After a 5-hour nap (it was suppose to be a short rest but I simply could not wake up), I went to Chinatown by walking 45mins from West 20th Street to Canal Street. The city was planned out in the typical rectangular grid and navigation was pretty easy. Tall buildings were packed closely together and it made Manhattan looked like a dense concrete jungle. It was nearly 2200hrs when I finished dinner; the Big Apple was still under the drizzle (been in this state since I touched down).
Didn't sleep well as I was awoken in the middle of the night where 2 dormitory mates were involved in a snoring contest. Checked out early next morning and headed straight to the Ground Zero (or what was left of the World Trade Center). Visitors (including me) were busily taking photographs of what seems to be of any normal construction site. I do realise the significance of this; the world had already changed when the first plane strike the North Tower. It was too much of what the New Yorkers could bear but it was amazing on how they had managed to pull themselves through.
Was pretty put off by the long queues for ferries to visit the Statue of Liberty; reminded me of the ferries to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. Walked to the world famous Wall Street and the scenic Brooklyn Bridge linking Manhattan and Brooklyn (ok, I took a break at the touristy Pier 17). Ended my day in Chinatown (again) and rushed to JFK for my flight to Buenos Aires. Missed the Empire State Building and Central Park. It was probably impossible to do a decent New York in a day.
I never had great expectations for New York especially when it served as a transit point. Maybe the prospect of being on the road alone for a month finally sank in; I started feeling homesick terribly. This was definitely not expected (afterall it was only the 2nd day of the trip) and had to admit that it hit me quite badly. Never did recover fully as this would bother me throughout the trip.
I left New York in a low, fully certain of the uncertainties of what I would face in the coming weeks.
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Had a slice of plain cheese pizza (US$2.75 or S$3.85) for my lunch at Pronto Pizza (south of Ground Zero). The official way of eating a pizza like a New Yorker is to eat it with one hand while it is folded into half.
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She was probably a tour guide or a goup leader, but this lady actually stood on a stool and stayed motionless for a period long enough that she caught my attention.
- impressions of Battery Park (one can take ferries to the Statue of Liberty from here), New York
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The Spirit of New York with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop.
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A busker doing his thing while people queue up patiently (look at the dreadful long queue) for the ferry ride to visit the Statue of Liberty.
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Just a picture of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE or the Big Board) along Wall Street on a Saturday morning. It attracted quite a huge group of onlookers when a fully equipped team of firemen entered the building. |
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wyattwang.com doing it at the Brooklyn Bridge. Oh Yeah! |
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Thought this was quite a good picture taken on the Brooklyn Bridge. Due to time constraints (my legs were aching as well), I did not managed to walk the entire length over to Brooklyn. |
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The skyline of New York City; taken while I was on the Brooklyn Bridge. |
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Well, if it was not due to the yellow taxi in the foreground, one probably would thought that this was taken in typical asian cities rather than New York's Chinatown.
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Smoke coming out from a pothole along Canal Street. I presume this came from the subway stations underneath. |
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