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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How could we afford to miss the Liberty?! The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American independence. She was dedicated on 28 October 1886 and restored for her centennial on 4 July 1986. We were admiring her beauty on a Liberty Cruise.

At the pier, waiting to take the 75-min Liberty Cruise. It costs USD20 per ticket.

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We went up to 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 Central Park of 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.

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In front of the United Nations Headquarters is a display of flags representing each member state, beginning with Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The flags are only raised when members are in congress in The General Assembly.

Spotted the Singapore Flag?

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At first, we thought of visiting the Natural History Museum to see dinosaur exhibits around the area. But Richard advised that we could visit another Natural History Museum in Washington with free admission, as we need to pay for the one in New York. So instead we visited Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s largest and most important art museums. An adult ticket costs USD20 and for the next designated 2 hours, we were madly rushing through the museums.

The Met Museum Asian Art Gallery: wonder how they extracted and moved the precious piece from the East to the West across the vast ocean in the olden days.

Altarpiece Dedicated to Buddha Maitreya, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), dated 524 Zhengding xian, Hebei province, China.

Arms and Armor Gallery, where the knights come alive.

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The tourist-famous Naked Cowboy has become a Times Square fixture, playing guitar at 45th Street and Broadway, strategically holding the guitar over his white briefs to make him appear to be naked. Women are often seen hugging him to take photos. If you want to dress like the Naked Cowboy, you better get permission first. The Naked Cowboy is suing Mars Inc. for $6 million over the use of his trademark look — white underwear, cowboy boots and a hat — by a blue M&M candy on an animated Times Square billboard.

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