Vancouver trip & some “fun” with US customs…

Yipeeh! One week off… My brain is "toasted" and I need a few days without exchange stuff… So…

Saykhem, one of my Ranger colleagues from Australia joined me on a trip to Vancouver from Monday to Wednesday. Vancouver is one of the cities I wanted to visit for my whole life… And I enjoyed the trip!

We walked from tip-to-tip of downtown Vancouver and were somewhat at the top of the city centre… One of my favorite places is Granville Island with its public food market, art schools, shops, etc. Vancouver Aquarium, which is located at Stanley Park, is also a nice place. I enjoyed the dolphin show… J

Heading back to Seattle, we had some "fun" with US customs… I didn't want to get in trouble at the border and decided to declare all of the stuff we bought in Vancouver: Cashew nuts, Thai Basil and two Mangosteen Fruits($ 3/each). So, when the officer at the border asked me, I told him about all the things…

And, of course (!), he told me "Sorry Sir, you can't bring your Mangosteen fruits…". We had to stop at the border, see the customs officer and hand out the fruits. Because these fruits were so expensive, my colleague asked if we're allowed to eat them at the border… The answer was: "No. You can take your fruits, drive back to Canada, eat them there and then return to the US…" What the hell…! You can by weapons, but you are not allowed to bring some exotic fruits? Bureaucracy and it's strange excresents…