Vancouver Island Part 1 (Victoria)

Having seen the cost of travelling to Vancouver Island using the standard Greyhound buses (I think it was around $50-) I decided to go the el' cheapo option of pt'ing it (pt for those who don't know refers to the public transport system, usually only slightly more expensive than walking)..

Turned out to be a bit of a journey (3 buses and a ferry ride) but a heck of a lot cheaper to get to Victoria, BC (In all about $15-) as well as a being a bit of an adventure all of it's own, especially when a couple of the buses wouldn't stop for me...

But once I arrived in Vancouver I got to see some fantastic scenery including for some bizarre reason (though slightly more understandable than the pandas in Washington, DC) a whole bunch of randomly painted killer whale statues on street corners... ;-)

But one thing that was very cool about arriving on Victoria aside from the beautiful weather (I actually got sunburnt!) was I had made it! I have actually been to both ends of the Trans-Canada Hwy, all 7,762 (I think that's how long, feel free to correct me though) kms of it!

Though I do feel like a bit of a cheat as I didn't actually travel the full length of the hwy, there was that short flight from Halifax to Calgary (though I had gone overland from Toronto to Halifax)..



Left: Start of Trans-Canada Hwy at St John's,
Newfoundland
Right: Other end of Trans-Canada Hwy at Victoria,
British Columbia

Acupuncture
Most of my time on Vancouver Island seemed to spent lazing around and enjoying the beach (I fell asleep while sunbathing and hence the sunburn), but while I was there I'd developed a chest infection (cough, shallow breathing and all that), so considering I had to soon fly to the UK and knowing this could effect the flight for me I sought medical attention.
I ended up going to a Chinese medical practitioner, and I received my first ever acupuncture!  Some simple info for everyone:

• It doesn't hurt


• I actually felt better after it (though that could of been more from the
  nice relaxing atmosphere and massage)


• I had 7 needles in me while I was lying on my back


• About 8 needles while I was on my front


• 2 of those needles where in my ankles

And that my friends concludes my experiences of Victoria, BC...  Coming
up next is Tofino (a very funky town!)
B