NYC 2nd Time

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hi all,

here i begin to narrate my experiences with new York city on my second visit
there over last weekend. It was me, my boss(shailaja) and sishir das who
began our journey on Friday afternoon at 2.45 pm.We were suppose to leave
at 2 but got delayed as we went to BestBuy(a big electronics shop here in
Delaware) to shop for my handy cam.God..What a variety we have here. Good
that i had Milan to take us there and drop us back to office. Milan has been
quiet a help to select the Canon Divicam.It was a very good bargain as i
got a USD 570 worth cheej for just USD 400.The reason being it was an open
item, meaning that somebody returned it within couple of days of its
purchase...Man,i was happy for saving 170 bucks on this.

As we had carried the bags with us to office leaving immediately after
reachinng office was not a problem.Drive here is always a pleasure
howsoever small it may be.We had around 20 mins drive to reach Wilmington
Bus Station.Got some snaps there as we wait for the bus.I was little woried
looking at the people around,specially with my new camera.All of them
black.God..they scare u sometimes.The bus arrieved on time and we were in
for another long drive of 2 hours to Newyork city.It was a pleasure to
travel by Greyhound,the premier bus service for Newyork.

We reached Port Authority or Penn Station at the heart of MAnhattan at
around 8 pm.Penn station is amazing.It is one among the 3 major stations in
Newyork city.Other two are Grand Central and Madison Square.Penn station
has 4 flowers above the ground and 4 below.The ones below are for tube
train and the one above are for bus.Here they have bus terminals,similer to
terminals at airports where we get into bus thru a small
tunnel.Amazing!!The person we have been waiting for arrieved by 8.30 there
in her Honda SUV(Sports Utility Vehicle).She was a family friend of my
boss.My boss has made arrangements with them to put us upat their
apartmets.and apartments ohh,my god..they are big..rather huge..it was a
3000 sq.feet plus apartments with a backyard and nice frontend with a
fountain.and what a hospitile family!!they have been the best of host i
have seen so far in my life..After 45 mins drive we reach their home in
Hecks Ville,long islands.It didnt took us long to get refresh and have a
feast on dinner..the typical Punjabi one..we had a nice long chatting
session thereafter with the family till 1 o'clock morning.We then bid gd
night to each other with a plan to get up at 7.30..

but it was never to be..we both boyz got ready by 8.30 but both the gals
took a while to get ready.It was not until 11 that we left their place for
manhattan again.Supi,their daughter was again with us to drop us there in
her car.Aunty even gave me her mobile to get in toch with them in case of
any problem.We pass thru China town(their chor bazar)to reach Battery park
on chember street.God..newyork is hot!!!We started to feel the city moment
we got down..There can b no biger problem in manhattan than parking ur car
at peak hours..we experienced the same as it took us 20 mins to actually
get done with that.Battery park is a small park in downtown manhattan,where
we have entire financial markets of newyork situated.one of the things that
we can identify here with mumbai is street hawkers..there r quiet a
few..like fashion stret.we got some nice souveniers for us there..they even
have Spinhx(A big copper ball symbolising earth and unity across the
world,which was once located at the demolished twin towers)..we roam
around the area for a while before we bid goodbye to both the gals.They
both went home to rest.Thereafter we marched towards Statue of
Liberty.There was a long queue but i managed to get the tickets.Not only
that i even squizzed into the line for ferry that takes us there with the
help of a indian guy.he wasa southindian from Bangalore along with his 2
colleagies.Within no time we were on the ferry.Its the same as shown in Kal
Ho NA ho Movie.We can compare this with our gateway of india ferry that
takes us towards Ajantha..only difference this has 2 floors with a open
desk.Needless to say we went to deck.I captured the entire journey onto my
Handycam.It was great.Soon we were on the island that holds the statue.My
God,that place was crowded..we sneaked some snaks and resumed our
journey..lot of snaps,some souveniers.You get one of the best view of
Downtown Manhattan from Statue of liberty.Its a huge structure.We took
snaps from every possible angle there.I even got a $2 statue of Liberty
Coin made in front of my eyes.It was almost 5.30 in evening that we
realised that we have to cover other places as well and that we are
spending too much time there..hence we quickly took a return ferry to reach
Battery Park..This time i realised that my camera is not functioning
properly and a entire roll has been ruined..shit!!that was bad!!I Quickly
came over that as we revisited the Famous Bull the wall Streert..The bull
is a Actual bull made up of steel.its as big as a Reda.Its symbolic of
financial upheavels of financial markets on Wall Street.After taking quiet
a few snaps there we moved towards Newyork Stock Excgange and Federal
Rserve Bank building..I noticed that Wall street is congested just like
apna Dalal Street..There is no place left to grow on the ground and thats
why they are growing taller in Newyork.What a evoluation!!From Wall Street
we moved towards Twin Towers site.Alas!!It must have been amazing to watch
the tallest towers in its prime there.After 9/11 what is left is only a
shadow .They have created a sort of museum there at the site.On display are
snaps of the towers with its history.After praying for the souls of those
who died there,we located a shoping mall just opposite called 21st
Century.Again everything here is larger than life.21st century is just
another example..we spent some time in there.I got a black Nike t shirt for
just $12.It was cool!!

It was almost sunset time..and the place to be was Times Square..Ahh!!its
simply the most glittering part of the world..Times Square is situated is
the heart of uptown Manhattan and hosts a whole lot renowned offices of the
world..JP Morgan,Ernest and Young,HSBC,BAnk of America,JVC..its just
fabulous!!There was no better time for some of the snaps of which we took a
lot..we had very little since morning for our stomoch and so we went in at
Macdonalds and had a feast on chicken sandwich..what a view it offers of
manahattan!!After dinner we again resumed our bhatkanti..which continued
till 1.30 in morning..we were suppose to catch up 1.45 but we missed it and
have to settle for one at 2.48 am..we sat on the Station like many others
who were waiting for the same train.soon the train arrieved and after a
hour journey we reached Hecks Ville station..it was fun in train as we chat
with some chikni firang gals,one of whom was just engaged..god..she was
happy,wasnt she??we then picked up a cab and reached home at 4.30 am..quiet
a long night it was!!it didnt took long before we were fast asleep in our
bed.

Next day we got up by 9.00 am..had a delicious paratha with dahi..the nasta
was big enough to keep us going till evening.Mr Amarjit and fly have been
really nice hosts!!Soon after we decided upon our itinerary for the day and
left home for day 2 of our visit.We followed the same route to reach
manhattan this time i.e cab+train.At 1.45 pm we were at Madison Square
Garden station.Madison Square is the most populer auditorium in NYC.So much
so that it has a Travel tour of the place which lasts for a hour..we missed
that as i came to know abt that on my return to delaware..anyway,on the
streets it was bright and sunny day..i recorded manhattan in the sunlight
for abt 10-15 mins before we reached the 1st destination of the day i.e
MADAM TUSSADS WAX MUSEUM..

What a place!!and what a art!!they are perfect till the last stich!!on its
3 floors Madam tussads have captured the essence of famous personalities
from all over the world..We have THE ROCK OF WWF right at the entry..then
the HULK and hosts of others..i have snaps with almost all..the one liked
the most are ones of JULIA ROBERTS,J LOPEZ,MOHHAMAD ALI,MARYLIN MANROE,LADY
DIANA,JOHN TROVOLTA,RONALD REGAN,JFKENEDDY,THE BEATLES,BILL GATES,STEVEN
SPELBERG..god i cant remember all this moment!!but i definitely missed
many..to mention a few..STEFFI GRAF,JAMES BOND,AMITABH BACCHAN,BORIS
BECKER,JENIFER ANISTON,ARNOLD.They even have a virtual tour of newyork in a
dome theatre there..plus a whether show where u can see ur self narrating
the weather in any part of US that u opt for.London they say has many of
them..i may try to go there on my way back..We never realised how 5 hours
passed by as come out of the museum..

now it was food time so we had a shikkh kabab from the streets of NYC.its
cheap and tasty.wow,it was a treat for the tounge!!We linger around
manhattan for some time and then turned our directions towards River End
for the Independance Day Fire Work by Macy's.On our way,we visited the
GRAND CENTRAL station..its more like a palace than a station.huge
shandeliirs hanging from the roof which is almost as high as a 10 flory
building.It reminded me of VT for a while..but frankly VT is nothing in
front of Grand Central..It is GRAND..REALLY GRAND!!

we also pass by the Crysler building,2nd tallest biulding in NYC..1100 feet
and 80 floors.wow we were feasting our eyes to one of the best architecture
in the modern time..THE MANHATTAN.it was almost 8.30 when we reached the
United Nations HQ office by the side of Hudson River..Thre was huge rush
for the fireworks and soon we realised why people rush in in such a huge
number.Macy's July 4 fireworks at NYC is the one the most magnificiant
things that one can treat his eyes with..Its a half an hour show where the
sky is lit up with colourful fireworks.Its a sight one shud store in his
eyes..absolute feast!!It is considered to be one of the top 2 events of
this kind.the other happens in Sydney on new year eve.I did no mistake in
capturing all in my handy cam.

From thereon again we went to Times square..Now u must be thinking what the
hell is TIMES SQUARE!!and i will tell you though its as small as Nariman
point as area,u just cant get over it.Its the ultimate place to be in
NYC.after enjoying the night and glitter we managed to get the same train
back home..this time unfortunately there were no gals..and we were tired
too.we both slept in the train..and again once we crash on our beds at 4.15
am..

Monday July 5,2004.This was the last day of our mini tour to NYC.And what
we had our lists was Broklyn Bridge and Empire State building.We again had
a home made punjabi nasta and then Amarjit uncle gave us lift till Broklyn
in the afternoon..We reached Broklyn by 3.30 pm.Broklyn is like Chembur of
bombay..Its all poor people who reside in there and thats why the crime
rate is little more.No traveller can dare to go to Broklyn after dark..its
sort of scary!!so we hurried up..and spent no time in reaching the
bridge..U know what i walked the same path that Shahruck Khan walked when
he sang Har ghadi badal rahi hai rang zindagi in Kal Ho Na Ho..the bridge
offers one of the best views of Downtown Mahattan across the river..and its
all wood.It was gr8 being there!!

We soon wound up from there and turn our attention towards Empire State
Building(ESB).This is one place in the world that i always wanted to be!!I
was literally running and making my colleague Sishir run on the stteets in
the hope that i can spend some more time in ESB.I got in and god..i was so
much happy!!i was bursting with it!!we took out the tickets and
straightaway went for NYC virtual tour.Its like a zipper dipper drive...but
ur sits are stuck to ground..only the platform on which they are stuck
turns 250 degrees all ways..its intended to give visitors a feel from
helicopter..and at the end they make u feel like it.Jabrango..simply
jabrango!!after the show we waited for our turn to elevators to reach floor
80 of the ESB.U know how much it took to reach there..exactly 2
mins..zoooooooooop.U felt nothing inside..on 80th floor u get another
elevators for reach floor 85 where they have ESB observatory..its the
terrace of ESB..walls on all the four side only just above ur
chest..protective wiring.I was there..i was there..i have never thought in
my dreams that i wud be there on the top of ESB one day..I have been
fascinated by this structure since my childhood..U can just imagine my
happines..it knew no boundries!!i was just bursting on the top there..and
mind u i was not the only one..there were atleast 1000 people on that floor
at that time..I took 2 full rounds of the observatory and then went back
down as we have to reach Penn stattion to meet Shailaja at 7.30 pm.Agar
mera bas chalta to us raat me udhar hi rah jata!! just a wishful thinking ;
-)

We were already late for the 8.30 bus which eventually we miss.Fortunately
we have next soon at 9.30..i grabbed some drinks quickly bfore we board on
the bus..and soon we were on our way back!I kept turning back towards the
skyscappers of manahattan from the bus like a kid till the time it
disappeared from my sight..after that i went to sleep..it was almost 11.30
when we reched Wilmington Bus Statyion.We got our stuff out..Each of us had
4 bags with them..we got a cab and got back to the apts at 12.30 am..I was
damn hungry.Me and shailaja went to Pracheer's apts where he gave us some
sabudana poha to eat..it was stomochfull for me..i showed him all my
shopping..and then it was time to bed..

NEW YORK CITY...ITS HOT,VIBRANT..THE MOST HAPPENING PLACE ON THE FACE OF
THIS EARTH..U MAY FEEL THAT IAM EXGAGIRATING MY EXPERIENCES..BUT MAN,U HAVE
TO BE HERE TO FEEL IT..I BET U WILL SHARE SIMILER FEELINGS IF NOT THE
SAME..STATUE OF LIBERTY,TIMES SQUARE,BATTER PARK,WALL
STREEET,NYSE,NASDAQ,MADAM TUSSADS,MACY'S FIRE WORK,BROKLYN BRIDGE,EMPIRE
STATE BUILDING..I GOT ALL THAT I WANTED..BUT U KNOW WHAT AFTER VISITING IT
FOR THE 2ND TIME..IAM STILL ON FOR THE 3RD TIME..U KNOW WHY B'USE I LOVE
NEW YORK.... ITS NEXT ONLY TO YOU all ;-)

miss u all..

sACHIN

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Photos

Bull in Downtown Manhattan
This is one of my Best Snaps!!