#torontodiaries

Hello everyone.

Since I am fond of taking suggestions from my friends when it comes to scribbling on my blog, many of them encouraged me to share the experience of my stay in Canada here on the blog. Though I don’t feel like talking much about it because duh the nostalgia makes me pink eyed and lachrymose (consequences of being overly sentimental) at times but anyhow, I had to find an absorbing topic of discussion to overcome the state of writer’s block that I have been experiencing since past one week *looks down* . Okay I can partially be honest and confess about my laziness that plays a huge part as well. Since it is the best time of the year as the vacations have begun for most of us and I see people planning their trips to enthralling places around the world, I thought of taking this opportunity to apprise you guys of some compulsive things about Toronto (Canada); who knows one of you might end up partying in Canada sometime soon hence today, I shall talk about 6 things that I being a desi random girl liked about living in Canada as a student or from a tourist’s perspective.

6 things that would make a desi fall in love with Canada (Toronto):

1.Tourist Attraction: Well, to be honest, I have only been to almost 5 to 10 cities of Canada. There are so many sites that would make you go awe once you visit them. Toronto has a lot to offer its tourists but there are other cities as well that are breathe taking when it comes to the scenic beauty. So if you are planning to visit Canada, Toronto should be your first spot to visit since it is in the extreme South but as you move to North towards Manitoba (If you are brave enough to bear -50 degrees temperature), Saskatchewan in the west, Yukon Territories, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Quebec City in east and there are many other cities and provinces that you would love for sure. Since my body is not very tolerant of cold and I start turning blue and shiver and my fingers bleed, I never even expressed my interest in visiting these cities because most of them are extremely frosty and snowcapped for most of the year. Anyhow, let’s just stick to Toronto for now and I am listing down the places that would surely fascinate you within Ontario (Ontario is the province and Toronto is one of the many cities here. As the cities are pretty close to each other, you can always visit them if you go to Toronto).

- CN tower

- Toronto Island

- Royal Ontario Museum

- Ripley’s Aquarium

- Canada’s Wonderland

- High Park

- Roger’s Center

- Niagara Falls

- Lake Ontario

- Toronto Zoo

- Marine Land

- The Peace Tower

- Blue Mountain Resort

And the list goes on. I have been to most of the places mentioned above hence I would lay my emphasis on the ones that are my personal favorites, but if you are planning to visit other places apart from the ones I am writing about, then you can message me personally and I will give you a good idea of them too *takes a bow*.  Let’s begin with CN tower. The CN tower is one of the tallest towers in the world standing at 1815 ft. above the ground. You can always Google for more facts and details if you want to. The elevator takes you up till the observation gallery and the glass floor where you can either click loads of pictures like a shoda or dine at one of world’s highest bars/restaurant and then later can brag about it on all kinds of social media sites. I somehow gathered all the courage to go above till the CN tower Sky pod which allows you to see the entire Lake Ontario and ocean as far as till New York (this is no exaggeration as Canada meets USA at one of the borders at Buffalo). So if you are keen to go for adventures, CN tower should be a primary option that also allows you to do the sky walk. The ticket isn’t very costly especially if you go in summers. I went there with my university so we received a student discount but a rough estimate for this trip would be 50$ excluding the skywalk, obviously.

Toronto Islands are wondrous if you admire nature and are fond of sight-seeing. You can book your tickets for the ferry ride or water taxies and there you go. It’s astounding as you enjoy the lake Ontario surrounding you from all the directions. These islands are home to Yacht Clubs and public marina so you can pay and personally sail a boat for a trip. Since the lakes are frozen in winters, you blatantly cannot go for a ferry ride but anyhow, the view is so breathtaking that you don’t want to miss it.

Canada’s Wonderland is a must go if you are fond of taking those dangerous rides especially the roller coaster. I am an acrophobic hence I usually avoid taking rides that go high due to past experiences (yeah I once fainted on a Ferris wheel). But the rides here are so freaking scary that people like me are highly likely to suffer a cardiac disorder. It is better to get yourself a pass otherwise the rides could be expensive. The pass could be made online or at the gates of the wonderland. I personally found the Wind Seeker and Flight Deck really umm nerve racking and horrifying but not everybody is a ‘phattu’ so you guys would enjoy.

Niagara Falls: Ah they are sheer beauty. Seeing those alluring waterfalls and that too from a cruise, it’s a splendid experience. The view is mesmerizing; you get to see the rainbows and jubilant sight of nature. There is a wide range of hotels near the falls to reserve your rooms because that’s what people do when they come here. The Niagara Falls are at one end of the Niagara City so people usually stay for a few days and there so many amazing places in the downtown of Niagara including the museums, theatres, clubs and resorts with complete tourist guides so once you go there, you can always explore the other options as well.

For baseball fans, Rogers Center is the premium choice though I doubt if desi people are genuinely interested in baseball lol. Such a prodigious stadium and if you are going to downtown Toronto, I bet you cannot stop drooling over it. Well, I am not talking too much about this one because you can always Google for further details and secondly, I am not at all in to sports unless its cricket or a bit of Tennis that I have started watching recently, but it is a really nice place.

2. Halal Food ‘Lots of it’. Well, getting access to halal food is a big issue when you move or even visit abroad. You can’t eat KFC, M.C. Donald’s, TGIF and all the other international fast-food chains. I haven’t eaten KFC since the past two years like can you imagine? Yeah we don’t have halal KFC’s here sadly in west. Aaaargh. But anyhow, here in Canada especially in Ontario, you get lots of halal desi food. In Toronto, you have good chains like Hero burger which is bit expensive but the taste is worth all the extra dollars. There is a huge food street in downtown Toronto named as Jervis Street and the priority food junction is the Lahori Tikka house. Well the food is amazing if you get your hands on nehari and biryani or even kebabs. This food street reminds me of the food street in Lahore because it’s always open and people sit there on mats and beds called ‘chaarpai’ and can enjoy lassi and qulfi and what not. From Italian pastas to Turkish kebabs, Chinese to Japanese sushi, fast-food and Arabic cuisine like shawarma and Lebanese falafel, everything is available in halal meat and that’s one thing I love about Canada. You will find halal food everywhere easily not just in Ontario but other provinces as well. I am listing down a small list of appetizing halal food spots in Toronto and GTA (Greater Toronto Area) :

- Paramount Fine foods

- The Maharaja

- Veggie Burgers at Joey York dale

- Nan and Kabob

- Big Smoke Burgers

- Anatolia Restaurant

- Pepper Walk

- Szechuan Express

- Caribbean Queen

- Villa Medina

- Popeye’s Canada

- Panera Bread

- Afghan Kebob Cuisine

- Royal Jasmine

- East side Mario

3.Currency: Damn! I love Canadian currency. I am not sure if this is something that most of the people would found amusing or would appreciate about a place but the thing is that it smells similar to the maple syrup. Well it is a myth according to some sources but I personally have felt that the currency does smell like the maple syrup. The material is different from the notes we have in Pakistan or even the US dollar. The bills are not the ordinary paper kind but they are shiny, slippery and look pretty especially the 50 and 100 dollar bills. I remember once it was snowing heavily and I was well equipped with the winter essentials so it was hard for me to put my hands in and out of the pocket of my jacket again and again. Ah the pain of moving your hands when you are covered under layers of clothes. Since I was not wearing glove in one of my hand, I kept holding my bills but surprisingly, they did not get damp or moisten at all despite being exposed to the snow and rain for too long. So that’s another reason to appreciate the maple syrup scented bills.

4.Too many shopping malls. Oh man if you are a shopaholic like me, Toronto is so your place. From Eaton Center in the Downtown to Square One in Mississauga, all the malls have amazing architecture and you will find all the super famous international brands at one place. Shopping also gets unchallenging because of effective transport system in Toronto. Buses, Street cars, train, subways are really organized and they charge minimal amount for the rides. So if you are visiting as a tourist, you don’t have to take the trouble of hiring or renting a car that would take you for shopping. You can also take the bus or any other similar mode of transportation and the locals would be a great help to guide you plus the sign boards at the bus stations and terminals themselves are self-explanatory so there are least chances for you to lose your way.

5.The people. Canadians are the most hospitable and jovial people you shall ever meet. They would accept you warm heartedly irrespective of your race, color, gender and religion. I, being a student, had lot of interaction with my mates at university and outside the premises; I observed that these people are going to go out of the way to help you in the best possible manner. Ok so I remember when I visited US Consulate for my interview, I lost my way in the downtown (that’s where all the important buildings and offices are located) and my phone ditched me by not working, I missed my bus, it was raining cats and dogs hence it was a total mess and I was getting late for my appointment. There was this lady who saw me worried and she came to me, enquired about my problem and she actually accompanied me till I safely reached the destination. Not to forget, she herself was running late to work but that selfless human being was even willing to wait for me so that she could escort me back to the bus after my interview. Isn’t that the sweetest thing you could do for a stranger? People who know me well are familiar to the fact that I am panicking for slightest reasons lol but every time I got into any trouble, the locals were generous enough to help me out. That is not just me but I myself saw many such situations where these people were ready to alleviate the issue despite the creed you belong to.

6. Downtown Toronto:  the labyrinth kind of streets in the downtown, the closely packed small cafes, the tall narrow buildings touching the sky, the overly crowded roads, people walking down the streets rather than driving their cars, long queues on weekends outside the clubs and bars, the scintillating neon lights on the billboards, the gleaming CN Tower talking to the clouds, the crowd applauding in the Rodgers Center, people constantly checking in and out of the hotels, the musical concerts on the local streets, the loud music on roads and much more. This is what downtown of Toronto is all about. One of the reasons you shall certainly fall for Toronto at the first glimpse. The Downtown of Toronto is different but captivating – one of the best places for sure.

Ah talking about all this makes me miss that place. Anyhow, I hope I was persuading enough and made my point clear. And to all those who had been asking me about my experience of Canada, they would have got some idea of it too though the homesickness and extreme cold were the two factors that gave me a tough time there and so I used to whine about them all the time. I am also posting a few pictures from my days there. I wonder why Tumblr doesn’t allow me to post pictures along with the text. Well, never mind you can see them above.

Take care and happy reading.

Cheers,