Manhattan New York, the big apple and so much more (Part 4: Shopping!)
At the risk of falling into a self-parody for this entry, I am going to say that I hate shopping. Friends who have known me for years will know that drawing reference with me and shopping is tantamount to an oxymoron. Hence, I let off a "DOH!" inspired by Homer Simpson when Jiahao and Allan declared that we were going to spend the rest of the day shopping in Manhattan. Who could blame them? It's the post Christmas sales, and everything was going for prices so cheap that consumers actually have to ruminate on the possibilty of a catch involved in these good deals.
Ah... Brought back memories of Quebec city when we walked pass this outdoor ice-skating rink.
Shoppers thronged the streets of Manhattan.
Aware of over zealous shoppers from Singapore, the NYPD mobilized their best.
Before the onslaught begun, we went to grab tickets for a musical at Broadway. Our preferences were divided between 'The Lion King', 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Les Miserables'. Fortunately for me, the first two musicals were sold out, and I was further elated when the counter staff informed me that we've got the best seats in the house (we were only seated two rows away from the stage). I did not doubt her at all, since we paid an exorbitant amount for our tickets. Grabbing a quick meal at Mcdonald's (we have been living on fast food or chinese food for the entirety of this road trip, since these are the two cheapest options available to us), we promptly took the subway to Madison Square Garden.
Madison Square Garden, probably the most iconic sports center in USA. There were countless epic sports moment in this sports center, with Ali defending his title and WrestleMania taking place within its compound. More importantly, it's home to the New York Knicks and the New York Liberty, the basketball franchise in NBA. Although I am not much of a Knicks fan (and at the risk of getting shot down in flames by New Yorkers, the Knicks suck!), I still went on to purchase a ticket for their game against the Detroit Pistons. Alas, the tickets were all sold out, I could not recall another moment in Manhattan in which I was so disappointed. After comforting my loss, I accompanied Allan and Jiahao to the largest shopping mall in Manhattan at Macy's. Here, all of the designer's label one could thing of is housed under one roof in this gigantic retail outlet.
After Allan got a Coach handbag (for his cousin apparently), we went to the NBA store. This place resembles the cross between a store selling NBA merchandise and Disneyland. From live sized NBA players fashioned out of Lego to autographed jersies, this place caters to the wildest dream of any fan boy. Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed over despite being a self professed fan. Most of the merchandises smelt distinctively of 'made in china/vietnam' and sold at a rip-the-dorky-tourist-of-his-hard-earned-currency price. I don't need a Detroit Pistons fridge magnet to remind myself that I am a die-hard Detroit fan. Neither do I need to wear a piece of Garnett's over-sized replica jersey to declare my admiration for the talented all rounder. Hence, I left the place pretty much empty-handed safe for the coupons the sales assistant distributed at the entrance.
We reached NYC's very own M & M's world after taking a wrong turn at a junction. When I stepped into this candy wonderland, I almost screamed Charlie and the chocolate factory! Willy Wanker, I mean Wonka will be so proud if he has a branch of this scale right in the middle of Manhattan's prime district. Like all the wide-eyed kids in the store, we rummaged around the 2-storey building in search of our favourite candies, oh my, I can already see the disapproving stares from my dentist. Screw him, dental checks could wait, but I will be eating chocolates to my heart's content for now.
Over burdened with souvenirs and our haversacks, we were suddenly drawn to a luminous sign from afar. Like mesmerized sailors drawn to the songs of sirens, we found ourselves attracted to the 'store-wide discount' banner hung outside a Levi's botique. Immediately flocking into the shop, before the sales assistant could even say, "What the f**k?!" we already made our way out of the stores with bags of Levi's famed jeans. Allan was the winner of that day, he bought 8 pairs of jeans. Jiahao came in a distant second with three pairs. A worthy mention of the day was the service of New York's sales assistants. Polite an without a fault, they went out of their way in offering us useful comments and advises on the merchandise we purchased. If there is a 'best service award', my money and vote will be on New York. Finally making our way back to our rented apartment, with bags of shopping items, we could not help but think about our trip to Liberty Island the next morning.
Ah... Brought back memories of Quebec city when we walked pass this outdoor ice-skating rink.
Shoppers thronged the streets of Manhattan.
Aware of over zealous shoppers from Singapore, the NYPD mobilized their best.
Before the onslaught begun, we went to grab tickets for a musical at Broadway. Our preferences were divided between 'The Lion King', 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Les Miserables'. Fortunately for me, the first two musicals were sold out, and I was further elated when the counter staff informed me that we've got the best seats in the house (we were only seated two rows away from the stage). I did not doubt her at all, since we paid an exorbitant amount for our tickets. Grabbing a quick meal at Mcdonald's (we have been living on fast food or chinese food for the entirety of this road trip, since these are the two cheapest options available to us), we promptly took the subway to Madison Square Garden.
Madison Square Garden, probably the most iconic sports center in USA. There were countless epic sports moment in this sports center, with Ali defending his title and WrestleMania taking place within its compound. More importantly, it's home to the New York Knicks and the New York Liberty, the basketball franchise in NBA. Although I am not much of a Knicks fan (and at the risk of getting shot down in flames by New Yorkers, the Knicks suck!), I still went on to purchase a ticket for their game against the Detroit Pistons. Alas, the tickets were all sold out, I could not recall another moment in Manhattan in which I was so disappointed. After comforting my loss, I accompanied Allan and Jiahao to the largest shopping mall in Manhattan at Macy's. Here, all of the designer's label one could thing of is housed under one roof in this gigantic retail outlet.
After Allan got a Coach handbag (for his cousin apparently), we went to the NBA store. This place resembles the cross between a store selling NBA merchandise and Disneyland. From live sized NBA players fashioned out of Lego to autographed jersies, this place caters to the wildest dream of any fan boy. Unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed over despite being a self professed fan. Most of the merchandises smelt distinctively of 'made in china/vietnam' and sold at a rip-the-dorky-tourist-of-his-hard-earned-currency price. I don't need a Detroit Pistons fridge magnet to remind myself that I am a die-hard Detroit fan. Neither do I need to wear a piece of Garnett's over-sized replica jersey to declare my admiration for the talented all rounder. Hence, I left the place pretty much empty-handed safe for the coupons the sales assistant distributed at the entrance.
We reached NYC's very own M & M's world after taking a wrong turn at a junction. When I stepped into this candy wonderland, I almost screamed Charlie and the chocolate factory! Willy Wanker, I mean Wonka will be so proud if he has a branch of this scale right in the middle of Manhattan's prime district. Like all the wide-eyed kids in the store, we rummaged around the 2-storey building in search of our favourite candies, oh my, I can already see the disapproving stares from my dentist. Screw him, dental checks could wait, but I will be eating chocolates to my heart's content for now.
Over burdened with souvenirs and our haversacks, we were suddenly drawn to a luminous sign from afar. Like mesmerized sailors drawn to the songs of sirens, we found ourselves attracted to the 'store-wide discount' banner hung outside a Levi's botique. Immediately flocking into the shop, before the sales assistant could even say, "What the f**k?!" we already made our way out of the stores with bags of Levi's famed jeans. Allan was the winner of that day, he bought 8 pairs of jeans. Jiahao came in a distant second with three pairs. A worthy mention of the day was the service of New York's sales assistants. Polite an without a fault, they went out of their way in offering us useful comments and advises on the merchandise we purchased. If there is a 'best service award', my money and vote will be on New York. Finally making our way back to our rented apartment, with bags of shopping items, we could not help but think about our trip to Liberty Island the next morning.
posted by Weizhong @ 11:04 PM
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