This coming fall we’re packing the car and heading for a road trip from the East Coast of Canada to Toronto, Ontario, the Canadian capital of everything but politics. Although having visited Toronto countless numbers of times, it was on the books again and it was in need of a shake up. Many of the major attractions have been covered in previous trips; like the CN Tower, and the Rogers Centre (aka SkyDome), others like the Art Gallery of Ontario have eluded me. Here’s the list of 10 things to do in Toronto in no particular order:

1. Art Gallery of Ontario. If you’re into the art scene at all this seems like it’s worth the price of admission. It might be hard to top the National Gallery in Ottawa but it’s worth a shot!
2. St Lawrence Market. Nothing specific here, just a cool spot to walk around and maybe find some fresh food to cook up later on in the day.
3. The Toronto Islands. Did you even know there was an island not far away from the city core? It’s not something I’ve even come close to visiting but there’s a ferry. The thought would be to rent bikes and check this out.
4. Kensington Market. Great shopping for very eclectic tastes and you never really know what you’ll end up with leaving the market. It’s near or part of Chinatown now so is also an ideal spot for some ethnic cuisine.
5. Royal Ontario Museum. This museum is another highlight for most visitors to Toronto, but one that I’ve never stepped foot in. It seems like it would be the type of place you could spend days lost in wonder. Really looking forward to checking this out.
6. St Michael’s Cathedral. An impressive feat of architecture and detail. The character of this building shines brighter than any tower of metal and glass in Toronto.
7. Little Italy. This will be another culinary expedition to hunt down some great food and explore the neighbourhood.
8. Niagara Falls Wine Tour. Not really in Toronto, but close enough. Niagara has too many wineries to mention so we’ll pick one or two and go for some tastings. Local accommodations may be required.
9. Serenades In The Square. There are free musical performances throughout the year at Yonge and Dundas Square. Free!
10. Second City. The historic comedy house lives on with a stage in Toronto. Many of comedy’s greatest came through these doors.

So there you have it. 10 things you may or may not have considered to do while on a trip in Toronto. After actually attempting to do all of these things I’ll report back. In the mean time if you have any other “must-dos” in Toronto leave a comment.

image credit: paul (dex)

Technorati Tags: cheap travel ideas, things to do, Toronto

So you’re travelling to a new place and want to do as the locals do. Eat what they eat, go where they go and acts as they act. An oft espouse piece of travel advice is to act as if you’re a local, otherwise fall prey to scammers and thieves. While good advice in principle, it breaks down in practice in several ways.

Embrace Stupidity Stupid
Let’s face it, you’re lost. Hopelessly wandering in a foreign land. You don’t speak the language and you don’t look like a native. It’s getting late and you need to get back to hotel. There’s no point in hiding the fact that you’re lost in a vein effort to look like a local. It’s just keeping you lost longer. So be lost and look stupid already. The sooner you ask someone for directions the sooner you’re on your way. As a side effect of this you’ll end up safe in the long than trying too hard to blend in.

White Chocolate In Transit

It became very apparent to me that there isn’t much point in “going local” when I was in Barbados. The country has a very reliable and cheap public transit service so we used it as often as possible. The one thing the system lacks is a well defined schedule or well marked bus stops. So you can get on a bus that is going in the right general direction but never really knowing the right place to stop.

So now picture me, the only white person on any of the buses on the island. It’s hard to be a local when you’re the only person singing ivory to their chorus of ebony. I wasn’t going to fit in so why try? So I humbly took the role of tourist and asked to be dropped off close to where I was going.

New Adventures In Stupidity
If you’re not acting stupid you could be missing out on some great opportunities. Some true locals have an innate desire to actually share information with travellers to their lands. They are proud of their home and like to share it.

Not everyone is out to scam you. Of course, you need to be able to tell the difference. So taken an active interest in what true locals have to say, or strike up a conversation with a really dumb question. It’ll pump up their ego and they might be even more willing to share information with a truly naive tourist.

Are you ready to embrace stupidity yet? Well, I’m not actually saying be stupid, but just act it sometimes and you might be surprised by the results.

No Tourists photo credit: Seth W.
Bus Stop photo credit: martinvarsavsky

Technorati Tags: barbados, public transit, stupidity, tourists, travel, travellers, travelling

Do you travel with technology?  For the longest time I’ve been a  bit of a technophobe when it came to travel.  Just a digital camera and that’s about it.  No cell phone, laptop, or any sort of electronic device.  The iPod worked its way into the backpack but still there was never a “real computer” until now.

The latest addition to the travelling family:  HP 10.1″ Netbook

The latest trend in laptops is getting smaller and smaller.  The biggest advantage of that is that they’re cheaper too.  An even greater advantage for the travellers amongst us is the size of these devices.

The 10.1″ laptop is a great way to carry around a fully functional computer without really getting too cumbersome in your overall travel packing.

What I Like About The HP Netbook

The size.  When these netbooks first came out I was skeptical about ever getting one.  It would be too cramped and impossible to read anything on the screen.  It turns out I was wrong on both counts.  After checking out a lot of different I’ve come to a couple of conclusions:

1. 7″ screens are too small for me.  I suspect that checking emails might be OK but any type of document creation is just too cramped.

2. HP has the best keyboard layout for the small format.  The 10.1″ has a keyboard comparable to an average laptop which makes it great for typing at a fast pace.  Finger pecking on a small keyboard is not for this guy.  Why suffer?

What I Don’t Like

Battery life isn’t exceptional.  It’s the standard 3 hours of normal use.  I was hoping for something a bit more exceptional.  And that hoping is what I’ll have to keep doing unless I want to shell out more cash for a bigger battery.  Apparently the Intel processor for these netbooks is supposed to improve battery life which is what I was expecting, but alas, it only makes up for the difference in battery size.

Sleep mode on PCs has always be sluggish and in the netbook it’s not much better.  The PCs just aren’t the smooth operators that macbooks are.  But for a fully functional computer that delivered to your door for less than $300 you really can’t complain all that much.

And That’s It

It’s a great way to travel with technology if that’s your thing.  Although an iPad might be a cool way to travel too there is one significant downside.  There’s no capability to transfer your photos from camera to iPad directly that I know of, so it makes life a lot easier with a simple laptop.

Do you take tech with you travelling?  Would you use a netbook in travel?

Technorati Tags: laptop, netbook, Product Review, technology, travel tech

Yes.  I was really surprised to see slam poetry making an appearance at the opening ceremonies but Shane Koyczan proudly stated more about Canada than could ever be thought up by a beer company’s marketing campaign.

Here’s another version a little longer and put to some music.

If you have problem with finding a Canadian identity you should listen up. We are more.

Technorati Tags: Canada, canadian identity, rant

Trying to decide what shoes to bring on your trip?  There are a few things to consider, but before answering any other questions, you should realize that keeping your feet safe and supported is really important for you to enjoy your trip.  Back pains and blisters shouldn’t be your memories of travelling so investing in a quality pair of footwear is essential.  This is probably the number one thing you should be willing to spend extra money on to be sure you get quality.  Number 1!  Even before your backpack or luggage.  That means it’s important!  So now that you’ve set aside some money to invest in proper footwear you need to decide what type of footwear to bring with you.  This is answered with two easy questions:

When are you going?

Sandals in Sweden in February aren’t necessary, so there’s no sense taking up room in your backpack or luggage.  This is a pretty common sense question to answer.  In the summer sandals are great but don’t rely solely on them (no pun intended).  It still does rain in the summer at times.  I’m a Birkenstock advocate.  They rock, but wear them in before you leave.

What are you doing?

This is the really important question that you have to ask yourself. Are you night clubbing or rock climbing? Hopefully you’re doing both and experiencing all different aspects of local culture but it’s understandable if you don’t choose to.  Everyone has different interests and budgets and that’s cool.  The best bet for footwear in my opinion are hiking shoes.  They provide a rugged grip suitable for some hiking, provide some decent protection from water, and also have support for arches and ankles.  If you can find a dark pair you should be able to wear them out to a bar just as easily as you can off-roading.

It’s all about minimizing the load in your backpack and footwear can easily take up a lot of precious real estate in their so if you can find a multi-purpose pair that’s the way to go.  But if you know you’ll just be hiking, camping and climbing go for the full on hiking boots.  Similarly, if you’re spending your time going to operas and martini bars then a comfortable pair of dress shoes might do the trick.

One thing I strongly recommend bringing along with a quality pair of footwear is a really cheap pair of flip-flops.  As cheap as you can get.  Just something to keep your feet off of the questionable bathroom floors in some of the hostels you might stay at.  The only thing growing on your feet should be toenails.

Hopefully this little article has helped you realize what footwear you should be thinking about bring along with you.  If you know what you’re planning on doing it helps in the decision process, but whatever you do, no more than two pairs of footwear plus shower shoes.

Boots Photo: TheGiantVermin

Technorati Tags: hiking shoes, proper footwear, summer sandals, travel shoes, travel tips, what to pack

A friend of mine sent me this link to a Penny Arcade comic that got me laughing. Although I have written a lot of flying and the security measures surrounding it, there’s no point in taking it too seriously all of the time. Taking it with some humour is the only sane way out.

The good news is that the carry-on restrictions have been lifted and we’re back to some state of normalcy which is great for those traveling to the states.

Are you interested in booking a free flight with all those Aeroplan miles you’ve been saving? You’ve signed up for credit cards just for the points, leaving you with more credit than most people have mortgages. You’ve bought those rock hard granola bars so that you can get the extra 25 points as a bonus. You’ve even drove an extra 10kms to find an Esso instead of the local gas station. You’re an Aeroplan junkie, but that’s OK because you’re the one taking the free flight! I’ve experienced this for the first time. After booking my first trip with Aeroplan, what I thought would be a simple process turned into something more.

Destination: Holetown…Population: This Guy

The next travel journey is to Holetown, Barbados. This is taking place in April so there is much in the way of planning and preparing before departure. Most of which will be documented in some form or another for your benefit or amusement depending on how the rest of the planning goes. The trip is a little over 3 weeks, so we should have a good feeling for the island in that time, but for now the story of Aeroplan flights.

Aeroplan and the Man

For 40,000 Aeroplan points you can get to anywhere in Zone 1. Just what is zone 1? It’s a pretty significant chunk of plant to say the least. Anywhere in North and South America. This could result in some killer deals and even Hawaii is included. For a full list of Aeroplan destinations and their point levels check out their website.

The Most Important Aeroplan Point

Something that is not often advertised by Aeroplan is the multi-city and open-jaw options for booking tickets with the flight rewards company. This is the perfect way to get two vacations in one ,or get you out of a flightless jam if that may be the case, like it was for me.

Basically, when booking with Aeroplan point you are allowed one stop over during your trip at no extra charge provided that it is in the same zone. This can be done via a multi-city booking or an open jaw ticket.

Allowable Travel Configurations with no extra charge:
Multi-City: City A –> B B –> C C –> A
Open-Jaw: City A –> B [...] C –> A or
                  City A –> B B –> C

Clearly the big winner value for money wise is the multi-city option since it allows you more flight time for the same $. In my it was the open jaw option that came in handy. There is even more possibilities for free awesomeness with connecting flights, but I’m not going to cover that here.

So Here’s How It Went Down

Two return tickets from Charlottetown (YYG) to Barbados (BGI) is 80,000 points. Sounds easy until I try to book it for our specific time-frame. The flights show fine for the way to BGI but there is no way home for another 2 weeks after we need to be back. That’s the big problem. My solution was to try and outsmart Aeroplan’s booking system by check out the StarAlliance flights for Barbados for our scheduled departure +/- a few days. I have the multi-city option in mind.

“No best value seats available.” There were indeed flights available, but they did not fall under the typical Aeroplan value seats and would need to be “purchased” with points. The kind souls at the flight rewards company wanted 127,000 points instead of the humble 80,000 I was willing to part with. Apparently there is no tricking Aeroplan.

So then I think, one way with points and one way with cash! Eureka! Think again. Those “best value deals” only apply on round trip tickets. If you want to use points for one way, be ready to fork over the cash equivalent or 78,000 for two one way tickets. If you’re keeping score that’s only 2000 less than a round trip. Foiled again.

The Final Solution

Since there was no way around Aeroplan’s limited availability of cheap flights, it was time to start thinking of the open jaw plan options. We would pay for a flight from BGI to anywhere that we could make work for a return flight home. So the search for cheap flights from Barbados began. We lucked out and found some decent flights to New York City (JFK) and were able to book the open jaw component of our Aeroplan flight from LaGuardia (LGA) to YYG, therefore completing our round trip ticket for 80,000 points total.

After all of this we get to go back to the great New York City for a spring time encounter which is a real bonus that wasn’t planned. A longer stroll through Central Park will be required and more Chinatown haggling too.

If you don’t mind a little hassle, you can really get a lot more out of Aeroplan miles than local domestic flights. Travel rewards programs offer their pluses and minuses, which one do you prefer? Have any travel rewards stories? Leave a comment!

image credit: striatic

Technorati Tags: aeroplan, barbados, flight rewards, travel plan, travel rewards

(credit: Sugar Pond)

So 2009 was a wild year for the stock market. The dramatic fall brought down big firms like Lehman Brothers and other big time banks. Many of them bounced back by the end of the year with the help of world governments. Sadly, the same can’t be said for small and mid-sized businesses. In the retail industry, a complete lack of government support was present and is a visible sign of tough times.

While walking up and down the streets and avenues of Manhattan, I was surprised by the amount of vacant storefront retail space that was available for rent. We’re talking some of the most prime real estate in the world! The foot traffic alone should easily be paying the bills, irrespective of actually building a reputation for yourself.

Most retail businesses have peaks and valleys from their income and that is completely normal. They are generally able to survive the thin months through reserves they have from the good ones. But the great recession of 2008/09 was clearly to such a magnitude that people significantly shifted their way of spending to such effect to change the landscape.

Trading Spaces…sort of

This glut of vacant retail space has been a tremendous opportunity for artists and their works. There are organizations that are promoting these vacant retail spaces as pop-up art galleries showcasing local artists. There is no rent charged to the artist. In Manhattan there is a great irony with this trend. Since many of the prime retail districts of today were originally claimed by artist who were forced out by rising rents that only commercial ventures and wealthier clientele could afford. Talk about full circle.

This agreement between building owner and artist actually benefits both parties, not just those creative types getting the free ride. Having a tenant in the location demonstrates the salability of the space, decreases the likelihood of vandalism, and improves the overall security of the building. By giving away the space for free they are actually increasing their chances of renting the space to paying clients. Weird eh?

Too Many Chefs In The Kitchen

One of the most famous restaurants in New York or maybe even the world, closed its doors on New Year’s Eve. Tavern on the Green was always a place for the finest of dining in the best of locations. Smack in the middle of Central Park. Although some say that it closed as a result of mismanagement, it seems to me that it had to have been in part to do with the recession. You know it’s bad when location, and reputation are both the best in the world and you still can’t make a successful run in business. Before the recession the Tavern on the Green was bringing in $38 million a year from about 700,000 meals.

For You, Good Price

As a traveller to the New York lands of recession, there’s no reason you can’t take advantage of the discounted retailing offers. The 70% off sale at Saks 5th Avenue could even entice the Wal-Mart shopper to take another look. I took advantage, although at the outlet mall version of the retail experience. Examples? How about a Hugo Boss dress shirt for $30 (reg. $150) or maybe a Calvin Klein sweater for $15 (reg. $95). So if you make it to New York this year break out the credit card and live like a debt benign maxed out American. Just remember to pay the bill.

Seeds Of Purpose

The Big Apple certainly hit a sour season but it seems as though the worst has past. New Yorkers are adapting to the new post-credit crisis work and life will slowly come back to normal. The retail spaces will undoubtedly kick the artist out in favour of a Starbucks or Crocs store. But now is indeed a unique time to visit one of the world’s marquee cities.

Technorati Tags: retail shopping, tough times, travel nyc, Travel Stories

credit: dan paluska

Ever sine the attempted terrorist bombing on December 26th there have been new security restrictions in place for flights to the USA. Now that I’ve successfully flown through them it’s time to set the record straight on exactly what goes on for these flights. The warnings were always pretty vague. Likely meant to scare people into not carrying anything on with you at all. I’m here to say don’t be scared, just show up early.

The Real Deal With Carry-On Luggage

Saying that there is no carry-ons allowed is not at all accurate. Purses of all shapes and sizes were allowed on board. In the Flight advisories, they claim only small purses are allowed. There were plenty of over-sized purses being toted around by the over-sized sunglasses, Ugg boot wearing types.

Laptops were also singled out as being “ok” for carry-on, but again were vague on the laptop bag itself being brought on board. Turns out that any size goes with laptop bags too. So feel free to stuff that laptop bag full of socks and underwear so if that checked baggage goes missing you have a backup plan.

US Customs In Canada

The flight plan for this trip was Charlottetown (YYG) -> Montreal (YUL) -> New York (LGA). There was just one hour allowed for the connection in Montreal. This was for the connection, security check, and customs. Yikes.

The Good…

We didn’t have to pick up the checked luggage to go through customs. When traveling to states they would normally have you pick up your luggage and go through customs, and drop it off again. Fortunately at the Montreal airport luggage is checked through. Only Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax offer this. So if you have to make a connection keep this in mind! It was the only way we this tight connection.

The Bad…

The US departures gates are literally on the exact opposite side of the airport. It was about a 15 minute near running pace to get there. With such a long way to go, the sweaty backs and sore feet make customs and security a smelly experience. You’ll also need to have your boarding passes out because along this perilous journey you’ll be asked for it about half a dozen times by random security people peppered along the route. Then it’s security check 1. Standard airport security. Go directly to Customs, do no pass go, do not collect $200. Then walk more and ready for the new security check two.

The New Touch

Welcome to security check 2. With the departure gates in sight, you’re almost there. Just be prepared for the security agents to go through all of your belongings. Now they are not just looking for explosives or dangerous hurtful things, but anything that would make you suspect. I really do mean everything, including rifling this books, wallets, and purses. Pat downs and swabbing hands were two new things that haven’t happened anytime I’ve travelled. But with all of that we were finally through and on board for the NYC.

Go North Young Man

On the return to Canada from LGA was so much simpler. Standard airport security check. Apparently leaving the US is not a concern. So I’ve already expressed my opinion on the new security restrictions, but now having gone through them it’s just more of the same. To my mind, totally unnecessary, but not currently more invasive. We’ll wait until those full body scanners are installed, but that’s another discussion.

Technorati Tags: airport luggage, airport security, security restrictions, travel story

A little while ago there were a couple of articles asking the question “is travel worth it?” Clearly the answer was yes, but I was shocked to read that the authors didn’t think so. This was kicked off by a post at Man vs Debt and followed up over at Early Retirement Extreme. They are wrong at worst and incomplete at best. So here’s what I had to say about it.

Travel has a cost. Fact. It also has a non-zero value. So what you really need to do is evaluate whether the cost is less than or equal to the subjective value you place on the trip. The word subjective is important there because it’s not someone else that should be determining what is valuable to you. It’s quite simply a value proposition question that no one should be answering for you. The fact that someone is making such a statement that “Travel is not Worth It” is an improper imposition.

Travelling to Exotic Locations

Many of the commenters justify their experiences in travel by saying they go to locations less frequently travelled. They live in huts, eat rice 3 times a day, and hang out with the locals all in an effort to gain the cultural experience. These commenters are only furthering the author’s point that “going to Turkey is better than going to New Jersey.” There is absolutely nothing wrong with travelling within North America, and just sticking to the big cities. By visiting New York city you could have any type of food imaginable, all prepared by citizens of the desired nationalities. Spending the night camped out in Central Park may well be just as dangerous as a hut in a developing country.

Does that mean I agree with the original post?

Not really. I personally like travelling to exotic locations, but I also like travelling to big cities, and all-inclusive resorts. There’s value in all of these experiences, however I don’t believe that the value is necessarily equal amongst the different locales. Because I’m a bit of a geek, I’ve come up with an incomplete formula to determine if travel is worth it (feel free to correct, further this):
Worth = Value – Cost
Value = $1 * (Unique + Time) * Participation

Where: Unique is the relative cultural uniqueness of the experience from your personal perspective
Time is the amount of time you’re spending in the location
Participation is the percentage of the time you’re away that you are actually experiencing something you feel is further the value of the trip

So with this little formula we realize, as I have mentioned previously, the calculation is ultimately subjective, given that uniqueness cannot be objectively measured by anyone. The formula also arbitrarily places a dollar as the unit of measurement of value for the sake of calculating worth, however this too is a fallacy.

Living in Another Country

Although living in a new country is indeed a true way to experience another culture in more a of pure sense you still won’t living as they do. They have family to share their local traditions with, they may have a different religion, they have a political process that you cannot participate in. There is no way that you can be culturally agnostic entering a new place as much as you would like. So the question is, do you need to fully experience a culture? My contention is that having a tertiary knowledge of many cultures would provide you with a better social context than having a full experience with one other culture.

But then why experience all these cultures?

That’s a question ultimately of human curiosity. It’s an intellectual pursuit carried out through physical actions. Although someone could go out and learn many cultural contexts through books, music and video all consumed without leaving home; there is something intangible that is only experienced through being there.

Art is a wonderful example. Taking an art history course is an excellent way to experience a piece of culture. I read all about impressionism and Monet. It’s really interesting to learn of the story behind the art. But visiting the MOMA and seeing the works in person totally floored me. They were on a scale that truly be appreciated until you are standing in front of it. The same goes for music. There is a certain magic in the air when people get together with fairly simple technology and can create art (music) right in front of you. For music lovers, this is something that can never be replaced by a recording.

Experience Collector

The last point I’d like to make is with regards to collecting experiences instead of things. It’s likely that we do indeed have differing definitions of the word “accumulation” however in every day of our lives we are accumulating experiences whether they are local or far off. It’s absurd to think that any one day goes by without gathering new experiences. We can experience bird watching at a local park, or gazelle spotting in Africa. Both are experiences that you are accumulating. Much the same way as the elephant on the plains is accumulating experience and knowledge of where to go for food and water. Although travelling to collect experiences is a more esoteric approach, it’s still valid. If every day we lived were exactly the same as the previous, with no new experiences, it would be a sad world indeed.

Technorati Tags: experiences, travel, travel philosophy, travel worth