It is true that life is full of unexpected moments. I almost had the opportunity to visit the Falls in summer 2006, but had not eventually due to car-pooling problems. I remembered being quite disappointed about it, knowing I was already halfway across the globe yet unable to experience one of the most miraculous wonders of nature in the world. Yet perhaps things really do or do not happen for a reason - I'd told myself I'd be back here again in the future, but little did I know the future would just be 2 years down the road.
Many contend summer to be the best time to visit the Niagara Falls, due to its vibrant horticulture and mass display of festivals and events. Yet there are some who prefer the quiet winter, which, despite the cold, exudes a form of melancholy and solitude which allows one to connect to nature and appreciate its sights and sounds better. The white snow blanket also adds to the beauty of it all, of course.
The weather wasn't good at all when we arrived at the Niagara region on the Ontario side. Windchill warnings were on full alert that day; the area had also experienced some rather treacherous gales that'd destroyed a couple of houses and vehicles. Despite the very strong winds, temperatures were still insufficiently low for snow to fall. I guess it was indeed a weird first-time combination for a Winnipegger (very low temperatures with strong but not-so-strong winds), haha.
A trunk had fallen and crushed the top of a car, and that's me swaying in the wind with the plants. Haha.. but really, sometimes the wind was so strong we felt like we were going to be blown away any minute! :(
Niagara Falls from afar - the 2 waterfalls that make up the Niagara are the American Falls (left of the left pic), and the Horseshoe Falls (right of the left pic, which allegedly "belongs" to Canada).
Niagara Falls at dusk. Notably we are on the Canadian side of the Falls; it's also well-reputed that Niagara is prettier when admired from Canada as compared to from the US side. Better than what I'd have experienced 2 years ago if I'd come then! Haha.
Table Rock, known to be the best place to admire the Horseshoe Falls. We'd walked quite a distance in the cold just to get here, but the view was so incredibly spectacular it was all worth the effort. See the Falls up-close - we could even see the top of the rapids leading to the drop-off point!
Winter Festival of Lights, Niagara's primary attraction during the season. The Maid of the Mist (a boat ride that brings you very close to the bottom of the falls so you're "under"-looking them) and other tours had closed by October, so we weren't able to venture out in the waters.
Niagara's tourist attractions, including the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cinema, Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not Museum, and Guinness World Records Hall of Fame amongst others. Frankly the whole area'd felt too over-commercialized like LA's Hollywood so it didn't feel too novel to me, heh.
I had my first "official" time in the casinos though - earlier in the day I'd randomly walked past a Dream-Catcher machine which dropped me a lolly for no reason, so I was feeling lucky. Haha.. I did win some money at first but eventually lost it all, bleah. :(
Day 2 was mostly spent outlet-store shopping and visiting the IMAX theatre, which featured a movie titled "Niagara Falls - Myths, Miracles and Magic". It featured several legendary stories about people who were inspired by/drawn to the Falls, as well as some weird fanatical daredevils who'd challenged Nature by attempting to go over the Falls in reinforced beer barrels and/or other devices. All to prove courage and might, or to gain fame and riches. And of the 15 who'd ever tried, 10 had survived. All of them were miracles indeed, if you'd read about the strength and velocity of the Niagara like me at the gallery..!
The right pic above shows Pat, the very amiable and friendly lady at Simon's Diner where we'd patronized on 2 consecutive mornings for breakfast. Around for 125 years now, Simon's is a nice family-style diner which brings back lotsa fond memories for the many people who've lived and grown up here - all the other customers were middle-aged and elderly men! Haha. Pat is a really grandmotherly figure and we'd enjoyed her service so much that I'm put in-charge of emailing her our picture (yes, she uses email for her age!) and keeping in touch after this, heh. :)
chapalang update 12:55 AMI'm on the go right now, aboard the AmTrak Rail from Niagara Falls (US side) to New York City. It's going to be a rocky 9-hr ride, and I figured I should get back in touch with my diligent blogging. Haha.. I've been seriously lacking sleep the past 10 days, making sure photos are uploaded and people are updated. So much so that my friends've affectionately referred to me as the Tamagotchi - I can sleep anytime anywhere I want - bus stops, restaurants, any random chair while waiting for people, even for just 5 min! Heh.
Still, I'm kinda glad I'd kept to the "discipline" of doing these things; the inertia to start would be even greater after I return home (just look at Luyi, haha). But really, on top of that I do also believe in a better appreciation of my travel experiences when I relive them in fresh memory, logging my adventures while simultaneously embarking on my journeys. And I'm still meticulously keeping track of my daily expenditures k, even after 4 months! *beams* Fortunately I can survive on little sleep and am quite good at remembering things la, haha.
So well, I stopped at Boxing Day in Toronto, but there really isn't much to talk about our last day in the city. We'd visited a few random places, so here's a log of the chapalang things we'd seen and done. I guess this is more of a recovery and disclaimer post; haha, as well as a pit-stop to re-adjust my thoughts (instead of mere reporting what I've done) before I set foot on the really-final few days of my exchange journey.
27 Dec - Last day in Toronto
St Lawrence Market, one of Toronto's oldest and most historic places to visit
Yet another historic site of interest - the Distillery District featuring the city's finest breweries
SOMA chocolate maker, a must-visit for chocoholics! Said to be one of the best choc makers in the world, SOMA features both gourmet and "normal" chocs at their best (and atas prices), heh. :)
One of Toronto's best attractions..! To the right is the very delicious hot choc I've gotten for Vicki - so glad to have come to SOMA and not settled for some random Christmasey hot choc mix for my best friend, heh.
Interesting stuff - a German Schnauzer with winter boots, and a duh pedestrian-crossing sign. Check out the last part - "If flashing, do not start. Finish crossing if already started." (!?)
We re-visited Chinatown in the evening, I finally had my first bubble tea in 4 months! Couldn't resist la, the shop played Chinese songs and even screened some Taiwanese variety show, heh. And then I couldn't help but take a pic of the bittergourds I saw at some market, I miss bittergourd-egg so much! Bleah. :(
Dinner that day was the best thus far in Toronto, we headed to a Lonely Planet-recommended Rice Bar, where we created customized rice bowls by selecting our grain type, protein, sauce and garnish of choice. Quite an infusion cuisine I guess, though we selected ingredients that'd seemed more Asian than Western, heh. Beats me why I didn't take a photo of the rice bowls, but of the yummy desserts instead! :)