1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
   This place caught my attention because it has the world’s largest natural mirror spanning over 10,000km². It’s a giant salt bed and I guess once the ground gets wet, it turns into a mirror that reflect everything. It looks really cool!
2. Great Wall of China, China
   You hear stories saying that the Great Wall is the only landmark that is visible from space so it makes you wonder how long the wall actually it but then again, I heard that story was a myth. Whether it’s a myth or not, curiosity has already sparked in my head and it made the list. I wanted to walk across the whole wall but that’s probably not a good idea because I might get attacked by Mongolians.
3. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
   Cambodia is part of my heritage and I have yet to step foot into this country. I wasn’t born there because my parents fled to Thailand during the war. It would be nice to see where my family came from. Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world and it’s probably very well known. I’m sure that it attracts all sort of people from around the world.
4. Paris, France
   I’ve seen lots of picture of the Eiffel Tower as well and something about it just makes me feel a tingle of joy inside. Maybe it’s the moon hanging over it, maybe it’s the landscape, but there’s definitely something there that draws me to France. I’ve got a coworker who’s leaving for Paris tonight which makes me want to go there even more.
5. Machu Picchu, Peru
   The first time I saw Machu Picchu was on the cover of a VB.NET book cover. Apparently, the author had hidden a few images of his mascot inside the site and you had to find them. I think I found all but one. I no longer have that book so I can find the last picture so I might as well go there in person and see if I can find it.
6. Istanbul, Turkey
   I had a friend in middle that was from Turkey. We were good friends throughout middle school but unfortunately, he moved back to Turkey before our high school year He came back to visit a while back but that was a long time ago. When he was here, I was over at his house fairly often, at least once a week. I want to take some time to see what his culture is like and it would be nice to see it up front.
7. Italy
   • Florence
   • Pisa
   • Venice
   • Tuscany
   • Rome

   A coworker told me that Italy is probably one of the most expensive countries to visit. Even though they use the Euro as their currency, you could probably get something in Germany cheaper than you can get it in Italy. But I’m not too worried about the cost of the trip. I want to visit Italy for the sites, culture and the food!

8. London, England
   When I mentioned that I wanted to visit London to a coworker, he asked me which part. I wasn’t sure what he meant because I thought London was London but apparently, London is made up of different districts. I’m not sure exactly what he meant but I’m interested in visiting the Eye, Westminster Abbey and this egg shaped building.
9. Taipei, Taiwan
10. Galapagos Island, Ecuador
11. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
12. Tokyo, Japan
13. Berlin, Germany
14. Sydney, Australia
15. Lisbon, Portugal
16. Mexico City, Mexico
17. Easter Island, Chile
18. Bangkok, Thailand
19. Banff National Park, Calgary Alberta, Canada
20. The Maldives
21. Athens, Greece
22. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
23. Grand Canyon, Colorado, Arizona, USA
    When I was in elementary school, I remember learning about the Grand Canyon. I was fascinated with geology at the time and it amazed me how the canyon was craved out. Over time, the rocks just eroded and made the Grand Canyon what it is today. And a while ago, they built some sort of lookout point that allows you to look down the canyon.

    I was close to the Grand Canyon but I didn’t quite plan out the trip properly otherwise I could have stop by the Grand Canyon while I visited Las Vegas.

24. Seoul, South Korea
25. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
26. The Pyramids, Giza, Egypt

The following were on my list initially but I had to take them out because I’ve already been there. I started this list long before I visited those places but I never got a chance to finish the list until now.

• Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Las Vega, Nevada, USA
• California, USA

Flights to Hong Kong around CNY can get quite expensive. The very first time I went there, airfare was close to $2,000. That was expected since I’m traveling such a great distance. But the more I visit HK, the more I see that the airfare does not have to be that high. The flight that I took in April was less than half the price. So far, the average cost of my flight is around $1,500. I’m trying to avoid putting anything on credit card since the interest is killing me so that’s the amount that I’m going to try to save up.

I was visiting my ING Direct account today when I noticed that they had a goal calculator. ING is awesome for stuff like that. Their website is very user friendly. I’ve been with them for a few years now but I haven’t really taken advantage of any of their resources until today.

I played around with their goal calculator and found out that my goal of saving up $1,500 can be achieved. I think CNY falls somewhere early in February so I need to save up that amount before then. According to the calculator, I’ll have that amount saved up well before then. That’s if I can spare the savings.

Currently, I am saving $50 from every pay cheque that I get. It’s not a large amount but when you factor in the other savings that I’m taking away from my pay cheque, I am cutting it a little close.

According to this savings calculator, I’ll have to save an addition $84.80 in order to meet my goal on time. That’s not a big jump since I can probably cut back on a few things. I’m hoping that once I have school paid for, I won’t have to worry too much about cutting here and there.

Chinese New Year falls on February 10, 2010 so I have some time. My last pay date would fall on January 28, 2010 so the timing is just right. Although, I have been looking and there are a few places that I can go to in order to reduce the cost of my ticket. Some places have it for half the price so I can use the savings for other things.

Since Jenn and I travel back and forth between Canada and Hong Kong so often, we had enough Aeroplan points to redeem for a free flight. The only catch was, we had to pay taxes on that free flight. That kind of defeats the purpose of a free flight. I would have assumed that everything would have been free and Aeroplan would cover any extra costs. But since they didn’t, we had to pay an extra $125 each for the flight.

We selected a morning flight to Las Vegas and because of the time difference we landed in Vegas in the morning as well. I didn’t realize until the last minute that I had forgotten my camera at home. Usually I bring my camera everywhere I go so I can take pictures of stuff but since we were already on the road, I didn’t want to have to turn around to get it since Jenn had her camera already.

The flight took five hours to get to Las Vegas. The thing that surprised me was the fact that we went through US customs in Canada so when we landed, it was only a matter of picking up our luggage and leaving the airport. I’ve heard so much bad publicity about the US airports that I was expecting long delays but it turned out that it wasn’t all that bad.

Once we exited the terminal, the first thing we noticed was how long Las Vegas was. We were expecting heat but we didn’t know it was that hot. You’d be outside and in a matter of minutes, you’ll feel like you’re being baked in an oven. Luckily, the shuttle bus that we boarded had air conditioning. I think with out A/C, we wouldn’t be very comfortable.

The shuttle bus took us to the car rental building where a whole bunch of car rental companies were located. We had to wait about twenty minutes in line before it was our turn. And that’s when another surprise hit me. Our car rental was supposed to be about $210 for the week but with the added insurance, it worked out to be an extra $100. I think because I had a Canadian license, I couldn’t use my own insurance but I stupid and didn’t inquiry about that.

Once we picked up our car, we were on the road heading for California. The drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles is about 400km long. It took us about four hours of driving through nothing but hot desert. We saw a few dirt devils here and there and we even ran into some sort of mini tornado. It was a bit scary because you’re driving along and then all of a sudden, a gush of wind comes around and pushes you off the road. I saw the truck in front of me swerve a bit but I assumed that he was swerving to avoid garbage on the road but as soon as I entered the high wind zone, I saw that there was not garbage. The wind was strong enough to force the car towards the side of the road. It was a good thing that there weren’t any cars beside us or else we would have side swipe them.

After being on the road for about four hours, we finally reach our hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The sun was still out so we decided to drive around and just do some site seeing. We didn’t go too far since we weren’t familiar with the area but we managed to stop by here and there. To my surprise, a lot of the businesses were closed by sundown. I thought that LA was like NY where people didn’t sleep much. We drove around looking for a Starbucks but most of those Starbucks were since a mall and that mall was closed. So much for sight seeing.

Los Angeles is a pretty big city with lots of places to go. It’s close to the other cities as well so visiting them was easy. We drove around to Hollywood, Beverly Hill, and Pasadena and stopped by the Santa Monica Piers. We took a tour of the NBC studio and visited Universal Studio. It was a fun fill few days in LA and we made the most of it. We were thinking about driving up to San Francisco but were advised otherwise.

We met up with Jenn’s relatives and had lunch and dinner with them. They were a nice group of people and seem to have plenty to talk about. I remember during our first night out, they made me finish everything on the table because I was the youngest guy there. Well, Jenn’s cousin was the youngest but they made me do it. I was really full after that dinner. They were the ones that recommended that we head down to San Diego instead of up to San Francisco.

The drive down to San Diego was about 200km. Our plan was to drive down at night, sleep at a rest area and then continue to San Diego in the morning. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a rest area along the highway that we took so we booked a room at a Motel 6. They had wireless internet so we used it to book a room at hotel in San Diego.

While in San Diego, we visited a few nearby cities and points of interest. Coronado was a ten minute drive, the gas lamp district was just around the corner from our hotel. Before heading back to LA, we stopped by Olde Town San Diego and walked around. It was interested to see how life was back in the day.

On the way back from San Diego, we planned on doing the same thing, sleeping in a rest area but again, there weren’t any along the highway that we took so we just parked at some car pool parking lot and left when people started arriving in the morning.

The trip to LA was an experience to remember. We did so much driving around and sight seeing that it was a shame that I didn’t have my camera. But at the same time, it was a good thing that I didn’t have my camera because I was able to do more. If I had my camera, I would have just been taking pictures and I wouldn’t have enjoyed myself as much.

I’m starting to recommend to people that if they want to go to Florida, they should go to LA in stead. You get the same type of weather but you get more places to see. From what I heard from my friends that goes down to Florida, they only visit a couple of places. It seems like LA has so much more to offer than Florida. I guess the reason why they would go down to Florida is because it’s closer and cheaper. But for myself, I’m a traveler so LA is the place to go.

The drive up to Quebec wasn’t too bad. It would have been a lot better if I had cruise control because we were on the road from 4:00 AM until 2:00 PM. We traveled a round trip of approximately 1,830 km, spent about 18hrs on the highways and used up $140 worth of gas. The downside to the trip was that we brought the rain and not in the way that Tyrese Gibson meant in Transformers. It rained when we left Hamilton and it followed us up to Quebec and then back down. Although it was forecast to rain, I didn’t let that get to me. I looked forward to driving along the open road, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the beautiful scenery (and I don’t just mean the pretty little lady sitting beside me).

It has always been a goal of mine to drive along the open roads of Canada. I’ve always wanted to drive out east to Newfoundland and west to British Columbia. This trip got me a little closer to the east coast of Canada. If time permitted, I would have kept driving until I reached the Atlanta. But for now, Quebec will do just fine.

We spent three days and two nights in Quebec City and a day and a night in Montreal. We didn’t plan on stopping by Ottawa but it was a nice little detour for the drive back home. There were plenty of things to do while in Quebec City. We booked a hotel that was supposedly close to the center of the city but in reality it was about twenty minutes away. It was a problem but it was nothing that we couldn’t work around. It just made finding a parking spot a bit of a pain. I was expecting that the cost of parking was going to be high but compared to parking in Toronto, it was cheap. It cost anywhere from $9-$12 for the whole day. In Toronto, you’re looking at about $20-$25 for a couple of hours.

It wasn’t hard to find a parking lot but it was hard to find a spot. I guess the cost of parking was low that people didn’t care where they parked. We were tempted to park on the street and just leave the car there. It might have cost a bit if we received a ticket but it probably wouldn’t have been that much.

Once we were able to find an all day parking, walking around in Old Quebec was a breeze. You didn’t have to go far since it was all clumped into one area. They did a good job at retaining the look and feel of the Old Quebec. I think they restored a few buildings and upgraded parts of it but they kept the old style look. Parts of the area had paved roads where the other parts still had stone pieces.

There were lots of restaurants that had seating available outside. This made it feel a little like Paris. I’ve never been to Paris so I can’t say for sure that it feels like Paris. I’m just going on what others have told me. We didn’t dine outside but we could have. It was still drizzling a little and dining outside wasn’t a good idea. The phone was a bit on the expensive side but it was expected. My coworker did warn me about the high price of dining and recommended that I pack my own food. I should have taken his advice but didn’t have time to pack.

The city was filled with tourist from all over the world. It seem like there were a lot of Asians visiting though. I guess the French are kinder to foreigners because they think we don’t speak English very well so they don’t force French on us. I made sure to ask if they spoke English in French so that they wouldn’t get mad or anything. I think they were really helpful once we attempted French. My French is a little out of date because I haven’t taken any classes since high school so it’s a little rusty.

I think people can get around just fine without knowing the language. Store owners were really polite and were very approachable. I got the chance to speak with a parking attendant over some random topic. I told him that I was from Hamilton and we got started talking about hockey. There are lots of things that can connect two strangers together and everyone can get along just fine. Before going on this trip, I was more nervous about having to use my French again but I think I did well enough to get by. I managed to ask for $20 worth of gas at a full serve gas station and the worker was nice enough to give me $5 more.

Quebec City is a very nice play to visit. It has a lot of history and a mix of old and new architecture. It’s a very artsy city and there are performances here and there. Cirque du Soleil had some live entertainment right on the street. I’ve never been to once but the show was very entertaining. The tours that they offer gives you an insight as to what life was like back in the day and it tells you a little more about the area. We went on a ghost tour and found it to be very informative. The next time I visit, I’ll probably look into committing with the local transportation services so I can save on gas. I don’t think you need a car to get around but if you prefer the conveniences of your own transportation, parking isn’t all that bad either.

My first impression of Hong Kong was that it was wet and foggy most of the time. I wanted to go around and take lots of pictures of everything but sometimes I couldn’t because the fog was covering everything. The smog was probably caused by all of the taxis, buses and cars. I couldn’t take pictures of landscapes because I could barely see them and maybe because they’re far away too but there were times when I couldn’t take my camera with me because it was raining. During my first visit to Hong Kong, it rained when my flight landed which I thought was a bad sign. Throughout that vacation, the weather was a bit chilly which was kind of odd. Usually, it would be cold for a day or two and then it would be warm again. People were saying that maybe I brought the Canadian weather over with me when I landed. When I left Hong Kong that time, the weather was warm again.

The longer I stayed in Hong Kong and the more I visit, the more I started to see that it was a lot better than Canada in many ways. The transit system is a lot more advanced because it’s geared towards convenience. Plus there are a lot of people on this island and you can’t have people just idling around doing nothing. I’ve noticed that it’s a very fast pace country where people are always on the move. My recent trip was for three weeks but we did a lot in those three weeks that the time just flew.

Even the shopping mall has a lot more to offer. The market is swarming with people looking for a good deal. I think Hong Kong is like one giant shopping mall. There are shopping malls everywhere. From the moment you step off the subway to the time you board the plane. Even the New Territories are starting to have shopping malls built.

The tourist attractions are enough to keep anyone busy for at least a week or so. Even though this is my third time here, there are still parts of Hong Kong that I haven’t seen yet. There’s always something new around every corner. The first time I was there, it was all about doing the tourist thing. The second time I was there it was more about getting to know people. But during this stay, I’ve had a chance to doing a little of both plus experience some of the night life. And the night life is just as busy as the day time. I think I must have drank more there than I’ve drank in the last five years.

From my understanding, it seemed like Hong Kong had a district for just about everything. If you wanted to buy flowers, you can go to the flower market to purchase flowers at an amazingly low price. I bought half a dozen roses for Jenn for $25 Hong Kong dollars which works out to be about $4 Canadian. If you wanted to buy computer parts, there’s a district that has computers parts at wholesale prices. There’s a place called Time Square were the stores sells… watches. Well, there’s a lot more there than watches but at least it stuck with the theme and sold watches.

The public transit system makes going to places a breeze. You can go from one side of Hong Kong to the other with ease. Taking the tram cost $2 HKD ($0.30 CAD). They have a subway system that will allow you to go just about anywhere. The wait for the next subway isn’t that long. Getting around Hong Kong is probably a lot easier than getting around in Hamilton or New York. Even if you don’t speak Cantonese, there are enough signs in English that you don’t need to speak Cantonese. Even time I got lost, I simply looked for the MTR logo and headed towards that.

The speed of operation in Canada is far below standard. Everywhere you go, you have to wait for things. Sometimes you wait five minutes and other times you can wait over an hour for things. In Hong Kong, the wait is kept to a minimum. After seeing how the two countries operation, I’d have to say that Canada is inferior to Hong Kong in a lot of different aspect. Anyone with ADD would be cured if they were here.

When I landed in Hong Kong, I had to make a stop at customs for them to check out my passport and stuff. The line was very long so I thought I was going t be standing around for an hour or so. To my surprise, I got to the front of the line fair quickly. From the time I got in line to the time my passport was stamp, it took ten minutes. If there’s a really long time, the workers will direct you to another area where the line is shorter. In Canada, I was waiting for an hour before I got to the front of the line and the line wasn’t even that long. There were at about ten custom agents working at the time but it still took a long time. The reason why they took so long in Canada is because they’re busy asking you questions. “What did you come from? Why did you go there? What did you bring back? Why did you bring it back?” In Hong Kong, they look at you, compare you to the mug shot on your passport and send you on your merry way. I wasn’t even a citizen of this country and they didn’t bother to question me.

By the time I was done with customs, my luggage was waiting for me at baggage claim. In Canada, it’s the other way around. I had to wait over thirty minutes for my luggage to get transported to the conveyor belt. I think that’s unacceptable. I waited in line at customs for an hour and my luggage hasn’t even arrived yet. In Hong Kong, I waited in customs for ten minutes and my luggage is already waiting for me.

While I was in Hong Kong, a lot of people were recommending that I move out to Hong Kong. It’s not an easy decision to make because there’s a lot at stake. Jenn doesn’t mine supporting me while I’m there but something about my tradition mind does’t want things that way. I know that Jenn can probably support me but I’ve always believe that the man should be supporting the woman. Finance isn’t the only reason that’s holding me back. I have a life and family here in Canada and leaving them is a hard decision to make. I know that I’m not actually leaving them since I can always fly back but in a way, it’s like I’m leaving a life behind. For me, moving out to Hong Kong is a life changing decision and every factor that I add to the equation will only make it harder to solve.

All in all, life in Hong Kong will suit just about anyone. If you’re ambitious and want to start a company, Hong Kong will give you that opportunity. If you want to party all night long, the Wan Chai district will give you that life. Hong Kong is the port to all other Asian countries so it’s your starting point if you want to see the rest of Asia.

Tobermory is located about four hours from Hamilton. Since it’s four hours away, we decided that it’s best that we stay there for more than a day. Although we didn’t quite stay there that long, we were there long enough to do the things that we wanted to do. Well, maybe not everything but almost everything.

Miles after miles you see nothing but green. I had the window down a lot because the air was very fresh. If you live in an area that has a lot of pollution, I’m sure you can tell what fresh air smells like. The air out there is so much easier to breathe in. The only scent that didn’t smell very appealing was manure. We passed by a lot of farms that had moo cows and horse. During the drive pass those areas, we had the window up.

Jenn wanted to do a dinner on a cruise thing but I was afraid that I might not be able to stomach the food on a moving boat. Sometimes I don’t have a problem with boat rides but other times I’ll get a little queasy from the rocking. But the more that I think about it no, the less queasy I think I would have been. I guess I was afraid of ruining the dinner if I started to feel like I wanted to vomit.

The first thing you’ll notice about Tobermory that it’s packed. I don’t know if it’s like this all of the time but during the time that I was there, the place was busy. It’s not as busy as, say, a concert or anything. The dock area had a lot of traffic from people walking in and out of the area.

The people who live in Tobermory probably don’t live too far from the water. Just by looking, you can probably tell who’s a local and who’s a tourist. That day, there were a lot of Chinese tourists. When we took the boat out to Flowerpot Island, the transfer boat was filled with Chinese people.

The boat that took us to Flowerpot Island stopped by an area where there was a shipwreck. The water was clear enough for you to see the ship that was sitting on the lake floor. They said that were about twenty different shipwrecks in the area but I guess you need to go scuba diving if you wanted to see the others. The water was calm enough for us to be able to see this particular shipwreck.

After visiting the shipwrecks, the boat brought us out to Flowerpot Island. The island received its name from the two rock formation that looks similar to a flower pot. These flowerpots were shaped by glaciers and pounding waves. Supposedly, there were three flowerpots but one of them fell down.

We had to walk quite the distance to reach the flowerpots. We stuck to the shoreline because Jenn wanted to avoid the mosquitoes. If we had taken the trail, we would have reached the rock formation a lot sooner but it was nice to walk along the shoreline. The path was a bit tricky though because we had to watch our footing or else we’d slip. Some of the rocks that we stepped on weren’t stable so we had to take it slow. It was a nice little exercise.

There were a few people going swimming in the area so we tried to do that too. I had to get change into my swimming shorts because the shorts that I was wearing weren’t for swimming. If I had known how cold the water was, I probably would have stayed out. The water was cold enough that other tourists were using the water to keep their watermelons cold. Not only was the water cold but the waves were pretty strong as well. I don’t think I went out more than a foot. We stayed in the water for a few minutes before jumping out. On our way back to the docks, we decided to take the trail.

We spend the rest of the day walking around the pier and visiting the local ships. There was an all you can eat fish and chips restaurant but I didn’t have the stomach for all you can eat. Jenn and I ordered one fish and chips each and that’s all we were able to eat.

Jenn and I enjoyed our time in Tobermory. I was happy we were able to spend our last few days together doing something rather than sitting around the house. Although we didn’t quite get to do everything on Jenn’s to do list, I’m glad that I brought her out to Tobermory. It was a nice and relaxing getaway from the city.

The drive up to Tobermory was a long four hour drive but for some reason, it didn’t feel as long. I drive the first leg of the drive and Jenn drove the rest of the way to the inn. I informed the inn that we would be around after 9pm but we didn’t get there until 10pm almost.

When we arrived we noticed that the parking lot was almost full. I guess the other guests had already arrived. We walked into the inn and the hostess shows us to our room. The inn wasn’t what I had expected. First and foremost, I thought that we’d have a bit more privacy since we reserved the private suite.

As soon as we got into the room, we closed the door but surprisingly, we were still able to hear people in the dining room. I checked around the room and saw that there was a window that looks into the dining room and it was opened. There was a curtain in front of it but it was semi transparent so I was able to see right through it. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone sitting near the window.

Secondly, our door didn’t have a lock on it. I’ve stayed at hotels and motels before but I guess a B&B inn is slightly different. All the guest share the house but I thought that maybe the rooms might be different. I didn’t feel too safe sleeping in a house full of strangers with my door unlocked. Not that it mattered if the door was locked since the window was wide open.

After our long drive up, Jenn decided to take a little bath before going to bed. She became a little excited when she found out that we had a jacuzzi in our suite. Unfortunately, the jacuzzi was too loud when it was in use so the host asked that we not use it at night. Heck, just turning on the water was loud enough.

Throughout the night, I kept waking up every now and then because the floors were creaking. I hear every step that people made on the floor above us. The floor wasn’t the only think that creaked. The bed was creaking as well. Every toss and turn was heard. The bed was a bit hard and the blanket was a bit rough so I didn’t quite get a good sleep.

In the morning, we were served breakfast. By the time we left our room, there were a few guests already sitting in the dining room. There was a couple of ladies who were local to the area, taking a little time off for the weekend. There was also a Bangladesh couple from Richmond who stayed at the inn because their daughter had recommended it. Jenn and I kept to ourselves while the other guest talked with each other. They shared the experiences that they had the day before. Of course, Jenn and I were driving so we didn’t have much to offer to the conversation.

The hostess walked around getting orders from everyone. We were the closest to the kitchen so our order was taken first. Somehow, we weren’t quite the first to get our order. The couple beside us received their breakfast first, only it was the wrong selection which turned out to be ours. The hostess mentioned that the cook had made the orders in the wrong order. I’m not sure what she meant by that but it should like she took our order and the cook didn’t make it right away.

All in all, the bed and breakfast inn was a nice experience but it’s not something that I might do too often. I would probably prefer to just camp outside the next time I head up north. The cost of the camp ground might be a bit cheaper and things might be a bit more quieter. It was nice that we stayed indoors for the night but camping outside for the night isn’t all that bad. The bed was hard so we might as well sleep on the ground with a sleeping bag.

Although my experience at a B&B wasn’t all that great, I’d still recommend that others try it out. It’s all part of the camping experience, only you’re not outside. The service was pretty good and the host and hostess were very welcoming. They made sure that everything went smoothly which it did.

Casa Loma is a piece of property that used to belong to Sir Henry Pellatt and Lady Mary Pellatt. Sir Pellatt was a wealthy and generous business man. He drew up plans to build Casa Loma in 1911 and after three years and $3.5 million later, his dream was built. That’s a lot of money for back then. Three million dollars back then would be equivalent to $90 million today.

Casa Loma is one massive house. It has ninety eight rooms, a wine cellar, a stable and a whole bunch of other rooms. Sir Henry and Lady Mary didn’t sleep in the same room but even if they had their own rooms, it seemed kind of small. If I had my own room, it’d be pretty big but I’m guessing that their standards aren’t like mine.

At the front of the property is a circular fountain. I think there’s a fountain at the back as well but it’s rectangular. Every time we were outside, it started to get windy so the water was being pushed in our direction so I didn’t get too closer to the fountains.

The house was fully decorated with a lot of antiques. Well, I guess they’re considered antiques to me but back then all of the furniture was probably the best of the best. I’m surprised that they managed to get most of it back since Sir Henry had to auction most of it off due to debts.

The main hall as a sixty foot high ceiling with a few flags hanging from the ceiling. Towards one side of the main hall are pipe organs. I’m not sure if someone was actually playing the organ during the time of my visit or if it was a recording but I could have sworn that I heard a little bit of music.

This is the library but today it is used as a dining room. There used to be walls where the columns are at the back of the room but they were knocked down to make room for the dining room. If you take a look at the floor you can see an alternating design where one piece is a different colour. But if you look straight down, the colour of the wood grain were all the same. The carpenter made the illusion by alternating the direction of the wood pieces. Very clever.

The ceilings of some of the rooms were very detailed. You don’t see ceilings like that in modern homes anymore. Most of the ceilings that I’ve seen in homes are either flat, bumpy or have some sort of circular shape to them. The detail put into this house was amazing.

Even this column shows very intricate detail. I can’t imagine the amount of time and effort that was put forth to produce something like this. Today, we probably have computers that can do all that of cutting in a matter of minutes but back then, it probably took a carpenter days to produce the same thing.

I found this toilet to be a bit odd because it didn’t have a handle to flush and I wasn’t willing to pull up the seat to take a closer look. I’m sure that the waste goes somewhere but I could care less as to where it goes. Who knows, maybe they had automatic flushing back then.

As I head up towards the higher floors, I could smell how old the house is. It’s hard to explain but it does smell like old people. A lot of the things on the third floor appeared to have graffiti all over. I guess people who visit Casa Loma wanted to leave something behind so they wrote their names on whatever they could. I would too but I don’t think it’s right. The history of Casa Loma does not involve me so why leave my name there?

Just when I thought we were on the high part of the house, we found a staircase that lead up to one of the towers. This staircase only had room for one going up so we have to wait for all the people to come down before we started going up.

And last but not least, I found a friend to take a picture with. I stood beside him as Jenn took the picture. I wasn’t quite ready when she snapped the picture but I guess it turned out just fine.

Casa Loma appears to be a very nice place to visit but unless you’re a history enthusiast, it wasn’t all that great. It has about all the things that you would expect from an old house like a mysterious secret passage that nobody knows about. But that secret passage in Casa Loma wasn’t all that exciting. It wasn’t like it led to the Batcave or anything. The secret passage went to the wine cellar. Nonetheless, Casa Loma might not be a major part of Canada’s history but it’s a part of Toronto’s history. Some of the things that they tell you during the tour were fascinating and it shows how much things have changed since the 1900′s. I just don’t think that paying $17 for an audio tour was worth it. We could have walked around the whole house with the audio stuff and it would have been free.

This trip is just over 8,000 kilometers and will take just over four days to complete but I’ll be taking a lot longer than that. My plan is to travel coast to coast and I’d like to stop by certain destinations to do some site seeing as well. I’ve mapped out the trip so that I’ll be stopping in the capital cities of each province. I tried to make it so that I don’t have to back track anywhere in order to save time.

From what I’ve heard, this trip will consume a lot of time and possibly a lot of money. Originally, I wanted to work for the summer and save up every penny until I’ve saved up about $10,000 or so. I was thinking that $10,000 should be enough to be on the road for the summer. Most of the money will probably be used for gas.

Way back when I initially planned this trip, gas was selling for 60 cents a liter and now it has doubled so that’s going to skew my calculations a bit. The car that I drive now will go about 200km on $30 of gas. So if I decided to go now, it will cost me about $2,400 for the whole trip. There’s a good chance that my car will probably break down and might not make it back home but that’s another adventure of its own.

While I’m still young, I’ll have to try take a coast to coast road trip. Anyone who wants to tag along is welcomed. I’m planning on covering the cost of gas so everyone else will have to take care of their own cost.