July
4th Weekend is a Travel Weekend for the Indians here in
US. Lots and lots of our people travel all over USA enjoying
their Time. I thought I would share my (July 4th) travel with you
and write some thing about Niagara Falls One of the wonders of
the World. My close Friend Rajesh came to Columbus as his parents
are touring USA for the first time. We thought that we would go
to few places in and around Columbus Area. We planned for A
Four-Day trip around this area. We started out trip from Columbus
and headed out towards East to Pittsburgh. My family and my
friend RAJESH family rented a Van and drove there.PITTSBURG:
Pittsburgh is located is the West Part of Pennsylvania State and its one of the most Beautiful place in the EAST COAST. People who have a very fast life in the EAST COAST Cities like New York, BOSTON, PHILADELPHI will find a good difference when they come To PITTSBURG. It’s basically what we people in Chennai feel when they go to Coiambatore or Bangalore. For our Indian People PITTSBURG is so famous because of SREE VENKATESWARA Temple. It’s one of the most famous Hindu temples out side India. The temple is
located in
Monroeville Which is 10 miles from PITTSBURG and its really a
wonderful temple. People all over the Country come to this temple
and it has almost become like Thirupathi of USA. PITTSBURG is
Famous for its Steel industry and there are lots
and lots of Steel Plants in the city. Most of the German people
who came to the country long back settled in this city.One thing that I like about PITTSBURG is its beautiful Downtown and the Three River Stadium. The City is located in the banks of Three Rivers. Three Rivers meets at one place and There is a Beautiful Stadium over there where the PITTSBURG "STEELERS" play. People who Go to PITTSBURG miss the MOUNT WASHINGTON view. I would strongly recommend people Who are visiting PITTSBURG to go to MT. WASHINGTON? The view of the downtown from That Place is really amazing. There is a TRAM ride from the top of the mountain and it takes you To the bottom of the hill and the tickets for the ride is quiet nominal. They charge you only ONE Dollar for the ride and you can have a tram ride. You can park your car in the top of the Mountain And can walk into the city. You have various activities to do there
. There is a Boat
ride, which costs 15$ which takes you One hour in the Lake and
Another One hour in the City. It’s really a worth thing To
do if you are going for the first time to the city. One full day
is a really worth time you can spend In this beautiful Stealers
City. We had nice time in Pittsburgh and headed towards North of
Pittsburgh To Niagara Falls.Niagara falls:
From PITTSBURG, Niagara Falls is about 220 Miles. To me Pennsylvania State is the most beautiful State. Its very green, Full of Beautiful Mountains, Lakes, lots and lots of Tunnels etc. One can experience its beauty when you travel towards east that is from PITTSBURG to PHILADELPHIA. It will take 6 hours to drive the distance but it’s really beautiful. When you drive 120 Miles North of PITTSBURG you reach LAKE ERIE. One of the longest lakes in the world. You drive along the coast of LAKE ERIE you reach BUFFALO, NEW YORK, which is the North West part of the state. We stayed in BUFFALLO that night and we headed to Niagara Falls the next day.
Niagara Falls is one of the Seven Wonders of the world and the specialty of the falls is its the Only One wonders which is NATURAL one and the rest of the wonders are all Man made. For sure everyone will get a Shock of your life when you watch the falls for the first time. All the water from LAKE ERIE falls in one place. One can feel the sound of the falls even before 2 Miles from the falls. The beauty of the falls is the falls is located in the border of Two County (USA and CANADA) and its called as the PEACEFUL BORDER in this whole world. The falls is in a HORSESHOE Shape and the water falls in a Horseshoe Shape. It’s really a beautiful site. One can get a better view of the falls from the CANADIAN Side rather than from the USA Side. But remember that all the Immigrants other than (GREEN CARD holders and the US CITIZEN) needs to get a CANADIAN VISA to go to the Canada site to view the falls. I have done it THREE YEARS before.
CAVE OF THE WINDS:
The "CAVE OF THE WINDS" ride is one of the best activity you can do in the falls area. It costs you $6 for the ride. They give you a
Water Coat and a special Shoe, which is
made of Rug, and this will prevent you from Falling when you walk
near the falls. The specialty of this ride is you can go as near
as One feet from the small falls. You can even keep your head
inside the falls and can get wet. Don’t forget to take your
camera when you go there. People will shout out of excitement
after going near the falls. The walk is about a Mile., They first
take you to the bottom of the hill in an elevator and then a
guide will come with you. Its really a wonderful wonderful
wonderful Experience in your life. Myself and my friend Rajesh
have been to the Falls Thrice, But My wife Priya and Rajesh
Family Including his 60 Years old Parents were doing it for the
first time. We both really enjoyed after seeing those Four
Shouting and having their Best fun of their life for the first
time. I was totally drenched that day.MAID OF THE MIST RIDE:
The Maid of the mist Ride in Niagara falls is the best Ride I have ever Did in my Whole FIVE YEARS of Travel I did so far in US. Believe it
or not Its the best part of going to Niagara. The
Ride is a boat ride. The boat takes you to the Foot of the main
falls. The boat takes you to all the parts of the falls and the
view from the boat is simply superb. The boat goes slowly and it
reaches to a point where the whole horse shoe shape is completely
visible. It is really an amazing view anyone can have in their
life. It will be like a melted silver that is flowing. The amount
of water that is flowing is ONE MILLION GALLONS per
second. This is one ride that must not be missed at any
chance. The cost for the ride is $8 per person but its worth it.AIR BALLON:
It’s one of the new attractions in Niagara Falls. There is a Balloon that goes up to 400 Feet in air and You can watch the falls from the top. It’s really scary and It’s expensive. People who does not like to ride roller coasters will really have to think over. Its a very nice ride. After it reaches the top the balloon does not Stands in one place. It goes in the direction of the wind. That’s the scariest part of the ride. The balloon goes Here and there and makes us to scream. But you can have a good view on the Canadian side from the balloon. The cost of the ride is $18 per Person.
LOLLU COMMENTS:
Niagara Falls is one of the Best Tourist attractions in USA. It’s a really beautiful place. In a long week end if you to Niagara Area all that you see is Indians and it will be as if you are in India. Lots and lots of Indian Crowd come during the long weekend to enjoy the beauty. Food is the biggest problem inside the park and all that you get is a horrible burger for $5. So when you plan a trip to the fall you better carry your Food. Its a one Full day event and don’t miss the FRIDAY night Fireworks and the Light show in the night. Its really really good. Hotel rooms near the falls is pretty expensive as lots and lots of people come to the falls during this time. A decent room will costs 75$ - 125$ and it really depends upon the deal. I would strongly recommend our readers to go and enjoy the trip. If you are flying to Niagara there is an International Airport in Buffalo and tickets are pretty high to fly there. People normally fly to New York and they drive down here. Most of the people who come to Niagara come by car. There are lots and lots of Indian restaurants around the falls area and they are doing a pretty good job of supplying Indian food although they are pretty expensive. Enjoy and have fun in Niagara Falls and plan a good trip! The cost of the trip will be anywhere around 350$ - 500$ For TWO PEOPLE if you are driving from the Near By area. If you are flying add the AIRFARE to it. It’s not an expensive place to visit like FLORIDA or other Tourist Place. It’s a Sweet and Peaceful one! One specialty of going to Niagara area is Toronto, which is the biggest city in Canada, is just 100 Miles from Niagara. Its one of the best places to visit. So if you plan for going to Canada you can get your visas in the border.
WITH LOVE,
PRABHU
AUTHOR, LOLLU EXPRESS
COLUMBUS,OHIO, USA.