Visiting Toronto during the SARS epidemic!

As mentioned earlier, the reason for this short trip to Canada was merely practical in order to extend my visa, which didn’t really require a trip to Toronto. However being a massive ice hockey fan, I had to visit one of the hockey capitals of the world.

It took about an hour to get from the Niagara Falls to Toronto and the closer we got, the bigger the CN Tower grew on the horizon. And being that I’m a massive fan of tall buildings, I just knew that I had to get to the top of it.

Upon arrival, we cruised the around the city streets, trying to get a feeling for it. Seeing a city from inside a car doesn’t give you much of an idea of what it’s like but at least you’ll get an orientation of it for later walks and discoveries.

My first impression of the city was that it was very much alike any other big city, tall business buildings, big theatre district (actually the third in the world after London and New York), and people going about their business. One odd thing though, I did get a feeling that the city looked rather, empty!

After driving for a while and attempting to locate hostels without having arrange a booking, we found out that most of them were either closed or were fully booked. After some help from home we found a hotel that looked ok and once there we were told that we were in luck. They had been all booked for a doctors’ conference, however as it had been cancelled, they had a lot of free rooms for us to choose from. Just out of curiosity, I asked why they had cancelled and was told that it was because of the high SARS risk in the city.

We knew about the SARS cases in Toronto before we left, however weren’t too worried about it and were determined to experience the city anyway (about 2-3 weeks later, Toronto made the WHO’s list of most dangerous places).

Later that night, I visited a local bar where I got talking and mingling with locals, engaging in conversation about ice hockey in general, all whilst enjoying a few good beers (and possibly quite a few Guinness pints). Before long, I returned to my hotel room feeling a bit tipsy and went straight to bed as the plan was to get up early for some additional sightseeing before it was time to return home. 

Well, I had plans to get up early but woke up around 11 and dashed outside. Whilst making my way to the CN Tower, I observed the streets to be deserted, and again thought that this was an odd sight for a Sunday morning. Just prior to reaching the tower, I indulged in some breakfast from a local hot dog stand and found it to be better than the ones I was used to from NYC.

Inside the tower, I observed that there were some security detectors to walk through and as I got closer to them, realised that these weren’t your normal metal detectors but a disinfection machine that you had to walk through, another reminder of the SARS risk hanging over the city. Ascending the elevator, with only myself and another person inside of it, made the realisation that people were taking the risks of SARS seriously. For me, well the lack of crowds just made the experience much much better. 

The panoramic view from the top of the Tower was impressive, amazing and I really enjoyed the glass floor which was quite exciting, and a bit frightening at first, to step over. This section allowed for a unobstructed view, all the way down to the ground, definitely a heart-beating experience.

After finishing at the tower, I left and made my way across to my temple, the Hockey Hall of Fame. Foolishly enough I had not brought a lot of cash on me, so I was a little unsure if I would have enough to cover the entry fee, but luckily I did, and believe me when I say that I only had a couple of pennies left.

I really enjoyed walking and seeing the exhibits on offer where I was able to see jerseys from my teams, not only NHL teams but also seeing my local Swedish ice hockey teams jersey was great fun to see. The museum also has a few sections where you get to try scoring on an NHL goalie and also get the opportunity to be a goalie, which all added to the fun. 

I came very close to missing out on one of the main items on display. I was getting ready to leave when I spotted a staircase that I hadn’t seen before. Walking up the stairs, I walked into a room and there it was, the actual Stanley Cup, the main trophy (to think that I almost missed it). I took a few photos of the cup from a bit of distance as you aren’t really supposed to touch it, however, it was soo empty in there that the security guard asked me if I wanted a photo of it, and after agreeing to it, he told me to embrace the cup, which I did and got a photo taken, amazing! This just made my day (being such a ice hockey fan).

Later that day, I joined up with my dad and grandmother again before we visited the Greek Quarters where we enjoyed a lovely meal and then started our trip back home to the US. As we passed the immigration, I realised that renewing your visa wouldn’t work this way and that I would have to do it another way. 

Well, at least I got a great trip out of it.

Toronto is a great city. It’s large but not overwhelming with a welcoming and friendly locals. Comparing the city to NYC, it’s also very clean. I’d definitely would love to return to experience more of what this beautiful Canadian city has to offer.