Social Networking

Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Google+ Flickr YouTube FourSquare

December 03, 2013

December 2013

30th November 2013

The day started off with my family sending me off at the airport. We ate one big breakfast before I went through the departure gate. Sure has been a while, since I went through Melbourne Airport International departure lounge, when I normally hop interstate before taking off internationally. Lots of messy queue and oh, they have the new body scanner. Too bad I was sleepy and decided to go with the familiar one, metal security gate. Catching the United Airline isn't so bad. They handle my baggage transfers and no need to check-in or perform another round of security check. From Melbourne to Sydney they offered us pretzels and juice. Score! From here on meals, juice, and water. Indeed the cabin dries the skin, luckily, I brought 1 mask and placed it on my face. I placed the mask back in the bag and used it again, but it dried very fast. Next time I better bring four masks. Also on board I came across two awesome strangers, Jess and Barb, by the way they are not related. We got along swimmingly, we sorted out our toilet break nudge, asked for water on each other's behalf, talked about snow, and our next destination plans. In the mean time, the pilot informs us we will be 45 minutes late. Dang! Dinner was roasted chicken pieces with potato, peas, and carrot. Salad and bread on the side. Ended it with a piece of American apple pie. I managed to watch two movies: Austenland and Jobs. Ah. I didn't pay much attention to Turbo. I felt sleepy. Later on for snack we had mini rolls and mini Tim Tam original. I have finished reading INF210 module 3 materials and now I am attempting to write up my opening response with reflection from the readings. I am in need of a public library collection development policy. 

Oh boy was the customs line ultra long for both citizen and non-citizen. I think Oz is the only one with face scanner gate technology. I won't go into detail of what take takes place in customs but it make me wonder what's the use of ESTA online application... Sigh. I got onto the BART train into downtown. The streets were wide and smelled like urine. The hub of activities centralised around Powell and Market street, not so much in south of market area. It was muggy hot. 9th street reminded me of Collingwood back streets but only wider. Plenty of crazy drivers, trying U-turn, swoop over parking spots, run pedestrians on crutches over, and poor people pushing trolleys. Under the highway bridge was tents and near these tents was discount clothing warehouses. There were new apartments being built around the area closer to the main street. 

After purchasing a Xshot extender for $24.95 I went off to search for Daiso for cheap tea drinks for $1.50. It was closer to the financial district, very very north of Market street. Three Walgreens markets here. I was distracted by a Japanese sweets shop, they sold autumn flavoured wagashi, I purchased 1 white bean with ginger, 1 green tea, and 1 permission with white bean paste total $16. Yummy. I then met with Francis and Stephen, to eat at Westfield shopping centre food court, and watch a free show The Nut Cracker, which was projected onto the dome. We went off to Macy's to see their Christmas window display and Holiday Lane. They had pretty Christmas decorations and beautiful trees. One had an underwater themed one. The view of the Union Square from level 7 was beautiful. We decided to go down and have a closer look at the ice skating rink and Christmas tree. We dropped by H&M, took photos of suspended Swakoski swan made of little little crystals, and we decided to get cheap drink and fruit to end the evening at Walgreens. 


1st December 2013

Breakfast was served 7-10. What's available was bagels, oats, and fruits. We took line N facing Ocean Beach to Alamo Square, the tram line N was underground at Powell Station. You can barely hear the station name announced and you cannot see the names of each stop. There was no large print sign at these stops. Therefore some how we missed our stop and had to get off at Carl station and go back by one station to Duboce & Noe. From here walked to Alamo Square via Scott street. We were not aware that there was a bus to get here. Well, I'm only doing all the Googling for transportation and doing calculations before arriving in another country. Along the way we saw plenty of decadent town houses and apartments. Some had pumpkin left over from Halloween on their footsteps and only one had a suspending Christmas tree in front of their house. So how could resist it. We couldn't help but take photographs in front of it. 

When we did reach the Alamo Square my friends were disappointed by the barren but hilly park. There was only the painted ladies houses to photograph. They found it boring. There was a group of people before us taking photographs, the grass must have being wet because a lady slid and landed on her bum. In the mean time I went ahead to test drive Xshot extendable stick with my headphones as remote control. Ha. Many of the pics didn't come out right except the odd one or two. Frequently, the pics would have one the houses cut off or blurry vision of me. I wish iPhone camera app had a self timer. To relief our feet of soreness I used From Rome to Rio app to find a nearby bus that would take us to De Young Museum, and it was down by McClaister Street and Webster. My friends rejoiced with glee. While walking we passed by a beautiful view of the city hall from a hill and the means to get a centred pic was to stand in the middle of the road. We did our best to dodge various cars. I think we snapped reasonable shots. 

The art of Bvlgari at the De Young Museum, a history exhibit of their jewellery from 1950 to 1990, costs me USD$13 with the San Francisco City Pass. What a bargain. Yes! Yes! Oh. It was very beautiful display of jewellery alright, the detailed work that goes into each pieces was meticulous; which explains the hefty price tag. FS and I played with interactive books on offer. The first book had video beam onto the page, so when you turned to a new page, new information was presented to you. The second book would load images onto the frames in the book and the image would turn into a video after it had ascended to the upper board above the book. The souvenirs at the museum were bland though: note book, magnets, catalogue, and magnets. It just didn't have that pazzi. A stroll through Africa room saw an impressive collection of masks on display. Next to Africa room was the pacific collection, Indonesian masks used real skulls and the eyes were made of shell pearl remains. Creepy. Also we saw mural art once belonged to San Francisco Public Library and Latin American silver collection. Took lots of photos from the observation deck. A good place for reflection. Ah. Time constraint was upon us and we could not stay too long. 

The 9th street runs across the either ends of the Golden Gate Park. My orientation was poor, instead of Lincoln way, we walked back to Fulton street by instinct. We walked back through the park and headed to Martin Luther King Drive, but before we got there Samy's food truck caught SR's attention, for $17 you get a lobster sandwich with salad on the side. We waited while he ate it. Why not. It is not often do we come across it. I wouldn't eat it. 

Lunch ended up being 3pm. We learned to take a tram from the Ferry building to Sunnydale. I dashed over to Recchiuti's chocolate lab, as we only had two hours left before the lab closes at 5pm. I really wanted to eat something from Chocolate lab. Despite what you may think, the savory and sweet stuff does works well together, especially for salads. Yummy.

Back to Powell street, here we lined up for a ride on the classic cable car up to Lombard street. Sure it wasn't the closest one to it, by three streets. There was a tram above Lombard street, however, it is always packed to the brim. Again, I'm the one Googling all this transportation detail. However, the best pic is from the bottom of Lombard street. The sunset came about within 10 minutes of our arrival. How quick was that! Snap, snap, snap away we did, yet we had competition at bottom and at top of the curvy Lombard street. 

To finish the evening off, we dined in the exclusive 50 minutes wait sky terrace at the Cheese Cake Factory. The view of Union Square was divine. Although Sir Francis Drake Hotel's Starlight room would have been lovely, but a certain someone didn't book it because they were broke. Omg! Who does that within two weeks of their vacation?! Oh well. 

2nd December 2013

Return back to Golden Gate park to check the California Academy of Sciences infamous indoor rainforest. So many gorgeous butterflies. Many whom I have only seen in books but not in person. FS was scared of them and didn't join us inside. There was exotic ting frogs too: orange, blue, green with orange legs, and so on. We saw people heads in the water. So we figured it must a basement that can look up at the fishes. Next destination was the aquarium. I saw big jelly fishes, fish with human face, glow in the dark coral, and I touched a sea urchin and starfish. Since we didn't pay for planetarium we went into an earthquake stimulator house and the 1906 earthquake was by far the most violent one of all. All shook up. The African room was full of taxidermy animals. The observation deck on 5th floor was so so. 

Stopped over at the Ferry Building to sample gourmet farmer made food and I scored myself a turkey wrap, while eating by pier giant seagulls would watch over us closely as we eat our food. The birds will eat donut and here they even sold DIY mushroom farm packages. 

We went off in search of the Coit tower and only to find it was closed for construction. However, we took the scenic trail route of pain, called the steps. Nothing but stairs to the hill where the Coit tower resides. No ropeway. The view of the Golden Gate Bridge was visible and the bay. Later when we went down the hill did we learn bus 39 from the pier 39 on Beach street goes to the Coit tower. 

Pier 39 has similarities to Mosaic garden. Here we claimed free voucher booklet. SR claimed his free clam chowder at the Players arcade and games cafe. While I ate crab wonton. 

Dashed off to pier 33 to catch a ferry to our night tour at Alcatraz Island. It came with complimentary audio tour. The dining hall is the most dangerous part of the jail. They opened the eerie hospital that night and demonstrated the inner working of the cell door locking mechanism. It was magnificent. 

Dined at Katana-ya on Geary Street and ate one of the house special, cold ramen with the lot, SR had soba with curry rice, and FS had Katana-ya ramen.

3rd December 2013

aquarium by the bay
Otter explanation 
Shark feeding
Then I disappeared to catch a cruise which was part of SF City pass. 

Claimed my ticket

Took pics with sea lions on pier 39

Blue and gold fleet cruise
Went under the GG bridge and didn't pause. Shots were jumpy at best. 

Ate crab salad sandwich $8.00. I had better. Here they shred it to pieces. 

Since our electric bike tour was cancelled due lack of interest and minimum if four ppl. We went looking at bike for hire in Fisherman wharf. $8 p/h was the lowest price. Electric bike was $50 p/h. Since we were too broke we hired one girly bike and one tandem bike from the Bay city bike rental company. 
Girly bike sucks against hills and the seat is slippery. I prefer mountain bike or BMX.

The view was nice. We should have caught a bus.  

Dinner was at Samovar. Vegan dish was nice. My friends tip 15% by default and for every meal. Ah. Unnecessary for places you don't plan to ever come back to visit. Also state tax was 8.75%. 23% is a bit too much. 18.75% would have sufficed in California. 

4th December 2013

Apparently, Amtrak office in San Francisco doesn't open until 6am. Yet our bus arrives 6:35am and we were advise to check-in 45 minutes before our departure. WTF?! ah. We checked out way too early la, 4:44am. The taxi only took 10 minutes to drive us to the Ferry building. I could have took a nap. Damn you Amtrak. 

Without much luck in finding a diner that opens 24 hours. No choice but to scurry to areas that is away from the chilly cold winds while we wait for Amtrak to open. After 50 minutes later as we cross the roads back to Amtrak I noticed people coming out of Starbucks. I went over to check it out and indeed it was open, open since 5:30am. As I was coming back from Starbucks news reporter from channel four came up to FS and SR to ask about the cold weather and not wearing enough clothing. lol. SR refuted all the questions. FS was barely about to raise her voice due her oncoming cold minus medicine taking. 

Then SR and FS went to buy coffee. While I watched over the luggage in a corner. There was this strange looking Anglo-Saxon elderly fellow in skinny black pants, black puff jacket, unwashed white long hair and gnawney jaunt face. He kept pacing in front of me. I told him to walk away with punching fists ready. Office staff started pouring in next to me was entrance to staff area of Ferry building. Thank god he disappeared or man, will I be charged with assault. 

Amtrak was finally open and we picked up our tickets. Not long later hopped onto the bus. Yay! Passing areas of agriculture and pit stop at fast food chain area. 

5th December 2013

Bus 302
BBB2 bus 
Walk

Was bad

Bus 720 or 704 would have been better

Segway was awesome

Santa Monica pier was classic n beautiful

Ate fish fillet sandwich

Santa Monica place (shopping mall) was relaxing and we sat on ready comfortable outdoor seats. 

Walked along 3rd street promenade 

Checked out 
Barnes and noble
Brookstone
Coffee bean and tea

Home

6th December 2013

The Getty Center

To get there is via bus 2/302 then at Hillgard/Sunset stop change to bus 761 headed to Pacioma. 

Koren BBQ


7th December 2013

GiFly was a gobsmacked experience. It was nothing I had done before. Sure paints a good picture of what it would be like if I was to truly sky dive for real. Our instructor, Christian, was good at taking us through the basics and guided us every step of the way. He said we stiff at times, need to learn to point our toes out, chin up, close our mouth, and don't wiggle our hips (like SR). The air pressure was strong and over powered you. I was some what close to gaining the perfect posture wise for the belly pose, just need to stop looking down. Ah. I look forward to more practice in the future. Christian said they plan to open one in Brisbane. Yay! 

At Madam Tussaud I got the chance to pose and play with wonderful wax figures. Many of them did look like the celebrities, only a few did not look at all like the intended celebrity. There was accessories for you wear and hold onto to enhance our pics. Boy, did I put on every hat, climb every ladder, hold weapons, and above all hold onto their arms. Nice. 

Rodeo drive in Beverly Hills was gorgeous. Similar to what Chapel street once was, fashion street, only here they are more decorative, elaborate, and imaginative. Even the public toilet in building 421 was posh, from the waiting area to the light bulb mirror wash room. Toilet doors had Venetian blinds. What a decor. We saw a splish sports car. I posed with it. We didn't go into any of the shops, as FS was scared of temptation and regret. SR didn't join us for dinner at Panini cafe. They had large portion for $9.95. I had charbroiled chicken kebab. FS had lentil soup and linguine potato pasta. We had to doggy bag it. 

Ripley's Believe It or Not was full of fun and scary objects. I saw shrunken heads. Ultra mini plastic models of Superman and Marilyn Monroe. Lots of candy art from motorcycle, Marilyn Manroe, Michael Jackson, and so on. A few art featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, for instance, in paper art or dot art. There were interactive display, e.g. a tunnel on mini insects riding bikes and skateboards. If you plan to lift lids prepared to be scared. Try out puzzles such as lifting a gate, count triangle, and so on. 


8th December 2013

Little Tokyo made me feel like home. 

There is a small population of Japanese people here, majority are Chinese tourist walking through. Metro gold line goes to Pasadena. 

Willowbrook is huge but poor area. Green line. Here you can transfer to Long beach blue line. 

Bus 120 goes along Imperial Hwy and three blocks later I was able to reach Rex's baseball batting cage. I paid $8 for 15 minutes of use. I chose the cage that was 40 mph. The strength of the yellow ball at such speed was equalvent to a cricket ball. I was able to video myself with magnetic Joby and a 100% metal pole.

There was a free shuttle to Queen Mary ship. It was magnificent. The Chill experience was fun. I rode a mechanical reindeer. Ate fried Twinkle and Oreo in donut dough. Took pictures in Ice Kingdom. This year it was based on nutcracker and Carla. There was an ice slide inside too. Then we went tubing five times. It was fun. 

9th December 2013

Universal studio

Shrek 4D
Krustyland
Studio Tour + King Kong 3D
Transformers
Jurassic park
The Mummy
Hunted house of horrors
The animal actors

Thai massage

Thai dinner


10th December 2013

Disneyland park

Space mountain
Buzz light years
Star tours
Looking for Nemo submarine
Autopia
Jungle boat ride
Splash mountain
Haunted Mansion holiday special
It's a small world

Had chicken sandwich w fries $9.50

Video recorded the parade but the nosy American family next to us kept commentating badly. 

Same goes when I was video recording the fireworks. 

A few rides were closed off 
Indiana Jones 
Big Thunder mountain 

Blinded went on round trip on monorail 

We had dinner at Earl of Sandwich. I had cannonball sandwich wheat bread w OJ


11th December 2013

Disney California Adventure park

We obtained fast pass for World of Color and quickly lined up for Radiators Spring Racers ride fast pass. The queue was long but hey, it must be worth the wait. Once we were done we went to the Twlight zone tower of terror and it was fun. You really feel lifted from your seats. It was exhilarating experience. 

Soaring ride was interesting and smelled of oranges. Upon entry we were seated, buckled, and lifted. Our feet was dangling in the air. Facing a giant screen. Here we flew over major spots of California. Brilliant footage if you asked me. It felt serene. 

California screamin roller coaster ride was awesome. We barrel rolled and did one big loop. Woo hoo. We had to have seconds. So we lined up again. 

Tough being a bug 

At the end you felt 

I had my picture taken with McQueen and Mater, but missed out on Jess, Buzz LightYear, and Woody. Let's say two people amongst were more interested in rides than having their picture taken with amazing Disney characters. I was quite disappointed, sigh. 

Unfortunately, in the beginning of my video recording I had a toddler crying about not wanting to be here in Disneyland. Geez. You wonder what possessed the parent to force a child to stay up late and watch a water show. I would wait till the child is above 7 years of age and can appreciate Disney productions. I moved away, as best as I can but it was overwhelming crowded till the second half, people began to disappear when the show sang in Spanish feliz navidad. 

12th December 2013

Magic Morning time. I quickly dashed to City Hall to ask about do we need fast pass or register to rail road train. Apparently, not. But Ryan said you did. Ugh. Oh well. Met with Francis and dashed over to ride Space mountain, Star Tour (this time we flew through Ewok forrests and Darth Vader radio us to surrender the spy), Buzz Lightyear astro blasters. The wait time was 5 minutes. Amazing! 

Stephen was told his 3 day hopper ticket didn't include Magic Morning, until 30 minutes later did they let him in. Sheesh. By then he was in a foul mood. 9am. The park was fully open. We rode on it to Mickey toon town but was it not open until 10am. We went over to New Orleans. Jack from ... was available for photo shoot. Francis and I lined up for it. Jack was nice and we did small talk before the I put arm around his for the photo. It was awesome. He wished me a 'dreary day'. Hee hee. So in character and all. Very professional. 

Also we came to see if Indiana Jones ride was open, yes, grabbed ourselves a fast pass and then lined up for the Pirates of the Carribean ride in the mean time. There was two initial splashes which took Stephen by surprise. Ha! 

13th December 2013

Francis checked the route the night before and so we caught the bus number 50 to Anaheim Amtrak station. We got there on time alright. Good coordination and thank god, we lived on the main street, so close to buses, malls, and 10 minute walk to Disneyland. Sure. The room had a dud heater that failed to warm the room, let a person. The breakfast was watered down orange juice with cupcakes and donut. Yay. Not. Cheap and nasty. Typical of America.

The train ride went by in a flash. I have found the thru way bus arrival and departure point near the baggage claim area. After plonking my bags in the waiting room with Stephen and Francis, I went to grab myself a bottle of dark green tea and a set of ham with egg salad sandwich. I filled up before hopping on a 6 hour bus ride. Mind you the bus was late by 20 minutes too. I can see the extent of drought in this desert landscape and oh my, cactus here are feral. 

Once the sun came down, the temperature dropped immediately. You can feel it. Although people in the bus have turned on air condition. The cold air makes me cough.

I always buy a multi day and multi ride ticket wherever I go. The RTC 3 day bus pass for $20 in front of MGM and food court was easy peasy to purchase. China town plaza was far away from Wild West Casino, but the bus called Deuce which goes up and down the strip and bus number 203 got me there in no time. After buying my Chinese medicine and drinks for my chesty cough, I headed over to The Mirage. The volcano filled with water was beautiful. The lobby was beautiful. The staff was kind and helpful. The 3 Las Vegas pass is indeed $57 and can be purchased at any of the attractions. The concierge gave us a booklet each. 

As depart for Circus Circus I found out that Stephen persuaded Francis to take the monorail and it costs $5 one way. Instead of buying the RTC 3 day bus pass for $20. WTF?! Geez. The monorail is limited to south bound casino. Even at the bus stop he refuse to purchase it. Now they are walking to Circus Circus which is more than 10 blocks away from The Mirage. 



14th December 2013

- Indeed it was view beautiful atrium
- buy the 3 Exciting Attractions for Only $57 from Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat ticket booth in the back of The Mirage hotel.

I choose Adventure Dome, Bodies exhibition, and Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat.

We went on numerous rides at Circus Circus's Adventure dome

- Canyon blaster (twice)
- El Loco (to be built)
- Disk'O
- Sling shot
- Chaos
- Inverter
- FX Theatre: Sponge Bob
- Extreme ride: Happy Feet
- Pike and pass mini golf (dark n boring looking)
- Canyon cars (went twice)

Gilley's restaurant (w/ mechanical bull) 
3300 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89109

- Volcano show 
- Fountain show

Watched the movie, The Hobbit: the desolation of the Smaug, with friends at The Regal movie theatre. Very intriguing and saddening to see Kali poisoned by an arrow. 

Walgreens to get juice, medicine, and fruit. 

15th December 2013

The rock formation in Grand Canyon was interesting. The shape, the colours of the rock, and plants that thrive amongst the rocks was impressive. We started off at Hoover Dam. Rolling into Haulapai ranch where pat a horse's head, Stephen and I rode on a wagon, we all used our meal voucher on BBQ ribs. Oh boy. It was scrumptious and fulfilling to have for lunch. Following on Francis went on a 30 minutes horse riding to the entrance to one of the rim of the Canyon. While Stephen and I threw horse shoe, practice archery, play around with nearby props. The sun was blasting us and made our photographs very washed out. 

There were shuttle buses that come along every 5 to 10 minutes to take to each three points of interests. Moving onto Eagle point, here was the native Indians of … do dances, asked a photographer to help us take photographs on the skywalk, then on the outside did our own poses against the cliff edges. 

Quickly dashing to Guano point we walked along the rubble grounds to the pivot point. Problem was there was no trail to the peak. You had to climb your way up. Since I didn't have the time and the right shoe it was difficult to reach the the peak and perform a 360 degrees photograph. I did the best with the height I was able to reach before rushing back to the bus before 3pm. Which was its departure time. 

16th December 2013

Stephen doubted our tour time frame and pick up location or rather he wanted to change it to Wild West Casino. Since he could not get through by phone, he gave and wanted to head out at 6am. Uh. So therefore I emailed the company and replied back 8am pick up from Excalibur and that's final. Not negotiable. Yay! We then proceeded to have breakfast at Denny's. Francis thought we had to pay tax for included complimentary breakfast. I told her no you do not. Stephen said his coffee is free. Answer is no. It is not included. Once breakfast was over, we headed over to Excalibur rear rotunda. Thank lord it has seats. We sat and wait for the shuttle bus to come and pick us up. 

The zipliner was physically challenging

Andrew

Keegan 

Helpful funny insightful playful kind patient

3 different lines

South wind brought friction

I need more weight to push me faster

Slideline manevour for speed

Split legs for landing


17th December 2013

My body felt sore and tired but I plugged on to wake up early to find myself a public library. I want to use their computer, wifi, doing homework, and read magazine while my images are bring uploaded to the cloud. I found Clark County Public Library and it was huge. Also there was a sign on the street with a symbol of a person reading a book and arrow pointing people to the library. How cool was that one? 

The wifi was remarkably fast. However, the computer room was highly sort after by the general public. Including me. Did you know there is no Internet cafe around Las Vegas. I didn't know until now. Geez how sucky. There was abundance of magazine to choose from. I'm in heaven. 


High tea at Mandarin oriental

Eiffel Tower 
View Bellagio fountain show from an Ariel view

Also we can see the volcano from The Mirage too. 

KISS glow in the dark mini golf. I was able to smack the ball up the tongue and into the mouth of the KISS mask. Yay! Aren't I talented. Francis tallied my score to 86, and her 63. I performed badly. There was hills, slides, and drums obstacles in the way. Which makes them a great and fun challenge. 

18th December 2013

Coloured hair

Hair stylist said Vons on Tropicana Ave was a proper grocery store

Screaming Mimi for vintage

Double down for drinks

Too late now but good info for future reference. 

Went to Target, Best Buy, and Office Depot. All of them did not have cheap netbooks for fellow travellers or low income people. Target had one for $199 but it was sold out. 

Near salon was 99 cent store it had foil, toothpaste, fruit, juice, water, Angry bird toys for iPad. 

Not far from all this was Las Vegas Clark County library. 

Took the WAX bus to terminal 3 then shuttle bus to terminal 1.

I should have brought my own laptop/netbook. To find an Internet cafe is harder than finding wifi in Las Vegas. To buy a laptop here is costly $700. Ah. Geez. They are heavy. My only problem is efficient means to back up my photographs. Target had $199 but it was sold out. Dang! Las Vegas Clark County public library has a book store in the south wing, fiction is filed according to author name, non-fiction housed by subject and has no spine label - can't tell if it is second hand. Best Buy store didn't have the cheapest gear or vast accessories for iPhone. The airport bus WAX can be caught from Tropicana Ave in front of Tropicana Hotel.

$6 for 2 hours RTC is sufficient. Dependant n which airline you are flight with you may need to take the shuttle bus to terminal 3. To reach gate D you need to take a tram from below gate E. 

19th December 2013

The shuttle bus was delayed. 

I took my friends to Brooklyn Greenwood cemetery and there I saw various angels around my height and mini mausoleums. Plus I got another chance to play with snow. NYC snow is clumpy and thick ice. Not powdery as the snow in Hokkaido. The staff patrol the area regularly and even clean off the snow on the roads for patron to walk on easily. The giant mausoleums are surprisingly comfortable and clean. They have two tall waterfalls and several sofas with ceiling windows views of the cemetery. 

Like to dine in b/c it is cold

One of the friends has department store toilet phobia, while the other is depressed seeing nice objects; both money complex. 

My friends do not like eat from deli stores. 

We guessed Brooklyn diner was good. It was pricy alright. Duh. It was smack bang in Time Square. For dinner I ordered buffalo Wings $12.50, crispy polenta chips $7.50, cranberry juice $3.50 but according to my friend my share of the bill is $37.50 (tip was $9.53). Total bill was $65.50 + $9.53. Confusing as to how can that be. I say the methodology of calculation ruins the American dining experience. 

We hung around Time Square but I didn't expect to hang around till 12 midnight. For the two people who sleeps early like a grandpa. This was extreme. First, we stopped off at Hershey’s chocolate world, upon entrance we were hit by the smell of chocolate, then Stephen pointed out there was free sample chocolate given out. It was delicious. Second, we strolled over to M&M's world. There I met the Yellow M&M, had my M&M colour scanned, and took pictures with the green M&M posing as the Statue of Liberty. Third, went to H&M, Uniqlo, Apple store on 5th Ave. By the time we came back to Time Square most of the stores have closed. Except for Walgreens. I have purchased a few drinks for myself, since I am still coughing and need to keep then fluids. Stephen and I walked over near to TKTs stand and find a seat to view the so called art display on the various screens in Time Square. Stephen and I sat on Duffy Square stone seats on the side but security and it's mini van drove up to us and insisted we move our butts. Geez. In the end, it was a preview to an art gallery display and it only ran for a few minutes. We waited 3 hrs for an advertisement. Omg!

20th December 2013

Friends fail to setup alarm, fail to wake up, fail to walk fast even though we are terribly late to the tour. Luckily enough I dashed and made it just under 3 minutes to 10am. Whew. What a relief. Quite frankly, my immune system hates the stress these two folks put it under. Very taxing. 

The tour was so so. The stores didn't offer much unique craftsmanship object, as one has expected, instead the stores were an institution because celebrities visited them. Which was interesting to see how the locals valued them. I myself found the ephemera items generic and some were readily available in Australia. Oh don't forget, a no show to these kinds of tour costs USD $35 per person. Hence I jogged to get there in time. I ain't paying anymore.

We had a $30 clam pie pizza at Lombard's in SoHo. It was somewhat rubbery. However, this is a historical site in NYC and celebrities have visited here before, so again it is an institution. Not suitable for backpackers. 

Just two main streets away from the pizza joint was China town with ultra low priced meals and fresh veggies. Gosh. Are we suckers or what. 

Once we have found Delancy street and catch the right subway to Wall Street. I quickly posed on the steps opposite of the New York Stock Exchange building. It is so iconic. More and more people climbed up to compete with me too. Francis and Stephen walked away shrugging their shoulders at the buildings. I had no choice but to take my own photos by myself. I can sense boredom when I see it. FYI. This tour was booked several months ago in unison. I don't why people change their mind on the fly, I really don't understand how hard is it to follow a schedule either. Since they disappeared off for coffee, I went in search of what's nearby the vicinity. There was a big department store, several taverns, many different banks, and souvenir stores. The trinity church was beautiful on the outside. I ran out of time to view the inside of the church. 

ppl no longer want to stick to the group planned schedule and they want to go their separate ways during the day and the night. Geez. If that is the case, why I am even travelling to NYC with them? Really. Someone tell me. 

So after visiting 9/11 tribute center and show them nearby toilet in department store. I left them, by catching the E line to Bronx to sulk about my $5000 wasted on this trip. Money which I could have saved for other trips. 

I went to FAO Sch you store. One which they rejected from the to do list. Finally, I got the catch to tap my feet on the big piano and it felt great. I had a sandwich, watermelon, and coconut juice for dinner. 

From here I learned to catch bus M5 down 5th ave to get to Rocket Feller Center. There I saw the 3 minutes Christmas show display against the Saks Avenue store. Theme was a yeti and adorable one. Turning in the opposite direction I saw a garden of fairy lighted up angels with trumpets, the statue, the large moving Christmas tree, and ice skating rink. 

I texted them if they wanted to meet up and check out Top of the Rock. The answer was no. They prefer the Empire State Building. Which was scheduled for Christmas day. See what I mean? I took enough pictures and went home to rest. 

Only to find I don't have the spare key. I sent text message to Stephen and he didn't want to give it up. So I explained to the hostel manager my situation and they found it appalling too. They kindly offered me the master key and I swear to god to return in person. 

21st December 2013

I woke up early with the hope of catching the 8:30am ferry to the Statue of Liberty Island. A long the way I saw squirrels in Battery park and I was able to film it. Yay! 

Brooklyn bridge and Dumbo tour

125st subway station inside and outside was bustling with lively neighbourhood action. Outside people were begging for money. People insulting other people walking by. People carrying heaps of garbage bag and groceries crossing path or as I've seen bump into each other. No violence ensues, but they were both apologetic about it. Inside people stood indecisively by the entry gate. People spread all over the platform. There was live music being performed on one end of the platform and it was good soul music at that too. Which took me by surprise that's for sure. Bus x35 has very sweet bus drivers patrons were understanding when I didn't know I had to push the door open to exit the bus. Everyone laughed as I got off the bus. 

Randall's Island mini golf 36 holes via Harlem bus 35

Grand central terminal


22nd December 2013

To catch the train to the New York Botanical Garden you go to the Grand Central terminal, buy Metro North ticket, head to track 109, take the White North Plains line. Once on board the coach section, find a seat and a conductor will come by and check your ticket. If you forgot to buy a ticket like myself, pay USD$12 in person and all is fine. 

The train station was right up close to the garden. Just walk across the street and flash the New York Pass. From here on you get an entrance ticket and a ticket to special exhibit. In this case, the conservatory was transformed into a wooden modern city but everything is made of wood. lol. The artist was…

The room was very warm and humid.  

The Cloisters Museum and Gardens
Everything was devoted to religion. 

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was jam packed with wifi moochers, however, the line for tickets was long too. So there are real art lovers out there, not just wifi moochers. I started on the very top floor, the sixth floor and make my way down. Since it been the late afternoon I have only three hours left to maximise my time here before the museum closes. Each floor had two show rooms. The 5th and 6th floor housed special exhibitions. The 3rd and 4th house local artist work. The 1st and 2nd floor show cased experimental arts. One where you have to lie down on the carpet and watch multiple screen for one story. It challenges your attention span and ability to cohesively put the story together in your mind, as different screens would light up and show a segment at a time. Not once were they simultaneously shown. Overall a contemporary, fun, and funky art museum. 

At the Discovery Times Square with the New York Pass you can only choose one of the three exhibitions: Bodies world: pulse, Odyssey's shipwreck, and the Art of the brick. I chose Lego, the Art of the brick, it was more than just replica of art works, it was Lego in motion, very expressive, creative, and unique. Since it one hour to closing time I only spent 45 minutes in there and took several photographs as momentums. Also at the end of the exhibit, you get to write your name on a Lego piece and leave it for the artist Nathan Sawaya, who will then put into his next piece of art. How awesome is that. 


23rd December 2013

Started off decent and respectable. I endured the NBC studio tour. Not without lack of asking nearby staff for help to find the correct entrance to meet up for the tour. We finally found it and just made it in time.

We watched a documentary, followed by lift to upstairs, a minute of silence for fallen field staff, shown two studio room: one for nightly news and the other for Saturday Night Live (SNL), make up display, and green screen photo and video moment. Overall the tour was smooth, steadfast, and well organised. 

After browsing in the shop Stephen and Francis disappeared off for coffee and the American Natural History Museum without a wave good bye or see you later. 
What was I expecting from ppl who cannot sit down and re-organise the schedule like a real travel group. 

I went over to take photo of Anthropologies shop window which had hand crafted art display. Then lined up for tickets of Radio City Hall and it was so worth it. The stage was grand, shaped to replicate the sunset only this season decorated with snow flakes, it had ample amiunt of seats, and old but technically advance floor and seating. I got the chance to have my photo taken with a real rockettes dancer. Wow! Totally made my morning. 

Solomon G museum was so so. Christopher Wool andnRobert more well didn't rock my boat. 

Walked thru 85th Street thru Central Park to catch subway number C to 42nd street. 

While crossing the road to TKTS a male teenager tapped several of his fingers against the back hand of my right hand. I turned to look at him and I could only manage a smile, before his parents out called to him urging him to cross the road to 42nd Street, while I was on 44th Street crossing over to Broadway. It was a strange moment. 

Lined up for tickets at TKTS but they sold out of Christmas Spectacular. What a waste of time. I should purchased the tickets in October before arriving in America. If only I purchased it back in August myself. 

I went to M&M world to dry off before heading to the museum of sex. The hoodie part of the jacket got wet from umbrella dropping water on me. 


24th December 2013

It is Christmas Eve la. I'm spending by myself. 

Tour at Lincoln Center. 

The place was built on the lot where the West End was filmed before they tore down the old four storey buildings. The Lincoln Center is now a campus with several buildings. One for opera, ballet, and philharmonic performance. There is also a branch of NYPL, mainly holds performing art books. They hold experimental plays at times, where the tickets range from $20 plus and houses only 90 seats. Nancy our tour host took us inside each theatre and explained the role of acoustics to keep sound, as well as how musical performance has a smaller stage. 

The American Museum of Natural History is giantic of a place. One day is not enough to explore it. Also there is crowd of people pouring in every minute. 

When I walked up to the Ellen Stardust diner there was this weird guy talking to himself and staring at the menu, all the while blocking the door. No one can get out or in. Whack. Then from the inside a couple nicely nudge him with the door. I got in. Yay! I was seated in the middle of the room, the staff were servers and singers, twice I had staff serenade me. Seated next to me, the lady and her companion had straws dropped gently over her head. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but laugh. Totally unexpected event. They did duo too. 



After hearing other hostel backpackers ring their family members, I decided to ring my sister as well. I got emotional. I miss my partner in crime. This trip lacks crazy video as we barely do thing crazy. Everywhere you go in NYC is nothing but endless queue and more queue. The sales are not crazy low, as I imagined after visiting Saks, Macy, 21C department store. 


25th December 2013

Everything is closed as expected of western country and that some people assume New York City never sleeps,
my ass it doesn't. It does alright. Only construction and emergency workers who don't sleep all that long. Constant sounds of various sirens every night. 

Amongst many tourist going to the Empire State Building. Security check. Two elevator ride. Packed crowd as expected, however, the cold and windy weather kept many of them inside, so I was able get pretty good video shots. Yay! A few photographs of myself too. 

NY skyride. 


26th December 2013

Pick up laundry 

Harlem walk tour
Upper West side re-zoning into Harlem territory due to real estate

The Met
Huge
Several special exhibition 
Bathurst - Girl and cat
Tall tombs

Uniqlo Boxing day sale

Bowling at Bowlmor Lane


27th December 2013

Alice in a tea cup cafe did not disappoint and even went beyond taste expectations. The scones were the stars. The mix berry had a cookie crumbly outer texture and the inside had plenty of delicious berries. The pumpkin with carmel gaze had elements of cinnamon and melts in your mouth. The berry compote was just smooth. The Moroccan  mint tea with honey was in harmony with the scones. This was by far the most delicious and pretty breakfast I have ever had, only marred by chesty cough. No thanks to room mates who keep re-infecting themselves with the cold. 

Stopped by 34th Street Penn Station to collect our Amtrak tickets. Which is also the last leg our group travel. I don't know if people would want join me, but I have the tickets. Now we just need to wake up on time. I know I would at least and have been for the last few weeks. 

NYPL magnificent structure. They have added four floor reading room with theatre in one of the courtyards and they plan to extend more of the building to have more public space. The two exhibitions I attended was interactive and had points of interests for photographer and selfies. For instance, the Play thing had works of art where you stand and stare, turn on the light to see the special effects, then there are peep holes to see the tiny things. Of course, you had to be of a certain height to see these works of art. While ABC children books exhibition had cut outs from famous children books which you pose in or with, and watch video interviews of famous authors. The reading rooms were still active and security staff would ask you to shush. How funny was that? They had a microfilm room, map, periodicals, genealogy, and so on. These rooms were fully staffed. I did not see trolley in the two hours I was there. 

Roof top farm - closed. 

Upon arriving at Le Parker Meridien, several others and I was quickly shuffled into a line by the hotel manager. I saw a few buildings in the lobby but everyone in the queue for The burger joint at Le Parker Meridien and it is so popular there is an ever growing queue by the minute. 

It was a pop up burger joint. it. I had the burger with the lot and it crumbled nicely into my mouth. Aww, man, the meat was grilled well, the whiff of it and the taste lingered in my mouth. The lettuce and tomato was god damn crispy too! Oh wow. Now I understand the reason why people queue up madly here. 

Animatronics display was beautiful, adorable, and funny. 

MoMA - nah, the line was excessively long. Oddly, enough it is sponsored by Uniqlo. 

Sony Plaza light show was so so. Very go hum. Snow flake is an amazing feat but the interaction was lacking. 


28th December 2013

WDC red line is the most unreliable on weekends b/n 5-6pm. It schedule for repairs. Damn it. Then it only goes in one direction. Shady grove or Glenmont. Even it is packed like sardines. I'm stuck with catching a bus by H street that stops at every station. No one told me the traffic is awful up here. Oh well I might miss my train. 


29th December 2013

Along the way to find a computer store I came across metal etching of NYC famous building on the footpath on 40th street near building 101 and Grand Central terminal (north). While strolling along 40th Street and Madison ave before the 5th ave I notice 99 cents sign. Jack's 99 cent store and it had people in it. I scored shampoo, tissue packs, sanitary pads, juice, spring water all 99 cents. I'm so blessed. Once I got to the Datavision computer store, hey ask that you hand over your backpack to them, however, the large store did not stock any Joby products. I broke my magnet mini Joby. 

I finally found time to enter Morton William supermarket and it has nice food at reasonable price. I had two large wraps for $5.99. 


30th December 2013

Early in the morning I headed over to Highline park and beat the tourist crowd in taking photographs of myself. 

Shoe shopping around Herald Square. I couldn't afford anything over $40 and the round toes were ugly to boot. Ended up buying shoe in Payless shoes. Not bad shape and fabric. 

For late lunch and pre-dinner I decided to munch on stuffed artichoke and drown my winter solo exploration in artichoke beer. There is such a beer! The beer was bitter and had subtle taste of artichoke. Not powerful as berry or honey in beer and wine. Interesting anyways. The service is so so but good delivery

Every time I visit Jane carousel it is closed. My guess is 100% closed in winter. NYC has no hope of competition mel.pucca@gmail.com with Sapporo on winter activities. 



Brooklyn promenade 

Winter garden at World Financial Center


31st December 2013

I woke up at 8am for brekkie before all is gone. We have a family, a group of university gals and an another group of 5 friends. They go through the food pretty fast. I managed to snag cereal with milk and one egg. 

Line up at 11:30am. Bloody crowded alright. Many were tourists walking around and was caught up in the middle of it all. We were pushed, squished, shoved, and nearly separated by these groups of family pushing us. They were trying come out and walk in the opposite direction. While we were pushing towards 45th street, to get through to the security check, and be allocated to the middle pen. Score! Now we have to wait 12 hrs for the ball to drop. Also entertainment suppose to start at 6pm. 

No reception from T•mobile only AT&T has reception. Sad. They didn't fit enough antenna up here, knowingly, this is how crowded it would be in Time Square. 

No free public transportation. People didn't have a subway ticket and so the queue to the subway was massive. A few just wanted to cross the road but there was road blocks and police around refusing to allow . There 


1st January 2014

I woke up late 8:30am without an alarm. While on vacation, I'm not the kind of sleep in unless I've fallen ill or truly tired. Since I wasn't I managed to have breakfast before the eggs and milk were gone. Then head down to Washington Square and take a few fun pics in front of the monument. Not long later a few tourist say I'm in their way. Geez. I cannot help it if my funny poses ruin your romance. Besides the other side of monument is heaps better looking. Duh! Yet they didn't take a photograph of that side because of the traffic light and the fact, you would need to stand on the road to take a centred pic. Chicken. I'm happy with side shots. It covers the details good enough. 

Back onto the subway I headed to Time Square and 8th Ave to have my photograph taken in front of The New York Times building. People would stop and watch me use the self timer app to take my selfies without needing to hold it. I use Joby mounts and Xshot. Get with the times people. I didn't use GoPro. This is landscape photograph and not a video.  After completing multiple shots I left and went to the Union Square on 14th St. Here I found a few gems, which I should have checked out on day 2. Healthier and cheaper option. Ugh. They have Whole Foods store, DWS shoe store, Burlington (cheap clothes and perfume). 

The Pure food and wine sure lives up to the raw food movement. Every dish was delicious and made with vegetable mostly and definitely no meat whatsoever. Prixe here is $30 and a three course meal. Caesar salad, zucchini and tomato lasagna, tiramisu. What I really love is the copious of juices you can choose from their drink menu. I had the Swan Greens one. It is made of cucumber, spinach, dandelion, pear, grapefruit, tarragon, spearmint, yuzu. Total $44.95 Costly? Only gonna eat it once, so why not, everything is non-cooked vegetable served tasty. This kind of cuisine is called raw food movement. 

Next big sightseeing is the famous Coney Island. My friends are too tired, broke, and didn't feel like going all the way out. So I took the N line. Oddly, enough on this trip had no luxury time to listen to mp3 or audio books. Constantly, keeping an eye on the subway station and bus stops. No time to be idle. I got the chance to see a bright pink sun set at Coney Island. The boardwalk has a wide girth. Plenty of space for all and for performances. Too bad winter time means closed period. They have no activity for the tourist here at winter. Therefore many of us decided to make our own fun. Despite the sign says the beach is closed. People went swimming in the cold water. Since the wind was reasonably strong people flew kites. People ran with their dogs. People exercised on benches. I took photos and film a thing or two. 

New York and Coney Island need to look towards Sapporo for inspiration when it comes to winter activities for the general public. 


2nd January 2014

I had my breakfast in the Russian Tea Room. Truffle quiche with salad. The salad had apple pieces. Very refreshing. I had hoji cha. Something warm to perk me up. Icy cold today. 2 degrees. The decor was standard white ceramics. The room had oodles of paintings, trophies, and descant lamp shades. Looks very pretty. 

It is my first time catching no. 7 train at Times Square to Queens. The train itself don't look and different from the others. Finding it a little perplexing. 

Sadly, the Rocket mini golf course and playground was closed at the New York Hall of Science. Yet you can get through the doors in the cafe but not come back in. A very strange place. Thank god there was security staff to open the door for me. lol. 

I rode on a surf board

Pedal to power up a propeller

Play with bubble maker

Tweak tornado replica

And interact with various objects

Kinda like Science Works in Spotswood 


I learned today New Yorkers do not like the smell of dried squid, especially one that permeates the whole carriage. People would madly dash to the other full carriages, leaving the carriage very empty. Yay for me. It ain't bad as urine. 

MAC eyeliners are better than Sephora own brand edition. More smooth and brighter in colour. Minted eye kohl is only USD$16. More than price less than AUD$36. 

The buffet dinner that comes with the play, How 2 B A New Yorker, was delicious. I had two chicken parma, creamy fettecine pasta, salad, cookies, brownies, strawberries. I had an island punch drink non-alcoholic. 

It finally snow hard and we got the chance to make snow angels, snow ball fight, write our names in the snow, and so on. Loving it. Too bad it took two weeks to arrive fully. Ah. Bittersweet. I'm flying back home now. 

How 2 B A New Yorker
Written by Margaret Copeland & Kevin James Doyle
Performed by Kevin James Doyle & Olivia Petzy
Directed by Robert Ross Parker

3rd January 2014

There is no service counter for
United Airlines. I keep getting error: “your flight is not available for check-in” but my flight hasn't been cancelled. Sheesh. I have waited an hour and still no help or information. At least give us free wifi. 

While the airline website states I depart:
3rd Jan 10:05 pm UA839 LAX-MEL
6th Jan  5:61am UA274 EWR-LAX
The dates are incomprehensible and lacks logic. The staff at the baggage check-in was able to see the mistake and adjusted it for me. 

1:25pm flight UA1225
1:00pm dash thru security. Backpack was checked twice for because of Xshot and Joby gorilla looked like a weapon. I let them check it and re-scan but I showed them my boarding pass and that I need to run to the flight. 
1:12pm due to catering issues the flight was delayed until 2:30pm. 

Bumped to first class just for the EWR to LAX leg of the flight. 

Watched movies

After Earth
Wolverine
21 Jump Street

I had a three course meal and a fully adjustable recliner all to myself. I didn't turn into a bed, as there was no need to do so.

The flight from LAX to MEL remains economy seating. I'm all the way in the back 52G and the seat next to me was empty, and I was able to lie down on the side and take a nap. 

Watched movies

Percy Jackson and the sea monster
Despicable me 2

Spilled oj on myself. Hand was too tired to hold a cup. Sigh. 

7am landed in Sydney and did a transfer. 

- - -

Tweets

- - - 































































































































































































Posted by at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )