Day 14: New York - Malaysia

The most awaited day (or rather not?) has finally arrived in dull fashion. Our flight route back to Malaysia consists of transits at San Francisco, Tokyo (Narita), Singapore (Changi) and finally Malaysia (KLIA). By the time me and Dickson arrived at the JFK airport, it was already around 2am in the morning, and it was just unbearable that we immediately settled ourselves on our sweet spots for a good nap. Hours passed and soon I was awake, Dickson still sleeping, and Winson back from Boston, we woke Dickson up from his slumber before collecting our luggage from the storage facility. Before this, Winson also got a call from Damien that he was already waiting at our departure terminal (lol, we actually doubted whether he would have followed us back to Malaysia but guess we were wrong huh? ^^). And so we took the airport's shuttle service to our departure terminal but when we arrived, Damien could never be seen, and so we waited, waited, waited until it was 6am (an hour before our departure time) that we decided to check in and not wait for him. But as we were entering the check in queue, Damien appeared out of the blue to tell us that he had already checked in to his flight, which almost got me boiling (and I'm sure about the rest too). But nonetheless, we checked in to our flight and by the time we arrived at our departure terminal, it wasn't a long wait before we were able to board our plane.

Well, a 5 and a half hour flight ensued which I slept through almost the whole journey (till I didn't remember whether I had any beverages served by the airline or not). Nevertheless, time passed by pretty quickly when I was sleeping, and we arrived at the airport in San Francisco for a reboarding onto a bigger plane. It was just an hour between the time we touched down and reboarding again and by the time we found the terminal of our international departing flight, we were soon required to board the plane again.

The mother of all flights came, and again I slept for most parts of the flight besides during meal times and catching a movie (Narnia). 10 hours turned out not to be that long either and soon we were at the Narita airport. Besides spending much of my time surfing the net and getting myself a decent pair of headphones, there wasn't much else we could do till we board the next plane.

Another 6 hours which I spent doing the same thing (this time watching Kung Fu Panda) and we were at Changi. It was around 11pm that we arrived at Changi and immediately went looking for food after a short rest (it has been close to 7 hours since the last time we had food), and guess what we had? Wantan Mee!!! After our stomach filler, we found a spot where we could settle down and utilise the airport's free WIFI connection. Time passed by pretty quickly while we were busy on our computers and it wasn't long till we had to board the very last flight of our journey back to Malaysia.

A 45 minute flight took place and we were on Malaysian grounds again, the moment we step foot onto the airport grounds, you just can't imagine the feeling we had after an EVENTFUL SUMMER in the US.....

(a summary of this W&T trip to the US may or may not come, depending on whether I feel like writing it or not :))

Day 13: New York

After close to 3 and a half months in the US, today would be the very last day of our summer adventure (not including the flight day tomorrow). As for today, it will only be between me and Dickson as Winson had planned to take a drive down to Boston. And like what we did in Miami, we wanted to save on the last night of our accommodation and spend our night at the airport. Our day started ealier than usual, it was only 8.30am when we were done with our checkouts (of course with the free breakfast in our stomachs too :)) and we utilised the free shuttle provided by the hotel to the airport. Our plan was to leave our luggage at the airport's luggage storing facility which would make sense since it's not possible to move around with our bulky luggage. After we were done with our luggage, we took the airport's shuttle service to the nearest subway station (Howard Beach Station).


The Howard Beach Station

From the subway station, we took a subway to Downtown Manhattan. Our first stop was at an electronic superstore which the Malaysian at the gift shop recommended (it was raining and we had n choice but to spend our time indoors). There were plenty of good deals there, including the camera pouch I got from Washington which were cheaper and lots more, I almost even got myself an iPod Touch (which was only USD 250, way cheaper then those sold at the Apple Store) but after much consideration, I didn't. After our window shopping session, we decided to have our lunch and once we were done, we settled our matters with the bank (closing our account and withdrawing our money) before proceeded to a subway station and took a subway to the station which was closest to the UN headquarters.


The UN Headquarters building


Flags of participating countries

What we were about to see in the UN building were all work/art related to peace. Below are a few pictures of the work/art.


A sculpture of a gun being tied up which resembles peace


Art done by children from around the world regarding peace


Potraits of all the previous and current Secretary Generals of UN

Next, we decided to cover the other half of the Central Park in Downtown and that's when the subway came to use again. Due to the rain earlier in the morning, the weather was pretty good with moderate amount of sun and cool breezes which was prefect for what we had in mind. Below are more pictures of the park.


A sculpture which looks very similar to the Washington Monument but way smaller


A sense of serenity


The main water reservoir of the park


The beauty of nature


A flower up close


A tree experiencing early fall

After the park, all we could do while waiting for nightfall (we wanted to visit the Brooklyn Bridge at night) was loitering around the city entering shops and malls randomly without a real sense of direction :p. I even managed to buy a pair of new shoes since the one I'm having now had gave way (it was a good deal anyways since it was so hard to find cheap things in NYC). It was already 8+ in the night when I'm done with my shoes, without wasting much time, we took a subway and headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge. While we were on the bridge (busy taking pictures), we met an Irish lady (in her 20's) by the name of Claire which at first came up to us to assist her in taking pictures. We then had a chat and since she and us shared the same objective, we then crossed the bridge stopping by along the way for more photos.


The Brooklyn Bridge at night


Me & Dickson by the Brooklyn Bridge


Manhattan from the bridge


A part of Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn Bridge

By the end of the bridge, we got to learned that Claire had been traveling the whole of America which includes the southern parts alone for the past 2 months. Sometimes it just makes me wonder what's the point of living life if we work and work without seeing the world. We got to the nearest subway station at the Brooklyn end of the bridge to get back to Manhattan and that's when we decided that we should have dinner together with Ms. Claire. Back at Downtown Manhattan (42nd street) we hopped from restaurants to restaurants to find the best deal and we finally settled down in one which was called the Applebee's Grill and Bar just along Times Square.


Applebee's

After a fine meal (I had a steak with 2 sides), which we shared much about our culture during the meal and learned much about each other, we decided that it was appropriate that we should call it a day since it was already close to 1am in the morning.


A picture of 3 of us right outside the restaurant

We then headed to the subway station which was common to Ms Claire's line to her lodging and our line to the airport and that was where we part ways. And as usual, it was a really long ride (maybe the longest of all) to the subway station which we then hopped onto the airport's shuttle service back to the terminal which we had our luggage stored. But we were so tired that we didn't bother to collect our luggage, but we found our spots for a short nap before our agonising flight back.

Day 12: New York

2 more days including today and we would be saying goodbye to the US already. As for today, we didn't had any plans to go out early but nevertheless, when we were done with our free breakfast, it was only around 9.45am. And if any of you guys realise, today was suppose to be the finals of the US Open, and so Winson suggested that we pay the Flushing Meadows (where the finals will be held) a visit (but the match wouldn't start until it's evening). It took us a few subway transits and around 30 minutes (which we went around asking for directions again) to reach there (the Willet Point Shea Stadium station). The grand tennis court itself wasn't really far from the station (as it was already within sight while we were in the train on the way to the station) and we had a walk around the area of the grand tennis court.


The grand tennis court in Flushing Meadows


The welcoming arch of the US open


Me & an enormous globe in Flushing Meadows which I don't really know what it symbolises


The Shea Stadium while we were on our way back to the subway station

After the 'US Open' adventure, we then took a subway ride to the Grand Central Terminal of New York City (which is the main station of NYC's subway system). The station really lived up to it's name as it looked grand and pretty inside.


The main lobby of the Grand Central Terminal

We exited the station at 42nd street as soon as we were satisfied with our picture taking and started to roam the streets again. Of course, we came across a few famous land marks of New York and here are a pictures of them.


The Grand Central Terminal with the Chrysler Building at it's backdrop


The Chrysler Building


The Rockefeller Building (which we wanted to go up but we didn't because the entrance pass would have cost us USD 20)


St Patrick Cathedral (a better view compared to the last one)


The World of Disney in New York


Abercrombie and Fitch in New York (which has 4 floors if I'm not wrong)


Trump Tower (Donald Trump again)


The biggest Apple Store in the world (the store was located underground)


Columbus Circle (outside Central Park) with a few coaches around it


I have no idea what building was this but it looked fascinating to me

After much walking, we had a stop at Mc Donald's for our lunch (a very late one). And as soon as we were done eating, we then continued on our roaming again. The next place that we headed to was the 7th Avenue of 42nd Street area and this time, it was Times Square under bright daylight. Below are a few pictures of the Times Square area.











The Times Square tower itself

After hundreds of pictures of the Times Square area (nah, just joking, but we still had a lot of pictures), we then continued towards the Empire State Building. It was just unbelievable that we could see this very famous building with our own eyes, and again, we wanted to go up the Empire State Building, but again, the USD 19 price was a deterrent and we felt that it just wasn't worth it.


The Empire State Building

Next was the Flatiron Building which just down the street. Along the way, we spotted shops selling 'I Love NY' T-shirts at a even lower price then we bought yesterday in Chinatown. Our sense of curiosity led us to drop by one of the shops and guess what, the guy selling the shirt was a Malaysian from Melaka! Of course, we had a chat with him and also got some stuff before we headed to the Flatiron Building.


The Flatiron Building

After the Flatiron Building, at first, we wanted to head to the Central Park again but due to some complications at the subway (which we entered the wrong subway station and our tickets cannot be used so soon again), we decided to cover further parts of the downtown are by foot. Below are a few pictures of interest.


The Korea Street in New York


The Empire State Building lighted up


Madison Square Garden

It was around 7.30pm that we decided to call it a day and return to our hotel because we needed pack our luggage as we will be checking out early from our hotel tomorrow. It was again a long subway journey back, and on our walk back to our hotel, we decided to drop by KFC (which happens to be the first time since we were in the US) to have our dinner. And soon after we were done satisfying out stomachs, we headed back to our hotel and did what we were suppose to do...

Day 11: New York

It was 6am in the morning and I was already up to my usual morning chores and by the time all of us were done with our breakfast and ready to roll, it was already 7am. Without wasting much time, we headed to the subway station and hopped onto a train, and after one transit and a journey of around an hour, we were finally at the Whitehall Station (which was nearby Battery Park). We knew that we were going to be late in collecting our Monument entrance pass and we were praying hard that there will still be tickets available for the day, and luckily our prayers were answered and we managed to get hold of 3 monument passes. So we boarded the ferry which will take us to Liberty Island but not after going through much stringent security checks.


The ferry that we boarded

It didn’t take a very long time for the ferry ride to and soon we were on Liberty Island with the majestic Statue of Liberty standing tall on the island.


A view of Manhattan from the ferry


The Statue of Liberty

Soon after the ferry docked, we were able to set foot on the famous Liberty Island for the first time in our lives.


The entrance of Liberty Island welcoming us

The very first thing on our mind was to head straight for the statue itself, but before entering the statue, we were put through another stringent security check. In the pedestial of the statue, we were brought through along a corridor where the history of the statue was told. We learned much about the statue and her beginnings and the most important was that we got to know the true name of the statue to be ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’ instead of the ‘Statue of Liberty’ which was more commonly used. At the end of the corridor was the elevator or stairs up to the observation deck which was at the top of the pedestial of the statue instead of the torch (which has been closed to the public). The view at the top of the pedestial itself was really magnificent, where below are a few pictures of the surrounding sceneries.


Ellis Island and Manhattan as the backdrop


Liberty Island and note the shadow of the statue

After we were done with the top of the pedestial, we headed for the lower parts of the pedestial for more pictures.


The Statue of Liberty close up

Once we were satisfied, we boarded another ferry which took us to Ellis Island. Ellis Island has always been famous for once being the biggest Immigration centre of the United States which served nearly 12 million immigrants into the US (but is now no more in use).


The Immigration Building on Ellis Island

We took a free tour of the Immigration building itself and we were told of the initials of the Island and how the building served the US as the biggest center of immigration.


The Great Hall of the Immigration Building which was used to house immigrants trying to enter the US last time

After a knowledgeable visit to Ellis Island, we headed back to the mainland and it was already close to 2pm. Dickson suggested that we look for the biggest Nathan’s (hotdog shop) in New York and after questioning a park ranger, we got to know that the Nathan’s Hotdog was situated in Coney Island itself. After a long subway ride, we had finally arrived at the Coney Island, and guess what, the subway we took wasn’t a subway anymore as the train has been travelling above ground after exiting the Manhattan Island.


The ‘subway’ station above ground


The street right outside of the station

To our delight, the Nathan’s hotdog shop was just across the street outside the station but to our horror, the shop was really crowded as the line could be seen stretching out onto the roads.


The Original Nathan’s (first in the world)

The hotdogs must have been really good to attract a crowd like this and after a painstaking half an hour wait, we have finally got our hotdogs, and indeed, it didn’t disappointed us as the dogs tasted just fine. You can call us crazy or something but right after our meal, we headed back towards Manhattan (we came all the way to Coney Island just for the dogs). Our next stop would be the Central Park in Manhattan, and after another long subway ride, we had arrived at 59th street which was just along the Central Park.


The Waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge which we spotted while in the train


59th Street


The entrance of the Central Park (the Park in the middle of Manhattan City)

The park was just beautiful with all the towering trees and lush greens with the fresh and cooling air around the park. Below are pictures of the park.















Before we could cover the whole park, the sun was already going down and we had no choice but to leave the park as it was getting dark. And so we decided that Chinatown would be our next destination for our dinner and T-shirt buying. And guess what, earlier, we had just came across a restaurant in Chinatown serving Malaysian Cuisine in a tourist booklet and we were just so eager to try it out. After a 10 minute search of the restaurant since we arrived at Chinatown, we have finally found the restaurant.


Jaya Malaysian Restaurant :)

It really feels like back home when we saw the food on the menu and even better with most of the waiter and waitresses are Malaysians. And guess what we had for dinner? NASI LEMAK! It was a delicious plate of Nasi Lemak indeed but a very expensive one (USD 5.50) too compared to those sold by ‘Mak Cik’ in Malaysia.


The plate of Nasi Lemak which I had

After we were done with our dinner, we went hunting for our ‘I Love NY’ shirts, and we found a shop which has the best prices and we got a bunch of them as souvenirs. Our little shopping was the last for the day and we headed to the nearest subway back to our hotel. But guess what, while waiting at the subway station, we met a few Malaysians, but they are not just Malaysians, but students of Nottingham University of Malaysia (who are participating in the W&T program as well) What a small world indeed, after not seeing any Malaysians for the past 3 months and suddenly seeing so many of them in a day. We had a short chat while waiting for our train to arrive and it wasn’t too long before we are on our way back to our hotel already.