Day 16 – 17 : Vancouver – “Today is my birthday.”
The flight from Toronto to Vancouver is unremarkable. I say this purely because, sitting here in New Zealand trying to recall it brings up a blank, so it must have been event free. We touchdown late in the evening and within 15 minutes we’ve been accosted by one of Vancouver’s legendary homeless elite.
There are numerous rumours as to why Vancouver has a homeless problem. The most fanciful tall tale (and hence probably specious to say the least) is that the city shut down its mental asylums and ushered the ex-inmates out on to the streets like spent barflies into the night without a care in the world. I can’t confirm this juicy rumour, but I can say from witnessing the glassed-over stares and demented gaits of some of the mendicants I encounter – it sure does seem plausible.