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My trip to New York via Chicago

Hello, I am trying to put all my experiences in the past 4 days in to words. I had a flight ticket from Detroit to New York with a halt in Chicago. If my trip from India to Detroit is my first trip aboard the plane this was my second trip.

I started on 25th and it was raining slowly in Detroit. We had to go early to the airport as 150,000 passengers were traveling that day for the Thanks Giving Holidays. My flight started on schedule but was held on the runway as there were 25 planes ahead of ours ready to fly. This was due to the repairs that were being done to the second runway and also partly due to the rain. I had booked a window seat for all this trip which I found out to be a very wise move later. I could see all the flights moving slowly along the runway as our cars in a traffic jam. Finally we took off 30 minutes late. I had my tense moments as I had to take a connecting flight in Chicago which was scheduled to leave 45 minutes after the arrival of this flight. So I had 15 minutes difference now. The skies cleared off as we moved towards Chicago. The total flight time was 40 minutes what was a very beautiful sight was to see the lights of Chicago city from the top. It was a very beautiful site. Finally I made to my next flight. The duration of this flight was 1 hour 45 minutes.

The scene from the plane when we flew above New York was breath taking. Especially Manhattan was very very good. I could identify World Trade center and Empire State buildings. The Brooklyn bridge and all other bridges were very good. Actually the plane takes a circuitous route along the edge of New York before landing. The beauty of New York city was that it had small islands all around with bridges connecting. So the view was more beautiful than Chicago. I had my flight of my life. I went to La Guardia Airport while the other airport in New York is JFK. I would suggest everybody to travel to New York so that you reach there in the night. This view is to be experienced rather than telling. My friend came to pick me up there.

On the first day 26th it was raining in the morning. This was the thanks giving day and all the shopping malls are closed. Even all offices had a holiday. We started around 10 AM and went to Broadway where we saw the

New York Stock Exchange: It was closed and was heavily guarded. Only tourists were there taking photos.

World Trade Center: This had a subway connection below and also we could go to New Jersey from there. There were many shops which were lit and had glass so that we could see what they sold but they were closed. The way to get to the top was closed as there were some repairs going on.

Trinity Church: This was adjacent to the New York Stock Exchange and was a very old church. It had a very beautiful architecture.

Battery Park: This is a small park where the boats to Liberty statue left. There is a huge building which glasses and it was semicircular with round portion facing the park. This building was in the shape of a battery. They might have got the idea for the architecture from the name of the park. Many Double Decker buses with open tops leave from here to see the New York City.

City Hall: This was a huge structure built of granite. This is just beside the Brooklyn bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge: Then we walked from City Hall to Brooklyn where my friend stayed. We walked along the Brooklyn bridge. This bridge is the only one which has a passage for pedestrians. We walk at the top while the vehicles move below. The view of Manhattan City from the bridge was very beautiful. Usually people see the city from the boat while going to the Liberty Statue but the view from the bridge was also very good.

Apart from these we saw many other buildings in the Manhattan city area. We were walking and seeing them.

On 27th America has a shopping spree. This is usual for the day after Thanks Giving. All the shops offer huge discounts and are open right from 7 AM. It was a working day. We had to baby sit for my friend’s niece up to 12 PM. We started then and went to buy a camera. There is a huge store J & M. Which stretched all along one road. They had everything from Opticals, Cameras, Music store etc etc. I bought a Nikon N60 Camera and Beethoven symphony collection. My friend bought some CDs for himself. Then we roamed around looking at all the buildings and people.

On 28th we woke early in the morning and went to the Battery Park to catch the first boat to Liberty Statue. The boats start at 9.15 AM and leave every 15 minutes. By the time we took a ticket and stood in the line there were 2 boat loads of people. We had a very good pass time standing in the line. There was one person who was singing then there were 3 people who performed acrobatics which were very good. We got in to the 3rd boat on the upper deck. It was 20 minutes before we reached the Liberty Statue Island. There are lifts there which take us to the crown of the statue. But when we reached there they displayed a time of 3 hours to reach the top. The line was so much. This is like Tirupati where they display the time of Darshanam. So we decided to move around there itself. We were there for 1 hour taking pictures of Manhattan City and the Statue. Then we went to Ellis Island. This Island was the place where people who wished to go to the USA landed first. There they had to register and if their documents were found to be correct they were allowed to enter the USA. There was a hospital which was used to test people for various diseases. The hall where the people had to wait for their case to come up was very huge and could hold 500 people. There were exhibits showing people their belongings, the waiting rooms, the passports of the people, Photos of the people arriving etc etc. It is an Historic site. This buildings were renovated 25 years back. Then we came back to Battery Park and walked along the city seeing buildings and came home.

On 29th we woke early and went to Empire State Building. This opens at 9.30 AM and closes at 11.30 PM. We were there at 9.30 AM but there were about 200 people in the line. There are 2 lifts for this building. One takes us up to 80 floors and the other takes us up by another 6 floors to reach the 86th floor where the people are allowed to observe from. It was a beautiful view of the concrete jungle. We can get a bird’s eye view of New York. I would advice to go to this place in the evening. It would be a good view to see New York at night. Then we saw Times Square, Manhattan Mall, Central Park and finally we went to The American Museum of Natural History. This is one place which is not to be missed. Here we can know the history of mankind right from evolution. A lot is there about Dinosaurs, Fishes, Birds, All the animals etc etc. The pictures put there are very realistic. Suppose he has put a lion at the top of the cliff with all the green trees below as the background. You will see as if you are standing on the real cliff. The depth of the picture is such. Then there was an IMAX theatre which showed about African Elephants. The show was for 45 Minutes. IMAX is a different feature just like a 3D movie. Imagine yourself sitting in a chair and a huge elephant is standing before you very close to the chair. How will you look at it. With your head up. That's the feeling you get while watching in a IMAX theatre. It was a very good experience.

In the evening I started to come back to Detroit. I landed in Chicago at the right time and I had 1 hour to kill before I caught my next flight to Detroit. I came to know that my next flight was 4 hours late. They gave me a coupon to eat in any of the restaurant in the airport for 7 dollars. Then after we climbed in the flight they gave a discount coupon for $ 50 for any future tickets with them. At last I arrived at Detroit at 2.30 AM. I had to trouble my brother who had come to pick me up at the Airport.