CAN: The Canadian VIA2 (Sleeper Plus) (Part 2)

Vancouver-Jasper (19h)
ETD: 3.00pm (GMT - 7)
ETA: 11.00am (GMT - 6)

Let's continue to look at The Canadian transcontinental passenger train that brought my BFF and me from Vancouver to Jasper, departing close to midnight after a long delay. In Part 1, I introduced the various cars of the train. Guess what time did I wake up in order to have the panorama car to myself, well, almost?

I didn't expect that the berth seat bed would be really comfortable, allowing me to sleep soundly until my alarm rang at 5.30am. With most passengers still in the dreamland, I enjoyed the early morning serenity.

The old lady was the first passenger that I interacted with that morning.


It might not look like it from the photo, but the water current was pretty strong.

While waiting for breakfast to be served, I had a cup of orange juice before going for a quick shower.


Time for breakfast at the dining car! I've written about all the meals that I had in separate posts in my food blog.


My BFF and I were the first two to be seated in that dining car.


The Canadian Rockies covers an area of 194,000 square kilometres.

Excluding breakfast, passengers are required to make reservations for meals. We were assigned the second seating for both lunch and dinner.


After breakfast, we went to the panorama car to enjoy the vista.



Water so blue~


Since young, I've always liked the sight of farm animals grazing in the pasture.


CN is a leading North American goods transportation and logistics company.

If I'm not mistaken, the berth seats have to be restored to the day configuration latest by 10.30am. Here's a random photo of Pikachu and I before one of the crew members came to fold the beds away.


The train stopped at Kamloops, a town in British Columbia where North and South Thompson rivers meet, for approximately 15 minutes.


We had the chance to get out for some fresh air.

The locomotive of the train
Following the brief stop, I went to back to my berth seat to read a copy of Reader's Digest, occasionally looking out of the window.

Yes, you shouldn't bottle up your anger!



I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the window next to my berth seat isn't spotless.


The aftermath of forest fires...
Feeling a tad sleepy, I walked to the activity car to get something to munch on and drink before finding a seat in the panorama car.



Immersing myself in the enchantment of the landscape~

Finally seeing snow-capped mountains!
The lunch call for the second seating was made at 12.45pm. Alcoholic beverages are chargeable, but everything on the menu is less than C$10.00 (~S$10.40) per glass. My BFF and I made friends with an American couple. Since the wife is a teacher, we talked a lot about the various education systems across the globe. 



My choice of main course: Chicken Pot Pie
Below are more photos of the scenery that I took during and after lunch.

Living a life there must be simpler than in a big city, no?


Pyramid Creek Falls, which is located on the east side of North Thompson River between the towns of Blue River and Valemount, came briefly into view at 2.54pm.



Upon hearing the announcement regarding the sale of merchandise was made, I went to the activity car to see what were offered.


I kept going back to the panorama car. Thankfully, it was never filled to the brim, so I didn't feel bad hogging a seat most of the time.

The total one-way distance covered by The Canadian is 4,466 km.


Lovely clouds~

I picked up a second reading material: a travel magazine.




We knew we wouldn't want to miss the free wine tasting, so my BFF and I went to the activity car 5 minutes before it commenced. The husband of the American couple was there, and we gave each other a high five. We tried three types: white, red and another red.



The second red wine was D'Ont Poke the Bear, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Baco Noir.
Mount Robson came into view briefly while we enjoyed our wine. It's the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, having prominent horizontal layers.


Given that we could hardly burn the calories onboard the train, we were obviously not hungry when the second call for dinner was made at 6.15pm. We didn't want to miss it though, so we still went ahead. The American couple joined our table again and we had another round of fruitful discussion.



My choice of main course: Maple Dijon Chicken
'Twas a good dinner with a view.


If only the water were bluer, the reflection would be much nicer.

We were already in Jasper when we had our dessert.

It was hard to say goodbye to The Canadian.



Did you know that VIA Rail offers reduced fare for approved Canadian professional musicians willing to perform onboard to entertain passengers?

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