This is the 5th post in our series. So far, we've had some interesting moments, including a backstory, a frustrating IVR experience, and the fuel mystery. We've also enjoyed spectacular sights like the majestic Niagara Falls and the Rideau Canal. This time, we continue our journey westward to explore the arguably more scenic part of Canada.
- The Back Story
- East Canada - Toronto
- East Canada - Niagara and 1000 Islands
- Rest of East Canada
- From Fuel Guzzlers to Frozen Trails and Everything in Between ← This post
- Ice, Bears, and Fuel Scares: A Rocky Mountain Adventure
- When we Lost Rishabh for 45 Minutes
- The Final Few Days
Lost in Translation: Hidden Cards & Costly Bags
Alright, so now we were at the Montreal airport, checking in and dropping off our bags. An airline attendant approached me and asked if I could relay a message in Hindi to a fellow passenger who didn’t understand English. The passenger, a young Punjabi fellow, hadn't completed his web check-in and needed to pay $28 to check in. I was surprised by this charge and asked if he could complete the web check-in now, but she refused. I conveyed the message to him, and he didn’t object, wanting to get on the plane quickly. He took out cash, but the attendant said only cards were accepted. I thought he would just pull out his wallet and hand over a card, but he did something unexpected:
- He sat down.
- Took off his backpack.
- Pulled out a file folder from it, the kind used for keeping certificates.
- Retrieved a card from the folder and handed it to the attendant.
She swiped the card, it went through, and he then reversed all those steps. I suggested he keep his card in his wallet, as in Canada, you can't get very far without easy access to your card!
The flight from Montreal to Calgary is about 4.5 hours long—Canada is a huge country. The ticket was reasonably priced at around 4500 Rs or $55, but the cost of baggage was another story. Checking in one bag cost an additional 8300 Rs or $100! Believe it or not, the cost of bags was almost double the cost of the human passengers!
Meet the Fuel Guzzler
We arrived in Calgary and were warmly greeted by my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. We were especially excited to see our very young nephew for the first time!
The next morning, we headed to a car rental place and rented a 7-8 seater Dodge Durango.
Don't be fooled by its looks—this car is massive. Inside, it feels like you're driving a mini-bus. It has other mini-bus-like characteristics, too, including a huge fuel tank. At one point, I filled it with about 95 liter of petrol! Its fuel consumption is equally impressive, making it feel like I was driving from one fuel station to the next with barely any stops in between. On a full tank, it barely goes 700 km!
House of Cardboard
One striking difference in Canada is the building materials used for houses. In India, we are accustomed to steel and concrete houses with brick walls. If you bang your head against these walls, it's usually the head that breaks, not the wall.
In Canada, however, houses are made predominantly of wood and a thick cardboard-like material. The frame is solid wood, but the walls are made of this thick cardboard-like material.
I’m sure there are numerous advantages to this, but it doesn’t feel solid. If you bang your head against the wall, or even bump into it with some force, the wall might break, and you could end up in the neighbor's living room!
Dinos & Hoodoos
One of the days, we visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a dinosaur museum. If you remember, the ROM in Toronto had dinosaur exhibits, but this museum has two main differences:
It is dedicated exclusively to the study of ancient life, particularly dinosaurs.
It is located where dinosaur fossils were actually discovered.
The museum features actual dinosaur fossils, some of them displayed in full-scale, life-like forms. It's incredible to walk among the giant creatures that once dominated the planet!
If you look carefully, you'll notice people in some of these pictures, highlighting the humongous scale of these creatures. Just one limb measures 12 feet tall—more than twice my height! I'm glad I wasn’t around when these giants roamed the Earth.
Here’s the skeleton of a fully grown mammoth, smaller than a dinosaur but much bigger than an elephant!