Mezbauddin Mahtab's Blog, page 4

Banff, Yoho and Jasper 2021: A Full Itinerary

Here's a list of all the posts about things to do and see in Banff, Yoho and Jasper that I covered in 2021.

Place to visit in Yoho National Park, BC



Things to do in Banff on a Rainy Day


Moraine Lake, A Jewel of Banff National Park



Lake Louise, The Crown Jewel of Banff




Surprise Corner, Two Jack Lake and Banff Ave




Icefields Parkway: Things To See On the Drive

Hopefully you have a pleasant stay in these national parks and find the information here helpful. I am also including a link to my past travels to ...

Icefields Parkway: Things To See On the Drive

Continued from Surprise Corner, Two Jack Lake and Banff Ave

There is a highway the likes of which are rare in the world. The Icefields Parkway links Lake Louise, Alberta with Jasper, Alberta. Many lists of top drives or top beautiful journeys in the world include Icefields Parkway amongst the very top. 

The Icefield Parkway is a 232 km stretch of double-lane highway winding along the Continental Divide through soaring rocky mountain peaks, icefields and vast sweeping valleys. You don't get sights ...

Surprise Corner, Two Jack Lake and Banff Ave

Continued from Lake Louise, The Crown Jewel of Banff

If you are an early riser like me, and have already done a few hikes and trails by lunch, you now have a few hours to kill before the sun goes down. Quite a few, actually, as sunset here can be 9.30 pm in the peak of summer, and 830 pm by late August. What do you do?

Surprise Corner

There is a small spot in Banff called Surprise Corner. Why "Surprise Corner"? Who knows ... but the sudden appearance and incredible view of the Banff Springs Hotel (...

Lake Louise, The Crown Jewel of Banff

Continued from Moraine Lake, A Jewel of Banff National Park

During my last visit to Lake Louise in 2019, I called it a "zoo". This was in sharp contrast to my visit in 2016, when it was far less busy and in pristine condition, with ample parking any time. It was a "slice of heaven". In my opinion, the free access to national parks in 2017 simply blew up the popularity of these places, and they have not been the same since. The infrastructure simply has not kept pace to handle the crowds. 

And then...

Moraine Lake, A Jewel of Banff National Park

Continued from Banff on a Rainy Day

It took me five years. 

The first and only time I had visited Moraine Lake was way back in 2016. Back then, I didn't have the time to see this lake properly.

"Insha Allah, something to do for next time." I had said. That next time was here and now. 2021.

Banff is a popular destination for Canadians this year. Why? No foreign tourists. Great deals to be had. No need to quarantine. Alberta has no mask mandate. Banff - a beautiful, scenic location. All of which makes...

Banff on a Rainy Day

Continued from Yoho National Park, BC (During a Forest Fire!)

It is well known that the one thing you cannot really plan for, on your vacation, is the weather. Does not matter if you go to the beach or the mountains, you pray for good weather and it sucks when it rains. Despite that, there are plenty of things to do in Banff on a rainy day.

And no, I am not talking about going bowling, having a steak dinner or going to the movies. Yes, of course you can do all that. But we wanted to do some real t...

Yoho National Park, BC (During a Forest Fire!)

Continued from Calgary During a Forest Fire

It was surreal.

No matter how many times I say it, or look at the pictures, it was surreal.

It felt like a bad movie. The world on flames and the sky an orange hue. That was what greeted us on Monday morning, as we woke up early and left Calgary around 7 am.

Our plan had been Banff for that day, but that was all now going to change due to the forest fire in Canmore. Banff had really bad air quality, so we decided to go to Yoho National Park in British Colu...

Calgary During a Forest Fire

 It was supposed to be a relaxed Canadian Rockies trip for two guys. My brother and I decided to go hiking and travelling in Banff, Yoho and Jasper during the third week of August. The weather was supposed to be sunny and hot, and we were looking for a good time in the mountains. The last time I had visited was in 2019, and I was looking forward to doing a few things I had missed out then.

Suddenly, a day before I was to fly to Calgary, forest fires erupted everywhere. There were already fires in...

Examining the claim "Canadian South Asians love education more than the Black community"

 Have you heard these comments before?

South Asians are the model group. Look how many of us get into university! We value education!If only Blacks got educated more! There's hardly any black students on university campus!Recently, out of interest, I started to look into these claims. I found out two things.Black Canadians only make up 3.5% of Canada's population (2016 census), so obviously you will see a low percentage of university students being black - this is reflective of their population p...

Port Union Waterfront Park

 Toronto is an amazing city. Every time you can find something new, despite decades of living here. Last week, while having a small (socially distanced) picnic lunch at Colonel Danforth Park in East Scarborough, we discovered the Port Union Waterfront Trail.

Now the Port Union Waterfront Park can be accessed by car easily, but it's a little bit of a hike from Colonel Danforth Park. Nevertheless, it's a good exercise.

When you finally reach the end of the trail (or should I say the bottom of the tr...