'No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time' written using the scraps  available in the 9/11 debris

Ticket costs $24 per adult, $18 for Senior Citizen(65+), College Students and US Veteran and $15 for youths of age group 7-17 years. An audio guide device is available at the reception of 9/11 Museum which charges $7 for the device and $2 for headphone. The same audio is available in for app store of all the smartphones and can be downloaded at free of cost.
To visit the entire museum it takes around an hour.

Next on our list was One World Trade Center, latest and most beautiful addition to the list of sky scrappers in the skyline of lower Manhattan. With a height of 1,776 feet, One World Trade Center is the tallest building United Stated of America and third in the world.

One World Trade Center

Before visiting NYC, I saw some ads for One World Trade Observatory which says  “There are millions of things to see in New York, One world Observatory is one in a million. The best view of New York” and trust me, no add ever been so true; this is truly one in a million. On the 100th floor of the Observatory, also known as the Discovery Level, Guests experience expansive, 360-degree views in all directions, taking in the iconic sights, surrounding waters and panoramic views of the city and beyond.

View of New York City from 1WTC observatory

Brooklyn Bridge from 1WTC observatory

I was indeed very excited having the first glimpse of The Statue of Liberty from the observatory.

Apart from the magnificent view of NYC, the most interesting part of one world trade observatory was the video played in the lift which going up and coming down. Do take the time to see the videos, that is just awesome.




We opted for standard admission ticket which costs $32 per adult, $30 for Senior Citizen(65+),$26 for youths of age group 6-12 years and free for the kids of 5 years or below. There are many different kinds of tickets based on timing and priority which costs differently. Tickets can be booked only from OneWorldobservatory website.
One can rent an iPad to identify different places from One World Trade Center which actually is not worth. If you do a bit of study about the different places of New York City before visiting, you can identify on your own.
After coming out, we had our lunch in a nearby Chipotle and headed towards The Charging Bull of Wall Street, the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, leaning back on its haunches and with its head lowered as if ready to charge.

Charging Bull of Wall Street | Picture Courtesy : news.artnet.com

Somehow managed to get a click

This is probably the most popular tourist destination in New York City after Statue of Liberty. This place was so crowded and people are so crazy about posing the same, I had to sacrifices mine :(.

Round the corner of Charging bull, one can find the biggest stock exchange in the world, New York Stock Exchange aka NYSE.

The New York Stock Exchange

We hired a cab to drop us at Brooklyn Bridge, a must see for any trip to NYC. And it would have been a sin for me or any Bollywood bluff if Brooklyn Bridge was missed. This bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn and has been featured in many Bollywood movies like Kal Ho Na Ho, Ta ra rum pum and Hollywood movies like Independence Day, I Am Legend, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Godzilla.

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan Bridge as seen from Brooklyn Bridge

We walked across the bridge which was a great feeling on a beautiful evening. People can rent bicycles as well and go for a cycling.
There is a strange belief about the bridge, couples put a lock, writing their name, in the grills or wires of the bridge and throws the key in the river. It is believed that it will bring a long lasting relationship.


We came back to Rector Street where we parked our car in the morning considering free parking ( I said considering fee parking because next day we got a ticket of $125 as we didn't notice the Fire Hydrant) and went to Circle Cruise, Pier 83.
We had booked for a Harbor Lights Cruise considering it will provide a night panoramic view of New York City. However, it started at 7 p.m and ended at 8 p.m. almost having the broad daylight. This cruise sails through Hudson River providing a panoramic view of midtown and lower manhattan. But personally speaking I was really disappointed with this cruise as the deck of the cruise was small enough to provide everyone an open air view and we had to sit inside the cruise from where one actually can't have any proper view. My detailed review can be found at TripAdvisor.
Still if someone is willing to take this trip, the tickets cost $38 per adult, $36 for Senior Citizen(65+),$30 for children and free for the infants of 3 years or below. Circle Line cruise provides different discount for the tickets booked through online and the same can be available from their website,

Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge

After finishing the cruise, we walked to The Empire State Building. Situated in the heart of New York City, the Empire state building truly is the crown of Empire State, New York.
As soon as we entered the building, entrance lobby gave us a glimpse of the majesty we were about to experience.

Lobby of Empire State Building

There are three main sections to visit,
Dare to Dream, an exhibit which captures building’s history, engineering, constructions, periodic photos, and daily bookkeeping history. This section will definitely give you a glimpse of what they call the American dream.
Main Deck 86th Floor, unlike other observatories of the different sky scrapper, Main Deck 86th floor is an open air tower providing 360-degree views of New York and beyond. On a clear day, it provides an awesome view of Central Park, The Hudson River and East River, The Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, The Statue of Liberty. We visited the place during the night and nothing could have been a better view to experience.

Night View from Empire State Building

102nd Floor Top Deck is another observatory with a spectacular view. However, we visited on 3rd of July and due to too much of rush it was closed on that day.
One more interesting thing about Empire State Building is its lighting. The tower is lit to celebrate the day. As we visited on the eve of Independence Day, we witnessed the tower being lit as the flag of United Nations.

Empire State Building lit as USA flag

As we were only been able to experience the main deck, the ticket costs were $32 per adult, $29 for Senior Citizen(62+), $26 for age group 6-12 years and free for rest. However, there are different ticket options which can be available from Empire State Building official website.
Outside the building, there will be  some people who selling tickets, but it's better to avoid them.

After we came out of Empire state building around midnight and had our dinner at a local pizza joint. We were tired like hell and headed to Parsippany.

Day 3 : It was 4th July, the birthday of United Nation and we decided to spend nation's birthday at its birthplace Philadelphia. I will write the experience in another post.

Day 4 : This was the last and most happening day from our NYC trip. We planned to visit The statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. US trip for any foreign citizen is incomplete without visiting the great statue.
The Statue of Liberty is located in the liberty island in the New York harbour. The only way to access the Liberty Island is the ferry operated for Liberty Island and Ellis Island. There are two departure points from where these ferries can be accessed. Liberty Park in New Jersy and Battery Park in New York. As we were staying in New Jersy, Liberty park was more convenient for us.
We had our return flight to Chicago on the same day evening, so we checked out from the hotel and started for Liberty Park around 9 a.m. Our trip was scheduled for 10 a.m. We parked our car in the paid parking lot of Liberty Park and boarded the ferry. Before going ferry we had to go through an airport level of security check.
Statue of Liberty also has different kinds of tickets which should only be booked through their official website. It is always best if you can get the Crown access tickets but the number of tickets available for the crown in very less and most of the time tickets are sold out six months earlier. Also, while booking the tickets for Crown access it should be kept in mind that there is no lift in through the body of the statue. That is, there is lift service from ground level to pedestal level but after that to reach to the crown, one has to climb stairs all the way to the up which is approximately 110 ft. So, considering that, pedestal access level is the second best thing to be in. ☺
Back to the details of the trip. We started from Liberty Park by 10 am and the ferry dropped us at Ellis Island.

Main hall of Ellis Island

Ellis Island was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. Since 1990, the main building of the island has been converted into immigration museum.
I, being a person, who hates museum of all sorts, actually loved this museum. There are shows organised in the theatre of the island which show the life of an immigrant in Ellis Island, the days before getting access to the land of opportunity. The show is really very heart touching and definitely a must watch.
We visited every nook and corner of the Ellis Museum, which is a very detailed exhibit of the immigrants life there; their beds, scribbling on the wall, some left out baggage, lots of photographs are a living witness of the price what those immigrants had to pay to reach the Land of Opportunity, the Land of Dreams.
There is nothing much I can write about Ellis Island, however, some of my captures would definitely tell a bit of tale about that place.

A modern day ship seen from Ellis Island | This is how immigrants used  to reach Ellis Island back those days

Waiting Hall in Ellis Island

Baggage Room of Ellis Island | These bags still carry the history with them

Bed for Immigrants, till decision for their destiny, is taken

Scripts made by the immigrants

Bookkeeping of Immigrants arrival

Image of Courtroom, the place who has witnessed  the decision of lakhs of people's future

One of the most interesting things I found in the museum was a set of questioners which used to be asked to the immigrants before granting a permit to enter the USA; I said interesting because the same set with addition of a couple of more questions is still being used for modern day VISA permits in the name of DS-160. Funniest question used to be asked those days was “Do you sing or talk to yourself?”; if someone answers ‘yes’, entry for that person is denied on the ground of having mental issues. ☺ I really thanked God and US Embassy for removing that particular question from DS-160, else I would never have been allowed an admission to the USA. ☺
Below picture is one of my most favourite from my shots of Ellis Island, caption will say you why

A modern day immigrant looking at the land of opportunity from the windows of Ellis Island

One can get a very good view of the skyline of manhattan from Ellis Island.

After exploring Ellis Island for almost 2-3 hours, we again board into the ferry and headed to our next destination, The Statue of Liberty.

Made in Paris by the French sculptor Bartholdi, in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel, this towering monument to liberty was a gift from France on the centenary of American independence. Inaugurated in 1886, the sculpture stands at the entrance to New York Harbour and has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States ever since.
We had booked the Reserve with Pedestal Access which includes access to the pedestal of Statue and the Museum and was thankful to ourselves that we didn't opt for the crown access else we would have to climb stairs of 100ft or more

Stair to the Crown

The museum exhibits the engineering and history behind the Statue of Liberty, replicas of moulds and shapes which were used for building the statue.

Model of Statue of Liberty | This is how it actually looks

Mould of feet

Different shapes used for building statue of liberty

One of the former torch of Statue of Liberty

We spend some time in visiting the museum and enjoying the view from the pedestal level. Then again boarded the ferry to come back to Liberty Park.
As per most of the websites, it takes three hours to visit Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. However, if you want to explore properly it takes much more than that. So, please your trip accordingly.
This was the end of our trip to the city of New York and we came back to Chicago same day evening.

Disclaimer : We went on this trip in July’ 2015. There are chances that price and timing have got changed. Please check with Travel Agencies and Hotel about current timing and rates. I have tried to provide as much as details are possible for the trip. For any further clarification, feel free to post comments on the blog or contact me @ dutshilpi@gmail.com.

Niagara Falls

About Niagara Falls : Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island.
The volume of water passed through the three falls are 2,839,058 liter per second.
Well, this was the info anyone can get on the internet, but I am providing just to keep my framework intact. What I actually want to tell about Niagara is that this is the best place I have ever visited, the best experience I ever had and the most beautiful topography I have ever seen. Anyone who has been in the USA already or planning to visit the USA, Niagara should be 'THE MUST SEE' for all.

Duration of the Trip : For us, it was a 2 days 1 night trip from Parsippany, New Jersey. But making it a 3 days 2 nights trips might be a better idea. We visited only the American side. However, Niagara can be best seen from Canada.

Transportation : We booked our 2 day Niagara Falls package tours from Take Tours. They charged $108 per head which was inclusive of transportation cost (i.e., AC bus) and accommodation. For other entry fees, we had to pay extra to the guides. We started from Parsippany at 9:30 am and reached Parsippany by 6 pm next day.

Details of the Trip :
Day 1: As instructed by the travel agency, we gathered near the ‘Top Quality Food’ store in Parsippany Route 46 by 8:30 am. They informed us earlier about not having any breakfast stop, so we had breakfast at the nearby Dunkin Donuts. Finally, the bus arrived by 9:20 am and we started by 9:30 am.
The bus was comfortable and clean. The tour guides spoke English and Chinese and were very helpful and nice.
They collected $72 per head in the bus as entry fees and ticket cost for the different places we visited, Watkins Glen, Native American Show, Old Niagara Fort and Maid of The Mist.
We had our first stop at a gas station in Pennsylvania at around 10:45 am. We were informed to have lunch at the Burger King over there as they won’t have a further halt at lunch.
After taking a break for 30 mins, we started for Watkins Glen State Park and reached there by 2:00 pm. The park is a good location for hiking and picnics as well. The park has three trails, Souther Rim Trail, Indian Trail and George Trail. We walked through the George Trail for 1.5 miles, beguiling the mesmerising nature along with Glen Creek.

Rainbow Bridge in Watkins Glen

Canyon

The backdrop is a fall. There is a way to pass in between falls

Though there was no entry fee to the park, however, there are parking fees for the vehicle. In the end, outside the park, there is a gift shop also. In a 2-3 minutes of walking distance, there are a subway and other food joints.
After visiting Watkins Glen State Park, we started for Niagara by 3:30. On the way, we crossed some of the beautiful vineyards and picture perfect locations. As we were on a package trip, we had no option to stop in those places, however, if someone is traveling by car, they should definitely take a break to photograph those places. Some of them I captured from the bus.


We crossed a bridge, just before entering the Buffalo city we could see the view of Niagara just as mist and the skyline of Ontario.


We finally reached Niagara by 6:00 pm and checked in to Quality Hotels and Suits at the Falls. As I told earlier, the hotel was inclusive in the package. The hotel room was comfortable, clean and with all necessary amenities for a day. The best part was it was at a walking distance from the falls.
After settling down at the hotel, we went to the nearby Niagara Falls Visitor Center. Every day they organize “Native American Indian Cultural Show” on the first floor of this visitor center at 7:15 PM. Our travel guide took us to the visitor center by 6:30 pm and handed over the tickets for the native show. They suggested us to have dinner before going for the show.
It was 6:30 pm and bright sunny early evening, and we were supposed to have dinner by then! Though after shifting to the USA, I tried to get accustomed to early lunch and early dinner, but dinner at 6:30 of evening was hilarious!!! :) However, we had dinner at that time. But my suggestion would be, if you are not comfortable, avoid that as all the shops remain open even after the show. The food was awful, especially the Chinese Restaurant and the India one. There was a pizza corner, which was better.
During the 35 minutes Native American Show, the dancers took us on an ancient journey through exceptional dance, traditional music and engaging stories. They show us a cross-tribal representation of the Native American culture in the Western New York Region. It was an awe-struck moment for us to watch the history of Niagara Falls came to life as the show proceeded. There were various dances, performed during the show, Jingle dance, Men & Women fancy dance, Eagle dance and Hoop dance.

Eagle dance

Men & Women fancy dance

My personal favourite was the Hoop dance where dancers focus on rapid movement and construction of hoop formation to depict stories.

Hoop Dance

Hoop Dance

All of us definitely have experienced multiple kinds of performances, however, this one was one of its own kinds. The attires, expressions, connect with the audience and above all the storytelling will definitely take you to an ancient period and will definitely leave you amused for a long time. I loved the way they dressed up.
There were some gift shops on the first floor as well as on the ground floor, there you can collect souvenirs to take your memory back to home. The collections of magnets were beautiful and of course it reminded me, what is the Hindi meaning of cashier :)

After the show, we went to Niagara Falls State Park for the night view of falls. Niagara Illumination Board colours up the falls in rainbow colour every evening throughout the year. The timing differs depending on the daylight. We reached at the park by 9:45 pm. The spectacular night view will definitely make your travel worth.
The view was iconic; we were at the most beautiful place of the world, but the International Border between USA and Canada was more thrilling to us. The feeling to see another country at a distance gave us goose bumps. As I belong to India, experience with neighbouring countries are definitely not something to cherish about for me. But still, I don’t think we have any such border, where you can actually see the running cars on the street, the moving elevators inside the building, CN Tower, changing colours of the skyline of the neighbouring country or can read the hoardings of Hotels and Casinos from. It really was an out of the world experience for us.

Night View of Niagara Falls

Night View of Niagara Falls

Night View of Niagara Falls

That was not the end; the cherry on the cake was the fireworks on the skyline of Niagara Falls. When we plan for the trip, we definitely do our part of homework about visiting the places but that firework was a pleasant surprise. That was my first experience of fireworks in the USA and that was the best so far, I have ever experienced in terms of fireworks. Those 10 minutes of fireworks was a real treat to eyes and I definitely felt all our trips to Hosur for buying the best fireworks in Bangalore, were a waste. They don't have anything near to this. (I still love Bangalore above all the places, fireworks is not only important thing in life. :) )



Later we came to know Canada host those firework shows at 10 p.m. on every Friday, Sunday and other holidays during summer.
We came back to our hotel by 10:30 and dozed off with the wonderful experience of the day.
Day 2 : The day started as early as 7:30 am. Actually we left the hotel after checking in by 7:30 am. There was no breakfast included in the package and also there was no separate time allotted for the same. The first place we visited was, Whirlpool State Park provides a view of Niagara Whirlpool, a natural whirlpool along the Niagara River located along the U.S.-Canadian border between New York and Ontario. It is estimated that the whirlpool formed approximately 4,200 years ago by the upstream erosion of the Niagara Escarpment by the Niagara River.

Niagara River Whirlpool

Now only 25%-50% of the river flows through this place due to which there was not much water in the whirlpool, however, that park was a good place for picnic or hiking.
We caught a glimpse of Power Vista power plant, a hydroelectric power plant on River Niagara, on the way to our next destination.

Power Vista Power Plant as Captured from Bus

The next place we visited was Old Fort Niagara. This fort was originally built during 1678 by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle at the bank of Niagara river, at its mouth on Lake Ontario mainly to the server the purpose of import-export. Later this place was captured by British and America several time. This place had witnessed the colonial rule and many significant wars of American History.

French Gate of The Old Fort Niagara(There are two more gates,  British and American

The Old Fort Niagara

Dormitory of Old Fort Niagara

Millet Corss, Erected by the Knights of Columbus in 1926, this copper cross commemorates the French soldiers of Fort Denonville, the precursor to Fort Niagara. The ill-fated winter of 1687-88 brought disease and starvation to this harsh frontier post. Only 12 of the 100 garrisoned men survived

The fort is a simple place, with very minimal maintenance, or should I say no maintenance at all. Yes, trust me there is not much to see inside the fort and we have way better forts in back home.
The main attraction of the fort to me was the costumed interpreters. They really will take you to the history and you will feel being part of the same. We met a lady and her husband, she introduced herself as “I am the musician in the army and my husband is a soldier” as if that was her real life.

She is the Singer

There were also a couple of demonstrations to show how British Soldiers used to refill a gun with gun powder and fire it. However, in current days, the war will be over and the opposition will win within the time to refill those guns :)

Gun Show

Though the fort, the surrounding impressed me. The beautiful Ontario lake kept me amazed. The blues of sky, lake and river, the peaceful nature contradicted the fact, that place had ever witnessed any war. One can spend an entire day by gazing at the lake.

Niagara River and the land part is in Cananda

Lake Ontario

Any Rupam fan would definitely hum at least once, “neel rong chilo bhishon priyo, tai shobkichu neeliye diyo” and citizen of a nation that loves to #BleedBlue, can really bleed blue here.
There is a entry fee of $12 for adults and $8 for children between age 6 to 12 years. No entry fee for kids below 6 years.
Next place on our travel list were ‘Day View of Niagara and Maid of The Mist’ as our guides said. Excited, happy, thrilled, a bit hungry, we had no idea what was coming in our way. We went to Niagara Falls State Park by 9:45 am and queued up for Maid of The Mist. Normally this queue is for booking tickets for Maid of The Mist, ticket cost is $17 for adults and $9.90 for children between age 6 to 12 years. No entry fee for kids below 6 years but since went through a travel agency, they took the hassle of booking tickets and we just queued up for entering. From there a lift took us to lower part at the river bank where we had to board the boat. They gave us blue raincoats before boarding the boat.


We boarded and headed towards the journey of life time. The boat took us near to American Falls and Bridal Vail falls respectively. It was Awesome!!!!

American Falls

American Falls and the smaller on in left is Bridal Vail Falls

Then we went to the Horseshoe falls, also called Canadian Falls as it is more on the Canada side. Monumental, majestic, huge, mammoth, spectacular, gorgeous and what not. I, being a person who takes out the camera before watching the place, forgot to bring out the camera for a while. It was so beautiful that nothing can be compared, no words can describe that place. I believe anyone will run out of adjectives to describe. It was an experience worth for lifetime.

Horseshoe Falls

Horseshoe Falls

After spending some time in front of Horseshoe falls, the boat turned back for the point it started from. One can have a clearer view of Canada, may be more thrilling that previous night of being so close to the international border, if one can refrain of gazing at Horseshoe falls.

Maid of The Mist from Canada

Canada side day view

We got down from the boat and walked towards the stairs which took us to the lap of American falls and had another experience of a lifetime. Rainbows!!! Not the one which I have seen multiple times in my life but one which actually originated at the place I was standing, not just one but multiple.

Me and My Rainbow Fantasy

A personal Favorite Pic

We walked up till the American Falls and took some failed attempt to photograph. Finally, we took the lift and came back to the top at ground level. The platform near the lift lobby also had a good photographic view of the falls and trust me, any number of camera clicks would not satisfy you.

This bridge is called rainbow bridge, the roadway between USA and Cananda

Some more neighbouring country fascination

It was the last view of Niagara through my non living lenses

We left the park by 11 am and had lunch from the pizza corner in the Visitors centre and started back for New Jersey by 11:30. The travel agency collected $8 per head as per day as per service charge of the trip. On the way, there were two stops just for a toilet break each of fifteen minutes and we reached back to Parsippany by 6:00 pm in the evening.

Notes : Few points I want to highlight from my experience are 1. Travel Agencies are better way to make trip to Niagara as you don't have to stand in long queues, however, travelling by own car has its own benefit. You can spend how long you want to in a place.
2. Even if you are visiting trough travel agencies, you can drop the places like Fort and whirlpool park and take trip to Cave of the Winds (http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/cave-of-the-winds.aspx) by your own if that is not inclusive in package.
3. Make sure to carry jackets as falls side will be cold always.
4. Maid of The Mist runs only during May to November. Check the timing before planning.

Disclaimer : We went on this trip in May’ 2015. There are chances that price and timing have got changed. Please check with Travel Agencies and Hotel about current timing and rates. I have tried to provide as much as details is possible for the trip. For any further clarification, feel free to post comments in the blog or contact me @ dutshilpi@gmail.com.