Eh hi, I wasn't kidding when I said Saliheen went nuts after he discovered the store we came across in NYC had all designs in his size HAHAHAHA. I was clearing photos from my phone when I realized I have pictorial evidence! (Explains the bad quality) Check out that burgeoning heap of T-shirts on his shoulder and the middle pictures; he kept looking from left to right because he was so overwhelmed by his choices and tried to take everything in immediately. Last two pictures is of him asking me whether I was taking photos of him freaking out with his shopping HAHA BYE

Birthday Trip, New York City, May 2015 (Overview)

Hi guys!!!!! This is my final entry on our New York City trip already!!!!!

As always, I will publish a final overview on my trip in case friends want to use whatever little information I can share for their own holiday! Sorry if this isn't interesting for you! Maybe you should go and read a book for entertainment.

Our Travel Dates

6 May 2015 to 14 May 2015

Flight Itinerary & Journey Duration

Singapore to New York
Singapore to Dubai: 7 hours 30 minutes

Transit in Dubai: 2 hours

Dubai to New York: 13 hours 35 minutes

New York to Singapore

Singapore to Dubai: 12 hours 50 minutes

Transit in Dubai: 8 hours

Dubai to New York: 7 hours 35 minutes

Time Difference

Exactly 12 hours behind Singapore local time

Weather During Our Stay

Super chilly for first 4 days, sunny with cold wind the next 3 days, then back to super chilly for last 2 days. I was expecting sunny weather throughout our trip since it was nearing summer but the chilly weather for the first few days and last 2 days was a pleasant surprise, especially for my polar bear Saliheen!

Why We Chose to Travel to New York City (And why we DIY-ed!)

We wanted to jejak United States together at least once before we start a family! Our initial plan was to go to Canada then Washington, Boston and New York City with a tour agency but since their NYC itinerary was limited, we decided to go to NYC on our own. NO FREAKING REGRETS. Probably because NYC is an English-speaking city and the transportation system is easy to understand and use. This is unlike our our Eastern Europe holiday last year which we went on via a travel agency - tak kuasa nyah nak berbual ayam itik.

Where did We Stay at in New York City

We considered ROW NYC, Yotel Hotel and Hotel Edison but Night Hotel Times Square was the one that caught our eyes and hearts. Mainly because it was the cheapest la HAHAHA. I'd like to stress that we stayed at Night Hotel Times Square eh, which is at 157 West 47th Street! Not Night Hotel, which is a DIFFERENT hotel located one street down.

Saliheen and I LOVE the hotel that we stayed at in NYC. The room is super small but cosy and the location was seriously the absolute best part!!! It is located right next to Times Square so it is less than 1 minute walking distance to the heart of everything, can you believe it!!!!! Explains why we were in Times Square almost every night hahaha. There was also a 24-hour deli beside our hotel, which we masuk everyday for breakfast and some suppers. 

Someone (who has been to NYC) warned me against taking a hotel near/in Times Square because of the traffic and human noise but honestly, Saliheen and I weren't bothered by it at all and slept like logs every night. You get used to the constant honking noises after 24 hours! Cheh wah, dah macam true New Yorker siol lolol.

We did not opt to stay in an AirBNB apartment because the ones we were interested in cost only slightly lesser than the cheapest hotel in the heart of Times Square + all of them were located away from the Times Square area so staying in an AirBNB in NYC just didn't interest us. (This is based on our own preference and requirements, of course!)

Which Attractions did We Visit in New York City

You can read my blog entries on the different activities that we did in NYC by clicking the links below:

Day 1 - Times Square, The Lion King on Broadway

Day 2 - Chelsea Market, The High Line, Soho, Flatiron Building & Henley Vaporium

Day 3 - Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Sprinkles Cupcakes ATM, Fifth Avenue, Apple Store, FAO Schwarz, Niketown, Momofuku Milk Bar

Day 4 - New York Water Taxi Ride, Jane's Carousel, Coney Island, Madame Tussauds NYC

Day 5 - Empire State Building, Green Fleamarket, Shake Shack, Central Park, American Museum of Natural History, Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre), Magnolia Bakery

Day 6 - Grand Central Terminal, Junior's Cheesecake, Liberty Helicopters, United Nations Headquarters

Day 7 - Museum of Modern Art, Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho Walking Tour

Day 8 - Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty), Ground Zero, 9/11 Tribute Center, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge

Day 9 - The Halal Guys foodcart, Dubai International Airport Hotel

Availability of Halal Food

AVAILABLE IN ABUNDANCE! On top of the famous The Halal Guys foodcart, there were tons of other Halal food-carts scattered all over the city, all trying to cash in on The Halal Guys fame haha. Most of them have sub-par standard though, but kalau dah nak makanan halal and you are not anywhere near The Halal Guys food-cart then jadi la kan. 

Unless of course, you are the sort who mati mati nak official certification from MUIS and tak nak percaya affirmation/the Halal signs hung up by fellow Muslims in other countries, then terpaksa la you makan sayur sahaje. Kalau sayur in other countries pun you nak insist on Halal certification by MUIS maka terpaksa la you kebulur atau duduk di rumah sahaje.....

Transportation Around New York City

We travelled all over the city via their subway! The system looks confusing and intimidating at first but after you figure it out, trust me - it is easy. Especially if you have the Metrocard on hand! We got the 7-day Metrocard with unlimited rides, just swipe and go. We used this guide as a starting point to understand NYC's subway system - please learn about the subway's Uptown/Downtown difference (If you get on the wrong train, NO such thing as dropping off and going to the train opposite to go back to where you came from... not like the train system in Singapore!) as well as the difference in express trains (white dots) or local trains (black dots). 

We also travelled via East River Ferry, New York Water Taxi and Statue Liberty Cruises to visit Brooklyn and Liberty Island. It was nice to see NYC via the rivers but not  necessary if you don't want to pay for it (There's always the free Staten Island Ferry!) Can walk down the Brooklyn Bridge if you want to see the Manhattan skyline instead.

As for our journeys to and fro the JFK airport and our hotel in Times Square, we opted to take cab and pay a flat rate of USD60 + USD10 tip per trip instead of taking the public bus or train because we didn't want too much hassle, especially after 23 hours of travelling! The cab rides took about 45 minutes, depending on traffic. 

There is also the NYC Airporter which travels to the city but you'll have to drop off at one of their designated spots and then walk to your hotel (Port Authority is the closest if you're staying in Times Square). It's cheaper at USD16.00 per pax for a 1-way trip though so if you don't mind a little bit of walking then this is a cheaper alternative. I don't know the cost for trains into the city since we didn't consider it but I'm assuming it'll be even cheaper than that.

Whether the New York Pass was Worth our Purchase

I am now 50/50 on this! Whether it will be worthwhile for you depends on how flexible you want your itinerary to be. We worked our itinerary around the New York Pass to make it worthwhile (It is restrictive in that sense) but if you want a very flexible itinerary without worrying on maximum utilization of your pass then you are better off without it. 

Here is a breakdown of our savings from using the New York Pass:

Cost of New York Pass with Shipping to Asia		S$255.00 PER PAX
Cost of Activities Redeemed under New York Pass		S$426.00 PER PAX
New York Water Taxi All-Day Access Pass	S$44.00
Madame Tussauds Entry Fee	S$42.00
Empire State Building Observation Deck Fee	S$45.00
American Museum of Natural History Entry Fee	S$30.00
Top of the Rock Observation Deck Fee	S$42.00
Grand Central Terminal Self-Guided Tour	S$13.00
Discount for Liberty Helicopters	S$45.00
Museum of Modern Art Entry Fee	S$35.00
Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho Walking Tour	S$49.00
Statue Cruise to Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty)	S$25.00
9/11 Tribute Center	S$21.00
Wall Street Walking Tour	S$35.00
COST SAVINGS:		S$171.00 PER PAX

We could have gotten more savings if we didn't screw up our Madison Square Garden tour and Yankee Stadium tour, of course! Some other pros of the New York Pass: You don't have to worry about entry fees throughout the trip and can fix your budget for activities + You can enter attractions via express lanes at some places.

Would We Return to New York City for Vacation

Yes, most definitely!!!!! I'm already very comfortable with the city which has so much culture and character to offer and would love a 2nd opportunity to have a more relaxed itinerary since we've done most of the major tourist attractions - perhaps more of Museum of Modern (MOMA), Central Park and Smorgasburg at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

NYC might seem like a big and scary and intimidating city but honestly, we did not feel threatened at any point of time. We read up about known scams before our trip (go Google the broken glass scam and CD scam in NYC), we kept close and remained alert everywhere we went, we steered clear of dark alleys, you know... pretty much common sense.

Saliheen jangan cakap la. He is lagi deep in love with NYC than me k. To the point that he almost accepted an opportunity from his company to work in their NYC office!!!!! It didn't make sense financially for us in the end (I won't be able to work because of some dependent pass requirements) so we both agreed that it was best for him to decline the offer. Bukan rezeki. Kalau tak, next month kita dah uproot and go live in NYC terus hehe.

The Total Expenditure

I usually share my travel expenditure details so I don't have to dig for scraps of information here and there every time someone asks me how much he/she will need for a similar trip so here is the cost breakdown for our NYC trip:

EXPENDITURE FOR 9D8N IN NEW YORK CITY (MAY 2015)
NO.	DESCRIPTION	COST (FOR 2 PAX)
1.	Round-trip Flight on Emirates	SGD1440 x 2 pax = SGD2880
2.	Hotel stay @ Night Hotel Times Square - Queen Room  (With service charge, via Agoda with discount)	SGD1340 x 2 pax = SGD2680
3.	New York Pass	SGD255 x 2 pax = SGD510
4.	Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (SGD20 per meal x 3 meals per day x 9 days)	SGD540 x 2 pax = SGD1080
5.	Cab fare from airport to hotel (Flat rate USD60 + USD10 tip)	SGD92
6.	Cab fare from hotel to airport (Flat rate USD60 + USD10 tip)	SGD92
7.	Metrocard	SGD41 x 2 pax = SGD82
8.	Helicopter (SGD347 – SGD45 New York Pass Discount)	SGD302 x 2 pax = SGD604
9.	The Lion King on Broadway	SGD205 x 2 pax = SGD410
10.	United Nations Headquarters Tour	SGD30 x 2 pax = SGD60
11.	Souveniers for Family & Friends	SGD420

Please note that this breakdown does not include shopping (since shopping is subjective and dependent on individuals). We also busted our budget for food hahaha because we are budak gemuk forevz and there were unbudgetted purchases like pizza slices on our way back to hotel, extra banana pudding tubs, food cart snacks, dessert trips, late night convenience store munchies, etc. The total costs can also be lesser if you're not into Broadway shows or helicopter rides (which are substantial in costs) or don't mind taking trains or buses to and fro the airport and the city.

Ok friends, that's all I have to blog pasal my NYC holiday! Till the next one! Adios amigos aku berambos!

Birthday Trip, New York City, May 2015 (Day 9)

Hi guys, I dah nak blog pasal my last day in NYC ni! HEART BROKEN EMOJI! 

Okay la, not like we did much on this day so nothing much to blog about anyway hahaha. I should probably change the title of this entry but I very malas! And as always, if you haven't been following our journey from the beginning then you can start by reading my entries for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7 and Day 8 ok.

14 May 2015 (Day 9)

We didn't have any itinerary for our last (half) day in NYC so we slept in a little longer, hung around our hotel then went out for our last Halal Guys lunch in NYC down the street.

This is a picture of my husband saying goodbye to his new found obsession (Chicken Over Rice platter) and his new found friends from the The Halal Guys food cart. By the way, here's a tip, if it isn't obvious already: Greet the staff with a confident "Assalamualaikum" if you're Muslim and they'll be a little bit friendlier to you! Hehehe.

Hopped into a cab after lunch, and travelled to the JFK airport for our 14 plus hour flight to Dubai International Airport. Which was where we had an 8-hour transit a.k.a the longest transit we've ever had so far.

But it's alright, it's okay, because we decided early on that there was no way we were going to lepak bersepah inside the airport for 8 bloody boring hours after a 14 hour plus flight. Nah-uh. So we checked in to the Dubai International Airport Hotel during our transit - at least both of us can sleep and eat and wash up in peace and comfort! We considered booking the Snooze Cube but it was limited and not what we wanted.

Eh hi, that is me in my comfy tee and comfy pants in the mirror reflection hehehe. My standard travel get-up!

In case anyone is interested to check-in to the Dubai International Airport Hotel during long transits, what I did was: I emailed the hotel directly for pro-rated rates since all we needed was a room for 5 hours (instead of booking via the hotel website or third parties like Agoda and paying full rate for full day).

The hotel then emailed me two room options - we were quoted AED815.00 (SGD307.00) + 10% service charge per room for an Executive Room and AED530.00 (SGD200) + 10% service charge per room for a Deluxe Room from 2.00pm to 7.00pm. We chose Deluxe since it is the cheaper option... the room was clean and spacious enough!

Honestly it isn't much cheaper than if you were to book from Agoda for 1 full day but whatever savings yang dapat, ambik je la. I also overheard one of their staff telling a potential walk-in guest a different and more expensive hourly rate than what we paid so I guess it'll be cheaper to book in advance via email than to just walk in.

The process from when you land until you arrive at the hotel is also pretty simple: A hotel representative will pick you up from your gate (you need to pass your flight details to the hotel during booking), he/she will usher you to the correct terminal (they have rooms in all of the terminals, you will be allocated to the one closest to your gate) and he/she will bring you up to the registration counter. Once all documents are verified, kick back and relax in your room. Yay!

Actually something minor happened just before we checked in and I was a little peeved at the staff who handled it at first (excuse me, do I look like I want to deal with incompetence after 14 plus hours of flight?!) but another staff (good old Sam!) picked it up from there and was so apologetic and so so gracious, that it made up for that minor lapse. Will definitely consider staying here again if we have another transit that is more than 3/4 hours! 

Anyway aku nak banyak songeh pasal hotel kat Dubai buat ape eh, can wrap up this entry and start my final entry on this NYC trip already! I know I have unreplied emails yang tanya pasal NYC, but I want to post that entry dulu because all the information will be in there! Sabar menanti, please. I just hope this sudden mojo in posting entries will continue until after this Golden Jubilee weekend la haha. Have a good long weekend, my friends!

Birthday Trip, New York City, May 2015 (Day 8)

Last full day in NYC already, everybaaady!!!!! But before I start all the reminiscing and perasaan pedih pedih, you all please read Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6 and Day 7 first ok.

******************************

Guess what we did on our last full day in NYC, you guys????? We woke up bright and early to......

..... see the Statue of Liberty!!!!! Again!!! Kwa kwa kwaaaaa.

You'd think that after we saw the Statue of Liberty via water on our 4th day and via air on our 6th day, we'd be very bosan with that statue already, right. But nooOoOoooOooOOooo, laki aku masih ah nak pergi visit the lady herself! This time betul betul on her own island i.e. Liberty Island pulak.

I asked him over and over again, you betul masih nak pergi tengok? You betul belum puas? We've seen the Statue of Liberty upclose and personal already, two times somemore! But mati matiiiii he insisted, mati mati dia nak jejak Liberty Island itself. Padahal pergi dekat dekat pun bukannya boleh pegang bontot!!!!! Haiiiiiii gasak kau lah nak.

13 May 2015 (Day 8)

- Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty)
- Ground Zero - 9/11 Memorial (North & South Pool)
- 9/11 Tribute Center
- Wall Street Walking Tour
- Brooklyn Bridge

Went to redeem our free ferry tickets to Liberty Island (via New York Pass) and the morning crowd wasn't too bad. We didn't have to wait long either, although everyone were subjected to strict US airport-style security checks before boarding the ferry. Had a very, very nice clear view of the Manhattan skyline as we made our way to Liberty Island via ferry, and once we arrived, it was time to check out the lady herself.

The bontot that my husband did not get to pegang.

The ferry operator that we got was Statue Cruises, by the way! If you're not redeeming it under the New York Pass then the regular fee is USD18.00 per adult. Kalau nak naik sampai to the crown of Statue of Liberty, add another USD3.00.

We chose not to naik all the way to the crown because it is 377 steps (via spiral staircase!) all the way up and there is no elevator access from the top of the pedestal to the crown platform. Thanks, but NO THANKS. Siang siang I told Saliheen already, jangan berangan nak naik sampai ke crown, unless he wants to go through another one of my meltdown episodes inside the Statue of Liberty ala my meltdown while trekking in Ubud ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

If you don't want to pay to see the Statue of Liberty, don't mind taking pictures of the Statue of Liberty from afar, don't mind not stepping foot on Liberty Island, and don't mind squashing with 10 million other tourists and locals (who use this mode of transportation to travel to and fro work) then the free Staten Island Ferry will be your best bet. The ferry (which is ginormous by the way) will pass by Statue of Liberty and you can take pictures as it does.

Tak free VS Free

I have to admit I actually enjoyed visiting Liberty Island and seeing Statue of Liberty up-close and personal hehe! I think it was because queues and waiting times weren't long and irritating and it was pleasantly surreal to see the actual icon of New York towering down on you, y'know? Must say the statue is WAY smaller than I envisioned it to be since I was younger, though. All those TV shows and movies making it seem more gigantic than it really is... Haha rubbish!

We hopped on the subway after that, grabbed food for lunch then walked over to the Ground Zero (9/11 Memorial) to see the North and South Pools which used to be where the two Word Trade Centre buildings used to stand.....

This is the new Freedom Tower, which is next to the North and South pools of Ground Zero.

We also visited the 9/11 Tribute Center (entry tickets under New York Pass) to see the artifacts and memorial pieces from the tragedy. I will reserve Saliheen's and my opinions about the September 11 attacks because it is a very sensitive and controversial matter after all, but when we were in the 9/11 Tribute Center, all I wanted to do was remember that there were real human lives lost to such horrible and senseless attacks on that unfortunate day :(

I think I was the most affected when I saw the memorial corner (the one with tissue boxes!!!) where there were pictures of all the innocent victims who died during the September 11 attacks. Took the time to look at every single picture and wondered about their hopes and dreams, their aspirations, and their families and friends who they didn't get to go home to..... I imagined packing Saliheen off to work in the morning and then receiving a phone-call telling me that his office building has collapsed after getting hit by a plane a few hours later and my eyes just started watering OKAY.

After about an hour in the memorial centre, we went on to a guided tour which was pretty nearby - a Wall Street walking tour by Wall Street Walks this time because we wanted to learn more about the workings of Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and the financial district in New York. This is more for Saliheen than me actually, since my mind turns into sludge when it comes to numbers, mathematics and finance hahaha WHAT

Graveyard is not part of the guided tour la haha but we saw a plot of land with gravestones next to all the office buildings and modern skyscrapers while we were making our way to the meeting point. It was pretty cool to see something from 1700s against a 21st century setting! And as always, I start thinking about all the possibilities, the way of living, the occupations, the faces and styles, the cause of deaths of all the names that I saw engraved on each tombstone and how the surroundings must have been like between 1700s to just before the current buildings took over...... FASCINATING!

Anyway. We ended the guided walking tour at the Charging Bull, which is pretty iconic la and I wanted to see it for myself in real life. Turns out this is how it looks like during mid week at 3.00pm:

Lahabao betul. Ni dah macam ape tau, macam Expectation versus Reality.

TENKZ.

Didn't bother to get close to touch or take picture with the Charging Bull because at the end of the day kan, INI SEMUA BERHALA! Hahahahaha abeh bitter eh. Okay la bulls made of bronze frightens me a little anyway, I mean, have you guys heard of the brazen bull torture method????? THAT SHIT NASTY.

Once the tour was over, we went to Brooklyn Bridge next! I was exhausted gila after the Wall Street walking tour but how can I not step foot onto Brooklyn Bridge while in NYC kan?! Terpaksa semangatkan diri. Had to walk quite a fair bit before we were really, truly standing on the Brooklyn Bridge but don't worry, there wasn't any epic meltdown, just a really satisfying feeling of accomplishment hahahaha

Went to makan at City Kitchen at ROW NYC after that, the concept is something like our local food courts...? The whole place is air-conditioned, and has about 9 to 10 F&B stalls with popular brand names in NYC.

I mention this because this is one of the makan places that I would return to if I ever patah balek NYC. No halal certified stores though, so if you was was then this makan place is not for you. But if you don't mind checking it out, I recommend the lobster roll set from Luke's Lobster! Much yums. Doughnuts were from Dough, and they were one of the food items I wanted to eat so badly in NYC so - ting ting ting - achievement unlocked! Hehe.

The doughnuts were pretty delish by the way, but I think it might have been better if I had chosen a conventional flavour like chocolate instead of my poppy seed lemon doughnut. Chose it just because poppy seeds are banned in Singapore so kirakan macam mana punya badass ah makan benda yang ada poppy seeds HAHAHAHAHA BYE LA

Went back to the hotel to wash up then we went out to borong the last bits of souveniers to bring home, grabbed a tub of our favourite Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding and takeaway platters from The Halal Guys food-cart then sat down on the famous red steps in Times Square, just eating, chatting, people watching and taking everything in.

We must have spent at least 2 hours on the steps, watching the world go by and enjoying Times Square as it pulsated with its bright lights and loud sounds and almost bursting from its colourful stream of wide-eyed tourists, eager business peddlers and shady characters haha. We left Times Square at around midnight, buzzing from the crazy energy that Times Square fed us with, but also feeling sad knowing that this was the last night we'd be able to that... for now.

Birthday Trip, New York City, May 2015 (Day 7)

A week of NYC already, guys! But first, please read Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 and Day 6 first k. 

We only did two main activities on this day, I think, but the day felt packed somehow. Probably because of aaaaallllllllll the walking we did for a pre-scheduled Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho tour that we booked under New York Pass and the shopping run we did after that. But let's start our cerita from the morning dulu k.

12 May 2015 (Day 7)

- Museum of Modern Art
- Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho tour

We started out a little late on this day, had breakfast at our favourite deli (it's just beside our hotel!) then while waiting for Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) to open at 10.30am, we browsed through their in-house store. So many clever and artistic products on sale and we almost bought a Van Gogh replica piece for display in our living room! Unfortunately, its dimensions wouldn't be able to fit into the frame that we already bought for our living room. Shame.

Anyway, we were so distracted by the store sampai we didn't realize the museum was suddenly filled with throngs of visitors and queues were starting to snake! By the way, if you're entering the museum via New York Pass, make sure you're in the correct queue okay, it's shorter! I almost waited in the wrong (and longer) queue but realized it within a few seconds and quickly went to the correct one. 

I should probably mention that Saliheen and I only allocated about 30 to 45 minutes to browse through MOMA because we both agreed that we're not art enthusiasts and have almost zero knowledge and appreciation for art. Plus someone told me that the MOMA is pretty boring so I figured we won't need to spend much time in there, just jejak masuk to look see look see apa yang ada. 

Turns out we were GROSSLY MISTAKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Maybe because they were holding several exhibitions that we were super interested in during our visit and/or we underestimated what MOMA can really offer, but Saliheen and I looked at each other in despair (hahaha!) when we realized we had to leave for the next item on our schedule. Mehhhhhhh. Even considered forfeiting the next thing on our itinerary but decided we didn't want to do that either so we left MOMA with heavy hearts sigh sigh SIGH. 

If we ever have the rezeki to return to NYC one day, MOMA will be the first place I want to return to!!!!! And I will spend at least two hours minimum in there!!! There was quite a crowd while we were there (but still comfortable enough to browse in peace) so I guess it's not just us who feel the same way. One thing I regret is allocating more time for American Museum of Natural History (which turned out to be a total snoozefest for us) instead of channeling that time to MOMA (which kept us captivated for the mere 45 minutes while we were there.)

Even though we were so heavy-hearted to leave MOMA for the next activity, we tried to keep an open mind and hoped that our pre-scheduled guided tour around Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho would be half as interesting. There were about 15 to 20 pax in our group and we got Rachel as our tour guide... she was so excitable and so animated and so earnest in sharing about New York City,  that it was hard to find fault with the tour hehe. 

We enjoyed the 2-hour long walking tour, although this is probably something we'll do only once and not something we'd recommend if you'd rather walk around and get lost amongst the streets yourself. Saliheen and I wanted to learn in depth about the different neighbourhoods from a local/almost-local so this guided tour was suitable for us + we redeemed it from our New York passes, anyway. Saliheen was especially excited because he wanted to see the locations where triad members / mafia members used to clash or have a stronghold of (He read about the gangs in this part of NYC from a book titled Born to Kill by  David Thai) haha. Tapi memang interesting ah.

An Indonesian and Malaysian food restaurant we saw in Chinatown. Just a few steps away from this restaurant, our tour guide showed us the place where members from different Chinese triads clashed in a bloody fight oooOooOoOooh

Rachel also showed us the fourth floor apartment where Heath Ledger (10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight) died from drug overdose. As in, she showed us the building la, not like we got to go inside the unit or what. It's the white building shown in the picture above the Little Italy signboard picture. 

Can't really remember what we did after that (Padan muka, siapa suruh hegeh hegeh with the blog entries) but I think this was when we walked back to the Soho area (the guided tour ended at Chinatown) and Saliheen went on another gila shopping spree. As always, ini budak LAWAN TAUKE. Tak tau la tauke mana dia lawan, tauke lori balak agaknye.

Oh yaaaaa, we also went for another round of cereal milk ice-cream from Momofuku (part ni is aku punya kehendak hehehe) and tapao-ed platters from Halal Guys and went to visit his friend who just started staying in NYC. Had a nice dinner and chat with his friend, and kita feeling feeling la sangat inside his apartment hehehe. Also grabbed mini cupcakes from Baked By Melissa on the way back to our hotel, they were okay la, harapkan cute aje. 

Below are pictures of the aforesaid mini cupcakes and the Late Show with David Letterman signboard which we passed by while on our way to his friend's apartment: 

Eh eh, macam tau je print advertisement dalam subway ni.