Travel Log: New York

(This is a picture heavy post. I also post quite a number of selfies in this post... I think I've gotten comfortable with the idea of putting my face on my blog now. Anyhows. This post isn't exactly an art post. It's more of a diary-style post. I do hope you'll still enjoy it.)

  First things to know about New York; don't leave your belongings unattended— ever. In Singapore, you can use your bag to reserve your table at a fast food establishment. In New York, you do that and the only thing you'll have left is the wallet you had in your hand.



  I arrived in New York in the late morning. My godmother was there to pick me up from the airport. I stayed in the Bronx area (which is where she lives), and it wasn't as bad as how some people made it seem. Bronx has really nice old architecture.

Mainly African-American, Spanish, and Hispanic live in the Bronx area. Different Bronx districts have different slangs. It's really cool to hear people having conversations with their own slang.

  After I reached my godmother's place, I slept for a while to get rid of jet lag, and then we went to Times Square at midnight. The trains run all through the night. Imagine that.

And the subways... My god, the subways..... The subway system is so complicated and sometimes they close down stations or stop services. And subways are noisy.
You'll also see subway performers quite often, and it's good to have spare change in case you like their performances and want to show some love for their craft.

Times Square is quite alluring at night, though.

We took a horse carriage ride around the area that night and I took many pictures throughout the ride. The night was cold, though. 

The horse carriage ride was very similar to what you see in this picture.
The horse that pulled us was chocolate brown, though. It was really pretty.

Thereafter, the first three days in New York for me were shopping days.
  Go to Best Buy for your electronics.
  New York doesn't have Walmart because they don't pay minimum wage so New Yorkers didn't want them in their city. They have Target.
Burlington is awesome. Hats are great. Dresses are so pretty. Sunglasses are cheap. Well, everything is cheap, really.

The hat and the dress I'm wearing in this photo are both from Burlington.
But I'm not in New York in this photo. I'm in Providence for a CZT Seminar. You can read about that by clicking on this link.

Five Guys!
This is their "Little Cheeseburger". It ain't little at all, though.
Pizza is $1 a slice in certain places. Everything is big- pizza slices, burgers, fries, fizzy drinks, etc.

At an Oakley store to get something for my SO.

  The last few days of my stay was used to go to tourist-y areas.

Like the Statue of Liberty.

Bet you've never seen the behind of the Statue of Liberty.

(Not the most flattering of angle for a photo...)

You have to take a boat to the island.
It cost USD18 for the boat ride.
Here's a nice selfie of me on the boat to make up for the not-so-nice previous photo.

Pretty seagulls by the shore of the island.

  The next day, I visited Broadway to watch "Lion King" with my mum. Apparently, productions in other countries are scaled down and there isn't a rotating platform on those productions either. Of course, I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the stage and all that, so here's a mask that hung outside. It was huge! Like, as tall as a human sort of huge.

"Remember who you are, Simba.... Remember."

Then we went to Magnolia Bakery for cakes.
Here's me sitting by a fountain right near the bakery.

The pigeons wanted to eat the cakes too...

Then 4th of July happened. Lots of illegal fireworks in the neighbourhood I was staying in.
This picture was taken from my balcony.

  The next day, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's right by Central Park.

I saw a fat squirrel in the park on my way to the museum.

The streets have their own charm.
It's not a clean nor green city like Singapore.
And it's not a resort destination like Hawaii or the Bahamas. But the city does have its own character.

Then I reached the museum!
There were lots of little stands selling art prints, and also food and drinks.

  The museum is huge and I could make a whole post dedicated to the art within it. But here's a very small selection of the more famous pieces that you may instantly recognise. Can you remember which artists made each pieces of art? Tell me your guesses in the comments section below. :)

Detail of the frame in the above painting.

This one shouldn't be too difficult to guess...

  And so concluded my trip to New York. The city was charming. The people were friendly. I greatly enjoyed my trip. Now I'm back in Singapore, I'm busy preparing for my exhibition in August. I'm back to my regular posting schedule. I'm feeling super creative and I'll definitely be posting more of my own art on my Instagram, Facebook, and on this blog. Thanks for reading this far. You're lovely.

Here's one last cute selfie taken in the airplane.
I hope you enjoyed the photos and my musings.
Till' next time~