Back in La La Land

Yup. I'm back. No matter how I love to travel, it's usually good to be back home after a while. I'm very pleased with all the fun experiences I had, new friends I made, photos I took in this trip. San Francisco was pretty different from LA, but east coast was even more different and it was awesome to experience the different atmosphere (and temperature).

NYC was very cool, but no matter how I loved being in NYC, I still prefer to live in LA than NYC. I love how it is so alive in NYC, I love the subway system, the Italian food, the snow, the shopping, the Broadway shows, the going out till 5am in the morning (bars close at 2am in LA), etc. I also find that people in NYC seem to enjoy live a bit more, at least from my observation. However, I hate the stinky-ness, the expensive-ness, and the uptight-ness of NYC. So yes, I prefer the more casual, relaxed, and sunny California for the long term or at least for now.

Here is a picture I took of the famous Rockefeller Center ice skating rink with the famous humongous Christmas tree (which was not so impressive in my opinion).

Top of the Rock

Went to the famous Top of the Rock tonight. I totally picked the wrong day. Today is frrrrrreeeeeezing and windy; it feels like 6 degrees F (-15 degrees C) tonight according to the weather.com. Imagine being on the 69th floor. Due to the strong winds I could only stand in the cold for so long to take photos which a lot of them came out blurry. I am actually quite disappointed. I get better pictures from the Top of the Hub in Boston. Don't get me wrong, the place and the view is awesome. But it is always so packed; even on a very cold and windy day there are still tons of people. I had to wait every time I want to shoot in a new spot. Plus they have "no tripod policy." I did not see any signs of this but I was told by the security. There was no way to take good pictures without the tripod so of course I kept on using my tripod. I thought better kept on using it until I get kicked out than taking crappy photos. Despite all those things, I did get a couple of good ones (above). I of course expected a lot more, but considering all those things I mentioned above I guess it is better some than none.

NYE in NYC

So I went to Times Square to see the ball drop on New Years Eve. As I had mentioned earlier, I was not sure if I really wanted to do so thinking that it would really be super boring and such torture to wait in the cold for hours around people who would be pushing you all the time. But we went anyway and I thought it was not so bad. We started going pretty late: around 9pm. So we were not anywhere near the ball. In fact, we did not see the ball at all.

We ended up watching it from a big screen. Seen in this photo on the left side. Kid Rock was performing when I took this picture. I was quite disappointed with the lack or performance and entertainment that they offered in Times Square. Sure there were Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus a.k.a Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, Kerry Underwood and Blake Lewis (which I think gave the best entertainment and music to me), but many people don't even know these people, especially those who came from out of country (big percentage of the crowd). Ryan said that last year they had Christina Aguilera and two years ago they had Mariah Carey. Why is the entertainment keep getting worse and worse each year then? I was expecting something more festive. Maybe I was expecting too much.

Despite all those things, we had fun. The funnest moments were in the beginning when people were screaming to the police to open the barricade and when the police did so. People were running towards Times Square and were so excited. Sure, I was pushed and crushed at some points. And was so scared that my camera will be crushed. But everything turned out great. Will I do it again? I'm not sure.

New Years Eve

I have been debating on how to spend new years eve here in New York. There are many things to do, but I wonder whats the perfect thing to do. I have been thinking about watching the ball drop in Times Square but most New Yorkers said that it is not a great idea. The Times Square are going to be packed, you will not be able to move. You'll have to wait in the cold for hours and hours for something that only happened in few seconds. I was not sure. Another plan is to go to a club and have fun. Some clubs have something like a miniature scale of the ball dropping event. But my friends and I decided to go to Times Square and just do it. I am quite excited. We'll see how it goes.


Photo taken from Long Island city overlooking Manhattan Island.


Photo taken from Manhattan Island overlooking Hudson river and New Jersey/

Boston - 4th day

Today is my last day in Boston. I am leaving to New York in a few minutes. Yes, change of plan; I wont be able to go up to Canada this time. I was being so stupid not knowing that I need a visa to go to Canada. I learned about this the day before I was about to go. Thankfully, I haven't bought the tickets. So now I decided to go back to New York and spend Christmas there.

Yesterday I also learned that I have lost over 100 pictures from Washington DC. I think I forgot to transfer them to the external hard drive and had deleted it thinking that they were already transfered. I'm crossing my fingers and toes I will be able to recover them. I will try to do this once I get back in NYC.

Photos below are taken from the Top of the Hub. The view was awesome; it was almost magical. Definitely way to go to end my Boston trip.

Boston - 3rd day

Third day a girl in the hostel suggested Winthrop for shooting spot. She knows this place because her sister loves photography. Man, I'm telling you, luck is with my on this trip (I hope I did not jinx it by saying it). I also realized my friend Mike whom I know from China actually is in Boston. So we went to Winthrop. The place was awesome and it was awesome to catch up with Mike.

Boston - 2nd day

I am basically traveling around Boston without plan. Wake up in the morning, go out of the hostel and decide where to go in the subway station. LOL. But good thing everything works out great. It seems like I always go to the right spot. I guess luck was following me on this trip. :)
The photos below were taken around the Rose Wharf during sunset. I was so lucky to get such great colors which I guess is quite uncommon here during winter.

Boston - 1st day

First day I came here I saw piles of snow. I was afraid I would not survive. I hate cold. Some people were wondering what am I doing in the east coast during winter, especially after knowing that I am not used to the cold and hate it. I have to say it is not that bad; its actually pretty good. This way I am practicing for my Antarctica trip later in the future.

It was snowing heavily the whole day after I arrived in Boston. First photo is taken from the other side of Charles river looking over Boston's sky skyscrapers. Second photo is taken on Harvard Bridge also looking over the skyscraper decorated with the lights from cars passing by.

I'm leaving to either Philly or DC (still undecided) tomorrow, so I thought I should try to take some shots of Times Square and the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. I was disappointed; there is nothing special with the tree except for its size. It is only decorated with little lights and the only ornament is the swarovski star on top.
I took zero picture of it and left the place disappointed. Walked to Times Square for some blinding lights. I have to say that Times Square is definitely not the best place to takes pictures, especially at night when you need a tripod. There are simply too many people on the street. And tonight especially was colder than the days before. It snowed a little bit tonight, which was cool, but the wind was freeeeeeeeezing and blowing the snow to your face and eyes (not pleasant).
Despite all those unpleasant things, I think I got a couple of okay shots. I was hoping for something a lot better, but I guess I have to redo this later when I get back here around New Year.

East Coast

As I had mentioned in my earlier post, I'm currently in NYC; exploring the east coast. Prior to the east coast I was traveling to San Fransisco. I love it there. The architectures are so different from those in Los Angeles. They have European and metropolitan feel to them. Although I still would probably prefer to have a garden/yard like most houses do in Los Angeles. It was foggy almost everyday when I was there. I think it was cool. I like fog. Unfortunately, I did not get shots of the infamous Golden Gate Bridge with the fog and all. Well, this just mean a reason to go back to SF some time soon. :)

From SF, I went to Miami. Awesome weather. I love that place, mostly because I was staying at this very cool and fun hostel in South Beach called Ohana hostel. I met lotsa cool people (I miss you guys...) and one handsome dog there. :) You know how I love dogs. I did not take as many pictures during this trip as I usually do when I travel but I don't regret it. I had fun, met cool people, relax, and explore.

New York comes after Miami and thats where I am at the moment. I love it here; very different from LA. I love the subway system. The system tho, not the station; the stations smell like pee. Eww. I remember someone told me that New York is stinky in summer time, but this is winter. I guess this means I should not come to NY during summer or I might have to wear oxygen mask at all times... Alrite, its not that bad. I might just have very sensitive nose. Back to loving the subway system: I wish we have subway in LA. That would make life so much easier.
I'm having fun here tho I had one pretty weird moment a few nights ago when I was walking down Times Square. I was munching and enjoying a good slice of pizza while walking towards a theater where I was going to see a play when I went pass in front of a man with a kid (or two - it was a busy street) and he said "Watch out, Chinese!" to his kid(s). I guess I was cutting his way or something - I did what I had to do on a busy street. I find it so rude, wrong, false but true. Rude because it is rude, no explanation necessary. Wrong because teaching your children that you should be careful around Chinese people is just wrong. False because I am not Chinese. Well, I am but I am not really (I'm Indonesian by nationality). True because it is true that some Chinese can be a bit pushy. I did experience this when I was living in China. People pushed like they didn't want to waste any second of their life. This is not considered rude in their culture, it is simply a cultural habit (sort of). I tried to remember this every time I was annoyed, tho I failed most of the time. So I guess I kinda understand where he is coming from, but it is still wrong.
Another thing I'm experiencing in NY is the cold. The first day I was here was nice, not too cold, but then it got colder. Thank D.O.G I brought my very warm winter coat. I'm actually kinds used to the cold now. It not so bad at all. The only thing that I can't deal with is my easily frozen fingers when I'm outdoor for hours trying to take some pictures. But hey, sometimes you gotta sacrifice for something you love. :)

Next stop: Washington DC, Boston, then Montreal.

Wicked

Yes, it has been a while. I am currently in NYC; been here for few days. Yes, it is cold in here. There are times when I think I made a mistake coming here in winter, but there are times when I just love it. Like today. I was thinking I should go see a Broadway show last night and I was informed about the lottery for the show. I went to it and try it. Well, guess what?! I won! I watched the show I got the front row seat. It was awesome. To top it all, it was snowing a little bit when I walked down Times Square after they drew the names and I was called; so it was as if the snow came to celebrate my winning. What an awesome night. :)