— Calgary AB, Canada

Funny how I did all my posts on America and completely forgot about my trip across the border to Calgary right after I left Savannah, Georgia last year…

So at the end of Fall quarter 2016 in Savannah (GA), I flew over to Canada at the start of my Winter break for 10 days (24th Nov – 3rd Dec) to visit my first cousins in Calgary! It was my first time seeing snow, witnessing a snowfall, immersing myself in a ‘real’ Winter and experiencing the true Thanksgiving/Christmas spirit in a proper Western country (outside of Hong Kong).

Goodbye, America

Savannah Intl Airport

This holiday is one that i’ll never forget since I had the opportunity to meet my favourite and closest cousin brother – but most importantly, his family that I hadn’t seen in the last decade. It felt so great spending time with them and catching up with our lives and bonding over endless Tim Hortons’ french vanillas.

Highlights:

• First snowfall at Banff National Park
• Walking on a frozen Lake Louise
• Road trip to Jasper (4am – 10am)
• Sunwapta Falls at Jasper
• Kananaskis, The Rocky Mountains
• Black Friday shopping
• Basically everything.

All of these places allowed me to witness such magnificent and divine beauty that one could only ever dream about; from a night with a blanket of stars so clear and bright, to magical frozen lakes and mystical snow-capped mountains. I can’t even put it into words, the whole experience was surreal and indescribable – forever inked in my mind. I was eternally grateful for having the opportunity to visit and head back home with a happy heart, best end to my three and a half month long stay in North America! Hope to come back again for more.

My Tim Hortons & I at dried up Chestermere

En Route to Banff

First Snowfall at Lake Louise, Banff

The Rocky Mountains, Alberta

Sunwaptta Falls, Jasper, Alberta

Goodbye, Calgary