Now that we've gone through Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5, time for us to move on to Day 6!

Finally!!! The day has come for us to naik helicopter and fly above Manhattan!!! If you read my entry pasal my pre-flight experience with the helicopter operator here, you'd know that they already cekik my darah by this point lololol.

But whatever, kita dah naik pun (on my birthday mengikut timing New York some more HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!) and this is one of my life experiences that I will never forget. Unless I get dementia and jadi nyanyuk in old age la. But even then pun takpe, I will just baca balek my own blog muahahaha. I mean, that is the main reason I blog, after all?!

11 May 2015 (Day 6)
[New York Pass activated]

- Grand Central Terminal
- Junior's Cheesecake
- Liberty Helicopters
- United Nations Headquarters

But before we went to naik helicopter, we went to Grand Central Terminal to feeling feeling New Yorker, y'all. I think kita dah lama kena fed the idea that Grand Central Terminal is the heart of NYC and always portrayed as very grand in movies and books but whether actual New Yorkers feel the same way, I don't know lah hah. Aku tak interview dorang.

All I know is that I can't believe I finally stepped foot into Grand freaking Central Terminal already!!!!! It is as magnificent as I imagined it to be... I think I spent a good 40 minutes gawking at its structure and intricate detailing and throngs of locals and tourists coming in and out of all the entrances/exits. All that while listening to their useful self-guided audio tour which we got for free under the New York pass! (Another 15 minutes was spent furiously taking pictures and trying to figure out which angle will look good on Instagram hahahahaha bye la bye la)

Also tried cheesecake from the Junior's Cheesecake! Ada satu outlet kat bawah Grand Central Terminal. As you can see from the swirls, I chose a chocolate cheesecake, but they have other flavours like raspberry cheesecake la apple crumble cheesecake la sugar-free low carb version pun ada.

Kepada siapa siapa yang nak try, please be warned that their sliced cheesecake is huge and very, very rich. I ada friends who didn't like it, friends who loved it, so it really depends on what your preferences are. Personally, Saliheen and I liked it, but dua dua cannot finish the slice even though we shared a slice because it is seriously rich nak mampos.

Anyway, it was after this baru we went to Downtown Manhattan heliport to naik helicopter!!! Dah pandai, nampak. Dah learn from mistake, nampak. Don't book helicopter appointment in the mornings because foggy gila! Bila dah noon baru all clear and bright, perfect for cosy helicopter rides.....

Our pilot was informative (tapi kesian kena pekik pekik over the whirring noises) and I freaking love the sensation of being so high up in the sky. Flying above Manhattan, no less!!!!! One of the most famous skylines in the world, okay. It was a first helicopter experience for me some more (30 before 30 list, checked!) Not the first for Saliheen but him abseiling from a helicopter over Tekong (or whichever area he is assigned to during reservist) is tak pakai k.

Lepas dah rasa exhilarated over our helicopter ride, time to make our way to the United Nations Headquarters pulak. Not the usual stop recommended in travel books or websites but personally we were interested to see their headquarters, which is why we booked their 1-hour guided tour.

So, so cool. We went through a hall where a meeting was in session but we weren't allowed to take pictures, we weren't even allowed to talk (nasib baik allowed to breathe) so I can only share pictures of empty meeting halls kwa kwa kwa.

Last picture is from one of their in-house exhibitions, I was so amazed when I saw the artifacts taken from the neighbourhoods that were destroyed in the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. So crazy. Everytime I see something from a historical event in front of my very eyes, my heart races and my mind freaking explodes k. Not literally, of course. And pun was not intended eh, tak kelakar tau make fun of such catastrophic events. Tau.

We were craaazy tired after that so we went back to the hotel to wash up then instead of jalan jalan around Times Square like the past few nights, we went out to the Empire State Building area instead. To, you know, tukar angin.

Also because I wanted to find a dessert shop located near the area la hahahahaha. 

The dessert shop turned out to be disappointment and their desserts, while instagram-worthy, were hard and tasted blahhhhh (I didn't post a picture in Instagram in the end, it was that bad hahaha). But as we all know, things always happen for a reason, and that old adage proved its point when we passed by a store called "Zumiez" on our way back.

Saliheen didn't want to masuk at first but I insisted because the store had street-wear (which he loves) and many black teeshirts (which he also loves) and we were strolling back to our hotel and had time to spare, anyway.

Guess what lah guys, he ended up being the person who couldn't tear himself away from the store wtf and dia BORONG MAHA BORONG KE APE!!!!!!! I tak tau lah street-wear brands for lelaki ni semua but apparently, they sold pretty good brands at cheap prices. But I think the 'stinger' for Saliheen was when this happened:

Saliheen: Hi, do you have this design in size XL?

Staff: Oh yes, we have it in XL.
Saliheen: Okay, do you have this design in size XL as well?
Staff: Actually we have all of the designs in XL, you just have to choose which designs you like.

Member terus mata terbeliak besar, sampai astronaut kat bulan pun boleh nampak, aku agak. So different from Singapore streetwear stores, where he always, always has to ask the staff to show him which designs are available in XL, and they will always show him 1 or 2 berlapuk pieces yang tak cantik sangat as the rest of the other designs. Dia selalu hampa seh kat Singapore. No such thing as hampa in Zumiez New York, more like habis ah dia punya duit kwa kwa.

And to think he didn't want to even step in to masuk and tengok at first. Had to insist and drag him him in baru dia ikut. See lah, SEE LAH. Always dismissing my recommendations!!! Then he will be one who loves and obsesses over my recommendations!!! Selalu gini tau!!!!! 

Now, whenever he dismisses my recommendations, I always ungkit threaten kacau him - "That time I cakap nak pergi tengok Lion King, you cakap ape? Merepek kan? End up bagus gila kan? That time I cakap nak gi makan Halal Guys, you cakap ala special sangat ke? End up you obsessed with them bila dah rasa kan? That time I cakap nak masuk Zumiez, you tak nak kan? Until I insist kan? Lepas tu you yang borong, sampai sekarang masih termimpi mimpi kan??? NAK DISMISS I LAGI LA????????"

Hahahaha! Menyampah tak aku punya cara ambik kesempatan. But the good thing is laki aku sekarang dah tak wet blanket sangat. Now he doesn't say a big firm 'NO' when I cocok him pasal nak pergi skydiving, I just see him silently considering it in his head hahaha habis ah naik shiok ah aku pakai itu line. 

Thanks But No Thanks, Liberty Helicopters

Sorry about the unintentional hiatus, you guys!!!!!!!!!!

Been crazy busy with work and personal life then tiba tiba my blogging mojo hilang gitu.....

But anyway, I am back and I actually wanted to blog about Day 4 of my NYC trip but my story pasal our sua suay kemuning pre-helicopter ride experience macam ~grew~ into its own monster story so I decided to break away from my Day 4 entry and publish it separately. Also, sorry if you like entries with bright colourful pictures because this one no have pictures, mostly just me being frustrated and angsty most of the time hahahahaha.

The story goes like this: About 2 weeks before our NYC holiday, Saliheen and I booked and paid for our helicopter ride slot with Liberty Helicopters via their website. We secured a morning slot (9.00am) and was due to fly on 9 May 2015, which was a Saturday. Of course, we later found out that this was not meant to be lah kan.

We should have seen the signs before we left for Downtown Manhattan Heliport tau!!!!!

9 May 2015

8.00am

The first sign was..... we woke up late wth. Bangun terkejut katak and we had to rush! rush! rush! out of our hotel room.

8.45am

Lepas dah rush out from our hotel room, we immediately sprinted towards the subway entrance!!! And what do we see when we arrived at the mouth of the entrance?????

A big fat 'No Entry' tape slung across the entrance.

WTH TENKZ. Takde lain hari ke ape ni?!?! I mean, we were already forewarned by friends that such subway closures do happen regularly in NYC but really??? On the very day that we were late????? Pfffffffffttt.

We didn't want to waste time checking for alternative subway lines since we were late for our appointment so we immediately hailed down a cab to go to the heliport. Kena bayar USD30 for a short 15-minute trip, beb. Lumayan, beb.

9.00am

After we arrived, we were told to go through security and fill up forms segala but once we reached to their registration counter, their employee dropped this baik punya killer on us:

"Oh, we're not flying now because it is too foggy so you will have to wait for another hour."

WTH APE SAK NI aku tengah kena punked ke ape ni, is this real life or is this Gotcha????? TENKZZZZZ EH!!!!! Takde makna nye mandi koboi and bayar USD30 kalau you're gonna tell us that!!!!!

We were a little frustrated (naturally) but we didn't tunjuk perasan or anything lah -  I mean what can they do kan, the weather was out of their control and it wasn't their fault we (thought we) were late and wasted USD30 on short cab ride. We're not unreasonable people and we know it wouldn't be fair to get angry at the service staff for something that they didn't do or couldn't control.

So on the advice of the staff to call them back in 1 hour, Saliheen and I went out and walked around the area dulu while waiting - nothing much to do because the heliport was near a central office district of sorts, which meant kat situ cuma ada offices and a few retail stores (most of which were closed since it was a weekend). 

10.00am

Called them one hour later and was told the fog belum clear and we can only come back after lunch YA OK TENKZ YEW VAIR MUCH EH. We were frustrated lah of course but we also bo pian lah right, tio bo?

We had other activities in our itinerary so we decided to get them out of the way first and then return to the heliport for our helicopter ride later in the afternoon. We checked their heliport operating hours on their website, saw that the last flight for Saturdays is 6.00pm and made a mental note to return to the heliport before that.

11.00am 

We went to Brooklyn and Coney Island for the rest of the day's planned activities (which I will blog about in Day 4)

3.30pm

Once we were done with the rest of the activities, we decided to make our way back to the heliport for our helicopter ride. I didn't want to risk it so 15 minutes before we arrived at the helicopter port, I called the contact number that was given to me by the counter staff  and asked the girl on the line "Are you guys still flying and can I come over now for my helicopter ride?" to which she said "Yes, we are still flying, yes, yes."

So okay lah woo hoo finally kita dapat naik helicopter kan! Exchange fist bumps and joget zapin segala!

3.45pm

Tapi itu semua takde makna nye because the minute we arrived at the helicopter port, we saw..... 

..... one of their employees tengah lock up the main entrance, beb. 

We told the employee that we were there for our helicopter ride but all she did was wave her hand dismissively and kept saying "No more, no more. Everyone has gone home. Helicopter has gone home. You should also go home, come back tomorrow." KEPALA HOTAK KAU BERJAMBUL LAH

I was flabbergasted sak. Their website says their last flight is at 6.00pm and it wasn't even 4.00pm yet! I also freaking called their office 15 minutes before to ask if I can go over for my helicopter ride goddamnit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And now this unhelpful employee is dismissing me and telling me no, no, no we are not flying anymore, the helicopters have gone home and I should go home too????? WHAT KIND OF RUBBISH IS THIS????? Change your operating time on your website and change the person who picks up your calls then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She told us to call their office the next day to reschedule our helicopter ride. FINE.

10 May 2015

10.00am

Just before we left the hotel, Saliheen and I discussed our possible timings for our helicopter and we established that the best timings for us were either on this day between 1pm to 2pm or the next day between 1pm to 2pm as well.

I called their office's number to do the rescheduling and a male employee from their main office picked up my call. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi, my name is Farhana and I am calling to reschedule my helicopter appointment. 

Male Employee: Ok sure... can I have your reservation number?

Me: Reservation no. ******

Male Employee: Ok... You were supposed to fly yesterday?

Me: Yes, but they turned me away because of the weather... the fog.

Male Employee: Oh ok... Which date and time would you like to reschedule to?

Me: Do you have any available slot today?

Male Employee: Nope, we only have available slots for tomorrow.

Me: Okay... Do you have slots tomorrow in the afternoon?

Male Employee: I have an afternoon slot for 12.30pm.

Me: Anything else later than 12.30pm?

Male Employee: No, we only have a 12.30pm slot tomorrow. 

Me: Reaaaaally no way to squeeze me in between 1.00pm to 2.00pm? I am also ok with 2.30pm latest.

Male Employee: No. 12.30pm is the only available slot in the afternoon. 

Me: (after a desperate frantic consultation with Saliheen) Ok then we'll take the 12.30pm slot.

Male Employee: Okay, your new appointment is now confirmed.

After I put down the phone, Saliheen and I looked at each other in despair (hahaha) Macam mana ni! Takkan kita nak tweak itinerary lagi! I was sooooo tak puas hati (since their employees whom we've met have proven to be such unreliable jerks) that I decided to call again almost immediately - their service has been so inconsistent so far, no harm trying my luck, I thought. I got a different (female) employee for my second call, which went something like this:

Me: Hi, my name is Farhana and I am calling to reschedule my helicopter appointment. 

Female Employee:  Ok sure... can I have your reservation number?

Me: Reservation no. ******

Female Employee:  Ok... When would you like to fly, ma'am?

Me: My current appointment is tomorrow at 12.30pm, right?

Female Employee: Yes, that's correct.

Me: Ok, I still want to fly tomorrow but I want to change it to a later timing. Do you have any slots later than 12.30pm?

Female Employee: Ah ok, let me check the system for you... 

Me: Yes please, thank you.

Female Employee: Okay, let's see... We have 3 available slots - there's 1.15pm, 1.45pm and 4.00pm.

Me: Oh you do????? Great! Can you change my appointment to the 1.45pm slot?

Female Employee: Sure! I have confirmed your new appointment at 1.45pm tomorrow.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have no idea how much I wanted to punch the employee who took my first phonecall!!!!! If I had called hours after that first phonecall then ok lah boleh kasi benefit of doubt, maybe other customers cancelled their appointments in between ke ape. But my second phonecall was seriously within a minute of my first phonecall ok!!!!! And takkan within a minute, tiba tiba got 3 available slots magically appear for the afternoon?!?!?! Don't know why he was so bloody dengki and insisted 12.30pm was the only choice I had. Ni pun lagi satu kepala hotak kau berjambul betul.

But whatever lah. Dah terjadi pun, and aku dah naik helicopter dorang pun. The helicopter ride was (fortunately) very different from the pre-flight service - the ride was so fun and so awesome and a beautiful memory that I will cherish forevzzzzz!!!!! I will blog more about that in a later entry.

But now that I know the pre-flight service at Liberty Helicopters is bloody rubbish, if I ever get to return to NYC and wish to experience a helicopter ride again, I'd most definitely:

(1) Choose another operator (maybe the NY On Air one that vlogger FunForLouis went on! You can stick your legs out of the helicopter so fun for what!!!!!)

(2) Fix my appointment only when I am in NYC to better anticipate the weather. In the event I must book it in advance, I'd probably choose afternoon slots instead of mornings to void the fog at the heliport.

(3) Call first before I arrive at the heliport to check on weather and availability (although this wouldn't matter with Liberty Helicopters because they don't seem to be very reliable with their phone replies. Sheesh.)

(4) Choose another operator.

(5) CHOOSE ANOTHER OPERATOR.

Haaaaaaa... maka berakhirlah my complains pasal service Liberty Helicopters yang tak berguna tu. Boring eh baca cerita pasal orang tengah tak happy??? I pun boring blogging pasal benda yang buat cekik darah. I promise lepas ni my NYC blog entries dah tak angsty because the rest of the other days lagi fun! And tak cekik darah sangat.