Vancouver

Vancouver is a city with a great reputation in the western world, so much so that the word has spread into the Eastern world. The city not only houses a large Asian population but its trophy properties are being snapped up as investments or second homes by the Asian monied class. I arrived with the sense of annoyance one gets when arriving too late to a really great party; 'what on earth is  going on on here ... what the hell did I miss?' However, the more appropriate question in Vancouver's case is whether the party is in fact over?

Before being allowed to enter the city I was treated to a wonderful striptease as the city peeled off its layers. Exiting the ferry I was immediately impressed by Vancouver's location by the water and at the foot of lofty green mountain-sides. I rode into town along the curvaceous and pretty Marine Drive; one of those leafy byways that shelters prime properties from views of the road while at the same time opening them up to superb ocean vistas. I then had to cross the massive Lionsgate Bridge to downtown. The bridge's span was as wide as Vancouver's welcoming arms hinting at what was to come. It was only after passing the silky waters of English Bay beach and the bush of Stanley Park that I was at last allowed to enter what seemed to be the promised land. I had never seen the likes of it before; a staggering metropolis of modern proportions whose skyline stood like hair on end in a bath of shimmering waters.

My arrival into the city coincided with Gay Pride weekend making accommodation as tight as some guys' trousers. It added a carnival atmosphere to the city with Davie Street simply being off the hook morning, noon and night. I ended up staying in Gastown on the east-side of the city. This part of town has a more boho feel with some great night-life. The city is doing its best to promote it, however, two blocks away is one of the largest homeless populations I have come across yet. I'm not sure what happens next as I have never seen anything like it. On the one-hand the city wants to 'clean up' the area, on the other it is liberal enough not to police it preferring to turn a blind-eye to what happens there so as not to criminalise people who are already burdened. Vancouver's liberal attitude, its booming economy and its hospitable climate make it an attractive destination for homeless people across the nation. The problem is that there are so many of them. Trying to scrounge a buck is an extremely challenging job in Vancouver as there is so much competition. Inevitably, what one saves on a cheaper hostel one loses in charity. However, as tragic as it is they are a fascinating bunch to watch. On the one hand you have the the homeless who are totally destitute and hold no hope. On the other there are those who try not to engage that class of homeless as it drags them down. These people try to maintain their health and dignity when all around others are losing theirs. Some prefer to beg, others prefer to industriously push a trolley of wares. Being offered the choice of three snowboards in the middle of summer for twenty bucks had to make me laugh. The abandoned Indian kid with mental illness who could not count on family or friends for support had to make me cry. The guy who'd do fifty push-ups for a dollar made me wonder about the type of people who actually let him.

While homelessness is the cause I most identify with, a week of living in the conflicting party and poverty atmosphere of Gastown left me wanting to see another side to the city. I had been wandering the back-alleys and lanes trying to capture the city's counter-culture scene before I took a step too far. Having already passed some crack-heads in the lane-ways I stepped back out onto the street only for it to be full of junkies and homeless. There was a squad car parked up and there it was; an awesome shot of dealers and junkies injecting across the street with the cop car in the shot. The first one I took was too distant so I was sizing up a closer shot across the hood of the car, when my periphery sensed a guy circling around behind me. I turned around to face him. It was a junkie asking me what the hell I was doin'. I told him that I was just taking a shot of the car, however, he was smart enough to know my game. Thankfully, I had just the unsuccessful large shot of the car, which I showed him and deleted. A conversation about cameras followed. Suffice to say I soon turned around and retreated to where I came from preferring not to wander any deeper into West Hastings territory with my nude camera. It would have made a great photo but I was not being fair to the guys in the doorway.

Instead of checking out another part of town I stayed in Gastown because of the night-life. The city has a very relaxed ambience and is good fun during the summer with lots of events. I particularly enjoyed watching the original 'Karate Kid' movie in the open-air cinema in Stanley Park, something we just can't do in Dublin because our climate isn't warm enough. Indeed, Vancouver has many strong points, however, I couldn't shake my first impressions that something was amiss. There is something odd about a city that tolerates drugs but not drinking in public or jay-walking. In addition its architecture is ridiculously modern. This marks it out as a town without any history and thus, ripe for invasion by people who are looking for a fresh start. Not a problem in itself necessarily although it may suggest that these people have failed elsewhere. I realise such sentiment is harsh but the city can't seem to shake the fact that it feels like a teenager trying to understand its own identity; being more impressed by ideas from the outside as opposed to forces from within. Its location is superb and it is this as well as its successful economy that appeals to people. However, it is a city built on a service economy and it is this which just adds to the lack of substance to the place. Any city whose 'foundation' is built on the intangible world of bank accounts, insurance policies and legal clauses is a house of cards. From what I can make out there is nothing else going on here. These entities are simply printing presses and while they are printing dollar bills at the moment, the sense is that this is a monster that is feeding on itself and growing into a bigger monster before realising that it is eating itself alive. As is the norm in such scenarios property prices have taken off and there is a wage-price spiral. In the meantime, the city is quite serene and unaware of its fate.

I may be wrong but there is something that feels strange about Vancouver. This is evidenced in its Arts scene, which is purely contemporary and lacking in any sophistication. The city feels very flat and two-dimensional. It lacks texture and that certain 'je ne sais quoi' that truly great cities possess. The people are great but the whole place just smacks of being middle of the road. I really wanted to be seduced by Vancouver but in terms of its reputation it doesn't stack up for me. She is like a young temptress relying on her good looks. Of course, true beauty lies more than skin-deep.

I have no wifi on my net-book so I will upload my holiday snaps in time.

'til soon

Marco