will i am's delayed diary

So far, we spent our time in Banff National Park. But that's not the only park there. Neighbouring it are Jasper and Yoho National Park. KH decided that Lake Louise would be our base for easy access to all the sights that we wanted to see. Our itinerary brought us out to the Athabasca Glacier at Jasper, just 130 km away. We started out early to avoid the crowds and packed lunch because the food options there were limited and expensive ( its in the middle of no where with zero cellphone reception ). Arrived at the Ice Fields Centre at about 10:00am and thankfully the crowds weren't there yet. Bought our tickets and lined up for the glacier tour. A bus brought us closer to the glacier, a depot where all Ice Explorers were located. Those huge Ice Explorers were specially designed to handle the terrain ( could handle super steep inclines ) and inflict minimal damage on the glacier ( huge rubber tyres ). Our driver was an Austrian dirty blonde called Jiske ( don't mind jiz

Our first morning in Lake Louise was a primer for the weather to come. Just getting to the car required three layers of clothing. And our breath came out in puffs. Grabbed breakfast at the Visitors Centre, the only commercial centre in the village. At first we looked at the cold sandwiches in the supermarket but decided against that ( like it wasn't cold enough outside ) and went queuing at Laggan's , the bakery next door. Got ourselves some croissants and a sandwich and most importantly hot coffee. Felt really good going down. It's refreshing to note that in Canada, even small cafes provide gluten-free choices and are able to advise on food allergy issues. The first attraction of the day was Lake Moraine with its beautiful blue-green waters. Actually most of the lakes around there have the same hue due to the fact that they are glacier-fed. Really, really fine rock sediment ( called rock flour ) in the lake water cause only certain wavelengths to be reflected, hence the

Fearing a whole lot of checkouts the next morning, KH went to the front desk before midnight to settle the bill. It was a mistake really, cause housekeeping thought we had left and kept calling and knocking. Ugh. The next morning, we got a cab easily enough and went to Vancouver Airport (YVR) to catch our flight to Calgary (YYR). For the first time, used a self service system where you actually print your own baggage tags and lug them to the belt. So kampung of me right? Ate a breakfast combination of Tim Horton's and A&W , and I must say that the former was the better choice. Bumped into a guy that I had met at dinner the night before and finally met his wife. Strange that she chose not to attend. Since she flew all the way with him, might as well watch him go on stage to get his certificate! The flight was just an hour but it was delayed because they had to eject the luggage of passengers that didn't turn up. Gave me enough time to watch "Maleficent" on the