way back down was incredibly dusty!
It took us a while to get back into Vancouver City. It was interesting to see how the city had spruced up to host the World Cup. All the signs were nicely updated and clean! There are some really nice buildings in town too.
Our final stop for the day was at John 3:16 on West Broadway. It was relatively busy, so it took a while to get our take out. It was a good way to end the day with yet another good Malaysian food meal!
Day 3 - The Egyptian Pharaohs & The All Whites Fans!
Today, BC Place will host FIFA's Match #51 with Egypt's Pharaohs against New Zealand's All Whites. Our main goal for the day is to locate the supporters of each country and roam the areas around BC Place before the kickoff at 6 pm. The fans and spectators were already streaming into the area around BC Place at about 1 pm. We found the Egyptian fans assembling at Jonathan Rogers park, with almost all wearing the red, white and black jersey. Some were proudly waving the flag of Egypt with an euphony of music and chants playing in the background.
This is what football is all about. Bringing people together and sharing the same passion of the sport, regardless of race, background, and nationality. The spirit of World Cup is definitely here! From here, we continued walking towards the arena, passing many fans merry-making making their way to the stadium. It was a rare opportunity to partake in such a world class event.
We found many of the All Whites supporters at Gastown, where the local pubs are located. Many were already getting in line to march to the stadium. The street were filled with many waving the New Zealand flag or the black and white fern flag. Here is the video of the walk.
The match started promptly at 6pm with New Zealand attacking in the first half to yield a 1-0 lead. But the Egyptians returned in the second half with more vigor and technical decisiveness to end the match winning with a 3-1 score. Outside the sun was setting, and the surrounding area lit up with the golden hour.
As night fell, many Egyptian fans were still waiting for the Egyptian team to ride out on their bus. The exit was filled with cheering fans, eagerly awaiting their footy heroes. And they were not disappointed. This was the first time Egypt had won a match at the World Cup.
This is what the World Cup is all about. The great fans, just having fun watching a game that everyone can play.
Day 4 - A Walk Around Stanley Park
Today was a restful easy day. So we decided to take an evening walk around Stanley Park. We parked at Coal Harbour and started our walk from the Devonian Harbour Park. It was still very bright at 8pm. So we made our way through the park entrance, across the bridge and past the Lord Stanley Memorial Monument. This was new for us as we always drove around Stanley Park instead of walking it.
In cutting through the middle, it was fine forest and open grass areas. We walked past the historic miniature trains (it was unfortunately closed) and popped out at Lumberman's Arch to rejoin the Stanley Park Seawall Path. From here we walked clockwise to the Empress of Japan figurehead replica, then past the swimmer sitting on the rock (now dressed with a Canada footy T-Shirt) to Brockton Point for a view of the Port of Vancouver. There were seals in the water, along with geese and a heron or two.
On the return, we caught a glimpse of Mount Baker as the sun lit the sky in its golden hour.
We then walked past the 9 O'Clock gun and wrapped back to Coal Harbour. Here the city skyline stood out against the setting sun with beautiful reflections off the somewhat still water.
We can truly appreciate Lord Stanley for dedicating this land back in 1886 as a place for "people of all colours, creeds, and customs". Here is the video of our walk, paying tribute to Aoife O'Donovan who wrote the accompanying music inspired by her run along the seawall.
Day 5 - Queen Elizabeth Park
I decided to check out the FIFA Fan Festival at Hastings Park around noon time. Unfortunately, when I got there the venue was closed for a private event. I will try again tomorrow when Canada will play against Switzerland at BC Place at noon. I suspect the stadium and the fan festival site will be packed with Canadian supporters. We shall see tomorrow. Before heading back, I swung by Queen Elizabeth Park for a brisk walk and it turned out to be a good walk.
Later in the evening we decided to try a new Vietnamese Restaurant in the East Village. Its a small spot called Saigonville. We tried their Mango Papaya Salad, Crispy Chicken Wings and the Chicken Fried Rice. The salad and chicken was very tasty but the fried rice was dry and a bit hard (like as though it was not very well cooked). Not sure if we will be back...
To walk off our meal, we headed back to Queen Elizabeth Park (hana hou!). It was already late evening and the sun was setting. The park wasn't very busy, except for the few who came to see the sunset over the skyline.
This is the highest point in Vancouver City. It is also a very beautifully curated park with lovely gardens sectioned as the small quarry, the large quarry and the rose garden.
It is also home to several tennis and pickle ball courts, a Pitch and Putt green, frisbee golf, lawn bowling and several basketball and sport fields. It certainly a very nice community park.
Our evening walk was just under 3 miles, with at least a little bit of elevation gain (~200 feet). Its a pretty good place for a brisk walk!
Day 6 - FIFA Fan Fest with Canada vs Switzerland
We made our way to Hastings Park where the FIFA Fan Festival was in full swing. We were able to get parking right on site - although it was a bit pricey at CND$45 for the day. The parking lot was actually a paddock race course. Along its edge was statues of prior jockey winners; but it was a bit creepy as they were each covered with plastic!
When we got to the entrance, there was a really long line wrapping down the side of the street. Then we were instructed to try another gate that wasn't so busy and we got in pretty quickly. There were many folks who did not read up on the rules for entry. They were caught with bags and metal bottles. Many of which were either abandoned at the entrance or folks deciding to turn away. There were also some who were very angry that they could not bring in their stuff... The Fan Festival is a free admission event, but although they do not charge an admission, everything else costs more - the parking, the food and drinks.
Regardless, there were many fans at the event - a sea of red - as they came to cheer Canada on against Switzerland. The first half had them draw against each other, then in the second half the Swiss came out swinging - immediately scoring and keeping possession through out. In the end, Canada loss to the Swiss 1-2. So sad!
Walking the grounds there were many activities for families - from soccer ball shootouts, swings and curious races. It was fun to watch. But it was really hot. The sun was out in full force and even though there were water sprinklers and a light breeze, it was still super hot. Here is the video of our FIFA Fan Festival experience.
After the fan festival we then went to look for more Malaysian food. This time we went south to Marpole to visit a restaurant call Ipoh Malay Cuisine. We tried their Penang Prawn Mee and the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng. It was accompanied with a Rose Syrup Calimansi drink. Yum!
Day 7 - Garibaldi Park
It was the first day without a hacking cough and a really good night's sleep. So we decided to do a fairly long hike in Garibaldi Park on the south side on a trail called Diamond Head Trail. It would be a total of over 12 miles through pine forests and into the alpine at above 5000 feet, before reaching two alpine lakes called Elfin Lakes. At least that was the plan.
We started out pretty late, stopping at the local A&W along the way for a Double Smash Burger and the customary Uncle burger. Have to say that these are pretty tasty. Having had our fill, we made our way to Squamish, and found Mamquam Road that then turned into Garibaldi Park Road. The park road is an unsealed 10.9km dusty road with several pot holes along the way. The end of the road is the parking lot for the Elfin Lakes Trailhead. Our hike started from here as we steadily climbed through the pine forest on a pretty wide 4WD road.
This went on for a good 45 minutes, with a few peek-a-boo views, warning signs for bears, and the occasional black squirrel.
At approximately 1.6 miles in, we came upon Brandvold Falls. This was a small fall right by the side of the trail.
We finally reached Red Heather Cabin approximately 3 miles in. Here there is a pretty big cabin, toilets and a large meadow with red heathers. Well not quite as the blooms were mostly gone by now; just a few on the side. It must be beautiful when it is in full bloom across the meadow.
This is where the real trail begins. Its a nice soft trail with lots of loam. And the views open up to see the Tantalus mountain range with view of Seratus and Alpha as two pointed peaks along the range.
In front of us we could see Diamond Head while the peaks of Atwell and Garibaldi were shrouded by clouds.
As we contoured below Round Mountain, the trail was covered with snow. At first it wasn't very deep as we could see patches of brown soil and green tuffs of plants poking through. But as we rounded the bend to join Paul Ridge, we were then met with even more snow with steep drop offs along the ridge. Here is a shot looking back at Round Mountain with its slopes full of snow.
Just before our turn around, we past a small frozen tarn, and even more snow!
Even though we did not make it to Elfin Lakes, the views from Paul Ridge and Round Mountain were well worth the hike. See our hike video here.
Day 8 - FIFA Block Party On Granville Street, Downtown Vancouver
It was a wet start of the day as the rain set in. Temperatures were back down to the low to mid 60 degrees F. So from the shorts and t-shirts it was back to pants, sweaters and jackets. As the day drew on, the rain finally stopped and we decided to venture out to downtown Vancouver. Here there is a large block party where they have blocked off Granville Street between Davie and West Georgia Streets. The police were out in force, from those on foot, to those on bikes and even horses.
The street wasn't too busy at the beginning but as the hour passed there were more and more folks filling in the street. There were many bars and restaurants, with seating out in the street. What was interesting was the street art around the buildings and on the road.
As we got closer to the water's edge the crowd got thicker. It is also on this end that we see the rail station and Canada Place. The Ovation of the Seas cruise ship was docked and while it looked very big at Sydney Harbour, it was reasonably smaller here. Nonetheless, it is one of the larger Quantum Class ships weighing in at 168,666 tones with a max capacity of 4905 passengers.
The buildings downtown are also quite a marvel. Its not like there are a lot of them, nor can we say that they are the tallest... but its the close arrangement of shapes that makes it interesting. The mix of the old with the new.
In all, this block party wasn't that busy. I guess most of the Canadian fans have been subdued when Kone broke his leg and they lost their match against Switzerland.
It was a good 1.7 miles up and down Granville. See the video to our walk here.
Before the end of the day, we had to have some more Malaysian food. So we revisited our favorite spot in Marpole. Unfortunately, they were out of a lot of items that we wanted to try. So we settled for some Char Kuay Teow. Lots of wok hey and crispy pork lard(!) Not the healthiest but very tasty.
Day 9 - Spirit Caves at Yale
We decided to drive about two hours outside of Vancouver along TransCanada Highway 1 to a small town called Yale. It is part of the Yale First Nation that owns about over 2000 acres of land in this area. Just outside of the main street, there is a sign marking the trailhead to Spirit Caves.
The trail starts out along a stream with two crossings - one with stepping stones and the other with a wooden bridge. Once across the trail starts to ascend rather steeply through the forest.
The next section climbs till it reaches a single track contour with steep drop offs. One slip and it will be pretty hard to climb back up. Its amazing how the trees grow straight up giving one a view of the steepness of the mountain.
The next section starts a series of switchbacks up to the lookout over Yale and the Fraser River. At this point, one gets a great view of the surrounding mountains.
The final stretch up to the Spirit Caves is a soft loamy trail through a rather large blowdown that obscures the remaining section to the top of All Hallows mountain. But our destination was the caves so we picked through the blowdown and veered left towards the caves. Here the rocks came into view, but they were covered with moss. There were many caves of varying sizes in the area. There were several that were big enough to squeeze through.
In all this was a great hike. Short yet strenuous. Great views and caves of interest. The forest was beautiful with many berry yielding plants along the way. There certainly were several trees with bear scratches and we found rabbit feet along the trail.
Here is the video of our hike. As we were driving from the trailhead, we also caught a great view of Hope Mountain between the trees along the highway. Just a great outing for the day.
Day 10 - Rainy Game Day Round of 32 Canada Versus South Afrika
We decided to stay in today as it was a bit deary outside. But no worries as we had a great match up to see this time on the telly. The knock out rounds start today with the first and only match at 12noon. We were excited to see Canada play against South Afrika. It was a great 95 minutes of play with both teams playing all out. Although South Afrika had majority of the possession, it was Canada who kept attacking with many near misses. Finally, in the 91st minute Stephen Eustáquio scores for Canada, advancing them to the round of 16. Here are the game's highlights.
To end the day we had a hearty south indian meal with Chicken Dosa, Fish Pakora, and Lamb Thalapaketti Biryani. We were stuffed!
Day 11 - Goat Mountain via Dam Mountain at the back of Grouse Mountain(!)
Having rested our knees for a day, and having watched the disappointing loss of Japan to Brazil at the World Cup, we had to get out of the house to venture up another mountain.
We have always wanted to hike up to Crown Mountain at the back of Grouse Mountain, but it is a long and challenging hike. So today we wanted to try our luck with something in between. We'd take the exercise route up and over Dam Mountain first and then decided to tackle Goat Mountain. It was good that there wasn't any snow left up here, as the prior winter did not have enough snow in the first place and the recent days have been record heat for Vancouver. So our hike was snow free with a few muddy spots and tarns. In all it was about 6.03 miles with 1529 feet elevation gain in about 4.5 hours.
The mountain was also socked in today with limited visibility at the start that ultimately became full on fog and misty light rain. It certainly made for a very different feeling amongst the trees. There were several rocky sections as well as steep rooty climbs.
There was also the last section towards the top of Goat Mountain where there were several sections of metal chains to assist with the granite rock scrambling/climbing.
Thankfully there were no bears today. See our hike video here.
Day 12 - Ferry and Driving along the Sunshine Coast
Today is a hiking rest day, so we decided to take the BC Ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. We started out with brunch at Ipoh Malay Cuisine - as we had to try their Kun Loh Char Siew Wontan mee and of course another round of the Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee. Yum!
Having had our fill, we then made our way north to Horseshoe Bay. It took about 55 minutes to drive from South Vancouver to the north via Highway 1. It certainly was pretty busy on the road today. But there was almost no one at the ferry terminal. We did not need to make a per booking as the ferry was 60% empty. So we paid our walk-in fee of about CND$95 for the two of us in a car that was less that 7 feet high and 20 feet long. The return would be free. It was really nice that there weren't many folks to Langdale. Once on the ferry, the 40 minute trip just flew by as the sights were great to see.
The ferry itself is pretty big. There were two of them making the trips to and from between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale. Both were Queen class ships - one called the Queen of Surrey and the other the Queen of Coquitlam.
It was amazing to see how many cars could fit and yet it was not full. There are also two eating halls, TV rooms, play rooms for kids and for dogs, plus a variety of seating arrangements (in door seating, single working cubes, sun decks, open air and open air decks), crew offices and a gift store. It certainly made the ride more than comfortable.
Once in Langdale, we made our way to Gibson's Landing. Its a small quaint town with lots of hiking in the surrounding areas. We made our way down to the Ocean Beach Esplanade which was a quiet long rocking beach with lots of kelp and star fish in the waters. There were also some pretty big Herons too.
From here we drove as far north as we could without taking another ferry. So we stopped at Egmont that is well known for its Skookumchuck Narrows. Boating is a favourite past time here, as is kayaking and surfing the narrows. It was pretty calm today as we did not time our arrival with the tides.
On our way back we made a stop at Half Moon Bay. Here there are over million dollar homes with perfectly landscaped gardens and tree lined streets.
We then made our next stop at Sechelt, where we paid a visit to the First Nation totems at the southern end of the long beach off Sinku Drive. These were well weathered having been erected since 2000.
Our last stop was at Davies Beach; another rocky edition, this time with lots of old drift wood on the beach as well. It also seemed to be frequented by dancing locals with a bit of a hippie vibe!
We made it back to the ferry, but had to wait about an hour and a half for the next ferry. looks like they canceled to 7-8pm run because there just wasn't enough folks travelling back to Horseshoe Bay. So we hung out at the ferry terminal, eating pistachios, enjoying the views of Mount Elphinestone and the Coast Mountains.
On the ferry heading back across Howe Sound, the sky lit up with the sunset glow. A perfect goodbye to the Sunshine Coast.
It was a pretty full day. And we almost didn't eat dinner as we were snacking all day on various nuts, gums, and other snacks... But we did manage to find a Vietnamese restaurant called Pho You in the East Village open till late. Plus the food was pretty good too!
We will sleep well tonight!
Day 13 -
XXX
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