Day 80 (Wed) *NYC DAY 5* + *LV DAY 1*

7.15am: Alarm rings from my HP...rise and shine...it's gonna be a plane day!! Woke up brush my teeth and wash my face...and bathe change into my flight clothes...and packed all the toiletries and towel and slippers into my already overfilled backpack

8.05am: Went to starbucks to scrimp the internet supply...check some last minute mail not knowing whether i will still have internet access in Las Vegas

9.00am: went up to the hostel to see how the rest are packing and ready to move off to JFK airport

9.15am: went down to get my breakfast of taco, 2 eggs with cheese and sausage from americanna...my fav convenience store for the past 4 days

10.20am: checked out from the hostel and moved off to 103rd street Metro...together with Ken, Naf, JK, Mugant (Joining us for the LV leg) and Michelle (meeting her bf at LA)

10.45am: decided to take E line which is supposed to be faster than A Line...so decided to drop at 50th street instead of 59th street columbus circle

10:50am: dropped at 50th street only to realise it is the red line and not the blue line we are looking for...damn!! with all the baggage...need to cross a few blocks to reach the blue line...so decided to go down to Fulton street to change back to the slower A Line...the only option it seems...

11.15am: reached fulton street..went up the subway with no elevators or escalators and all the baggage in tow to the platform to change to A Line

11.20am: Express for A Line comes...a glim of hope to catch our Delta 729 flight scheduled o depart at 12.30pm

11.40am: a friendly local told us the express does not lead us to the howard beach JFK stop...so gotta change to the local train...

11.45am: on our way to the howard beach JFK stop on the local train...bad feeling becoming stronger...temperatures rising...heads spinning...breaths become heavier

11.55am: reached the train station...dashed out to buy the 5 bucks metro pass for the airport shuttle train...train waiting for us...still not giving up...not giving up...on the way saw delta 729 boarding...guts dropped...morale sink

12.05pm: reached Terminal 3 at last...run run run with all our might to the check in counter...

12.10pm: The dreaded news confirmed!! we cannot check in anymore according to the delta airline check-in services...u need to be at least 1 hour early for dosmetic flights...we are stranded...morale sinks to rock bottom...wah lau how eventful my work and travel experience is turning out to be!!

12.20pm: desperately trying the self-check in machine but with no progress...damn the bloody counter staff juz shooed us away with no indication of help whatsoever...seriously at least tell us wad to do lah...naf and ken went to look for mugant and JK who are apparently slower with their towing luggage while i jaga the luggage

seriously how eventful can this whole thing get...missed my dosmetic flight to LV...stranded at JFK

12.45pm: naf and ken arrived back with somewhat better news...mugant and JK are negotiating whether we can get the next earliest flight to LV with no extra or minimal costs incurred...hopefully things turn out for thr better

1.35pm: Successful negotiation!! booked the next flight for us to Cincinnatti where we will transfer to LV for an extra cost of 35 bucks including taxes...another option was direct flight frm JFK to LV but no gurantee seats are confirmed and maybe higher costs with taxes...so took the former

escaped with a light slap on our wrists...only need to pay 35bucks budden gotta transfer...damn mafan

2.15pm: checked in our luggage and went straight to the departing lounge where we had a quick snack of Macs...plane departing at 3.15pm...cannot afford any mistakes this time rd...

Naf, Mugant & JK on board the shuttle bus to the plane at JFK

2.45pm: Boarded the flight...wah gotta take bus to the plane on the runway andden muz walk up the stairs to the plane...damn small plane somemore...no more den 50 pple on board...where da hell is cincinnati??

4.25pm: plane departed after being delayed for a good whole 1 hour with the problem of excess load capacity...surely troubles continued to dodge our journey there

5.55pm: Plane touched down at cincinati airport...no idea where i am...walked ard the transition lounge...and looked ard the duty free shops...i muz say the airport is defitnitely 10 times better dan JFK

At cincinati airport...still haven't recover from the early morning jitters

wah not bad 35 bucks and i can claim i visited 3 states: Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana...hahaha

6.30pm: Boarded Plane for LV...much bigger plane...more pple going LV den a unknown cincinati...huh?

7.00pm: Plane departs...going to be a 3.5 hours journey...and the time diff is also 3 hours from New York...caught some sleep and much needed refreshment on the plane...

7.30pm: Plane touches down at LV...collected our baggage...all of us got our luggage except mugant...another whammy for the day...waited until the whole carousel finished operating and still no sign of his luggage...no choice went to report loss at the baggage claim counter and as usual...these pple always say will contact u a few days later...worst fears if someone took it away deliberately den that's it liao...lucky all valuables in his hand luggage

surely u know where i am...slot machines all over the place in LV...and right here at the arrival hall...wah kaoz!

8.30pm: left airport on the airport shuttle towards USA Hostels located downtown Fremont street...the driver was simply circling around the famed LasVegas Strip for a good 1.5 hours coz we were the only paupers staying in a hostel in downtown while the res are livin it out in the luxurious Vegas hotels

10.15pm: finally arrived at USA Hostels...first impression quite lok kok...budden dun be fooled by the appearance...the rooms are all air-conditioned...free wireless internet access...laundry service...free shuttle to the strip...swimming pool...jaccuzzi...and free pancake breakfast in the morning...seriously a bargain!!

11.30pm: after unpacking our stuff...left in hunt for some food...treaded along the infamous Fremont street of Las Vegas with extra caution...wah lau and it turns out to be such an experience...black youths and homeless loitering on the streets...some maybe armed...the whole atmosphere was juz so tense...no prizes for guessing our supper...Subway!! for the 5th nite in a row!! muahahahaha

12.15am: head back to the hostel for some rest...really heng got aircon...the freakin Nevada heat is scorching us alive...off to bed after washing up...need to recover from the 3 hour jet lag an a full day of activities at the Strip tml!! poor mugant...wah lau can really imagine how he feel...ur whole luggage all gone juz like that...hopefully the airline finds it back

Happy 21st Birthday to Hong!!!

...may u find joy today and everyday...

-kor-

Day 79 (Tues) *NYC DAY 4*

Blogger's note: Hi Peeps!! I'm back!!! after almost 2 weeks of absence...can't really blame me for not updating my blog really...firstly...the lack or to be exact no internet connection for the whole of my LA leg...and seriously it is hard to find time to blog when u r moving from city to city with a 20kg backpack in tow...haha but but like i say before...i will die die finish my travelouge no matter wad...juz can't wait to share with my close friens some of the amazing events and views i have witnessed for the past 2 weeks or so...heehee...Currently in my 1st day of my Taipei tour now at the time this entry is published...can't be in a better place seriously...the food...the shopping...and of coz the zhen mei at xi meng ding...stay tune as i present my travels from coast to coast (with lots of pics guaranteed)...and take care my dear friens...till we meet again :)

last full day at NYC...feeling kindda really sad...juz when i am falling deeply in love with the vibrancy, energy and dynamism of this lovely city...i really enjoy every single minute i spent here...dunno why juz feel so comfortable with it from the very 1st day i arrived...as though i have been here in my dreams before...haha...

we are planning a series of activities to round off our NYC leg but unfortunately due to time constraint we have to give up one or two of the stuff we plan to do...this is juz NYC...there are juz simply so many things u can do...the plan for today...visit New York University...den follow by going up the Empire State Building...and if got time go row boat at central park andden round off with a bang with Phantom of Opera at Broadway!! but first of all muz go grab the tickets that sells faster den any hotcakes literally...the Phantom Of Operaaaaa!!!

Grab a quick breakfast of Taco with 2 eggs, cheese and sausage and ate at the junction of Broadway...can be quite an experience watching the new york buzz go by in the middle of the junction eating breakfast

took the subway to 8th street where NYU is located...unlike UPenn NYU is located at the heart of the city district...juz a few streets is the financial district in fact...the campus buildings are also very sparse out...and there is much fewer greeneries compared to UPenn or even NUS...pretty much like the SMU campus and certainly older...the whole place doesn't really give me a "Uni" kind of feeling...i mean with lots of green pastures around with students juz sitting down in circles discussing projects in the breeze sunshine...very tense atmosphere surrounding NYU I feel and located near the financial district of the world certainly does not help matters haha...and also not visit friendly...have no access to all the school buildings as they require passes to enter...took a few shots around the "campus" and left for Empire State Building...

NYU...practically no one looks like a student on the streets ard the campus...den again it is summer!!

standing tall outside the Languages and Literature Building...no engineering in NYU so bobian

outside another NYU building...dunno wad language is the word or wadda hell it means?? juz take to show i have been in NYU...haha

a statue of George Washington at the Washington Square Park...de...the only piece of green i found ard the whole campus

bought this T-shirt for Ying at the NYU bookstore...is it ur kind of shirt pig?? haha

reached Empire State ard noon and realised that the queue is freakin super duper long...and came this dilemma...either we go Empire State den buy tickets for Broadway or we skip Empire State and go buy tics den go rowing boat at Central Park...came to a mutual conclusion that Broadway is our 1st piority...so decided to go buy the tics at Broadway near Times Square first...den come back for Empire State...would have loved to go row some boat at central park man...budden time is really not on our side...gotta reached the ticket box by 2 to stand any chance of getting the tics...and not going up Empire State when we r right here in NYC wud be a more bitter disappointment come aft weighing our choices carefully...so off we went to Times Square and not surprisingly the queue is already building up even though we reached at 1.30pm...and we are really lucky man i'm telling u...by the time it got to us when we asked for 4 tics...the guy gotta check with his colleague for a while b4 telling us still got tics...damn lucky...almost missed it for the 2nd day in a row...went Yoshinoya across the street for a quick lunch before heading out to Empire State for the 3rd time in a week...haha...this time we r surely hell bent on going up...

can u believe it!?! the queues are these long everyday for 7 days a week...365 days a year...the magic of Broadway musicals

ticket in hand!! finally got it aft 2 days of hardcore intense Phantom pursuing!!

ticket parade...Phantom of Opera is here........

by the time gotto Empire State is already 3plus...decided to go ahead since the waiting time is cut by almost 15 minutes from 45 minutes to 30 minutes...den leaves us some time to go back get changed for some Phantom action tonite...the queue is again long at Empire State...they charge each person like USD16 bucks to go up and i was counting the number of people...they seriously can close shop for the rest of the office floors and juz rely on revenues from their observatory deck to keep them going...really good tourist $$...they need so much juz to keep the 86th floor empty for pple to stand meh?? the owner really chio until the bank...haha...but the view up there is really one of the best i have ever seen...marvellous weather...on clouds or anything to shroud our view...can see the whole manhattan from where we were standing...the Brooklyn Bridge...the Hudson River...beautiful New York City right before our eyes from the tallest point in the observatory point in the whole of Manhattan...a metropolis at full-go from 86 storeys up in the sky...the exact place where King Kong breathed his last...hahaha

our destination firmly in sight

queues queues queues...whole day it's juz about queues!! dulan

wah the ticket also quite chio...can fight with the statue of liberty one...

frankenstein spotted at Empire State Building...eh i thought King Kong is the one that died here

approaching 86th floor...the observatory deck

Downtown Manhattan with Hudson River...Live from Empire State Building

Brooklyn from King Kong Building

The financial district frm sky up

anyone who play Sim City will find this sight familiar

notice the vast patch of green behind? it's central park lah...duhz

statue of liberty from empire state...a return for yesterday

the late afternoon fog makes the city landscape view extra captivating

where King Kong once stood tall

silently absorbing the bits and pieces of the spectacular cityscape with the limited time i had...to form a complete jigsaw in my head in time to come

no doubt one of the highlights of our NYC leg...me and Ken posing up on the Empire State

the quartet up there...naf got an audio tour radio rd his neck...and described in detail all the viewpoints from the obervatory deck

due to time constraint...was forced to spend only 45 minutes up in the observatory deck as we gotta rushed back to the hostel to get ready for Phantom...made it juz 10 minutes before the opera starts at 46th Street Majestic theatre...u know how strict they are when i comes to punctuality and all that esp an epic production like Phantom Of Opera...and too bad strictly no photgraphy inside the theatre...if not can bring u guys some shots of it all...

Bravo! Marvellous! Fab-ulous! Encore!! really left me on the edge of my seat for the whole 140 minutes...the splendid vocals...the exceedingly colourful costumes that the cast adorned...the stageplay...the pyrotechnics and the the short bursts of fireworks...all timed to perfection...i am really impressed by how each scene flows from one to another...really flawless and really admire how they can acually stage such a grand play on a somewhat modest stage...to put it simpy...juz breathtaking stuff...they really deserve the accolade of being the "musical of all muscials" and i also understand why they are the longest running show in Broadway's history...the live orchestra...the powerful and brillant vocals simply set the whole stage ablaze...simple lines like "Love me...that's all i ask of you" "Share each day with me, each night, each morning..." juz blew me away...really a long-lasting wish fufilled today...after more than 10 years of hearing of this internationally acclaimed musical...if one can only watch a musical his entire life...it's gotta be "Phantom of Opera"...

took one last look at the bright lights of Times Square...wad a way to round off NYC leg with Phantom...simply spectac...really enjoyed my days in NYC...how i love this city...juz feel so comfortable...the people so friendly...so happening really...i am really awestruck by the city they affectionately call "The Big Apple"...defitnitely will come back again!! the city that is so nice that people name it twice indeed "New York New York"

head back did a full packing of my backpack and went off to bed...a flight to catch to Las Vegas tml afternoon...the capital of entertainment and the infamous sin city...haha...some sleaze baby!! Give me the Dice anytime!! hee

decide to put on my glasses after collecting dust in my backpack for 2 months...muz look intellectual for a Broadway mah...ha

the longest running show in Broadway history...as testified by this gigantic wall poster

another one for the memories...remember our date 25th July 2011 at Times Square...with or without our wives and kids...haha

really fascinated by this Broadway experience...well worth every penny!!

Day 78 (Mon) *NYC Day 3*

woke up like 6 in the morning...skipped breakfast and made a mad rush to the subway all the way to the south ferry station...we really gotta rush to queue up at around 7 in the morning to wait for the ticket counter to open at 8 andden booked the ferry tickets and monument passes...the ferry tickets are not the problems but rather the monument passes...these passes allow u to go inside and up the statue of liberty and only a limited number is given out each day...we tried booking the monument passes online at wildwood but it was already given out...so had to try our luck early in the morning at the ticket booth to see any left anot...

after all the morning hassle and bussle...finally reached castle clinton in Staten Park where the ticket booth is located...relieved to see that the queue is still quite short even though we arrived somewhat considerably late at 7.30am...ahhhh now crossing our fingers to see whether the passes are still available...according to an uncle in the queue we stand a pretty good chance...heh...

relieved to see the queue quite short outside the ticket booth

4 butts squeezed together while waiting for the ticket booth to open for business

Finally at 8am sharp...

HOORAY!!! All the effort not wasted...all 4 of us manage to get the monument pass...into the Liberty we go

On Board the ferry heading towards Liberty Island

Solo shot onboard the ferry...can see Statue of Liberty in the background??

Yee yeah!! getting closer to the destination

and closer...

Hello Lady Liberty!! Greetings from Singapore!!

landed on Liberty Island after a 15 minute ferry ride...1st impression of the world-famous statue...not as big as it turns out to be on TV and movies and how come it is green not white meh?? took some pics around the island before we proceeded into the monument after some heavy security check...even stricter den the airport where we have to even pass through this air chamber where small puffs will be blown at ur body...to detect for any traces of items such as anthrax...went into the museum and learned quite a bit about the history of this landmark statue that people in the world have come to associate with America...as a civil engineering student was also somewhat interested in the construction of the statue...and to my surprise the whole structure was made of copper and the reason why it has turned to green is because of exposure to the elements such as rain, the sea and resulting in oxidation...was also surprised to find out that Gustave Eiffel the engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower was also responisble for designing the framework that supports the Statue of Liberty...another interesting news is that no labourer or worker died while constructing the Liberty when in those days there is no such thing as safety harnesses while 27 workers perished while construting the Brooklyn Bridge...cool stuff yah...lots of it in the museum...glad i woke up early to learn about all these stuff i would not have ever known...

The Statue overlooking Brooklyn...took this shot juz as the ferry is about to dock

Pronouncing my arrival onto Liberty Island

Showing off the less often seen - the Back of the Statue of Liberty

The original torch - the parts have rusted and deemed unsafe to use so in the 1980s...the National Park Services constructed an exact replica of it...so what u seeing Lady Liberty is holding now is a replica torch

an exact replica of the face in the museum

Inside the Museum...where many interesting facts were discovered about the statue

the tools and the cast used to construct the feet of the Statue

an exact replica of the feet

Statue Statistics

Interior of Liberty revealed!! wow seriously complicated piece of structural steelwork...Mr Eiffel is indeed a genius...to have designed and did the complex calculations during times when cars are run on steam and lamps are still run on fuel...impressive!!

after the museum visit...head out to the pedestal of the statue the highest point a visitor is allowed to visit...it is something like a rim around the statue where visitors can walk 360 degrees round the statue with views of Downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn...they used to allow people up to the torch and crown until quite recently...when they decide that it is simply not safe for people to go up the torch where wind speeds can be extremely high and the torch can move up to 8 - 10 inches back and forth...wah kaoz sounds like sea dragon to the power of 10...haha...but the view from the pedestal is equally as good...offers spectacular views of NYC...okok enough described when pictures can actually say thousands of words...

View of the harbour from the Statue of Liberty

Behind me is Downtown Manhattan...from the Liberty

Statue of Liberty from the pedestal angle

The Quartet up at the Liberty Pedestal

Coming down the Liberty was a real hassle...no elevators was provided and have to walk down the stairs one by one all the way to the bottom...i really wonder how old folks and wheelchaired bound people are going to cope...in fact this is something i notice in the subway stations too...there are hardly any escalators around in the stations...very elderly and disabled unfriendly...

took a few more pictures around the revered statue and head back to Lower Manhattan for lunch...decided to go Chinatown for lunch again!! Yeepee...this time went to a different restaurant which offer much more delicious and sumptuous dishes den the one yesterday...comes at a higher price naturally and also the waiters self-give themselves tips...charged us $2 higher den the total price and when we question the miscalculated sum...they simply told us right in our face that it is tips...wah kaoz first time i see waiters giving themselves own tips...at least yesterday they gave us back the change and we waived it as tips...this time they juz charge into their bill...wah lau tips should be given as and when the customer pleases lah...but no complaints abour my char siew fried rice though...yummmmy...

Lower Manhattan from Liberty Island...i prefer the cityscape of Hong Kong though

the feeling is really so surreal...seeing the Statue for countless times on pictures will never ever beat being there looking at it in person

May Liberty rulez and freedom prevails

One final Group shot with this modern wonder of the world before we head off to Chinatown for lunch

naf went off to the china airlines branch to settle his air tics...while ken, JK and me head to Broadway to try get tickets for Phantom of Opera...u heard me rite...watching Phantom of Opera...the mother of all musical operas right in the heart of BROADWAY!! the tickets are going to cost us a bomb i am sure but we really wanna catch it...i have heard so much so much abt it but never got a chance to watch it...and what better place to watch it here den Broadway itself...waaah the thought of it is enough to quicken our footsteps but all our anticipation only ended up in disappointment...the tickets were sold out by the time we got there at 3pm and tickets only start selling at 2.30pm!! wah lau soldout every nite...7 days a week...the ticket booth told us to come tml earlier at 2pm to queue...and confirm + chop we gonna to do it...no doubt will wanna sum up our NYC tour with a bang...Phantom Of Operaaaaraaaaa....

we decided to go Rockefeller Center to check it out before rejoining Naf at the hostel to discuss the alternate plan for tonite...hang out in this integrated shopping and entertainment center for an hour or so and head back for a much needed nap...slept for like close to 3 hours...haha...andden proceed to guess wad...Subway for dinner!! wah 3 nites in a row liao...healthy lifestyles we are leading in NYC...haha...we decided to juz laze ard at the hostel...and do some planning for the modules to take next sem...wooahh Round 0 is juz rd the corner man...arrgggh sianz...bidding starts means sch is starting...my american dream is drawing to an end pretty soon...sighhhzzz...

took an easy stroll ard Rockefeller Center after a 15min walk from Broadway

wah lao...shoe shinning can also be so professional...another good business idea to bring back to s'pore

"Tell me when would you be mine...Quando Quando Quando"

Central of Rockefeller Center...almost all the world's nations flags can be spotted here...wah this is more like the UN HQ lah compare to that shabby building 2 nites ago

internet connection really pathetic...have to sit at the bus stop to tap other people's network...one passerby even took a pic of us...saying she enjoys taking interesting pics...hahaha