The next step was the financial powerhouse of New York City and the world - the venerable Wall Street. Totally overrated - can't see anything, that's why. I was looking forward to hopping into the New York Stock Exchange for a look, but alas. Closed to the public due to September 11. Had to visit I guess. I'm sure things get exciting inside the buildings but tourists don't get to see anything. I did get to see some fully armed police though - very cool. The rifles they were carrying were sleel, deadly and probably three quarters of a metre long. I wanted to get a photo with them, but was scared that i'd get shot or imprisoned. Haha.
Anyway, after the disappointment of Wall Street I hopped onto the City Sightseeing bus and headed down to the UN Centre - for the guided tour. A little strange fact (although it makes sense) is that the entire compound is international territory and not United States territory. If you go to New York City the UN tour is something worth seeing. Got a tour of the Conference building which included the Secuirty Council, Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. It's good to visit these places - the big players of the world all visit here from time to time. A neat place to visit indeed.
It was now starting to get a little darker but the sightseeing continued. As mentioned before this day was packed. So the next sighteseeing location was Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum. This was a neat little place to go to, just run around and take photos with famous people. Interesting, but I wouldn't go back a second time. Snap, snap, and go.
After Madame Toussauds it was time to head into a Chinese restaurant. Found some Chinese restaurant on the way to the Wax Museum and made a mental note to come back to it afterwards. Truthfully, this is the first Chinese meal that i've had since leaving Australia. It was a Shanghai-nese restaurant (Northern anyway, not Canto) and I had some Schezuan chicken - very nice indeed. I was also thinking of Shanghai stir fry noodles as well, but oh well... only could choose one.
Next stop it was the New York Skytour. First off let me tell you - on it's own it is a ripoff. Fortunately the New York Card covers the ride, so all good. It's quite neat how you can see New York from the air but it definitely isn't worth US$20 unless it's real. While the views on the skytour were good there was far too much movement. If you go and do the Skytour you will know what I mean. Probably not as good as a helicopter tour of the city - but cheaper.
Oh, oops. Got to backtrack a little. The Skytour is actually inside the Empire State Building. Something that I forgot to mention. Anyways, the highlight of the night was to follow the Skytour - the view from the top of the Empire State Building (technically not the top, but you know what I mean).
Let me tell you up front - this is a must do! Admittedly I did it at night but i'm sure that the view is just as good if not better during the daytime. It was bloody cold and bloody windy but boy was it worth it! I took many pictures although a vast majority of them didn't actually develop well, which is a bit of a shame. Oh well, some of them did turn out well and look mighty impressive. I didn't really stay out that long - it was way too cold. My hands were about ready to fall off after taking the photos. Damn cold.
An intense day of sightseeing - Very tiring yet very rewarding. Wish I had more time in New York but no matter. Got to make do with what you've got.
New York Stock Exchange
United Nations Secuirty Council
New York at Night
New York at Night
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