A theme of this grand odyssey has established itself early and with gusto, this being the need to exist on a budget.

After several days of parking fines, plush ferries, and one hygienic intervention courtesy of Airbnb, the need assumed an ever more pressing gravity upon arrival at the first major city on our route: Vancouver, BC.

We scrimped so hard that I thought it appropriate to share tips on the subject. So, here is how we coped:

• Accommodation: Overnight parking on Granville Island. Pay the measly sum of $15 for 24 hours of quiet luxury in one of Vancouver’s most under appreciated hideaways. Escape the downtown tourist trap and take in views of the city’s less trodden waterways, all only a quick jaunt over the Granville Street Bridge from Vancouver main.
• Washing: False Creek Community Center. Three minutes’ walk from the car park mentioned above, this charming centre complete with community vibe offers hot showers, a sauna, and fitness centre – all for $4.75. BYO soap.

• Travel: Mobi Vancouver Bike Share. Though you have to download an app for this activity (the phone battery required for which ofc comes at a premium when sleeping in a car park), you won’t regret it when you’re cruising through some otherwise out of the way neighbourhood in search of falafel and feeling the wind in your hair. Cost: $7.50 for 24 hours of max 30 mins rides.
• Nature: Stanley Park. Cruise through Stanley Park’s 405 hectares of lush woodland for your dose of pollen and panoramic views of the city & Bay. Remain in the car to avoid parking fees, or else it’s a quick park and dash to Prospect Point Lookout for your required photographic memento.
• Culture: Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG). Swing by CAG for a taste of Canadian contemporary art from emerging local artists you might not have heard of. Enjoy all this visual stimulation without reaching for your purse because admission is 100% free.
• Coffee/snacks: Nelson the Seagull. Coffee here is deliciously inexpensive. Lots of space for digital nomads to recharge their batteries and ponder the point of their pursuits. Offset the indulgence of your coffee break by participating in the cafe’s scheme of paying for an extra coffee, so that someone unable to afford it can collect one free of charge.
• Materialism: Haven; Livestock; Neighbour; Roden Gray. Sample the high life by visiting Vancouver’s wealth of hip stores for clothing/furniture/books etc, and leaving without actually buying things.
• Food: Freshslice Pizza. $1.50 per slice and, as one google reviewer put it, ‘Delicious. lol’.
• Entertainment: Live music at Guilt & Co. Rest your weary bones in this dark and cosy joint, and enjoy live music most nights of the week. Come thru when the entrance fee is ‘pay what you can’, and whatever you decide to fork over goes straight to the performer(s).

There you have it. Not an exhaustive list but you will be pleasantly exhausted should you try to cram all the above into one short city break. Get in touch if you know of any other fun & free Vancouver fundamentals!

#vanlife #underthetarp

If all the excitement of this sporadically updated website wasn’t enough, we’ve only gone and got another blog going! It’s called Under the tarp, and it can be found right here: under-the-tarp.tumblr.com

Here are some pictures of #vanlife activities #underthetarp:

Hello again!

Two outwardly unassuming words that mark the beginning of the ever-difficult follow-up blog post; hoping that this one is as well liked as the similarly tricky debut post.

The good news to report, for those concerned either way, is that last week I successfully chartered an aircraft to take me and some of my possessions across land and sea to the city of Seattle, Washington, USA. From there me and my traveling companion, long-time pal Finbar, have navigated a course to Vancouver Island. This is where I am located as I write this spiel.

The gentle pitter-patter of April showers on loose tarpaulin and metal provides a soundtrack to these outpourings; the reason being that another success story of my first week here in North America is our acquisition of the Ford E-350 van-cum-hotel, which will be home to me and Finbar for the next ten weeks.

This is an idea that has taken some getting used to for both of us. But after a busy week of last-minute purchases and furtive planning, as well as the swift dissolution of what cheerful nonchalance I’d brought with me on the flight over, we now face the prospect of the open road with equally open minds. 

The sense of freedom is tremendous. Augmented by the immensity of the North American continent, it is this seemingly limitless scope for adventure that propels us forward.

But this not without reservation. There is a loneliness to this land of plenty, a kind of overarching intolerance of mistake making that is all too apparent even in Lefty cities like Seattle. You only need to ride the bus at night to notice the desperate gulf that separates one citizen from another.

I don’t mean to suggest that this is revolutionary reportage. Even ol’ Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and Americanist extraordinaire, observed in his 19th century treatise on democracy in the US: ‘The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle’. I think he might have seen this as a positive, as the motivational force behind the triumph of a new nation, but today his words feel less optimistic.

For me, this journey will be a means to muse on such questions, to dissect whatever romantic notions of the Western United States persist in popular culture and in the recesses of my own hazy imaginings.

Stay tuned!

#vanlife #underthetarp

Hello! and welcome.

You have stumbled upon what is surely to be one of the more engaging aspects of my ongoing interaction with the internet.

Beginning in April, I am embarking upon a journey through the USA in search of culture and a better version of myself. I will be using this ‘diary’ as a space to record musings on any exploits, escapades or episodes I have along the way.

I anticipate there will be many, so please do stay tuned!

Until then,

Tom