Canada 2008

A crucible of world cultures, a smelting pot of ethnicities, that's totally Toronto for you. Wherever in the world you're from, you're sure to run across a long-lost relative (nine-times removed) or a fellow-countryman in this city. We were probable lucky  - getting off  the Air Canada flight, we were greeted - right from ' Customs & Immigration', to the Currency exchange, to the Tourist kiosk volunteer, to the airport shuttle driver - by "desis" (vernacular for Indian diaspora...from India as opposed to Indians from Canada/USA). We know that in this era of political correctness, the term "native canadia"' or "first nation people" is preferred to "native Indian" as is "inuit" to "eskimo"....but there are still too many

After checking into our hotel, we decided to step out and discover the city. Toronto has an only just adequate public transport and signs are sorely lacking in airport & subways - you really have to peer around to spot them but you can still manage to get around if you've got your wits about you. The subway does not go all through to the Airport (which is really weird) but they do a transfer bus from Kipling station included in the cost, make sure you get a transfer ticket for either direction.

We started with Younge Street where we got off the subway at the Eaton Centre which is a huge indoor shopping mall. Younge Street is touted as the "world's longest street" supposedly about 1900 km or so. It's the best place to pick up bargain local souveniers and to stroll along, people watch and soak in the lively Toronto hustle. The downside was the piles of muddy snow piled along the sidewalks at this time of the year. For trendy upscale shopping head to Bloor Street/ Yorkville.

(to be continued....sometime)