Vancouver Airport (YVR), 2 terminals, 1 Tim Horton’s

As I was thinking about making this travel blog, there was no doubt in my mind that one of my post categories would be food as it is an integral part of every foreign adventure. Since I’m taking off from Vancouver, my travel officially starts in the YVR airport and it’s culinary arts must therefore be mentioned. YVR has been awarded the Skytrax World Airport Awards Best Airport in North America a record five years in a row. It is also currently ranked 11th worldwide so there must be something. Thinking about what my options were, the perfect idea soon came to mind: Tim Horton’s. Call it fast food if you will but it is a Canadian tradition. We pick up a double double (Canadian slang for a coffee with two cream and two sugar) and a box of delicious timbits (doughnut holes that Dunkin’s got nothing on) while driving up to Whistler to go skiing, we see it sponsoring local hockey events on a regular basis, and it was founded by a famous Canadian hockey player. Their sandwiches might as well be wrapped in maple leaves.

Once I passed security and started looking for it, I first bought a Vancouver Canucks t-shirt because no way I’m leaving my allegiance at home and my full fledged jersey seemed a little over kill, and started looking for my beloved “Timmy Ho’s”. After spinning around in circles for a few, I eventually asked one of the ladies working at one of the booths where it was. She said they moved it to the American side last year, and it’s been ruining everybody’s lives. You see, the Vancouver airport (and probably all other Canadian airports) separates flights going to the US from those to other international destinations into separate, unbreachable sections of the same terminal. This is due to the USA requiring that, when entering from Canada, customs be crossed on Canadian soil, right after security. Everyone flying to other destinations have not crossed customs yet and therefore cannot be in that section. Sadly, Tim Horton’s is only available on the American side, where the grass is clearly greener. I’m not sure why they decided that only they deserve access to this delicacy but clearly the booth lady shared my distraught feelings…

I guess this is an early lesson of what many experienced travelers have warned me about: your travel plans rarely unfold like you hoped.