It’s more fun when you fly to Toronto on PAL

One of the best travel stories I have ever heard happened last Christmas. A friend was coming home from Los Angeles to spend the season with her family in Manila. Christmas being the season of homecoming, the only flight she could get was on the 24th, which meant she would arrive on Christmas Day, and miss noche buena with her family.

A couple of hours into her Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight from LAX, the pilot announced that, Manila time, it was already midnight, and that people were having their noche buena, most probably having just returned from Mass as is the tradition. 

On cue, the flight attendants started serving adobo on board and a cheer broke out throughout the airplane. The atmosphere, she said, was festive, cheerful — like home. 

For many Filipinos abroad, nothing beats coming home on PAL —  whether for a vacation or back to their second country — and it’s not just the convenience of a direct flight.

It is as if they are already home as soon as they step on the plane. What more during the Christmas season or on Christmas Eve for that matter? And on a very long flight, it feels good to have flight attendants and passengers that understand you.

In North America, it is not only Filipinos on the US West Coast that can fly on a direct PAL flight now, but now also those from the East Coast of Canada and the US with the launch of the new Toronto route as part of PAL’s expansion of services. 

On Nov. 30, 2012, PAL made its maiden flight from Manila to Toronto, the capital city of Ontario, on a Boeing 777-ER, one of the most modern, fuel-efficient and long-range aircraft favored by both passengers and airlines, with media, travel agents, and PAL and San Miguel officers on board.

The colors of our flag carrier have never been seen in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport before and it was great to see a large billboard in the terminal welcoming the airline.    

The new route flies directly to Toronto from Manila (about 15 hours), and goes back to Manila with a refueling stop in Vancouver. The Toronto route makes it convenient to go to the US East Coast from Manila as well, with just a short flight or a few hours’ drive from Toronto, if you were, say, going to New York.

PAL VP for marketing support Felix Cruz said that the Toronto service is just a preview of more exciting things to come for Asia’s first airline, and that “developing new markets through route expansion, fleet modernization (with 65 new Airbus planes on order) and customer service enhancements are part of a growth strategy outlined by PAL president and CEO Ramon S. Ang. PAL is committed to serve Filipinos worldwide and to bring the Philippines, a country of 90 million, closer to the rest of the world.

In a joint press conference in Toronto, Tourism Undersecretary Daniel Corpus and Tourism Assistant Secretary Bong Bengzon lauded PAL’s new route as it makes it more convenient for foreign tourists to visit the Philippines and discover just how much fun it is in these islands.

The flight from Toronto (every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) arrives in Manila before 6 a.m., which makes it convenient for tourists to connect to the airline’s 32 domestic destinations (or its 26 international destinations).

“Through PAL’s direct service, we want to showcase the exciting opportunities between Manila and Toronto in terms of tourism, culture and trade relations,” Cruz says.

Toronto has the highest number of Filipinos in Canada with more than 200,000 and Filipino Canadians (the third largest Asian group next to Indian and Chinese) are among the largest visitor groups to the Philippines, with more than 120,000 arrivals in 2011. While 2012 figures are still not available, the first eight months of balikbayans from Canada already reached 81,093 — not counting the surge of homecomings in the last quarter of the year with December being the busiest month.

Niagara falls & ice wine

What about for us living in the Philippines who like to visit new destinations in North America, what does Ontario have to offer? A whole lot!

While I have been to some of Canada’s best national parks on its western part (Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise in Alberta), its eastern attractions were entirely new to me. And what a wonderful way to discover them! 

People told me that seeing Niagara Falls would make me believe in God. My first sight of the falls was from the bottom, so I was looking up at the water coming down.

But only when I saw the falls from the view deck at the top, saw the seemingly calm Niagara River and how the water suddenly rushes to the edge — as if being chased by the devil — to a vertical drop of 165 feet with such sheer force did I see God in it.

On a summer day, they say, rainbows are a common sight and you can see the falls up close on a boat. We were there on a December afternoon, when the day couldn’t decide whether it would be wet or dry, but it was still beautiful through the cold mist. 

The falls are located between northwest of Buffalo, New York and southwest of Toronto. You probably have heard of the argument — which is the more breathtaking sight, the Canada side or the US side of the falls?

The most breathtaking is when you see Niagara Falls for the first time.

It’s not just the falls that’s the attraction in the town Niagara-on-the-Lake. There are shopping centers, clubs, spas, hotels and inns. Packages from Niagara Tourism include couples’ getaway and family packages.

On the way to the falls from Toronto, you pass by several vineyards producing ice wine, a dessert wine and probably Canada’s next most famous export apart from maple syrup and Justin Bieber.

Ice wine production worldwide is so small, which makes it more expensive than table wine, because of the way it is produced. The grapes are picked in the dead of winter, in the middle of the night or early morning at around -10 degrees Celsius — (“No fun at all,” said our guide at Jackson Triggs Winery) and are pressed while frozen at a certain temperature (-8 by law in Canada) and hence produce very little wine. Ice wines also have high-level sugar content and some are mixed with spirits like Innskillin’s ice wine with brandy, which you can also pour over pie or ice cream.

About 75 percent of Canadian ice wine is produced in Ontario, and many of the vineyards are in and around Niagara because it has the best weather.

Toronto, eh?

The thing that surprised me about Toronto was how laid-back it is. I was expecting a city vibe like New York’s but to my mind, it resembled San Francisco’s atmosphere more. 

People are friendly and helpful, and they do not talk the way Trey Parker and Matt Stone would have them!

It is, however, home to more than 80 nationalities with more than a hundred dialects spoken by 4.5 million people.

It was winter, the streets were quiet, and since it was approaching Christmas, the shopping hours were extended. Even when we had lunch at the Canadian National Tower (CN Tower), the city’s most prominent landmark, only about three tables were occupied.

Lunch with a view of Toronto’s skyline is an awesome experience especially since you get to see all of it (the restaurant revolves and completes a 360-degree turn every 75 minutes). It’s not a very big city, you realize at 553 meters from the ground. Or maybe because when you’re in the fifth tallest free-standing structure in the world, everything looks small.

A level down from the CN Tower restaurant is the glass floor where you can “float” above Toronto. Those with a fear of heights will have their knees shaking at the mere sight of the glass floor — but apparently People Asia editor Joanne Rae Ramirez doesn’t! She casually and without thought sauntered onto the glass floor and looked down at the skyline and traffic below without nervousness at all!

When it comes to shopping, you can expect most US stores (like Sears and discount store Marshall’s) and international brands to be in Toronto, too.  At Eaton Center, brands Filipinos are familiar with and that we have here (like Banana Republic and Forever 21) are there, and so are brands we don’t have but love (like H&M and Victoria’s Secret).

For more upscale shopping, there’s The Bay across Eaton Center. Owned by North America’s oldest company, Hudson Bay Company, it has 90 department stores across Canada. Brands at The Bay range from Valentino to Michael Kors, Topshop and Rachel Roy.

But one of the most enjoyable shopping experiences you can have in Toronto is at the St. Lawrence Market Complex. Here you will find fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, sausages, condiments from as far as New Zealand, truffle oils from Italy, ice wines, maple biscuits, and a glorious selection of cheeses from around the world and Canada’s own artisanal cheese makers.

We had a pre-lunch snack here of fresh green and black olives, sundried tomatoes with slices of feta cheese, and prosciutto enveloping asparagus spears.

After three days, there was still so much more to see of Toronto — museums, centuries-old villas, parks, picnic grounds, and shopping centers.

And with the number of Filipinos living there, chances are you have a relative, a friend, a classmate living there — one more reason to go for a visit.