Eurotrip Diaries - London

Day 1

7 am. Our plane has just landed in the UK – half an hour delayed. It’s so early in the morning here London time, and it’s now my bedtime Toronto time. Unable to sleep much on the flight, we are so tired – and I have a whole day’s itinerary planned! I wonder if we will get anything done.

9 am. The line for immigration control is taking forever. It’s a huge line that snaked its way through many turnstiles and we seem to never be moving. We amuse ourselves by reading out aloud the landing card form in attempted English accents.

11 am. Finally, we are home. The Tube seems complicated, and boy was it hot! London is going through a heat wave (35 degrees C!) and we are in the middle of it. I know the London Underground is a pretty extensive network, but you think they should be able to develop A/c! It is NOT air conditioned, and I was cooking there. I must look like hell – a shower and tea later, we are now ready to explore London. We head for the London Eye.

With a little help from my friend, I start figuring out the Tube map and network. It’s actually pretty easy once you understand that there are MORE than one lines and zones (no thanks to Toronto!).

12 pm.
The wife: “Hey, do you think we have the correct time on our watch? GMT is not BST you know.”
Me: “Why don’t we ask someone what the correct time is?”
The wife: “You want to ask someone for the time? You know, you are UNDER the Big Ben!”

1 pm. The Big Ben and Houses of Parliament was just too good. The scenery, their layout, the river Thames, all side by side, was like a post card. We had beautiful weather for photography, clear blue skies and puffs of clouds on the horizon.

If only it wasn’t so freaking hot!

The London Eye, though expensive, was also something worthwhile. The lineup wasn’t bad, 30 minutes long.

It goes really up, and takes its time too, so we got a lovely birds-eye view of London.

I straightaway think three days is just too short a time to do everything in London.

2 pm. Where the HELL is that Cleopatra’s Needle? It SHOULD be here according to the Google map but no one here seems to know what I am talking about? Or maybe they are telling the directions but I just can’t figure out what they are saying.

2.30 pm. Being in London is like living in Monopoly!

Those of us who were brought up on the British version of Monopoly (in the Middle East) will know what I mean.

3 pm. Lunch at Trafalgar Square. Man!

London is an expensive city.

Everything figure wise is same, only in pounds. A coke is a pound. A Chinese take away is 6-7 pounds. When you convert to dollars its double! Otherwise it seems like home. The same diversity of people, all cultures in one city, and halal places galore! Loving those red phone boxes. Met some friends for lunch and then went for a walk to Leicester Square and Picadilly.

I thought I was tired?

5 pm. We are home. Their recycling bin here is purple! As soon as we are home, it started to rain. And boy, did it rain! I am done for the day, I think.

Day 2

9 am. My friend tells me the Change of Guard is at 10 am, so we are out early. Had a good night’s sleep – well, we did sleep at 7 pm and woke up just some time ago! Once we are there we see that the Change of Guards will happen at 11.30.

So that gave us some time to do some souvenir shopping, walk the Mall (the street beyond the Buckingham Palace),

take some great pictures in the early morning sun and before the crowds get here.

We also surveyed and then occupied a great vantage spot atop a memorial.

11 am. The police constable comes and warns the crowd to beware of pickpockets and keep their belongings safe. The crowd is more interested in posing for pictures with him. My wife gushes out, “What language is he speaking? It isn’t English and I speak English and it sounds nothing like what I speak! These people don’t know how to speak English.”

I am tempted to add “innit”.

1 pm. After the Change of Guards, walked over to 10 Downing Street, which is now 10 Blocked Downing Street. I guess after their attacks they had to do this.

3 pm. They should give us an award. We finished the British Museum in 1 and half hours!

To be fair, I was only interested in the Rosetta Stone and the rest of the museum was spent posing for funny pictures along old statues.

4 pm. Enter Harrods. The Diana-Dodi memorial is ho-hum. Question, do you smile for a picture when you pose beside a memorial to their death? Tried to hunt for the “Diana and Dodi, killed” statement but couldn’t see it. Makes for a great story though.

Lots of Arabs. Especially the women in abayas. You can smell their perfume a mile away. They move with their own entourage. I have never seen anyone shop at a diamond section of a department store with a trolley. Holy! Then there was this cake that cost, believe it or not, 5000 pounds!

At first I think, too bad it’s Sunday and it closes at 5, need more than hour to explore Harrods, especially their oyster bar! Then, after seeing my wife shop, decide its great it closes at 5.

Day 3

9 am. Today, we decide we simply have to do EVERY thing on our list. So that means early wake up plan. Which means we get comfortably behind our schedule from the get go. Women, apparently, need more than 5 minutes to get ready.

12 pm. Madame Tussauds was fun! Once inside there’s lines for practically every statue, especially Brad and Angelina. Our desi instincts take over. We cut lines, rush as soon as someone leaves, camera ready. So we do all. When in London, be a Londoner. Which nowadays means be desi.

Salman Khan was done well, Shah Rukh Khan was so-so and Aishwarya did not look anything like her. But man, was she wearing a lovely sari! The fun part was spotting the wax statues amidst the crowd!

1 pm. St Paul’s Cathedral is really, really huge.

2 pm. Brick Lane. Lunch. I guess I should avoid any buffets that have a sign "Please use only ONE plate".

3 pm. The Tower of London enactments are childish but fun!

And the Tower Bridge should be renamed the London Bridge, because it is definitely the better bridge.

They have a castle in the middle of the city? Wow! Er, wait, don’t we have something similar? Too bad I never went inside Casa Loma. But I bet Tower of London would beat that hands down.

4.30 pm. Greenwich. Where is that Prime Meridian?

“See that hill, that’s about 10 minutes walk away? Once you are at the hill, the observatory’s at the top.”

WHAT?

Man. This. Is. Taking. Forever.

4.50 pm. Finally, at the top of the hill. Just in time.

It’s so cool standing on the Prime Meridian. One foot in the East, one foot in the West. Kind of like me.

What a great view from this hill. There’s London in the distance. There’s the O2. This HUGE area is London. And they have a subway that covers it all. Toronto’s subway just looks babyish in comparison. TTC = Take The Car.

6 pm. Done for the day. London – done. It starts to rain as we head back home. Perfect.

Eurotrip Diaries - The Trip

The wife and I had always talked about visiting Europe, but after visiting San Francisco and the West Coast of USA last year, the intent became stronger. So it was that this March I decided that this was it - the summer of 2009 would be the summer we visited Europe. It would be our proper 'tourist' honeymoon.

It was hard not to be tempted. As the school year drew to a close, most of my friends started to visit Europe. My facebook was filled with albums titled "Eurotrip". They showed the movie Eurotrip twice on late night tv.

Note to the wise: not a movie to be watched with the wife.

Can you spot my name?

Journals were gathered, previous blog entries of past visits by other bloggers were perused, travel companies were called, brochures were procured - and finally - amidst the many destinations that Europe has to offer - a plan, limited only by time and funds, was formed.

We would fly to London. From there it was rail all the way. And so, the cities we visited were: London, Paris, Basel, Lucerne, Zurich, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome.

We were in a quandary as to whether go as part of a package tour, or make our own arrangements. In the end, we chose to go by ourselves, and frankly, I think it was the better option for us. A package tour takes you around a bus while we got to experience Eurail travel, first class. Package tours do get you to more places, but we chose to really explore the places we were in, and in the end, the only experiences we missed from most packages we saw was a night in Amsterdam, and an evening in Cologne/Munich. And unlike package tours, we could do Paris, London, Rome for more days, and see everything in detail and up close, rather than just driving by it.

It took energy though - package tours take you direct to your destination on an air conditioned tour bus, whereas we had to negotiate the subways and underground and public transit, but I think it adds to the experience.

It was quite frankly, one of the best 17 days of my life. The trip was everything we wanted and expected it to be, and more. It was so culturally refreshing to visit as a tourist sites that are NOT North American, and do not follow the North American model of trying to milk you out of every penny you got. It was fantastic to meet proud people who actually knew a bit of where you came from. It was great to see things we had seen only on TV, or go to places whose beauty is not artificial, but natural.

I did keep a journal when I visited, so over the next couple of weeks, I hope to revisit those days here on my blog, and hope someone else gets inspired to go on a Eurotrip of their own.

Luminato 2009

This Sunday, Geeki and I, along with a few of our friends, went downtown to visit the Luminato Arts festival.


Of course art isn't really my thing - I mean what are those rags hung on a fence supposed to represent? - but as they say, it's art. Plus, it's all corporate financed so I don't think the city (and taxpayers) are paying a lot - and I can live with that.


There was this drummer (picture above) who was playing his beats on the new wavefront deck opened along the waterfront, and people from the crowd were beginning to join in. I was thinking if Anu Malik was here, he would copy that tune.

One of the exhibits was the 1000 tastes of Ontario. You pay 5 bucks for a coupon and you can trade in that coupon at any of the food vendors at that exhibit for whatever they are selling. The 1000 tastes of Ontario included Lebanese shawarma and mango lassi! We are truly multi cultural.


FYI, the mango lassi was 5 bucks. FIVE BUCKS!!! What a ripoff. Even the over priced Lahore Tikka charges less for theirs. Only white people could be seen having the lassi. I wonder what they were thinking.

"Oh these poor brown people. Their food is so expensive! No wonder they are so poor!"

As evening commenced we made our way to the HTO grounds. There were already a lot of people on that hill, awaiting the free performance by Cirque du Soleil.


As I said, notice the crowd, its multiracial. When it comes to appreciating good FREE stuff it's not just brown people who are there.


Look at the stage (picture above). I know we have to be green and all that, but whoever planted a tree in front of the stage should be FIRED.


Show started late - 9 o clock was the start time and they started closer to 10! - we desis are slowly taking over Toronto with our punctual habits. They said it was due to rain or something. Once the show started though, it was quite good.


Actually, this one show was quite awesome. The circus acts were entertaining, the music fast paced and over all, quite a good finale. I would return next year.

Convocation U of T

This past week was Convocation week at the University of Toronto. I always amazes me that no matter how crappy the weather is the week before Convocation, the sun and blue skies always show up for Convocation week. If you are a tourist planning to visit Toronto, if you schedule your trip on this week - you will have great weather. Year after year, it seems like a strange coincidence.

The picture above is of University College, from where graduates are led out in a parade to Convocation Hall. One member of my family graduated early this week, I ran into Geeki and his friends yesterday and yet another friend is finishing on Monday.

Graduates entering Convocation Hall

As an aside, the university always tends to its athletic field right before graduation ceremony, so the grass is super green and well tended right on Convocation Week. And good weather seems to bring out people who want to play football (soccer). What really gets my goat is this:


Few people decide to make a team. And the way they differentiate the team is that one group keeps its shirts on, the other group plays topless!

If girls wants to go topless that's another thing, but I mean, guys, I know you are dying to get your shirt off and show your six two-pack to the world, but no one can see it due to all that hair! Just... put a shirt on!

I end with a shot of one graduation ceremony in progress.

Speak English!

No stranger to controversies, Andrew Flintoff has made some stunning anti-immigration statements ...

"I have no problems with a multicultural society, I think that is to the benefit of the country. But you have to be careful what levels you take it to," Flintoff said.

"It annoys me when I phone a hotel receptionist in my own country and they don't understand what I am saying because they don't speak English," he added.[source]

I know I am a brown guy and I am supposed to be angry at Andrew Flintoff here, but I know exactly how he feels.

The other day I was at a No Frills grocery store, at the seafood section. There was a Chinese lady cutting the fish and dealing with the customers. Now, I had a question about lobsters - never bought or cooked them before.

"Excuse me," I asked her, "These lobsters, how long can you keep them in the bag before you have to cook them?"

"Lobster 6.99 per pound." She replied.

"Er, ok, what is the size of that one?"

"Lobster 6.99 per pound." She replied.

"Do you steam the lobster here or do you give it live?"

"Lobster 6.99 per pound." She replied.

"Look, this is the first time I am getting a lobster and you can't answer a single question!"

"You hold!" She then beckoned to another man to come and deal with me.

It was then I lost my temper. Here am I, in Canada, and I can't get serviced in English. Why the hell are you working here then? If you can't speak English, and that too PROPER GOOD ENGLISH, you should not be working in any capacity that involves dealing with customers.

So while I don't understand what Flintoff exactly means by "levels you take it to", I can certainly understand his frustration with people who reside in an English speaking country and make it a point of pride not to speak English.

Why did Archie choose Veronica?

Today, Archie Comics revealed that in issue # 600, fans can see who Archie will pick between Veronica and Betty, finally ending the over-70-year old love triangle.

*drum roll*

He picked Veronica! I know Obama is not worrying over this issue (yet) but Archie has been a staple part of our pop culture - and now I feel something is over... an end of an era *sob*

So, in any case, why DID Archie pick Veronica? I ran through some possible reasons:

It's the economy, stupid.

He will marry Veronica, then have Betty on the side ("best friend" *wink*).

Jughead was already taken.

Archie joined an MBA program.

A secret xxx-rated video featuring Betty Cooper was released on Youtube.

Archie wants to run for President and needs Change ($$$) he can believe in.

Betty moved to Canada (I always thought with her goody-two-shoes-boring nature, she was a secret Canadian).

Archie's no gentleman ('cos we all know what they prefer!)

I also find it surprising when people sympathize with Betty and why everyone says she is the girl next door. Sure, Veronica is rich, but Betty is a blonde! She has a voluptuous figure, is young and hip. That's Pamela Anderson to you... whereas Veronica would be Carmen Electra. And we all know, on Baywatch, who wins between Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra!

PS. Pamela's Canadian too...

In any case, the sad part is, it's now over.

Or is it?

*drum roll*

Tamil Protests in Toronto

The Tamils in Toronto have been protesting and holding marches for the last couple of months in the city.

Even though the LTTE has been hostile to Muslims in the past, and much of the Tamil protests have been due to the LTTE losses, it's still important to support the rights of Tamils to protest and disrupt and make their voices known.

1. To fight comments such as "tell them to go back home to their country if they care so much".

WHAT THE FUCK - these protesters are Canadians and they are making their voices heard. So what if their issue is about a far off land, suddenly they can't protest about it in Canada? Who decides what issues you should protest on - you should be allowed to protest whatever you want to.

Telling the protesters to go "home" only shows racism - it shows you don't really regard these people as "Canadians". It's time for Canada to acknowledge that immigrants are also Canadians and it is perfectly valid for Canadians to have non-Canadian concerns.



2. Politicians are paying interest.

The Tamil protests have shown the value of numbers, steadfastness, organization and media relations - all things Muslims can learn a lot about.

We are hardly organized - it takes weeks to organize a protest with a semi-decent turnout. At that turnout, speakers go on a rant with hardly any thought as to media sensibilities or even basic decent intelligence. You have to be smart with what you say and pick your fights.

The Tamils have also shown the value of good press/media relations. Even after they disrupted the Gardner Expressway the news reported how the organizers were cleaning up the garbage left by protesters.

Steadfastness - the Tamils have done repeated protests and finally a big one that got everyone talking. Suddenly McGuinty has remembered his daughter in Sri Lanka, Ignatieff found a voice, and even Conservative Bev Oda has dropped her fight against red flags.



HAVING SAID ALL THAT

There is a legal way to protest. As long as they stick to legal protesting no one should grumble about the protests. Rather, marvel at how committed they are to the cause.

Yet when they take a highway hostage and stop people from visiting their families on Mother's Day, that's bone headed. And wrong.

Note: I am supporting the right of Tamils (or anyone) to protest. Which may or may not translate to supporting what they are protesting.

Star Trek 9/10

We watched Star Trek last night. Before I go on, here's some rules for NON-TREKKIES GIRLS who watch it.

1. It's Spock, not Spark.

Aaagh! I couldn't believe it when one lady was asking her partner, "So how come there's a new Spark?"

2. Please write a ten page easy on how a guy whose face is bashed up half the time (i.e. Kirk) is considered "cute". Guys everywhere would like to know.

The Star Trek movie's awesome. Seriously, it rates a solid 9 on 10. Why the 9? Well, read the first comment if you want a spoiler discussion.

Man, are we spoiled for movies this summer or what? Last week it was Wolverine. This week Star Trek. Next week Angels and Demons. Following that week, Terminator. And then there's Transformers, GI Joe ...

I have been so lazy for the last month recently. With my exams over and studies done for the time being, I have been taking time off - and watching a lot of movies. Hollywood / Bollywood I have seen them all.

I have actually watched two Bollywood movies back to back on the same day. If there is proof that India is the new land of opportunity, Bollywood is it. It's where tacky scripts get funded, ugly people get jobs as actors or where a guy wearing more gold than Tutankhamen is a "music director".

Brittanto

One of the signs of Spring in Toronto is that people start saying on every sunny day, "Well, thank GOD winter is over. No, really, this time, I MEAN it!"

The second of course is the Univ of Toronto BSA show, which this time was held on March 14 (last Saturday) and which I haven't blogged about because I was extremely busy with some laziness.

The show was called Brittanto and it featured stores. It reminded me a bit of the movie Crash, with different stories woven together and the common theme here being karma. Overall, it was quite fun. Everyone acted really well (the performances looked well rehearsed) and while I would have liked some more songs and dances, it was quite a good show.

The national anthems of Bangladesh and Canada

The show started on time (and not Desi Time) which was an achievement in itself, although UofT BSA shows regularly start on time. And bonus, this time no one mangled the national anthems. It helps that both Bangladesh and Canada have really melodious anthems, although for some reason as soon as the Canada anthem ends I want to just start clapping two imaginary longish balloons together. Too much Hockey Night in Canada for me!

Bangladesh Idol

I like songs, singing and dancing. Bengali culture is a lot about music and so it was nice to see a bit of fun with a Bangladesh Idol setting while at the same time hear some unplugged vocals.

When I was a student, BSA was just a bunch of guys going out to ski, it's nice how big, and diverse, and multi-talented, it has become in 10 years.

Nitol Paye

This "band performance" was the highlight of the show for me. A beautiful song, sung beautifully with no fuss, just plain talent.

Fashion Show

It used to be that (and still is for some) BSA fashion shows was just a bunch of good looking girls walking down the aisle with the best desi dress they have in their wardrobe and guys in the audience hollering. Used to take guts and lots of persuasion to do the fashion show!

The UofT BSA fashion shows, for the last quite sometime, has been different. It is a choreographed skit all on its own. This year featured a mannequin! It was set in a sari store and the "customers" going through the store all feature different fashions. To me, however, it was all about this "mannequin". I had force myself to realize it was actually some one "live" but man could she have convinced me! Her performance was just outstanding.

More Fashion Show

In fact, come to think of it, I never saw any show in BSA more professionally choreographed, performed, or organized better than this one. In my mind, the show two years ago, Ujjibon, was still the best BSA show ever. I did not much like last year's show (probably because I still can't get over the anthem bit), but this year's was very entertaining and very fun. Well done BSA.

Note: Ilham has kindly put up some clips on youtube. As always, there's more on facebook.

Name That Movie - Bollywood Edition

Geeki did the Hollywood version so I thought I would do the Bollywood version. This proved harder than I thought - hardly any memorable quotes are uploaded on IMDB.

Task: Pick 15 or so movies. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie. Post them here for everyone to guess. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.

NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search or other searches.

Note: Where the character's name appears in the dialogue and is a dead give away, I replaced it with [Hero] or similarly as required.

1.
Heroine: I love you?
Hero: Yes, I love you!
Heroine: You couldn't do that much?
Hero: No, unfortunatly I couldn't
Heroine: Thats a shame. We could have won.

2.
Hero: When I dead... police coming. Police coming... 'budiya' going jail. In jail, the old hag will be grinding and grinding and grinding and grinding and grinding..

3.
Hero: Dad, what did you have for breakfast?
Hero's Dad: I don't know... I don't remember her name.

4.
Side Character: I'm going to leave, far from your life... bye
Heroine: Wait [Side Character]!
Side Character: [excitedly] Yes?
Heroine: Thankyou... Brother...
Side Character: [With a shocked look on his face, the theme tune of Hum Aapke Hai koun plays] Don't say anything else... BROTHER?
[gets in the car and drives off crying]
Side Character: Brother... she called me brother!

5.
Hero: You gave me five minutes to talk, I finished in four and half minutes, that's 30 seconds profit. PROFIT!

6.
Heroine: Say it.
Hero: What?
Heroine: What you've never said to me before.
Hero: That I love the kids and Tommy more than you?

7.
Heroine: [Hero], do you know what day is tomorrow?
Hero: [opens his eyes desperately] What is it now?
Heroine: Tomorrow is my first Karwa Chaud. I want you to give me my first water after my fast
Hero: Hands off!

8.
Hero: You are great... You are any man's best mate... You are very kind... You have the world's greatest mind... The whole world is your fan... I feel that you are definitely NOT a man!
Villain: W.w.WHAT?
Hero: A... ba... ba... ba... you're superman! superman!

9.
Heroine: You are an unhappy man and will always be...
Hero: And you are beautiful woman and will always be.

10.
Heroine: Do you walk on the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi?
Hero: Of course! I walk 3 miles everyday on Mahatma Gandhi Street.

11.
Hero: Hey [Heroine]! There's only one house in the village with a neem tree in the yard. There's also a big field beside it. There's some chickens, two cows, and three goats. And I know whose house that is! It's mine, you silly girl! One thing before you go. Mother likes you, too!

12.
Villain: Son of the pigs. They were 2 and you are 3. Still you came back. That too with empty hands. What were you thinking when you were coming back. Sardar will be happy and will give you a goodwill gesture. Hmmm...

13.
Old Lady: Both father and son are incurable. They're hopeless! In fact, puthar, there is no hope!

14.
Hero: You lost your husband and your home once because of me. I will make sure that you won't lose you son too. Laxman will not be harmed.
Old Lady: [Ram starts to leave] Ram? I want both my sons back.

15.
Hero: I don't know what love is. Until now, I've never had good luck and have fallen in love with any of the ladies. I don't even know any ladies, forget about, falling in love with one.

16.
Heroine: If you stay with me, what will your future be like tomorrow?
Hero: No matter what our future may be like, [Heroine], we'll make it beautiful together. But if you aren't with me, then I have no present, past or any future.

17.
Police: Money and women. The reasons men make most mistakes in life. Looks like you've mixed up both.

18.
Hero: Your glance is magic, Your body, fragrance! Whether you agree to it, or deny it, you are MINE [Heroine].

19.
Hero: People say that when beautiful girls lie they become even more beautiful.

20.
Heroine: Are you like checking me out?

West Coast Diaries - 5. Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Phoenix

This post should complete the series. Our trip started in the beautiful San Francisco, continued into LA, before moving on to San Diego and Vegas. From Vegas we went to the Hoover Dam, continued on to Tusayan where we viewed the magnificent Grand Canyon, and then drove to Phoenix to fly back to Toronto.

Hoover Dam

About 40 miles west of Vegas, it's still takes about a couple of hours to drive to due to the heavy traffic.

We were on Highway 93 (linking Nevada and Arizona) where traffic soon slowed to a crawl. They inspect cars as the highway passes OVER the Hoover Dam.

Finally, we parked on the Nevada side of the dam.

Our first view of the dam!

We took a tour that took us inside the dam, which was pretty interesting.


You see the guts of the dam, they explain to you how it all works and also you can see the power generators and hydro what-cha-ma-call-its and all!


You can walk across the Hoover Dam and there are many interesting sights to see.


Remember the scene from Golden Eye where James Bond jumped from the Hoover Dam? Hoover Dam was also in the movie Transformers.

There are the intake towers.


Right next to the intake towers on either side (Nevada and Arizona) there are blue clock faces showing the time in each state.



The border between Nevada and Arizona. We crossed over by foot to Arizona.


A view of Lake Mead from the Hoover Dam. It was somewhat scary to know the structure we were standing on was holding this lake, and all this body of water, in place! Not to mention, Lake Mead had enough water to flood the whole state of Pennsylvania to a foot high (according to our guide).

Soon it was time to hit the road again to Tusayan.

Tusayan

On the way, you pass some interesting sights.

Dead Cows on Sale, only in Arizona!

The road to Tusayan seemed never ending.



If you remember, I had blogged that on the road, we had a flat. It was very scary, in the middle of nowhere, but we were able to walk to a gas station nearby. The flat occurred right outside a small town. They sent someone over to change the tire (and cost us $200 too!). The one time I don't take flat tire insurance I get a flat. Then we drove north on this little highway to Tusayan. It was practically dark and we were super thankful once we checked into our hotel.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast (well as hearty as cold continental breakfast can be), it was time for the Grand Canyon.


On the way, as if I needed any more adventures after last night, a deer jumped on to the road. Thankfully I was just doing 10 mph and it was a turn. The deer looked at me, sort of saying, what are YOU doing here. I have always seen warning of "animals on road" - this is the first time I saw one in front of me.

I just have one word for the Grand Canyon. Majestic!



The majestic Grand Canyon. The first view.

Truly, pictures fail to do this justice. You can never take a perfect picture of the Canyon that you can say captures the beauty of this creation of Allah. You can just look and the Canyon will take your breath away.

No, I am not exaggerating.



It snowed. It was icy at the Grand Canyon Park. We visited the South Rim and literally had to skate around the park.



That's a steep drop. And if you believe me, in places the ice and snow had completely covered the railings. There was no protection to prevent anyone from falling over!



The Grand Canyon.

After that, it was time to head for Phoenix, where we would rest for the night before flying back home.

Phoenix



Phoenix was quite a boring town. Yeah, I was there for a night only but even at 7 pm the town looked dead. I guess a lot of old people lived there!

The good thing was, it was 26 degrees Centigrade when we were there!

The bad thing, as I noted that, it was -26 C in Toronto on our return.

But boy was I glad to be home. Touring is nice, but nothing beats Mom's home cooked meal.