2012 Year in Review: Part 1 (b) - 2012 New Year’s Celebration in New York City!

b) New York City - The Big Apple

From Washington DC, ktorg gerak ke NYC by taking Greyhound bus. The estimated travel time sepatutnya around 4 hours tapi entah laa kenapa lepas 2 jam setengah ktorg dah smpai kat Port Authority, NYC. Agaknya pak cik bas tu ad emergency case kot kejap gler dah smpai. So, merempat la ktorg kt Port Authority tu smpai pagi sbb nk tunggu bas ke New Jersey. Ktorg duk hotel Super 8 kt NJ for about 5 days in a super cozy room with WiFi access and free breakfast (Yes! jimat duit makan).

So, every morning lepas breakfast around 8 am, ktorg amik shuttle yg kena byr $6 pergi balik so that we can go to NYC. Dekat NYC, the main transportation is Subway and a LOT of walking. Make sure korg pakai kasut yg selesa so xde la masalah kaki melecet nti. Kat NYC ni byk gler tempat menarik boleh visit and we got ourselves New York Pass where we had accessed to many attractions at lower prices.

Some of the attractions yg ktorg sempat explore in 5 days were Madame Tussauds', Times Square, Malaysia Consulate, UN Buildings, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, 5th Avenue, Crysler Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Centre, Top of The Rock, NBC Studio, Museum of Modern Art, American Museum of Natural History, 9/11 Memorial (Ground Zero), Trump Building, Wall Street, Metropolitan Museum, Central Park, Columbia University, New York University

At Madame Tussauds' ni, I am pretty sure that most of you already what this place is all about, but in case if some you don't know, it is a place where they showcase the wax figures of famous people like the Presidents, Celebrities, the Geniuses and byk lagi laaa. Fun jgk laa tempat ni sbb korg bleh bergambar ngn patung2 wax ni which amazingly accurate and look very real. Tapi kalau korg dah pernah pegi Madame Tussaud kat tempat lain, I  rs xperlu pegi dh kot. I rs cam sama jer (based on my experience when I visited Madame Tussaud kt London for the first time).           

                                                                     Jackie O and President Kennedy!

                                                                             Marilyn and Aireen Monroe

Then, ktorg gerak ke Consulate General of Malaysia to make new passport which is actually the main reason why I planned this trip. From this area ktorg leh tgk UN Buildings. Pikir2 balik cam syok je jd pegawai yg keje kt consulate ni. Boleh tinggal kt NYC. 

The United Nations

We also had a chance to visit Grand Central Station. I xtau sgt pasal tempat before I tgk cite Gossip Girl (kalau korg prasaan si Jenny duk ulang alik kt area ni bila dye kena halau ngn Si Blair). Tempat ni sgt cantik. The interior design kinda looks like European style and the ceiling painting is very magnificent! Ramai gler org kt tempat ni dgn  visitors and org yg mmg btul2 nk naik train. 

                                                                  The outside of Grand Central Station

Kalau dtg NYC x pegi Empire State Building, mmg x sah la kan. Walaupn terpaksa beratur lama gler, ktorg determined gak nk naik to the top and look at the view of the whole city. Mmg berbaloi. Thanks to pereka game FuzzyWuzzy and Nyamuk sbb telah menghilangkan kebosanan kami masa line up tu. This place is kinda special to me sbb at the top of the building, I ternampak satu family Japanese ni tgh amik gmbar wife and anak pompuan dye. Sbb terfikir yg probably si ayah tu pn nk masuk gak lam gambar, I pn offered myself utk tlg amikkan gambar family dorg. And yes, I spoke Japanese to them and they were very impressed. The funny thing is that all I said was "Syashin o torimasuka" which means "r u taking photos" and some other very basic Japanese sentences. Sbnrnya nk ckp let me help u take the photo in Japanese tp with knowledge yg ad, tu jela yg I mmpu ckp. Pape pn, the daughter looked so amazed smpai ternganga2 bt I rs cam nk tergelak kt situ gak. And that is the reason why I decided to continue taking Japanese classes at Vanderbilt. Arigatou! 

                                                               The night city view from the top of Empire State Buliding

Then of course, Statue of Liberty kat Liberty Island. Ni mmg wajib la pegi kalau korg dtg NYC. Ktorg gerak pagi, around 8-9 am dah smpai kt entrance tp dah ramai gler org bratur. Sabor jela. nk ke Liberty Island where the statue is located, ktorg naik ferry. Lepas puas bergambar kt area statue tu, ktorg singgah kt Ellis Island before ke main entrance tu balik. Ellis Island ni ad satu building where diorg bt exhibition which explained pasal sejarah immigran2 ke USA. Boleh tahan menarik laa. Round2 tgk artifak2 sambil tunggu Aishah gi "Alcatraz". Anyway, one fun fact sal Statue of Liberty, warna asal statue ni ialah warna oren copper (gangsa) tp sbb dah ter oxidized, jdi laa warna hijau. Ok skema. Bye. 

                                                                      The complete gang - Me, Aishah, Paan, Nurul

Lepas tu, ktorg ad gak g melawat Brooklyn Bridge. Bridge ni lawa time waktu mlm utk korg amik gmbar  sbb lampu2 kt bridge ni bt bridge tu nmpak menarik. Dengar cite ad KFC Halal kt area Brooklyn tp ktorg xsempat nk try. Sobs. Xpe. Balik Malaysia makan byk2. 

Sbb ktorg pegi NYC hujung bulan December, ktorg plan la nk smbut New Year 2012 kat Times Square. Ktorg pegi area Times Square seawal 3 ptg just smata2 nk bt ball countdown. It was so freaking cold and ramai gler org bersesak kt situ. Almost smua kedai tutup. Xdpt la ktorg nk lepak rehatkan kaki. So, merempat la ktorg tepi2 jalan kt luar kedai before polis marah. Huh. Dah penat tunggu smpai kul 6 ptg, ktorg smua rs cam dh xsnggup dah nk tunggu smpai kul 12. Seriusly sejuk gler and rimas. Hence, ktorg pn give up and naik bas balik hotel. Kt bilik layan ayan Ombak Rindu (masa tu movie ni bru release) sambil makan Maggi. Tepat kul 12, ktorg pn ber- New Year kt bilik je tgk live countdown through TV. 

Times Square. Muka excited kononnya nk celeb New Year before we gave up. 

Next, ktorg g jalan2 area Rockefeller Centre. Kat sini ad open ice skating area, ad Top of The Rock and NBC Studio. For some reason ktorg x g NBC Studio but we did visit the Ice Rink and the Top of The Rock. Kt Top of the Rock ni lebih kurg sama jer dgn Empire State Building. Bezanya ktorg g waktu siang, so boleh la tgk the view of NYC waktu siang pulak. As for the Ice Rink, ktorg just tgk2 je org main. Xbrani pulak nak main kang ad yg masuk hospital lak. I suka sgt area ni sbb kt sini cam artistic ckit. 

                                                    The day view of NYC from the Top of the Rock

Then, ktorg g mlawat 9/11 Memorial (Ground Zero). Tempat ni dulu nya berdiri megah dua bangunan berkembar WTC before insiden 11 September berlaku. Sekarang ni, tapak bangunan WTC dah dijadikan memorial yang mana nama2 mangsa yg terlibat diabadikan kat tempat ni. The design of the memorial is very impressive. Ada air terjun shone with lights menjadikan tempat ni sgt menarik. Honestly, xtau kenapa rs agak seram sejuk masa kt sini. Mybe sbb dulu nya beribu2 org terbunuh kt sini. Or maybe jgk sbb ramai visitors lain pandang pelik kt ktorg yg bertudung ni. Hmmmm pape jelah.

                   Names of the victim were carved on the side of the fountain * Muka cam hantu Jepun. Blame the flash.

Other than that, ktorg smpat gak laa g melawat Columbia University and New York University. Paan and I are both a big fan of Gossip Girl. So nk gak la g tengok tpt Serena Van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf and Dan Humphrey ni study. Lawa gak r area uni2 ni. And both of these universities are among top 5 of the most expensive schools in USA. Patut laa "socialites" ni study sini. Ceh. And if I'm not mistaken, kat area ni ad Metropolitan Museum (MET steps tpt Blair and gang suka lepak) and Central Park (tpt Nate Archibald and ayah dia slalu jogging. Damn. I'm obsessed wit Gossip Girl). 

MET Steps

Kat dalam MET

Paan in front of the Library of Columbia University

NYU 

Central Park - Jackie O Reservoir

Xcukup ngan MET Museum, ktorg g mlawat Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and American Museum of Natural History jgk. Both free admission. Alang2 dah smpai NYC, ktorg g jela tgk2 museum ni. Boleh thn menarik gak r exhibition dye. Byk sgt bnda yg diorg pamer smpai I pn dah lupa ap yg ad kt dalam tu. But I'm pretty sure kt MoMA ni byk exhibiton yg more to modern/contemporary arts. And kat sini ktorg bkenalan dgn dua org laki mat salleh yg pndai ckap Melayu. Terkejut gila ktorg. Ntah knape I rs awkward smpai g ckp slang Indonesia dgn dua org tu. Rupanya dorg from German and one of them pernah jd transfer student kat KL. Dia ckp Malaysia is like his second home and dia balik rumah keluarga angkat dye almost every year by road trip from Istanbul to Malaysia. I know. It's crazy right? Sumpah awesome mamat ni. 

Sumpah fasih gler ckp BM siap ad slang KL lg. Ckp klantan pn boleh. Cool. 

MoMA

Meet Zureen, My highschool friend (MRSM PC) and now she's studying at Pennstate Uni taking Actuarial Sc. Reunited kt American Museum of Natural History

Then, ktorg jalan2 amik gambar kt luar Trump Building, Wall Street, Crysler Building. Usha2 designer store kt 5th Avenue. Yg lawak nye kat sini, boleh lak ad org jual fake LV accross the street where LV Store is located. Hmmm.. Pape pn, xde ape sgt ktorg bt kt sini sbb xmasuk pn bgunan2 ni smua. Hanya mampu melihat dari luar jer. :/

The Trump Building - Ni baru satu. I pernah nmpak Trump Plaza, Trump Tower, Trump Taj Mahal (NJ). Kaya betul pak cik ni. 

Wall Street

Crysler Building

 As for makan, ktorg everyday breakfast kt hotel then beli nasi arab kt stall tepi2 jalan for lunch and dinner. Nasi arab ni sumpah sedap gler and murah. For $6 ktorg boleh mkn dua kali sbb portion dye byk. Ad skali tu ktorg g Chinatown sbb nk mkn Malaysian food kt Nyonya (Malaysian Restaurant). Mee kari dye sedap gler. Sepanjang perjalanan, cam biasa ktorg solat kt stesen minyak or dalam fitting room.

Kat sini I x shopping sgt pn sbb dh pokai lepas bt passport. Duit yg ad just ckup2 utk mkn jer. Tp ada gak la beli baju t shirt I heart NY utk kwn2 and family as souvenirs. Then, setelah seminggu lebih jalan2, ktorg pn balik la ke Nashville. Meneruskan baki semester yg ada.

Next post: 2012 Asian New Year Festival (ANYF) --> Malaysian- Zapin Fusion.

NOTE: All photos credited to Nurul, Paan and Aishah.

2012 Year in Review : Part I (a)- Washington DC Trip!

Actually, I am inspired by Facebook to write about my very next entry (2^nd entry after exactly one year. I know)  – the 2012 year in review. I scrolled over my FB timeline and I realized how time flies so fast! My God, I didn’t realize there were so MANY things had happened in one year. So, this thing on FB kinda inspired me to write a brief post on each memorable experience that I gained dalam masa setahun ni… So let’s start with the very first part of 2012. *I love all these moments and I chose to preserve them by writing them out.*

Part I (a)- DC Trip and 2012 New Year’s Celebration in New York City!

Setiap tahun, around mid-December and early January, bdk2 college smua start cuti Winter Break. So, ktorg plan nk mengisi masa cuti dgn jalan2 ke NYC. Kononnya nk celebrate New Year kt NYC but that was not the main reason why ktorg gerak ke NYC. Actually, I was so stupid and careless to realize that my passport was going to expired on April 2012 and I wanted to go back to Malaysia on May 2012. So, I terpaksa laa pergi General Consulate of Malaysia to get a new passport with some friends yg sudi tag along. Since NYC and Washington DC is not that far, ktorg decide to visit DC as well. And also Virgina state sbb Virginia dekat gler ngan Washington DC. Just naik Subway in few minutes leh smpai negeri yg ada Pentagon tu. 

a) Washington DC & Virginia

Kat sini ktorg bermalam 2 mlm sbb xde ape sgt pn kt sini. All the attractions can be visited in 1-2 days. Some places yg ktorg sempat pegi were The Capitol, The White House, Pentagon, Washington Monument, Washington Cupcake, Smithsonian Air Space Museum. X sempat nk pegi tmpat yg ad statue Abraham Lincoln and reflecting pool (One of The ransformers shooting scene) sbb hari nk pegi tu hujan lebat gler. Ktorg smua dah kalut and basah kuyup smpai completely lupa nk singgah jap tempat tu. *However, 2nd trip ke DC ktorg pegi tempat2 ni. Will cover that later*.

                                                                             Well, hello Washington DC!

 The Capitol, The White House, Washington Monument and Smithsonian Air Space Museum -- all these attractions very near to each other. Boleh jalan kaki jer. So, korg bleh spend one whole day kt area ni (or more kalau korg minat the air space museum). Kat depan White House ni, at least ad 4 buah kereta polis just nak monitor visitors yg duk sibuk pose dpn tu (including me, of course). 

The Capitol

                                                                                     White House

The Smithsonian Air Space Museum ni masuk free jer. Best gak la tempat ni especially kalau korg minat bnda2 cam science and technology. ada space shuttle, satellite, first airplane yg the Wright Brothers reka dlu2 and etc. I xde la minat sgt tmpt ni tp sbb ni location shooting cite The Night at Museum, of course laaa I kena visit. + it's free, ape lagi. Redah jer. 

                                                                             Smithsonian Air Space Museum

As for Georgetown Cupcakes, kedai kt area downtown DC. Ktorg jalan kaki lama gila (rs nk give up sparuh jalan) + tersesat jalan skejap. I swear more than 20 blocks ktorg jln just smata2 nk try the famous Red Velvet Cupcake. Smpai2 tu pulak, Tuhan jer tau betapa panjang nye nk kena beratur. Sumpah ramai gler org!. I told myself that I had walked this far, hence the cupcakes better be good. And yup. They were REALLY REALLY GOOD. The cupcakes with the creamcheese frosting, just PERFECT. So, kalau korg pergi DC, jgn lupa singgah Georgetown Cupcake and try dye punya Red Velvet and Chocolate Ganache sbb mmg sgt2 berbaloi gua x tipu. 

                                                Georgetown Cupcakes ( also known as DC Cupcakes kt TV show)

Tak ade gambar kt Virginia, or specifically Pentagon sbb tempat tu sumpah scary gler. Ad papan tanda "No Camera" like literally everywhere. So xde ape sgt la ktorg dpt tgk kt sini melainkan tembok besar pagar Pentagon tu. Cam kayu pn ad dtg sini. But hey. At least sampai Virgini.  LOL

Next post. Part b: New York City!

NOTE: All photos credited to Nurul, Paan and Aishah. I x amik gambar satu pn. Just masuk lam gmbar jer.