New York City

I have been to New York City (NYC) many times and each time I either have a new place to go or have a new experience.  This trip is no exception.  I recently spent two weeks here, with my son, Shawn and his family.  I am very lucky I have a place to stay.  Hotels in NYC are expensive, at least $200 a night.  Those around Times Square are even more.

Since I have a lot of time I planned our my itinerary carefully, going to places or try new things that I normally would not have time to.  The first place I went to was the One World Observatory (OWO), on top (101st Floor) of the new World Trade Center.  I did not get a chance to go up to the old World Trade Center, which I regretted.  It costs $37 to go up to the observation floor.  If you buy it online, it's $34.  On the way up, they try to sell you the services of iPad that identifies different landmarks in NYC for $10.  If you are familiar with NYC, you don't need to waste your money on this.  It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day, the day I went.  You can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island clearly. Looking north, you can see all the NYC landmarks, Empire State Building, Chrysler Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, etc.  It is quite an impressive sight, although I am not sure how many people can afford the $37, especially with a big family.

Looking North, with New Jersey and Hudson River on the left

Looking South, you can see Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Just before the OWO is the 9/11 Museum.  In the courtyard is the memorial.

9/11 Memorial with names of all who died, inscribed on the side.

An online ticket to the 9/11 Museum costs $24.  Reasonable considering how much things you see in the museum.  I was planning to spend about 2 hours there but I ended spending almost 4 hours.  You can't help but stop and read and listen to the events that lead up and after the incident.  There were a lot of sad stories.  The toughest one to swallow was seeing pictures of people jumping from the building when the plane crashed into one of the towers.  They had no choice - either get burned up or jump to their death.  At the end of the visit, as an American, you get angry.  How these idiots can be so callous about other people's lives.

One of the beams that got burnt and twisted.

A fire truck that came to the rescue got smashed

Since reading the book on the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough, I've always wanted to go back and look at the bridge again.  I now have a better appreciation for the bridge, what it took to build it and the amount of sacrifice by everyone involved, especially Washington Roebling, who became debilitated after suffering decompression sickness while working on the bridge.  I took the A train to the High Street station in Brooklyn and walked to the bridge.  There were many people walking and riding their bicycles from the Manhattan side.  After a while, I had enough of the crowd and decided to walk to Manhattan Bridge, where I can take a nicer picture of Brooklyn Bridge.  I took many shots from dusk to night.  Here is one of them.

Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan

I also had the opportunity to visit the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum near 45th St and 12th Avenue.  It is very similar to the Midway in San Diego except that here they have a prized exhibit, the Space Shuttle Enterprise.  I enjoyed learning about the aircraft carrier, the various fighter planes and the space shuttle.

The Intrepid Aircraft Carrier

A Biking Adventure in New York City

Like many cities in the US, New York City (NYC) is moving towards being greener and a simpler life-style.  One of the ways to do this is encouraging more bikes and biking in the city.  Many cities are deploying what is known as bike-sharing programs.  In NYC it's citi bike, named after the main sponsor citi Bank.

I have plenty of time on this trip so I decided to give citi bike a try.  My son signed up for a 1-year membership while we were shopping at Whole Foods.  They have a promotional $25 discount and with a citi Bank card, you get another 10% off.  So, from $155 a year, it was down to about $117 for the first year.  Incidentally, the guy handling the promotion went to the University of Arizona in Tucson.  What a small world.

You can checkout bikes for 1 day ($12), 3 days ($24) or buy a 1 year membership

A bike station with citi bikes

I started at Riverside Park and 87th St.  There's a beautiful bike and pedestrian path next to the Hudson River.  As I rode south, New Jersey is on my right, on the other side of the river.  It was a beautiful sunny day, in the low 80s'.  I passed the many piers and soon I came to the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum at about 50th St.   At 42nd St. is where the Circle Line is.  Here you can take a cruise around Manhattan.  I recommend this, to get a different perspective of Manhattan Island.

I noticed that I've already used up almost 25 minutes so I decided to dock in the bicycle.  I am allowed 45 minutes otherwise I have to pay a surcharge.  For 1- or 3-day rentals, you get only 30 minutes.  This is bad and good.  Bad because you have to consciously think about the time limit and then find a station.  Good because it forces you to stop and catch your breadth and enjoy the city.

My goal was to ride to downtown Manhattan, at Battery Park.  This is where you take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  This is also where you take the free ferry to Staten and Ellis Islands.  The place was packed with tourists.  I found a quiet place to read my Kindle for about 30 minutes.  Then I walked towards the Staten Island ferry and see if I can take the ferry.  I've done it several times but since it's free, why not?  But the place was very crowded so I decided to take a downtown shuttle to Seaport Village.  This is a very popular tourist shopping center with many restaurants here.  Unfortunately, it was being renovated.  I decided to get another bike and ride to Chinatown.

Now I am riding my bike in heavy downtown traffic.  A little bit scary.  You have to be on full alert, especially vehicles on the side of the road opening their doors.  I got to Chinatown fine and returned my bike at a station at Columbus Park.  I ate lunch at a restaurant where I've noticed before but never tried.  It specializes in Chinese dumplings.  Surprisingly, it was very crowded, especially with non-Asians.  When I saw the menu, I knew why.  The prices were dirt cheap.  You could get 5 dumplings for $1.50 and a plate of Dan Dan Noodles for $3.50.  Where can you get that?

Columbus Park, next to Chinatown.  Many Chinese senior citizens hang out here.

Great dumplings at an amazingly low price

Very busy lunch time crowd at Tasty Dumpling

After lunch, I decided to have a haircut.  There are several Chinese barbershops on one of the small streets.  You can't beat the price here.  $7 for men's haircut, $8 for a woman.  I pay $14 plus tips for my haircut in Phoenix.  I was peeking into one of them when a barber from another shop came out and asked if I wanted a haircut.  Figuring this guy must be good and old enough to stay in business, I decided to take a chance.  He did a very good job, for $7.  I gave him a $1 tip.

$7 Haircut for Men at Chinatown

Oh, I forgot to mention that after lunch I decided to have some dessert.  There is a little storefront that sells tofu custard, with some sugar syrup added.  I grew up eating this and love this.  It costs only $1.50.  Every time I come to NYC Chinatown, I try to get this.

Tofu Custard with sugar syrup

Nearby is Joe's Shanghai restaurant where I usually come for soup dumpling.  What is soup dumpling?  Think of a dumpling except that it has some soup inside.  You have to be careful not to puncture the skin or the soup will spill out.  You have to eat it all in one bite - soup, meat and dumpling skin.  This restaurant is so popular that sometimes we have to wait for 2 hours to have seats at a table, that is often shared with other customers.

Joe's Shanghai - their specialty is soup dumplings, a northern Chinese dish

After Chinatown, I decided to ride to Union Square.  I rode through Little Italy, then Nolita (or North of Little Italy), then finally to Union Square.  This place has a very lively atmosphere.  There are many things happening at and around the Square.  There are also some major stores in the area.  I hung around here for about an hour, sitting at a bench at a shaded spot to read and perusing through a farmers' market.

Statue at Union Square

A Subway Station

Hare Krishna Group playing their music and trying to attract potential converts

A Farmers' Vegetable Stand

Next I tried to head home riding on the streets.  It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the traffic was starting to get busy.  Trucks, taxis, cars, buses, bicycles were going around like crazy.  I didn't feel safe.  I decided to head west towards the bicycle path along the Hudson River.  Here I'd not have to worry about motorized traffic, just other bicycles and pedestrians.  I am not here to prove anything, just want to enjoy the city on a bike.  I eventually got to 87th St at about 5 pm and spent about 30 minutes reading my Kindle and enjoying Riverside Park.

I continue my bike journey the next morning.  I was planning to ride from 87th St to George Washington Bridge, a distance of almost 10 miles.  I looked on the citi bike map.  There are no stations in the George Washington Bridge area, which means I have to ride very fast, then quickly turn around to find the nearest station in order to avoid a surcharge.  I decide not to go.

Instead I had a better decision.  My son told me about this very good bagel place that is run by a Thai family.  It's called Absolute Bagels, on Broadway, between 107th and 108th St.  I got there and there was a long line.  Everyone knows about this place.  I ordered my bagel and coffee and paid a Thai lady (I assume the owner).  How do I know she is Thai?  By her accent and I also asked her.

Wonderful Bagel restaurant run by a Thai Family

I have to burn off my bagel and cream cheese so I decided to ride through Central Park.  There are very few tourists this far north of the park so it was very nice riding through the park.  It was busy but there were plenty of room for everyone.  With shades from the trees and greenery everywhere, it was beautiful.  As I get closer to the southern part of the park, near 59th St., I started to see more and more tourists.  I finally exited the park at the southwestern end, near Columbus Circle, and returned my bike to a station.

What a bike trip!

Flushing - The Real Chinatown in New York

Most Americans think that Chinatown is where most Chinese live in cities in the US.  That may have been true until about 30 years ago.  Recent Chinese immigrants have started their own version of "Chinatowns."  Residents of old Chinatowns are mostly from the Guangdong province and speak Cantonese or one of the sub-dialects of Cantonese, like "say-yap."  Recent (the last 30 years or later) Chinese immigrants to the US come from all over China and Asia, including Taiwan.  They speak Mandarin or some other Chinese dialects and are not interested in living in the old Chinatowns.

In major cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, etc, these new Chinese immigrants started their own new Chinatowns, like Monterey Park in Los Angeles, San Jose/Silicon Valley in the Bay Area, and Flushing in New York City.  I went to Flushing more than 30 years ago and at that time the Chinese population was very small.  Out of curiosity I decided to take the subway to Flushing and see what it's like today.  I've read and heard a lot about the new Chinese restaurants that have opened up in Flushing.  What better indicator than restaurants to mark the rise of the ethnic population.

To say that I was surprised is an understatement.  I took the No. 7 train from Manhattan to Queens.  It ended on Main Street in Flushing.  As soon as I walked up the stairs from the subway station, I was right smack in the middle of Flushing Chinatown.  You can't miss it.  A lot of the signs are in Chinese.  People on the streets were mostly speaking Mandarin, not Cantonese.  In almost all the businesses, you have to speak Mandarin.  You will be laughed at if you order Chop Suey, Chow Mien or Egg Foo Young.  Instead you will find Ma Po Tofu, Twice-cooked Pork, Soup Dumplings, Taiwanese Pork Chop, Onion-crepe Pancake, etc.  These are food from different regions of China, not just Guangdong province.  Not only are they authentic and tasty but inexpensive as well.

Main Street in Flushing

This looks like a street in China but it's really in Flushing, NY

A pig on its way to becoming Chinese BBQ pork

These pies are popular in northern China, with different stuffings

Braised Pig's Feet

Not only do you find exotic food but fruits as well.  Lychee (L) and Rambutan (R)

I was tempted to eat at some of the restaurants I stopped in.  The type of food they serve gives me an indication of what region of China they come from.  There are so many good choices that I almost ate at the first restaurant I stopped in.  Luckily, I held off until I went to a food court in the New World Mall.  The variety here is amazing.  There must have been almost 30 food stands, selling different types of food, ranging from sushi to BBQ to spicy Sichuan noodles.  There are also the popular Bo Ba Milk Tea, Taiwanese shaved ice, etc.  The customers here are almost entirely Asian and Mandarin is the common language here instead of English.  This is proof that, indeed, this is the real Chinatown.

Food Court inside the New World Mall

There are also several Asian supermarkets here.  They sell stuff that are considered odd to most Americans but Asians love them.  Fresh seafood, fresh meat and all sorts of Chinese vegetables like Kai Lan, Bok Choy, Yu Choy, Taro, Bittermelon, etc.

Roast Duck and BBQ Pork

Conch (above) and Squid

Night Scenes Around Marina Bay

One of the most beautiful areas in Singapore nowadays is around Marina Bay.  It starts with the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Hotel, a beautiful building that has a roof shaped like a ship and supported by three pillars.  Each pillar is a hotel tower.  On the roof is an infinity pool that makes it look like a pool without an edge and gives the appearance that you might fall off the edge if you are too close to it.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel at night

MBS Hotel at dusk

The area where the hotel, casino, and Garden By the Bay did not exist about 30 years ago.  This was all part of the sea until the government reclaimed the land.

Financial District

Financial District, taken from the roof of MBS Hotel

Singapore's mascot, The Merlion, looking towards MBS Hotel

"Giant Trees" in the Garden By The Bay, just south of MBS Hotel

Looking east from the top of the MBS Hotel, with Singapore Eye in foreground