Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wheeeeeeee!!! Just came back from New York from a 3-day stay in the super- metropolitan city. As we only slept for 2 hours the night before we left for the trip, I was really really exhausted and a bit shagged out the whole trip, but it was fun!
We reached New York in good time, parked at the Travel Inn and quickly rushed out into the street to begin our trip itinery.. Cha was VERY appalled at the road toll he had to pay..26 bucks one way...haha..we started out with The Grand Central Terminal, a colonial style subway station. The fresh market inside the station was very nice..but the food looked so pricey lor.. Then we moved on to see some other great buildings, but I can't really differentiate among them already... I remember going into the Chrysler Building (I think they are going bankrupt soon..) and caught a brief glimpse of the Flatiron Building (suppose to be the most famous early sky scraper, a very flat and thin building; I think it's quite odd shaped) and the courthouse, the world's busiest courtroom, as described by DK..but I also dunno what's so proud abt this...Are they very happy being hailed the top for crime rate?? haha.. We also stopped by the Union Square to have a look at the farmer's market..but nothing much sold there leh...
After this we went Times Square to walk walk..Passed by the M&M's world, so we went inside to have a look..the merchandise were so cuteeeeee!!! Although I am not a big fan of M&M, but we couldn't help it but bought some souvenir M&M figurines, which cost us 22 bucks!! hehe think Cha's heart was bleeding by that time liao...
Our last stop was at the Rockefeller Centre to go up to the Top of the Rock observation deck to see the night skyline of New York...Hee again we had to pay 20 bucks for each Tix, and Cha's heart bled further when he learnt of the $2 off per tix after we bought them...haiz..bad luck.. but the skyline was beautiful, and I guess it's worth it seeing Cha's satisfied face with taking many nice pics of the night view... Also passed by the Rockefeller Ice Skating Ring, although it was closed by that time...I heard that the Rockefeller Christmas tree was very nice and again famous for its grandeur decoration, so really hope we hav a chance to see this next time...
Although we missed a few planned destinations, but we were so so so tired that we went back to hotel straight and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow...hee~
First stop of the day - Grand Central Terminal
Times Square - Look like Las Vegas leh
Dunno y my face cramp until like that, hee
Union Square
Posing with M&M softies!!
The yellow candy looks spastic hor...
Entrance to the pricey observation deck~
Beautiful night view of NY
11:45 PM
This morning we woke up very early to catch the morning ferry to Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty is located. It was super cold, and we had to wait for around half an hour before they let us in for security screening and boarding. The screening part was a pain in the neck, and it was really troublesome to remove all our coats etc...then still have to enter a scanning machine, to blow air under our shirt and skirts (lucky I wear jeans) to check whether we got bring bombs inside...Doesn't make sense when we already removed all heavy clothings... but well... this is america, always like to exaggerate things la...prob security more tense in NY bah..which is a sad thing for the residents here..I also noticed that there were many policeman patrolling on the streets, which was a delight for us so that we can easily ask for directions...hehe..ok back to the topic...so we boarded the ferry..and Cha as usual, wanted to take good shots so we had to sit at the upper deck with no heater and shelter!! haiz...Again, I was freezing, lucky Cha bought me a hot coffee which helped to soothe my chill a little.
We can already see the statue of liberty from afar liao, and it looked even more impressive upclose.. I was really excited to see this world-famous statue, cuz I always see this statue in TV back in Singapore de...din expect that I will get to see her in such a close range, it's like seeing a movie star in real person...wahaha..taller than I've expected =p
After we toured the Liberty island and went up the statue for a paranomic view of the Manhattan skyline, we rushed for the next ferry to return to NY city... Then we went to the Financial District to see the wall street... My gosh, another iconic international symbol, although it is in a total slum now lar..but the New York Stock Exchange looked very impressive lor, especially with a gigantic American flag hung in front of the building...Really happy to catch a glimpse of this world-renowned stock exchange building...We also managed to catch a shot with the bronze bull, the mascot of the wall street..but hor, it was so crowded with tourists, that it was not possible to take a few solo shots with the bull lar...
After that we took the train again to the Chinatown. Haiz...so miss the Chinese culture over here... The town was HUGE...so many Chinese stalls and restaurants lining the streets, I see liao was so damn happy that I forgot all my fatigue and took over as the lead in the trip..haha...but by this time, we were really starving liao..so we had our lunch at this HK restaurant..I had dumpling noodles, while Cha had roast duck rice...we also ordered shrimp rice roll as supplement lar...The meal was quite good, got standard wor... Then we toured around Chinatown, and bought finger food along the way, and was really full by then..HOWEVER, before we left for next destination, we spotted a teo chew restaurant (Cha's dialect) and knowing how Cha missed the Teo Chew food, we decided to settle for our SECOND lunch again!!! Our first lunch was barely 30 minutes before this...My gosh... But we really enjoyed the food lar...and I was bloated to the max with food...haha..really impressed with Cha for being able to finish all the food man...hehe..
Then we took the train to the World Trade Center site... Although the twin towers were no longer around, but there is a bigger development for more impressive buildings to be completed in a few yrs time bah..how I wish I could witness the new establishment..Felt really sad for the thousands of ppl who lost their lives here...It seemed so impossible that such majestic buildings would fall..haiz..
After that...we walked a long long way AGAIN to a good viewpoint (The Seaport) of the Brooklyn Bridge.. It was again a must-see place as I've seen so many movies with this bridge as the backdrop...Wah..the nighttime view was stunning lor, and there were other 2 bridges behind the Brooklyn bridge which adds on to the lovely beauty of the night skyline...again..I was freezing and was willing to go outdoor only for the photoshoot...haha...I was again eating chinese food inside a foodcourt while Chaa took night shots of the bridge by himself..dunno what came over me to be such a greedy pig...hehe
Early in the morning in the subway~
On our way to Liberty island!!
Posing with her~
Hee..both of us "cam-whoring"~
The New York Stock Exchange
My long deprived wonton mee~
Second lunch of the day- All are Cha's fav Teo Chew food!
11:40 PM
This morning we decided to wake up a weeny later (7:15 am), cuz we were really too too tired liao... We went to the New York's "backyard"- The Central Park today... Well, I was not too keen in exploring a park at first, especially so early in the morning, but it was a refreshing experience from the usual "big-city" landscape lar...It was like a morning hike, and we went to see the reservoir, Belvedere Castle, the Bethesa fountain, bow bridge, Dairy,and the Wollman Rink, heard that this ice skating ring was reconstructed by Ronald Trump leh...Really crowded with so many kids playing around...it was like any other big park, and we really walked a lot again, heng the weather was not too cold ah...I think the park would be really beautiful during spring or fall when all the leaves and flowers are still in bloom bah...
After that we went to Soho district, with the intention to visit the Queens, a historic building made of cast iron...but hor..we were too hungry liao, so we decided to visit the Chinatown (again, hehe) to settle our lunch there. For one thing, food at Chinatown is much more worth than eating at any cafe in NY city, and hor, we simply missed the authentic chinese food too much!!! hurray!!! We decided to choose a small Shanghainese restaurant, wah..the food were really good! At least comparable to Crystal Jade, we ordered Shanghai noodles, fried rice, drunken chicken and Xiao Long Bao (Cha's Favourite)!! Slurpzzz...very nice, I almost finished my big plate of noodles, totally ignoring the naggy voice which kept reminding me of the impending photoshoot we are going to take soon..but then~~ now dun eat, when still got chance??? So I dun care already, I must eat until I satisfied!! hehe..In the end, I was really very full and we even skipped our dinner later in the evening ne..
And hor before we left, we actually witnessed a demonstration leh!! Wah the protestor sibei loud..many ppl were demonstrating against the China Government for suppressing the Tibetians, ended up closing a busy road...and when we walked near them, many looked accusingly at me some more leh (not an issue with Cha cuz he looks like hispanic over here)..Wait a minute..IM NOT AN AH-THIONG OK!!! HUMPH!
We also bought some buns on the way back to the hotel to drive the long journey back home...haiz...Although the trip was very nice, but we were also looking forward to reach home soon for a long, satisfying sleep =D
In the Central Park
See the water reflections- so nice~
The Mall
Yaa
y!!! we finally get to eat authentic xiao long bao liaoz!! =D
This drunken chicken is surprisingly nice leh..
Farewell to the Big Apple~
11:35 PM
Monday, March 02, 2009
Have to put up this blog... We are experiencing a snow storm now!!!! Yipee~ To the local reseidents here, they must tot that we are crazy to happily take so many pictures out in the freezing cold. But for us who come from all yr-round summer Spore, snow storm is indeed a rare occasion. Wind is very strong, coupled with the heavy snow fall, make travelling very harzardous, thus all classes are cancelled today!!! But I was supposed to have a midterm today, a pity it has to be postponed one week later, cuz I've already finished studying liao, wasted my effort~Still have another midterm to tackle this week thou..
Anyway this snow storm has started since last evening at around 8pm, and until now there is no sign of weakening. Snow is indeed beautiful, with accumulated snow to around 5 inches, but I don't like the chill, make our faces so numb and painful. It's wierd that snow still occur in March, when Spring should be here...Spring spring, where are you??!!! I missed wearing my dresses leh!
View from our apartment~
Cha and BB's footprints at our balcony=D
1:54 PM
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The Mall
y!!! we finally get to eat authentic xiao long bao liaoz!! =D
