Day1

New York City- 8/17/11 -8/20/11

Day 1-Wednesday

Day 2- Thursday

Day 3 - Friday

Day 4- Saturday

Day 3-Chinatown

New York City’s Chinatown is the largest Chinatown in the United States. It is the largest concentration of Chinese in the western hemisphere and it is located on the lower east side of Manhattan. Its two square miles with a population estimated between 70,000 and 150,000. Chinatown is the favored destination point for Chinese immigrants, though in recent years the neighborhood has also become home to Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos among others.

I think Chinatown in San Francisco is a lot nicer that the one in New York. As you can see in this picture Chinatown is pretty rundown and pretty dirty.

We wanted to go to Chinatown to grab bowl of hot noodle soup for lunch. Yep, us Asian we have to have a bowl of soup everywhere we go!

Lots of Chinese green-grocers and fishmongers are displaying their goods on cheap stands.

Chinatown is always loud, dirty and full of people.

Auntie Kim tasting some Longan just to make sure they are sweet and good.

Dung paying for the Longan.

Coney Island

After lunch we decided to hop back to the subway heading toward Coney Island.

Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in in southernmost of Brooklyn. Coney Island was formerly an island therefore the name, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill.

It takes about 45 minutes from Chinatown to Coney Island by taking the subway.

We got off at the last stop! View of inside of the subway.

As soon as you get off the subway the first thing you see is Nathan's famous Hot. They are very famous for their Hot dogs eating contest.

Nathan's Famous is a company that operates a chain of U.S.-based fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. This one is the original Nathan's restaurant standing at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island,

There is always a line there no matter what time it is!

Wall of fame billboard- They also have a count down until the next contest.

female record is 41 hot dogs - Make record is 69 hot dogs! That is just crazy.

I can only one at a time.

The boardwalk was pretty empty which is really nice. Felt like we are going to a resort.

Coney Island snack shops along the boardwalk.

On the left is the Parachute Jump (red metal tower)

Parachute Jump was originally built as the Life Savers Parachute Jump at the 1939 New York World's Fair, this was the first ride of its kind. Patrons were hoisted 190 ft (58 m) in the air before being allowed to drop using guy-wired parachutes. Although the ride has been closed since 1968, it remains a Coney Island landmark, and is sometimes referred to as Brooklyn's Eiffel Tower. Between 2002 and 2004, it was completely dismantled, cleaned, painted and restored, but remains inactive. After an official lighting ceremony in July 2006, the Parachute Jump was slated to be lit year round using different color motifs to represent the seasons. However, this idea was scrapped when New York City started conserving electricity in the summer months, and it has not been lit regularly since.

Another Nathan's famous on the boardwalk.

Coney Island is known as the site of amusement parks and a major resort that reached their peak during the first half of the 20th century. It declined in popularity after World War II and endured years of neglect. In recent years, the area has seen the opening of MCU Park and has become home to the minor league baseball team the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Wonder Wheel is a 150 ft tall eccentric Ferris wheel located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park in Coney Island.

Eccentric wheels differ from conventional Ferris wheels in that some of the passenger cars are not fixed directly to the rim of the wheel, but instead slide on rails between the hub and the rim as the wheel rotates.

From 1885 to 1896, the Coney Island Elephant Hotel was the first sight to greet immigrants arriving in New York. They would see it before the Statue of Liberty became visible