Edmonton - Part One

Albeit a week and a half late, here is a post on my trip to Edmonton.

I've hated Edmonton for as long as I can remember. Everything about the place...the sports teams, the people, the city itself. It's nothing personal, just a general hatred that began when I made a pledge of allegiance to Calgary-based sports teams. Perhaps my hate for the city was a little unfair see as how I've never actually been there to judge for myself. This is part of the reason why I decided to go in the first place...to see for myself.

I would've been satisfied if all I saw was the area around the bus station. My friend Nicholas had forewarned me that that area of downtown wasn't so nice and that I should avoid accepting candy from strangers, if it all possible. He was right...the place was a hole. Apparently some guy had been walking down the street with his pants down just a few days earlier. Such colourful people the city had.

What was cool about downtown was that it was kind of up on a hill, overlooking the river valley. This speaks to the general attitude of Edmontonians who seem to think their city is the greatest place on earty, or at least in Alberta. That said, the only nice thing about downtown was the Alberta Provincial Legislature building, and perhaps the Fairmont Hotel.

The one ubiquitous thing about the whole city is the smell. I was always told by my best friend in high school that Calgary had a bad smell and that he and his dad had to put on gas masks everytime they drove through it to get to Edmonton. Naturally, I'd argue to the contrary. Edmonton has a far nastier smell that can be likened to a mix of three-day old fish, hippies, and bog water, with a hint of cinnamon.

Nick was gracious enough to meet me at the bus station, so I didn't have to try to take on the city of my focused hatred. We made some turns and went in some direction and finally ended up at a place called 82nd (Whyte) Ave. Rumour is it that it's the main street in Edmonton and it's where all the partying happened during the Oilers unsuccessful playoff run (hurts, doesn't it?).

Some renovations were in the works, but Nicholas had himself a friendly abode. After a stop at Pita Pit and the liquor store, we put on some Indian tunes and started with the drinking. A few hours later, we ended up in a club that was really red. There I met all of Nick's friends. Some of whom were going to places like Doha and Uganda.

Stay tuned for Day 2.