Rocky Mountaineer - oh and a bus trip too!

Up at 5.15 am this morning to have cases ready for collection at 5.30. I would have preferred to stay in bed a little longer and taken my own case down, but ........  Took a short drive through Chinatown and Gastown in Vancouver and then to station to catch Rocky Mountaineer.

Boy we could learn a lot from the Canadians about tourism and hospitality! There was a man playing a grand piano in the waiting room and then a Scottish piper played some songs just before we boarded. Amazing seats up the top of the carriage with glass dome top for viewing and dining car on lower level. All the dining, cooking and on board helpers are so, so friendly and helpful and they all came into our carriage and we toasted the trip as we set off.  All the staff from the station lined up along the platform with flags and they all waved the train goodbye.

Breakfast in dining room was similar to The Ghan -  fine dining and after there was free grog all day. Our APT group is fairly noisy and there are some funny characters so when the drinks had flowed it got a bit noisy.  We passed through some amazing country and saw some spectacular sights with the fast flowing river, large trees, towering mountains but sadly no animals yet. We had a three course lunch in the dining room again and more drinks. The train was held up for quite a while as a freight train had broken down in front of us and then we had to go slow for a lot of the way.  Evidently because the tracks are owned by the freight company the passenger train has to take second place. About five thirty they announced that because of the hold ups and back log of freight trains in front of us that they had decided to take all 522 guests off the train at a small town and transport us to Kamloops by bus, so we were given more food and drink and then had a one and a half hour bus ride.  They did not think the train would make it much before midnight!!! I could not believe how efficient the whole thing was.

I have also been blown away by the confidence, manners and attention to detail of the staff on the train. The staff seem to love talking to us, the passengers and their speaking and helpfulness is incredible. We have also found this in all the restaurants and hotels - I think the tipping makes the service top class!