day 2 in NYC

i finally decided to get down to writing this.

the 2nd day in new york started with me blogging and waiting for aunt’s flight to arrive. we couldnt hit the streets earlier as planned, cos aunt’s flight was delayed and it took her almost 2 hours to arrive in the shuttle.

the day started at WTC site, which was smacked right in front of our hotel. i took the top view from our hotel room. i quite amazed that the buildings around it survived unscathed, cos they were so near each other (and tall), especially the hotel i stayed in.

we popped into chinatown next, where we scoured the entire place by foot to find a decent tim sum place to dine in. i was so hungry towards the end and i insisted that we pop into the next tim sum restuarant we saw!

turns out? a bad choice. the food kinda sucks. yucks.

the weather is bad. it is REALLY bad. the news caster on teevee used words like, “BITTER COLD”, “BUTT COLD” (really amusing), and “cold cold cold cold cold COLD weather”. it snowed (snow fuzz) for some 15 mins while we were in the restaurant and dwindled to tiny specs when we were done. wanted to take a picture of the snow, but the little specs were too small to be seen on cammie. the water by the side of the streets all froze.

a particular piece of ice amused me so much. it looks like someone has splashed water on the ground, and the ice was in the shape of a splash! i thought, that was cool!

walked to brooklyn bridge on foot from chinatown, climbed up the bridge and saw the magnificent view of manhattan’s bridge. after which, we popped over to the south where the ferry for the statue of liberty was. there were long queues and lotsa people, and unmelted snow everywhere. it is FREEZING cold. we didnt even get to our turn when a voice boomed over the loudspeakers that the visiting pass to go UP the statue of liberty were all GIVEN OUT! Grr.

changed our plans and decided to check it out early next morning, before we head off to the airport. took the city tour for $42 bucks (or was it $45? or $49? cant rem!). went into brooklyn, saw all the famous must-sees, to city hall, times square, rockerfeller center, central park, and i cant remember what else!

didnt take too much photos on the bus cos the glass panes were dirty and mostly with crystallised lookalike cracks. the pictures all came out crap. i did take some pictures when i hopped into the top of the double deck buses, but the winds were extremely strong. smacking right into our faces and aunt & uncle got SO cold. i had to give my uncle my pink shawl to keep him warm, and eventually buying him a cap to wear.

most of the time, i was laughing my ass off at the 2 of them. i never seen them so cold, despite being in seatlle for the last 15 years or more. they were both trying to wrap themselves silly with watever’s available, and the act of doing so, is highly amusing. ok, i am mean to laugh at them but its really really comical.

halfway through the tour, i went into 1 shop to look for cap for my uncle. i tried a coupla of caps that were on sale, and seemed to drop everything in the store! the racks were packed and there was hardly space to put it back, and ended up dropping a lot of stuff and eventually decided not to buy. and i LOST 1 side of my glove in there!

here’s the gist. i was trying on the caps and the glove hindered my actions. i took the left side out to try on the caps. by the time i left the store, the glove was missing! i remembered telling my aunt to hold it, while i tried it on. but since there are stuff dropping here and there, my glove might have got mixed with with the bundle of caps. when i got out of the store (right at the doorstep), i went straight back in and search the glove. the shop attendant say they DIDNT see it. they were clearing the cap bundle that i dropped and i walked the stores 3 times and there was nothing on the floor! i was pissed, cos apparently, the glove was in there. and they DO sell gloves. i dont know if they were trying to get back to me for dropping their stuff, but i really didnt mean it since the racks were OVER filled, and there’s no way to hang more!

and i left the shop without my glove. Grr. the weather was too cold NOT to wear a glove, so i popped into the next store and got myself new leather gloves and a cap for uncle. haha. annoying i know, but what else can i do?

the most interesting thing that i saw, was prob. the frozen lake in central park. and people ice-skating on a particular section of the lake. i wanted to skate too, but no skates, dont see any skates rental around and uncle is too cold to stay outdoors for so long.

when the sun set, the cold was so bitter that everyone is getting off the streets. the stores are packed with people trying to gain some warmth in order to continue their journey. my butt shivered more than anything else, and that night was essentially the coldest time (-9 degrees with super strong winds) in my entire life! the winds were so strong that i couldnt take a picture proper, without feeling myself swaying to the wind.

and cos i donated my scarf to my uncle, i popped into another shop and got myself 3 scarfs! ok, i only needed 1. but it’s $3.99!! so 3 i bought, cos i like the colors and they can come in handy the next time i travel in winter.

ended the night with some shopping from hard rock. stayed in there for a long time cos the store was so warm, besides, i really couldnt decide what to get with the limited funds that i brought. the metro back to the hotel was another torture.

oh, did i mention this already? all the metro stations look like some dingy, old (and dirty) tunnel, and there aint any heating mechanisms at the station. imagine walking in the cold in the interchange stop from 1 train service to the other (think ghoby ghaut station), and standing in the cold, waiting for the train to come!

wow. i never fully appreciated our mrt services until i hopped into the metro. i was shivering and cussing for the train to come quick!

i was SO relieved when we got into the (warm) hotel. 🙂