The Hawaii men’s basketball team left home on Thursday for another foreign country with exotic people and traditions.

Canada.

OK, so maybe America’s neighbor to the north doesn’t inspire the same sense of world wonderment as China — where the Rainbow Warriors visited on a two-week tour in August — but UH was nonetheless amped for its first road trip of the 2011-12 regular season.

The ‘Bows (1-0) had a spirited morning practice, then boarded an afternoon flight to Vancouver for Saturday’s BC Basketball Classic against No. 22 Gonzaga (2-0). The West Coast Conference’s perennial power from Spokane, Wash., was a quick hop away by comparison.

UH coach Gib Arnold wasn’t concerned about that.

"This group’s traveled a bunch, so I think the travel will be OK," he said. "The game is what’s going to be the toughest part."

The visit to Canada will be a first for senior guard Zane Johnson, a native of Phoenix. Chilly weather is expected.

"I’ve heard it’s pretty nice up there," said Johnson, who scored a game-high 24 points in UH’s season-opening win over Cal State Northridge. "It’s the same as Seattle, is what I heard about Vancouver. … It’s as close to the United States as you can get, so I’m thrilled."

Though the game is technically on a neutral court at the Rogers Arena (former home of the since-moved Vancouver Grizzlies) the Bulldogs are expected to have a sizable crowd to back them.

"The kid Robert Sacre’s from Vancouver, I don’t think that helps a whole lot," Arnold said of the Zags’ 7-foot, 260-pound center. "And they’ve got two other kids from Canada. Seattle’s only an hour and a half away, where most of their alumni is. So, I have a feeling there will be a few more Gonzaga fans than there will be Hawaii fans."

Event promoter Idol Sports reached out to UH about the contest once the ‘Bows needed a game to make up for the absence of the Rainbow Classic this year.

With the late schedule maneuvering solved, Arnold said he was high on the opportunity for a tough game early in the nonconference season. Last year, UH had a similar scenario against No. 21 Brigham Young at the Utah Jazz’s EnergySolutions Arena at Salt Lake City. The ‘Bows made a game of it before falling 78-57 to the Jimmer Fredette-led Cougars.

"I like the idea of it. I like the fact that we’re playing in an NBA arena," Arnold said. "That’s kind of fun for our guys. Vancouver’s a great city. I like the setup of this. I like the idea of playing a real quality team underneath these circumstances. I think it’s good for our guys to see exactly where we are."

Freshman point guard Shaquille Stokes, who scored 14 in his college debut, was stoked about the trip.

"I’m just blessed to be able to travel the world and see places I never thought I’d see right now in my career," Stokes said.

At the same time, the prospect of foreign travel was no longer daunting.

"It’s not a big deal for us. We were in China for two weeks," Stokes said. "We’re just going to keep playing, no matter how long the road trip may be."