Philadelphia

After the West Coast trip we flew back to Raleigh on a domestic flight, collected our luggages which we left in UNC, then proceeded to the bus station to take a Greyhound bus to our first destination along the East Coast: Philadelphia.

Initially I had some reservations about long distance buses like Greyhound, having heard stories about shady passengers. But having taken enough of them during the East Coast trip, I concluded that they are safe enough to take. Philly was a good 9 hour ride away, so we took an overnight bus, reaching the following morning a little sleep deprived.

One of my first photos there.

Philadelphia is a very compact city, so compact that the total amount of money we spent on travelling within the city itself was zero, because we could easily walk from place to place.

This, and a map, were all we need to navigate around Philadelphia.

I am ashamed to say that prior to going to Philadelphia, I knew nothing about it [ok that applies to practically the entire US.] That same morning we signed up for a tour in its Independence National Historical Park, and it was during the tour that I realised the important role Philly played in US history. For example, it was the temporary capital of the United States while Washington D.C. was under construction!

The Independence Hall was where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and signed.

Other important buildings within the Park included the Congress Hall where the United States Congress was once seated.

The Reading Terminal Market was the first (and probably only) market that I ever saw in the States! They are a little similar to the markets that we have in Singapore, but they sell mostly cooked food there instead of raw food.

The Philadelphia City Hall is situated right in the middle of two major roads, and owning to its height and impressive city planning, one can see it from faraway and use it as a landmark.

Something weird about Philly is that there are sculptures randomly placed all over the city.

Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Beautiful architecture.

See what I meant with regards to randomly placed sculptures?

The Love sculpture. Ha mountain tortoise me never knew it was a 'franchise'.

We were pleasantly surprised when we first saw it, but as we moved to other cities later we realised they were everywhere.

Penn's Landing! Not quite a wharf like the one in San Francisco, but close enough.

Chinatown in Philly. It felt more 'Hong Kong' than 'China' to me though. 

The Liberty Bell at the Liberty Bell Center, with the Independence Hall in the background. The Bell too was an important historical artefact.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art which we did not go, because it was a tad expensive and we were afraid we would not be able to appreciate the exhibits.

We did, however, visit the Eastern State Penitentiary, a prison that once became a model for other prisons to follow, in terms of architecture and operating procedures.

On our last day in Philly, we visited the Christ Church, which was a stone's throw from our hostel. This church is famous because it was once attended by early American leaders like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

Another place of interest very near our hostel was the Elfreth's Alley, famous for being one of the oldest residential streets in the States.

Philadelphia will be ranked alongside San Francisco as my favourite cities in the United States. Philadelphia has a little of everything: it has a rich history like D.C, it is metropolitan quite like Singapore, it has a nice waterfront like San Francisco, and there is plenty of hustle and bustle in the area where the Reading Terminal Market and Chinatown are located, but not overly noisy and crowded to feel uncomfortable in. The streets are easy and safe to navigate and walk, even at night.

After Philadelphia our next stop was New York City where we set up a 'base', allowing us to travel to the Niagara Falls and Boston without the need to lug our luggages around. It was a pity I never got the chance to visit Carnegie Mellon University, but Pittsburgh was just too far away.

Philadelphia