ElijahIme1992:
Op u no dey enter mexico?

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

Borgamaame:
In Ontario

Finally made it pass the border. It was a pretty straightforward process. The officer checked my documents (Visa in my passport) and asked few questions. You are required to declare any cigarettes and alcohol you have on you. After other checks, I heard "welcome to Canada, enjoy your stay". Mind you, I don't know much about traveling with goods across the border. I just had my luggage with me to avoid long waits.

The first thing I noticed on arrival was the KM/H signs. As I mentioned in my previous post (I think I did), US uses miles. But it wasn't a hassle maintaining the speed limit. While the vehicle's speedometer had a hybrid and analog count, there was a digital feature which I just toggled on with a button and it switched from Miles to KM on my dashboard. I noticed I was driving slower than the US. The most speed limit I saw was about 100KM/H which is about 65 miles per hour. In the US, the most I have seen is 70 miles per hour which in KM/H is approximately 113. Anyway, I had to obey the law.

The second thing I noticed is the road network. Looked pretty much like some freeways (highways) in the US. I was surprised to see the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) and the picture of the Queen in some Canadian dollars. Anyway, let's see what Canada has in store.

Still enroute Niagara Falls, Ontario...
All seemed to be going well until I noticed my network switched from 5g to LTE and Emergency (I didn't think about roaming). Problem! Plus my battery was almost flat. Thankfully, I found a McDonalds on the route and decided to branch. Got snacks, eased myself, charged up, and connected to the wifi to reroute to Niagara Falls. Time is around 5:30pm and its pretty dark.

Niagara Falls, meet soon!

Borgamaame:
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).

Borgamaame:
After Leaving Yonge-Dundas Square, my next stop was a Korean restaurant nearby. I'm not sure what informed my decision to do that (I guess one of my new year resolutions is to try new dishes wherever I find myself). Oh..I remember! A friend who is a K-pop and K-drama fan recommended 'Jajangmyeon'.

From wikipedia: Jajangmyeon or jjajangmyeon is a Chinese-Korean noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang, diced pork, and vegetables. Variants of the dish use seafood, or other meats. Both the name and dish originate from Zhajiangmian.

buttlover:
can i call u?

Borgamaame:
As you can tell, it was a long boring drive. Thanks to my Gospel playlist (with Mercy Chinwo, Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan, Ada Ehi, Limoblaze, etc) I did not sleep. Had frequent stops to fill my tank and get food. From the airport, branched to Chick - fil - A to get Waffle Fries and Sandwich and strawberry lemonade (sorry, didn't take pictures of those).

Pictures - on - the -go

Ten06:


When a Nigerian don't want to stress himself to get what he want he will put the name of Jesus in it and begin to expect miracle to get the things for him. And in most cases they don't even get what they wish for because they end up not putting the work.

Abbiamaka73:
One can tell that you guys are leaving a good and beautiful life there 🙏💝

Borgamaame:
As you can tell, it was a long boring drive. Thanks to my Gospel playlist (with Mercy Chinwo, Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan, Ada Ehi, Limoblaze, etc) I did not sleep. Had frequent stops to fill my tank and get food. From the airport, branched to Chick - fil - A to get Waffle Fries and Sandwich and strawberry lemonade (sorry, didn't take pictures of those).

Pictures - on - the -go

Borgamaame:
Interesting story...this was my first time using chopsticks
I dare say I failed at the one and only assignment I had...to use chopsticks to eat Jajangmyeon. It was tough! I resisted the urge to use the fork and persevered till I finished lol.

Hope to try it again. As they say, practice makes perfect...

NumeroUno7:
Nice one OP... I am glued... Please i'd appreciate if you give pictoral illustrations of your thoughts about Canada. I love to see more of Canada; heard they have this striking similarities with the USA but then we know some things differ about Canada ranging from currency, house structures, streets, environment, development, transport systems, etc

Nolevel666:
Pack all the Nigerians in Nigeria and dump them into an empty canada and united states. After one year come back and see what they will turn the place into.

They know how to run to other countries yet have no plan to transform theirs into the places they are running to

ElijahIme1992:
Op u no dey enter mexico?

Borgamaame:
As you can tell, it was a long boring drive. Thanks to my Gospel playlist (with Mercy Chinwo, Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan, Ada Ehi, Limoblaze, etc) I did not sleep. Had frequent stops to fill my tank and get food. From the airport, branched to Chick - fil - A to get Waffle Fries and Sandwich and strawberry lemonade (sorry, didn't take pictures of those).

Pictures - on - the -go

Borgamaame:
Hello Nairaland Fam, hope you are recovering from the 'detty December'.
In the spirit of the new year, follow me on a road trip to Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

Itinerary: Columbus, Ohio - Niagara Falls - Toronto - Brampton - Windsor - Detroit (Michigan) - Columbus, Ohio - Penn State.

I happen to be in Ohio for a few days so I plan to take off from Columbus. The plan is to rent a car for three days (some options include Enterprise, Hertz, Alamo, etc). I think I will settle for Alamo. Got a quote for a mid-size SUV for $345 (does not include insurance) as long as I return at the same location and time as I picked up. If I had opted in for 4 days, I would have been charged a weekly amount. But since it is less than four, I was charged a daily rate which when you add taxes and some other charges adds up to $345.
Gas (fuel): The car's tank will be full on pick up and I'm expected to return it full (except I pay about $54 or so...or a little more or less) and I will not have to worry about returning a full tank. Well, I opted in for returning a full tank.
Insurance: To avoid stories that touch the heart, I will use a rental car insurance company I found online to cover my trip. I will use Bonzah and I got a quote for about $37.

When I decided to embark on this trip, the first thing I did was to map out an itinerary (not necessarily all that will take place in Canada but how to get there by road). I used Google and found several US states that border different parts of Canada. For those in Detroit, Michigan and environs, you can get in through Windsor, Ontario. Those in New York and environs can get in through Buffalo, NY (through the Peace bridge). I think one of the states in New England (comprises Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, etc) borders Montreal, Quebec. Since Pennsylvania is somewhat closer to New York and I was in Ohio at the time, I decided to enter Canada through Buffalo, New York. The plan was to get to Niagara Falls in Ontario first before moving to Toronto. Google said the drive from John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) where I pick up my rental car to Niagara Falls in Ontario is approximately 5hrs 24m (352 miles). Kindly note that Ontario is a province while Toronto is a city. Then, from Niagara Falls to my Hotel in Toronto (Days Inn by Wyndham) is approximately 1hr 35 m (141km). U.S uses miles whereas Canada uses kilometers.

Immigration and Border: As long as you are not a U.S passport holder, you require a visa to enter Canada. When I applied, the turn around time was pretty decent. Thankfully, they no longer require covid-19 testing and quarantine as they did during the peak of the covid-19 pandemic. So, less worries.
Let's hit the road.

Pictures attached were taken at the CMH airport...the car rental section.

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

Borgamaame:
Hello Fam, sorry for the delay in transmission
Got caught up in a lot.

Well, after the Falls I headed to my hotel. The drive was about 1h 30m or so. Twas a pretty interesting drive.
On my way, I spotted an Indian Restaurant (Indian foods are really good! and I love their Mango lassi drink). Couldn't resist the temptation to branch plus my stomach was rumbling (I had eaten only waffle fries and spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A since morning).
Anyways, I ordered for rice some goat stew. I love curry stew, polak stew with lamb as the protein. Really nice meals I have tried.
7 Spice Bar and Masala Grill (At fairview Street) is the name of the Indian Restaurant and boy, the food was so filing that I had to takeout some. It was too much for one sitting
Plus their service was great! I recommend.

Pictures attached...

Eriokanmi:
You for sleep now, lol. How could you have slept with the amazing sightseeing with picturesque views on both sides as you drive along ? I'm quite familiar with Buffalo, upstate NY so, I know most of the places you mentioned. Nice!

Borgamaame:


Lol! You have recommendations of places I can visit? Or fun things to do?
I'll welcome them wholeheartedly

ednut1:
USA is better than Canada. But Canada is more immigration friendly, ease of getting papers.