Day 299: Niagara Falls
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Friday June 3rd
After showering and packing, I had to move my gear to a new room as the top floor had been booked out by a private group for the night. As I was the first one in, I got the first choice of beds …. Lower bunk, furthest away from the door! (In hostel life, bunk choice matters!)
Although I was in Niagara Falls for one reason (do I need to say what it is?), I had a chore to do first. I needed to cross over into Canada and close my bank account. My tax return had arrived into my bank account two days after I had left Canada … isn’t that always the way? … so I was taking advantage of my proximity to Canada to withdraw the remaining money and close the account.
I started walking towards the Falls when I happened upon a Denny’s and popped in for breakfast. I was dying to try out their pancakes after seeing Dave eat them in Bakersfield, and ordered two. They came out in minutes, bigger than any pancakes I’ve seen before, and I struggled to finish one. The server then bought the bill for me to pay – the cost of the pancakes as 99c!! I felt so guilt and embarrassed paying – I left a $1 tip, which is 100%, but nothing in the grand scheme of things!
I found Rainbow Bridge and crossed over into Canada, and the change was instant. Cars with Ontarian number plates; Canadian money; friendly people!! The border patrol officer had even jumped on Google to find a RBC for me when I told him that was my reason for entering the country, but do you think I could find it? After an hour of walking, ignoring the Falls and the frivolity lining the streets, I jumped in a taxi and asked them to take me to the bank, which proved to be miles away from the main strip. It took me all of about two minutes to close my account, and I then proceeded to walk back to the Falls.
Niagara Falls, both American and Canadian, is known as the ‘Honeymoon Capital of the World’. I’m not sure why – it’s more like a poor person’s Las Vegas, with hotels, casinos, and theme parks lining the strip (at least on the Canadian side; surprisingly, the American side is more demure). There were museums from the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not; wax museums; dinosaur mini golf; the Hard Rock Hotel and Planet Hollywood. I had a quick look in the souvenir stores along the street, purchasing a funky snowdome (although I probably should have bought it on the American side, as it would have been cheaper).
Finally, I made my way back down to the Falls. I hadn’t wanted to peek whilst searching for the bank, instead preferring the ‘big bang’ surprise. Honestly … it was a disappointment. I’d posted on the Lonely Planet Forum asking for information about Niagara Falls, and someone had written, “when you get there, you’ll think to yourself – was it worth it?” and now I knew what they meant. Along the river, there was a small waterfall facing the Canadian side, and then the grander Falls about 100m to the right. I’d really been expecting Falls on the scale of the Grand Canyon, but these were paltry.
As all good tourists do, I purchased a ticket on the Maid of the Mist cruise, donned the cheesy blue raingear, and headed onto the boat. The voiceover was near impossible to hear over the crashing waves, and as we approached the larger of the Falls, we got saturated. With the wind swirling the raingear around, it was hard to stay dry and try to enjoy the scenery – and keep my camera dry. Something that interested me was the 1000s of seagulls swarming in the area – it was like being at a rubbish dump!
There were other options for getting close to the Falls, like observation decks and walking along wooden piers, but I chose to enjoy the views for free by simply walking along the footpaths that lined the Falls. I made a bad decision to explore the Guinness World Records Museum, and also checked out the Hershey’s store, which had an amazing café.
Crossing back onto the American side, the difference was startling. I found an Information Centre and asked about a movie theatre, which was apparently inaccessible by walking. Knowing what Americans are like, I set out by foot anyway. I didn’t make it all the way to the cinema, instead calling in at Subway for lunch and then a salon to get my nails done. There were two African American women in there getting their nails done, who had to call for re-enforcements in order to pay their bill. They obviously had their priorities straight!
I enjoyed the peace and quiet of my dorm room for the rest of the evening, as my two dorm mates didn’t return until 2am (I’m assuming they’re workers), catching up on Grey’s Anatomy and organising myself for the next day of travel.
After showering and packing, I had to move my gear to a new room as the top floor had been booked out by a private group for the night. As I was the first one in, I got the first choice of beds …. Lower bunk, furthest away from the door! (In hostel life, bunk choice matters!)
Although I was in Niagara Falls for one reason (do I need to say what it is?), I had a chore to do first. I needed to cross over into Canada and close my bank account. My tax return had arrived into my bank account two days after I had left Canada … isn’t that always the way? … so I was taking advantage of my proximity to Canada to withdraw the remaining money and close the account.
I started walking towards the Falls when I happened upon a Denny’s and popped in for breakfast. I was dying to try out their pancakes after seeing Dave eat them in Bakersfield, and ordered two. They came out in minutes, bigger than any pancakes I’ve seen before, and I struggled to finish one. The server then bought the bill for me to pay – the cost of the pancakes as 99c!! I felt so guilt and embarrassed paying – I left a $1 tip, which is 100%, but nothing in the grand scheme of things!
I found Rainbow Bridge and crossed over into Canada, and the change was instant. Cars with Ontarian number plates; Canadian money; friendly people!! The border patrol officer had even jumped on Google to find a RBC for me when I told him that was my reason for entering the country, but do you think I could find it? After an hour of walking, ignoring the Falls and the frivolity lining the streets, I jumped in a taxi and asked them to take me to the bank, which proved to be miles away from the main strip. It took me all of about two minutes to close my account, and I then proceeded to walk back to the Falls.
Niagara Falls, both American and Canadian, is known as the ‘Honeymoon Capital of the World’. I’m not sure why – it’s more like a poor person’s Las Vegas, with hotels, casinos, and theme parks lining the strip (at least on the Canadian side; surprisingly, the American side is more demure). There were museums from the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not; wax museums; dinosaur mini golf; the Hard Rock Hotel and Planet Hollywood. I had a quick look in the souvenir stores along the street, purchasing a funky snowdome (although I probably should have bought it on the American side, as it would have been cheaper).
Finally, I made my way back down to the Falls. I hadn’t wanted to peek whilst searching for the bank, instead preferring the ‘big bang’ surprise. Honestly … it was a disappointment. I’d posted on the Lonely Planet Forum asking for information about Niagara Falls, and someone had written, “when you get there, you’ll think to yourself – was it worth it?” and now I knew what they meant. Along the river, there was a small waterfall facing the Canadian side, and then the grander Falls about 100m to the right. I’d really been expecting Falls on the scale of the Grand Canyon, but these were paltry.
As all good tourists do, I purchased a ticket on the Maid of the Mist cruise, donned the cheesy blue raingear, and headed onto the boat. The voiceover was near impossible to hear over the crashing waves, and as we approached the larger of the Falls, we got saturated. With the wind swirling the raingear around, it was hard to stay dry and try to enjoy the scenery – and keep my camera dry. Something that interested me was the 1000s of seagulls swarming in the area – it was like being at a rubbish dump!
There were other options for getting close to the Falls, like observation decks and walking along wooden piers, but I chose to enjoy the views for free by simply walking along the footpaths that lined the Falls. I made a bad decision to explore the Guinness World Records Museum, and also checked out the Hershey’s store, which had an amazing café.
Crossing back onto the American side, the difference was startling. I found an Information Centre and asked about a movie theatre, which was apparently inaccessible by walking. Knowing what Americans are like, I set out by foot anyway. I didn’t make it all the way to the cinema, instead calling in at Subway for lunch and then a salon to get my nails done. There were two African American women in there getting their nails done, who had to call for re-enforcements in order to pay their bill. They obviously had their priorities straight!
I enjoyed the peace and quiet of my dorm room for the rest of the evening, as my two dorm mates didn’t return until 2am (I’m assuming they’re workers), catching up on Grey’s Anatomy and organising myself for the next day of travel.
Post a Comment