End of the trip

19th Jul was the last day of this trip. Few days back, bro mentioned he has a bottle of beer in the fridge. I finished it on my last night. Perhaps it was late, bro didn't drink much. Hee... something good to end with.

My return trip wasn't as bad as the coming one. Thanks to Futuro. I bought this after a few days as I didn't expect to experience soreness at home on days that I didn't go out.  

In fact, i was enjoying the HK entertainment game show 獎門人 by Eric Tsang.

Although I'll miss little Cheyenne numberous facial expressions but am still glad that I'm back to my homeland.

Some differences are the complexity of the Subway routes, the difference in the design of their washroom, the cleanliness of the water, the need having to turn on both the cold n warm water tap to get room temperature, the difference in currency notes.

Their notes are of the same color n size, only difference is no. (ie. dollar value). No comments abt note size but glad that we adopt different color in our notes.

It's through seeing and experiences that make one appreciate what they are having presently. :)

Chrysler Building

13 Jul 2008 (Sun)

TW CTI news reported that Chrysler is taken over by Middle East... and interviewed a couple of New Yorkers.

Extracted article
The landmark Chrysler Building has been sold to a group of Middle East investors for an undisclosed price.

Bloomberg News says a person with knowledge of the deal said the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund was set to pay about $800 million for the 77-story building. Developer Tishman Speyer Properties still owns a stake and will continue to manage it.

The Chrysler Building opened in 1930 and was briefly New York's tallest tower before the Empire State Building was completed the following year. - extracted

This is definitely a sad piece of news to the New Yorkers. I may not be one of them but I feel the same. Chrysler building had been a symbol to New York/ America since 1930 and it should belong to Americans. On the other hand, I understand such theory does not apply to the business world.

The hidden Chrysler from Top of  the Rock

 















Chrysler from ESB




 

Empire State Building

14 Jul 2008 (Monday)

I'm here (ESB) again to see the day view as the last visit on the night view had leave a deep impression over the last 2 years. I think my 'interest' in buildings developed from here and I became a fan of Nat Geo... ;p

Although this country is a shopping paradise to me but my No. 1 'things to do' for this trip (aside little Cheyenne) is to visit ESB. No. 2 came up to be Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock). Both buildings are skyscrapers in New York City. My purpose is to see its day view and Chrysler building from ESB while Top of the Rock is to see ESB from eye level. In short, I'm only interested in Chrysler and ESB. ;p

Mom asked:

Why did you take so many pictures of this 2 buildings? Didn't you took a lot 2 years ago?

My reply:

Much time, effort and money were spent to build them. It's not easy. Plus, these 2 buildings were built in 1930 and 1931. It was indeed remarkable to build such tall and sturdy buildings in those days. What I did is merely to take more pictures from different angles to show slight appreciation of their hardwork...

Night view is beautiful but day view allows you to see things are clearly. Like most ang mo countries, most buildings are brown and grey as they were built many years ago. It may look dull but there are a couple of significant buildings you can see from ESB.  

Overall, ESB won the BEST view in my short lists of skyscrapers. ;p

G-star

G-Star originates in Netherlands. It is a rather young brand in the demin market.

  

Sometime in Dec07 or Jan08, I don't remember why but I'm into their jeans. Checked out the store @ Paragon. The designs were limited, the sales person attended to me and showed me the latest designs. It costs $300 plus! Those not as new designs also priced at $200 plus. I still tried out a few pairs but I was praying I will not take fancy to any. Knowing myself, I knew i would still buy if it's something I like despite it costs $300 plus. Thank goodness, i didn't see any design that caught my eyes. But worth mentioning is the comfortness of their jeans, it's really good. ;)

Bro brought Mom and I to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (ie. factory outlet) to 'pick' some branded and yet not that expensive stuffs. G-star is of course not to be missed for bro and me. Bro is also a fan of G-star. I managed to find a pair of jeans but the length was too long. Bro managed to find the rite size n length for me. SIL says bro is good at finding stuffs (experience gained from doing groceries). ;p

We entered G-star again to look for clothes. The focus was on jeans on our 1st entry... Well, I wanted a cotton jacket. Bro managed to find what I wanted again. The store area wasn't really that big but if you didn't pay enough attention, there are things that you'll missed out. I guess bro already understand their 'display style' thus he can find things faster....

Green Green Green

Even building & signage are not spared!

Global Warming

What is Global Warming?

Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.

It was 2 years ago that I first visited States. Both trips were made in summer but I can feel the effects of global warming during the second trip.

1st trip, weather was warm but the wind was cooling, no perspiration.

2nd trip, weather was warmer and i would perspire.

See below for extracted reports

Arctic Ocean sea ice – one of the most visible indicators for global warming – may be headed for another record-breaking summer decline.

The ice’s seasonal shrinkage in 2007 smashed records, reaching a September minimum of 2.6 million square miles – some 23 percent smaller than the previous record, set in 2005. If it sets another record this year, it would mark the fifth season of record declines since 1998.

A US-based team has told a conference in California that the northern polar waters could be ice-free in summer by 2013.

Satellite images taken since 1979 show that ocean ice cover in the region has declined steadily, with an estimated 38,000 square miles now being lost every year. Computer models predict sea ice could vanish from the Arctic ocean completely as early as 2040.

The loss of Arctic sea ice will have a dramatic impact on polar bears and other species that hunt among the ice floes, but it will also trigger erratic shifts in climate that will be felt around the world, scientists believe. The bitter Arctic fronts that blow across Colorado and the western United States may warm and bring less snow, while winter storm tracks across parts of Europe are expected to intensify and unleash torrential downpours. - extracted

I watched documentaries on global warming. 1 degree warmer is disastrous. There are findings and reports on the actual figures but let me put it in simple words.

Temperature rises, icebergs melted, water level increases, countries will be affected by hurricanes, flood or earthquakes etc..

I cannot imagine what will happen in the next 10 years...

My observations

Besides the 'soapy' water, washroom is one of the other issues that I'm uncomfortable with. As shown, the doors are not fully shut within the cubicle.

It's weird to see outside the cubicle through the 'slim lobang' (vice versa). I'm not sure if this is the standard design for all washroom in the States but I can say most that I entered are designed this way. I tried to analysis the reason/s for such design.

The one and only reason I could think of is to ensure SAFETY. One can't commit any crimes inside the cubicle. Not that I want to think so negatively, but such acts are possible in this country.

See this range of $1 notes. They are all $1 but why are they printed differently. Haa... I managed to figure out fast and share my findings to bro n SIL, not giving them much time to think to show my 'cleverness'. ;p


But also to show i too 'eng' liao, to examine such small details. Haa...

Nice Buildings

2 years ago, when I visited Empire State Building, I saw this unique building and had caught my eye. It’s Chrysler Building. It has been my favourite skyscaper in the last 2 years. ESB has taken the Best View in my ranking. The city is neatly structured, every avenue and street. It looked marvellous when the lightings of other buildings are on.


My Reviews
2002 London Eye, London – brown n grey buildings overview
2002 Olympic Tower, Munich – strong wind during end winter
2006 Empire State Building, New York – Best View (evening/nite)
2007 Taipei 101 Tower, Taipei – amazing speed of the lift
2008 Top of the Rock, New York – to see ESB
2008 Empire State Building, New York – Best View (day: to confirm soon)

Some background information

Building: Chrysler

Year: 1930

Level: 77

Height: 319M 1046Ft

Chief Architect: William Van Alen

Building: ESB

Year: 1931

Level: 102

Height: 381M 1250Ft

Chief Architect: Shreve, Lamb and Harmon

Building: TP 101

Year: 2004

Level: 101

Height: 509M 1670Ft

Chief Architect: C.Y. Lee & Partner

Chrysler

ESB

ESB

TP101

A long day

Mom and I went out early to buy bus tickets to catch the bus @ 1130. This bus comes once every hour, quite punctual I would say. :)

Kind Act #1

Mom entered the inner seat and a man in front of us helped to ‘straighten the back of the seat’ (an empty seat in front of mom) to give her more leg space.

After an hour of bus ride, we reached New York City: Port Authority bus terminal. Upon our exit, a Chinese man (40-50s) approached us. I would have ignored him n walked off based on my ‘cold’ character but seeing that Mom is with me, I decided to ‘entertain’ him. As expected, he asked for money. Not concerned with his reason/s, I decided to give $2 when he asked for $6.

* The man hanged around the area after we walked off.. probably I didn't give enough.

SIL had helped to get tickets for Top of the Rock from Rockefeller Center @ 1500. We had lunch @ Mcd. Hee… I was craving for fries even b4 I came here. I’m rather surprised to hear McD playing oldies. They played Belinda Carlisle: Circle in the Sand. Wow… this is one of my favourite songs when I was young. This song is exactly 20 yrs old now. ;p

Kind Act #2
A HK auntie left her branded purse in Mcd. A teenage gal went after her to return. :)

We reached Rockefeller Center 15 mins b4 ticket time and were allowed to enter early. They didn't check the timing of my ticket, guess they just wana control the number of people going up during each interval. The lift wasn’t as fast as TP101 (being the Tallest building now, the speed of the lift is super fast too), but it gives a different feeling to the visitors. The lights are off once the lift door closes; the ceiling of the lift is transparent. There are lightings and lasers in the passageway as the lift rises with trance music being played.The purpose of this trip is to take pictures of Empire State Building. In order to take pictures of ESB, you need to be at another skyscraper. I remembered seeing Rockefeller Center 2 years ago but we had already made plans to visit ESB then thus Rockefeller Center was skipped.

There are 3 levels of observatory decks, one level up after each level. One entrance pays all. :) Some tickets come in different prices for different levels. :(

Done with the Top of the Rock at 1600, I wanted to bring Mom to Coach at Madison Avenue. Unable to locate Madison Avenue, we saw H&M at 5th Avenue. We went in for the aircon. It was 6 plus when we came out and it's time to go home. We are at Grand Central Station. Bro told us to take line S or 7 to Times Square, walk underground (poor ventilation) for about 5 minutes to Port Authority bus terminal (where we came this morning).

There are lots of hiccups on the way home. Personally, I don't appreciate their subway system in NYC, it is indeed confusing. You'll be approached for directions if you do hold a subway map. We reached home only 2 hours later.

Something delighting to end with. There are fireflies outside Ciso's house. I took a video clip of them.

Water Contamination in Caldwell

Bro was informed by Ciso of the news and a notification letter was issued to every household.

Caldwell water is contaminated with [fecal coliform/E.coli]

Fecal coliform [or E.coli] bacteria were found in the water supply on July 8, 2008. These bacteria can make you sick, and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems.

Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human and animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

The water system is being flushed to remove any contamination and additional samples will be collected to confirm water quality. We will inform you when tests show no bacteria and you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem within 2 days. – information extracted

Bro went Foodtown to grab distilled/spring water. In SG, spring water is better than distilled water but in the States, it’s the opposite. The spring water is probably not as clean as those had been distilled.

  

This made things harder for Mom who had to cook for us. Imagine she had to clean those vegetables or other food using water that bro bought or water that had been boiled. All of us had to be extra careful and remind each other to use hand sanitizer before we come in contact with little Cheyenne.

Water here is different from SG. Hands are kinda soapy even after wash. Just not the kind of clean feeling like in SG…

The water ban was lifted 2 days later as estimated. :)

Little Cheyenne

She's the reason for this trip. The lightest baby I've known, 2.2kg.

The flower bootee beside her is of course bought by her 姑姑, me loh. ;p

Stinko brownie & mini Wardrobe

Finally reached home after the long journey. Put aside the purpose of this trip, Mom can’t wait to give all the ang baos and gold necklaces etc for little Cheyenne to her parents. For me, I can’t wait to unload their goods. Haa…

I had a 28”, a slightly bigger than cabin size luggage n a big black bag consisting of items for the family of 3. Amazingly, my stuffs probably take up only 5% in all.

  

Upon unloading, I realized my brownie stinks! It was that 紅糟 (Red grain wine residue) mentioned in the previous post: 1st paragraph. It leaked and their stuffs were wet. Luckily, most of them were in plastic. I would have packed it in ziplock bag if Mom didn't give me till the last minute. =[

Bro finally cleared their stuffs out from brownie but I still find it stinking. SIL says I could try to use baking soda to deodorizing it. (didn't find it useful after 2 days and decided to use Gucci: Envy instead)

Bro and SIL prepared a mini walk-in wardrobe for us. The pictures should be able to tell how mini it is. ;)

Back to e States

Slept @ 7am (not entirely due to packing but also some hsekeeping). Woke up @ 8 plus. Was given a bottle of something (Mom made n store in a glass jar). My job was to keep it. I wrapped it and packed in.

Reached Terminal 1 with an extra charge of $1. Only to realise we boarded the taxi @ 0929, peak hour ends @ 0930. :(

SGP to HK (1100 - 1500+)

To transit @ HK but it takes me a while to realise that I'm supposed to enter the Departure Gate though my gate no. is not confirm @ the moment. ;p

Prior to this, I had checked from the Cat Pac counter n was told the flight will be delayed for an hour ; each person is compensated with HK$75 (~S$13) for meals @ Level 6 (all food restaurants upon indicating flight no.)

It wasn't easy to find food initially. We came to gate 60+ n saw only 2 restaurants. One is Taiwanese Beef noodles, the other is more of western cafe style: sandwiches, pizza, spaghetti etc. Our choice was easily given to the cafe, seems to have more variety at one glance. ;)

We walked back to gate 35 where we were supposed to board the plane later. Still early, decided to walk to gate 15 to get SKII for SIL. Saw a notice on liquid restrictions for passengers on board.

All items of Liquids, Aerosols, Gels (LAG) must be stored in 100 ml containers which fit comfortably within a re-sealable transparent plastic bag of a maximum capacity not exceeding 1 litre.

A group of ang mo started gathering people to sing song. Didn't really pay attention to their lyrics but it was in both English and Mandarin.

I'm generally satisfied with Cathay (as compared to Thai's long haul flight). New design of seats with adjustable headrest, enhanced personal entertainment system, inflight laptop power for all classes of passengers, more secured cup holder, etc.

I'm in pain throughout the flight, aching n continuous pain for at least 10 hrs. Much as I'm physically tired, I couldn't bring myself to sleep. (ie. insufficient sleep for thurs n fri nite).

Finally reached John Fitzgerald Kennedy terminal 7 (ulu pandan terminal). Bro had reached much earlier to prevent jam from the earlier fireworks (4th Jul - US National Day).

Passed the customs (one of the last few) but the baggages were not ready. My 28" brownie was real heavy that I can't carry it down. Luckily, a kind soul offered his strength.

Lesson #1

The importance of man (strength) when you are travelling alone.

Lesson #2

Pack it (weight) within your limits.

Finally, we cleared all obstacles n i saw a head popping out. Yes, it's bro. ;)

We walked to his Audi A4 and was about to board the car (front passenger seat), I saw the steering wheel. Yes, I'm in America!