Travelling America: Niagara Falls

I cut short my stay in NYC and took the 10.20am train from NY Penn station. I bid farewell to my pal CL and took the 9-hour train-ride up north. 

Check out the last post at:

https://weesertan.blogspot.com/2019/05/travelling-america-new-york-city-part-2.html

Thankfully Amtrak trains were comfortable. I had my laptop, and was able to do some work, reading, sleep, eat my packed lunch (with fruits) and still I was still in New York State.  

Niagara Falls is in New York State

Well, there are 2 sides of Niagara Falls - One in USA (New York state) and one on the Canadian side (Ontario).

How do people do a day trip from NYC to Niagara Falls remains a myth to me. I booked 2 nights in a promising-looking hostel from booking.com. In fact, it was the cheapest I could find.

When I finally arrive after 9 hours, it was almost dark. From Google Map, it showed a distance of 25 minutes walk from the train station to my hostel, so I imagined it would be a serene stroll in what was a famous town.

Good start

But the longer I walked, the more dire it got. Niagara Falls, New York (state) seems to have a glorious past, but it did look slightly rundown. Maybe it was still winter, and low season for tourism.

I would later learn that this city's population dropped almost half since the heady heights of the 70s

The eerie solo-walk bordered serene and fright. I was glad that I stood at 6 feet. It was too still and too quiet.

After checking-in with the night sky still clear, I decided to take stroll into town and get some food. Again, it was very quiet, with some occasional cars passing-by. 

Nope, the background is Ontario in Canada, across the river (mostly casinos)

The weather forecast for the next day was not inspiring... There would be rain / snow.

I woke up the next day to discover the weather was as forecast - awful. The first few hundred meters towards the waterfall was disheartening. I could hear the waterfall, but could only see mist / clouds. Being me, I would still try to find positives in the most dire of circumstance. 

At least, it feels heavenly right?

I passed by the site of the first hydro-electric power plant in the world, build by George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla. The availability of cheap electricity made Niagara Falls one of the most industrialized cities in America in the 60s. 

It is reduced to just a historical site / tourist attraction nowadays

One of the worlds best electrical engineer - Tesla sits by the Niagara Falls eternally

Undeterred, I continued walking, as I started seeing fellow tourist / travelers walking towards the Horseshoe Falls. I have come too far to just stay in the hostel.

The first state park in the US - The first glance of the Falls

Discovered the source of all the miserable

Thankfully, the sky cleared - Ontario, Canada in the background

It was wet, windy, and cold (more or less 0 Degrees Celcius). I went back to my hostel to make lunch (and seek shelter actually). As I was enjoying my pasta, the owner Jeff walked by, using a walking stick to support his right knee. After exchanging formalities and lamenting on the weather, we started chatting about the waterfall, the town and the country.

Jeff grew up here, and served in the army for 25 years as a psychiatrist, working with diplomats, officers and even generals. Having retired a few years back, he came home to start this hostel. He is smart, sharp and very intelligent. He does look like Pep Guardiola. Needless to say, I found a storyteller and a consultant on American history, economics and politics.

Niagara Falls was a booming town in the 1960s, when Ontario was still a small village. It had 100k residence and a buzzing industry, owing to the cheap electricity generated by the Falls. Now it has less than half of that population, and not a single factory remains. Meanwhile, Ontario's population increased from 20k to 80k today. What could've gone wrong???

There seem to be a lack of political will to sustain and transform Niagara Falls' economy, despite having such an iconic and world famous waterfall. There seems to be a feeling that the rich landlords and property owners, often based in NYC are holding back development, fearing that their favourite vacation spot would be flooded (or ruined) by tourists.

(Dire) States like this most probably propelled Trump to become President to make America great again. It wasn't difficult to see why.

I learned about the nature and general differences of a Democrat (Liberal) and Republican (Conservative). According to Jeff, a Democrat believes in solving a problem together, and giving out fish. A Republican meanwhile thinks that people should solve your own problems, and should teach people how to fish. Most religious people are Republican, but not Republicans are religious. In a way, Democrats lean towards social welfare, and Republicans would go all out for capitalism.

Jeff reiterate that the US is a Republic, and not a Democracy. It took me time to understand.

Another interesting point was that the US is more EU than the EU, which made sense. Both have a single currency, are made up of different nation states, and strive to become a common entity with unrestricted immigration. That being said, each State has their own laws and taxation system.

So how does the US prevent a Brexit or secession after all these years? 

First up, there is a law that bans secession, and the only time secession was discussed, it led to the civil war. Thankfully, Abraham Lincoln's army won. The Federal Government (in Washington DC) manages funds, initiates developments, and tries to keep everyone happy.

What was a casual talk lasted for more than 1.5 hours. It was a crash course of the US, and I must have tripled my understanding of the US.

I went back out to the falls at around 3pm for some fresh air.

9-hour journey just to see this

The Rainbow Bridge connects US to Canada

It was Saturday, and I could see the Canadians coming into the US in droves. It felt like the crossing between Singapore and Malaysia. Apparently, many would come in to shop and collect goods bought online on Amazon.  

It does look like the Causeway between Woodlands and Johor Bahru

Curious about what is there downtown, I walked inwards from the falls. 

It was a quiet town

Out of nowhere, there was a casino, owned by a country called Seneca Nation. The Seneca Nation is a Federal recognized nation of indigenous Indians who have been staying in this area (Lake Ontario) way before the American Revolution. Wikipedia has a good write-up.  

Built on land owned by the Seneca Nation, this casino doesn't need to pay tax to the Federal Government!

The 'government'

I woke up the next morning to find it snowing! I spoke to the only 2 fellow backpackers in the hostel (room) - Danial (a German engineer posted to Pittsburgh for a month) and Claudia (Italian staying in NYC). We were all leaving at midday and went out exploring together. 

Highly recommend Gorge View Hostel - Clean and tidy 

Rainbow Bridge - Can't get into Canada without a Visa

Snowing in Niagara Falls

Was there a possibility that Niagara Falls would freeze?

It was already sub-zero

Well the river did froze

Nope, it didn't freeze - Still plenty of water

You could feel the power and limitless force of nature. The sheer drop in altitude and pure gush of free-falling water into the gorge reminded me that as humans, we ought to take good care of the environment before it is too late. Mother nature will decide when she has enough of pollution, destruction and exploitation by humans. It will be the end. 

Everyone has an important role to play in environment conservation, reduction of natural resources usage (especially energy), and educating people around of this cause. The more we could reuse and the less we throw away, the better. 

We are all temporary residents of planet earth, and should strive to leave it a better place than when we came, not the other way!