Ottawa is the current capital of Canada, located in Southwestern Ontario. :)
There are Megabus tickets that get you from Kingston to Ottawa for maybe 50 CAD if you book it 2 weeks prior to travel, and you'll pay alot less booking it earlier. We booked a car in Kingston and the process was quite difficult. I think you needed some sort of paperwork from your home country proving that you can drive (that's apart from having a driver's license), and if you are below the age of 23 you'll need to pay an additional fee for insurance.
However, the rental was pretty affordable.
Car: Regular Sedan
Number of People: 5
Number of Days of Car Rental: 4 days. We got it on Friday morning and had to return it before noon on Monday. Cars can't be returned during the weekends cos they're closed. They're pretty nice. Once you return the car, they'll drive you back to wherever's convenient for you.
Prices per Pax: $60
Averaging per day per pax: $15 for all the comfort and it covers the journey between cities and in the city :) Parking was rather inexpensive. Do note where you park though :( There was a day we got fined $60 for parking in the wrong spot :( The prices above don't include that of the fine.
View of a quiet neighbourhood in Kingston
We should already be coming close to Autumn but the trees are still green. I was looking forward to seeing the leaves red. People say in Canada, its either Summer or Winter. Eventually I did experience Autumn but it only lasted a couple of days, less than a week.
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| So lovely, Fall is coming! |
Whee! And off we went to Ottawa :)
This was one trip I cherished cos it was also the only one that almost all the NTU ppl at Queen's went on together. After this trip, I think it became clear whose personality matched whose and the large group broke into 2 distinct groups. I returned to Singapore for a week and when I returned to Kingston, it appeared that this split was made very clear. I almost thought a fight broke out or something, but apparently not. It was just an unspoken 'break'. Which is quite sad. Oh well.
On our way to Ottawa, we got stopped by the police because we were driving too fast. :/ The police were rather fierce and they were travelling in a black SUV with the back windows tinted and wore suits and black ties. It was very daunting :( But after we showed them our passports and explained we were on exchange, they let us off with a warning. Phew. That was quite a scare :/
On our way to Ottawa, we got stopped by the police because we were driving too fast. :/ The police were rather fierce and they were travelling in a black SUV with the back windows tinted and wore suits and black ties. It was very daunting :( But after we showed them our passports and explained we were on exchange, they let us off with a warning. Phew. That was quite a scare :/
So, after driving for almost 3.5 hours with smooth traffic, we arrived Ottawa! Our hostel, the Jail Hostel was pretty difficult to look for. And whilst looking for the hostel, we made a wrong turn and returned back to the expressway which scared us much. But thankfully we found our way back. Just be sure to plan your journey well. :)
The Carpark, and a sign of the Bar
A real prison :O
I would never have stayed here had my friends not want to. I wouldn't say it was enjoyable, but it wasn't unenjoyable either. It was rather exciting but also very scary to live in this hostel which was once a real jail. There was one particular floor which always gives me the creeps, the second last floor. And I always had to pass it cos my room was on the top floor. It was great that they put all of us on the top floor, girls in girls room and guys in guys room and 2 other girls in a mixed room because of the lack of space.
The Entrance to the Lobby.
A very small reception counter
Now for a quick review on the Hostel.
HI - Ottawa Jail
Booking:
There was some problem with our reservation, seemed like it was a system error. We initially booked for all 5 girls to be in the same all girls room but because of the error, we couldn't get what we requested for. In the end, 3 girls were in the all girls room and 2 others in a mixed room. We were fortunate though that the guys managed to get a room themselves.
The counter staff told us as none of us are HI-Hostel members, they needed to charge 5CAD more per person per night. Or something like that. I don't remember the exact amount but I remember feeling like it was a rip off because for the conditions of this hostel, the price was already a tad bit too high. I don't remember if they charged us for beddings. x.x The whole process was just really complicated.
It wasn't pleasant having to deal with all these accommodation issues upon reading Ottawa. Just not good at all. Plus we paid more than we initially wanted to. Feel a little cheated.
Parking:
There's a daily fee for parking which I can't remember. Do check that out if you're driving.
Location:
The location was quite superb as it was a walking distance to quite a few sights, The Parliament Hill, Byward Market, and several museums.
Toilets:
The 3 rooms that our group had didn't have an attached bathroom. There one huge bathroom on our floor but the toilet with many cubicles was on the 5th floor (I think). The showers were cleaner than what I expected. I thought it would be dirty and with brick walls but its a tiled toilet so don't worry. The configuration is weird though. Its two cubicles, each with shower curtains and they share a door that you can lock. There aren't main toilet doors to stop guys from entering, so, its good to go in pairs if you wanna bathe then you can lock the cubicles' door. The water pressure was fine as well, there wasn't a need to stand too close to the wall. It did flood abit but the toilet seemed relatively clean so it was alright.
Rooms:
It was an undecorated plain room with bunk beds, I was in an 8 bedder room. Something good is they have hanging lamps from the beds for each person --> meaning I can sleep with my bed light on and it doesn't cause a hindrance to others. They had small lockers too which you had to bring locks for. Was glad I had my padlock so I didn't need to worry about my valuables at night.
From outside of a single cell.
Free Internet:
This was disappointing. They boasted of free internet but it was only available in the lobby and dining area. The lobby is really small and you wouldn't wanna go near the dining area at night. There was a night I was using the internet in the lobby till almost 3am and didn't dare to walk up the metal staircase to the top floor myself. I had no choice but to ask the receptionist to accompany me up :( It would have been much better if there was internet in the rooms. It was strong though once you get connected.
Free Breakfast:
The breakfast was indeed very satisfying, there was a selection of Bagels, bread slices and spreads (including butter, fruit jams, cream cheese and peanut butter), hard boiled eggs, Coffee, Tea, Orange/ Apple juice and a small selection of cereals. The breakfast was awesome, and its free! I thinks its quite generous that they serve hard boiled eggs. :)
The kitchen, from where breakfast is prepared
Breakfast Place
Overall, it was an interesting hostel to stay in and the experience would have been better had it not been for the booking error. However, ever minute in there was scary cos I was afraid I'd see apparitions.I didn't take much photos because this place spooked me out so. So check out their website for more photos. If you love the thrill of staying in prison, this place is for you. Oh. for the adventurous, there are single cells too. I can tell my parents I've been to prison! :O
