The
stay in Kings Inn By The Falls had been extremely pleasant. Besides its
location on the main road within walking distance of many eateries and grocery
shops, the main attraction of the Falls was just a stroll of 15 minutes. The
weather had held yesterday and it looked as if it would this day too. I left
the Motel after the usual muesli breakfast even though I was tempted to try the
buffet breakfast of ‘all you can eat’ next door at C$ 7.99.
The route from
Niagara to Sudbury passed once again through Brampton and Toronto. Of course,
the highway bypasses them. What I meant to say is that of the 510 km to Sudbury
140 km is the same I had done the day before. Once I went past the exits for
Toronto the traffic eased considerably. I knew I was on a tolled road from
Niagara because there were signs that non-Ontario number plates would be
charged. There was also a request to keep the rear number plate visible and
clean. I did not come across any toll booth or devices that required me to slow
down. I am sure that high resolution cameras would have done the needful. Such
a system ensures that costly infrastructure which actually impedes traffic is
set up on roads whose capacity is reduced by it. These toll booths become costly
to implement too. Moreover, there are no exemptions at electronic toll booths. Everyone
has to pay. Since I do not own the car the rental company will receive the
billing. When I close my contract with Hertz I will have to pay the tolls and
fines that I have toted up during the rental period. Road works were on in many
places to add additional capacity. But this did not impede the traffic flows. I
was in the College Boreal hostel, Sudbury in less than six hours.
The
hostels operate as a hotel during summer vacation. When I mentioned at the
check-in that I had stayed in one such in North Bay the girl told me that the
management has summer accommodation available in many cities across Canada.
They even had them in Toronto. If I had known that I would have booked it
instead of the shoddy North York University. The only shortcoming in the hostel
accommodation is that while it has a common kitchen there aren’t any cooking and serving vessels or implements. The girl at the reception told me that customers
often walk away with plates, spoons and whatever and hence, the management took
the decision to keep them safely locked away! Such things happen even in a
‘civilised’ country. The two bedroom suite is quite large and comfortable with
a fridge and microwave in a big sized living area within the suite. When I woke
up after a short nap I felt extremely cold and brought this to the notice of
the reception. She came to the room and showed me how to operate the
thermostat. I turned it up and left for a short sightseeing trip.
Greater
Sudbury is the fifth largest Canadian city by area. Situated near the Ramsey
Lake waterfront is Science North, a museum, IMAX theatre and a planetarium. An
initiative of the museum is Dynamic Earth, an interactive museum set up to
highlight the city's mining heritage and focus on geology and its evolution.
Many exhibits around the Dynamic Earth Centre, which was closed when I visited,
educate one about rocks and the information they contain about geological
evolution. After that experience I started looking at rocks as if they were in
a communicative mood, wanting to tell me about the millions of years of their
experience. For instance, one of the boards placed at the Centre said that the
white stripes on the rocks are quartz veins that moved into cracks formed by
tectonic shifts, cooled over time and hardened. The rocks are eroded mountains
that form our landscape today. What Nature provided over billions of years man
consumes in less than a lifetime and leaves behind non-biodegradable material that
will harm the environment for generations to come!
The
Inco superstack at 380 metres is the largest chimney in Canada and the Western
hemisphere. It stands proud atop the largest nickel smelter operations in the
world, Vale Inco’s Copper Cliff. The complex is also the largest integrated
mining complex in the world. The smokestack was built in 1970 to release
harmful gases away from the population by releasing them high in the air. The
Inco superstack is due to be decommissioned and dismantled in 2020, facilitated
by a slew of emission reducing initiatives. Till the commissioning of the CN
Tower in Toronto the Inco superstack had been the tallest freestanding
structure in Canada.
The Bell Park is named after William Bell, a lumber baron, who donated his estate to the city. The municipal park is blessed by the large Ramsey Lake, which held the Guinness record for the world’s largest lake within the boundary of one city till the enlargement of the municipal limits that brought Lake Wanapitie into Greater Sudbury. The Jim Gordon Boardwalk along its ring that links the Park and Science North is an invigorating experience. The Park has an Amphitheatre, two gazebos, a beach, several flowerbeds and children's play areas.
The
boardwalk seems to be popular with residents for exercise and networking. I saw
many Indians during my boardwalk and most of them sounded like Gujaratis. Later
I came to know that Sudbury is not only about mining. It is much more. Besides Science
North that attracts researchers from all over the world to ideate their seminal
thoughts and innovations, Sudbury is a leader in medicine and ecology. The
Laurentian University has pioneered studies on acid rain and its impact on the
Planet. The medical school attracts a large number of foreign students. Greater
Sudbury also has over 330 lakes and 16.5% of its area is water!
While
driving into the city I had seen an advertisement of Taj Bistro, an Indian
restaurant. After the park boardwalk I was ready for a decent meal, a deviation
from the usual noodle stuff. On the menu were mouth watering delicacies. But, I
was not sure if I would get to taste authentic Indian stuff. However, when the
young girl from Ahmedabad took my order she asked if I preferred to have medium
or spicy food I knew that the restaurant was frequented by Indians looking for
spicy Indian food. There was a fairly large number of Indians, mostly students,
in the restaurant. One girl made a complete nuisance of herself trying to mend
a friend’s broken heart over phone, speaking in her lingo, without any care
that others were part of the restaurant experience, and later explaining to her
boyfriend of all the troubles she was going through sorting out such matters. I
think I heard her claiming that she knew Mahabharat and Ramayan at the age of
four! The young man sitting in friend of her had his head immersed in the
mountains of food she ordered.
When
the Lasooni Palak Paneer and Masala and Garlic naans arrived they
were delicious. It was authentic Indian stuff. The prices were quite steep
though, as it is in most Indian restaurants. The short drive back to the
accommodation was in the company of Indian spice that refused to leave the
fingers, more because the restaurant did not give finger bowls. When I reached
the room I found it unbearably cold. It was evident that the thermostat was not
functioning. When I brought this to the notice of the reception I was given a
change of room, into which I shifted for a quiet night of rest.
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