US Trip (May - June 2011)
US Tour: 19 May 2011 – 11 June 201119 May 2011(Singapore – New York)
- reached Changi Airport Terminal 1 at 10.30pm 19 May SG time
- took Emirates EK 405 at 0140h to Dubai, reached Dubai at around 4.50am (Dubai time); then took Emirates EK 201 from Dubai at around 8.30am to New York JFK Terminal 4 at around 1415h NY time (so total around 24 hours)
- met up with XJ and took the subway towards our hotel Best Western Plus Prospect Park Hotel at NY Brooklyn. Quite complicated subway. Need to pay 5 +2.5 dollars in total (compared to cab of 50 dollars) and took like 2.5hours to reach our 25 street (the station we are supposed to alight)
- check in room 103
- took dinner at nearby KFC cos too late, the chicken very small
20 May 2011 (New York)
- woke up and took the complimentary breakfast
- 1st stop: took ferry to Staten island, on the way we saw the statue of liberty
- 2nd stop: went to eat momofuku duck rice in Manhattan area
- 3rd stop: walked around this area, 5th avenue, bought kate spade (not me), penn station, ate magnolia cupcake.
- 4th stop: Times square, took the subway there, went to Hershey and M+M, took photos at where they count down on new years day
- 5th stop: Chinatown to eat the 2 for 20 bucks lobsters
21 May 2011 (New York – Canada)
- Woke up at 6am today. Had a quick breakfast (similar to yesterday), then checked out
- Took a cab to 48 Bowery Street for our meetup for 5day Canada tour, cab cost 25 bucks
- had GI upset, kept going to toilet
- met up with fellow tourmates, altogether got 13 people – 3 of us, 1 Caucasian female pair from Croatia, 3 middle aged couples from US (one looks like some high class auntie – from US; one looks like RV Mrs Lee; one is simple) and 1 young couple from China who quit their job for a long holiday.
- took a long bus ride; stopped over at burger king for lunch which has a long queue (22 USD)
- Finally reached destination at night: Nigara falls – America falls + Horseshoe falls + one more.
- Had a quick walk along the pavement enjoying view of the waterfalls, followed by a quick dinner at the food court there; took Indian food (22 USD)
- took the bus across the causeway to clear custom and reached Canada
- 10 min bus ride to reach the hotel: old stone inn: very lousy, got an old ancient smell and have to “beg” for a towel. Looks wulu
- Went for a walk down the shops near the waterfalls. Quite happening.
22 May 2011 (Canada Ontario – Toronto):
- woke up at 6.45am, no breakfast but we bought muffins yesterday so ate them
- bus never appeared, we suspect that the guide quarreled with the driver and somehow drove the driver away
- walked towards the IMAX theatre to watch something about Nigara falls – some myths, miracles and magic about Nigara falls - about how some girl went into a barrel and rolled down the falls and survived, etc
- walked towards the Nigaras falls to take the maid of the mist cruise ride which brings us very near the waterfalls
- lunch at the revolving skylon tower, which gives us a magnificent view of the nigara falls from atop
- took bus for Ontario cruise which showcased a landscape of Toronto
- went up CN tower, which is said to be the tallest tower in the world
- tour around the city, took some photos of university of Toronto medical school, parliament house and the “CBD” of the area
- dinner OTOT; we ate at this Chinese restaurant, took dim sum, chicken xiang fei ji and vegetable. Not bad, cost around 42 CAD.
- drove back to hotel – stayed in Delta East hotel room 805. got swimming pool
23 May 2011 (Toronto – Montreal)
- woke up early as need to board bus at 5.45am. but to our horror, the tour guide knocked at our door at 4.30am and said brought forward to 5.30am. apparently our bus is not coming and we are joining another bus… what the..
- bus journey ride of around 3 hours and we reached the pier for the thousand island ship ride, with breakfast included. The place where the salad dressing thousand island was invented
- went to the parliament house in Montreal where we took more pics and witnessed the firing of pao.
- supposed to have the hotdog there but we din cos quite full. Had a drink there instead
- travelled to St Joseph Church which is the 2nd largest church in the world
- went to the Montreal Olympics stadium- we didn’t enter (as we opted out), so walked around instead
- dinner is OTOT along the Montreal old town. A choice between Chinese food in their Chinatown vs French food. We went for the French food instead at a restaurant nearby. Quite nice. I had the duck, too bad not enough time to enjoy
- travel to out hotel – Hotel des Seigneurs Room 1275.
24 May 2011 (Montreal – Quebec – New York – Boston)
- a day full of bus ride
- woke up at 5.45am and meet at 6.30am
- to our horror, we still dun have our own bus! Eventually we got one and it is very small! Like a mini bus which we can’t put our big luggages – have to put in another big tour bus. The 2 angmoh girls didn’t join us cos the bus can’t fit them in.
- a long 2.5 h bus ride to Quebec. The people and everything there is French-based (apparently it belonged to France before the war took place)
- we first visited the Citadel, which is something like a war palace which has turned into a museum for tourists
- next is a short bus ride to Quebec city, walked around and eventually had our lunch there: at a French restaurant 1640- a choice between swordfish, prawns and steak. I chose fish which tasted ok
- next is another long bus ride 2.75h to the US border: returning back to the US
- another ride of around 2 h before we reached Boston
- Supposed to have Boston lobster for dinner here along Chinatown in Boston, however, we opted out, and XJ brought us to have some Vietnamese food instead. I have some watercress chicken soup which tasted ok.
- XJ parted and we headed back to hotel – Hilton room 312.
25 May 2011 (Boston – New York)
- woke up at 5am, meet at 5.45am
- took the same small bus to Boston: first stop being Harvard university
- had breakfast there
- went to MIT
- stopped a few times to take photos at State house, Trinity church, etc
- Some of them went for the Boston cruise which we opted out
- Shopped and feasted in Quincy market
- boarded the bus and off we go
- a long long bus ride to: Flushing, JFK airport and finally to Chinatown
- walked quite a distance before we found Windsor Hotel but to our horror, they said it’s fully booked and channeled us to another hotel: New World Hotel
- I have written a letter of complaint and sent to relevant parties
26 May 2011 (Orlando)
- after the poor stay at New World hotel, the worst is yet to come. We booked the car earlier yesterday at 6.30am, and to our horror, the car came and left, and the man at the hotel counter said that he tot no one booked etc etc. Called again and said the car will come in ½ hour time. Damn. Finally we took / flagged a cab ourselves downstairs. Tough luck.
- Managed to reach the JFK airport at around 7.25am (paid 50 bucks for cab – which is generic one). Terminal 5. Took Jetblue 123 and the flight lasted around 2h 30mins.
- We were shuttled to our hotel Clarion Inn hotel by a Chinese lady in a wagon, together with another Indian family of 3. Hotel is quite nice, like a resort hotel. Very sunny and clear blue sky.. reminds me of Phuket. Anyway, we stay in room 2313 (block 2000, level 3, unit no 13)
- Decided to spend this day at the Orlando Premium outlets for serious shopping and retail therapy! Took a cab there for 12 bucks.
- Bought a lot of stuff, namely:
1) Banana republic: 2 pants, 1 short sleeved shirt
2) Van Hausen: 1 white shorts, 2 shirts for dad
3) Calvin Klein: 1 gray jeans
4) Gap: 1 checker shorts, 2 polo tees, 1 pair of slippers
5) Coach: 2 big bags for sis and mum and 3 small bags
6) Clark: 1 pair of casual shoes
- had lunch there as well: took some Chinese chicken food from the food court there, and dinner was A and W.
27 May 2011 (Orlando: Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios)
- Woke up at 6.30am
- Had the complimentary breakfast in the hotel
- took the free shuttle bus to universal studios at 8am
- In order of visit (Islands of Adventure):
1) The wizarding world of harry potter (L): took the forbidden journey ride, waited for 60mins.
2) Jurassic Park (J): took the river adventure thrilling river raft ride through the dinosaur habitat
3) Marvel Super Hero Island (D): ride on amazing adventures of spider-man
- Then we moved on to Universal studios,
4) ET adventure (R)
5) The Simpson (L): riding on the spot with amazing screen graphics
6) Jaws (J): boat ride
7) Disaster (I): took a harrowing and hilarious trip into the world of disaster movies
- took the shuttle bus back to hotel at 5pm (fixed timing), then had the buffet dinner in the hotel for 10.99 bucks. Quite value for money.
28 May 2011 (Orlando: Animal Kingdom)
- Woke up at 8am
- Went to the 2nd theme park – Animal Kingdom; took the free shuttle bus to the transportation centre at 9.30am, and from here, there are Disney shuttle buses to the rest of the theme parks.
- In order of visit:
1) Dinosaur (21): a thrilling ride through the dark with occasional appearance of dinosaurs, and the usual bumping
2) Finding Nemo – The musical (18): a 40min show on nemo
3) Maharajah Jungle Trek (13): wandered through the ruins of an ancient palace inhabited by exotic animals
4) Kali River rapids (14): waited 40mins for this ride along the river in a raft for 6 people. Ate a banzetel along the way which is rather awful. Quite fun, getting wet in such a hot weather
5) Kilimanjaro Safaris (6): took an open air safari vehicle on an expedition through an African-style savanna where giraffes, gazelles, elephants, rhinos and lions roam freely. Based on a plot of us being someone trying to save a baby elephant from poachers…
6) Festival of the Lion King (4): managed to rush to watch this musical at 3.30pm lasting 25 mins
7) Greeting Trails (5): On our way out, managed to catch a parade by the Disney characters
8) Wildlife Express Train (8): took a train to Rafiki Planet Watch, and in it, we saw:
9) Habitat Habit (9)
10) Conservation Station (10)
11) Affection Section (11): a place where we touched goats
12) It’s tough to be a bug (2): on our way back to exit, we watched this 3D show housed in a root system of the Tree of Life. Interesting, especially when they spray water and had insects crawling below you (special effects)
Left animal kingdom, and took a monorail at the main site to Magic Kingdom to take a look from the outside; and took a ferry back. Finally took the free shuttle bus back to hotel.
Went to this Kobe Japanese restaurant beside the hotel. Not bad, having not eaten jap food for so long. Missed sashimi!
29 May 2011 (Orlando – New York)
- Woke up at 5.30am
- took the complimentary breakfast, and the car came at 0710h
- reached Orlando international airport at near 8am, so walked a bit in the airport, took Jetblue 78 at 0926h and reached NYC at near 12pm
- took subway (the brown line) and alighted at canal street
- checked in at Best Western Herbee hotel room 703
- had lunch at this place called congee house, the porridge and chee cheong fun are nice!
- took subway to Times square and went to check out the musical. Only got Chicago worth watching but we decided to give it a miss
- watched a movie at AMC theatre instead: Kungfu panda 2, from 6.15pm to near 8pm
- walked around, went to Bryant park and rockefella tower. Anyway it was quite late so the shopping malls are closed already. After staying in NYC for a while, managed to slowly figure out how to take the subway and use the map (the streets and avenues)
- Went back to Chinatown for dinner. Ate from the XO restaurant. I ate minced pork noodle
30 May 2011 (New York – Philadelphia – Washington DC)
- Today is a public holiday in US: Memorial day- a day of remembrance for those who died in US service
- Woke up at 6.30am, had the breakfast (the waffle and bread)
- went to the meetup point: 87 bowery street for our 2day1night tour to Washington DC
- got 35 people in the tour group (the bus went to 3 different places to gather all the people)
- 3 hour bus journey to our first stop: Philadelphia which is in Penn Sylvia state
- took photos outside independence hall and saw the liberty bell
- had lunch there – sweet and sour pork rice; and bought the souvenir of liberty bell
- left Philadelphia for Washington DC, which is famous for its free-access museums and white house
- took photos at US Capitol building
- Visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, National museum of Natural History, and the white house
- Next, we went to the Korean War memorial site and Abraham Lincoln memorial hall
- Had buffet dinner
- Checked in at Sheraton Hotel, room 519; while the bed is comfy, it has no free wifi and complimentary breakfast
31 May 2011 (Washington DC – Baltimore – New York)
- woke up at 6.30am, meet up at 7.40am
- went to take the DC cruise (cost 22 dollars) along Potomac river, which lasted one hour and gave us a glimpse of a statue in memory of Titanic (“top of the world”), a row of houses meant for generals to stay, a dock for the navy 1 ship (meant to bring the president around), the pagoda tower, the Washington airport, Washington monument.
- next stop is to visit the Jefferson memorial hall. Thomas Jefferson is America’s 3rd president
- we proceed on the next state, Maryland to visit Baltimore city; in particular, to see the inner harbour
- had lunch there: ate the Chinese food with grilled chicken
- that ends our 2 day 1 night tour in Washington DC (district of Columbia)
- Took a 4 hour long bus ride back to Chinatown NYC
- Checked in at Comfort Inn Manhattan Bridge room 211
- Went to Yong Gee Chinese restaurant for dinner along Mott St. Quite nice and very filling, cost 50 bucks
1 June 2011 (NYC – Boston)
- 1st day of the month
- woke up at 6.45am and had the complimentary breakfast
- walked down canal street to church street to visit the world trade centre and 9/11 memorial site
- walked further down Broadway to wall street, and took photo with the bull
- took subway back to canal street, reached hotel at 11am
- took cab to JFK airport terminal 2 and took the Delta flight at 1.59pm
- met Chee Seng and Angela by surprise! They were going for an onco conference in Chicago and so coincidental that they took the same flight as EL and Don
- eventually met Don and EL and took the Delta flight together
- generally, Delta flight is not recommendable. The plane is small, there is no in flight entertainment and there is no snack or beverage. Worst of all, it is more expensive than Jetblue, and check-in of bags cost 25 bucks each (free for Jetblue). Anyway, there is actually a bus from NYC Chinatown to Boston costing 15 dollars, so it might be better to just take the bus – takes about 4 hours, compared to flight 45mins with lots of delay and waiting time. Managed to reach Logan airport at Boston at around 3.40pm and met XJ who drove us back to our hotel.
- Checked in at Courtyard by Marriott Boston Tremont Hotel room 811.
- met up with Shiru at our hotel lobby
- Went out for dinner together, quite cramp in the car in downtown
- Went to Neptune Oyster restaurant – quite a lot of people, need to wait about an hour, so we went to buy some pastry from Mike’s pastry which is supposedly quite famous.
- Ate lobster sandwich warmed with butter, some pancake and salmon appetitizer and scallops. Nice! Cost about 160 bucks in total.
- Saw a news report that Massachusetts has got tornado. Scary.
2 June 2011 (Boston)
- wake up at 6am, then went to Harvard square for breakfast
- drove up to Wrentham village premium outlets to shop. This time din really buy a lot of stuff; only bought one umbrella, one pair of levis jeans and some Godiva chocolates
- drove to Rhode island (off Atlantic ocean) for seafood dinner at scales and shells http://www.scalesandshells.com/geninfo.htm
- First time left hand drive but luckily no major issues
3 June 2011 (Boston) – 7 June 2011 (Boston)
- ENDO conference at Boston Convention centre,
- stayed in Courtyard Boston Marriot hotel room 811, not very impressive and no breakfast provided
- during this time in Boston, other than conference, we went to Cheescake factory one night at Prudential building; and Macy mall one afternoon at downtown crossing
- took train at South station at 6.48pm to NYC
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