Friday, April 9, 2010

Back !! (notes on Travel)

Here I go again, a new post and a new adventure.

I mismanaged my time here on Pickled Thoughts because I had a lot of personal stuff happen (between December and now) that needed tending to. Sometimes this includes taking a bit of a time out from activities that seem amazing and fun. Alas Pickled Thoughts was one such activity, but now I am back!

Back with such a vengeance that I will forgo my usual media rants, dismiss the stories of smelly fat cats and vampires, neglect to mention fruit that explode in your mouth and coat the inside for up to 24 hours with a chemical mix that makes everything taste sweet (even dandelion juice), and not mention my love of flax seed. No...indeed I shall speak to you all my lovlies about travel in Canada. Specifically from Toronto to Calgary.

I am scheduled to depart for Calgary tomorrow, and being the green imp that I hope I am, I decided to try my best to make my travel 'less bad'. These are my initial impressions:
  1. train travel is damn expensive;
  2. air travel is almost on par with train travel money-wise, but time-wise it is like comparing rock hard kiwis just delivered to your grocery store, to those picked fresh (and ripe) off a tree and immediately consumed (guess which is which);
  3. Canada has transitioned into an "air" travel country, which makes me and a bunch of birds very sad;
  4. flights to Calgary cost more than my all-inclusive Cuba trip (taken last year @ $480)
  5. :(

But on to good news for a change, and no not the David Suzuki book. I in my moment of genius-thought, decided to fly one way and take the bus the other. IN short I will fly to Calgary and visit my sister/brother-in-law, and then embark on my great expedition back to Toronto on a Greyhound bus.

I decided to do this for a few reasons...
  • one: being the ability to finally see the prairies;
  • two: saving a few bucks on air travel (woohooo for 21-day advance ticket purchase discounts);
  • three: meet a few characters and aim to not be decapitated (Google greyhound and decapitation);
  • four: save a bit of my now depleted "green-glow" by opting for less damaging travel options (at least on the way back).

I shall update you-all on my initial thoughts of Alberta, and then on my 2 day harrowing account of travel by road with people you don't know (on a bus!!).

I imagine you cannot wait to hear what tails of horror I will bring forth. Especially the potential for 'bathroom-use' murder, but for this and other news you must tune in next week.

Just remember "spider man spider man, does whatever a spider can, spins a web any size..watch out here comes the spider man..."--> the above are unfortunately the lines that are stuck in my head (and now in yours I hope). You and I can send our thanks to Teletoon and its reruns of old spider-man episodes.

DAMN YOU Spider-man theme song writer(s)!!!

No comments: