The Big Apple

I figured that I should stop marking lousy essays and forget about setting exam papers. It's such a boring and depressing a thing to be doing after a long day. So I shall talk about The Big Apple - New York.

New York City. It's the Rome of today. Everyone must go to NYC once in their lifetime. It's a place where civilisations meet. You see people of all creed and nation represented on 5th Ave, Times Square and in the UN HQ (I stay just across it!) As with London, this City is just so cosmopolitan. Just imagine this - NYC is about the size of this Little Red Dot but 9 million people live and work in it. Amazing!

Amazing Fact: If you were to stack up all the buildings in NYC on top of one another, there would be a total of 8 million floors!!

There is never a dull moment in NYC. Everything comes to life - on every street, on every corner there is something that represents life. People and vehicles come and go every single moment on the clock. Take Grand Central Station for example. It is crowded at nearly every hour of the day, except for the underpasses that run underneath the station itself (that's another complicated system). Everyone is like a flower that springs out of the indoors in the summer because everyone, where possible, busks in the sun with someone, with the newspaper/book, with a sandwich and drink or with castles in the cloud.

And how can I forget this - SHOPPING!! Oh my gosh! NYC is shopping haven. Every known brand is found in that City.....Louis Vutton, Prada, Nike (there's Niketown on E57th), Old Navy, Victoria's Secrets, Tiffany & Co(it's a department store man..6 levels..a mecca for all women *bling bling*), Calvin Klein, etc etc....even unknown brands stand on their own. My fav stores have to be Bloomingdale and Macy's. It will be ridiculous to go to NYC and not go shopping. Be sure you are there with someone who knows the place well enough to take you to the places with great bargains. My Mum is the coolest - she knows where to take me to check out all the cheapo stuff that don't look unglam at all.

Times Square. Everyone just congregates at Times Square to see and to feel NYC. The bright lights, the cameras, the people, the energy that is in Times Square is incredible.

If that's too much, make your way to Central Park. That is just such a lovely getaway from the hustle and bustle of NYC. It feels like a totally different world altogether. And yes, day-dreaming is allowed, so it says on the signboards around the Park.

Food is another incredible experience in NYC. The most expensive I've come across - 100g of beluga cavier laid over vodka-laced ice and served in a silver chalice. Or the humble pretzel stalls all over the City. You cannot miss out the kebab and burger stands scattered everywhere. And if you must know, there are 142 Starbucks outlets on NYC itself. My parents love the food at Chinatown, which I must say, is fantastic too.

Chinatown? Heh! When you are there, you really won't feel like you are in America at all. I'm serious! OK, perhaps in the touristy area of Chinatown, near Little Italy, you'll still see lots of tourists but when you go into the heart of Chinatown, you'll be shot if you don't speak Mandarin or some dialect, like Cantonese. The standard of English in Chinatown is rather appalling but at the same time, amusing. Take a look at the following picture (it was taken at a bus ticketing booth). I rest my case.

New York City. All roads lead to New York City. Be there or be square!