18Sep~2Oct'22 14D13N Land of Maple leaf🍁
It was full of hurdles before the trip, and we almost could not make it on the plane.
With that little bit of luck, we eventually made it.
Thank you Mei for asking me on this trip, and of course I must say thank you to our
planner, Jason who did so much work & all the research and made the trip possible! 🤟
It had been 3 years since our last trip in 2019. Thank you!
Covid Scare
On Friday morning, my boss was diagnosed with Covid and did not bother to inform us, staffs.
After getting to know of the news in the late afternoon, I cannot help but become scared as I had noticed a slight sore lingering in my throat since the morning. I sprayed numerous times of betadine, drank barley water, ate chinese medicine from my tcm, and bought counter-covid honey drinks.
The sore throat did not go away even on Sunday morning 😓
Before the flight
While trying to check-in online at home in the morning of the flight,
both Jason & I met with error (it said no ESTA application) no matter
how many times we tried to check-in.
We gave up trying at home and decided to head to the airport early to check-in at the counter.
Despite my lingering sore throat, ART result had showed negative,
so we decided no more thinking of cancelling the flight and just push ahead. We can only pray hard that we do not get called for the random PCR test at the Canada customs.
Flight schedule to Canada:-
18 Sept, Sun 1840 SGP to 1905 SFO (SFO is 15hrs behind SGP) - 15hrs 25mins
Layover in SFO 3 hrs 25 mins
18 Sept, Sun 2230 SFO T2 to 19 Sept, Mon 626 YYZ - 4hrs 56mins
We met at 3pm in T3, an hour earlier than our earlier arrangement
and went straight to row 7 for check-in. To our horror, the lady at the check-in
counter told us the same thing - we cannot check-in as we did not apply for ESTA to the USA.
Jason had ignored the error earlier and his reason was he had checked that ESTA is not required while transit flight in USA. But the lady explained that immigration clearance is required at USA during transit, hence, ESTA is required. She advised that we apply for ESTA right away and there is a chance to get the approval very quickly.
Still quite in shock, we also approached the flight information counter to see if we can postpone our flight if we could not get approval for the ESTA. The lady told us to apply for ESTA first
and approach her not later than 6pm if we really could not the approval.
We struggled for about 40 mins to apply for the ESTA. There were so many sections and fields to fill in, about family members, where you work & the address etc.. Moreover the system was not very friendly, any wrong button pressed, we are kicked out of the system immediately and have to restart from the beginning. The worst thing was I could not submit my application at the final stage.
We suspected it could be because I'm using a Huawei phone. 😨
Luckily we managed to retrieve my completed form on Jason's phone and we finally managed to send through all our ESTA. With a heavy heart on whether the ESTA will be approved on a Sunday,
we went in search for a place to have a snack.
Mei's family had initially wanted to have a late lunch at the airport.
It was late indeed having lunch at 4pm. 😂
We found Macdonald's at the arrival hall, Mei wanted to eat there.
During the meal, I checked the email several times, but no news came.
After eating at 10mins before 5pm, I finally got the email, and so did Jason after just a minute later😁
We were happily checked-in by 530pm and ready to go!
Day 1 - On the plane
The flight was delayed by 30mins, but it doesn't matter anymore.
1910 SGT: Flying off
Bye for now, Singapore
We were served a drink and nuts about 1 hour after flying off.
And then dinner was served at 9 pm plus SGT.
At 5am SGT, we woke and were served cold roast meat sandwich.
1 hour later, breakfast was served
The sun was setting as we were arriving at San Francisco.
Already 15 hrs 25 mins on the plane, we did not feel that long as we had slept through half of that time, ate 2 meals and watched 2 movies.
Sky of San Francisco
Still 18 Sep, Sun, 730pm San Frans time.
As the flight was delayed, we had only 2 hours (instead of 3 hours 25 mins) left to clear customs & pick up our luggage at San Francisco and then take the Air Train from the International terminal to T2.
Flight was delayed by 30mins, and no meals was provided for the 5-hr flight
Arrived 710am, 1 hr later than designated time.
It was 19 Sept, Monday morning... a good time to start our tour.
We were met by machines instead of officers at the Canadian customs. After clearing as a group at the machine, we were all set and commence our tour in Canada!
We were also not asked to do PCR test at the customs. 🍀
Our first brunch in Canada
We upgraded the car because the initial car does not come with GPS
All set and ready to go
2 hours later, we arrived at our first stop - a rest stop
Arriving at Ottawa 1-hour later at 3pm, our first tour stop
We are parking near Byward market.
We did not know how to pay for the roadside parking,
luckily a man walked pass and we managed to ask for his help.
On the way to Parliament Hill
York Step
Rideau Canal, Locks 1 - 8
Parliament Hill
Long bus of Canada
The stop crossing sign
Arrived back at the Byward market
We came to our first must-try list - Beavertails for the deep-fried dough, covered in a variety of toppings
It's yummy! Crispy and sweet👍
It was on my must-eat list, but too bad it was closed as they were mourning for the Queen's death
Dinner place at Byward market
Tried Red Sangria
And Poutine (cheese fries in gravy) - one of the must-eat on our list
Moving to our next destination after it turned dark
Arrived in Montreal at 930pm - Le Square Philips Hotel
Pretty large hotel room for 4 pax
Goodnight!
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