Best of Both Worlds

Point Roberts, WA 

This past weekend I crossed the border into Point Roberts, WA. It's a small piece of the Tsawwassen peninsula (part of Canada) that belongs to the U.S. because of the 49th parallel. In order to get to Point Roberts, you must drive through Canada. The area it occupies is about 2 miles by 3 miles wide and only 40 minutes from Vancouver. You can read more about this town's unique location from National Geographic.

Not much is there except a few gas stations, a supermarket, U.S. post office and a shipping and receiving center. I've heard some Canadians like to take advantage of the cheaper gas on the U.S. side and cross into Point Roberts just to fill their tank. Another advantage is being able to receive mail and packages from the U.S. in a fast and convenient way. For some reason, a lot of items are more expensive if bought in Canada compared to the U.S. Books, magazines and electronics are just some examples. But if I purchased them from the U.S. and have them sent to a post office box in Point Roberts, I'd be able to save money even after paying duties on them. For larger items, there is a shipping and receiving business right next door. The funny thing is you have to go through a border crossing to get to this small little town.

Lunch at the Aberdeen Centre food court in Richmond

Yesterday I went to a mall in Richmond called Aberdeen Centre. It's pretty much an Asian mall. The food court is all Asian cuisine and so are most of the stores and shoppers. I had the Singapore vermicelli which was all right and some of my friend's Shanghai dumplings and rice rolls. The dumplings were decent (not the best I've had) and the rice rolls were ok. Wrapped in rice, inside is a Chinese doughnut and shredded pork jerky. After all it is a food court and not gourmet cuisine. 

Afterwards we shopped at Daiso - a two-floor Japanese $2 store filled with anything and everything you can imagine for only $2. I bought a few things knowing I'd be wondering why I bought this junk later on, but also knowing it'll come in handy one day and be glad that the $2 was worth it.