Exploring Alberta during the pandemic. (Part 2: Calgary city)

I hadn’t actually been to Calgary city proper, like ever, which is such a shame as a Canadian! I’ve been to more US cities than I have in Canada, so given the pandemic and the international travel ban, I thought it would be a good idea to visit all these amazing cities we have north of the 49th parallel.

After dropping my bags off at the hotel and walking around downtown Calgary, my first thought was wow, this downtown is empty! It was a Friday night and there was nobody on the streets.

Like, nobody. And that’s also what I noticed in the next few days…

Empty downtown and Chinatown. Saturday, around noon.

A big reason I was really surprised was that Calgary’s per-capita COVID case count was even higher than Toronto, which I thought made no sense if there’s literally nobody anywhere (it was so easy to social distance while walking on the street, given both the wide sidewalks and the lack of people). I learned that “downtown” in Calgary is strictly for business, and people don’t come downtown during the weekends since it’s all business buildings. I was still curious; I couldn’t believe Calgary was this empty.

However, when I went to a restaurant to get takeout, I quickly realized where the people were…

Indoors! Of course, given a city as cold as Calgary, it made perfect sense; everyone was indoors and, since indoor dining was still allowed, everyone was crowded together. Some restaurants and bars I went to had very bad mask compliance; I saw lots of people without masks, walking around in the area and talking. Because of this, I told myself that I wouldn’t dine out; everything I’d get to-go, and I’d eat in the car or in my hotel room.

I had a chance to visit lots of interesting things in Calgary’s city centre…

Probably the closest I could get to New York in the next two years.

Calgary’s (small but packed) Chinatown. Lots of friendly storeowners!

Beltline district, where the real downtown core was!

Hire me now please Air Canada!

Fun afternoon stroll in Inglewood (nothing like LA’s Inglewood)

But if you know me (hah, you probably know me if you’re reading this), you’d know the real reason why I love to travel…

Scallop breakfast poutine from OEB, Gyozana from Carino, Pho from Pho Hoai

New York steak from Cattle Baron, sushi combo from Zipang, Hainan Chicken from Calgary Court

Alberta beef burger from Modern Burger, chicken basil stir-fry from White Elephant

seafood laksa from Tropical Delight, fried chicken combo from WOW Chicken

The food in Calgary was surprisingly expensive. Every entree was at least around $15–20, so even with the 5% tax, it ended up being more expensive than it is in Toronto. Plus, restaurants seldom had a pickup discount (since dine-in was still available), so a lot of times, I actually found the food to be more expensive than in Toronto.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the full Calgarian experience if I didn’t try these…

Honey berry ice cream at Village Ice Cream and a simple latte from Phil & Seb’s

Overall, Calgary was a great and fun city to explore, even safely during the pandemic (as long as you get take-out, wash your hands frequently, and keep social distance everywhere). I thought the food was expensive, the people were friendly, the “downtown” wasn’t a real downtown (it just hit me that it’s just like NYC), and the weather was cold. Next time, I’ll talk about my day trip to Banff!