Before we start, I feel the urge to explain the difference between New York and New York City (NYC). New York is a state, with a land area of 141,000 km square, or basically 4 times the land area of Malaysia (that includes Peninsular and Borneo if you are going to ask), at 330,000 km square. Albany is the capital of New York State, while NYC is the biggest city in New York state (and the whole world I believe). 'New' York, is basically named after the English Roman town of York.
From
Boston, I took the Amtrak train to New York City. A 1-way ticket cost around $49, while a bus ticket will cost half the price. It depends on what you like. I was able to do some work on the train, with free Wi-fi and proper table/chair.
We stayed in a Airbnb in Queens, Long Island. The NYC Subway was convenient, and runs for 24 hours, so it was a good choice staying away from Manhattan. NYC was actually founded by the Dutch, and was initially named 'New Netherlands', before being transferred to the English, and renamed New York.
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| 5th Avenue |
The first stops in NYC, on a good spring day, would be the Statue of Liberty. Do go early to beat the queue. From Battery Park (southern tip of Manhattan), you could take a ferry to Liberty Island.
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| Probably the most well-known statue on earth |
The Statue of Liberty was a present from the French to the US, in celebrating the abolition of slavery and the victory of the Union in the Civil War (or some would argue, to celebrate more than a century of independence from the British).
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| The Statue would welcome migrants arriving in America from Europe |
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| Liberty wasn't 'green' to start with, but after years of oxidation of bronze, she became 'green' |
You could easily spend a day on both Liberty Island and Elis Island (an island opposite Liberty's). We skipped Elis Island and got back to Manhattan. Wall Street is a nice walk northwards from Battery Park.
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| Bull of Wall Street - Am actually expecting a bear in 2019! |
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| Excuse me Mdm... |
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| NYSE |
In the middle of the Financial District was where George Washington, the 1st President took his oath of office.
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| George Washington stands in the middle of the financial district |
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| A historical spot |
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| Tried authentic NYC food for lunch |
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| No I wasn't convinced |
The Empire State Building, completed in 1931 was the tallest building in the world for nearly 40 years. It is an unmissable landmark in NYC. New York state would be known as the Empire State .
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| The sheer height was magnificent |
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| Empire State building lobby |
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| Photo contest of Empire State building |
A quick walk down the street, is St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Gothic design made it stood out from the rest of the buildings.
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| This relatively 'new' cathedral was completed in the 1800s' |
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| The white marbles were posh |
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| Definitely very convenient for donation |
Behind the glitz and glamour of NYC, you still find the hardcore poor, and the homeless. It's a capitalist society, and the rich-poor divide was apparent.
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| A homeless man making the NYC subway home (and it smelt) |
NYC was the site of terrorist attacks in 2001, where the World Trade Center were destroyed. Today, it is the site of the September 11 Memorial and Museum, with 2 gigantic 'pools' located where the twin towers once stood.
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| One of the pools |
Still, there was an air of grieve for the 3000 people who lost their lives
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| As a replacement, completed in 2012, the One World Trade Center is the tallest building in NYC |
To round up the fantastic day, we went up to Rockefeller Tower (The Rock) to catch a glimpse of NYC's skyline, at sunset. An alternative is to go up the Empire State Building for sunset. But this means that you can't actually see Empire State Building itself.
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| NYC Skyline from 'The Rock' |
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| Only spend the $50 ticket if the weather is good |
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| Night view |
In the 90s, most of us grew up stating KFC as our favourite food. I still remember dad would buy a 6-piece bucket for dinner. It was a treat!
Of course, I've shunt KFC for a long time. It's not the healthiest choice out there. But my friend gave one of the most convincing motions - KFC is from the US, and we should try it right?
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| To my horror, it was no where near our expectations - It was disastrous |
It looks the same, has the same items in the set, but the KFC in Malaysia is so much better. It was a sad day for fried chicken lovers.
There are better things that I found, in my second part of exploring New York City:
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