NumeroUno7:
Very beautiful.. I wonder how this place would be in the summer

I can only imagine. I hear people get to ride on cruise boats in the Fall. That'd be fun!

Hybrid600:
Amazing!
I wish you took pics of the falls so we too go shout "omo" for here!
Keep em coming!

I think I took fewer pictures of the Falls alone. I have more videos which and other pictures that show people's faces.

symbianDON:
Quite an interesting account so far!

Thank you! There's quite some interesting things I'll be sharing too.

Sweetvie:
Wow!
I'm following
Lemme grab a seat

Fasten your seatbelts...it may be a bumpy ride

timibare:
Oh God of Elijah, hear my voice!! I must visit this place in Jesus name!

Amen! Hope that happens sooner than you even expect. Like this trip happened to me. Funny story

Sweetvie:
which phone are you using?

Used a friend's 14PM.

Left the restaurant around 8:15 or 8:30pm and continued my journey to Toronto.
Streetlights on freeways (highways): I was surprised to see that the freeway (highway) had street lights. When I was in Ohio for a short visit, I found that you only see streetlights on freeways at intersections or where there are exits. This was same when I visited Maryland. Don't get me wrong. Some streets have streetlights but not the freeways especially interstate roads (that connect states). Anyway, I was happy to see the streetlights for a long stretch.

Road network: The interstate route I plied had about 3-5 lanes (going) and same for vehicles going the opposite direction. Quite similar with the US states I have visited so it wasn't a hassle navigating the roads. I noticed that unlike the US, some roads do not have rumble stripes (they are like engravings at the edge of roads that prevent drivers from running off the roads. Once your tires get on it, it feels like you are running on railway tracks). It is a cost-effective road safety measure most roads I have plied in the US have. I found this is not the case in Ontario. I stand to be corrected.

License: As long as you have a US national driver's license (I mean an all-state license), you can drive in Canada for I think up to 3-6 months with it. States in the US issue different licenses that do not necessarily allow you drive in other states except you opt in for a National Driver's license. Since I had my license, I only had to maintain the rules (speed limit, etc).

You can easily tell when you get into Toronto. Save for the signs, the high-rise buildings all around you will tell you so.
In the US, downtown is like the Maitama of Abuja and Lekki Phase 1 of Lagos. I mean, they are where you see the tallest buildings and the most beautiful architecture. That's where there are a lot of businesses and offices and lovely things to do. There's an unhealthy (not literally) amount of condos (condominiums) I saw too

In Toronto, everywhere looked like DownTown! I'm not kidding. Of course, there are parts of Toronto and neighboring places like Scarborough, Markham, etc that do not have such architecture all-round, however, when I was driving to the hotel, I could only see beautiful architecture for a long part of my drive.

Let pictures speak

PS- The building with the red light on top is the CN Tower. I learnt Twas the tallest freestanding structure in the world before Burj Khalifa in Dubai took over in 2009.

Day 1 was spent on traveling and ended with the Niagara Falls tour.
Day 2:

Had planned to wake up earlier but my body was weak Decided not to drive and set out to experience how the public transport system works. It took about 45mins or more to figure out the route to ply (I heavily relied on Google Maps). Inputed my destination and clicked on the 'Train' icon/option. It gave me different options (some required me to board one bus and two trains) while others required more and less. The plan was to get to the CN Tower. I found there are fun places to visit around there so it made sense to spend about 1hr plus from the hotel to get there.

The public transport system here is quite interesting and not too different from how it works in some US states, I guess. I have only used the train in DC. Well, we were required to pay on the bus (as I understood, you get a card - can't remember what it is called - and you load it with some funds. On entering the bus, you tap it and it deducts the amount). Sadly, I only had my temporary US debit card (which was charged as a credit card) and the bus didn't accept that. Sadly, I couldn't pay cash because I changed bags last minute and forgot my small Canadian currency innit. Anyway, I explained to the captain of the bus that I was new and he allowed me hop on for free (only because he saw I was genuine. I understand people take advantage of people's niceness which isn't cool!!!!!!!).
I told him where I was headed and he said he was going to drop me at Union Station or Main Station which I later found out was a central hub. I still had my google maps active and I saw the name of the bus stop I was to alight at and the details of the metro (subway) I was to board and what time they arrive and depart. It gave me confidence.

After alighting, I made my way to the subway. It took me a while to get there and I took pictures along the way.

Culture shock: When I got there, I was looking for how to pay for the subway I was to get on. Usually, you have some ATM-like stands that you can get train cards (like debit/credit cards) you load and tap on readers to get access to the train. Well, after much questions, I was told that the area was a -free zone- meaning that since the bus transferred me to the subway (of which I technically paid for), I did not need to pay again to use the train there. I was only going to pay at the next subway station. It was pretty cool!

Didn't take pictures in the subway. Not fancy plus there were lots of people innit.
Finally made it to the stop closest to my destination.

More pictures

More pictures

I like that the US and Canada take accessibility seriously. I'm sure other countries do too but I can only speak for what my eyes have seen. They make special provisions for differently-abled persons that use wheelchairs. So, wherever you see that blue wheelchair sign, just know that there is some special provision made for the person.
For example, the urinary for men can have a lower one to accommodate them. Where you usually access with stairs, you could have ramps or cemented walkways to enable them roll.

Also, look at the ceilings. Not everything is sparkling

Borgamaame:


Thank you! There's quite some interesting things I'll be sharing too.

I cant wait to read what it is

This country is too fine abeg

Borgamaame:


I can only imagine. I hear people get to ride on cruise boats in the Fall. That'd be fun!

Is it true that food is very costly there too.?

Borgamaame:


Amen! Hope that happens sooner than you even expect. Like this trip happened to me. Funny story

amen, thanks

Borgamaame:




Fasten your seatbelts...it may be a bumpy ride

Sure!

Borgamaame:


Used a friend's 14PM.

I thought as much

Why have I not seen anyone cursing Nigeria under this thread as usual?

Olalomi01:
Why have I not seen anyone cursing Nigeria under this thread as usual?

No need wasting energy always on a failed country.

I'm scared before we could sort out simple things like electricity I might already be 80 by then; chai who I offend

ImpregnaTor:
No need wasting energy always on a failed country.

I'm scared before we could sort out simple things like electricity I might already be 80 by then; chai who I offend

LoL. Leave. No one tied your butt down in Nigeria.

Just seeing this.

You should have tried Turo also. Lots of options and i think it's cheaper everytime i have used it than Enterprise.

How was the border passage? Heard the officials at both sides can be a pita sometimes.

For the speedlimits there are stretches that are 70miles on the 401 also.although limited to about a 60km stretch..but 100KM/hr isn't bad enough.

This is beautiful..

One personal question for OP if he/she didn't mind.

Did you travel alone? If yes, how is it like travelling alone.

NumeroUno7:
This country is too fine abeg

They try

ZINNYBANKS:

Is it true that food is very costly there too.?

Well, costly means different things to different people. I believe people that actually live here are in a better position to say if food is costly because my stay is a short stay. However, I found things (snacks and food I bought) to be cheaper than the US...of course, because of the difference in the value of US dollars and Canadian Dollars. I will tell you about another culture shock I had - gas!

Stay tuned

Sweetvie:
I thought as much

Lol

Olalomi01:
Why have I not seen anyone cursing Nigeria under this thread as usual?

Lol... C'mon, be nice please. Show some love
This year, no violence please

ImpregnaTor:
No need wasting energy always on a failed country.

I'm scared before we could sort out simple things like electricity I might already be 80 by then; chai who I offend

Don't give up yet
Hope you get to vote for your choice candidate. The change starts with you, remember?

onegig:
Just seeing this.

You should have tried Turo also. Lots of options and i think it's cheaper everytime i have used it than Enterprise.

How was the border passage? Heard the officials at both sides can be a pita sometimes.

For the speedlimits there are stretches that are 70miles on the 401 also.although limited to about a 60km stretch..but 100KM/hr isn't bad enough.

Honestly, I did not have a lot of information at my reach (I guess a Google search could have changed things). Anyways, I was going to go for Enterprise until I chanced on Alamo. I was kinda weary of some 'non-popular' rental companies for fear of a bad experience. I have heard rumors about some unnecessary strict conditions some give and some cars that are not always in best shapes that some give. I think I went on Priceline or one of this travel agencies and found Alamo to be cheaper. I then reached them directly and switched at the last minute before committing. Did my background check and all. Next time, I will consider Turo. Thanks for sharing

Border passage was smooth, I'd say. They checked my documents and asked few questions - that was it. Both at the Niagara-Buffalo and Windsor-Detroit border. I guess I did not give them reasons to doubt my genuineness. Did not travel with cigarettes of alcohol and anything that could have caused a long wait at the border. I hear not everyone has smooth passages. Anyway, I'm thankful it was smooth on both days.

Yeah. I saw up to 110km/h on QEW I think. I was happy I think that's the closest to 70mi/h and of a truth, 100km/h is not bad. I liked it.

Looks like you're quite conversant with the terrain.

Allylic:
This is beautiful..

One personal question for OP if he/she didn't mind.

Did you travel alone? If yes, how is it like travelling alone.

Thank you! I'm glad you like it so far. Well, I didn't travel alone. If I was going to flying, I probably would have but I can't drive for so long. The max I have done at a go is 6hrs and 30mins or so. I don't have much experience with solo trips. It can be fun and you can achieve a lot more because you are in total control of your time and you don't get to worry about your other peeps unless you all agree that you will be solo.
I know traveling with one or two other people or even more can be a less expensive way to cover new grounds.

I was happy to find an ATM where I could withdraw Canadian dollars with my temporary US debit card. I was charged some fees by my bank though but it saved me a lot of worries. Sometimes, it can be better to have cash on you to avoid situations where you cards fail you.
I hear some banks block transactions outside the US until you call their international collect number.


More pictures...