Hostel International and Moose Travel Network Promo trip to Whistler

Guess what we did the other day? Well, our PR Team went on a trip to Whistler!
It was a promotional tour organized by Hostelling International and Moose Travel Network.

We started out meeting at Doolin’s Comfort Inn and took off at 3.30pm.
After about an hour drive we made an intermediate stop at Shannon Falls which has really beautiful scenery. Following our break there, we moved on to the HI-Whistler Hostel close to 2010’s Olympic Village.
At that point we were all pretty hungry, so Remy (one of our tour guides from Moose) fired up the BBQ while the rest of the group was shown the hostel’s facilities.
After eating our hamburgers, hotdogs and salads, everything became quite fast-paced. We quickly got ready because we wanted to catch the bus for a night out at the Village which turned out to be a Pub Crawl! That’s right. We visited several bars and clubs where we could 1 free drink at each one! We even ran into countless bachelors and bachelorettes. The Pub Crawl was crazy fun!

The next morning breakfast was pretty early from 7.45am-8.15am. The reason we forced ourselves out of bed after such a night? That’s because we had a mission. We had to return to Whistler Village. This time, it was in order to go zip-lining. Now, what is that exactly? First, you are strapped into a harness from which you will then hang and ride across a wire hundreds of meters above ground at speeds up to 80km/h! I have to admit that I have a slight fear of heights which made me quite nervous on the first zip line. However, a few seconds after jumping off and realizing I’m not going to die, the experience was incredible!

For anyone out there who’s fighting against a fear of heights as well, this is a great first step to conquering it. I was even a little disappointed that we could only go for 5 times.

Afterwards, we had a drink at the Longhorn Saloon and made our way back home to Vancouver, stopping at the Porteau Cove for an in-between break.

 

Thank you Moose Travel Network and Hostelling International for this great trip!

Hostel International and Moose Travel Network Promo trip to Whistler

This past weekend INTERNeX was invited to join Moose Travel Network and Hostelling International for a trip to Whistler.

Whistler is located about 1.5 hours from Vancouver and is famous for it’s slopes. During winter time the village is packed with people who like to go skiing and snowboarding. But year round there is so much more to do around Whistler, such as mountain biking, hiking, and zip lining! Also, in 2010 the Olympic Winter Games were held in Whistler and that is why Hostelling International decided to build a place where the athletes could stay: Hostelling International Olympic Village. After the Olympic Games the hostel opened to the public and now hosts many international travellers who come to visit Whistler.

The Moose bus was waiting for us on Granville Street and took us to Whistler at 3pm last Saturday June 6th. We had a group of about 13 people which we got to know better during the ride. On our way we stopped at the Shannon Falls, which was amazing, because the weather was absolutely perfect and there was no rush whatsoever. Everyone strolled around for a bit and after half an hour we continued our journey to Whistler. The sea-to-sky highway is incredible. It runs 400 kilometres from the US border, through British Columbia, all the way up north. As mentioned before, the highway is amazing! It runs along the Pacific ocean which means that there are so many beautiful views on the ocean and the surrounding nature.

When we arrived in Whistler the group split up and went to their rooms to put away their belongings. After that Claire, working for Hostelling International, gave us a tour through the building and told us more about the Olympic Games and how the hostel hosted the athletes. The building is quite new, as it was only built in 2010, and looks great!

Both Moose Travel Network and Hostelling International had prepared a barbecue dinner for the group including many beers! We sat outside in the sun on the patio while we enjoyed our beers and burgers. It was a cozy atmosphere. Anthony, working for Hostelling International as well, had organized a Bar Hop for our group, and so we left the Olympic Village for Whistler Village and had a great night out with many more drinks and great people!

The next morning we had to wake up early for an exciting day. We were going to go zip-lining. Zip-lining is when you fly down through the forest while being tucked into a harness. So much fun! Ziptrek Ecotours organized an Eagle tour for us. With awesome tour guides we started our journey through the forest experiencing different lines. The first line was most exciting as no one actually knew what to expect – but it is amazing and went sooo fast! People even conquered their fear of heights, what an achievement!

The zip-lining tour took about 2.5 hours and after that we decided to have a drink to enjoy Whistler a little longer. We ordered some beers and Caesars which made our hangover disappear. As soon as we hit the road back to Vancity most of us fell asleep immediately. Along the way we made another stop at Howe Sound to enjoy the sun a little and stroll around for a bit.

We arrived back in Vancouver at 4.30pm and there’s nothing left to say but thank you Moose Travel Network and Hostelling International for this trip to Whistler. We enjoyed!

Trivia Pub Night Review

Ooohoyeah, I liked the Trivia night at the Moose’s Down Under last night! Did you too?Surprisingly, we did not know a lot of answers, but I don’t think that affected the fun we had!

Thanks for showing up guys! We had a nice big group with two teams.

The quiz existed out of four rounds with each ten questions. These questions varied from history to pop music and from movie titles to book titles. Between every round the teams could play games. The first game was heads and tails. Everyone was asked to stand up, the host flipped two coins and the participants had to predict whether it would be two heads, two tails or heads and tails by placing their hands on their head or back. If one would predict wrong, they were out of the race and the winner won a round of shots or beers for their table! Nice prize I’d say!

In between the second and third round the game to be played made use of big badminton shuttlecocks and a net, one participant from every team had to throw all three shuttlecocks in the net in order to obtain as many points as possible. The team with the most points won a round of beer or shots. None of our teams won this round.

However, team Just Germans, including one Dutchie, won the third game: rock, paper, scissors. We won a round of shots! YAY!

Both INTERNeX teams, Just Germans and Three Nations, ended up with a tie! The winning team could win a $150 cash jackpot, but they choose to raise the jackpot instead and get another chance of winning next week. This means that the jackpot is $200 next week!

After the quiz the bar closed fairly soon and therefore some of us decided to have another drink at the Cambie, which was packed!

I’d say it was another good pub night!

Next week INTERNeX organizes a club night, check the event for more info!

See you laterrrrr!

INTERNeX Canada: Fun Facts about Canada’s National Symbol

While Germany has a majestic eagle, Denmark a romantic swan and Spain a potent bull, Canada sends a beaver to enter the contest of national animals. Of all the amazing wildlife this country has to offer, it is a cute little beaver that represents Canada. One has to admit that there are fair arguments behind this choice. Back in 1975, when the beaver was announced to be the official national emblem, beaver fur trade had been the reason why a lot of Canada’s wilderness exploration had taken place at all and the animal used to be a symbol of industry in general. Apart from that, beavers are caring parents! Today however, people start talking about a replacement with an animal which represents the splendid beauty of Canada. Oh and there are so many to choose from! What about moose, grizzly or black bear, buffalo and polar bear for example! In my opinion, Canada just needs something more powerful, big and impressive to be symbolized by. What do you guys think about that? Polar bear? Moose? Rather stick to the furry little beaver? Leave a comment and share your opinion!

Cheers

Marianne

P.S. One more fun fact for you: A small, tasty, sugar-coated pastry is called a Beaver Tail (sometimes spelled Beavertail, in one word). It can be found mostly in the Ottawa area but you can also get it on top of Grouse Mountain!! Yumm! 🙂

INTERNeX International Exchange
Suite 200 – 211 Columbia Street
Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Phone: +1 (604) 662 8149
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

INTERNeX Canada: Casual Friday

Being Canadian, I find this video pretty hilarious! Whether you have just arrived in Canada, or you have been here for awhile, I am pretty sure you will find it entertaining too.  This video sheds light on Canadian stereotypes catching everything from the way we speak, our extreme and sometimes unnecessary politeness and of course our obsession with hockey.  You can watch it below, and it is definitely good for a laugh, I hope you enjoy it!

Have you encountered any of these stereotypes during you time here in Canada?  Or maybe you know of a similar video from your own country? Let us know, we always love to hear your input and you have the potential to win prizes !!

Have an awesome weekend!

Cheers,

Kristina

INTERNeX International Exchange
Suite 200 – 211 Columbia Street
Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: www.internexcanada.com
Phone: +1 (604) 662 8149
Email: pr@internexcanada.com