Wednesday, May 25, 2011

.... work stink in USA / Canada


Yours Sincerely' 's ( Y S ) work stink in the USA and Canada was another one from his bucket list. You just cannot kick off from this world without having a glimpse of the USA. Y S was struck by its cosmopolitan nature, system, orderliness and advancement. As good, old Confucious said, " A picture is worth a thousand words, " Y S is posting more than one for them to tell the stories. Hope they do.



This is south of Toronto, facing the Niagara Falls, a very touristy city comparable to Gold Coast of Australia. You get a huge assortment of interests : restaurants, rides, shops, kinky museums, peep shops (Where you take a peep of things that your mother may not want you to see !), souvenirs stalls, parks and, of course, their Hard Rock Cafe.

This is the Korean War Memorial at Lincoln Memorial. The Americans never forget to remember their dead soldiers fighting for others' freedom. Fresh wreaths and notes are placed daily.

Y S was amazed by this Civil War cannon, still in mint condition.


This is the ticket station for the ferry ride to Ellis Island, the immigration check point for the early immigrants.




In Boston, eat like the "Bostons ", eat whole lobsters. The restaurant's name is " No Name." Splendid ! A good look at this creature makes you don't want to eat them. They are so adorable and perfectly created. Y S bets they would have fought for the life in them if they are still alive like this one that "bit him."

Typical of the westerners, the only way they know how to cook lobsters is just to boil the creatures and perhaps add some salt to them. While this is a good way to cook in order to get the wholesome lobster taste, our Asians' taste buds have been pampered with all sorts of flavours : "Kam Heong the lobsters, (lobsters fried in hot, sour, sweet, oil source )" " fry them with salted eggs (This is yummy since the "eggy" saltiness of the egg yolks stuck to the shells titillates your taste bud and adding flavour to the morsels of lobsters.) " or simply dip the morsels of lobsters in "sambal belachan (This is chilly paste mixed with fermented shrimps. It can leave a stint on your breath and fingers for eternity.)" or "Cabai burung in soya sauce. ( This is the renowned super hot "bird chilly soaked in salty soya sauce and functions as a dip which additionally flavours the morsels of lobsters.) "

By the way, Y S was also intrigued by the various American " surgical instruments " provided to work on the lobster.


This is Times Square. The New York that never sleeps. The neon signs still glimmer and glitter in the day light.
The crowd at Times Square never thins out. If you stop walking suddenly you will be bump from behind.

Better half with her favourite movie star, Morgan Freeman, whom she claims resembles her late father, not the colour or the height, but, perhaps, the general features, especially the nose. LOL
This is the concrete jungles of the Big Apple, New York.


The interior of Notre Dame Basilica at Quebec. It is more opulence than the one in Paris.


This is The Niagara Falls. The temperature was 5 degree Celsius but the wind was gale strength so it was biting cold. The mist and spray made the falls only 30% visible. Y S was very disappointed. This is an awesome natural wonder of the world. One from my bucket list !

In America, enjoy like the Americans. The strange thing about humans is our set habits or rather fossilized habits which are difficult to change. Some fellow travelers hunted for "nasi lemak," " bak kut teh," or " char koay teow" and had to check out ChinaTown for its familiar sight, sound and taste. When travelling, taste what the locals do. Go local.

Y S and Better Half had " Whole semi rare roasted ribs " with Canadian beer ! But had forgotten the taste. It was drown by the vibrancy and dimness of the place. Anyway it was good experience where deafening noise is called music and lots of head shaking and nodding which is called performance.

This is Capitol Hill where the US law makers meet and have their tee-a -tee and "powwows" .


This is the front of Lincoln Memorial.

So much about freedom in the USA. This lone Anti-Nuke demonstrator has been demonstrating for more than 10 years outside the White House, in full view of the President and the FBIs, Y S supposes. He simply camps right in front of the White House. Try that in Malaysia. You will be eating hard boiled broken rice with equally hard fried fish and a few drops of curry in the privacy of your cage ! LOL

This is the White House. Nothing spectacular, except that it is really white. The occupants were not at home at the time of Y S' visit. He was visiting the Queen at Buckingham. Talk about security, you can see FBI officers with binoculars walking on the roof tops ! Supposed to be popularly elected by the majority !!!

More visitors to the White House.

Have time, travel. See the world.

12 comments:

Ginnie said...

I loved the comment that you wrote on my latest blog entry. Thank you so much.
I have been to all of the places that you pictured except for Canada. I loved NY City when I was young and lived there ... went there about 6 months ago and couldn't wait to leave !!! Way too much confusion for me.

Thomas C B Chua said...

Ginnie, The Big Apple is a place to love and also hate.It is good to go for a stint and bring lots of money to throw about and have a good time, then come back to home sweet home of the small town like where I come from.

As long as you blog on your beloved memories live on. Take care. God bless.

Anonymous said...

sir,GREAT retirement life u had!!

Thomas C B Chua said...

yeeling, young lady, life is for the living. There is plenty of time to be dead. All eternity, in fact. Study harder. Work hard and live the hardest. G B U. (Keep me posted of your studies.)

Kavita Saharia said...

A fun ride.I had a good time here.Lol to lobster thing .Your writing style is amazing Thomas.Very witty :)

Thanks .

Kay said...

Looks like you guys had a great time. Tell your better half that I like Morgan Freeman too.

Thomas C B Chua said...

Kavita, tks for dropping by. It is great to have another cyber friend. And you too, Kay. (Nice name)

footiam said...

I would kill for this working stint!

Thomas C B Chua said...

footiam, the holidays has started the day I came home. It is "no time" for bed or to rise. Then it is 9 holes in the golf course or 2 hours at the gym or 2 rounds of squash ! Life cannot be better on hols but not when you travel. You sort of "kiasuly" cramped in a very tight itinerary to see as much as you can so you have to wake up very early to have a long day.

Dorothy said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment about the country church.
I read this post with great interest in seeing how a visitor to our shores sees us.
We live in the country (rural area) and I haven't seen or experienced nearly all of the USA yet.
Enjoy your retirement! I agree, it's great!!

Thomas C B Chua said...

Thanks Dorothy. Our limited of you people is mostly derived from Hollywood. USA is so vast and so is the varieties of people and life. It is a great nation. I like your small town.

melisa_ooi said...

Great blog. Enjoying your pics and interesting comments. Looking fwd to more! Rgds - Melisa (Your recent 12 days companion)