Every NUS student on exchange enjoys a good jaunt into the next town, state or country (isn’t that why we go on exchange?). However, not all students can afford to gallivant around the country, let alone the globe. Some of us have to work on a shoe string budget, which clearly does not afford us the luxury of travelling around too much. If you have decided or are deciding whether to go to Canada for exchange this is a spot you might like to visit.
Calgary is a sprawled-out city with a population of 1.5 million people. It is also home to the Rockies, the mountains in Western Canada that has largely defined the city’s landscape. Most of us often desire to go to the big cities, but I chose a place which some people may describe as a “backwater” (it’s still pretty technologically-advanced!). However, “backwater” is not another word for “boring”. Rather, if you seek little thrills and entertaining spots or like exploring nooks and crannies, you are likely to uncover some surprising treasures.
Who says Singaporeans can’t have fun in a small city?
Historical Village Heritage Park
This quaint village is an area in Calgary that has been preserved to remind visitors of what the town was like in the 1800-1900s. Perhaps that statement alone makes it sound boring. It is, however, a very popular destination for Calgarians. As the name suggests, it is a historical village, so it has kept all the shops, the local graveyard, Mounties Office and even the printing press intact! This is definitely a place to visit if you want to know more about the history of the city.
To make the scene even more realistic, every staff member was in costume although it was a hot summer’s day and remained very cheerful despite their layers of stuffy clothing! Indeed, that was no mean feat! The staff was also approachable and very knowledgeable about how the different offices used to function, as if they had come from the era themselves.
One day is definitely not sufficient to explore the whole of Historical Village Heritage Park. With so much to see, it will surely appeal to the vintage-lover in anyone.
The Comedy Cave
Looking for a stand-up comedian? The Comedy Cave provides affordable comedy at $10 per person. Every week, they invite a different stand-up comedian, most of whom reside along the Canada-US border.
Many of their comedians do excellent impersonations of our favourite celebrities or familiar childhood stars (like The Muppets or Sesame Street) and did not fail to tickle my funny bone. Though most of their jokes are meant to appeal to the North American ear, I could still appreciate the humour. Given the popularity of North American television, a lot of the jokes will not escape you either.
Trust me, you will definitely need some humour to light up your life in a place where the average temperature is perpetually below zero for most of the year.
For more information, you can refer to The Comedy Cave website which gives you more information about their stand-up comedians.
Jubilations Dinner Theatre
What is a dinner theatre? As the name suggests, you get dinner and a show.
The Jubilations Dinner Theatre changes its theme every two to three months, which means that you will never be bored.
Not only do you get a four-course meal and three-act musical comedy, but you are also treated to a wonderful cast of waiters and waitresses who dress and act according to the theme!
The theme in October last year was Jailhouse Rock. Naturally, the waiters and waitresses dressed up as jail convicts and grooved to the music. I was really quite impressed with the effort they put in to stay in character, even as they were serving you your dinner. One would be hobbling up to your table and back to the kitchen, all while keeping a straight face.
Vertigo Theatre
Although most of the theatres in Calgary are student-friendly, the Vertigo Theatre is perhaps especially so with its very student-friendly prices. If you arrive about thirty minutes before a show, simply flash your student ID and they will offer you a student rush ticket which is about a third of the original ticket price. Of course, one runs the risk of not getting any tickets at all.
The Vertigo Mystery Theatre is an especially thrilling series to follow. In fall, they were staging “It Could Be Anyone of Us” (Alan Ayckborn), a mystery-comedy that parodies elements of the detective genre by pointing out a different murderer every night. While it shows the plasticity of the genre, the presence of a bumbling detective makes for a good show, at a cheap price.
Calgary Shooting Range
Guys who have gone through national service will probably not find this all that thrilling, or entertaining, especially since it harkens back to dark, dark days that they have little desire to repeat.
However, for this thrill-deprived girl, there was much enjoyment to be had at this shooting range.
In light of the recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, learning how to shoot guns may not appeal to you, but the ‘gun-guides’ teach you how to shoot guns responsibly while having fun.
Gun-shooting was not at all like what I expected it to be. In fact, it was a lot scarier than Hollywood portrays. Watching multiple re-runs of The Mummy did not prepare me for the long bangs and BOOM!s.
Although it is a slightly more pricey pastime, doing it once or twice would hardly cost you anything over two hundred dollars!