Mezbauddin Mahtab's Blog, page 13

A Snow Day in Toronto

You know you are a Canadian who lives in Toronto when you take pictures of the white snow covered landscape after a snowstorm in the city. After all, it's Canada, it's winter ... snow is therefore expected. But we live in Toronto, so we are a little spoiled when it comes to weather..


We got 10 cm of snow today, starting early in the morning. A snow day is not bad if it happens on a Sunday. I mean, you don't have to go to work, so there's no traffic to beat.


However, there's lots and lots of sho...

7 Tips for Handlings Kids on Long Flights

Having recently travelled between Canada and India, with two toddlers, here's seven my tips to keep your kids entertained (and yourselves sane) during long haul flights.

1. Travel as light as possible
This is a general advice, but particularly suitable for travelling with kids. Just because you get two suitcases per person, doesn't mean you need to take two suitcases per person.

Remember, one parent will be taking care of the kids. The other parent will be taking care of the luggage. If you hav...

Why Emirates Continues To Beat Air Canada Hands Down

I recently had the opportunity to fly both Air Canada and Emirates. As some one whose work took him all over North America a few years ago I have experienced almost all of the North American airlines. I was also familiar with Etihad and Emirates, flying both regularly to UAE some time back. This time my journey gave me the opportunity to compare both Air Canada's current international experience, and Emirates' world famous hospitality first hand.

Verdict: Emirates by an overwhelming margin. It...

Should Kids Be Banned From First Class?

 
As a dad who just flew halfway across the world with two young boys, I can tell you that flying with kids isn't easy. While the older one kept himself busy with movies and games and toys (thank you Emirates!), the younger one couldn't understand why he was cooped in that small place without any seat (that's why we flew when you are less than two, kid, coz it's cheaper!).

I think 8 hours was our longest flight (Toronto to London) and it was the maximum we could really handle. We broke up...

Western Canada Diaries - The Complete List

Overview
Here's a total complete list of all my posts regarding my great Western Canada road trip of 2016. If you are thinking of visiting the Rockies, or travelling to BC, you may find these links useful. 

This was a rough map of our travels.


Calgary
- General Introduction
- Olympic Plaza
- Nose Hill Park, Chestermere and Peace Bridge

Banff & Jasper
- General Planning for Banff & Jasper
- Banff Gondola (Sulphur Mountain)
- Lake Minnewanka Cruise
- Bow Falls & Vermilion Lakes
- Lak...

Western Canada Diaries - 20. Victoria

[ Continued from Part 19 - Vancouver's Highlights  ]

This post will be the last in the Western Canada series, as Victoria was the last city we visited before heading back to Calgary, and then flying home to Toronto.

To drive from Vancouver to Victoria, you have to take the ferry. That means driving from Vancouver down to Tsawwassen, which is where the ferry terminal is.


The cost is both based on the type of vehicle, as well as the number of people on board the vehicle (hint: it's not...

Western Canada Diaries - 19. Vancouver's Highlights

[ Continued from Part 18 - Vancouver's Stanley Park  ]

Vancouver is a city where many people spend as much as a week to truly discover the city. We had three nights, and the city can be quite expensive. In fact, Vancouver had one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. It's also quite popular with Chinese visitors from across the Pacific ocean, and is often called Canada's gateway to Asia.

We had already visited Capilano Suspension Bridge and Stanley Park. Here's a few oth...

Western Canada Diaries - 18. Vancouver's Stanley Park

[ Continued from Part 17 - Vancouver's Capilano Suspension Bridge  ]

Vancouver is an amazing place. Our hotel was in North Vancouver, quite close to Yummy Donair Kabab (excellent sandwiches, by the way).

 
You cannot come to visit Vancouver and not visit Stanley Park, which is one of the highlights of the city. For us, it was literally a drive across the Lion's Gate Bridge, and we decided to visit the park one sunny afternoon.


The Lion's Gate Bridge can be a little uneasy to driv...

On the passing of Junaid Jamshed and his legacy

Junaid Jamshed, the famous musician from Pakistan turned Islamic preacher, has died today in a plane crash.

I first met Junaid Jamshed at MuslimFest in 2011. It was a rainy day, yet the nasheed singer knew how to work the crowd. His song "Dil Dil Pakistan" remains Pakistan's unofficial second anthem.


The next time I saw him was when I myself was a participating artist at the 2012 MuslimFest. He was just doing a quick tour of all of the exhibits. I found him to be a knowledgeable and well manner...

Western Canada Diaries - 17. Vancouver's Capilano Suspension Bridge

[ Continued from Part 16 - Route 99 to Whistler  ]

Right at the beginning of the eminently forgettable movie Neal N Nikki, there is a song montage of Vancouver, played to the tune of "Yeh Ladka Hai Allah". It's one of the few good things from that movie.


Vancouver is an amazing city. It is one of the few cities I would consider moving to in a heartbeat. Mountains on one side, the sea on the other, glorious ravines, rivers and nature all around, a city made up of many islands connect...