Niagara Falls borders New York and Canada's province of Ontario (Toronto is the capital of Ontario). I have always wanted to visit the falls so being in Toronto, I had the perfect opportunity to make this happen and so I did.....of course with the help of my friend Edna with whom I am staying with.
There were a couple of public transportation options available, use regular public transport and pay a round trip of $50 or get a bus in China town that normally picks up people to take them to the casinos next to the falls for a round trip of $28. No guessing which option I picked! we made our way to China town where buses were leaving every hour and we were able to get space fortunately, turns out space is never guaranteed because some people actually make reservations for seats and if you are a casino member you get priority seating as well.
Once we got to Niagara we made sure to get a ticket for our trip back to the city, this is very important because without this ticket you might end up stranded without a ride back. The ticket indicates the bus number to look out for and what time pick up is, they are handed out inside the casinos and normally the transportation company will guide you in getting one. We were not interested in gambling or checking out the casino so we made our way to Niagara.
The weather was hot and the place was packed!! there was an Indian concert taking place next to the falls so this added to the crowd. We decided to buy a boat ride ticket so we could get up close to the falls, the line to get onto the boat was long but it moved surprisingly fast so we didn't have to wait for too long. I think we were in the line for about 10 minutes before the next boat ride became available and we were able to get on. We were each given a poncho as we boarded the boat because getting that close to the falls you will get wet whether you like it or not.
The boats are actually pretty huge and have two decks, we made our way to the upper deck to get better views and quickly got a spot. I am so glad we went on the boat ride because getting up close to Niagara was quite an experience, of course we all got drenched but it was part of the fun and since it was hot anyway, what better way to cool off right? it was so worth it and without further ado, here are the picture I took........enjoy!
I guess red was the color of the day
There was an option to zip line close to the falls, I thought it was so cool.
Trust me, the picture below doesn't even come close to depicting how crowded it was. It was packed!
That's it folks, after the boat ride we walked around the area which was buzzing with activity then had dinner before making our way back to the bus heading to Toronto. It sure was a day well spent!
Random Thoughts of The Day:
Edna had mentioned that the area surrounding Niagara Falls is very commercialized, I did not grasp the full extent of this until we got there. From casinos to hotels, to restaurants, to souvenir shops......I mean, the place is designed to make you want to spend money.
I find casinos so depressing, just the look of desperation on some of the people's faces is enough to put you off. There people who are truly addicted to gambling and it's just so sad to watch.
I am so glad that my friend has the same stamina as I do. We have covered so much ground since I have been here and I love it! anytime we would be in the middle of exploring we'd look at each other and go, "are you tired yet or should we go on?" we would always opt to go on.
I under estimated how hot it would be here in Toronto, when I get back home I am giving my poor skin some major TLC because it's endured a lot in this heat. My feet have also suffered, from the swelling of the heat and the soreness of walking the whole day in sandals.......poor babies.
I would have loved to visit Montreal and Quebec but time is really not on my side, maybe next time. By the way everything here in Toronto seems to have English and French translations, airport officials have even greated me in both languages. Edna's roommate was telling me that in Quebec where the official language is French, some people look down on English speakers and would rather have you speak any other language to them other than English.
There were a couple of public transportation options available, use regular public transport and pay a round trip of $50 or get a bus in China town that normally picks up people to take them to the casinos next to the falls for a round trip of $28. No guessing which option I picked! we made our way to China town where buses were leaving every hour and we were able to get space fortunately, turns out space is never guaranteed because some people actually make reservations for seats and if you are a casino member you get priority seating as well.
Once we got to Niagara we made sure to get a ticket for our trip back to the city, this is very important because without this ticket you might end up stranded without a ride back. The ticket indicates the bus number to look out for and what time pick up is, they are handed out inside the casinos and normally the transportation company will guide you in getting one. We were not interested in gambling or checking out the casino so we made our way to Niagara.
The weather was hot and the place was packed!! there was an Indian concert taking place next to the falls so this added to the crowd. We decided to buy a boat ride ticket so we could get up close to the falls, the line to get onto the boat was long but it moved surprisingly fast so we didn't have to wait for too long. I think we were in the line for about 10 minutes before the next boat ride became available and we were able to get on. We were each given a poncho as we boarded the boat because getting that close to the falls you will get wet whether you like it or not.
The boats are actually pretty huge and have two decks, we made our way to the upper deck to get better views and quickly got a spot. I am so glad we went on the boat ride because getting up close to Niagara was quite an experience, of course we all got drenched but it was part of the fun and since it was hot anyway, what better way to cool off right? it was so worth it and without further ado, here are the picture I took........enjoy!
I guess red was the color of the day
There was an option to zip line close to the falls, I thought it was so cool.
Trust me, the picture below doesn't even come close to depicting how crowded it was. It was packed!
Random Thoughts of The Day:
Edna had mentioned that the area surrounding Niagara Falls is very commercialized, I did not grasp the full extent of this until we got there. From casinos to hotels, to restaurants, to souvenir shops......I mean, the place is designed to make you want to spend money.
I find casinos so depressing, just the look of desperation on some of the people's faces is enough to put you off. There people who are truly addicted to gambling and it's just so sad to watch.
I am so glad that my friend has the same stamina as I do. We have covered so much ground since I have been here and I love it! anytime we would be in the middle of exploring we'd look at each other and go, "are you tired yet or should we go on?" we would always opt to go on.
I under estimated how hot it would be here in Toronto, when I get back home I am giving my poor skin some major TLC because it's endured a lot in this heat. My feet have also suffered, from the swelling of the heat and the soreness of walking the whole day in sandals.......poor babies.
I would have loved to visit Montreal and Quebec but time is really not on my side, maybe next time. By the way everything here in Toronto seems to have English and French translations, airport officials have even greated me in both languages. Edna's roommate was telling me that in Quebec where the official language is French, some people look down on English speakers and would rather have you speak any other language to them other than English.
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