Week 16: A Hindu Temple & the Humber Arboretum

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

This weekend I decided to try something completely different.  I did a little detective work on line to uncover some possible hidden gems in the GTA.  One such gem is BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.  It's a stunning hand-carved Hindu temple, the second largest of its kind outside of India.  The Mandir is open to the public every day, free of charge, and located at Finch and Hwy 427.  Since it's prohibited to take photos or videos inside the temple, I have only these pics to show outside.

Upon entering the rectangular building in the first photo, you must take your shoes off; there's a specific area for women and another for men.  Then you watch a brief video tour of the construction and history of the temple.  Afterwards you may enter the section of the temple that is in the photo above.  Once inside you are surrounded by over 24,000 hand-carved marble and teak wood pieces.  It is quite breathtaking.  I think it's important to learn about other cultures and the best way to learn is through experience.  This place is special no matter what religion, if any, you consider yourself to be a part of.  The architecture itself is worth seeing. 

Humber Arboretum

For once I can really enjoy fall without the stress of back to school overwhelming my brain.  The best part of fall is the beautiful colours.  I wanted to create a combo that would suit several purposes:  nature's fall colours, exercise, and something new to blog about.  The Humber Arboretum fits all of the above plus it's very close to BAPS.  One of the reasons why I love living in Toronto is because you never run out of things to see and do.  There are countless parks for nature lovers to explore.  The Humber Arboretum is located behind Humber College.  I couldn't even pronounce "arboretum" let alone define it until last week.  Dictionary.com defines arboretum as:  "a plot of land on which many different trees or shrubs are grown for study or display."  I really wasn't there for study or to display anything other than my interest in a good hike and some pretty trees.  It was nice, but I've never seen anything even comparable to the picturesque fall scenes in New Brunswick.  I'm biased of course.  What do you think?