New York - 9/11 Remembered

Visiting New York is not complete without visiting ground zero nor remembering those who were killed as well as those who so valiantly sacrificed their lives in saving others.....

I remembered 9/11 well....

That night (on the other side of the world), I had just finished my dinner and was having my usual Guinness Draft at the Bernard's (Center Point Bandar Utama). I was on the phone with my girl friend who was in Bangkok then and while chatting, both of us were actually watching the TV in front of us.

What I saw was nothing short of spectacular...the TV was playing a `movie' where a airliner was shown slamming right into the Twin Tower with a massive explosion. I was like `wow'...what an incredible stunt...That it hit me...I wasn't watching the HBO channel..I was actually watching CNN!!! This is NO made believe! This is as REAL as it can get! At the same instance, my girl friend on the other end of the line asked if I have seen what she is seeing on TV...Moments later, we saw the second plane ploughing into the second tower...I just could not believe my eyes...I remember disbelieve and at the same time, a sense of panic knowing something real big is unfolding before my eyes....I told my girl friend to get on the next plane the next morning to come home....

9 years later, I was at Ground Zero where a massive rebuilding is going on with a new hope and a much stronger determination from every parties for greater world peace ....
I took the picture of this sculpture known as the `The Sphere'. It used to sit proudly between the two towers and ironically was put there to promote world peace. When the twin tower collapsed, this structure was battered, and twisted and surprisingly remained almost intact...It is now located at Battery Park, a few blocks away from where she was originally located...Once a mere sculpture, she is now a monument to remember that fateful day where so many had died and the world's politically landscape was changed forever ...
As I took this shot, I was deeply touched, remembering those who was killed when the plane slammed into the building, those who jumped from the highest floors when hope seemed lost, those trapped within the collapsed building and the families who have to endure life without their loved ones, loosing them so suddenly in what seemed to be so senseless ....

Rest in peace and the good Lord bless and keeps you all close by HIS side ....

New York - Not a very good first impression to me

July 2010

Been busy with the arrival of our new baby girl last month. Hence got really tied up with changing nappies and night feed...Yawwwnnnnnn........(visit my other blog at http://babynme2008.blogspot.com) on our new baby girl and the pictures of our little princess...

Back to our travelling blog.

Leaving Washington, the capital of USA which is well organised, clean and where the pace was much much slower, arriving the JFK Airport was a totally different experience. Everything is moving at a much faster pace and sadly, the people are less friendly. In fact some are downright rude! (Is it because we are Asians or Chinese or Malaysian, coming from a Muslim country? Go figure!)

The taxi ride from the airport to our Park Central Hotel was a harrowing experience to say the least. I thought taxi drivers in Malaysia are `rude'. You should try taking a ride with NYC cabs. They are not exactly a courteous lot.

I was telling my wife that I prefer Washington anytime and was doubtful whether I would be enjoying my stay at New York for the next five days.

We were booked at the Park Central Hotel which is just 5 minutes walk away from Times Square and 5 minutes walk from the famous Central Park. Definitely a recommended hotel if you are thinking of staying in NYC.

Now that we have checked in, I was excited to see and explore NEW YORK!

First stop....the ever famous TIMES SQUARE !