Kindness in Toronto

I got to know Fan Lan in the church youth fellowship way back in the late 1960's. Her family had been particularly kind to me. Back in 1972 After I finished my A Level in 1972, I was unable to continue tertiary education due to financial difficulty. After she knew my financial difficulty, she convinced her mother to act as financial guarantor to enable me to successfully apply to do a degree course in civil engineering at the Southampton University, UK. Even with the university acceptance, I didn't have the money to fly there and to pay the course fee. In the end, my plan to study there never materialized (Read here). Had I gone there, life would have been totally different. Of course, God had other plan! Later on, Fan Lan went to study in Canada and eventually settle down in Toronto.

Each year when she came back to KK from Toronto for holidays, she would without fail remind me of my promise to visit Canada. It was her persistent reminders that nudged us to finally proceed to plan for our August/September trip to Canada. Once we had confirmed our tour, she immediately offered us to stay in her sister's house in Toronto. She has earlier shifted from her own house to stay in her sister's huge mansion while her own house was under renovation.

Grand spiral staircase.

Breakfast in her residence & Pho Hung (Vietnamese Ngiu Chap) in Balwin Street.

An avid coffee drinker, she took us to the touristy Balwin Street for a stroll and a cup of coffee. She also made sure we can savor more Canadian coffee by packing a few bags of freshly grinded coffee powder for us to bring back to KK.

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Annabelle, granddaughter of Fan Kiok.

Our host took us for a dinner just before we flew back to KK. 

Left: Fan Kiok & Fan Lan.
Right: Dr. Man, Fan Kiok's spouse.

Friends in Missisauga, Toronto

While in Toronto, we managed to link up with Esther Chong and spent half a day with her family. We knew her since she was a little primary school girl way back in 1979 when we were staying in a government rented quarter. That semi-detached house in Taman Foh Sang belonged to her late father. Later on, the parents sent her and her brother to the house for English tuition by my wife. After marrying William from Brunei, the family moved to Canada and settled down in Toronto. 

When we finally met in the afternoon of 3 September 2017, She started by driving us around the neighborhood of Missisauga showing us some of Missisauga's seafront and the iconic buildings.

Lakefront Promenade Park

Like the twin towers in Malaysia, Missisauga too has a unique pair of towers which some refer them as "Marilyn Monroe' Towers". This twisted twin towers are said to resemble Marilyn Monroe's hourglass figure. In terms of design, the larger tower twists 209 degrees from the base to the top. Credit must indeed be given to the structural engineers, Sigmund Soudack & Associates for having successfully completed this peculiar design.

The landmark is visible throughout the
neighborhood.

Our reunion ended with a sumptuous home-cooked meal at the Ng's residence.

Hop-On-Hop-Off City Sightseeing Tour, Toronto

A very convenient way to see and explore some of the favourite attractions in Toronto is to take the hop-on-hop-off bus. We bought the two-day tickets that also entitled us for a free harbour and islands cruise in Lake Ontario (Read here). 

For those sitting at the upper deck, it's best to have an 

umbrella or poncho raincoat in case of rain.

A favourite stop along the bus route is the Casa Loma Castle, a massive residential mansion built in 1911 - 1914 by financier, Sir Henry Pellatt. It has 98 rooms covering 67,500 sq. ft. In the end, barely living there for ten years, he had to vacate it due to financial difficulty. City Hall finally sized it in 1924 for unpaid taxes. It is now a museum and a landmark.

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The bus tour also allowed us to see some of the unconventional building design and architecture.

The Ryerson University Student Learning Centre.

Royal Ontario Museum.

The Aura, tallest building in Canada stands at 

272m with 79 storeys.

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CN Tower & Rogers Centre.

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We managed to capture a photo of the Baseball Arena of Rogers Centre through the glass partition of the souvenir shop. Unfortunately, our hope of watching Blue Jays Team live was dashed because the team was not playing there during the period we were in Toronto.

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Another favourite stop is the St. Lawrence Market. This is also where we stopped for snacks and lunch.

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As we walked along the streets in Toronto, we were occasionally being entertained by interesting characters and scenes.

Cosplay at Fan Expo, Metro Toronto
Convention Centre.

Busker at Yonge Street.

Toronto Inner Habour & Island Cruise

The Toronto Inner Habour and Island Cruise offered us an opportunity to view some of the key landmarks and skylines of Toronto city from beyond the coastline in Lake Ontario. We saw island parklands, wild life, marinas and skyscrapers in the largest city of Canada.

Two pieces of architecture, the CN Tower and Roger Centre - Toronto  baseball stadium distinctly define Toronto skyline. Almost throughout the cruise, this 553.3m high iconic tower was so conspicuous that I almost never lost sight of it.

 

I managed to capture the landing of the plane 
during the cruise.

Wild life around the islands.

Residential property at the lakeside is among the most expensive in Toronto. 

Old Quebec

I was incredibly impressed by the beauty of old Quebec. Its attraction to tourists was further elevated after it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 3 December 1985.

Almost all visitors start the tour from Notre-Dame-les-Victoires Church, a historical church in Place Royale which was originally built in 1688. The original building was destroyed by British bombardment and what is now standing is a reconstructed one completed in 1816.

Notre-Dame-les-Victoires Church.

Wall murals in Lower Town of old Quebec City.

Our tour of the old Quebec City started with an early lunch of typical French cuisine at a road side restaurant overlooking St. Lawrence River.

St. Lawrence River separates the old City from the
new City at the far end.

Escargot.

Duck Legs.

Old Quebec is very tourist friendly. Handicapped and physically challenged visitors can opt to move uphill and downhill using the funicular train. 

Walking to the Upper Town.

Of course, walking up on foot is so much more interesting compared to using the funicular. There are souvenir shops, coffee houses along the ways.

Fairmount Le Chateau Frontenec, a luxurious hotel strategically built in the Upper Town has an awesome view of St. Lawrence River and both the old Town and the new Town.

Building that houses the Ministry of Finance,
Quebec at the Upper Town.

St. Lawrence River.

We did not manage to see Quebec new city but caught glimpses of the two famous bridges linking the old and the new cities.

The older - Quebec Bridge.

The newer bridge, Pierre Laporte Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in Canada. Longest span is 667.5m carrying a six lanes carriageway.

The newer - Pierre Laporte Bridge.