quick updates

my blog has been so inactive due to the extensive amount of traveling i have been doing for the past 2 weeks. it was AWESOME times! I'm currently blogging from my hotel lobby in NY. its the worst hotel i have stayed thus far! the rooms looks old, dirty and haunted! but its right smack in Times square so it makes up for it.

Work has officially ended for me at 15 July. it was a great experience working at six flags. learn so much about how Americans work and made so many wonderful friends from all over the world. and it breaks my heart to say good bye.

We rented a car and went on a road trip all over the east side of US. we had a nice luxurious Crystler Sebring for the road trip but paid economic price! we drove a total of 2000 miles (3218km). its crazy!

Places we visited :
Washington D.C, Gettysburg, then we drove up to Canada to see the Niagara Falls which is so breath taking! we stayed a few days to visit Toronto and then drive back to the states to see Buffalo, Boston, Vermont, New Jersey, and finally settle New York City till the end of the trip before heading to taiwan.

Just checked my account balance and oh how my heart sank! i feel so guilty. shant review the amount thou! haha! will post detail updates of my trip once i have time when i get back!

stay tuned!

Philadelphia

Philadelphia - the first capital city of USA. a centerpiece of early American history, host to many of the ideas and actions that gave birth to the American Revolution and independence. its a very nice and pretty city. loads of old buildings with intricate architecture and the streets are so clean. love this place! the trip is like a mini history lesson for me.

Independence Hall - the location where the declaration of independence is signed. the place where the united states begins. we were too late and the tour is full so we cant go inside to see.

Tomb of the unknown soldiers- its a memorial for the people who fought and died at war for US independence.

First Bank in America.

Liberty Bell - is one of the most prominent symbols of the American Revolutionary War. It is a familiar symbol of independence within the United States and has been described as an icon of liberty and justice

China Town in Philadelphia. once you step into this place you feel kinda at home.. you hear people speaking Chinese, u see bubble tea, and all that Chinese cuisines..

we went to check out the Chinese super market and they actually have durian. but they looks super not fresh guess durians aren't v popular here.. they have maggie mee from Singapore too!

some church along the street..

City Hall.. but it was closed so we weren't able to go in..

LOVE this pic! this is my favourite picture from Philly.

we met our neighbours there! they actually took 4 hours to get there by bus and it cost them 60usd! we took only 45 mins to drive there.. see how inefficient public transport is over here!

another picture of its city hall..
our day in Philly is not complete without eating the famous cheese steak. well cheese steak in US is actually like the kind you find in subway shredded beef in sandwich.. not the full steak that we normally get.

so we went to the famous Jim's Steak that is so highly recommended by the locals living here as well as travel books..

and it was SO DAMN GOOD! everything totally melts in your mouth! it was amazing! juicy beef, savoury melted cheese top with onions! heavenly!

White Castle! our day ended with a trip to white castle! and we actually go lost on our way there! it was suppose to be like only 20 mins away but we just keep driving and there was NO white castle to be seen! but we finally find the place after like almost an hour!

the burgers at white castle looks EXACTLY like the ones in Harold and Kumar! and it taste SO SO GOOD! the buns is soft and warm. the burger patty is tender and you can finish 1 burger in like 3 bites!

stop drooling! now i understand why harold and kumar had to take that crazy trip just to get to white castle! its so worth it!

tom yum dinner!

one of the nice thing about being in work and travel is the opportunity to meet nice people from all over the world.. there were about 100 over thai peeps living with us at housing and they are so so nice and hospitable.. and before they leave we had this big tom yum feast!

Aow and Ton, the 2 thai that were closest to us made tom yum soup and thai fried rice and another dish. the tom yum they make is SO HEAVENLY! LOVE IT! its one of the nicest tom yum soup i have tasted!

the Thais made tom yum while the Singaporeans made omelet, rendang chicken, omelet and some random dish that caderam cook and white rice!.. haha! our culinary skills pales in comparison to them! haha!

the food is jus so so so good!!!

most of the thai people have left already.. the housing area is alot quieter without them.. and i m starting to miss them!

Atlantic City

Atlantic City- Famous for its broad walk, casino gambling, sandy beaches, shopping centres and the spectacular view of the Atlantic ocean. its kinda like a mini Vegas by the beach kind of place. its a pretty small area but its really nice.

this is in Caesars Atlantic City, a hotel with casino in it. we had nice buffet lunch at the hotel. the hotel is beautiful and the food was awesome! the whole table of us were just whacking the hairy leg crab. its so nice! and eugene was just surrounded by flying crab shells and juice! haha. chech out the expression on his face!

after out super filling lunch we went to take a stroll along the famous broad walk. its a whole stretch of nice wooden walk way lined by the beach and casinos.

this place is famous for its beach. and Eugene says the waters feels cold because they flow from the Atlantic ocean. sunset by the beach was beautiful.. the sun sets like really late over here cus its summer. its like almost 830pm in this pics.

Trump Taj Mahal. this luxurious hotel/casino by donald trump. its has features of the taj mahal and the interior is really nice especially in the casino but they were quite strict on no photo taking in the casino.

its my first time in a casino and its pretty fun to watch people gamble at the table. and see how their money disappear in like seconds. i wonder where these people get their money from! every game of black jack has minimum bet of $50 usd and people usually bet alot more then that. they have jackpot machines where every pull cost $100 usd! my heart wont be able to take that kind of thrill.

we picked up a cash voucher.. and we all had a turn at the jackpot machine.. caderam was the most pro gambler he actually won $10 playing 1 cent slot machine. that's like 1000 times. he hit mine jackpot. and he proceed to gamble with the amount won and it actually went up to $60 but then he lost it all at the end of the day..

no wonder they say the casino always wins.. i won't have to pay $100 to see what a casino look like already. i went like so many different casino that night and they all look the same. Eugene and i got so bored by the end of the night cus we weren't gambling.. the day ended with us taking bus back in the middle of the night like 2am! was a little bit scary waiting for bus at the almost deserted bus interchange but the whole atlantic experience was great!

New York City

New York City! the most happening place in the united states and we are finally there! its very similar to what we have in spore like skycraper and busy streets and all that hustle n bustle..

we alighted at times square and first stop starts at the central park.

some castle located within the park itself.. the park is so so big!

its a nice place where the locals hang out for picnic n baseball games or jus to go jogging

we dint complete walking the park cus we were too tired.. maybe another day..still loads to see
upper east side.. where all the atas ppl in NYC Stays.. where the gossip girl ppl stay i guess.. every apartment lobby has like concierge service like bell boy n stuff like tt..and we see people getting out of limos every other block

how can a trip to new york be complete without shopping! went victoria secrets and H & M for the first time in my life! and it was AWESOME! both boutiques are 2 storey high! and they were other shops too which we had no time to go cus the guys were waiting n gettin bored..zzz

grand central station..

New York City lights up at night at its so vibrant so wonder they its the city that never sleeps. Time square looks really nice at night. much nicer that in the day with all that exciting lights

Chrysler building lits up at night..

and we took photo with the famous N.Y.P.D. (new york police department) everyone is taking photos with them, wonder if they are actually there to do their patrol or models for ppl to take photo with..
thats my limo! haha..i wish.. in US limos are really all over the place..lotsa rich ppl here i guess

to end the day on a sweet note we visited the famous Hersheys n M&Ms shop at times suqare.

they have all kind of hershey product over there..

and M&M
they have this wall that is jus filled with M&Ms chocolate.. it stretches over the entire shop and level 2n 3. they say its the largest chocolate wall in the world!

we only spend 1 day there.. will definately go back again! blog again... gtg!