New York City - Come what may Rain or Shine

New York city is quite a lovely tourist destination. It is extremely well organized (as you would expect being a large city), well marketed. There are numerous organized tours by companies such as Grayline Tours, City Sights etc. The double decker Hop On Hop off buses are really interesting. Sitting in the top deck of a Hop On Hop Off bus, you are literally a few feet away from the traffic signals when they cross the traffic Lights. That makes it even more Interesting!

(A view of the Famous Bull near Wall Street)

There are several routes in these Hop on Hop Off buses. The Down town loop takes you around all the down town areas- Wall street, Greenwich Village, Times Square, Empire State Building, Soho, Chinatown, Rockefeller Center, the World Trade Center site. The Uptown loop circles around the Central Park. The Brooklyn loop is especially intersting as Brooklyn resembles me a bit more of suburbia USA.

(A view of the Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park)

New York is very very different from a regular mainstream US city/ Town. It reminds me a lot more of Singapore or Mumbai rather than the US.

(An Interesting Shot at the Wall Street Subway Station. I am hoping this becomes some kind of a class shot. Although I would imagine, it would be very easy to relicate. -:)

During our visit, it continually rained. However we continued on top of the Bus with light rain coats provided by the Tour company (Gray Line). It gets quite chilly because of the rain, dampness and wind effect. It was thrilling to get close to the traffic lights.


A visit to the WTC site was a difficult but important visit. One can imagine the scare and horror as must have been felt around September 11, 2001.

(A View of Times Square. Is it time to cut down on excess Lights to save the Environment)

Central Park is one of the best places to visit in New York. It is a comfortable, manageable size and has lots of Interesting places strewn all around it. There are castles, lakes, parks all within a small park. It is extremely clean, well kept and maintained, thanks to the spirit of Volunteerism.

(A welcoming view of the Statue of Liberty from the Ferry with Monsoon

Clouds in the background. What a welcoming sight it must be from the early

Immigrants after a Long trip across the Pond from Europe)

No trip to New York is complete without a Play. We caught a Off Broadway play for around $40. It was very Interesting and Interesting to see the Cast be able to live their roles -live without the benefit of a support crew.

New York rocks!

Top Travel Ideas for New York:

- Spend at least 3 days for a meaningful tour

- Use the Hop On Hop off tours if the weather is reasonable. If timing is tight you can just go on the complete Hop on Hop Off tour without getting out of the Bus

- To save costs use the free Staten island ferry. This gets quite close to Statue of Liberty

- Spend lots of time in Central Park. Its quite a lovely Park