Friday 26th July 2013, day 16 - North Vancouver Night Market

Hi all

I know it's been a week since my last post, and I know some of you have been checking everyday. I can understand why, but it is hard for me to make myself get out and do things. I think anything I do would be stepping out of my comfort zone in one way or another, even going food shopping because the supermarket's on a busy retail street which attract lots of people. I'm going to try and make myself go out during the weekend and brave the crowds, even if it's just finding a few shops that I've found out about online that I like the sound of, and maybe make a plan of things to do during the week. It is hard, so please be patient :)

I’ve been out at the North Vancouver Night Market this evening. I was supposed to meet a group of people there, it was an event arranged on MeetUp. Unfortunately the bus I was planning to get didn't turn up, so naturally the next one along was full, and it was half an hour later than planned when I eventually managed to get on a bus towards Downtown, from where one catches the Seabus across to Lonsdale Quay. I'm pleased with myself because I still went, even though I knew I was unlikely to find the other people in the group so long after the arranged meeting time, I didn't just come back to the house for an evening doing nothing.

I'm glad I went. The market was great, there were lots of stalls, food carts, and live music from young local musicians. I bought a yummy bowl of rendang (an Indonesian dish of beef slow-cooked with lemongrass and coconut) with rice, and a raspberry and apple pastry. Of course it would have been more enjoyable if I weren't on my own but I didn't have a bad time. The Night Market is only on Friday evenings during the summer, but even without it Lonsdale Quay would be a nice place to go, with a pier, shops, cafes and restaurants on the waterfront.

Even leaving after sunset, and getting back to the house as it was dark wasn’t too bad. The only difficulty was finding the right bus stop back in Downtown. The bus routes divert after 9pm but the Trip-Planning tool on the bus website didn't tell me this, so it was several minutes before I found the right bus stop. After that it was fine though, and I got back to the house safely.

Oh! I made cookies on Thursday. Enough so the nine housemates (including me) could have two each. I didn't write that down though, so they were all gone within a few hours, and not everyone got one! Haha.

Laura