Day 25: Niagara Falls

Today was a special day as instead of spending it in USA as we have for last couple of weeks, we spent in in Canada witnessing the raging and fearsome power of Niagara Falls. We woke up in USA and drove to the Canadian border where I was surprised at how lax the border security was. They just checked our passports and allowed us all into Canada without even checking our RV. Perhaps they all secretly have an x-ray vision.

We drove through Niagara Falls city where I was surprised at how vibrant it was as I thought it would be a sleepy town completely reliant on Niagara Falls as its main source of income but it turned out to be bit similar to likes of Las Vegas,Orlando or Panama City as a holiday hotspot with plenty of other tourists attractions. I could have easily spent a week's holiday there.

We eventually arrived at Welcome Centre and picked up our tickets which included admission for four attractions. We had to wait for an hour and half for our first admission which was called Niagara Fury which is split in two parts. The first part was in a cinema theatre and we all sat down to watch a cartoon about how Niagara Falls was formed which was a cheap knock off of Ice Age. We all was transported to other theatre for the second part which was a 4D movie of Niagara Falls which was once again disappointing compared to other 4D movies I seen in my lifetime.

It turned out to be worst of four attractions though. The second attraction was called the Journey behind the falls. We all got an elevator deeper into cliffs next to Niagara Falls and emerged out tunnels which are directly under Niagara Falls! It was very damp and it led to three different vantage points of the fall. The first two was directly behind the cascading waves that pumped downwards violently but we were not allowed to go too near to it.

The last vantage point was easily the best one. It was on a pier outside of cliffs directly next to Falls so we have a much better view and we was able to appreciate and cower at the pure power of Niagara Falls. It easily ranked amongst top three best sights I witnessed on this road trip. It also was very wet with everyone getting drenched by the mist that wavered from the falls. Luckily we got free waterproof anoraks which were given to us before we all went down so we have some protection.

The third attraction was simple yet very enjoyable. It was a walk along the rapids generated by the Falls that swirled downwards the river. It was good because firstly they have displays about various stunts attempted by daredevils such as balancing on a tightrope across the river or being packed into a barrel and sent tumbling over the Falls! The first ever person to do this feat was a 61 years old female school-teacher who survived with few cuts and bruises! Secondly, it was also a much needed chance to take time out of being caught up in all tourist crowds and to appreciate the nature.

The saying that goes save the best for last has never been so apt when we all boarded a steamer boat to sail up to Falls. It was a very rocky ride and water was splashing all over us soon as we got close to Falls and I felt as I was in Perfect Storm movie! It also offered us a great vantage point of American Falls which is a smaller version of Niagara Falls which are stationed on the American border. It is a tourist hot spot as well but Niagara Falls is more well-known globally.

We all left Niagara Falls for one more destination which will offer us yet another vantage point after going under, being next to it and sailing up close to Falls we will view it from the above in the Skylon observation tower! The views was excellent as expected even so that we are able to see two Falls in a single viewpoint but it was obscured by metal fences surrounding the windows. I assume they are there to catch any idiots with death wish if they wish to break the window and jump out to their death.

Speaking of death wishs, we also saw a daredevil (must be something in the water for this town!) attempting a tight rope walk from Skylon Tower to a casino nearby. The casino was taller so the daredevil had to walk upwards which was even more terrifying! He eventually succeed and we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. After the dinner, we have a beautiful walk back to our RV where we saw Niagara Falls being illuminated in ever-changing colours.

When we crossed the border to return to USA, the contrast in the attidudes between two border patrols can be seen as American border security guards insisted on checking our RV with flash-lights before allowing us through but their security was not that water-tight as we thought it would be as they don't even checked the storage bed where a person could have easily hide there to be smuggled through!