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Here is one wonderful Article by SATISH who is working in United Air Lines in Denver, Co, USA. He has traveled to Montreal and he has written his travel Update on MONTREAL, CANADA. Its really a wonderful one and an article to read and to be followed when some one make a trip to CANADA. He is Dr. NARAYANAN's Brother RAJA's Friend. Lollu Express always welcome these kinds of articles and please feel free to send your articles to Lollu Express. -Prabhu. Main Your comments to satishbabu@lycos.com
MONTREAL, CANADA - TRAVEL UPDATE by SATISH. (SATISHBABU@LYCOS.COM)
Little did I think, when I got my passport stamped for a business
trip to Montreal, Canada, that it would be so memorable. In fact,
I wish I wasn't back here writing this travelogue. The meeting
was from Monday through Wednesday. But I chose to go on Saturday
so that I would get to see Montreal on Sunday.
Off I went to Chicago, saw to it that I had ample time for my
connecting Air Canada flight to Montreal. That
way, I could get to 
spend some time with my friend who told
will come and visit me. The Chicago airport was so colossal, that
I could not get to meet my friend. As it turned out, I met
another friend of mine with whom I lost contacts four years ago.
With so many Indians around in Chicago, the odds are very high
that you invariably hit upon someone you know. So kind of made
amends.
As I was trying to kill time, a sassy voice called out,
"Would you like a free gift and 6,000 bonus miles on United
Airlines today?" I didn't care to check out. But
had so much time on me that I went back again to that desk from
where the voice came from. The banner said "continental
Airline Visa Card" and they were giving out a free gift and
6,000 bonus miles on United Airlines just for filling in the
credit-card application. I filled in the application and chose
the watch for a gift. They had other gifts like a CD case,
T-shirt, etc. Now I have the option of rejecting or retaining the
card if approved. I don't see this happening anywhere
else…only in the US of A !!!
For those of us who know airline business and haven't traveled in
Code-Share flights, it would come as a surprise when the Captain
goes, " Welcome to Air Canada / United flight to
Montreal ".
Thanks to the time-difference and the connecting time, it was
late in the evening when I landed in Montreal. Custom checks,
immigration clearance, receivers waiting outside… looked
like getting out of Anna International airport, Chennai. But only
the process, the airport itself was clean, had a few levels and
was quite busy.
Came out and took a cab to the hotel where I had a room booked.
The way the cab driver drove, he would challenge any of our auto
drivers. The way he changed lanes and was speeding, I would not
have been surprised if it was my last drive in a car. But we made
it to the hotel, right in downtown. Boy, was it captivating? I
was excited at the sight of the hotel. Checked in and made sure
got my room on the top most (21st) floor. Had a great view of
downtown in lights from my room.
Had a walk down the streets of Montreal downtown. Being a
Saturday evening, you can guess that I was the only one walking
alone. The place was full of life and looked like a proclamation
of more fun to follow at the dusk. Just took me a few strides and
a bit of neck strain to comprehend that the girls in Montreal
were better looking than the ones in USA. Feeling tired
came back to my hotel and ordered a Pizza. At 7$ Canadian, the
price looked decent. But when the bill finally arrived,
I ended up paying 12$ (15% tax + 2 $ room service charge + tips).
Bloody hell, that was 80% more than what you think you would pay
when you order.
I took a 7-hour guided tour of Montreal on Sunday or rather
bought a ticket for the trip at the hotel concierge. But I missed
the bus. I was on a mini tour around the city in a van, before
one of the tour-office employees found the bus and put me in it.
The first stop was a church called Nostradame Basilica. The
guide/driver of the bus told that it took them 41 years to build
the 
interior
of the church. He gave us 30 min. to look around the church.
Thought that was too long, but realized it wasn't when I stepped
in. I was overwhelmed at seeing the interior. Those would have
easily been the smallest strides that I ever took in my life. I
stood there awestruck and felt lots of air escaping through my
lips. The interior was huge, tall and showed why it took 41 years
to be in place. My only thought when I turned back was that,
"I hope I get another chance to come back and visit the
church…"
It is amazing, the kind of French influence in Montreal. English
comes secondary. The people there speak in French by default and
they don't care to strain their face muscles. French attitude!
Another interesting place was the Olympic Stadium used during the
76 summer Olympics. It has become a big benchmark for tourism
there. Architectural marvel.
The palindrome is now called bio dome. It houses 3 kinds of
forests - tropical, rain and North Pole. It is sensational when
you enter into the bio dome. You cross the door and suddenly this
greenery with huge trees, aroma, waterfall, increased moisture,
sound of waterfall, chirping birds surrounds you. I was stunned.
Cross another door and you are in a different forest. Finally you
see the polar bears and penguins. Cross the third door and you
are back to reality and hot sun.
Went to a few other places too but not enough patience to put
them all in words. Food is another of the high points. There is
an Indian restaurant with a buffet that had 125 items.
Feasted on it. Every other door in downtown is either a
restaurant or a club or a disco. There is this place called Moven
Pick. I rather call it a concept than a restaurant. It has around
30 small bistros inside. Upon entrance they would give you a card
which they call Passport. So you go to an eatery order your food,
which would be cooked in front of you to your liking and then get
a stamp on the passport. You would be billed when you exit. Just
in case you loose your passport you would be left there cleaning
dishes for two days. Oh! There was an Indian restaurant too,
which had 125 dishes on its buffet. Sumptuous food!
And yes, we had 3 days of 8-5 meetings too, punctuated
with munchies, drinks, lunch and desert. At the end of
the 5th day I was left trying desperately to hold the past, the
past 5 days. So much for the beauty, greenery, radiance of
Montreal. With mixed feeling I was off to Chicago, where I get a
day off as all the flights out of Chicago to Denver were full on
Thursday. I got to stay for a day in Chicago. Lucky me - a day of
paid vacation.
The driver on the shuttle van from the airport was an
Indian - Tamilian - who stayed in Anna Nagar and worked in Port
Trust. He said he used to park his scooter in Chetpet
and went to office by train. Thousands of people do that. But
when you hear that in Chicago - it was an emotional awakening for
me. He is in US treating his son for the past 3 years on visitor
visa. Working part time with the hotel.
There is a place in Chicago called the Devan Avenue - place where
the "Indians" and "Pakistanis" get
together as the cab drivers put it. Boy, it was like walking in
any other commercial street in Madras. Another emotional
awakening that.
Chicago has a great public transport system. They almost have
rail routes for every color in the world. Blue line, Red line,
Yellow line, Brown line, all connecting different parts of the
city. They have a loop train around the downtown where all these
train routes meet. 80 % of the commuters seemed to be blacks. Fun
loving people and they never fail to throw the miscellany right
down beneath their seats in the train. Wait a minute, isn't that
another emotional awakening?
Took time to wander around the streets of Chicago
downtown - considered to be the second biggest in US
next to New York. It is by a river and it adds beauty to it. I
started from my hotel in the kind of light when mom would call
kids back home. It took about an hour to reach the downtown.
So the only landmark that I could see was the SEARS Towers.
But it was worth it. It stood almost 1500 feet tall. The
110 story Sears Tower is the tallest office building in
the world. The elevator took close to 70 seconds to reach the
top. And the view from the top is breath taking. This tower
stands tall somewhere between Chicago and heaven - I was there
standing on top of it.
Chicago on lights. The tallest of the tall buildings,
which give you a neck sprain when you see them from the ground,
looked small. Life is a great leveler. I never felt like getting
down. I could see Chicago from all the possible directions.
Mind-blowing views all. Sadly thereafter, had to get back to work
the next day - Friday. Satish.