toronto from ahigh

So Melbourne has booted Vancouver off the top of the list of the world's most livable cities. After a day of errand-running in Toronto, I'm not surprised the world eventually chose an Australian city over a Canadian one. After living in Burnie for the last four years, I was prepared for things to be more expensive over here. But as I've found out with their cell phone options, it isn't just more expensive, it's five years behind. There is no way an Australian mobile provider would survive charging what the companies charge over here. No one would buy it. I found banking is the same. At home I paid about $5 a month with a major back for unlimited transactions. Today I signed on for $15 a month for the same deal. If I wanted it cheaper, I would have had to limit my card use. By Australian standards it's ridiculous. All pays are also done by cheque. When I pulled out my Travel Card, the guy at the bank asked what BPay was all about. I explained it and it was like I was speaking another language. "What a great idea," he said. No kidding! I think there is a lot of money to be made if one company decided to cut the crap and offer a competitive deal, because such a thing doesn't seem to exist.

Ok so that's my whinge for the day. Oh I would like to add to that, the tax issue. All prices are shown before tax, and I'm not so good with doing calculations before I get to the register so I'm finding it downright annoying. Now don't get the impression I'm not enjoying Canada. I am. I'm just adjusting.

I wasn't that keen to see much of Toronto so today became my errand day. I waiting at Service Canada to get my Social Insurance Number (a must to work in the country). It took about half an hour of waiting and two minutes with the customer service woman. A lot of people there were applying for a marriage licence, including one couple dressed for their wedding. I got my SIN and headed to the shops to find something to wear to my job interview on Thursday. I braved the Eaton Centre (a huge underground shopping centre), found a skirt and went for a walk in search of lunch. I ended up down by the waterfront, which looks over to Toronto Island. On the way back I called into TD Canada and opened an account. To be fair, they were very helpful. Even if their charges are ridiculous.

Back at the hostel I was exhausted so I curled up with Wilson Dell (my laptop) and watched a movie. I surfaced a couple of hours later and headed out to grab dinner on the way to the CN Tower - the only touristy thing I decided to do. The tower was the tallest in the world until 2010. I arrived on dusk so enjoyed sunset at the observation deck at 346m before going up to the Sky Pod at 446m. I got a little nervous going up the first elevator, which has glass windows. Going up the to Sky Pod wasn't as bad as the elevator is inside the concrete tower, so you can't see out. I admired the view for a while before making my way back down. Apparently on a clear day you can see all the way to Niagra Falls. As nice as it would have been to be up there during the day, I actually prefer views at night. Seeing the city all lit up is gorgeous.