phyllis@utcsrgv.UUCP (Phyllis Eve Bregman) (06/23/83)
Exchanging your US money at the airport is undoubtedly better than doing the same at your local US bank. You can also get good rates at any Canadian bank. Remember when you look at our prices that the US dollar is worth about $1.23. It is usual for Customs to ask you for some piece of identification (driver's license, passport, birth certificate are all fine). You can bring into Canada duty free gifts under $10, one carton (200) of cigarettes and 40 oz. of alcohol (you can buy duty free merchandise if you are coming here from an international airport, as well as when you leave here). We are preparing a list of restaurants at this very moment, and will post it to the net as soon as possible. It is true (and this is coming from an ex-New York City person) that Toronto has some of the best Chinese food available, and we will certainly mention many good ones in our list. Chinatown is not too far away from the conference hotel. Toronto has an excellent transit system (TTC). Getting from place to place is not a hassle, and a car is not necessary, unless you plan to stay out very late. The subway shuts down at 0130-0200 (depending on the line). Some buses and street cars run all night. The bus is $0.85 exact change, but you can buy tokens or tickets for $4 at most subway stations. You can use tokens on the buses, subways and street cars. Take a transfer (they're free) when you get on so that you can transfer to whatever means of transportation you will need to complete a given trip. Please be advised that if you are staying at the Harbor Castle, you will have to take the Bay St. bus or walk under the railway tunnel, which is VERY safe, to get to most places in Toronto. The hotel is on the waterfront (Lake Ontario), and if you stay down there and never leave, you will have an extremely warped impression of Toronto, which is actually a beautiful and very safe city. If you don't think you'll have time to explore Toronto on your own, take a bus tour of the city, it is quite good, and you will be able to see much more than you would on your own. Toronto is a very large city, and it would take a long time to see everything, so even though bus tours are tacky, try it. Phyllis Eve Bregman CSRG, University of Toronto