Odyssey – Book 1 – Chapter iii – Canada

Finally my first international road trip has come to fruition. It was
a interesting and bumpy ride with my first accident. But over all it
was a wonderful trip … just me, my machine and the road … From
what I have see of Canada its a mix of North Carolina and Iowa,
Greenery everywhere with sporadic farmhouses. I was almost convinced
that Canada had better roads than the US till I reached Toronto and
then the city roads are the same all over the world.

The main reason for the trip was to get some immigration work done but
I couldn’t help making it into a vacation with myself!! What with
Niagara falls nearby, I couldn’t let the chance go to waste. Also I got to go
to four different places (Toronto, Niagara, Detroit and Chicago). Each
in a league of its own.

The trip to Niagara was of course the highlight of the trip. One of the best natural wonders that I have ever seen.
In front of Niagara
I don’t know how many people would like to enjoy such beauty alone like me (I had to). It was funny trying to take a picture of myself with my left had with the falls behind me. I did have a fellow loner at the CN tower and my trusted camera remote!

Trying out the remote on my camera

Rainbow on the Niagara
One thing I couldn’t capture on my camera was the night lighting at the falls (Believe it or not I waited two hours for the lights to come on with nothing else to do)
The Cultural mosaic
Toronto is a nice big city, and a melting pot of cultures and ethnic
background. I loved everything about the place accept the traffic jams.
But I sure did feel at home with the driving style (What true blooded
Indian would not feel that way in that Darwinian style of traffic). I
have heard stories of New York but till I see that place I will have
to give the prize to Toronto for being the most global place. How do I
decide on that ?? Well it all depends on the number of radio stations
and the people I see on the streets. From what I have seen, Toronto
has few French channels(which is expected), a couple of Spanish
channels, a Punjabi channel, a Tamil channel (Sri Lankan Tamil) and a
African tribal music channel. If that’s not diversity then what is ???
The world surely is getting smaller. I was also impressed by the
public transport system, the Street cars, Buses and Metros. The
students of the University of Toronto which is at the heart of Toronto
sure do have a party time.

Inside the CN Tower Skypod. The tallest observation point in the world. Also supposedly one of the 7 wonders of the modern world!!!
The tale of two cities
The Downtowns of two big cities couldn’t have been more different than
those of Toronto and Detroit. I was freely roaming alone in downtown
Toronto till the early morning hours but Detroit downtown sacred the
jeepers out of me even with a friend to boot. Toronto had a few old
buildings but the whole place was lively and fun while Detroit seemed
like a lost city with debilitate buildings and a eerie darkness all
around!!

Downtown Toronto !!!

Detroit Downtown!!!
Culinary delights
Most of my friends know about my appetite. And boy did I have a ball in Toronto. Tried out a lot of different cuisine. Loads of the sucked though. Went to the India town and had Bhel Puri and Dosa at two different places. The dosa wasn’t good but I did give a ride to a Pakistani person. Now I am sure that food is the solution to the India-Pakistan problem. Or the sight of a common enemy – the lines at the US consulate!!! Another bad experience was the Vietnamese food that I tried in China town. I have had it in California but this was totally different … I was ready to throw up because of the smell that came with my order of Pork soup! The highlight of the Culinary experience was the Kothu Parota at a South India restaurant.

Me enjoying the Kothu Parota with a fan of Indian food!
Hits and close Shaves
I am never going to rent a car again. Its just going to be my baby in future! Started off with a accident on I-270, after changing cars I almost ran off a rain soaked road and followed that up by almost running over a cyclist in downtown Toronto. Oh ya forgot the parking ticket!! Either I am loosing my touch or I drove sloppy cars. The other issue is that it sucks to drive a automatic after driving a stick shift. You have no control over when the gears change!