Tag: Stanley Park

It’s not often that we get to combine business and pleasure. I mean, for a travel writer that gets paid to discover the world, okay, that’s another thing altogether – but for the rest of us, well, the ability to enjoy a little downtime while working away from the office, is something to cherish and an opportunity to make a work trip into something special! After a week spent enjoying just such an incredible working-holiday in Vancouver, I simply had to write about it.

How not to prepare for a 7 hour flight with WestJet

Since a working-holiday still requires one to work (at some points, quite extensively), it is important to plan ahead and prep everything you need before departure. First there was the checklist: Computer? Check. All work documents on hand? Check. Social media scheduled to meet the time change? Check. Articles ready to publish upon arrival? Check. Oh, and passport, check. Now this would have been an ideal time to ensure that I had packed another item that I would later realize was missing – my health card. If you’re Canadian, you have one – I advise you travel with it at all time, lest you end up in a hospital late at night, as they threaten to bill you for hundreds of dollars – details to come.

Now, I had booked a flight with WestJet for under $500 round trip, a price that Canadians will tell you, ain’t bad for flying from almost one end of the country to the next (I said almost maritimers, calm yourselves). It seemed like the golden ticket: 7 hours to do some work, blog a little and then relax with a good movie. Well, that was the plan. In reality, my battery died as I was waiting to pre-board and it just so happens I had made a conscience (albeit stupid) decision not to bring a book (I have a bad habit of completely neglecting my work once I get a good book in my hand). Thus, I was forced, yes “forced”, to watch television for 7 hours straight. Hey, at least I had remembered to pack my headphones right? Admittedly, I forgot that WestJet doesn’t offer free movies and given my inability to sleep, I must have watched at least 5 episodes of cupcake wars  and 3 re-runs of the evening news before we were finally pulling into Vancouver airport – at last.

* Note: If you’re flying with WestJet, be sure to double check for alternative seating on-board your flight. As I was checking-in, I had a glimpse at where I was located on the plane and noticed an emergency seat up for grabs! Since you have to be a certain age and able to “agree” to a pre-set list of regulations and regulations (essentially accepting responsibility for opening and closing the emergency door), they don’t assign these seats beforehand. Continue reading “Beautiful British Columbia: Giving Vancouver the run around (1/3)” →