I'm visiting Vancouver in a few weeks and am interested in going to the Richmond (The 'new chinatown'). We will be staying at the Westin Bayshore and have no car--is there an efficient way by public transportation? or is taxi best? does anyone have a time estimate of how long it will take to get there and how much a taxi ride would cost?<BR>ALso, is this new chinatown area condensed into one area easy to get around by foot?<BR>Thanks!

There is no 'new Chinatown' just a number of malls/restaurants strung along #3 Road.<BR>http://www.coastmountainbus.com/ for details.<BR>From the Bayshore by bus about 30-40 minutes, a cab would be C$20 or more.<BR>Prepare to walk a lot and be underwhelmed.

Though A. Vancouverite is right about the sprawl and non-centralization, there is a place to stop if you want to hit a couple of small malls. <BR><BR>You can go to Aberdeen Centre (though I hear there were renovations planned for it soon). From there you can walk pass a few shops (about a block) and go to Parker Place (which has a lot of small boutiques) and its extention, Parker Place II, or you can cross the other way on Cambie Road and go to Yaohan Centre, which has a large Chinese supermarket (T&T), a Rennaisance Hotel, and then on the other side of the hotel a Japanese supermarket (Yoahan) with more stores. <BR><BR>Since 3 Road is the "main" street in Rmd, you should have no problem getting there by bus. <BR><BR>They are all near Cambie and 3 Road, and all the centres I mentioned have pretty reasonable food courts and at least one good sit down restaurant. I am sure there are websites that must mention these places. Try Rmd tourism site, they probably even have a map of major shopping places, or just map them on mapquest yourself. You will find they're not that far apart, especially if you're browsing along the way. <BR><BR>I don't live in Rmd anymore, but think it's neat that you are getting off the beaten path of regular tourist stops and checking out a suburb. I normally wouldn't suggest it as a 'destination' as I wouldn't want the tourist to be 'underwhelmed', but if you have an inclination for it, I think you will enjoy it. I hope this helps; have fun!

mae: We passed through Richmond and didn't find much reason to stop. Perhaps we were to quick to judge, but I don't think so. <BR>A bit further and with good reason to stop is the old fishing village of Steveston. Now, the village proper is a collection of shops, cafes, restaurants, etc., done up in a seaside motif and nicely located at the water's edge. Nice, but not spectacular. Still, worth a mid-day wander with a stop at Dave's for fish and chips (first time since London or was it Dublin; no matter). Then we went over to the Cannery Museum and found that it really was all about two tours, each of about an hour's time. One tour stresses the period when salmon was the profitable fish to process and the second tour focuses on the "herring period" (after the salmon ran out). The tours are very well conducted by young people, mostly college students working for the summer. Our salmon tour was conducted by a young lady that graduated from the University of Vancouver with a major in Roman Literature. The point, extremely bright people. We learned about the habits of the fish, the way in which they were caught, how the equipment worked for canning (the equipment was actually made to work for demonstration purposes), who the people were that worked in the canneries at different times in British Columbia's History and how they fared in this new land. We thoroughly enjoyed these tours which were so interesting and informative. The cannery belongs to the local community witch wanted to save and share this period in their history. There must be a bus that goes to Steveston from Vancouver and I would really recommend it. Make sure to get to Granville Market out on the island (cute little ferries to get there) and lower Robson around Denman where you will find a fantastic array of every imaginable ethnic shop, cafe, restaurant, etc. Just a tremendously interesting area. Be sure to wander the side streets, especially Denman. We wound up eating in the area three nights in a row, Hungarian, Korean and French in that order. Robson in this area is fun unlike the hyped upper Robson which has become tacky and hamburgerized. Have fun.

Mae,<BR><BR>At Vancouver Airport, they have free maps and guides of the chinese malls in Richmond. Have fun.