blog of matt siu

Day 7 Alot of driving today. We checked out of our hotel in Banff around 7am and bolted down to the Columbia icefields about three hours away. WY was nice enough to get up at 5 to pack healthy breakfast and snacks for the crew.  We stopped by for coffee at Tim's and that place too forever. We barely made our 10:15 appointment. The whole crew was excited. This was my wife's most exciting part of the whole trip - to set foot on a glacier. We were bused to the base of the glacier where we boarded these huge diesel buses with ginormous wheels (we were told they are getting converted to hydrogen). These monster trucks are design for climbing steep glaciers. Scientists in the south pole also uses them. Naturally, LL was excited about them. Come to think of it, why didn't any of us bring boots and snow pants? Anyway, walking and seeing a glacier is awe inspiring. We hear about glacier melting all the time. To see in person is a completely different ordeal. It puts you in the drive...

By Ewan, Edited by Dada On the mountain, I slipped and fell and cried. Let me tell you why. I tried to climb up to the very top of the mountain with my family. We were walking well for the first hour and a half. Sometimes even faster than our cousins. As we get higher and higher, the trail was covered in snow and slush and ice. The trail also got a lot steeper and narrower. I fell many times and my mom and dad fell too. Both my feet and my bum were wet and freezing cold. This is because we did not bring boots. Silly Dada. At this point, I was crying so my mom and dad decided to go down. We came down quicker than my cousins. On the way down, the journey was also slippery. Dada is the best because he carried me a little way down the mountain. Finally we got to the car. It was a very long way.  At the car, we took off our shoes and socks and 抹腳. 媽媽 helped us. I love Mama Dada.

Day 4 Fueling up before the long drive to Banff Selfie at Becker's before our departure. How great that the Athabasca River is right in my backyard. E. playing with a new friend in the backdrop of Sky Tram the morning we leave Becker's. In the morning of day 4, we packed our stuff, picked up sandwiches and said goodbye to Jasper. The plan is to drive to Banff and make stops along the way. This drive is one of the most scenic drives in the world and it did not disappoint. Like this random lookout point. The panorama is amazing. Photo doesn't do it justice. The Icefield Parkway was stunning. It is one of the top 10 most scenic drives in the world. For me, it was top 1. At the same time, the drive can be scary. You pretty much have a cliff right beside you at all times. All in all, it was just magical. Let me share a few of my favorites. As I drive, the view comprises of snow capped mountain, jade colour lake and cliffs lines with trees. Driving (Photo Credit: Susanna Ng) On t...

In September, we took our first trip ever to Alberta last week. Our week-long journey was planned around Jasper and Banff. It was incredible. I have not seen such beauty. In fact, I was not aware such beauty existed at all; let alone in my home country. I wrote this post to help me remember the trip and share with my friends and family. Let's dive in. Day 1 The journey to Jasper was long. We flew from Pearson in Toronto to Grand Prairie. The most challenging leg is the last one - the drive from Grand Prairie to Jasper - which took about 5 hours. It was rainy and dark through mountains and valleys. When we finally got to our accommodation, Becker's Chalet, we were dirty, hungry and exhausted. Ewan was asleep. Becker's is right inside Jasper National Park. Right before turning into Becker's, we saw an elk with its gorgeous branched antlers. By the time we got to our room, it was just past midnight. We grabbed the late check-in envelope (which took us a few minutes to find...