day 10

into the 10th day and i am almost finished with the whole of east coast. the city we are embarking on today would be boston, famous for their lobster as well as crab. went to the city of cambridge to visit some of the ivy leagues schs, harvard and MIT. harvard is a very nice campus, situated in the centre of the town. the campus is kind of scattered around the whole town of cambridge, and it doesn't seems to look like a school at all. a really nice and cozy place to study in nevertheless. today is a weekend so there weren't much students hanging around. most of them are probably mugging inside their dorms. after which, went to MIT. had quite a few army friends that are schooling over there. wen xian. have no way to contact them though. visiting these schools makes me envy the students that are studying there. really need to have a beautiful mind to enrol into such school. regret not studying well for my a levels last time. after the visits, went to the city of boston to take the boston harbour tour, enjoying the view and listening to the history of the city and the oldest battle ship “USS Constitution” by the guide on board. visited the quincey market and tried the lobster chowder. it was REALLY GOOD man! afterwhich, went to chinatown of boston to have a lobster feast. paid 25usd to try the infamous Boston lobster as well as another 5 dishes. nice.

day 9

tour the capitol of quebec today, a city that is surrounded by wall. had a walking tour in this historic city, visiting places such as chateau frontenac, place royal and the historic army camps of the canadian infantry regiment. the city was covered with snow and the view of the city from the top was really nice. afterwhich, took the coach to the US-border, entering into the city of boston. stop at the canadian duty free shop. bought 3 bottles of ice wine(200ml) which costs me 75usd, canadian tea, maple syrup and coffee. headed all the way back to the outskirt of boston and had a night stay in wyndham.

day 8

whole body was aching after the run and workout last night. nevertheless, woke up early to continue the next part of the canada tour. travel to the city of montreal today, taking the thousand islands boat cruise. this was also where the thousand island dressing was originated from, by a well-known chef who was cooking for the king centuries ago. all the island are owned by super duper wealthy people who build houses on this tiny island that stretches throughout the whole lake, and comes only in summer for a break or getaway. utilities such as electricity and water are all run by pipes underground. could imagine how exp it is for the maintainance. the view was breathtaking and having my first cup of coffee on the deck overlooking the thousand island was just so relaxing. afterwhich, left montreal for ottawa, capitol of canada. visited the parliament house, centennial flame, montreal olympic stadium and st joseph oratory. 95% of the population in quebec and ottawa speaks french as their first language. people living in these states dislike people who speak english because of the english invading the french centuries ago. sovereignty in quebec took place back in 1995 with a 49.4% saying YES, a clear majority of french-speaking quebecers in favor of it. these were the facts told to us by our guide. transfer to quebec for a night stay. the houses in it are all european styles, similiar to the ones in paris. walk the streets of quebec after arriving in quebec. took another 2 sticks while strolling and had a pint in one of the bar at the alley. the bars and streets were really empty because of winter. simply too good to be true.

day 7

today's itinerary would be to travel up north to toronto. the guide first brought us to see the niagara fall in the day. it gets colder as we go northwards. blocks of snow can still be seen in the fall and the city. tony told us that it was still snowing in quebec. really looking forward to go there. kind of disappointed when he told us that we are unable to take the maid of the mist cruise because of the ice blocks. afterwhich, i paid 25usd for a set lunch steak at skylon rotating tower, overlooking the niagara fall from the top. went to the imax theatre to see the niagara documentary after lunch. embark on another 2hrs ride before we reach toronto. tour the financial district, city hall which has a nickname “Sky Eye”, ontario parliament building and toronto university. Visit the symbol of the city CN Tower* and take the high speed elevator to the observation deck and walk on the 'Glass Floor', which really feels like walking in the air. the pace of living over here is kinda slow and relax. shops closes at 5pm, people knocking off from work as early as 1630. i guess it is winter that makes people feel kind of lazy eh, but i like the pace. transferred to the outskirt of toronto and had a stay in radisson hotel. fitness center again. 4miles on the treadmill, 100 crunches and some doing of weights. the burgers kind of making me sick.

day 6

from pennsylvania to toronto took me like a 6hrs ride in the coach today. headed north all the way with a final stop at canada, stopping by hershey chocolate world and corning glass museum along the journey. the hershey factory was magnificent. had a 45mins tour inside the factory on how they produce their milk product followed by an hour buying their products. i spent 50usd in all, buying 15packs of hershey kisses, chocolate syrup, and 10 half pound of hershey bars. SUPER CHEAP, haa, but the load was kind of heavy. after which, went to corning glass museum to have an insight on how the different types of glass are made today. reach the border of toronto at around 7pm. cross the us-canada border to the niagara falls to see the night view of the fall. spectacular. the fall was so tall and big and the wind was so strong and it was just kind of magical and amazing. somehow, i prefer canada over US. i start to enjoy travelling alone as well. nice.

day 5

felt great and refreshed after a long rest in the hotel last night. woke up early today to meet up my guide and begin my tour. today's first stop will be to philadelphia, visiting the independence hall, historic site of the signing of the delaration of independence back in the 1880s. the group size of the tour was about 30, mostly american born chinese families in it and some taiwanese. we were all assigned seating arrangements in the coach to avoid confusion. i happened to be assign next to sharon, who was travelling alone as well. kinda awkward at first, but we started having little chats through the journey. learnt that she was 22, indon-chinese who migrated to california and is currently sching in UCLA. i was kind of glad that at least i do have some kind of companionship for this 9 days of travelling, camera buddies we became later. after the stop at philadelphia, it took us another 3hrs to arrive in washington dc. visited the white house, capitol hill, as well as the holocaust museum in dc. there were like a total of 19 museum in all and all were free admission. we got like a 2hrs time to view any museum we want. the first one that came to my mind was the holocaust. i really had a great insight of the holocaust after that visit. i also saw the hope diamond (titanic)in the natural history museum. next were the infamous korean and vietnam war memorials in dc. i also went to the exact place where martin Luther king gave his 'i have a dream' speech. that was also the place in the 70s where the hippies were protesting against the vietnam war. the most rewarding part of the trip was to see the cherry trees opening their blossoms in dc. the guide told us that it was rare to see them blossom. i learnt later that the trees were actually gifts from japan to dc. had pizza for dinner and transferred to marriot hotel in Pennsylvania for a night there.
indepedence hall
white house
cherry trees.
Lincoln's memorial

day 4

into the 4th day and i am kinda exhausted by all the travelling. got pick up at the motel by tony today and got a transfer to hilton hotel in new jersey. i will be out of nyc for the next 9 days and embarking on a long travelling journey all across the east coast and canada. i was really happy that they gave me like a 4 or 5 star hotel to start off with. nice room, nice bed, nice view, nothing much to ask more for. thankfully, today's programme was just a day rest after the transfer to hilton. reached the hotel at around 2pm after a 1.5hrs ride. watch tv, eat sandwiches and doze off till 6pm. went down to explore the hotel and found out they got a fitness center and internet cafe. bought a cup of coffee and took a stick at the cafeteria. afterwhich, went to the fitness center and run 3miles on the treadmill. bored bored bored. hopefully everything will be great tomorrow.

nice hilton bedroom
view from the room.

day 3

today will be my last day in nyc before i head down to dc and canada. walk over to the agency in flushing two blocks away to join the tour for a day in NYC. the tour will be bringing me to empire state building observatory deck, manhattan cruise whereby i would be able to see the statue of liberty, madamme tussade wax museum, times sq, wall streets, ground zero, rockafella centre and the UN HQ. kind of pack this tour would be, but well, i guess it will sum up all the main attractions in nyc. the first stop was empire state building whereby i took a super fast elevator to 86 storey and view the whole skyline of nyc. took lotta of pics as well. the wind was freaking strong on top man, i was thinking without the grill bars at the side, it could easily blown anyone light off the building. after which, went over to the port to take the manhattan cruise. a 2.5hrs ride to see the skylines of manhattan and i guess it is one of the most impressive cruises i ever been to. the cruise features breathtaking views of manhattan, ellis island, statue of liberty, brooklyn bridge, manhattan bridge, united nations, and empire state building. always wanted to have a glimpse of statue of liberty and i am really glad that i have a chance to. some fast facts of it is that statue of liberty was actually a gift from the french people to the states as a token of mutual friendship. it signifies the welcoming of immigrants to a new life in this new land. afterwhich, went to the UN HQ and it was kinda cool as i saw demonstration outside the hq with regards to the tibetans crisis. freedom of speech eh? afterwhich, went to the infamous wall streets and took lotta of pictures as well. i'm glad it was kind of quiet as it was a weekend and NYSE are all close. nothing much to see in ground zero as there are many constructions undergoing and in fact, some buildings have been constructed on it already. the memorial hall for 9/11 is still undergoing construction, so can't able to view it. the tour ended at 8pm and transfer me back to my motel. heading down to dc and canada for the next couple of days for like a 8 days tour.
statue of liberty
madamme tussade wax museum.

day 2

woke up at 8am today and had cup noodles for breakfast at the lounge in the motel. temp plunges down to a bitter cold of 2 degree today because of the showers and mist in the morning. it was freaking cold walking in the streets today. bought a pack of reds and smoke 3 fags while walking down to the subway station, hoping that it will keep me warm for awhile. it did worked. today itinerary was going to be shopping spree at the factory outlet in new jersey, outskirt of nyc. took 7 line all the way to times sq and took a 15 mins walk from there to port authority bus terminal. the terminal was huge but thankfully, the directions at the terminal was pretty clear. bought the roundabout tickets for like 10usd to jersey gardens from njtransit. boarded the 115 and it took me 1.25hrs for me to arrive there. i got lotta of discount vouchers after showing my passport to the helpdesk for authentication as a foreigner. the sales were kinda crazy. calvin klien, banana republics, levis and polo items going as low as 15.99usd. WAHAHAHAHAHAHA. i bought a polo shirt for 16usd, 3 levis jeans for 25usd each, calvin klein dark pants for 20usd, a shirt from banana republic for 25usd and a couples of t-shirts which have really cool design prints on it. help my sis to scout for the 'coach' handbags and bought her one for like 300usd. she pays for herself though. bought my mum a pair of nike sneakers for 40, my dad a bottle holder for running and a couple of t-shirts for my bro. spend close to 400usd in all.(excluding the coach handbag) had chinese rice and meat for lunch in the outlet. the serving was huge, guess i could skip dinner later prob. after which, boarded the bus back to nyc and next in line would be the infamous times square. when i arrive there, it was close to 6pm. it was a dazzling, dizzyling spectacle. broadways, numerous famous playhouses and the crowding sidewalks illuminated by billions of watts of electronic billboard power was just so spectacular. i would say a MILLION TIMES better than ORCHARD RD. HAA! i really enjoy the walk in times square, seeing the street performers, artists, people and policemen. everyone seems to be really happy over there. a cosmopolitan city indeed. all sort of nationality and people there were all being themselves, doing crazy performances and doesn't care what others think about them. NICE! the most rewarding part of the walk was a self portrait i got for myself by this street artist. i really like the portrait. spent 20usd on it with the frames. walk again later to the public library of nyc and had coffee there. stayed there and enjoy the manhattan panorama before heading back to flushing. great day indeed.

the self potrait.

times sq.
hilarious performance.

day 1

the long awaited back packing trip to east coast and canada has finally arrived. finally get to travel as a civilian after 2 yrs. spend the past couple of weeks doing up planning and itinerary for this trip. hopefully, this would be the best getaway i would ever get. went to the airport early to check-in today. bro and parents came as well. mum is pretty worried bout me traveling alone. boarded the 25hrs, SQ26 flight to JFK with a stopover at frankfurt. the flight was pretty decent, i requested for the seats at the emergency exit, so there was much more leg rest. reached jfk in the noon. thanks to CR invaluable travel guides and tips in getting around NYC, i managed to plan out all my itinerary for the first 3 days in nyc. took the air train in JFK to Jamaica station before transferring to E line of the subway to jackson hts and than 7 line to main streets, queens. everything turn out well as plan, thankfully. save up like 50usd if i would to take a cab to flushing instead. reach mains streets after 1.5hrs of travelling arn the subway. the subway system in ny pretty messy and confusing if travelling for the first time, but well, i guess if you really pay attention to the local and express services, it would be easy. i got lost once i arrived at main street. ask the cops and people there for directions to flushing grand motel and it took me another 25mins before i reach the motel. a sense of relief when i reach the motel. the motel was pretty decent and kind of worth it for the money i paid. accommodation in NYC is really expensive. learnt later that the most exp rental apartment in manhattan costs 20k/mth. flushing was also a chinatown as well as korean town. plenty of nice chi and korean food around. dropped my backpack and settle for lunch in burger king. took 7 line to lexington avn immediately and walk from there to central park. the park was just magnificent. nice view, green acres and a great park for cyclist and strollers. always wanted to visit central park and here i am, really excited. i stroll in the park for 3hrs, took lotta of pics and later made my way to metropolitan museum of the arts, which was situated in the center of central park. paid 15usd for entry and roam about the museum for 2hrs. the museum is huge with like two million objects and collections. i really like some of the gothic pieces in it. took lotta of pics in it as well. about 7pm when i finish the tour in the museum. really exhausted after the flight and all these travelling. took 7 line back to flushing. had burgers for dinner again. trying to save on food so that i can have the extra cash to travel around and sight see. reach the motel at around 2130 and knock out. really happy that everything turn out well as plan. looking forward to tomorrow's traveling.
me in central park(in courtesy of the park stollers)
central park


me and mao in metropolitian arts museum.
one of the many art pieces i kinda like.