New York - Manhattan Day 3
Warning: Korean Music / Boy
I'm going to start this post a little differently and going on to say how proud I am of this kid (ok not really. I'm still younger than him but whatever):
People who knows me in real usually don't know my guilty pleasure in SHINee unless they have been to my room (there are posters) but I like to keep it my personal guilty pleasure instead of telling everyone about it. Because of all my moving and traveling, I completely missed Taemin's debut and I finally got my adapter and started watching the mass of videos on youtube.
I have to admit - I was one of those who wasn't too enthusiastic about his debut. I had a scared feeling of sorts that something bad would happen but looking at all the videos now, I think the style really fits him and it really shows the uniqueness of his voice (unlike how people usually say he sounds like Jonghyun). I still prefer SHINee as a whole, but I'm glad the whole debut thing has been a huge success for Taemin. I do cringe when he goes topless though. Not for innocent eyes and weak hearts apparently. I am still very much out of the loop but now that my internet is up and my adapter is in, I'll try and catch up as much as I can.
Back to New York
We started the day by taking the Subway all the way down to the Union Square because we thought there would be a farmer's market there. Unfortunately, the days changed and instead of Sunday, it was held on Mondays and Wednesdays instead.
Speaking of Subways, it's much more worth it to get the unlimited pass if you stay there for even 5 days (the pass is valid of 7 days or 30 days). We found that out too late and ended up purchasing a normal pass. Some people take advantage of the bad gantry system by using 1 card for multiple people, so that the unlimited pass is fully maximized for not only one, but the whole family. We were like the honest fools who bought normal tickets for every single one of us.
Since the farmer's market wasn't open, we slowly walked up the streets from about the 14th street up to 23rd street where the Flat Iron building is. We ate breakfast there without even realizing the Flat Iron Building was right behind us.
One thing I absolutely can't stand around here is that everything is done really slowly. I think it is because I'm so used to the fast-paced life in Singapore, I find service in the US extremely slow.
The place we had breakfast at.
The Flat Iron building which we were eating in front of.
We only realized after we walked off and saw the building in its entirety
The Subway stations that I have only used to see in TV shows.
We walked all the way down to Macy's after a long hard decision of not going up the Empire State Building just yet. We wanted to go during the interval of the sunset so we could see the daylight view, the sunset view and the night view all in 1 seating.
We were actually headed towards a cheap souvenir store on 35th Street but we came by Macy's first. They sell things for really cheap and Visitors (tourists) get a 10% discount off their purchases. Long term visas can apply for a Macy's card and get a 15-20% discount. Unfortunately, I am underaged and only legal adults (>21 years old) can apply for the card. Only I had my passport that day, so we did not manage to get the card. In light of that, we decided not to buy anything first since we could use Andrew's passport to get a discount the next time.
The things they sell are relatively cheap though. For example, Clinque, the skincare brand, sells their facial wash for USD$17. I remember buying a sample bottle for $2. This one was quite a huge bottle that was maybe 250ml? Mike was looking at suits and you could get a whole branded set for less than USD$200.
They also had these really cool wooden escalators and we were like idiots taking pictures of the escalator in the store, but it had to be done.
We headed back on track to the souvenir shop, and indeed, it was really cheap. I managed to get my Manhattan postcards there at 13 for USD$1. I also bought crocodile teethed typed of hair clips that were really sturdy at 4 for USD$1. Then I started playing with these bangles because I said they were too huge and impossible to wear. Apparently, I think that is my fault. It probably isn't supposed to go all the way up like it did with me.
They were also 4 for USD$1.
We then continued heading down towards the central park which is about 60th street if I remember correctly, so we ended up buying Softies and yogurt on the way. We also popped in random shops once in awhile.
We even came across the 'invisible' building we saw from the boat the day before.
After a very very long walk, we reached Central Park at about 5+pm and most f the bikes were already rented out. We were lucky enough to get some for $10 for 2 hours.
There were also these 'chariots' but they cost USD$50 per round around central park if I'm not wrong. We did not ask the price but it was written on the side. Trisaw bicycles are even worse. Those are the ones where people ride while you just sit your lazy ass down and look at the park go by, but it cost USD$5 PER MINUTE.
So, we walked our bikes from the rental store down to central park and found a place for my parents to sit around. We only rented 4 bikes for 6 of us, so Mike, Andrew, my Dad and I went cycling first. My dad lost us first and turned back some time in the middle.
I take these pictures while I was still riding so some of them were blurred because my camera's auto focus is spoiled and every shot had to be manually adjusted which was a challenge when on a moving bike. I had to use my chin to try and adjust the focus but it was had to get it right when everything is moving along.
We came to a stop after a tedious upslope for a short rest.
There was this bunch of people playing some sort of game where they have shields and swords and they ''kill'' the other team. It looked rather fun.
After a long time of watching, we finally got back on the trek and continued riding down.
This time, Mike and I lost Andrew when we stopped here.
We did not know what to expect behind the statue and the flight of stairs but it was totally worth the stop. It was a reservoir and with the sun shining down on it, it looked really beautiful.
We spent quite a fair bit of time there before continuing again.
This is how I take my pictures along the way and if I'm going downhill, I just use both hands on my camera instead.
There was even a swimming pool in the middle of Central Park
We took another break after another upslope and Mike went to take a smoke.
We carried on cycling around the park and came across this place where people were rowing boats. It was quite cute. Some were just couples but I even saw 1 person doing it alone.
It took us about 1 and a half hours in total to cycle all around the central park before coming back to the starting point.
For the fading blue in my hair once again. I bought blue hair dye from Walmart though, so I can dye it again! Yaysers! I took this as a selfie on my DSLR so I had to adjust the focus quite a few times to get it right. I got that golden colored clip from the souvenir shop at 4 for $1. The boys chose it.
Andrew came back later than us only because he went for a 2nd round. We took so long to make 1 round but he went around twice.
Just when we were leaving to return the bikes, we found another little furry friend.
We were so tired from cycling we decided to head back to eat near our apartment.
It was Mexican food! And the food was very good this time (anything would be better than the disappointment from the previous night's Italian.)
We bought ice-cream because everything seems so cheap here. Hageen-daas was USD$6 per tub and considering that each tub costs us about $15 in Singapore, it is really cheap. I'm not an ice-cream kind of person though.
Labels: kpop, Manhattan, me, NY, Pictures, selfie, SHINee, taemin, travel, USA
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