Fog That Wraps Around Vancouver

There's been some dramatic photos of Vancouver these days

Vancouver has had over a week of fog, a very unusual occurrence, and hopefully tomorrow evening will be the last day. Environment Canada has issued fog advisory warnings for pedestrians and motorists to be careful on the roads because at times there can be zero visibility.

The fog is caused by a ridge of high pressure, trapping moisture; one meteorologist explained it like steam trapped in a pot covered with a lid. In the past several days there has been hardly any wind to blow the fog away.

The Lions Gate Bridge enveloped in fog

As a result Vancouverites have been hearing a lot of foghorns, as ships depend on them to navigate waterways when there is limited visibility.

"In restricted visibility situations, such as on foggy days, these international regulations require anchored ships to sound their horn every minute and transiting ships to sound their horn every two minutes," explained Port of Vancouver spokesperson Sarah Matek.

Driving around the city enveloped with fog can be daunting at times, with some areas where you can hardly see anything, and others are clear. By evening the fog rolls in again and driving in the dark without cars in front of you can also be kind of scary. 

Last night an Uber driver told me of other motorists crossing the road lines into incoming traffic because they couldn't see where they were going!

The fog may dissipate by Thursday night

That said it's been a boon for photographers, both amateur and professional to take some dramatic shots of Vancouver.

What is Enshittification and What to Do About It

Doctorow (right) at the Vancouver Writers Festival tonight

The Vancouver Writers Festival started earlier this week that features over 85 events talking books with authors, workshops for aspiring writers, and encouraging kids to read and write more.

I just came back from a book talk with Cory Doctorow, Canadian journalist, author of fiction and non-fiction and activist in the tech realm about his latest work called Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It.

He is quite the prolific person, who says his anxiety keeps him up and so he channels that nervous energy into producing a lot of work. In 2020 alone he published four books. What was I doing in that same period?!

The crowd at the Arts Club Theatre in Granville Island was all excited to hear what he had to say and you really had to focus because he said so much because he added context and explanation to be able to answer questions or expand on an idea.

While he and the moderator sat on stage, above was a giant screen and on it were projected hilarious Photoshopped collages poking fun at the tech world, with lots of sh*t emojis, and how the world is going to sh*t.

Back in 2022 he coined the word enshittification, which was declared Macquarie Dictionary's word of the year in 2024. According to the dictionary, the definition is: "The gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking."

Sound familiar? 

Twitter, or rather X is a good example, so is Facebook, Google, and Amazon.

On Facebook we used to see pictures our friends posted or their dogs or their trips and birthday parties, but now we see more ads from companies promoting products and services we don't want. Or how you look for something on Amazon and the first things it lists are items that aren't what you want but you have to keep scrolling down forever just to find something resembling what you want; meanwhile for the company selling on Amazon, they are constantly undercut by the behemoth making it less feasible to do business online.

This is enshittification.

Doctorow says part of it is due to monopolies these tech companies have on us; they suck us into buying their products and services and we're so invested it's hard to get out, or we can't gain more control over our gadgets like iPhones.

He says on the App Store there used to be an app where people could post information they had about ICE agents to warn others to avoid being "kidnapped and sent to a gulag", Doctorow says. But now Apple has removed this app, presumably to comply with Donald Trump...

Meanwhile Doctorow also talks about companies like John Deere that have agricultural machinery that practically all farmers use and fix themselves. But now these machines are so hi-tech that they can't be turned on or work again unless a John Deere technician goes to the farm to type in a special code to unlock it, and each visit costs thousands of dollars.

At one point Uber was toying with the idea of charging people more if their phone batteries were low on power. That's because Uber found that those customers were more willing to pay for surge pricing. It denied this and then later quietly dropped this extra charge all together.

The other problem is that Canada does not have enough competition nor regulation to rein in these companies. Doctorow personally blames former Conservative heritage minister James Moore for not doing enough to help consumers have more control over technology they use.

While Doctorow thinks we should have fixed things a decade ago, he says now is the time to act. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is up for renewal and Canada should demand more instead of just rolling over to get any deal from the US. 

He says the average person can get off Twitter (or X), but are others going to join you on another platform? It's hard. But Doctorow says it's time to become an activist and join a movement to oppose enshittification of companies and demand that governments give us back control of the technology we use. Write to your Members of Parliament about this issue, and support the Canadian anti-monopoly project, Civic Open Media, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, he says.

"The way you get rid of them [people like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk] is by fixing the politics, not by reforming or replacing Elon Musk. The problem with Mark Zuckerberg isn't that the wrong person is the unelected social media czar for life of 4 billion people. The problem is that that job exists. We don't need to fix Zuck. We need to abolish Zuck," Doctorow said, to applause and cheers in the audience. 

Immigrant Frustrations and Hopes

Though expensive, Vancouver attracts many immigrants

Whenever I take Uber, I like to chat with the driver and it makes the ride more interesting.

This evening a 38-year-old Iranian immigrant picked me up from downtown Vancouver so we had a good 20 minutes to chat.

He drove a Toyota bZ4X, an electric SUV, which he said he has been driving for three years and likes the car very much. It can go 430km before the battery needs to be charged.

Before moving to Vancouver, he lived in Montreal for four years, but couldn't stand the winters. He loves Vancouver very much, despite the city being expensive to live in.

I asked if he liked driving Uber and he admitted it was a necessity now because he was laid off his job last week. For two years he worked at a company that makes aluminium doors and window frames. He not only designed them, but also worked on the shop floor. 

"Life is better for second generation, not immigrants," he said, and then revealed that he was actually a trained architect in Iran, but could not get work in his field here because he did not have the license and stamp.

I suggested he could still work in architecture, and he said he could as a draftsman, but those jobs only pay around C$22 an hour, and he has a daughter who is three years old to support.

Nevertheless he was proud to say that his daughter was Quebecois, as she was born in Montreal, and it seemed like he was putting his hopes on her to succeed further than him in Canada.

With Mark Carney as Prime Minister and plans to build some 500,000 homes every year, perhaps my Uber driver would be back to making aluminium doors and windows, I suggested, as we were nearing my destination.

He didn't sound hopeful, but I was. Carney is intent on building homes and definitely using Canadian building materials.

I left saying I hoped he would be back at his old job soon. He seemed grateful at least someone was rooting for him.

Top 10 Bizarre Emergency Calls

Got a problem with your avocados? Don't call 911 please!

We're a day away from 2025 and the year-end lists have appeared.

Probably the most bizarre one is from E-Comm -- the 911 line that provides emergency communications for British Columbia.

They are the front-line staff who get the calls and then help them get the assistance they need in crisis situations -- like police, fire and ambulance.

But not everyone who calls realises their "emergencies" are not considered life and death critical.

So here is the Top 10 list of calls that did not belong on 911:

10. Domesticated-bunny seen in a park.

9. Requesting help removing a wasp's nest.

8.  Phone left in an Uber.

7. Box of 38 avocados purchased were rotten.

6. Requesting technical support.

5. Complaining the power was out.

4. Seeking directions to a 24/7 Shoppers Drug Mart.

3. McDonald's wouldn't open its doors (at 5am).

2. Dry cleaners stained a shirt.

1. Neighbour wearing too much cologne.

E-Comm also gets a lot of calls from people who accidentally pocket dialled 911 on their smartphone or smartwatch.

"The biggest message [is] that if somebody is accidentally calling into 911, and they noticed, just to stay on the line with us. An emergency police call taker will make sure that they're safe, and then we can disconnect the call," said Laura Fiddler, an emergency call taker.

Swift's Mega Eras Tour Ends in Vancouver

Swift wowed fans in Vancouver for her last three concerts

Yesterday when we were waiting at Palm Springs International Airport for our flight back to Vancouver, we spotted some Swifties in their nifty blue sweatshirts that said "Taylor Swift The Eras Tour".

They were probably from Palm Springs and scored tickets to the last three concerts of the Eras Tour and flew to Vancouver this past weekend.

Flurry of friendship bracelet trading

We spotted at least 10 Swifties in their blue sweatshirts and one with a beige hoodie, so there were probably even more on the flight.

Swift ended her 150 concerts spread over five continents to more than 10 million fans on Sunday night at BC Place stadium. 

This morning fans were gushing to the media about how genuine Swift is, how amazing concert the concert was, as the artist performed practically non-stop for three and a half hours. 

Earlier one fan had shelled out C$1,500 in tickets only to discover that she had been scammed. After she was interviewed on the radio, an anonymous donor gifted her two tickets and she was crying in gratitude. 

A friend tried desperately to get tickets for her and her 13-year-old daughter to go, but couldn't; the went downtown anyway to soak up the vibes with thousands of others and still had a good time.

Fans decked out in Taylor Swift outfits

Destination Vancouver had projected the city would get a boost of some C$157 million from Swift's concerts and it probably happened thanks to jacked up prices for hotels, parking spaces, Uber, food and drinks. 

But Swifties were pretty much prepared to shell out to see their idol who they have grown up with for over 10 years. There were lots of mothers and daughters in the audience, fathers with daughters, all buoyed by Swift's magnetism and energy. 

For many of them her vibe is that of positivity, girl power, friendship (the friendship bracelets), and kindness. She is known to donate to food banks in every city she performed in, the amount is unknown. That inspired one fan to try to raise 1.3 million for food banks in Canada. 

Although Swift's Eras Tour is over, fans are still basking in their memories of the concerts, and by the looks of it, for some time to come, while Swift probably made over US$2 billion in the past two years. With her 35th birthday just days away, she has a lot to celebrate.

HK Leader Asks Public How to get Tourists Back

Lee visited Tai Po to solicit ideas to get more tourists in HK

The Hong Kong government is looking for ideas on how to entice more tourists to come to the city, and even enlisted the help of the public for suggestions.

At a gathering in a primary school in Tai Po, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his ministers, including Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung sat in on the session attended by 120 residents.

The recommendations?

These colourful neon signs have disappeared

Have locals standing by in touristy areas like the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade to help visitors take selfies; turn Lam Tsuen River into something
similar to the Seine, and a new Hong Kong mascot, perhaps McDull and have his porcine face featured in fireworks displays are restaurants.

At the end of the sharing session, Lee observed: "Hong Kong people are smart, you have a lot of great ideas. Tell us about your projects, and we will do our best to support them."

Why are people thinking so small? 

One of the bigger issues is Hong Kong is not a city people are thinking of visiting because it's so expensive to get there compared to pre-Covid. Why is it so costly? Can the government find out and fix this problem? 

While the McDull idea is a start in terms of having a mascot, no one outside of Hong Kong knows what this pig is about. 

No one outside of HK knows who McDull is

In addition, many previous tourists remember the city for its neon signs and yet now the vast majority of these colourful lights are gone ironically for safety reasons. Nathan Road is hardly photogenic anymore.

And how about making taxis and the drivers more friendly and accessible? Cash is not something overseas tourists carry anymore -- it's credit cards or other digital payments. Taxis cannot be stuck in the past when customers are used to Uber and mobile payments. 

So many details that need to be improved on, but if prospective tourists think Hong Kong too expensive to get to, then these visitors won't be coming anytime soon...

From Afghanistan to San Francisco

The San Francisco Ferry Terminal building

When our Uber driver picked us up from the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building, we told him we had just taken the ferry from Alameda and he asked how much it was. When we told him the price he said that was great and perhaps he could take his children on it.

Then he explained he had six -- SIX children -- ranging from 20 years old to five years old.

Our driver, named Shafiullah, said he loved children, which is why he had many! One wonders how his wife feels about having such a big brood. Nevertheless, he said he enjoyed playing with them and liked how the youngest always asked for a toy when he came home.

Shafiullah later explained he worked as an Uber driver for three consecutive days. The family lives in Sacramento, and he drives up to San Francisco to find rides because they pay better, though it also means he sleeps in his car (parked in a safe place). 

He complained that eating in San Francisco was expensive; he also needs to eat halal food. He couldn't bring home-cooked food with him because it would spoil. It seems like he makes enough money? His oldest is in college now and hopefully will be able to help out with the family finances soon.

We talked a bit about the election and Shafiullah said that he recently became an American citizen and didn't know who to vote for. "I asked my friends and some say Trump, and some say Harris," he said. Really? In a deep blue state? 

I didn't suggest who he should vote for, but as an American citizen he should exercise his right to vote, and the first thing to do was register! He said his son, his wife, and he were eligible to vote and I encouraged him that they should take part.

He said he left Afghanistan seven years ago and terribly misses his family back home, though he said it is too dangerous for him to go back. A friend speculated perhaps Shafiullah was a translator who worked for the US Army and managed to get pulled out along with his family.

In any event Shafiullah was happy to be in the US despite the difficulties he faced. That's the American story, isn't it?

Driverless Cars Take You Around

There's no one sitting in the driver's seat!

While we were waiting for our Uber to arrive at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building, we saw a white car with a strange contraption on top of the car -- and no one in the driver's seat!

It was a Waymo, the world's first autonomous ride-hailing service. So basically Uber without the driver!

We saw two people get in, one in the back, one in the passenger side, and once the road was clear, it signalled to turn left into the lane and drove off!

Two brave souls got into the car...

Waymo is formerly the Google self-driving car project, which launched in 2015. The following year it was rebranded as Waymo. In 2020 it was the first company to offer a driverless ride-hailing service. 

The car, a Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, relies on artificial intelligence and Google Street View technology to navigate roads.

But is it safe?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 150 crashes by Waymo by July 2021, though most of the crashes did not have injuries. In February this year, a Waymo struck a cyclist in San Francisco, and then most recently, there are complaints the Waymos are very noisy when they self-park in a parking lot near residents because the cars make a lot of noise when backing up. 

San Francisco was where I saw a robot make coffee five years ago, and now a driverless car. 

What's next?!

Taxi Industry Encourages Cabbies to be Polite

Wong encourages drivers to be more courteous to passengers

The Hong Kong taxi industry is trying to help cab drivers improve their image by kicking off a campaign to encourage them to be more friendly to their passengers.

A three-month campaign held by the Hong Kong Taxi Council will officially start on June 11 with singer and actor Louis Koo Tin-lok showing cabbies how to be polite to during a ride. The campaign coincides with the Hong Kong Tourism Board's own effort to get residents to go the extra mile and be visitor-friendly.

Koo will be celebrity ambassador for campaign

"We hope the Tourism Board's campaign message: 'let's go the extra mile' will guide and remind taxi drivers of the importance of being polite," said council chairman Ryan Wong Cheuk-pong.

The council is currently recruiting ambassadors to be at taxi stands and distribute pamphlets and souvenirs to remind cabbies to be polite. 

One wonders what the souvenirs would be and how receptive the drivers would be of this reminder.

"Drivers often work alone in their vehicles without colleagues or supervisors to provide guidance. They may spend most of their time focused on driving without having any conversations with anyone," Wong said.

"Their attention to courtesy and communication with passengers may gradually diminish over time."

He really is giving them a huge benefit of the doubt.

Wong also admitted the exercise may not necessarily bring about a drastic improvement that would be hard to measure.

"We do not expect a short-term measure like this will bring a drastic change, but I think even small improvements can significantly enhance the image of the taxi industry, which may be an even more important matter," he said.

The three-month campaign kicks off June 11

Why doesn't Wong himself be a taxi ambassador and get immediate feedback on this initiative?

Will the cabbies listen to him? 

It sounds like the taxi industry is on the defensive and trying the charm offensive to win back people's trust in taking cabs over Uber, but really most taxi drivers won't change. Their cars are ancient, the cabbies themselves are too set in their ways and they don't have many incentives to smarten up. They don't have the innate desire to serve their passengers well.

No campaign or celebrity is going to change that.

Speaking of which, how did Louis Koo get roped into starring in this campaign?

HK Taxis Still Attacking Popular Uber

When will the government finally decide on Uber in the city?

It is really quite amazing that the Hong Kong government STILL has not resolved the issue of having ride-hailing apps in the city ever since Uber entered the market in 2014.

How can it be that the so-called "world's international city" has made ride-hailing services like Uber illegal?

Residents prefer taking Uber over taxis

As a number of people take Uber, they like the service because the vehicles are clean, the drivers are courteous and get them from point A to point B without the smell of cigarettes, listening to taxi drivers' rants and uncomfortable seats. Oh and they have seatbelts that work too.

Everyone is also made accountable -- the customer can rate the driver and vice versa. And the rides are paid via credit cards. Only a few Hong Kong taxis are accepting Octopus cards...

When it comes to taxis, there is no outlet to complain effectively and in a timely manner. Nor is there any kind of punishment let alone motivation for taxi drivers to improve their behavour and the condition of their vehicles.

The biggest complaints of taxis are refusing to take a potential customer, and overcharging; and why is it that they all seem to be unavailable at 4pm?

And yet the authorities seem to be at the mercy of the taxi industry. Recently, some taxi drivers have posed as Uber customers and instructing them to drop them off where the police are to get the ride-hailing drivers into trouble.

The public finds this tactic reprehensible and more annoyed with taxi drivers in general, and yet the government has not stopped them, or found a viable solution.

Taxi drivers worry about value of licenses

For taxi drivers it boils down to how much they had to shell out to buy a taxi license, which is now valued at HK$3 million (US$384,490); there are concerns that legalising Uber would devalue the taxi license.

Some say there is enough room for everyone to co-exist, while others say the government is reluctant to affect the value of the taxi licenses. Why is it that a taxi license has become an investment commodity? And we're in 2024, taxis do not have the monopoly when it comes to getting around, with the MTR, bus, tram, Star Ferry and now Uber.

The other issue is that the government officials who need to decide on this issue have not taken either mode of transport -- they have their own chauffeured cars. If they have experienced what it's like to take a taxi and an Uber first hand, then they will see why people prefer the latter over the former...

Short-Term Rental License Fees to Jump almost Tenfold

Many homes and condos in Vancouver are used for Airbnbs

Vancouver City Hall is trying to avoid raising property taxes by finding other areas to get revenue. Starting next year, taking an Uber or renewing a dog license will go up, but the biggest increase will be short-term rental license fees, in other words homeowners who run Airbnbs.

The current price of the business license for short-term rentals is CAD$109 and it will surge to CAD$1,000 in 2024.

City staff had recommended increasing the fee to CAD$450, but ABC city councillor Lenny Zhou proposed the massive jump in short-term rental license fees -- that was passed in a vote -- in a bid to turn these living units into long-term rentals to ease the housing crisis.

Zhou proposed fees jump to CAD$1,000

Many suites and homes have been used for Airbnb, which in many cases is more lucrative than renting them out, and in Vancouver it is actually illegal.

One home on the westside I've seen has around five rooms that are used for Airbnb, most of them sharing bathrooms, with strict rules for guests to be quiet in the evenings and to use a passcode to get in.

In other cases neighbours of homes or condos that have Airbnbs have complained about parties or strangers coming in and out of the place.

As a result Zhou is hoping the CAD$1,000 license fee will deter people from making extra money from Airbnbs.

Patrick Baldwin has been an Airbnb host for five years and says the new fee will affect his family's ability to live in Vancouver, as the income he makes from Airbnb makes his mortgage affordable.

"In a city where home ownership is nearly impossible for young families, we have been able to make that work, but these new changes are going to make it even harder for people like us to achieve or maintain home ownership," he wrote in an email to a local news outlet.

"It really does feel like a slap in the face."

These spaces should be rented out, not for Airbub

However, supporters of the fee point out that it wouldn't take long for hosts like Baldwin to make the CAD$1,000 back, and besides, it's the cost of doing business.

These supporters also suggest more should be done to crackdown on these illegal short-term rentals, as some 4,500 are listed online. 

But Sarah Hicks, Vancouver's chief license inspector, says the city's short-term rental enforcement team is comprised of just six enforcement clerks, one enforcement co-ordinator, and one dedicated property use inspector.

Hicks says they mostly do digital-based enforcement by reviewing online listings and respond to complaints filed online.

Sounds like they are severely short-staffed and if the municipal government wants to be serious about shutting down these Airbnbs, surely more people need to be employed in this department? Or do they want to make more money from handing out these licenses?

Nevertheless it's a positive step forward for the city to move in this direction and hopefully it will lead to more living spaces being rented out to locals or foreign students who desperately need a roof over their heads in the months and years to come.

Review: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Imagine taking over a parade to sing Twist and Shout!

Yesterday I went back to my teens and re-watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off which was released in 1986 at the VIFF theatre downtown. The community theatre is having an 80s film festival, showing everything from Back to the Future and Ghostbusters, to Fatal Attraction, Sex, Lies and Videotape, and E.T.

The theatre was hardly full for the matinee, or maybe people were taking advantage of the nice (hot) weather?

Ferris persuades Cameron to take his dad's car

Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience re-watching something from 37 years ago. First off, it reminded me of how young and charming Matthew Broderick was, and how amazing it was that his character could pull off a sick day from school with such an elaborate plan as a teenager.

The other was all the antics he, his girlfriend Sloan and friend Cameron got up to in Chicago, from getting a table in a fine dining restaurant to catching the baseball in a Cubs game, and taking part in a parade -- on a weekday?

It was all a fantasy written by John Hughes, who had apparently finished the script in one week. That may explain why Ferris' character was quite flat, while his doting parents were just characters who had to be there because, well, they're his parents.

The only person who grows in the film is his friend Cameron, who starts off as someone who is sick all the time and then realises he needs to stop cowering in front of his domineering father and grow up. Meanwhile Ferris just seems to want to have fun all the time, and gets away with everything, much to the annoyance of his sister.

Contemplating art at the Art Institute of Chicago

In fact Ferris seems to dismiss Cameron's insecurities and moodiness which today feels insensitive. 

Perhaps this is why Broderick had trouble connecting with Ferris as a character as the time of filming, as Ferris didn't seem to care much about Cameron and his life problems while he hardly had any.

In any event it was enjoyable watching the school principal, Ed Rooney trying to catch out Ferris; he would probably still get away with it using today's technology like smartphones, Uber and maybe even ChatGPT?

What still stands the test of time is Ferris' statement at the beginning and the end of the film, which is very mature for a high school senior -- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

So true.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Written and Directed by John Hughes

98 minutes

Superficial Taxi Reforms

Taxis are the target of numerous complaints in Hong Kong

It is difficult to understand why the Hong Kong taxi industry has been so bad for so long. It's as if it's dying a long slow death, though the only saving grace is that the fares are very inexpensive compared to other major cities in the world.

Nevertheless there are so many complaints about the service, from taxi drivers wearing shirts sticking out, taking drags on cigarettes, to mostly elderly men who in recent months have fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed into sidewalks and pedestrians. 

Others take advantage of naive mainland tourists and take them on outrageous joy rides or give a lot of attitude to customers, making the ride tense and awkward.

Many find the drivers' attitudes unbearable

When you get into a taxi, you immediately sink several inches into your seat because so many other bottoms have sat there for decades, and the vehicle has not been replaced because the license costs a fortune.

Is it no wonder that Hong Kong residents prefer taking other ride-hailing services like Uber? The driver comes to you, the vehicle is very clean, you can choose to have music or not and give well-deserved tips. 

But instead the taxi industry wants the government to shut down services like Uber because it makes its own business look really bad.

The Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association claims it will reform its drivers by introducing a demerit system. But the association claims only a small number of drivers behave poorly.

The scheme will fine cabbies with three, five or 10 demerit points if they violate any of the 11 offences. If drivers accumulate 15 or more points within a two-year period, he or she will be disqualified from operating a taxi for three months.

Some have a lot of distractions from the road...

What are the 11 offences? They include overcharging, wilfully refusing or neglecting to accept a hire , using a route that is not the most direct one, and refusing to carry the number of passengers requested as long as the vehicle has the capacity to do so.

However there is no sign of reforming the annoying 4pm switch -- when taxis all over the city are unavailable from around 3.30pm till after 4pm because they need to take the car to the next driver. Why not have this staggered throughout the day so that people can still get access to taxis? Do they all have to switch over at the exact same time?

When this rule is changed and vehicles are updated then yes Hong Kong's taxi service will be improved. But for now people should have a choice of how they want to get from A to B. Taxis have to do better. Way better.

The Astronomical Price of Living in Kelowna

Kelowna's downtown is right by the lake with clear water!

Uber launched its service in Kelowna on June 6 so I was keen to try it out while I was there. On the way to downtown Kelowna, the driver, a Caucasian man in his 60s said the city was growing so fast that infrastructure could not keep up, and so Uber met the need.

He said public transportation didn't help and not everyone has a car.

A shop window motto to live by

We changed the topic to the weather and he said the best weather is now, as May it's still rainy, but gets very hot in July and August. Two years ago where there was a heat dome and 619 people, mostly elderly died in British Columbia. 

The driver said temperatures in Kelowna shot up to over 40 degrees. I remarked that no one must have gone out those few days and he said it was pretty quiet.

On the way back, a South Asian man in his 30s picked me up in his Rav 4 hybrid and he said the city was becoming more and more unaffordable. He said he arrived in 2017 and rented a two-bedroom apartment for C$700 a month. Now the same place costs a whopping C$2,200 to lease.

He said a four-bedroom house six years ago would have cost C$800,000, but now is C$1.5 million.

I asked how people could afford to live, and he said they had to work. Although I pointed out that salaries weren't going up as fast, he didn't have an answer. Perhaps for him, driving for Uber helped pay his bills.

When I asked about the population in Kelowna he said it was 300,000 but officially it's 156,800... but one can see the construction of numerous condo buildings on main streets densifying the city.

Some giant inflatables for kids to play with

Highway 97 is the main highway that goes through the city and everything is about a 15-20 minute drive away which is very convenient. Our hotel is near Orchard Park, a very large shopping mall, and it took about 15 minutes to get there by foot. It seems daunting to cross the road, particularly the highway, but as long as you're patient to wait for the light, then it's safe to cross the intersections.

The summer sales were in full swing when we checked out the mall yesterday and did our part in buoying the economy. One store selling children's clothes were up to 75 percent off, another shop had T-shirts half off so they were C$6.99, while a pair of pants at Baby Gap were supposed to be C$30 and was now $8.99.

It was interesting people watching at the mall. The girls who hung out together wore similar styles of clothing so they looked like twins, but no one dressed particularly well... which is probably what happens when you live in a relatively small city.

Meanwhile the downtown core is not too big and easily walkable. It's also conveniently located right next to Okanagan Lake, where residents and visitors can walk around part of the lake for exercise, or kids can play on the numerous playgrounds, basketball courts, fountains and even the small strip of beach, and there are several washrooms around too!

Sails by R. Dow-Reid

There's a memorial for the soldiers who died in both World Wars and the Korean War, and further down the waterfront is a giant white sculpture called Sails by R. Dow-Reid, installed in 1977.

Near there is the main street downtown where there's a Lululemon, banks and many cafes, fast-food outlets, and restaurants. We tried one called Bohemian Cafe that served mostly healthy food like roast chicken sandwiches, soups and rice bowls. 

We had the soup of the day, Moroccan Stew that was hearty and had a slight kick, as well as a banh mi -- well their version which was a flattened baguette with roasted chicken, cilantro and lime, pickled carrot, onion and jalapeno. I asked if the jalapeno could be taken out, but they said it was already mixed in. Mixed in?

When the sandwich arrived, the filling was indeed all mixed together, not the individual ingredients placed in the baguette in layers. But it was still delicious, also with a fresh chilli finish. 

How did people afford to live in this city when prices were almost comparable to Vancouver? How do they afford Lululemon and pay their rent or mortgage? It was quite baffling.

 

Picture of the Day: Lineup for Security at YVR

Down the hall and to the left to security

Why is Vancouver International Airport so busy?

Yes people are traveling again but to the point where the security line goes on forever?

We arrived at YVR at 6.35am (thank goodness the Uber driver was really early) and then there was a massive line for checking-in luggage. Luckily Air Canada staff were on hand to man the kiosks and she helped us print out the luggage tags and put them on our bags, which took less than five minutes.

Then we lined up to put our luggage on the conveyor belt, and then our oversized baggage at another conveyor belt that was relatively straight forward.

But then it was time to go through the security line and it not only came out the main door of the security room, but down the hallway and into the check-in area near the entrance of the airport.

That was at 6.55am.

So many people have early flights to Honolulu, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas... and those were only some of them before or at 9am.

The line did move, but it was a real test of patience just to finally inch our way into the security area. A woman in uniform waved us to follow her, thinking she would get us ahead of some people, but instead we were swabbed and placed back in the line -- far behind the people who were in front of us before.

People can jump the queue if they have Nexus card, or if they book for a time slot in advance online with YVR, but I have tried that and it is always booked up. 

Thank goodness our Uber driver was early so we had more than enough time to get through security and then US passport control in over an hour to have over half an hour to spare at the gate...