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Well its been a week since my trip started and have to say it still doesn't feel real. Will put up some photos of the trip so far.
Trip started off with a new 13 hr flight from Sydney to Los Angeles with my knees up at my chest. Unfortunately Boeing 747s are not very generous with leg room and when combined with the person in front putting their chair all the way back it does not leave me with any room (one of the disadvantages of being tall). A few hours in LAX trying to understand what the designer of the airport was thinking when it was designed (still have no idea) and then a nice short 6 hr flight to New York. Far better flight as the seats beside were empty so managed to stretch out and get some sleep. 7 hours in New York waiting to catch a midnight bus to Ottawa. New York is certainly a sensory overload (especially considering the last week before my trip was spent in a town with 300 people). Not much sightseeing as will be back there in a few weeks. 11 hr bus ride to Canada which was better than expected.
Its been a busy week and have had a great time catching up with one of my closest friends from India, Robert and his fiance, Anne-marie (also a good friend from India). Have been to numerous restaurants and pubs. Am impressed by Canadian beer though that is proving to be a bad thing for my budget. Also way to much good food here to eat. Tried a local speciality called Poutsine which is basically french fries (or chips depending on where you are from) covered in cheese curds and gravy. Very healthy and nutritious and tastes great as well.
Have been zipling, basically an obstacle course thingy up in the trees. You get into a harness and then you use safety lines to get across various rope bridges and other similiar things and then there are parts where you hook up onto a cable and slide from tree to tree (have a look at the photos to get a better idea).
Saw some of the local sights such as Parliament and the Museum of Civilisation, which looks at Canada's history. Went rafting on the Ottawa river with Robert and his brother in law. We managed to flip the raft on two out of the seven rapids. First time was on purpose with a planned over right (where everyone moves to the right side of the raft to flip it). The second flip was purely accidental though the river guide had told us that no one had flipped this year and he had a record for being one of the safest guides (with regards to not flipping) so we decided to break his record. Some of the other members on the raft were not very happy about the second flip for some reason.
On saturday night went to the Ottawa Bluesfest (which is more of a mixture of music than just blues). Akon and Wyclef both performed (including one song together). Incredible concert and even the rain could not ruin the atmosphere.
All in all it has been really good so far and I hope it continues. Have another week in Ottawa then its down to Toronto and the Niagra Falls before heading off to New York for a few days. Am looking forward to the adventures ahead and will try my best to keep people updated.
Tim
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