Results tagged “travel”

Suaad Hagi Mohamud, the 31-year-old Toronto woman who was stranded in Kenya for three months due to a dustup with customs officials, is now suing the Canadian government for $2.5 million and asking for an inquiry and public apology. After allegedly denying a request for a bribe by an airline official on her way home from the Nairobi airport, Mohamud was tossed into Langata Women's Prison for a week on the charge of passport fraud, because the officer claimed her lips looked different than in her four-year-old passport photo. Trapped in immigration limbo, it took the Canada Border Services Agency a staggering two-and-a-half months to confirm her identity using a DNA test, even though Mohamud had been vouched for by her family, volunteered a cross-check on her fingerprints, and was carrying at least five pieces of valid identification, including an Ontario health card and driver's licence. (CORRECTION: A previous version of the story incorrectly indicated that it was an immigration official that solicited a bribe; it was a KLM airline official.)

What happens when your poor-listener girlfriend forgets that you're backpacking around Europe for two weeks with no access to your mobile phone or the internet?

                                   

As Emirates flight 241 approached the runway on its inaugural flight into Toronto yesterday afternoon, a few audible gasps could be heard from the crowd gathered against the windows of Terminal 1. There was no debate: this aircraft was enormous. For most, it was the first time they had seen an Airbus A380—the world's largest passenger aircraft—in person, and Toronto is currently the only city in the Americas where the airline flies the plane. For the VIPs gathered, the excitement also came with some stern words for the federal government.

'Tis the season for a new spring crop of travel articles touting the allures of more northern locations, and, today, two New York–based newspapers feature the former York in their travel sections—and as is our wont as Torontonians to breathlessly embrace even the most minor recognition of our fair city, we took notice. The New York Post touches on the obvious ROM and AGO, but also has the actually useful suggestions of just walking around The Beach(es) and Toronto Island, or staying at the obscure Banting House B&B. The New York Times, on the other hand, strangely claims that Toronto "sidewalks are spotless" and "trolleys run like clockwork," but that "local fashion is disappointing." Both features mention mistresses of the obvious, The Drake and The Gladstone, yet they also refer to the merit of Toronto's other architecture and foodie scenes. So, that's something, then.

"Toronto feels—and is—safe. Even the pan handlers are surprisingly cheerful." Enticing words for travellers from London that are found in the "Safety" section of a Toronto travel guide published over the weekend by the Telegraph. The British daily, once owned by Conrad Black, picks a giant phallic symbol, a Frank Gehry redesign, the waterfront, a market hop, and the combined lure of a giant crystal, ceramics, and shoes as its top five sights. Top spots for visitors to dine at should spark debates among local foodies: Rodney's Oyster House, Delux, New Sky Restaurant, L’Espresso Bar Mercurio, and the Swan.

Last night, Ian Wright, the English star of the critically acclaimed travel shows Pilot Guides and America the Wright Way, delighted a full house at the Bloor Cinema with his unique blend of storytelling and lewd humour. The event, which was hosted by Intrepid Travel, Wellington Brewery, and Mountain Equipment Co-op, answered only the most pertinent travel questions, such as what it's like to eat squeezed seal fat, where to buy clap-off lingerie in Syria, and why fart jokes are universal. In case you're wondering, by Wright's account, squeezed seal fat is a bit like sticking your finger up your ass, and then licking it.

Drivers beware: quietly, almost furtively, the Ontario Service Centres on the 400 and the 401 are closing. If you've ever driven long distances on either of these highways (particularly the 401), you know this situation is problematic because these rest and refuelling stations have probably saved you from a close call with a near-empty gas tank. But don't fret: the Service Centres aren't closing for good; the Ontario government is letting the current operating leases expire so that it can renew all existing (and recently expired) contracts under one operator, instead of under the current consortium of oil companies. More importantly, most of the stations were built in the 1960s and the government wants a new operator to re-vamp the locations in order to make them capable of offering services up-to-par with twenty-first century expectations.

Why travel? Especially in a city like Toronto, where we can experience so many cultures just by walking through any of the dozens of ethnically-diverse neighbourhoods? What, at its essence, makes traveling to Italy different than drinking prosecco in Little Italy? What’s the difference, really, between hanging with the Dutch and eating Dutch chocolate ice cream?

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today.

Planning a trip in the next little while? Better make sure you don't have any illegally (or even legally) downloaded media on your laptops or MP3 players when you're crossing the border—if you don't want a hassle, that is. The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the Feds are "secretly" negotiating an agreement (known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement [ACTA]) with other like-minded countries, including the U.S. (surprise!), Japan, South Korea, and members of the European Union, which could make the media on your favourite electronical doohickey illegal.

Quick, what's the one thing you want from Kanye West? A new, spectacular album? No. Perhaps a free concert at Nathan Phillips Square? Wrong again. If you're being completely honest with yourself, what you really want is for Kanye West to start his own travel website. Who the hell needs Expedia anyway? Kanye's site has everything the big boys don't offer, like a low-resolution scan of his latest album's artwork splashed across the top of the page, and...well that's pretty much it for now, but that's something, right? Of course, these days celebrity endorsements are par for the course, regardless of how ineffective they may be.

Your reaction to snow depends on the circumstances. The frequency of dumps the city has received so far this year has caused grumbling about blocked streets, dirty mounds higher than the average citizen and many a wish for spring to speed up its arrival. Conversely, as long as the roads outside the city are passable, lovebirds, families and outdoor enthusiasts looking for an escape from the city have headed up to Muskoka resorts like Hidden Valley to enjoy activities made possible by the white stuff.

Apparently 6% GST is still being charged in parking lots at Pearson airport, in spite of the fact that the tax was lowered to 5% on January 1. The overpricing is being blamed on a system glitch that is being "worked on," but in the meantime, the GTAA plans to keep the extra cash for themselves. A spokesperson explained, "If you don't like it, then you can fly out of another international airport in Toronto."

It sounds pretty simple. There's one rule, right? Don't get so wasted that you a) spill the beans to your boss about i) the fact that you hate him/her or ii) the fact that someone is quitting, b) touch someone inappropriately, or c) throw up in your boss' lap. And yet come holiday season, we're bombarded by so much inane advice on how to not screw up at your office party that it's enough to make anyone paranoid. So to save you some time, we thought we'd do a summary of the not-so-helpful suggestions from our local etiquette experts.

Today’s Interview: Suroosh Alvi, co-director of Heavy Metal In Baghdad

The Toronto International Film Festival madness began today with this year’s Canadian press conference—whereas last year we were unprepared for the experience, this year we were ready. We didn’t eat lunch, instead eating our fill of the finger food on offer. Result!

When the weather is this shit the best thing to do is either hang out with friends at someone's house and tie one on, or go see a flick or two. Last night was time for the latter and the film was Rock The Bells. The film takes a funny, behind the scenes look at the trials and tribulations faced by a promoter trying to book the entire Wu Tang Clan for a live show. Can you say Big Baby Jesus Shaolin crackrock? And as the weather continues so does the rest of Resfest. Tonight at 7 there's a screening of A Decade of Resfest: 10 Seminal Shorts From The Past Decade, Saturday's got a cool Radiohead Retrospective at 5pm and a should be very interesting lecture by filmmaker Dougal Wilson at 7pm, while Sunday night there's a Cancon Shorts and Music Video screening at 7pm followed by The Vice Guide To Travel at 8:30.

What do you think of Vice Magazine, readers? Do you like it or hate it?

No Canadian cities made the top ten in the world, all finishing well behind perennial front-runners New York and Sydney as well as surprise newcomer Beirut.

An observant reader let us know that The New York Times Travel section has a piece on Toronto's revitalization as a travel destination, which means somebody at Tourism Toronto has been doing their job.

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre is currently hosting the Toronto Star Annual Golf & Travel Show, which will be running until Sunday at 6:00pm. Come down and demo that new set of clubs you’ve been looking at, or plan that perfect golf vacation.

Ryerson University has got to find some more space for their artists. Take the more than 40 artists showing at the School of Image Arts 3rd Year Show which runs until Feb. 3rd at the Ryerson Gallery. The 100+ works are crammed into every imaginable space. Photos are hung on top of one another, on pillars, behind desks. Travel photos are squeezed right next to portraits, intimate still-lifes compete for your attention with expansive landscapes. At times the show seems to devolve into visual clutter.

Odds are good you've read William T. Vollmann only in short form, in periodicals; if you head down to your nearest bookstore and look, between Voltaire and Vonnegut, for any of the Sacramento-based scribe's big fat tomes, you'd be lucky to dig even a single one up. Yet Vollmann is pretty much the most prolific writer around these days. Since the age of 28 (he's 45), the man has churned (absolutely churned) out works left and right. Thick slabs of historical fiction (an as-yet unfinished septology called Seven Dreams, which takes to task contemporary notions of the inevitability of progress). Short stories. Travel writing. Vast novels about San Francisco's seedy Tenderloin district (The Royal Family - an uncompromisingly bleak, Burroughs-esque vision). A six-volume, 3300-page history of violence (Rising Up, Rising Down)