New Year New Sights

I haven't been to a Lunar New Year celebration in years but on Saturday I decided to visit one despite a major snowstorm arriving in the afternoon. Since it was taking place in one of those giant exhibition halls near the airport, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to try out the new UP Express train between Union Station and Pearson International.

It was an interesting trip with a prompt and comfortable ride. Perhaps it was the morning hours, but there was hardly anyone heading to the airport. No wonder the province is subsidizing so much money for this transit option. It wound through locations I don't usually see including hidden waterways, patches of "wild" land, and industrial areas full of warehouse and detritus. It was a speedy trip until we got near Pearson. Maybe it was a combination of turns and other speed hazards, but the last 20% of the ride was as long as the first 80%.

For this particular excursion it wasn't an effective time-saver. For example, to get to the connecting bus for the exhibition hall, it took me 15 minutes to walk through several levels of Terminal 1. But I would take it if I was flying somewhere.

This celebration was hosted by the local Vietnamese community. Various groups and associations had set up a "village" with different areas including a rural farm. There was a section full of vendors and sponsors leading to a large concert area. Being only past noon, it was local talent currently on stage instead of the more marquee names. With a lack of on-site kitchen facilities, the food kiosks (mostly affiliated with Buddhist temples) had to make do with portable gas burners for the soups and selling pre-made food like spring rolls and banh mi. I sampled some vegetarian Hue-style noodle soup, some sprint rolls, peanut mango salad, and a tapioca ball and coconut milk dessert.

With the snow sleeting down and rendering visibility to almost none, I decided to leave early before the roads become totally impassable.