Final days in US

Our original plan was to stay in Boston on the 30th, then take a morning bus on the 31st back to NYC and then to the airport. Ultimately we were afraid there would not be enough time, hence we were back in NYC on the 30th, spending the night in NYC instead, forgoing a US$8 deposit we placed at the Boston hostel.

Boston was the only place that I visited in the entire US to have airport-like departure and arrival information for trains.

They had one for long distance buses too! You have no idea how helpful this was to us.

Since we had time on the 30th, we headed down to Rockefeller Center located in the heart of NYC, a skyscraper where the Top of the Rock Observation Deck was located for us to obtain bird's eye view of the city.

Central Park. As I mentioned earlier, a park right smack in the middle of a metropolitan city.

The skyscraper directly in front was the Empire State Building. Far in the background one can see the new World Trade Center under construction.

We were there till night!

A panorama shot of the area would have been awesome, but crowd levels were too high for me to find a good position to do so. Maybe I can try stitching some of my photos next time.

Going up to the Top of the Rock was a memorable way to end my entire student exchange trip to the United States of America.

My major accomplishments:

1) Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, where I visited the Museum of Natural Sciences,

2) Asheville, North Carolina, where I did ice skiing,

3) Outer Banks, North Carolina, where I saw the iconic lighthouses which basically represent North Carolina,

4) Atlanta, capital of Georgia, where I visited the world's largest aquarium and went to the top of Stone Mountain Park,

5) Richmond, capital of Virginia, where I visited the Maymont Park and visited the Museum of Fine Arts,

6) Washington D.C, capital city of the United States of America, where I saw important structures and buildings like the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument,

7) Orlando, Florida, where I visited and had fun at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks,

8) Miami, Florida, where I stepped onto the world famous beaches,

9) Las Vegas, Nevada, where I found out for myself why it is appropriately known as the Sin City,

10) Los Angeles, California, where I saw the Avenue of the Stars and the home of L.A Lakers,

11) San Francisco, California, where I walked a little of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fisherman Wharf,

12) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I learnt so much more about the history of the U.S,

13) Boston, capital of Massachusetts, where I visited MIT and Harvard,

14) Salem, Massachusetts, where I visited the Witch Museum and first learnt about the Salem Witch Trials,

15) New York City, where I watched Broadway shows, saw the Statue of Liberty, and felt the hustle and bustle of Times Square,

Besides all these major cities, I also visited the Grand Canyon, the Yosemite Valley, the Niagara Falls. and went whale watching in Plymouth, where I experienced first hand the awesomeness of nature.

Also not to forget, the one week or so I stopped over in South Korea, where I entered the Demilitarized Zone and came closest to North Korea than I ever did, and opened my eyes to a country that could strike a balance between keeping ahead with times and maintaining their own culture and language.

While expensive, I guess my trip had been a worthwhile one, and I am glad to have went on this exchange!

New York City

Prior to this month long trip, I went to New York City twice; first time was my first night in the United States where I touched down at JFK International Airport. My objective then was to meet two of my friends who were there earlier, so we would take a train down to North Carolina together. My second time in NYC was to attend Singapore Day 2012 at Prospect Park. Both times I didn't manage to have a good look and feel of NYC.

NYC is easy to navigate like Philadelphia, because streets and avenues are numbered appropriately. The difference is that NYC is way bigger than Philadelphia, so we couldn't simply walk from one place to another. The good thing is that NYC has a very comprehensive subway system, so with a map and a 7 day unlimited pass, we were able to go anywhere we wanted.

NYC is exactly what people say it is: the city that never sleeps. Even when it was late at night, the city was still almost as crowded as it was in the day, and the area around Times Square was overwhelmingly bright.

World's best burgers. I think its true.

Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Not too bad. A little pricey, but I came to realise later that everything in NYC is expensive.

It was like all the movie scenes that I watched displayed right before my eyes.

越夜越美丽。

Central Park. A huge park right smack in the middle of the city.

To get the cheapest tickets to watch Wicked we had to enter a lottery on the day of the show. And very amazingly, we got the tickets on our first entry in the lottery.

When a roadside stall is so successful that there are queues, you know the food must be good. And in this case, cheap too.

We took the Staten Island ferry which was a free ferry that ferries people between  Manhattan and  Staten Island, passing by the Statue of Liberty along the way.

We went to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on one of the days, but the only shop that really caught my eye was Sony's. I think the electronics there were really cheaper than outside.

We went down to Wall Street! Pictured here is the New York Stock Exchange.

the 9/11 Memorial. It was a pity the museum was not ready when we were there. Till today I still feel sad whenever I get reminded of the attacks.

At the United Nations Headquarters. Didn't stay long there as we decided not to go for the guided tour.

Watched the Mamma Mia...

...and the Jersey Boys, which was highly recommended. Personally liked Jersey Boys more than Mamma Mia.

Watched the Phantom of the Opera too, but was too abstract for me to understand haha.

Brooklyn Bridge. Very impressive architecture.

Panoramic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Nintendo Store! Too bad it was closed by the time I got there.

On board the ferry that brought us to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!

Statue of Liberty. It was closed for renovations, so we could only take photos from outside.

Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Ellis Island was like Singapore's St John's Island in the early days, where all immigrants into the US had to go to first to get through immigration and get checked for diseases.

The Manhattan skyline.

I don't really have comments for New York. Its a nice place I guess, but maybe not exactly a place where I will want to stay in. The highlight of my New York City tour was probably watching all the Broadway shows, which weren't too bad.

New York City

NC Zoo + Duke University + Singapore Day 2012

After so many roadtrips, fatigue and financial worries were starting to set in, not to mention the never ending schoolwork that just kept piling up on us. After the Atlanta trip, the following three weeks were all low key, low cost events haha.

First weekend of April we went to the North Carolina Zoo, which was about an hour's drive away from us. The zoo was split into two major areas, the North American area and the African area. The zoo was not spectacular, but still it was a nice getaway from the otherwise monotonous weekend.

NC Zoo

Second weekend of April was a long weekend with Good Friday. Originally we had planned to go to the Outer Banks, but various circumstances caused us to cancel our plans. We ended up walking around nearby University Mall and watching a movie on Saturday, and a trip down to Duke University on Sunday.

As an attraction, Duke was famous for two things, the Chapel and the Botanical Gardens.

This was still at UNC. It was a sundial outside the Morehead Planetarium, and was where we waited for the free Robertson Scholar bus to bring us to Duke.

At Duke University!

Their famous Chapel.

The closest I can get to Europe while on this exchange.

Duke University's Botanical Gardens. It was a nice Sunday, it was crowded and flowers were in full bloom.

Duke University

Third weekend of April saw us taking a trip up to New York to attend Singapore Day 2012. Together with other Singaporean students from UNC and Duke, we took an overnight 'Chinatown' bus on Friday, spent Saturday at Prospect Park where the event was held, and took another overnight 'Chinatown' bus on Saturday, reaching back on Sunday morning.

As with Singapore Days in the previous years, there were the food, the performances, and the many exhibits, including the IPPT static stations which they never failed to bring every year.

In anticipation of another of Singaporeans' favourite pasttime: queuing. This time its for authentic Singapore food that we cannot find in the States.

Chicken rice! Other food I ate there included roti prata, kway chap, rojak, and teh tarik.

They even brought in SAF's Mobile Field Kitchen...

...complete with GS benches and tables!

Also on display, a bus stop...

...and a typical HDB void deck!

Sitting on the grass in front of the stage and watching performances.

The event ended with Mambo Jumbo.

Spent the remainder of the day at a shopping mall and a Chinese restaurant where we had delicious porridge for dinner.

Singapore Day 2012, New York