With the Pacific Ocean watching her back, the beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia is one of the world’s most visited dive destinations. With a presence in the aeronautical and underwater worlds since the very dawn of human kind, Vancouver became the centre of scuba diving in Canada.
Vancouver’s first professional dive club was formed in 1946. The group consisted of four members, the first mainland-diving club in Canada, the Diving Club of Canada. Located on Ring Neck Beach, it was the facility here which introduced European divers to British Columbia’s waters in the early 1950s.
The group continued to grow through the years and by 1980, its membership had grown to become the Diving Club of Canada. At this juncture, the group consisted of six international members: Australia, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and the United States.
The club’s reach and membership steadily increased through the years and in 1992, it broke ground again to form the first designated Open Water Club in Canada. The aim of the club is to encourage divers from around the world to Regenerate and stay in the Pacific region of the same name.
Today, the Diving Club of Canada slowly slips into history, being absorbed into the greater whole of Canadian Society for Travel and Gourmet Care. But it’s still a major part of their membership and all the club’s activities.
The last decade gave rise to the “O Canada” chant, playing a melody of taps with the hearts of tourists from around the world. After the signing of the Compact, the city’s mantra had been “O Canada….”
The phrases or songs used in the Queen’s Speech are now said in various phrases or songs in various keys. But thechanting of “O Canada” is still heard, translated and amplified innumerable times during ceremonies and events.
It is a wonderful experience to be Canadian even if you are not.
My experience tells me that people who live in Canada are treated like second-class citizens. When I visited Ireland, the people there were very friendly, Business Canada is a different story. In fact, I would not have liked to stay and work for a few days, after “work” if I had had the chance.
Since then, I have been lucky enough to work and travel mostly in Europe, the Far East and Asia. The “O Canada” chant I encountered in Ireland was pretty much in English but I did not speak Irish, so I could not really understand it (although I’m sure many know it).
I traveled a lot in South-east Asia and met a lot of people from South-east Asia. Apart from the language barrier, the differences are just too vast. The attitude of the people there, towards us Westerners, is totally different to how we in the west think about and treat people who are different. It made me think about all the different peoples and their lifestyles. All I can really offer is an expat atmosphere, a Fistful of Cities, a taste of darkness and a glimpse of heaven…
I had always wondered if there were other nations whom we meet in similar circumstances all over the world. I had always hoped that I would be fortunate enough to encounter a population of people who are wiser than us.
Cius (28 BC-2 BC) said of the islanders:
“they keep the way of their king,
Butane they call their queen,
And Javan they swear by their queen.”
The Javanese proof of nationality is in their blood, not on their sleeves as it is in ours.
It is not only in the Arthurian romance that Camel goes to Jove. Goethe and Darwin are known admirers of the queen of the desert in “Theographical Mare”, a section of the Migratory Route which we shall find to be the one which Nature has marked with her footpath.
In Arabia you will find supporting details of such a nature in sections of the Atlas Mountains, in the Western Hajar mountains and in the Indian Himalayas as well as in Tibet. This is the reason why tourists never weary of camel rides to be able to visit such shelters of glaciers and high passes of the Nepal.
It is easy to see an attractive country like Nepal being so magnificent in every aspect and of course it is so in the eyes of an admirer of nature.
Nepal is nobody’s idea of a paradise. The people are extremely humble and mild-hearted. Wow, we Nepalese are not exactly what you would call an easy people to find!
The best manifestation of this gentle race is the culture, the traditions and the way of life of the Nepal Himalayan people. This culture is based on family units, village heads and organized classes.
