On top of the world

The CN Tower has become a national controversy (remember our Esplanade) but it's undeniably the symbol of the city and a prominent part of the skyline. We can see the tower from our Elm St apartment and it serves as a good landmark when you navigate the city. The tower is at its most beautiful at 2 am when the streets are dark and empty and all you can see are the kaleidoscopic neon lights running up and down the tower.

While locals might dislike it, they will recommend you to visit it because it is afterall one of the main tourist attractions. Instead of paying to enter (expensive), we decided to have our dinner at the 360 Restaurant (expensive) which as the name suggests, is a revolving restaurant which takes 70 mins for a complete revolution.

I glued my eyes to the narrow windows as the lift ascended at a speed of 22km/h (the speed of falling with a parachute). According to the information panels, the tower is struck by lightning almost 80 times a year - not very comforting to know when you are 346m above the ground. What was most interesting is the glass floor on the Look Out Level. It is literally a piece of reinforced glass where you can step on and look down to the ground below. Quite terrifying at first cos it feels like you're treading on thin air. Everybody will suffer from at least a moment of vertigo when they take their first step across it. Kids who have no sense of danger jumped, laid and ran across it. I must have looked a little faint cos the boy next to me reassured me that the glass is stronger than the normal concrete ground. Not very reassuring to know either! According to the guide book, even 14 large hippos cannot break the glass (not like they actually tested it with hippos) so I guess it is quite safe afterall.


The open air observation deck was very windy but the view's obstructed by the metal mesh encircling it. It's to prevent suicidal people or accident prone people (I stumbled and fell, luckily, on the mesh) from their early deaths. The view from the restaurant was better and I couldn't help oohing and wahing at the gorgeous scenery. In fact we were higher than the layer of mist in the sky. An advantage of being on the highest structure in the world is that I could spot landmarks and identify buildings on the map without much difficulty.

The food was ok. Expensive western food you get in restaurants. I had pork ribs served with sauteed potatoes and very raw carrot sticks while the others had steak, salmon and grilled prawn pasta. The dessert was more satisfying - maple pecan pie with praline ice cream - which I found delectable. The bill however was not pleasing though not surprising. It added up to a whopping CA$350+ which probably explains why the majority of the diners are tourists.

Not just another city

Tired of dealing with the worrisome pupillage application, I headed down to Parkway for a stroll and to borrow some books. The humid weather has a somniferous effect and it is of little surprise that my afternoons are usually unproductive. Window shopping around Parkway Parade, I was disappointed to see that nothing has changed (except shop assistants tagging on the new GST prices). It suddenly occurred to me that we like to think that our absence will affect our social environment but no, the world moves on without you.

I had a sudden yearning for Toronto's dollar shops, the cool and dry weather and choc glazed Timbits (doughnut balls). I realise that many Singaporeans view Canada as playing second fiddle to the US and they deem Toronto to be another small quiet Canadian town. Admittedly, I was more excited with the thought of visiting NYC than Toronto but I grew fond of Toronto in a way I didn't with NYC. While NYC is like the rich vanilla frosted cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery (which I unfortunately did not visit), Toronto is akin to the comforting doughnuts from Tim Hortons (with the 3hr queue at Donut Factory, you wonder why there aren't more doughnut shops in Singapore). I love the energy of NYC but Toronto is more liveable and hospitable.

To dispel further misconceptions of Toronto, here are some facts:

1. Toronto is Canada's financial and economic centre
2. Toronto is the largest city in Canada
   
3. Toronto is the 5th largest city in N. America
4. Toronto is the third largest movie and television production centre after LA and NY
5. Toronto's art scene is second only to Broadway (NYC) and West End (London)
6. Toronto has the largest transit system in N. America after NYC
7. Toronto has the largest underground PATH network (a labyrinth of shops, eateries)
   
8. Toronto International Film Festival is second only to Cannes
   
9. Toronto is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world;
10. and there is no pressure for you to assimilate, you can retain your cultural identity
11. Torontonians enjoy generous social welfare benefits (that explains the painfully high taxes of 14%)
12. Torontonians are genuinely friendly and welcoming to newcomers
13. Toronto is safe (its nickname was and still is "Toronto the Good")
14. Toronto has one of the most comprehensive recycling system in N. America
15. Toronto is hailed as the greatest place to cycle in N. America (Cui was telling me how she cycles though heavy snow)
16. Toronto's Pride Parade is one of the biggest celebrations of gay culture in the world (and we saw lots of naked people)
17. Last but not least, the CN Tower, standing at 553m is the world's tallest free-standing structure

Home ground

I'm not exactly upset to be home (exhausted my tourist funds and overstayed my welcome) but it's inevitable to have the tendency to compare both places. Like how I am startled to see that my keyboard is white not black. Or how my house seems bigger and the floors appears whiter (got so used to dark carpets). As usual, Singapore's humidity takes getting used to. My breathing was more laboured, or so I imagined, when I stepped out of the airport.

Thanks people of Elm (Elm Streeters haha), for putting up with me. It's not easier living with strangers or even friends. Thanks Cui for taking the time to indulge me in my tourisy urges and for accompanying me everywhere. Thanks Andy for sharing his room and putting up with my nonsense. Thanks Simon for driving me to the airport and for your thoughtfulness. Thanks auntie and uncle for your home cooked meals. When I felt depressed in the plane, I read the card and laughed aloud when I recall some incident. All you eeevviilllll people!

With high distinction

Cui graduated with high distinction one week ago - none of us expect anything less. She is lucky. Her parents flew in from Singapore and her bro flew in from NYC to attend the ceremony. Some grads were alone. And of course she has moi. The weather forecast was right again. It was gray and drizzly and really bad news for photo taking on the lawn.

She looked beautiful in her black and white strip tube dress; just the right touch of formality and femininity. I was appalled to see a girl wear leggings and sandals up the stage! The convocation ceremony took place in the dome-ceiling Convocation Hall which has a history dating back at least a hundred years. Our seats (right in front by mistake of having sat in the reserved row) offered us a good view of the stage and a good vantage point to take photos. Actually, most of the people present looked like tourists armed with cameras and snapping pics furiously (between the 4 of us, we already had 3 cams!).

The speeches did not last long thankfully. Apparently, the composer of Little Miss Sunshine's music score graduated from U of T so he was invited to give a speech. I like his grin and his speech was by far the most engaging. Cui went up, posed prettily for us and the ceremony was over. We took a million photos in front of University Hall and in the charming Knox College garden. Andy appeared and surprised (maybe not) Cui with a bunch of hotchpotch flowers and Purin wearing a graduation robe. The sky cleared, the pictures were perfect and we headed for a hearty Italian lunch to celebrate.

That was also the day of my none too successful tennis lesson. Cui and Andy couldn't go so she suggested that her bro and I take their places. Everything is not very legal of course since we don't have member's access to the Athletic Centre (a behemoth complex which houses courts, a running track, pool etc under one air-con roof) so we had to sneak in with Simon's help. The lesson went as expected. I was as good as the times I played at Daryl's house i.e. TERRIBLE.

All natural

Today, we city dwellers shed our urban robes and turned into nature worshippers. Six of us packed into a 5 seater Volkswagen Jetta (instead of the Volvo S40, says Andy who incidentally occupied the comfortable driver seat) and headed out of Toronto into the forested region of Milton, Ontario. There was a massive jam and we arrived half an hour late for horse riding after a couple of wrong turns in the woods (it would have been worse without Simon's super cool GPS). I woke up in the car to see a completely different landscape - rolling farms and woodlands, greener trees and grass (an illusion I admit). Felt like the family in Little Miss Sunshine who went on a road trip in a battered vehicle.

My horse Mindac (sex still unknown at least to me) was rather huge (though not as gigantic as Andy's placid giant) and energetic (it keeps wanting to overtake the lead horse). It behaved decently well after several pats and reassurance but honestly, I felt nervous throughout the whole ride cos animals are unpredictable afterall. Like Cui's horse who dashed ahead to kick a fellow horse! Utterly hilarious. Of course she and not the horse, got scolded.

We were led through an uneven and rocky and jungle trail. I wonder how Mindac feels having to carry loads on its back everyday. Felt rather sorry for it and stroked its back more often (I assume that all domestic animals like to be stroked). The sun was merciless that day and the shady forest offered a much wanted respite. The next step was trotting. You dig in your heels, click your tongue and the well-trained horses will trot. Trotting felt more like galloping to a novice like me and I probably looked very unglam bouncing up and down the horse with obviously no control over the horse's or my own movements. Our guide seemed to move rhythmically with the horse's heaving body so he didn't look like he was bouncing. Had locked knees after our 1 hour lesson but it was an unforgettable experience nonetheless.

Lunch was a hasty affair of bread with Nutella.

We drove to Andrew's Scenic Acres to pick strawberries. It all sounded very romantic to me. Lush strawberry fields, basket in hand, lips stained red with berry juice... The scenery did not disappoint. We piled onto an old-fashioned wagon and journey through fields of flowers, cherries, apples, grapes and of course strawberries. Picking berries is hard work especially when the big red ones have been picked. Cui's parents picked the most while we wandered around idly and took photos. I overcame my inhibition and ate some strawberries (after all my effort!) and actually enjoyed the sour ones. Of course we picked too many so most of them became strawberry smoothies at night (more palatable).

strawberry farm!

strawberry girls!

strawberry leaps!

the last leap!

The Falls

My butt hurts from continuous cycling. One disadvantage of Toronto is that the roads slope uphill as you go further uptown. And you know you're on a slope when your thighs start aching. Or maybe I'm just disgustingly unfit. I hate rushing on bikes and we are always late! Like today when we tried to catch the cheaper casino bus to Niagara Falls and couldn't squeeze up. Had to rush to the bus terminal, buy the Coach Canada tickets and run up the bus. Paying more is totally okay so long as I get to go to Niagara Falls which Cui is totally reluctant to go cos she does not appreciate nature and is bored by Niagara (she's been there a few times but still!).

Today is sunny and very cold. About 15 degrees. Slept in the bus and awoke 2 hours later in the town of Niagara Falls. Surprise surprise there was hardly a soul in sight on the streets. The charming little countryside town felt like a ghost town! Cui and I (both penniless) decided to take the 4km track to the waterfalls instead of taking a bus. We strolled along Niagara River, stopping to admire the greenish but clear waters sparkling in the gorge below. The other side of the road is lined with the quaintest and prettiest country cottages, some converted to bed-and-breakfast (vowed to stay in or own one). The weather was good and the scenery absolutely delightful.

The guidebook says that you can hear the "growl of the falls from miles away". Actually I saw the Falls before I heard it but never mind that; it was such a majestic sight that you'll catch your breath and wish that the scene never leaves you. Niagara Falls is chopped up into two smaller falls. American Falls across the American border is half the width of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls which is not the tallest in the world but the greatest (the volume of water gushing down is unbelievable). The grandeur of the Falls can be attributed to the few Great Lakes feeding it. You can imagine the rate of erosion. I'm GLAD to visit it before the Horseshoe formation disappears.

the American Falls crashing on rocky banks

the awe-inducing white arc of Horseshoe Falls shrouded in mist

One excellent way to feel the power of the water is to take the Maid of the Mist boat ride. It is rather commercialised but the best way to see the Falls closed up. Our boat ride was even more interesting cos a couple solemnized their marriage onboard and you can hear people cheering for them. I felt my heart racing as the boat ventured into the centre of the Horseshoe Falls. The wind was intense and the dense spray of the crashing water rises above the Falls itself. Obviously we all looked like drown rats after the ride.

The river water has a greenish tinge like what you see in movies with fake lights. It seems to be glowing from beneath. Very beautiful. To top it all, rainbows kept popping up in the water and across American Falls. The rainbows seem to last indefinitely. One great spot to view Horseshoe Falls is from Table Rock. Most of the tourists camp there to take pics and we wasted alot of time there as usual. Had to half run all the way back (4km!) to the bus terminal to catch the 545 bus!

Wish I had more time to explore the other attractions around the area or travel further to Niagara-on-the-Lake which is voted as one of the most charming towns in N. America. Niagara is unforgettable and reminds you of Nature's infinite capacity to create beauty. As Charles Dickens wrote "Niagara was at once stamped on my heart, an Image of Beauty."

Kensington

I can't get enough of Kensington Market. This is the third time I'm exploring that place. It helps that Kensington is merely a 7 min bike ride away. I'm amazed (again!) at the riot of colours and vibrant vibe of the little bohemian community tucked in the corner of downtown Toronto. There are ice-cream parlours (the old-fashioned kinds. Tried "Heavenly Hash" - choc ice cream with marshmallows and almonds), cheese shops, peanut butter shops, fruit-tellers, fish shops, bead shops, dollar shops, a cute Japanese shop and of course vintage clothes shops.

Kensington is the place to search for vintage clothes and other second hand costumes. They have a fantastic range and vintage hunters will have a wild time sieving through each shop. Best of all, the clothes are usually cheap (CA$20 for a dress). I feel extremely bitter when I think of my S$100 plus vintage dresses! However, it's a little overwhelming cos there's so many choices and I got a little weary of vintage (ended up buying a non-vintage dress). There are pretty cool stuff like tee shirts, jackets and accessories for guys too. The last time I biked there, it thunder stormed suddenly so we were holed up in this shop which sold kawaii Jap bags which Cui adored. Jap influence is quite prevalent in Toronto though not as much as in Singapore.

Green Lungs

The past few days have been packed with activities. Cui's parents and bro flew over so we had to clear the 6th floor apartment which looked like a disaster zone i.e. carpets caked with dust, soiled toilets, stained stove and cabinets. After toiling in a near vacuum (most apartments here are sealed and aircon-ed),we were thankful to see a respectable house emerge.

It was gorgeous weather so we decided to throw a very Americanish BBQ or what they call, a cookout. The guys rented a car and we drove to a huge complex of hypermarts (WalMart, NoFrills - the quintessential mass market consumer haven) and shopped for groceries. Cui and I love shopping for foodstuff so we went crazy (she shopped for a balanced meal while I supplemented with junk). Our menu consisted of:

• cheesy beef patties


• turkey patties (for the health conscious and beef non-convert)
  
• cheese sausages


• salad (I insisted!)


• skewered prawns


• chicken wings


• chips (Miss Vicky's honey and garlic)


• rosemary and Italian burger buns


• fishcake stuffed with mushrooms

Cui and the guys have been doing this every summer so they're an old hand at it. They bought Sputnik, an adorable sphere grill (named after the first official Russian satellite) with tripod legs. We made 2 trips down Lakeshore Boulevard (pretty name!) to Ashbridge's Park which is beside Lake Ontario.

Canada is home to the Great Lakes and Toronto is by the shores of Lake Ontario (which looks more like a sea to me because of its vastness). I can't help feeling overwhelmed by the thought of actually seeing one of the Great Lakes after plotting them in geography class. Guess I never did imagine I would visit them one day.

On that tepid summer evening, Ashbridge's Park was raining cotton. Millions of cotton fluff swirled, floated and danced across the whole carpark. It reminded me of a snowy winter day. Very surreal. Unlike Singapore's manicured parks, Ashbridge's is charmingly undisturbed by constant pruning so some spots have overgrown grass and large pockets of wild flowers. We wandered along the hilly paths, watched the seagulls bicker and saw the sun set behind the yachts. It was blissful to munch on hot burgers as the cool night air seeps in and wave sparklers when the sky turned dark.

Good food and company marks a fulfilling day.

Domestic affairs

I'm trying not to think that I'll be home sweet home in 10 days. Depressing. Cui is still leaking all sort of things so we go out for a while and chill out indoors the rest of the time which is fine with me cos I'm strangely sleepy despite sufficient sleep. Toronto is finally shedding its winter leftover and we're getting maximum sunshine with cool breezes so it's bearable. I wandered across the street yesterday to a quaint bookshop (painted a sunny yellow. the floorboards creak charmingly!). The books are arranged on pretty green shelves and the owner has placed a couple of cosy arm chairs in the corners beside the windows. Was delighted to find an out of print Louisa May Alcott book!

I had hoped to experience some kind of independent (and poor, says Cui) student life here and I did. You have to do everything yourself here. Like the plumbing, cooking laundry and cleaning. Cui and the guys have to do all the chores whether they like it or not. When I see Cui slicing garlic and tomatoes so adroitly, I couldn't help but think that she has matured significantly from what I remembered. She's still spoilt (by Andy, don't deny!) and everything but I'm sure she will make a capital housewife. I always laugh at her worrying about what to cook for dinner and scolding us for dirtying the carpeted floor. It's endearing to see her acting so housewifey. Hanging around Cui and Andy is not as awkward as I expected cos Cui is always suaning him and we laugh hysterically while Andy looks mystified.

Plate of comforting luncheon meat and egg

Speaking of food, it's really expensive here especially imported Chinese goods. A small can of spiced pork costs CA$3.15! Cycled with Andy to Chinatown one evening shop for groceries. That was one time I appreciated Singapore's health checks and well stocked markets. The quality of food in Chinatown is appalling. You end up getting frozen food (our pomfrets) because it is cheaper and probably safer to eat. Eggs in a carton, such a common, taken for granted food in Singapore, have to be individually examined cos most are cracked or painted. Biscuits left on the shelf are usually expired and rotten apples are thrown in with the unblemished ones. Yikes. It was rather fun though trying to balance the shopping bags on my handlebars as we navigated the streets.

Bustling Chinatown

Domesticated Andy

We saw a street artist painting on the sidewalk outside Eaton Centre yesterday. He did an INCREDIBLE chalk copy of the Girl With The Pearl Earring (famous painting by Vermeer. read the book by Tracy Chevalier) and I was heartened to see that many Canadians supported him in spirit and in cash.

Au revoir NYC!

Today is a rest day after a 12 hour bus ride back from NYC. I enjoyed our bus trip through little American towns - Binghamton (quaint and charming), Syracuse, Rochester (modern town), Batavia (small slip of a town), Niagara Falls (didn't see the falls) - where the highway is in the middle of green forests and lakes. Both Cui and I are not in optimum health. She has perpetual stomachache and diarrhoea while I have a mild stomachache. She is heavily medicated and has eaten 5 kinds of pills and coconut juice which Simon says helps tummy aches. We blame it on NYC's polluted environment.

I'm addicted to NYC. Despite its dirty streets, brash people and polluted skies, NYC is seductive in an inexplicable way. I spent my last couple of days exploring the less crowded neighbourhood of Greenwich (corrected by Cui's bro and pronounced as "Gran-nich"). It's a beautiful bohemian neighbourhood with leafy courtyards, old fashioned row houses and Italianate townhouses (owned by the filthy rich). Less crowded than Times Square and downtown Manhattan, Greenwich is populated with NYU students so you can expect alot of cafes, quirky shops and bars (Holland Villagey but more vibrant). Cui spotted some rainbow flags so yeah, there's a gay community there too.

We got lost there on the first day as we wandered around Bleecker St and Grove St trying to find Magnolia Bakery. We ended up having a very late lunch - tunch - at an Italian restaurant. I had bacon Fettuccine Alfredo (pasta tossed with Parmesan cheese, butter and heavy cream) and Cui had mushroom pesto ravioli (pillows of pasta stuffed with mushrooms). The food was fine initially until we got sicker and sicker (when the cream sank in and clogged our arteries) and was too puckish to eat anymore (it was the start of a series of stomach upsets).

Cui found my Pink Tea Cup (recommended by Ms Tan) nestled in a shady picturesque corner of Grove St. It's a charming little Southern cafe (all pink!) with coloured glass lamps and pictures of famous black people adorning the walls. We saw a poster voting this place as the "best soul food restaurant". They serve pretty decent comfort food, read: lots of carbs and fat. I ordered the super cheap humongous lunch set which was yummy. The pork chops is not like the pork chops back home; it comes with the bone and is thick, battered and fried till crisp on the outside but still juicy inside. It comes with 2 large bowls of side dishes - I chose potato salad and french beans - and fluffy albeit salty biscuits (what we would call buns) with butter. Utterly stuffed and unmovable after that. I've been visiting alot of universities this trip.

We headed uptown to Columbia University one day where Cui will be doing her masters next term. Columbia is a dream! Exactly like how I picture an Ivy League uni to be. Sprawling manicured lawns and well restored historical buildings which look like castles and posh interiors, I feel like doing a masters in their renowned law school too. Cui is paying an arm to study there but it's the sort of uni which makes you actually think you'll enjoy going to school everyday.

I am resigned to not visiting every attraction I initially planned to visit like checking out the vintage shops in Lower East Side. We ended up shopping in mass produced stores like H&M, Macy's, Old Navy, American Eagle Outfitters, Guess etc. These stores are concentrated in the Soho and Herald Square region so I'm pretty familiar with the places now. NYC has many gorgeous buildings representing different architectural styles. Soho is famous for its cast-iron buildings while I spotted other Art Deco (Empire State Building), Beaux Art (Macy's), Gothic (churches) styles around the city. Old juxtaposes with new, that's what makes NYC so enticing.

The last touristy place we visited was South Sea Port - almost at the tip of Manhattan - which has lots of cafes (Cui bought a Godiva choc ice blend which probably induced her current diarrhoetic state) and shops. It smells a little fishy though.

Anyway we just found out that this apartment was once a hospital. This is so not comforting to know. I had the creeps when we went down to the basement to do our laundry just now. Cui insisted that it was the surgery room. Shiver my timbers. We're gorging ourselves on pizza-flavoured goldfish now.

Land of consumerism

We arrived in New York City 2 days ago on a foggy morning after a 10 hour bus ride through Syracuse and Buffalo. My first glimpse of NYC was through bleary eyes - I saw skyscrapers, sandstone buildings and narrow streets. Like Toronto, NYC is an old city consisting of many beautiful old, historical buildings. But unlike Toronto, the buildings and streets are poorly maintained. Everything looks old - not the nicely restored old but the grimy, broken down old. The Port Authority Bus Terminal where we arrived at looks like an underground dungeon. I wonder why since taxes here are relatively high and NYC is suppose to be a developed Western city.

Cui's bro has an expensive little flat by the Hudson River and a 10 mins walk from Times Square. Very convenient and accessible. We bought the 1 week subway pass for $24. Cui is our subway guide cos she reads the incomprehensible subways maps really well. The subway routes form an underground labyrinth and according to the stories I read, there are secret passages everywhere. The subway stations are all dang, dark places reeking of urine. The carriages are none the better.

view from the apartment

New Yorkers are generally unfriendly people especially certain racial groups. Being Asians in a predominantly White and Black city is a disadvantage cos we stand out to much. The service here is shabby; shop assistants answer us curtly or condescendingly. Damn annoying but I guess you'll get used to it. Yesterday we went to the Guess store in Soho to buy a dress for Cui. There was a hole in the chiffon dress she wanted and we asked the sales girls what we could do about it. Ironically, the Chinese sales girl was utterly dismissive while the other sales girl was slightly more helpful. Andy refunded the dress 5 mins after he bought it. Cui and I talked about how the standard of living here can't be very high. The air is really bad, everywhere is old and crumbly and the poor are really poor. We met a few weird beggars and ever weirder people. And people walk around with a pissed off look which you have to adopt to not look like a tourist (after a long day of walking, I mustered that look quite well). Cui was telling me that Toronto's attitude towards foreigners are different. They accept people there while in NYC you have to assimilate (and speaking with a slang helps). I don't feel as safe and comfortable here.

Bad things aside, NYC is indeed the epitome of cool. Cool is probably an uncool word to use here, says Cui, but you get what I mean. People, from preggie mothers to school kids, dress fashionably, use makeup and thing is they seem to achieve all these without trying too hard. Shopping is pure joy cos clothes and shoes below $110 are tax free. There's a humongous range of brands (all those that I see and crave in my mags) and they are all packed around Soho, Upper East Side and Greenwich Village. Chinatown and Little Italy are charming pockets of neighbourhood with a more laid back atmosphere and people seem friendlier. We went to Andy's fav Chinese restaurant - Nonya (exorbitant hawker food. Popiah for $5! But it's quite authentic.) - and got scolded for not tipping enough.

I'm fascinated with the lights in Time Square where all the Broadway musicals (we couldn't get tickets for Beauty and the Beast) have gigantic posters and theatres of their own. Even McDonald's is brilliantly lit up. I'm trying not to think of the amount of CO2 generated. People say that Times Square is over hyped but I don't feel so. Maybe I'm dazzled by the bright lights on Broadway.

Wall St, Rockefeller, Tim es Square, Broadway, Puerto Rico Day

It has been an exhausting 2 days. Cui has just whipped up a breakfast of bagel, cream cheese and boiled egg. We're too lazy to leave the house.

On bike

Bicycling is a breeze in Toronto. Cyclist-friendly bicycle lanes and bicycle stands are conveniently scattered throughout the city. It helps that the air is relatively unpolluted and cool. I felt my spirits lift as I free-wheeled down the leafy streets - it's a glorious feeling to whoosh through the wind and feel my hair billow against my face (typical romantic notion). And cycling gets you to places quick.

Cui, Andy and I cycling outside Ontario College of Art and Design

The fun thing about being a traveller is that you possess an uncharacteristic wide-eye admiration for everything you see; you feel gratified with the simplest pleasure you receive; you shed your cynical thoughts, relax and prepare to get lost and best of all, you spend indiscriminately without the usual guilt. Cui is amused at my constant gushes. She's immune to Toronto's beauty and constantly remarks "You're disgusting!" But she treats me pretty well which is more than I can say for poor Andy haha.

Toronto is a city, a young city compared to the civilisations of Rome and Greece so there isn't many places of interest. Actually it depends on how you define "places of interest". What I'm referring to are tourist spots with specific attractions such as a zoo, a tower or a rock formation. I guess what I'm looking for this trip is not to have attractions thrown bam bam bam in my face but to soak in the ambience of each neighbourhood and get a feel of the lifestyle and culture here.

Ironically, I've been eating alot of Asian food here. Cui brought me to a Korean restaurant near Kensington Market for lunch and we ordered the pork bones stew which turned out to be a massive pot of spicy broth, cabbage, potatoes and three gigantic meaty chunks of pork bones. And of course they served it with those cute plates of Korean appetisers. An utterly satisfying meal for CA$6! Kensington Market (place of my heart!) is a laid back, bohemian neighbourhood with a street of cottage style shophouses selling a fabulous range of vintage clothes and accessories. Interspacing the clothes shops are flower shops, organic food shops and little hole-in-the-wall cafes. The walls of the shops there are covered with murals and painted in rainbow hues. Coupled with the flowers and clothes displayed in the open, you can imagine the myriad of colours in Kensington. A psychedelic feast for the eyes!

After Kensington, we cycled to Queen Street West which is supposed to be a hip and happening shopping cum chill out spot for students. All I can say is that the shoe shops are the tops! Cui bought a fushia pick suede flats and I bought a striped square-toe flats with delightful red bows at the tip. We felt utterly guilty and very pleased. Unlike Orchard where shopping is done in malls, Queent St West is more like Haji Lane - lined with stand-alone shops which means you can peer into the display windows and get sucked into the material world.

At 8pm we were still shopping at Urban Planet, a large mass American style boutique with cheap clothes. Cui occupied the fitting room permanently because of her indecisiveness and Andy's disapproving looks while I busied myself with styling her. She's tres fun to style cos she's so skinny and ALL the clothes fit. Anyway the sky is deceivingly bright at 8pm (it looks 5pm) and all of a sudden, I felt weary. Cycled home with shopping bags swinging from my handlebars, trying desperately to maintain my balance and look poised (go Bridget Jones!).

On foot

Toronto is a green city both in landscape and in spirit. Large pockets of green spaces dot the city and because houses here don't have fences, the flower gardens of homeowners seem to blend in seamlessly with the streets creating a borderless garden in the city (Singapore's tag line in the past. Now it's "city in the garden"). Best of all, they are really into recycling here. Recycling bins are found everywhere and people actually carry shopping bags around even though there is no tax on plastic, i think.

Cui and I had a tofu burger for breakfast from this little Chinese bakery tucked away on Baldwin St. Not as blend as it sounds, the giant bun was toasted and fluffy while the pan fried tofu sandwiched between was tastily seasoned. Perfect for a chilly morning!

The city is a charming mix of old, historical buildings and modern steel structures. Naturally I was wowed by the stone and bricks Gothic looking colleges of the University of Toronto, complete with turrets, domes and climbing ivy! It's a very unique mish-mash of ancient colleges and new school complexes sprawled over the city (they have no shuttle buses so imagine hopping from one fac to the other). Since Cui has access to almost everywhere, she took me on a most in-depth exploration of common rooms, library, grand halls, courtyards, chapels, classrooms and toilets (they have the coolest vintage stable doors!). Everything is old-school cool and very English. Apparently the Grand Hall in one of the colleges is modeled after Cambridge and Oxford so it appears very Hogsworth-ish. In fact, the spooky corridors and plush libraries are totally reminiscent of Harry Potter! Ok, I tend to go a bit ga-ga over architecture but the U of T is really picturesque.

The oxymoronic weather - chilly sunny - is the perfect climate to live in. You get a tan, don't perspire and get to wear nice sweaters and leggings. We had lunch at Ginger, a Viet cafe, with reasonable prices, generous helping and delicious BBQ lemongrass prawns. Of course we ended the day with a round of shopping down the very, very long Yonge St (pronounced "young" not "yong"). I unleashed my shoppaholic powers at the Dollar Shop (the best creation after Daiso) and bought alot of useless things (whoppers!) while Cui patiently waited and tried to stop me. She's a really understanding tour guide especially when she is not used to carrying her own shopping bags haha.

We had to retire at 6 plus in the evening cos we were tired and I was feeling a little jet-laggy. The sky in Toronto looks different, more brilliant and nearer to us. I wonder why. Cui says it's cos the buildings are more spaced out and lower therefore we see more of the sky. Perhaps. Dinner was a home cooked meal of chicken curry and prata, courtesy of Simon who is a pretty decent cook. Cui doesn't want me to blog about the next thing (she's afraid it will show badly on her hospitality but it's NOT her fault duh) but I find the matter utterly hilarious so here it goes.

The drain in our bathtub started bubbling and regurgitating its liquid waste last night when none of us have bathed yet. Sediment and coloured water filled the bathtub but there was surprisingly no smell. The guys went to call for maintenance while I decided to poke around the hole. Cui REFUSED to let me enter the bathroom even though I reassured her that I've seen worse. Guess what I fished out? Endless clumps of hair! Gross Gross GROSS! Totally like Sadako's hair *shudder* from her watery grave. But it was fixed eventually.

Canadian Terra

6 am and the light was streaming in full blast through the wide windows. I lolled around on my inflatable air bed and tried to get into a warmer spot (crazy Cui had both aircons on when it was 7 degrees). Yeah it was that cold last night when I arrived. Crazy summer. Today's weather is a shocking 9 degrees! I feel frozen already (obviously did not pack warm clothes. Thought it was beach season).

on my bed in Cui's room

Neddy meets a new friend

It's 8 degrees outside now despite the high UV radiation. The sunlight is so misleading. Cui is brushing and blowing her hair for the millionth time and watching CNN now. She's still the same harum scarum, talkable girlfriend even though I've not seen her for 2 years. They met me at the airport yesterday (Cui, Andy and her friend Simon) with a rented Honda Civic. It was an exhilarating ride through night-time Toronto. Lights, lights, lights in the darkness. We took a spin through Uni of Toronto - beautiful castle-like buildings covered with ivy - and I swooned over the gorgeous architecture.

Free and easy holidays feel different from the usual guided tours. The fact that I'm lazing around now with a cup of milo instead of rushing around outside shows the pace my trip is heading towards. There's a fantastic view from our apt in downtown Toronto - the famed CN tower rising tall in front and a mix of modern and oldish offices. Can't wait to walk the cobblestone paths!

view from a window

I'm still reeling from the grandeur of the Alaskan mountain range which we flew over yesterday. It's like watching Planet Earth real time out of the plane's window. Alaska btw is not covered in snow nor is it very cold (12 degrees). The landscape there is more tundra than artic so you'll see alot of grassy plains and coniferous trees. But of course the mountains didn't disappoint.

aerial view of snow-capped mountains

Ok Cui has finished doing her eyes so we shall go catch some breakie now.

Hitches

I received a phone call today 5 mins after I came out of the cinema (watched Zodiac with Kah Ming. Pretty cool thriller btw). It was a call from the tour agent. She told me I had a flight tomorrow. "Cool," I thought, "They actually bother to remind me." Then she blurted out that the flight was cancelled. CANCELLED???

How suay is that? Depressing thoughts clouded my mind for a second and cleared the next when the agent told me that they transferred me to a flight on Cathay Pacific. Not bad, an upgrade! But the thought of rearranging my plans sucked. I have to tell everybody (i.e. overly concerned family members) about the news and I foresee endless explanations.

The tour agent chided me for not registering online for my travel mileage points (she said I could redeem a ticket to Tokyo. Yeah a one way ticket to Japan. Like I will use it). Like I cared about points when I'm on the verge of not going on my holiday. Then she told me I will transit at Anchorage.

ANCHORAGE?! Anchorage = Alaska and Alaska = polar bears, ice, white landscapes, cold weather and penguins (or are they only found in Antartica)!! Cool, no pun intended. I probably won't even have the chance to sniff the artic air (will I freeze if I step out in a T-shirt and jeans?) when I'm stuck in a transit room. But hey that doesn't mean one can't hope!

Heartache

Heartache: when your heart squeezes involuntarily in funny sporadic wrenches and the feeling never abates.

What can you do? Nothing. There's no balm to soothe emotional pain.

Your heart becomes fearful just thinking of the loved ones that will leave you forever. You give up pursuing your dreams because you feel that you don't deserve them or cannot achieve them. You are afraid that your heart will have to suffer.

Yet tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And the fear of suffering inhibits your dreams and hopes.

So Yivon, go ahead and say what you have to say, do what you have to do.

A new look at maps

Although they are useful sources
Of information we cannot do without,
Regular maps have few surprises: their contour lines
Reveal where the Andes are, and are reasonably clear
On the location of Australia, and the Outer Hebrides;
Such maps abound; more precious, though,
Are the unpublished maps we make ourselves,
Of our city, our place, our daily world, our life;
Those maps of our private world
We use everyday; here I was happy in that place
I left my coat behind after a party,
That is where I met my love; I cried there once,
I was heartsore; but felt better round the corner
Once I saw the hills of Fife across the Forth,
Things of that sort, our personal memories,
That makes the private tapestry of our lives.
Old maps have personified winds,
Gusty figures from whose bulging cheeks
Trade winds would blow; now we know
That wind is simply a matter of isobars;
Science has made such things mundane,
But love - that, at least, remains a mystery,
Why it is, and how it comes about
That love's transforming breath, that gentle wind,
Should blow its healing way across our lives.

Amen to that.

By Angus Lordie (artist) in Love Over Scotland - Alexander McCall Smith.

Mascara-ed

Lately, I discovered the wonders of the humble mascara. Like almost every other thing, you have to actually use it before realising you cannot live without it (Yivon has been extolling the benefits of makeup but I just didn't see her point. Until now.) The 845am workdays at Rodyk have SHRUNK my eyes. I look into the mirror every morning, depressed at the sight of my nearly non-existent double eye lids, so one day in an uncharacteristically proactive mood, decided to mascara my lashes in a last ditch attempt to widen my peepers.

I was of course, late for work. Mascara-ing lashes requires a tremendous amount of skill and adroitness which I have yet to master and lack respectively; considering how idiot proof my tube of mascara is already. Unlike conventional types, my mascara applicator has a comb head instead of a brush head. Hence no clumping, less smears and better control. It makes sense to comb my lashes instead of brushing them since I obviously don't have enough eye-hair to brush. Naturally, I observed some points about lashes like how our lashes appear longer towards the end of the lash line - perfect spot for extra layers and curls.

The Majolica Majorca mascara I'm using (shipped from Taiwan) has a tres glam packaging of black and gold, reminiscent of Anna Sui's slightly gothic designs. The only annoying thing is how effective it clings on to my lashes which means that no amount of makeup remover can budge it. So with my fingers, I have to "pull" the mascara (which has turned into a rubbery paste by that time) off my lashes (oops there goes a couple of precious strands). WHY the heck am I still using it?? Probably inertia.