Toronto + Niagara Falls

Ok, so, the Toronto + Niagara Falls trip. Sorry for the long wait. :) You will be entertained by photos instead of words, a rare phenomenon in my blog.

Wednesday night
Reached Toronto quite late in the evening. Our car nearly ran out of gas, which created much panic in the car when we fumbled with the GPS looking for a petrol station. We checked in at the Super 8 Motel right in the heart of Chinatown, located upstairs of a dingy looking Chinese mall. Went to have dinner at a place named Laksa. It was just right next to our motel, and I bet you would be as excited as we were, just because of the name. It was a mistake actually, the food weren't nice, seriously.

Thursday morning
Dim sum at a restaurant called Bright Pearl. Everything was just so-so, but the 皮蛋粥 was worth trying.

The legendary 皮蛋粥.

Next stop was CN Tower, the tallest landmark in Toronto, or Canada I think. Nothing special, apart from the famous glass floor section.

A section of glass where you can step on it and look down to 1815 feet below you. Ok, I look dumb, I know.

Next, Mei Chen and Wei Chieh went to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Me, Shann and He Wei opted to just take pictures, and adjourned to the nearby Eaton Center Shopping Center. It was big, but One Utama still is a giant comparatively. We went for a late lunch at Gold Stone Restaurant, or should I call it coffee shop. It resembles those 茶餐厅 in Hong Kong, where you'll have a huge roasted pig, and chunks of roasted pork dangling in front of the shop. He Wei had a scare of his life, when his 烧肉饭 turned out to be a really huge portion, with A LOT of 烧肉 on it. You can practically see the fat oozing out from the pork.

Gold Stone Coffee Shop

We all agreed to drive 45 minutes away to another town called Markham, which has North America's largest Asian Mall, THE Pacific Mall. It turned out to be a big building with shops selling fake DVD's, fake clothing and lots and lots of bubble tea. It looks like those in Shenzen, if any of you have ever been there. We were indeed disappointed. PLUS, we were in the car for about two hours because of traffic jam. -_-"

The famous 168 Tea Shop scattered throughout Toronto. Their Mango Slush was fantastic by the way.

The next morning, we went to take photos of Harbourfront, Royal Ontario Museum and also Casa Loma, before heading off to Niagara Falls. He Wei has started to show signs of having a cold by that time.

The museum that I didn't get a chance to visit. :(

After checking into the hotel, which was called Diplomat Motel (cheesy name), we proceeded to hunt for a place to have dinner. We were driving around, then I suddenly yelled "Look, there's the Falls". Everybody was like "Wah...." :) We went into TGI Friday's, sat down, looked at the menu, then stood up to apologize to the waiter coming to take the order, then proceeded to drive to the nearest KFC in town. Everybody thought TGI was too expensive. *shrugs* Well, at least I found out that the vegetarian burger at Canada's KFC was pretty good. :) We then watched fireworks by the Falls, it was pretty. They had colorful lights shining on the falls at night, so they can change color every half a minute or so. We went to pay the casino a visit that night. Wei Chieh was thrilled when he saw the sign that says "No admittance to individuals aged 19 or below".

Group photo. And that's Auntie Anne's pretzel in my hand, cinnamon sugar. :)

Saturday
It was a packed day for us. It started with a HEAVY breakfast at a place with all-you-can-eat. We went to see the Falls in the morning, then to the Skylon tower, then the Skywheel (a Ferris Wheel that goes for four whole cycles -_-"), then the butterfly conservatory, then the Niagara's Fury, then the Journey Behind the Falls. Sorry, too many "then's". It was absolutely fun. The Falls is simply...breathtaking, is the word I would use. I would advise you to go. IT IS A MUST. :)

The Rainbow Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls from Skylon Tower. (Doubt if I got the names right)

Canadian Horseshoe Fall, also from Skylon Tower.

The Horseshoe Falls, up close.

Right at the edge where the river falls from the "cliff".

Favorite photo. Horseshoe Falls right behind me. :)

In raincoats for Niagara's Fury and Journey Behind the Falls. Wei Chieh is so adorable. :P

Sunday
Didn't do much that morning. We went to a place where they make wine nearby, it has some French name that i forgot. Mei Chen and He Wei bought their famous ice wine as souvenirs, or they are going to drink them? Not sure. We said goodbye to Niagara Falls, and stopped halfway for lunch at a randomly found place. It was called Bamboo, and they serve rather delicious lunch buffet. It was snowing when we drove back. And we got stuck for three hours at the border between Canada and US, because of a traffic jam and an hour at the immigration office. -_-

Well, it was a really fun trip I should say. I really enjoyed Niagara Falls, though that was my second time there. :) The creation of Mother nature just amazes me. Photos wouldn't tell everything, because you would have to see it, feel it, and hear it for yourself. Trust me, it's worth a visit. :) Did I mention that our whole trip cost us $280 per person, for four nights including fuel? I personally think that was cheap.