Victoria trip photo story

Photos by Nhi ‘Jenny’ Vo

Victoria has more diverse food in Chinatown and more cozy coffee shops around downtown if you need to refuel after spending all that time outside.

You can’t be inactive in this island city
By Nhi ‘Jenny’ Vo, Layout Manager

If you ask me, Victoria is basically the better version of Vancouver. The city offers so much to do outdoors that I couldn’t spend a second inside the hotel. They have more sunny days throughout the year as they have no mountains blocking the big, dark clouds like we do. They have peaceful pebble and sand beaches where you can meditate on a warm day—unlike Kits or English Bay which get too crowded and noisy.

They have water bodies for you to try all different activities like kayaking, stand-up paddling, or swimming. They have their own version of “a giant park in the city centre” named Beacon Hill, with a weirdly high duck to human ratio of 2:1. They have bike lanes on almost all the streets and bridges, along with traffic lights for cyclists at every intersection. They have different flat walkways along the sea that even the laziest bunch can enjoy. They have more diverse food in Chinatown and more cozy coffee shops around downtown if you need to refuel after spending all that time outside.

I spent 95% of my trip biking around the city to watch cherry blossoms blooming. The remaining 5% was me eating dumplings and steamed roast duck buns. For me, it was one of those weekends where you unplug and forget about everything crazy going on in your life. Here are some rare photos besides my dad’s selfies for you all to embrace the beauty of Victoria.