Canada celebrated Victoria Day (the British Queen's birthday) a few weekends back - Monday 21 May was a public holiday. Brendon and I decided to take a drive and go on a shopping trip across the border in Buffalo, New York. The promise of outlet stores and cheap designer shoes was enough to motivate me...
The Canadian dollar has strengthened to a 30-year high against the US dollar (CA$1 = US$0.95), and it seemed a lot of other people had the same idea. The drive there was pretty long, since an accident had created a backlog on the highways. So we took the scenic route and drove along the Lakeshore Boulevard (alongisde Lake Ontario). It took us about 4 hours but it was good to take it easy, and we drove through the smaller, obscure towns and roads.
Crossing the Border in to the US... took 2 hours. On reaching Niagara, we joined the long line of cars to cross the 'Rainbow Bridge' at the Niagara Falls. The wait to get to the booth was about 30 minutes. We handed in our passports with shiny US visas and completed immigration forms, and were then instructed to park and 'go upstairs'. The waiting room was pretty crowded and hot with precious few seats - at least we had brought our own magazines, snacks and water. We waited almost 90 minutes to be called up - we were the only South Africans there during that period - and were processed quite efficiently. We were simply asked what the purpose of our trip was, and how long and where we would be staying. While having our fingerprints and photos taken, we saw some people being escorted out (with their hands behind their backs...) . The US Immigration officer was friendly and I guess quite impressed that we had all the relevant forms completed. He asked where we had got the forms from (we didn't see blank forms anywhere at the border), so I told him honestly... "the airport." On my trip to Philadelphia earlier in the year, I had helped myself to some additional forms to save time on future trips ;)
Not much to write about Buffalo. Small US town. Unremarkable enough that I wasn't compelled to whip out my camera and take photos. The shopping... spectacular. Taxes are low compared to Ontario, and so are the prices. The selection and quantity of goods was scary, and it was so tempting - we had so much space... an entire trunk (boot) and backseat for purchases... ;) However, being a paranoid South African, I did not go overboard, for fear of being stopped, searched and taxed by Canadian customs.
There were tons of Canadians around everywhere we went - we just saw Ontario licence plates everywhere we drove. The most amusing thing I saw in the malls were waste bins completely full and with shoeboxes filled with old shoes strewn around them. Guess some shoppers were very eager to wear their new shoes!
In comparison to the 2-hour clearing of US Immigration, coming back in to Canada took 15 minutes, including a quick stop at the duty-free to pick up some cheap liquor. The line of cars was short and we were only asked where we live, and what items of value we were bringing back in to Canada (err... two bottles of rum? Well within our customs allowance.) A glance at our PR cards and a simple wave of the hand... and we were on our way home :)
The drive back was quick - under 90 minutes from border to front door. Guess we'll be making that trip again in the future ;)
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Thursday, 15 March 2007
Cheese Steaks and Cream Cheese
My first adventure south of the border, and using my Canadian Permanent Resident (PR) card...
My company has an office in Horsham (about 30kms north of Philadelphia), where most of our senior management are. I went out there for a short 2-day trip last week (8-9 March). The trip there was more eventful than the trip itself.
I was booked on a flight leaving at 7h20 on Wednesday morning, and being the paranoid South African passport-holder, I arrived promptly at the airport at 5h15. The way things work when you fly out to the US from Toronto's Pearson International Airport, is that you clear US Customs and Immigration before you board the plane. Canadians have no idea how privileged they are when entering the US - they have their own separate line and they basically get waved through with minimal questions and hassle. Thankfully I was not asked too many questions, having secured a 10-year US B1/B2 visa (visa for business/pleasure) and having only a small carry-on suitcase didn't raise any flags.
We were herded on to the plane at about 7h00, only to be told that we would be delayed till about 8h15 as our plane needed to be de-iced before takeoff. We were in a really small plane (something like 12 rows of 4 people!) with no screens, so the flight attendant has to demonstrate the safety procedures - which he did with much aplomb and gusto. At least he had a sense of humour. De-icing done, we went out to the runway... and then were told that Philly had closed their airport due to poor visibility in the snowstorm, and that our flight had been cancelled.
It was quite amusing, as the passenger in the seat next to me had put on his mp3 player and earphones, and dozed off. We were in the first tow, so when the door opened to let us off, he woke up startled and asked, 'What happened?' Oh, I was so tempted to just tell him we had landed at Philly....
Anyway, all 38 of us were then given the option of being pushed on to the next flight leaving at 11h30, or trying to make other arrangements. I opted to take the next flight and spent the next three hours wandering around the airport and then dozing in the waiting area at the gate.
We boarded at about 11h15 and were then told that the snowstorm was continuing and Philly Airport (PHL) had asked that we delay slightly and aim for 'wheels up' at 12h30. And then... our flight was cancelled yet again! We had the same flight attendant and he was very apologetic - I had to wonder if the final decision to cancel the flight was PHL's or Air Canada's.
We were then told that we had to go back through Canada Immigration to 'repatriate' ourselves, since we were officially in the US, having passed through their immigration. What a pain - it was really busy, with long queues - almost an hour long wait. When the Canada Immigration officer asked where I was arriving from, I said... "The runway." And then she asked if I had bought anything to declare! (Yes... a magazine.) I realised afterwards that Canadian residents are only given a duty-free allowance for a minimum 24 hours absence from Canada. So my first use of my Canadian PR card was a non-event really.
So all-in-all I spent a grand 8 hours (one whole business day) at the airport. Grr. On arriving back at my office, I spoke with our Horsham office - apparently it was not a heavy snowstorm at all, but just constant snow. Sigh - the sissies at PHL closed their airport for 2-3 cms of snow! So the next morning I once again trekked out to the airport (with a strange feeling of dejavu), for the 7h20 flight from Toronto Pearson International... No hitches this time, and we landed on time. Whew.
Anyway... Philadelphia... seemed like a quiet city, didn't get to see much of it though :( I had a rental car to drive up to the office, and took the scenic route through the city centre, mostly avoiding highways. This was a bit painful, as the roads are set out very much like Pretoria, with a grid of one-way streets. Luckily it was just after rush hour, but traffic was busy nonetheless. I found it strange and confusing that, in streets with traffic in both directions, cars were parked in the median between the lanes - this means that you have pedestrians running around all the time, and you need to be so much more aware of a car door suddenly opening in front of you. Brave people.
Our office is in a sleepy suburb, where there's not much to see or do. So I drove back out to Philadelphia the Thursday night, as there's an outlet mall there ;) I must say, it was interesting in that the demographics are similar to SA - this being a bit of a shock to me, having been in Toronto now for so many months. I am now used to seeing many Asian and Oriental faces everywhere.
I arrived back in Toronto on Friday evening, and it felt like coming home. This time, clearing Canadian Immigration was a breeze - no lines, a stamp in my passport and a wave of the hand.
Next trip, I will have to make a point to stay a bit longer, perhaps have Brendon tag along and stay for the weekend. I would love to make a trip out to King of Prussia Mall ... the second largest mall in the US, and the largest on the East Coast. Another side trip would be out to Lancaster to see the Amish way of life.
And no, despite the heading, I resisted the urge to buy a Philly Cheese Steak. And I can get Philadelphia Cream Cheese any time here.
My company has an office in Horsham (about 30kms north of Philadelphia), where most of our senior management are. I went out there for a short 2-day trip last week (8-9 March). The trip there was more eventful than the trip itself.
I was booked on a flight leaving at 7h20 on Wednesday morning, and being the paranoid South African passport-holder, I arrived promptly at the airport at 5h15. The way things work when you fly out to the US from Toronto's Pearson International Airport, is that you clear US Customs and Immigration before you board the plane. Canadians have no idea how privileged they are when entering the US - they have their own separate line and they basically get waved through with minimal questions and hassle. Thankfully I was not asked too many questions, having secured a 10-year US B1/B2 visa (visa for business/pleasure) and having only a small carry-on suitcase didn't raise any flags.
We were herded on to the plane at about 7h00, only to be told that we would be delayed till about 8h15 as our plane needed to be de-iced before takeoff. We were in a really small plane (something like 12 rows of 4 people!) with no screens, so the flight attendant has to demonstrate the safety procedures - which he did with much aplomb and gusto. At least he had a sense of humour. De-icing done, we went out to the runway... and then were told that Philly had closed their airport due to poor visibility in the snowstorm, and that our flight had been cancelled.
It was quite amusing, as the passenger in the seat next to me had put on his mp3 player and earphones, and dozed off. We were in the first tow, so when the door opened to let us off, he woke up startled and asked, 'What happened?' Oh, I was so tempted to just tell him we had landed at Philly....
Anyway, all 38 of us were then given the option of being pushed on to the next flight leaving at 11h30, or trying to make other arrangements. I opted to take the next flight and spent the next three hours wandering around the airport and then dozing in the waiting area at the gate.
We boarded at about 11h15 and were then told that the snowstorm was continuing and Philly Airport (PHL) had asked that we delay slightly and aim for 'wheels up' at 12h30. And then... our flight was cancelled yet again! We had the same flight attendant and he was very apologetic - I had to wonder if the final decision to cancel the flight was PHL's or Air Canada's.
We were then told that we had to go back through Canada Immigration to 'repatriate' ourselves, since we were officially in the US, having passed through their immigration. What a pain - it was really busy, with long queues - almost an hour long wait. When the Canada Immigration officer asked where I was arriving from, I said... "The runway." And then she asked if I had bought anything to declare! (Yes... a magazine.) I realised afterwards that Canadian residents are only given a duty-free allowance for a minimum 24 hours absence from Canada. So my first use of my Canadian PR card was a non-event really.
So all-in-all I spent a grand 8 hours (one whole business day) at the airport. Grr. On arriving back at my office, I spoke with our Horsham office - apparently it was not a heavy snowstorm at all, but just constant snow. Sigh - the sissies at PHL closed their airport for 2-3 cms of snow! So the next morning I once again trekked out to the airport (with a strange feeling of dejavu), for the 7h20 flight from Toronto Pearson International... No hitches this time, and we landed on time. Whew.
Anyway... Philadelphia... seemed like a quiet city, didn't get to see much of it though :( I had a rental car to drive up to the office, and took the scenic route through the city centre, mostly avoiding highways. This was a bit painful, as the roads are set out very much like Pretoria, with a grid of one-way streets. Luckily it was just after rush hour, but traffic was busy nonetheless. I found it strange and confusing that, in streets with traffic in both directions, cars were parked in the median between the lanes - this means that you have pedestrians running around all the time, and you need to be so much more aware of a car door suddenly opening in front of you. Brave people.
Our office is in a sleepy suburb, where there's not much to see or do. So I drove back out to Philadelphia the Thursday night, as there's an outlet mall there ;) I must say, it was interesting in that the demographics are similar to SA - this being a bit of a shock to me, having been in Toronto now for so many months. I am now used to seeing many Asian and Oriental faces everywhere.
I arrived back in Toronto on Friday evening, and it felt like coming home. This time, clearing Canadian Immigration was a breeze - no lines, a stamp in my passport and a wave of the hand.
Next trip, I will have to make a point to stay a bit longer, perhaps have Brendon tag along and stay for the weekend. I would love to make a trip out to King of Prussia Mall ... the second largest mall in the US, and the largest on the East Coast. Another side trip would be out to Lancaster to see the Amish way of life.
And no, despite the heading, I resisted the urge to buy a Philly Cheese Steak. And I can get Philadelphia Cream Cheese any time here.
Monday, 1 January 2007
Happy New Year
Wow, 2007 has finally arrived, and 2006 has been such a roller-coaster.
We saw in the new year at Nathan Phillips square, in downtown Toronto outside City Hall, along with 40,000 other people who came for the free concert dubbed "Canada's New Year's Bash." It was a wet evening but interesting to be surrounded by tens of thousands of other strangers at an alcohol-free concert - the people here don't go half as crazy as South Africans at New Year's. The other interesting thing - that I was also told about at our company holiday (Christmas) party - is that the hosts of parties are criminally liable for their guests if they are allowed to drive under the influence. Sheesh... talk about corporate responsibility. It obviously works, since the road death statistics here are minor compared to SA. And I guess that's what happens when you live in a litigious society.
The mild weather is holding up, and instead of a snowy Christmas, it's been mild and New Year's was wet. Yesterday it was 11C and boy, I'm not complaining :) The cold weather is coming though, so I'll probably see some snow soon.
So in summary, I..
- lived without my hubby for 6 months of the year
- got to practice yoga with the living Ashtanga guru (Pattabhi Jois) in London
- resigned from my job at IS, the first company I ever worked for
- saw my brother married to his best friend (finally)
- stood by my best friend as she got married in Croatia
- sold my car (my little 206!)
- moved city, country, hemisphere - from Joburg to Toronto
- got a job (so similar to my old one) at a new company, Afilias
- bought a new car (a Nissan Versa - called Tiida outside of North America)
2006 was also a year that I
- cried the most (those farewells and weddings)
- flew the most times on an airplane, internationally (twice to London, once to Croatia, twice to Canada; next time I'll use the same airline and earn those loyalty miles!)
- threw away tons of useless stuff accumulated over the years
- got rid of most of my clothing and shoes (*sob*)
- finally cleared out my old room at my folks
- used the most bubble-wrap and foam ever
- packed up a house and shipped off everything in two weeks
- spent the most money (flying and moving is an expensive exercise)
So in ending, some New Year's wishes:
During the year may you have...
Enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrow to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
Enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow.
Enough determination to make each day better than the day before.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We saw in the new year at Nathan Phillips square, in downtown Toronto outside City Hall, along with 40,000 other people who came for the free concert dubbed "Canada's New Year's Bash." It was a wet evening but interesting to be surrounded by tens of thousands of other strangers at an alcohol-free concert - the people here don't go half as crazy as South Africans at New Year's. The other interesting thing - that I was also told about at our company holiday (Christmas) party - is that the hosts of parties are criminally liable for their guests if they are allowed to drive under the influence. Sheesh... talk about corporate responsibility. It obviously works, since the road death statistics here are minor compared to SA. And I guess that's what happens when you live in a litigious society.
The mild weather is holding up, and instead of a snowy Christmas, it's been mild and New Year's was wet. Yesterday it was 11C and boy, I'm not complaining :) The cold weather is coming though, so I'll probably see some snow soon.
So in summary, I..
- lived without my hubby for 6 months of the year
- got to practice yoga with the living Ashtanga guru (Pattabhi Jois) in London
- resigned from my job at IS, the first company I ever worked for
- saw my brother married to his best friend (finally)
- stood by my best friend as she got married in Croatia
- sold my car (my little 206!)
- moved city, country, hemisphere - from Joburg to Toronto
- got a job (so similar to my old one) at a new company, Afilias
- bought a new car (a Nissan Versa - called Tiida outside of North America)
2006 was also a year that I
- cried the most (those farewells and weddings)
- flew the most times on an airplane, internationally (twice to London, once to Croatia, twice to Canada; next time I'll use the same airline and earn those loyalty miles!)
- threw away tons of useless stuff accumulated over the years
- got rid of most of my clothing and shoes (*sob*)
- finally cleared out my old room at my folks
- used the most bubble-wrap and foam ever
- packed up a house and shipped off everything in two weeks
- spent the most money (flying and moving is an expensive exercise)
So in ending, some New Year's wishes:
During the year may you have...
Enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrow to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
Enough enthusiasm to make you look forward to tomorrow.
Enough determination to make each day better than the day before.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sunday, 17 September 2006
Wedding Fever
So it's been a week of weddings. Literally flying from one hemisphere to the next for weddings.
Here are some photos!
Jason and Shirley's wedding on 10 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.
See more pics at http://jasonandshirley.sunshine.za.net/
Nadia and Rob's wedding in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 16 September.
See more pics at http://www.robandnadia.com/
Here are some photos!
Jason and Shirley's wedding on 10 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.
See more pics at http://jasonandshirley.sunshine.za.net/Nadia and Rob's wedding in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 16 September.
See more pics at http://www.robandnadia.com/
Monday, 10 July 2006
Second Leg - London to Toronto
We got to London on schedule (6h30 July 10), but then spent a bit of time in a holding pattern before we could actually land. And... as usual the most tedious part was waiting to clear customs and security. Sigh.
Bit the bullet and bought a return ticket on the Heathrow Express for GBP 27. Met up with my friend Nadia and had a bit of a chat. Dashed back to Heathrow in good time for my flight... and promptly waited. We sat on the plane for a good hour before taking off... apparently there had been some sort of delay earlier, and there was a queue of planes waiting to
take off. I counted 7 planes taking off before us, and saw another 5 behind us. Yup... Heathrow is one busy airport.
Air Canada's planes are older than SAA's ones and there were no personal screens this time. Once again though, I managed to get in some sleep (to make up for the week of 19 hour days spent franctically packing).
Anyway, landed at Pearson International about half an hour late. There had been a hectic storm, delaying many flights.
Luggage took a long while to come out, as they had to switch off the conveyor machines due to the lightning. How rude... you need a $2 coin to get a trolley. Argh. You can of course use a credit card, but for what is essentially R12?! Me with my two 30kg+ bags definitely needed one... and thanks to the kindness of a Canadian gent I met at the conveyor, I managed to "borrow" a "toonie" and get one. Whew.
Bit the bullet and bought a return ticket on the Heathrow Express for GBP 27. Met up with my friend Nadia and had a bit of a chat. Dashed back to Heathrow in good time for my flight... and promptly waited. We sat on the plane for a good hour before taking off... apparently there had been some sort of delay earlier, and there was a queue of planes waiting to
take off. I counted 7 planes taking off before us, and saw another 5 behind us. Yup... Heathrow is one busy airport.
Air Canada's planes are older than SAA's ones and there were no personal screens this time. Once again though, I managed to get in some sleep (to make up for the week of 19 hour days spent franctically packing).
Anyway, landed at Pearson International about half an hour late. There had been a hectic storm, delaying many flights.
Luggage took a long while to come out, as they had to switch off the conveyor machines due to the lightning. How rude... you need a $2 coin to get a trolley. Argh. You can of course use a credit card, but for what is essentially R12?! Me with my two 30kg+ bags definitely needed one... and thanks to the kindness of a Canadian gent I met at the conveyor, I managed to "borrow" a "toonie" and get one. Whew.
Sunday, 9 July 2006
The Trip Here ... Joburg to London
After what seems like forever, I am finally leaving for Toronto!
My departure gate was damn far from the main departure hall... in fact I'm pretty sure I walked all the way through to the back of the domestic section of Joburg International. The plane took off almost an hour late. We had some "missing" passengers and one who was denied boarding. The airlines are getting so strict in enforcing visa checks - a Malawian gentleman who did not have a visa to transit the UK to Germany was prevented from flying. So due to security policies, we had to wait until they could locate the passengers' luggage and take them off the plane.
The plane was a Boeing 747-400 and my seat was upstairs... somewhere I've never been on a plane before. *Really* great for me, as I had a window seat in the last row and therefore a nice ledge to put my stuff and of course, stretch out my legs fully!! Yes, it's great to be not so tall ;) The only issue was that my personal TV screen wasn't working, but I was so tired that I just ate dinner and passed out till breakfast the next morning.
My departure gate was damn far from the main departure hall... in fact I'm pretty sure I walked all the way through to the back of the domestic section of Joburg International. The plane took off almost an hour late. We had some "missing" passengers and one who was denied boarding. The airlines are getting so strict in enforcing visa checks - a Malawian gentleman who did not have a visa to transit the UK to Germany was prevented from flying. So due to security policies, we had to wait until they could locate the passengers' luggage and take them off the plane.
The plane was a Boeing 747-400 and my seat was upstairs... somewhere I've never been on a plane before. *Really* great for me, as I had a window seat in the last row and therefore a nice ledge to put my stuff and of course, stretch out my legs fully!! Yes, it's great to be not so tall ;) The only issue was that my personal TV screen wasn't working, but I was so tired that I just ate dinner and passed out till breakfast the next morning.
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