23 Dec 2005:1) The Streets of New York
First of all, I have to show you guys where I have been staying. So tt is me in front of Lionel's apartment in Greenwich Village in the NYU area.
A typical New York street in the more "neighbourhood" areas like Greenwich Village, where this photo was taken along Broadway.
New York has quite a few cathedrals and churches scattered over the cities, all of which seem to have quite some history. Or at least very pretty architecture. New York isn't overtly Catholic (unless you're of Italian, Irish or French descent), and my impression is tt even if you are Anglican or Presbyterian, your church/cathedral will look like any other Catholic church. Personally, from the outside I can't tell the difference.
A street vendor selling his wares on the street corners. Such vendors are common sights in the city, but don't be fooled. This is some SME-type business; all the pretzels, hot dogs and nuts tt each vendor sells comes from one common source. It's still a monopoly running different little branches all over NYC. Commercialism has definitely hit the streets.
An NYPD officer on duty. (Yes I admit. I have a thing for men in uniform, especially police officers. And even more so if they are a part of New York's Finest.)
They named a retail store after Geok! Or Geox... Wahaha... How do you feel having your very own store? On 5th Avenue some more??? Yar. But it's not cheap, of course.
And above is a very interesting building. From the outside looking in, you see plants growing on the INSIDE of the glass. How tt works, and why, I have no idea. But it's a sight I haven't seen elsewhere yet.
That's Eunice and I forking out money to get a Metrocard from the vending machines inside the subway stations. A Metrocard works like a stored-value transitlink farecard, just tt one ride on the subway is US $2.00. And we thought Singapore was expensive.
And this is how the inside of a subway train looks like. The subway is like the heart of the city. It transports everyone everywhere, and it doesn't matter if you're subsisting on 2 jobs in The Bronx or if you've got enough moolah to own your own limo; in New York the roads are so packed and parking is so expensive tt the cheapest, fastest and most efficient way to get around is the subway. Which is why when the MTA workers went on strike, it caused a fair bit of chaos all around.
Thank god the subway started running the day I decided to explore NY. This is me and Eunice, as taken inside the train.
2) The UN Building
This is how the UN Headquarters looks like.
And tt's our Singapore flag!
That's I, Eunice and Siyuan in front of one of the symbols of what the UN represents, a spoilt gun tt can no longer be used - for peace.
The UN houses a few meeting rooms, including the Security Council, as can be seen above. It also holds a Socio-Economic Council, some other council I can't remember tt is now obselete, and the famous General Assembly. But yes, in tt room above the officials of the UN gather to discussion solutions as to how to keep the peace and how to negotiate between warring states.
Yay! I'm in the UN Security Council!
Oh, speaking of which, because of it's location, the UN gives a very good view of the Chrysler Building. You can see it behind me through the glass.
The UN Building also houses portraits of the past and present Secretary-Generals. So I get to have Kofi Annan literally looking down on me.
Lastly, there was a photo exhibition on land mines and the UN's effort towards de-mining countries like Cuba, Rwanda and Cambodia. There were a number of photos of victims and of mines themselves on display, and the above photo caught my eye because it was describing the properties of a large C4 land mine.
And incidentally, tt mine was manufactured in the USA.
3) Ice-Skating at Bryant Park
Bryant Park is this small park on 42nd street. Because it is in the centre (or somewhere in the centre) of the city, the view tt you get from here is of the other buildings in the city. Like the above view. Throws out the analogy of Bryant Park as some kind of oasis in a desert of buildings, if you want to look at it tt way.
But I must say tt ice-skating in the open with the scenery of the city all around you, is enchanting.
Above is me and Lionel putting on our boots...
And after tt Lionel, me and Eunice with our ice-skating boots...
And tt's part ii in the series - me, Eunice and Siyuan instead. Ready to take on the ice!
And now that's the 4 of us after ice-skating. The ice-skating rink is in the background... can you see it tho?
4) Times Square
The above is me in the middle of Times Square at night. The column above is where the ball drops for NYE. Notice how the cup of Nissin noodles is STEAMING. Heh. And yes, it is cold.
That's one of the streets of Times Square. If I'm not wrong, it's named Broadway. Basically most of the musical theatres can be found around Times Square. Not directly on, but rather on the lanes leading to/from Times Square. And they're all called Broadway musicals.
This would be one of the other main streets; I think this is 7th Avenue. You can never miss stock or news updates here!
Hard Rock Cafe New York!
The NYPD has their Times Square precinct located right smack here... NICE!
Hershey's Paradise in Times Square... Mmm... For all chocoholics out there...
And me again. Excited to be here, I am.
5) The Rockafeller Centre
That's Radio City Music Hall, where the Grammy's take place almost every year. In the Rockafeller Centre, yáll.
This is the giant Christmas Tree tt everyone talks about at the Rock. It's about 4 storeys high, apparently.
And me with the tree. Heh. I was there!
This is me, Lionel and Siyuan, after at least half an hour of queueing for our dinner/supper - lamb gyros from this street meats stall with a fucking long queue. Why do you think SY looks so ready to attack the food?
And tt's all 4 of us with our food... gathered outside MOMA, bothered by the cold but too hungry to do anything else but EAT. Heh.
