Dad's Trip to Montreal - A Pictorial Journey - Part One

[mcgillianaire]

Last Thursday, my dad arrived in Montreal. Barely a few hours after getting off the plane and traveling for 24 hours we headed out to Khyber Pass - an Afghan restaurant. My dad met 9 of my best friends.



Only one girl responded to my invitation!?







Early Friday morning we picked up our car from Hertz, visited a couple Hindu temples in West Island and then headed towards Toronto. Having made good time along the way we decided to drive downtown and check out what all the hype of Canada's fastest growing city was all about.

Toronto is happening! What a different atmosphere compared to Montreal. Where Montreal is romantic, Toronto just oozes an air of confidence and energy. Progress. I'm sold.



Hindu Mandir in DDO (North Indian)



Murugan Temple in DDO (Tamil)



My dad praying inside the Tamil Murugan Temple









Did I mention Toronto has trams? TRAMS! I love trams! I'm sold.






Making sure we stay on track while downtown. The car had a GPS system which was INCREDIBLE!



Skydome & CN Tower









Chinatown






Entrance to University of Toronto






UfTs Convocation Hall. McGill doesn't even have one!



What an awesome view of the CN Tower while leaving UfT






Leaving Toronto behind...

Then we headed to Mississauga to meet up with a family who used to live in Oman. One of two best friend's of my mum's who emigrated from Oman to greener pastures. Ironically, they couldn't stop telling us just how much all of them, except perhaps the husband, missed living in Oman.

Whether you realize it or not, there's no doubt living in the gulf just grows on you. Everything is laid out for you on a platter. Maids to take care of housekeeping and a general sense of laidbackness. In the West, the system is in place but you got to make the individual effort for anything to happen.









This is the biggest shopping mall in Ontario and the 3rd biggest in Canada. It houses the world's largest Wal-Mart store.






I have now visited Saravanaa Bhavan in 4 different countries (USA, Canada, Oman & India)


If you think McDonald's is the epitome of Western fast-food joints, ignorant souls, please visit India. For the volume and time it takes to make South Indian food, Saravanaa Bhavan is the perfect example of an eating joint that puts its mouth where the fast food really is.

Comments

[roopkirani.livejournal.com]

Toronto just oozes an air of confidence and energy.

There are a few other things that ooze out of Toronto's air :p

Toronto is a great city but it is SO congested!

What kind of camera do you use? The picture quality is very impressive :o)

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Yeh, I can imagine congestion being a problem there... they've already got so many urban highway projects going in and out of the city.

I use a Sony DSC-P93A - 5.1 mpx - great camera for the novice photographer. :)

[3neonangels.livejournal.com]

hey... dammit i wish i coulda been at khyber pass! then you could have had TWO girls heheheh. nice temples, it's cool they let you take pix inside. stupid question but are non hindus allowed inside? TO looks ok but not as nice as mtl. and what is that indian fast food thing? you say we have them in the states? whereabouts?

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

2 girls indeed! oh vell...

in india they don't let you take pictures inside unless you get some special, special permission. in montreal they don't seem to care so much but even then it's a bit unnerving to do it without asking for permission. i just push my luck and see how much i can take till they get annoyed. :)

non hindus are allowed inside all parts of temples in montreal that i've visited but back in india, they are also allowed inside but not into the main central core of the temple called the 'sanctum-sanctorum' (garbhagriha/garbhagudi). this is especially so in south indian temples and might be slightly different in north indian temples.

[soaddictive.livejournal.com]

Hehe, my boyfriend went to Toronto last weekend and all he could talk about was "I got to eat at Saravanna Bhavan". Funny you should also go there. Must be a Tamil thing, ehhhhh?
Looks like you had a blast! And how did your dad like Mtl and T.dot?

[hystericalrealm.livejournal.com]

Well, you already know my opinion on all of these peektures! Which is a great reminder that I shouldn't be talking to others when I'm really damned tired.

[imagnocean.livejournal.com]

Hey... these are fab photos!

I found a link for you!!!! http://www.bidoun.com/ GO LOOK AND BUY!

xxx

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Haha! I know the editor of this magazine... when she was planning on setting it up she asked me if I would be interested in contributing/editing!!

I met her on an Al-Italia flight from Montreal to Oman... there were THREE stopovers (Toronto, Milan and Dubai). In Milan I bumped into her randomly and then a couple hours later I bumped into her again. She was with a group of other students studying in N.America and heading back to Dubai/Muscat!!

How crazy is that...

[imagnocean.livejournal.com]

TRULY!! And you didn't even know the magazine existed til I mentioned it!

[tigereyed-hash.livejournal.com]

Wa-how. To quote you... I'm sold!

There are so mny places I have to visit when I 'grow up' i.e. have enough money to buy damn plane tickets and enough money left to do touristy shopping OR become really rich and famous.

Beautiful pics! Thanks a lot for putting em up. :D

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

:) I know exactly what you mean... till now I've been lucky to visit so many places thanks to my dad but from now on, it's gonna have to be on my own bank account! :S

Thanks, and you're welcome! Another set of pics should come up soon.

[messicat.livejournal.com]

Woah, I'm DEFINITLY going to Toronto one day! Those pictures are great! And the Southern Indian temple is just beautiful.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! :)