The Niagara Falls are renowned both for their beauty and as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Here are some photos taken from the Niagara Falls at New York side during the white winter in Dec 08 by Kelly.

Firstly, enjoy my slide/video from the Niagara Falls during our summer visit in 2007! Opps! The video has some problem with Youtube now. Let me fix it first…

Kelly and her friend encountered a very heavy snow storm while on the way to the Niagara Falls. They were supposed to cross to Canada to view the falls but the tour was cancelled due to the harsh weather condition.

The startling green colour of the Niagara River is a visible tribute to the erosive power of water. An estimated 60 tons of dissolved minerals are swept over Niagara Falls every minute. The colour comes from the dissolved salts and “rock flour”, very finely ground rock, picked up primarily from the limestone bed but probably also from the shales and sandstones under the limestone cap at the Falls.

Terrapin Point, Horseshoe Falls.

Left bank: Buffalo, New York, United States.
Right bank: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Toronto side of the view is known to be more spectacular than the American side of the view at the Niagara Falls. During our visit in summer’07, we took The Maid of The Mist to bring us to the base of the American Falls and then to the basin of the Horseshoe Falls. <- Click on the link to view pictures of the boat ride.

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Kelly took those pictures from Top of the Rock @Rockefeller Center and New York City recently. It’s all about New York city covered with snow, and that offers a very different scene of what I saw during my summer visit to NYC in 2007.

Firstly, watch the slide show with our summer pics from NYC that I uploaded to YouTube sometime back! Opps! The video has some problem with Youtube now. Let me fix it first.

Then… it’s winter now, the Central Park in snow…at Manhattan in New York City, nestling amid the hustling and bustling city. It is the most visited public urban park in the U.S and its appearance in many movies and television shows has made it famous. A little trivia here: The Central Park is most visited by aliens, especially those from Hollywood movies! (Pics below taken by Kelly)

Awesome view from TOP OF THE ROCK, an observation deck at Rockefeller Center located in midtown Manhattan which is 70 storeys above the city. A bird’s eye view of Empire State Building, Central Park and a 360-degree panorama view of the Big Apple, with tall buildings sprouted up all over the city.

The big patch of land is the Central park. With snow on the rooftops, it gives a different view of what I saw during my summer visit to Top of the Rock @New York City.

An awesome night scene of New York City with millions of lights from Top of the Rock.

The tallest building in Manhattan that King Kong climbed - The Empire State Building. Also the 10th tallest

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Where were you during the Countdown party a week ago? My sis and her friend had a “happening” new year eve at Times Square in New York city. They took some pics and videos among an estimated one million of people. However, the duo gave up after waiting for 6 hrs at 8plus in the night due to the coldness and nature’s calling; it was hard to squeeze back into the crowd once you left your area. Some even brought bottles to pee there… She said her feet were numb and when she walked away, she could feel pain in her bones. Gosh! She thought she didn’t wear enough clothing. I guess Asians like us from hot and humid countries like Singapore can’t stand the cold well.

Check out the photos and videos below.

Eyewear 2009.

Lots of NY police officers at Times Square to maintain order and peace during the New Year’s eve 2009 countdown party. Chaos can’t be tolerated in such a huge crowd should anything happen.

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We embarked on a guided tour for a two week vacation in New York, Buffalo, Philadelphia and Washington D.C; free & easy tour in Disneyland, Universal Studios in Orlando and Virginia.

The whole flight journey by Northwest Airlines, including transits at Narita Int’l Airport (Japan) and Detroit Metro Airport (U.S), flight delay and tight security, took us 25 hours before we finally set foot in Newark Int’l Airport in New Jersey!!

An aerial view of Japan before landing.

Photos taken at Narita Int’l Airport in Japan.

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Our first destination: New York Chinatown - the largest Chinatown in the United States and the western hemisphere. We went there for a quick breakfast. Chaos. So many tourists belonging to different tour groups gathering at the hotel lobby. We managed to find our tour guide, Richard, from Paradise Vacations (a local tour assigned by Chan Brothers in New York).

Within sight of the Empire State Building, tucked into lower Manhattan, Chinatown is located in the area where many ethnic groups first settled when emigrating to America. Richard said that Chinese immigrants are business-minded; there is always a Chinatown built near the heart of a city in countries all over the world.

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Richard told us that there are more police officers in New York City than any other cities. It is known for its history as a gateway for immigrants to the U.S and its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing centre. Soon, we started snapping pictures of NYPD patrol cars, which we used to see them as toy cars once upon a time when we were kids! Some armed officers looked like the shooters in “Counterstrike” game, and of course, they are the good guys. =)

Buildings around us appeared as familiar as those in movies as we walked along Wall Street, Trump Building, New York Stock Exchange (”The Big Board”)….

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