North America – White Rabbit Peaks

Washington. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

Washington. USA

The city holding the history of a nation, and knowledge for generations.

Captains Log Day 8 – 12/12/14 11:53pm. United Airways

Its a very unpleasant sensation to wake up with a pool of saliva on your chest. I wake up from my comatose like state and start to piece together the events of the last 4 days, hoping that the innocent couple sitting next to me on this flight have not realised the salivated lake which had formed on my chest or the deafening snoring going on for the last 2 hours…

A combination of events had contributed to this unconscious state, a result of our adventures in the nations capital Washington DC.

Yes we had landed, we had finally made it on to US soil! Our adventure till now with Iceland and Amsterdam were a mere distant memory compared to what lay ahead. Land of the Free.

Wing Commander and I took no time to leave the airport, to make our way to our accommodation which lay in the central part of Washington DC – the only issue was that we had landed in the ‘other airport’. Which meant our US journey had to start with a bus ride, a train ride and then a 30 minute walk. Taking about 2 hours to check in to our hotel room – which was the size a closet.

A thing worth mentioning and in the nature of the randomness of this log as we walked to our hotel room we crossed an african american guy sitting on the side of a window sill with a large amount of smoke coming from him. Thinking that he is probably smoking some medicinal stuff we dismissed it. As we walked closer the fragrance was amazing.. it smelt like Incense. Confused both of us looked at each other. We approached closer with the smell of incense even more distinct. We were right this dizzy pirate had a handful of burning incense in his hand. Still confused and not sure of why we continued to walk past him. Any ideas?

Despite being 11pm when we arrived both Wing Commander and I were keen and ready to explore the Presidential City. Dropping off our bags and rugging up (it was freezing) we headed off to town, our bellies hungry for food and our eyes hungry to see the landmarks we had all grown up seeing. Walking around the first thing we noticed was the lack of people, the place had massive roads, large buildings but… no people, i mean i know it was 11pm and a Tuesday night, however we just expected a barrage of people walking around. What we did see however on our little exploratory walk was a stack of homeless people, there were some at every corner of every street. Sleeping outside in the freezing cold, coming over to ask for change, singing, doing some pretty crazy things. In our 3 hour walk i think my wing commander and I had spotted at least 30 homeless people. A good drinking game – spot the Bum have a shot! However as well as the large number of Bums on the streets we also noticed a large number of police cars and patrols going on, with one police car on every second block. At this point i realised my drinking game would not be too practical.

Hunger won the Game and we decided that it would be better to grab some food before we went for some midnight landmark exploration. We walked around the deserted streets looking and hoping that something was open, block after block being confronted by closed restaurants and take-away shops. Giving up hope we went to a police officer and asked if something was open around us, he replied “Nope – the only thing open is McDonalds 5 blocks down in china town”. With Great reluctance both of us accepted our fates and decided this was the only option if we wanted some sustenance. We got to McDonalds only to find a heap of shady characters – african americans, scary looking guys, arguing, and sitting inside, listening to music on the phones. The place looked like something out of a movie, I was waiting for a drive-by shooting any second. The place was like the Flinders Street station Maccers at 2 am on a weeknight, on steroids. We ordered our food and since it was so cold outside decided to sit inside and eat, with the knowledge that this could be a bad idea. We ate fast, but not fast enough for my wing commander to start getting a death stare from one of distinguished patrons in the establishment. Scared and like mice we escaped and thanked our stars that there were no puncture wounds on us.

The Washington Monument was the first landmark our night time route. As we approached the structure we could start to comprehend the massive size of this thing. it was big. It felt like a towering skyscraper overlooking the city. The sheer size of this structure was overwhelming and despite all the cold weather both of us just stood and stared at it. A realisation sunk in – We had Made it to AMERICA! A hug and a selfie later we started walking to Barrack’s Crib, hoping to see the white house lit up in the night backdrop. Walking over we struggled to see it. We walked around tempted to go over a small barricaded area, at which point we saw a police officer and we went over to him. He advised that the white house lights turn off at 11pm and that if we had entered the area which we were heading we would have gotten arrested. He said at this time we could of over to the back of the building and take a photo, although it would be dark. A few snaps later we decided surviving a mugging, a bashing and being arrested was enough for one night and it was time to call it a night arriving at our hotel room and sleeping by 4am.

9am our alarm went off. Wing Commander and i got prepared, our second day in America had begun and boy did we have a heap to do.

Firstly we needed some food, it was our day to experience Fast Food in America – so using urban spoon found our fast food chain Popeye’s Chicken and biscuit. A very random fried chicken chain. When in Rome – Fried Chicken. It was and a heap of it. The captain was feeling sick after having it, although this did not stop him from grabbing Spiced Pumpkin Latte. I was surprised at how good it was!

We rushed off to the Capitol Building only to find it was shut for the day for a special function and we would have to return the next day for the tour. Getting some advise from the tour guide we headed firstly to the National Library of Congress – Classified as the most beautiful building in the United States in the inside, it did not fail to impress. The renaissance design and architecture was like something you would find in an art gallery in Italy or France. Home to objects like one of the oldest Koran in the world, as well as some of the first printed bibles and the Magna Carter, this place was a page our of history at every corner. After a guided tour of the building we ducked off to the botanical Gardens to view the sculptures and the model train exhibition, ensuring that we had taken our hay fever tablets for this, the gardens were exquisite with fauna from around the world.

The next on the list was one of the things i had personally looked forward to the most. The National Air and Space Museum. Home to revolutionary items such as the actual Apollo 11 command shuttle, replicas of the Curiosity Rover, the Apollo Moon lander and the Actual Wright brothers plane (the first plane ever take successful flight). Spending over an hour we were eventually hunted down by museum security and asked to leave at closing time. Exhausted and our legs like Jelly the next part of our walk made us forget the aching feet and just feel overwhelmed. We visited Lincoln Memorial, (a giant Abe Lincoln on a chair looking over Washington) followed by Martin Luther King Jnr, Roosevelt and finally Jefferson Memorial. All of these were an amazing experience, we learned about history and got absorbed by the greatness of each of these men.

The Second day was continuing when we decided to take an Uber and head to Georgetown where our Noob hotel concierge had told us we could buy our santa costume for Santa Con. Georgetown was an upper market area with boutique shops and defiantly no santa costumes. We then took another Uber to Walmart unfortunately and to our surprise they did not stock any. disappointed we just walked around Walmart to absorb the superstore – i wanted to go buy a gun, just because i could. Finally we reached back to the hotel, had a bit of a nap and went for dinner to an establishment that had a bookshop and a restaurant attached to it. A very funky place where both wing commander and I ate and then headed home.

The last day of our Washington visit dawned. Our bodies aching we headed back into the museum district, first up the Capitol building. The landmark that everyone visions to be the white house – The first image i personally thought of when i thought of Washington – the Capitol building is the parliament of the country. We made it on time and were able to do a tour. Spectacular.

We then went to the National Archives and were able to see the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, I was figuring out how I could steal any one of these documents. as time was slipping away we headed to our last museum – The museum of Natural History. This place much like the Air and Space museum was mind boggling – Giant wales, Animals from around the world, Dinosaurs, Mummies, this place would be a wonderland for anyone. We strolled around and in the fastest way possible took some photos and absorbed some information. We had to leave as we had to go see do a tour of the Washington Monument – rushing we got to the ticket office to find the tours for the day had been sold out 🙁 disappointed we headed towards the Whitehouse to see if we could get some photos of it from the front. This was a successful mission with no one being arrested. Win.

Bodies battered we had completed our Washington exploration, realising we had only scratched the surface, we would need to return in order to cover all the landmarks with detail.

Dad had advised that his colleague was in Washington and we had to visit his bar/ restaurant so after the Whitehouse we decided to head there for dinner. The issue is that we never made it to Dinner. This uncle was extremely hospitable, too much so serving beer after beer. The captains ship was sinking. Extremely intoxicated we left the restaurant. Stumbling to our hotel room. The captain engaged in some shenanigans along the way, which included stealing a pumpkin off someones doorstep and smashing it on the floor, as well as painting the sidewalk 3 times with his recent half digested dinner. Reaching the bed it was time to pass-out. our flight was scheduled for 6am – the alarm set for 4am we had to get some sleep before our 6 hour journey to San Fran. Who had known hangover to follow would be painful.

Washington: The city holding the history of a nation, and knowledge for generations.

San Francisco. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

San Fransisco. USA

The Golden City of Opportunity and Red Santa’s.

Captains Log Day 11 – 15/12/14 2:20pm. SFO Airport

This recollection of events breaks the norm, it has been has to be typed prematurely (unlike other things in my life). My God Damn flight has been cancelled. Hopefully the first and last of vessel cancellations along our journey. I wait along the new larger entourage of Wing Commander Nand and Super-intendant Dave. “Oh wait is that Monica from Friends? is that her? OMG yes it is! Excuse me Mrs Courtney, i am Captain Raggie…”

Ok give me a moment… #starstruck… Yup now we’re good.

San Fran Sisqo. After a mega nap, filled with heaps of drooling we arrive in the state of California. The Wing Commander and Captain had been suffering some serious War wounds, the last night in Washington had taken its toll. In my unconscious state the wing commander had made allies with some locals who are visiting San Fran. They had come for the Annual Public Santa Convention. More on which later in this log. We arrive and head straight to the baggage claim to get our checked baggages. Both of us are excited, a comrade from Melbourne who had moved to Vancouver had made an amazing move to defy the odds and join us here in San Fransisco, and continue the voyage with us to Los Angeles. The latest addition the crew, Super Intendant Dave. Anxious to meet him we started googling when flights from Vancouver would arrive. NEKKMINUTE I GET SPREAR HUGGED FROM BEHIND! It’s super intendant DAVE!!! He found us!. After about 10 minutes of hugs and happiness. Seeing him after a year or more it was amazing to be reunited with our close comrade.

The Captain and the Wing Commander were honoured to be staying at the Captains Cousins Barracks. The captains cousin had moved to San Fransisco about a year ago from Melbourne to look after the America Division. Base Captain Rishabh’s Barracks was located in an optimal location in the city of San Fransisco. After a few Uber hiccups we finally were on our way to the base camp.

We arrived to a entourage of guests, it seemed like base captain Rishabh had had a soirée the night before and the a few of the militia remained. After a sweet embrace with la familia and some introductions we were on our way to a Brunch that and been preplanned. Still a bit dazed from the flight and the hangover we joined in the activities and called in Super intendant Dave to join. We were soon sitting in a french restaurant having croque monsieur. Names flying left right and centre, we had met 10 people in a span of 20 minutes. a belly full of brunch, we headed back to the barracks to start the day and plan activities. We recouped, and relaxed for about an hour before the Base Captain and his best mate and housemate General Jeevs were arriving with some Brewskis. Rest time was over.

We started drinking and ordered some indian food, despite some protests for ‘Medium’ Base Captain had already requested ‘Hot’, what ensued was a very painful dinner. Burning our mouths and causing our stomachs to churn, the only way to relieve the burns was with large gulps of beer. Soon another comrade from Melbourne joined us – Spech Ops Smit. Smit was given the task to lead the force to show us around on the town. Feeling intoxicated by both the many beers and the intense chilli from dinner, it was time venture on forth. In a blink of an eye, we had entered the street full of bars, hitting up one after the other, it seemed like time just slept through the cracks. From one bar to another we went, beers, shots and even Jelly shots being consumed. Feeling tipsy and light headed our rendezvous with the Base captain was imminent. The remainder of the night was dedicated to us stumbling around he city to see some magnificent sights such as the Bay Bridge and the Pier.

Day 2 – So before I start the second day in San Fran let me recap on the bit i had failed to mention previously – 13th December was SantaCon in San Francisco. To those wondering what is Santacon – here is an expert from the wikipedia page “SantaCon is an annual costume party, mass gathering and pub crawl of people dressed in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters parading in several cities around the world, principally in New York City. It has been variously also known as Santarchy, Santa Rampage, the Red Menace, and Santapalooza.”…Basically a gathering of people dressed as Santa drinking on the streets and partying. Nothing is sacred if you are in a santa costume. We had made it to San Fran Just at the right time.

We were lucky enough that Super intendant Dave had bought our costume for us from Canada, we were prepared for the day that lay ahead. The morning started with us developing our alert call. Basically a noise we released if we got lost or if we needed each others attention during the day, This almost like a distress call, this was vital for our survival. The call we came up with was based on Kanye’s – Blood on the Leaves, it was simply a auto-tuned version of the word “Leaves”.

As 10 am struck we emerged to the lounge room dressed in our elaborate Santa costumes to find the Base Captain making Pancakes with Whisky and coffee with cafe patron. After a quick breakfast General Jeeves moved the dinner table to the living room and lined up some red cups for a game of beer pong. Let the beer pong championships begin!!… and finish no long later with a 5/0 loss to the away team as well as a casualty of the Wing Commander chundering after a sculling his beer and Rum mix. 12 pm and we already had some regurgitation in the sink. The foreigners were already on fire!

The Beer olympics had come to an end and in our Santa red attire we boarded our sleigh and headed in to town. What we found was Thousands of Santa’s. looking left, right and centre, everywhere there was Santa’s! Santa con was in full swing. Starting off at Kels Bar what ensued was a heap more drinking and dancing. A few dance off’s and a drinks later we were on the streets and it had seemed like the santa population had grown exponentially. We stumbled around going from one bar to another, losing each other at times, entering restaurants under false pretences and using the bathroom, drinking on the street , having some AMAZING tasting chips that no one had ever tasted including several members of the public. We walked around absorbing Santacon.

At one point both Wing Commander and I just stopped and sat on the sidewalk and appreciated Alcatraz in the distance – loosing the group and talking to the randoms as they swerved around us.

When we met up with Base Captain we headed to the next bar in which we concealed our drinks and entered. When leaving the Bouncer was not impressed with Base Captain Rishabh as he saw the beer in his hand and realised that the bar does not even sell that beer. Confiscated. Most of this night was a blur with a heap of elements just missing

Santacon finally ended when it was about 8PM and we headed home. We took off our Santa costumes off and put on a movie. The first to drop out was Wing Commander at around 10PM with Base captain not long after at around 11, the Captain, Base Captain and Super Intendant passed out around 12. A truly memorable day with a heap missing.

Day 3 – We woke up from our hangovers, wondering what happened the night before and why there is so much red fluff on our cloths. Base Captain Rish suggested on hiring a car and volunteers to show us all the sights that San Fran has to offer. Based on this offer we get up and head to rental place to pick up our car for the day – which happens to be a large Nissan Ultimo. Good Times. Captaining this vessel, Base Captain takes up around and shows us every site, including the Fishermans wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Marin City, Golden Gate park, the Five ladies, Delores Park, Twin Peaks as well as the birthplace of hippies’ – Haight. An adventure i would never forget and thank Base Captain Rish for. After 6 hours of driving, once again my father had come through and pushed no a colleague from university that he has asked me to catch up with. The only issue was that he was 1 hour away, in Sunnyvale – close to San Jose.

After initially refusing to go meet this mysterious family friend, we decided since we had the car, that it would be a good idea go and check it out. Picking up General Jeeves we started our road trip down Silicon valley, we passed, amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and the mighty Google. Despite all my begging we were not allowed to stop 🙁 we arrived at sunnyvale. Due to a strict timeline set by Captain Rish – We calibrated watches and went in to eat. What ensued was an amazingly delicious dinner, we had been pampered and well looked after. Since i had adhered to the timeline of the base captain – i was rewarded. On the way back to San Fransisco he detoured to Google. At this point I can say to you I was in heaven. I think I was leaking fluids from all over! It was like a dream. We drove around the complex, me wailing like a schoolgirl that had just seen Justin Bieber.

After an exciting and jam packed day, San Fran had been ticked off the list. Base Captain Rish and General Jeeves had helped us cover off our first city in California in almost VIP style (Missing Strippers and Coke) but brilliant in every other way. Our last sleep was like a hypnotic sleep. Waking up early and once agin to some delicious breakfast of Pancakes and Sausages it was time to leave. Saying our goodbyes and reminiscing at the fantastic city that San Fransisco is Wing Commander, Super intendant and myself, headed to the airport only to find our flight cancelled, the rest is history..

San Fransisco: The golden city of opportunity and red santa’s.

Los Angeles. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

Los Angeles. USA

The City of a million stories.

Captains Log Day 18 – 23/12/14 12:20am. Maingate Resort and Spa

After a long hiatus of log entries, this recollection of events commences immediately after departing from San Fransisco, as the captain and his comrades take on the City of Dreams.

The journey to LA began just as any trip to the Hollywood city should, with the sighting of an A list Celebrity – Waiting at the airport as the vessel we were to travel on was cancelled, out came Courtney Cox, followed by a man who looked like Freddy Kruger. Although we are unsure about the Freddy part the Captain and the team of Super intendent Dave and Wing Commander Nand were lucky enough to use some of their Aussie charm to manage a selfie with Courtney Cox.

After a bit of a delay to our flight, was finally on its way and it didn’t take Wing Commander Nand long into our decent to realise L.A was a monster of a city. Departing the airport we discussed our plans for the night and called our first Uber into the city, which got cancelled, and then called another which once again got cancelled. Waiting about 45 minutes at the airport tensions were mounting, it seemed like no one wanted to pick the cross atlantic crew up. Finally after a substantial time waiting, along came our transportation saviour.

A few minutes into the conversation we discovered that our Uber driver was a full time actor, he had been on T.V shows such as Greys anatomy, Dial M for murder and was currently working alongside Jack Nicholson in a movie. He gave us a card and recommended his services if we required actors. At this point, thoughts crossed my mind about motion picturing the captains log and having him play his character. After dropping Super intendant Dave to his Banana republic Hostel we made for our abode, agreeing to meet up with super intendant for the nights activities.

We had not eaten since Master Chef and Base Captain Rish had fed us Pancakes and sausages earlier in the day, so we quickly prepared our materials and headed out to the Banana Republic – chanting “Leeves” as we walked. We rendezvous with Super Intendant Dave and headed to Roscoes Chicken and Waffles. Roscoes was a suggestion that was made by Wing Commander Nand – as he had seen it multiple times on Fresh Prince of Belair. This place had to be sampled. The food was both Delicious as well as a heart attack waiting to happen. It crossed the boundaries of segregation between sweet and savoury and delivered fried chicken and waffles. It took our minds a few minutes to process what we were eating, and our bellies a lot longer to digest it.

Belly’s full and minds confused the squadron of three headed to Hollywood boulevard to check out the ‘Stars’ of the strip. To our surprise there was thousands of these, 2000 plus to be more precise. Stars upon stars, many of these unknown and nestled amongst a heap of known personalities. Walking for about 3 hours we saw the strip and returned home exhausted.

At this point had been hit with an illness – i could only describe this illness as Santa Flu. Since the onslaught that was Santacon i had started to feel a deterioration in my health. This started with a itchy throat and developed into a cough, finally mutating into a severe chest pain. Not to hinder Super intendant or the wing commander I carried on, pushing the limits to the extreme, also leaving large deposits of phlegm and saliva everywhere I went. The health was getting bad and my party could feel my failings.

Day 2 in L.A began with the squadron of three meeting up in the morning and walking towards the strip, trying to figure out what the best run of actions would be for the day. As we headed towards the strip, a odd looking gentleman approached us and discussed if we would like to go on a bus tour to see LA landmarks, at first a little confused we heard his reasoning and the prices and decided – why not. Some time was remaining for the tour to start and our bellies were making some type of growling noise, we thought it was best to go and feed. As a recommendation of Super Intendant Dave we headed for a Mexican chain called Chipotle. We ordered and what came can be described a burrito the size of a small baby (not a foetus but a Baby) not only was the size of this meal amazing so was the taste. Guzzling our Burrito babies we headed back to the tour area and met with the Odd looking fellow. Upon Arrival he started speaking to us, it seemed a slurred speech and required some concentration, soon he revealed that he had been shot in the head a few months in the past and was on the road to recovery. He has been smashing doctors initial diagnosis of full speech recovery sitting only at 1%, he was now at 80% speech capacity.

We boarded the bus just in time for a storm, and to add to the adventure the bus didn’t really have much of a top. Getting drenched, we drove past places such as Rodeo Drive, The Hollywood sign and Micheal Jacksons house. Having a semi deaf driver did not accommodate our request for him to speak louder. Possibly the worst tour have ever done. Moral of the story – don’t trust a street seller that has been shot in the head.

Drenched and exhausted from the tour we walked up to the Chinese theatre to see fit our hands in those of our celebrity heroes. As walking up the strip we were once again approached by a random person – this time with no dents on his head. He approached us and stated that he had some open spots for the shooting of “The Price is Right” with Drew Carey, for the next day. At first we walked past thinking this cant be true, then we walked to him and he advised it was! Not only that but they choose contestants from the crowd. We were advised of the early start and agreed to the conditions. We were going to be on the Price is Right! To celebrate we bought some beers and a bottle of Vodka and headed back tot he hotel, listening to some Rap music we polished off the bottle and were flying high and after a few hours we decided to grab late night snack and call it a night – we had a mega day ahead of us. Santa Flu was getting worse.

Waking up at 7am after polishing a bottle of Vodka off really sucks. Another life lesson learnt on this trip. Scurrying we headed to CBS studios, stopping by the Banana republic to grab Super Intendant Dave. The wait was insane, lines upon lines – all up waiting time was well over 3 hours. Although i can not disclose much of the shooting (NDA) i will say that we did not get called down 🙁 despite our epic photographs and our charismatic interviews). On the bright side we are surely on the screen multiple times cheering and a carrying on like we have parts of our brains missing (we maybe do). The set and the shooting was very entertaining with Drew Carry and George (the MC) making a heap of jokes. Also in the first time in Price is Right History the producers revealed the WRONG showcase! This had to be re shot and the executive producer came out to apologise to the crowd and the contestants. The show will be aired on the 10th of March 2015, so the wearing of my Santa hat was not allowed 🙁

Following an eventful session at the CBS studios Wing Commander and I departed ways with Super Intendant Dave. Dave headed back to Banana republic and we headed to Warner Brothers Studios to see the sets and the homes of our favourite TV shows and Movies. Once again we faced Uber issues as the Driver ended up taking us the wrong direction and straight to universal studios, upon seeing Jurassic park, both Wing commander and I knew we were at the wrong spot. The Uber Driver apologised profusely and voided the charges. Inside Warner Brothers, Wing Commander and i Marvelled at Batman and Harry Potter props, including original costumes and artwork. we walked around the dessert in Terminator and the Lake in Dexter. We had been given sneak peak into how the industry does it, the so called ‘Movie Magic’.

Concluding the tour we dialled D for Dave and planned a meet up in Santa Monica Pier. Our new Formula one Mexican uber driver made us reach in no time – beating Dave by a full half an hour. We strolled up and down the pier crossing Bubba Gumps restaurant, the Pier theme park and other novelty places including a semi raving santa. We reached the end of the pier we watched a Seal steal the bait off fisherman and laughed. it was pretty random. Catching up with Dave we walked down to view the famous Venice beach, strolling up and down before decided to head back towards our hotels for a well earned dinner. To fit right into the shoes of a true tourist – dinner was to be at Hardrock Cafe. In my deathly sickness everything had started tasting like mush and the service was nothing to admire, like a snooty frenchman we complained and managed to get a 12% discount. Disappointed in dinner but satisfied with a full day the Captain and the Crew headed back to base for a well earn rest. At this point my health had reached its worst point. I went straight to bed hurting inside – i was worried that it would jeopardise my tour of Vegas.

Since this was the end of LA journey, it was time for D man Dave to end his service and return home. A very sad moment in our trip as we gave Dave a big hug and promised him a visit to the beautiful city of Vancouver. Sadness filled our minds as we fell asleep.

We awoke exhausted from the previous day, and also realised we had already begun to run late. Our bus was to leave shortly and we had not even gotten ready – in a mad Dash we got ready and caught an Uber towards the Bus stand – Today was the day we were leaving for Vegas! Sin City! we rushed and made it to the bus stand 2 minutes before the bus was to depart, once again being the last ones to board. Thus ending our L.A adventure and heading North east towards the Sins that awaited us.

Los Angeles The City of a million stories.

Las Vegas. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

Las Vegas. USA

The city where ‘nothing’ happens.

Captains Log Day 24 – 29/12/14 1:24pm. Brooklyn New York

Days and weeks have passed from the last entry in this journal. My memory is starting to fade like the paint on a old desert shack.

The reasons for the faint recollection could be self induced. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – except herpes that stuff stays with you for life. With that advise and Segway let’s start a filtered view of what was Las Vegas.

We boarded the Vegas bound bus with 2 minutes to spare. In LA we had been warned by locals that taking the bus was not the best of ideas. So here’s an Interesting fact.. in the States the only people that take interstate busses are Hobos and Drifters. Perfect crowd i would say. The bus was very ghetto a swell as being full. Since Wing commander and I arrived late we were separated, sitting with randoms. The Captain was sitting next to some random person that happened to be mega overweight and decided its best to sit with his legs spread and eat Dorrito’s. I was hoping I could use him as a pillow and let my saliva do the talking. The bus also had a distinct smell but more importantly it also had wifi 🙂

Wing commander had managed to catch the attention of his fellow traveller and had begun a deep philosophical discussion, they discussed poetry and the drifter life just as I closed my eyes for a nap.

Upon the horizon the sinister glow of the city could be seen. A aurora of lights, glowing with sin written all over the desert that we had been traveling. We got closer to the strip and the sheer size of Casinos and hotels baffled us. One of which was the Luxor, the hotel which was to give shelter to the wing commander and the captain and any other sea maidens that were to join us over the course of the next few days. The Luxor hotel is the enormous pyramid shaped hotel on the strip, complete with a sphinx up the front. Excited by the lights we put our bags in our oversized hotel room and headed for the strip. The Santa flu had not departed and I continued to suffer the constant chest pains, phlegm regurgitation and the coughing. The day was spent jumping from one casino to another, finding our bearings and navigating the strip. The bright lights began doing things to our heads, a hunger to gamble grew in our minds and hunger for food in our bellies. As we walked around we had been approached by performers, tour guides, bums the whole kit and caboodle. One person in particular interested us, we found them and went and spoke to them, not long after booked our tickets to visit a giant hole in the ground for the next day. Hungry now and not having eaten since we left L.A we searched these colossal structures for good food. Craving a nice meal we came across Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant. Wing commander and I looked at each other and with a nod we entered with grins on our faces. Dinner was to be Gordon Ramseys burgers and an epic Oreo thick-shake that the wing commander swears is one of the best he had ever had. As an addition to our celebrity count Katie from season 13 of hells kitchen was cooking our meals.

Full from our meals and dreading the 630am pick up for the Canyon tour we headed home and embraced sleep.

The blaring alarm woke us at 6 am and we scurried to make our Grand Canyon bus tour. The ticket salesman had promised us a nap on the bus and the excitement of this was peaking. We boarded and headed for our seats getting comfortable for our 6 hour journey. Instantly the bus host announced that there will be no sleeping! This guy felt like he had downed a bottle of vodka and a small bucket of cocaine. He started his commentary. A 6 hour documentary of the Grand Canyon and Hoover dam. We made a quick stop off at the Hoover dam and we marvelled by its entirety. The man made structure was humongous! After some photos and more Dam facts we continued or journey forward, reaching the canyon in the promised 6 hours.

When we were getting off the bus, the cocaine induced driver proposed that the more fit people in the group could hike 4 miles to the next pick up point, warning us that the altitude was high and breathing may be an issue, he also warned that if we did not reach the point in time the bus would have go leave without them. I consulted a worried wing commander.

We made the choice that no one else on our bus did. We are to hike the Grand Canyon. Despite my aching lungs from the non dying santa flu veering put under more stress from the lack of oxygen we started our journey. What followed was an sensational song of breath taking views. It was unimaginable. No photos can do it justice. It was so big that our depth perception suffered. Interesting fact: From one end to the other its 29 km (city to Springvale), It runs for 429 km (halfway to Sydney), It is 1.6 km deep (Flinders street station to Melbourne central). It was mind blowing and despite the snow and high altitude both wing commander and i were in shock. We completed the hike with 45 minutes to spare. Exhausted we hoped the bus ride back to Vegas would factor in a nap. Unfortunately as we were hiking the driver managed another bucket of coke and was ready to keep us on our toes. Sigh.

We got back to the hotel exhausted after a 14 hour day. Although we felt like death we could hear the bottle of Vodka we had bought calling to us. To relax a bit we started drinking. With some bits missing it was 12 am and we were on the strip and hopping bar to bar. There are recollections of me painting the sidewalk with food once again. Pre drinks are a very intense thing. Blinded by the flashing lights we some how managed to get into a club at Planet Hollywood called Koi and we ended up on the dance floor till we felt our legs were going to fall off. Limp we ended day 2 in Vegas crawling back to our hotel room.

Waking up hungover and swollen from the day before the Captain heard water calling and headed for the outdoor pool. I can personally tell you its a different feeling going swimming outdoors whilst its 2 degrees outside. Exhilarating. My wing commander stuck to base and rested, the night was our last and it happened to be a Saturday. The refreshing swim and spa session had my batteries recharged, the captain arrived back at the room with a brewskii. Soon we poured the vodka and the predrinking ritual started. Half a bottle down we ventured out on to the strip looking for the next venue.

Since this night was our last in Vegas we decided to go all out and headed to the Venetian hotel which housed the best club in Vegas – Tao. Despite our casual shoes we managed to charm our way in. This place was like no other club I have been to. Huge. Packed. Body to body. Full of the most beautiful people I have seen. Music pumping and drinks flowing like the Niagara Falls, we started dancing to the Vegas beat. Soon after we met some beautiful people visiting for a hens night. At this point I claim “what happens in Vegas stays there” We danced till 5 in the am and made some life long friends. The night was insane. Bidding farewell to our new courted friends we headed to our pyramid. We decided that we couldn’t physically check it at 12 pm since it was already 6am. We went to concierge and booked another night, they asked us to move to another room, at which point we felt disappointed since we were so exhausted. We expressed this and in the nature of US hospitality they upgraded our room for the night to a suite. Luggage moved we now had a even larger room for the night.

We KO’ed like a boxer hit in the head, waking up hung over and feeling like garbage. My wing commander had to try ‘in and out’ so as a first mission we stumbled to have the world famous burgers. They were everything we had heard. Juicy and delicious. We composed ourselves and headed to the old Vegas Strip.

Ladies and gentleman this is the actual Vegas. The neon lights the liveliness, even the smoking neon cowboy. This was what we had imagined Vegas to be! It was great. We walked up n down dancing to the random street performers and looking at all the stalls. The place was what we wanted from vegas. We visited the golden nugget and then went to a all you can eat buffet (the best in old Vegas) serving up 218 different dishes. To kill or hangover we ate like kings on a Victory feast. Trying everything. Our grazing session was complete it felt like we needed to be rolled out. We took a taxi and headed to the hotel. It was 9 and our flight was to depart at 11pm. Once again we rushed.

Leaving Las Vegas. The city where ‘nothing’ happens.

Orlando. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

Orlando. USA

A city of happiness and a childhood of memories.

Captains Log Day 26 – 31/12/14 5:10pm. Queens, New York

At the dawn of 2015 I sit and recollect the most magical time i have experienced in my life. Orlando, Florida. The home of Universal Studios and more importantly the Most happy and Magical place in the world. Disney World.

It was only suitable that we leave the city of Sin and emerge ourselves in a more family oriented pleasure, and what better way than by visiting the exact opposite from where we had just been. Reflecting now, Orlando Florida had been the highlight that both Wing Commander and I had been looking forward to. As a reflection of this we had scheduled maximum intensity for this portion of the trip.

We left Vegas at 11:15pm flying to Atlanta and then to our final destination of Orlando. Factoring in the cross country time difference, after leaving at 11:15pm we landed at our destination at 8:55am. Catching some shut eye when we could, we had managed a whole 3 hours of sleep.

The first thing we noticed when getting out of the Airport was that it was Warm! The temperature gauge on our phones told us it was 65 Fahrenheit ~ 18 Degrees Celsius. We shredded our thermal wear and continued to the bus stop.

Taking the chance and not wanting to waste any time both the Wing Commander and I Headed straight to Universal Studios – Adventure Island Theme park. At this point we had all our luggage with us. With 2 days to go before christmas – it seemed to be everyones ideal time to visit the parks. Departing our bus we were like 2 small fish in a SWARM of people. Let me correct myself we were 2 small fish with 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on bags in a sea of trout. Hands full we took on the crowds and walked into the park looking for the first lockers or place we could deposit our valuables. This was not easy – the parks did not expect edger beavers like us to rock up with large bags – all the lockers were too small. We were directed to the lost and found area where finally after a long struggle we had been given a space to deposit our items. A mixture of exhaustion from the lack of sleep and adrenaline from excitement was building up.

Map in hand we started our tour of the first park in Universal Studios. When driving in we could see a gigantic green track looping around the park. It was large enough to be seen from miles outside the park. As a first venture on our discovery route we came across this green tracked ride aptly named ‘The Hulk Smash Ride’. Nervous and scared we approached the point at which the line was to start, only to find out that the ride was not running. At this point both Wing commander and I let out a sigh of relief. We continued on to the Next ride – The wait at which was 70 Minutes. We were soon to find this was the usual during this period, in some cases wait times could exceed 120 minutes. Leaving the first ride we came face to face with the Hulk Smash coaster again and the attendants told us it was now open and the wait time was less than 20 minutes. Butterflies in our stomachs the Wing Commander and Captain were up for the challenge. With nervous Smiles we boarded and went off.. 2 minutes of the wildest spinning ride ever (thats what she said).

Getting off the coaster both of us felt light headed and a bit disoriented, but most of all we felt proud that we had conquered the scariest ride first up. Following this we went on every ride in the park, waiting hours for some and minutes for others. The final part of the park we embarked on the Harry potter section. A section dedicated to the young wizard. What waited us was another very hectic roller coaster called the Dragon Challenge. Loops and drops we left the ride dizzier than the Hulk ride. Another brilliant ride in the Harry potter section was this fantastic 3D roller coaster, which really blew us away in terms of visuals and sounds. We strolled around the Wing commander, an avid fan of Harry was blown away by the detail and the reflection of the world of Harry Potter. Although we had forgotten the exhaustion that came about the day, timed crept us up on and it was almost time to leave. We Grabbed a glass of Butter Beer (Yes this exists and they have it and it is delicious!) and headed to pick up our bags and to leave to the resort. The time was 10PM and the realisation hit us that we had been in the park for 12 hours.

We reached the resort and checked in. Wing Commander and I both commended the choice of accommodation, both of us agreeing that the resort was fantastic, housing 4 pools, spa’s laundry etc. Exactly a type of resort you would imagine for a place that has such a tropical climate. Leaving our luggage in our rooms we headed for the resort restaurant for our first proper meal in over 24 hours. Greeted by friendly service we ate. The entertainment was provided as we had an extremely drunk British girl creating a very entertaining scene. We ate our meals and retreated to our abode. On the Way we saw a friend – a little Lizard hanging out on the walls, using my lizard tongue I communicated with the Lizard instructing him to attack Wing Commander, by pushing forward to his Shoe. After a bit of convincing the lizard made a dash for Wing Commander Nand! Having no idea what happened WC Nand just jumped up. I laughed, not knowing nature had already planned its karmic revenge.

After hitting the room i headed outside to explore the resort, lazy to wear shoes i decided to walk around barefoot, as i was walking around a FROG jumped and landed 2 cms from my foot. I jostled and rushed back to the room. Seems like the Captained found himself in Jungle territory.

The Second day was dedicated to the second and final park of the Universal studios, home to places like Simpsons land, MIB ride, Despicable Me and a whole heap of others. We were excited to begin our day. At reception we found out that there is a chance that the shuttle that was to be going to the park may already be booked out, and the best way to get there otherwise was via a Cab. Distressed Wing Commander and I started discussing the options to get to the park. Just then another squadron of two asian girls were discussing the same thing. Switching on the Charm and having a chat with them, soon all Four of us were on our way to universal studio. The 2 girl squadron was visiting universal for the break, they both studied in the states and were from China. New friends made we discussed a possible meet up time so that we could share a taxi back to the resort with them.

Starting again at the park we identified the biggest roller coaster. Boy was this BIG. A 90 degree vertical climb up 14 stories and then a drop. I think i had just seen the scariest roller coaster in my life.

“The Rock It” roller coaster. It sent you vertically up and then a drop down, followed by a few loops and a few more drops. This Red tracked beast looked like it could eat the Hulk Coaster as a Snack. Nervous smiles reappearing we got in line. When in the line we were advised to choose a song from a list, this song was to be played whilst you were on the coaster. After some discussion both wing commander and I selected ‘Stronger’ by Kanye. We sat in the coaster and the music started playing in our ears. we started singing, yelling,.. ‘that don’t kill us only makes us STRONGER!!‘ were the first drop over the horizon. We got off the coaster disoriented and light headed. One could say it was a very exhilarating start to the day. We carried on, once again attempting every ride we could fins, spending up to 90 minutes waiting our turns, including some mentionable raised such as the Mummy ride and the Disaster ride. A highlight for us was reaching the Simpsons Land section of the park. A miniature springfield, including a Krusty land and a Sideshow Bob Ride!

Childhood and Youth all mixed up in a TV show both of us lived by, we were in heaven. Once done exploring and shopping at the Kwik-e-Mart we headed to Moes Tavern and had a Flaming Moe, followed by Krusty burger. The novelty didn’t wear off even after we had been there an hour. Since we had a load to explore we continued on, finally rendezvousing with our asian friends, who had bought us gifts! The 2 nicest girls. We shared a cab and headed home exhausted – seemed like another 12 hour day was coming to an end as well as the Universal studios portion of the trip. we bid farewell to our friends and went to the hotel room. Starving we managed to order some take our Asian food for dinner and we ate whilst we did laundry in the bath tub.

The Third Day – Christmas Eve. The day we had been dreaming of ever since we had been kids. Disney World. Today was the day we visited the happiest place on earth. For those that don’t know Disney world has 5 Theme Parks, each requiring a day at least each. We only had 2 days dedicated to disney world and therefore had to chose 2 parks to visit. The first being Magical Kingdom and the second being Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As the day we chose was Christmas Eve our emotions had been on overdrive. Despite it not being a white Christmas (due to the tropical Orlando Weather) we made a decision to visit Magical Kingdom first. We headed in and reached the park, the excitement was border lining insanity, as we took the ferry into Magical Kingdom. As we entered we were instantly overwhelmed by the disney castle staring at our. The The beauty of which had us awestruck, as well as the number of people present in the park. Body to Body we walked. We had managed to come on one of the busiest days of the year. However what myself and Wing Commander did have was time. The park was to close at 1am that night and from what we had experienced in the other universal parks was that kids have bedtime, around 9pm the lines dissolve. Still we managed to walk the park and hit up every rids, as well as take some photos with the likes of Aladdin and Jasmine, yet another lifelong achievement unlocked. We walked and and lined up for rides, in one case waiting 120 minutes for a ride.

Hungry for food we saw locals eating a Turkey legs. A giant drumstick. It seemed like that was the thing to do when in Disney world. So we headed to the food stand and both Wing Commander and I decided to get one. Note these things are as big as my head! we took one bite and were disgusted at how awful these things tasted both of us confused at how people could eat this. As an analogy Wing Commander compared the Turkey leg to Off ham. The thing was putrid and due to the high price we had paid for them we struggled and managed to take 3 more bites before throwing the atrocious thing out.

Finishing up our first round of the Park we got to the castle to watch the fireworks display, only to find that all the spots were full and the closest we could be was at the other end/ entrance of the park. Both disappointed at the crappy view we started pushing forward to see if we could manage a better view. Just then as if the Gods had heard us, a Downpour started, a huge storm came about and the crowd of thousands started to dissolve. Armed with Ponchos and an undying will we pushed forward and some how – ended up in the front, right next to the Stage! The rain did not stop.. and got heavier. everyone was fleeing but not us. We had travelled too far to see this. Once again as if driven by a divine power the rain stopped 5 minutes before the Fireworks/ Disney show was to start. What followed was a childhood. was an emotional breakdown for the Captain. the most beautiful memories coming back as Walk Disney took me back to everything I loved being a kid. I wept and was just blown away by the display that ensued. it was truly amazing. No works i can say can describe the fireworks on christmas eve at Disney world.

Once the fireworks were complete the park felt deserted. The lines had vanished. this only meant one thing, Another round of the Park! They say an average visit to Disney requires you to walk 10 miles. We did the park twice, spending over 15 hours till closing time absorbing where we were, making sure nothing was missed. At 1 AM as the park closed we hailed a cab and headed back to the resort. It felt like everything we had come for had been accomplished.

Christmas Day, the last day in Orlando and the Final Park – Hollywood Studios. Feeling a bit numb from all the emotion form the previous day we walked Hollywood studios, visiting a few rides and meeting a few of our favourite characters, Buzz lightyear, Goofy etc. This park was a heap smaller then those that we had visited previously, however the lines were still very unrelenting. we walked the park and did the essentials. The last thing on our list and one of the most important was finally meeting Mickey. We had saved this for last. as the crowds slowly dissolved we went to find Mickey getting him just before leaving the park. it was fantastic. Such a joyful place. Happiness all round (except on the wallet). Finishing up we headed back to the hotel and packed our bags.

We had an early morning flight headed to New York. An Amazing Adventure Awaited.

Orlando A city of happiness and a childhood of memories.

New York. USA

May 22, 2025

by wpRaghav North America

New York. USA

The City that does Sleep.

Captains Log Day 27 – 1/1/15 2:56 am. China Airlines, Somewhere over Alaska.

Hungover and exhausted from one of the most spectacular new years i have ever experienced, and on board one of the longest journeys i have been on, flying from the USA to Koh Sumui Thailand. I set out to document the events and experiences of my Wing Commander and I in the Big Apple. New York City.

Luggage in hand we arrive at JFK Airport and conveniently catch an Ueber Ride to our first set of accommodation in Flatbush, Brooklyn – A step up from our initial plans to stay in Bedstuy, which happened to be the location of the two police officers that were murdered (Dec 2014).

Arriving at our lodging and having a slight crisis of the door not opening n our Air BnB place, we finally got into our abode. Seemed that the Wing Commander had been overcharged, a quick fb complaint later, the reimbursement was satisfied.

We did not have much time to loose as our first adventure was to be heading to New York State i.e. out of the city to a town known as Poughkeepsie. Why you may ask were we venturing 2 hours out of the city to such a place? The wanes is simple, a very close friend of both the wing commander and I had gotten married and moved there. To add to this she had given birth to an Adorable set of twins. With Converse sneakers and Polos in our hands we took the local subway to Central Station. We took some time to marvel at this beautiful piece of architecture and engineering. Our first sense of New York Fever set in, a hint of realisation was creeping up that we had made it to the epitome of the United states. We took for the Suburban metro and headed up the Hudson River, finally making it you our destination. Here we were graced by some food and replenishments as well as seeing our friend after years of missing status. We also got to meet one of the two trouble makers. Adorable just doesn’t cut it.

Time constraints creeping in we made a dash for our train back to the city. Saying goodbyes with the uncertainty of when we will meet was tough. We returned to Grand Central at about 12 am and decided rather then heading back, we would see if this City ever sleeps. Walking trough Manhattan was like a child in a chocolate factory. We were marvelling at every building, gasping and letting out ooo’s and Ahh’s at every turn. Times Square was the first of these locations to blow our little minds. Huge, Bright, Busy, are the first words that come to mind, once again he photos cannot do this justice. New York, New York. A stroll around the city as time crept to 3 am we realised that the City that does not sleep actually does take a Nap. With most places closed we walked the streets looking for some food to have. Finally finding an overpriced Pizza joint at Times Square. Our first lesson was there is only a small area in Manhattan that is open all the time, aside from the little food stands. The first night was getting used to the sirens outside the windows, with one going off at least every hour. It was clear that were staying in a rough neighbourhood.

Day 2 Started with a Pizza slice for breakfast at a local pizza shop, as it was late already we headed straight for the Rockafellar centre, we had to see this giant tree and head up to the observatory to see NY. Arriving in the city was madness, People everywhere, packed streets, body to body we crept to the building. We Purchased a Tour ticket and decided to get lost in the City until our 10 pm tour time came up. First up we checked out the Lego Store, followed by the Nintendo store – now that the novelty was complete we started walking and looking for a place to eat. We passed places such as Radio City Building and the Late show studios. Just as we were exhausted and sitting with our phones Googling where to eat, we over hear a few tourists calking about the Jerry Seinfeld Soup Nazi Place. Wing commander and i let out an audible GASP and high fived. with our stealth modes initiated we crept up with them looking for this place following home a block we saw the ORIGINAL SOUP MAN sign. This was it! We both ran to the door, only to find that it shuts at 8PM and the time at the moment was 8:03 – we had missed it by 3 minutes. Vowing to come the next day we took some snaps and headed back towards the Rockafellar. As a Novelty and an experience we saw Applebees and thought this would be the best place to eat. Since the venue was over run by people the wait time was 20 – 30 minutes, which we decided to take in and head to the bar. We slammed our drinks and feeling pretty intoxicated, ate our overpriced meals and left.

The tour time had come – we were heading up to the top of the Rock to check out the New York Skyline! It did not fail to impress. A sea of lights and buildings. This view is something to be seen. Man made beauty at its finest.

Intoxicated and still hungry we stumbled towards the station, only to see a garage of people, massive lines all leading to a food stall. When asking someone in line what is this – they responded “The Halal Guys” – the best street food place you will find in NY! With a quick glance at each other both the Wing Commander and I sailed to the start of the line. After about 45 minutes, in our hands was a platter of Meat Rice and Salad. Sitting on the side walk we guzzled our newly discovered meals with delicious haste. IT was amazing. Heading home we had started getting used to NYPD and the sirens in the background throughout the night. We also had become accustomed to the random Hissing noises that came out of the heaters in the building at all times.

Day 3 The Wolves came out to play. Wall street was our first destination. Walking alongside the great financial powerhouses we could visualise the power deals that were made here every day. Money Money Money. Absorbing the mecca of finance we said goodbye to the Wall Street Bull and headed for one of the saddest places i have been to. The 9/11 Memorial. I can tell you arriving at this venue our smiles had gone. a creepy eeriness filled our bodies. We walked along the foundations of the twin towers feeling and imagining the pain. Both Wing commander and I felt a heaviness take over. After leaving this place we both discussed the feeling that we were having walking around it. To cheer us up we headed down to SOHO for some shopping. We walked up and down the strip of boutique shops stopping at places to check out the variety. Both Wing commander and I were shocked that the prices were very similar to what we have back home. Not much was bought – except a ton of Mac make up products for some special requesters. Some bags in hand, we were exhausted. At 7PM we head to the Soup Kitchen to try our luck, only to find that on Sundays the Soup Kitchen closes at 7, we missed out this time by 2 minutes – It was looking like “No Soup for You” yet again. As a consolation it would be Amit and Raggie go to White castle, venturing the city we found one. Happy and exhausted we reached and ate the extremely sad tasting burgers. To consolidate our sad meals we then went to a Pub for some proper grub. Calling it an early night we headed back to Brooklyn.

Day 4 Liberty Calls and we awnser. Leaving early the first destination was liberty island to meet the fine lady of liberty. We reached Battery park to catch the ferry, only to find thousands of others had the same idea. A line that went for about a kilometre, we went to the end, being advised it would take 3 hours to get a ticket. Whilst in line a poacher came over and suggested taking the ferry that doesn’t get you off onto the island but rather does a lap of the statue for a better view. We choose this option, and the wait was only an hour before the captain was on the seas! Despite the hard winds and cold weather, we could not asked for a more beautiful day. Saying hello as we sailed by, we took some photos and marvelled at the lady of beauty, soon we were back on mainland.

We headed straight to the Soup kitchen to try our luck for the third time. As they say threes a Charm! Viola! Staring at us in the face was the Argentinian Staff of the Soup Kitchen! To maximise our Soup’age we split and got 4 different soups, one of which was the AMAZING and famous Lobster Bisque. Served with bread, chocolate and a piece of fruit, we got the Chicken Rice, Chicken Dumpling and Italian Wedding soups. I can tell you that the soups were divine, with the crown for the best taken by the lobster bisque.

After this Point the Wing Commander and the Captain had to split ways for the first time in the trip. The Captain had to go and visit his relatives in Jackson Heights and Wing Commander was to head to the Rockafellar for the morning view. Unfortunately due to a mix up Wing Commander could only few this on another day. As I was gone and having a chance to meet my beautiful relatives, Wing commander had allocated the task to himself to find tickets to a broadway show. Wing Commander was visiting the box offices of each show seeing if he could manage to get seats to anything, after a few failed attempts the Box office advised that he can enter a raffle to get a ticket to the show. After inquiring how this worked he put his name in to see if he could “win” tickets to the show.

With 30 seats and over 200 people entering he awaited the raffle to commence. One by one Names were called and winners of the tickets announced. The nerves were kicking in. with only 6 positions left. “AMIT” the name echoes as the wing commander is in Shock! Jumping with Joy he runs up to pick up 2 Tickets to the Idina Menzei (Frozen, Glee) Musical “If/ Then”. The tickets are for the Second row! He messages me as I am leaving the dinner to head back. The news is overwhelming. We organise a rendezvous point and in the middle of times square and do a little dance to celebrate this huge victory. People are looking as us if we are looney, but little do they know that in the Wing Commanders Pocket are 2 second row tickets to a Broadway Show. We had some Food Stall Kaati Rolls (indian Meat rolls) and then headed to the theatre. The Show is fantastic. A story of 2 scenarios and what would happen if either of them materialised. A truly brilliant show. We both agreed that we would go again in a heart beat. To watch it on Broadway was another feeling altogether.
The show finished late, we quickly headed to Five Guys Burgers so that the wing commander could get another fast food chain off the list and then headed home, the last day to hear the sirens and the gunshots.

Day 5 Moving Day – for the last few days of our stay in NY we decided to move closer to the City, moving from Brooklyn to Sunny Side, Queens. A much nicer and better suburb, with a much nicer apartment. Moving with haste we got the apartment, left our luggage and headed to Central park. Today was the day we clocked the Central park end to end walk. Arriving in central park the first activity was to Ice Skate. Both wing Commander and I had never done this before. After some difficulty putting on the skates and some weird ice cleaning times, we approached the rink with newly cleaned Ice. After a few minutes, The captain had picked up how to ice skate, however the wing commander was severely struggling with the task. Not able to find the balance he needed it was tough, he persisted holding the railing and moving along with the crowd. The Wing Commander was doing a fantastic job until the second round in which he fell and laughed as he went down. No real injury except a bruising on his leg. No harm done but a heap of fun. An activity we would both like to do again.

Leaving the Rink the sun was setting and we had the whole Walk to do moving from Manhattan to Harlem. We changed our shoes and started the epic walk across. 5.8 Miles is the distance from one end of the park to the other. To brave the forces halfway through the park the sun had set it was dark and we were walking towards Harlem. We walked admiring all that Central park had to offer, watching the sunset over NYC. The walk in the end was a breeze. Our legs had become accustomed to this and this was a “Walk in the Park” .

The first thing to visit was Toms restaurant – A Seinfeld fans dream. The cafe they always ate at. To add to the nostalgia both Wing Commander and I ate tuna Sandwich and a Chicken Sandwich in memory of the show, even though the inside looked nothing like the TV show.

Once this was complete we headed to Centre 21 a Shopping centre. This is where the Captain went a bit crazy and bought a heap of cloths. Unlike Soho the prices in Century 21 were remarkable. All brand names at low prices (low for Aus standards). The captain went ahead and bought shirts, tees and everything under the sun. Unknowing that his bag is already full and reaching weight limits fast. Grunting YOLO, we headed to our last and final destination for dinner and drinks – The Meat Packing District. Our Air BnB host – Nina had decided to meet us for a couple of drinks. She had suggested the best bar in the District – the Tripler. What started as a couple turned into a very VERY messy night. Starting with some cocktails before Nina arrived, moving to high strength beers and finally a few round of good old huge American shots. Vodka and Fireball was on the menu. At some point the Wing Commander and i separated, whilst i was getting fed shots by a group of randoms, Wing commander was getting to know Nina. without any recollection why it was time to go. Nina had disappeared as if she had just thrown up in the bathrooms. We left, with a book taken from the bar and the Captain vomiting at every step. The evidence shows 8 times, however the wing commander insisted that it was more. At this point i don’t remember how i got home, although I hear stories and see incriminating photos, including me passed out on the NY subway.

Day 6 NYE – Waking up Extremely hungover with a heap of phone calls and texts, it seemed that the rest f the wold had moved into the new year, somewhere between my third bottle of water and going to the bathroom to pee. The end of the year was nigh. i switched my phone on silent and went back to bed. Finally waking up to a headache there was a heap to be done before we had to restart celebrations for New Year. The captain and Wing Commander got dressed, listening to New your state of mind on repeat. Today we both had different missions, the captain was to head to New Jersey to visit the Jay and Silent Bob Comic book store and Wing Commander to the Rockafellar for a daytime view of the city. With not much to report form our journeys, except meeting some interesting people on the 2 hour train trip and walking across the Washington bridge, we were both successful and met back in the Apartment where a bottle of Grey goose had been kept in the freezer, thanks to the wing commander, we were to be drinking in style. Kicking off pre drinks we put on our favourite shirts and discussed our plan of attack. Our dreams have been to watch the Ball Drop at times square but we had been advised by many residents that the amount of people is crazy and we would have to line up from about 4pm and stand there in order to see it. The time was already 8. We decided what the hell lets just go and try our luck. Arriving at grand central station both wing commander and i had to use the bathroom very badly, after asking people to no avail both of us decided to walk int o a closed off area of the station. We walked around and in a empty and pretty obviously closed area found some open toilets. We were both 100% sure we were not meant to be there.

Leaving the station we found that 2 blocks surrounding times square had been barricaded by police – the place had reached capacity. Both of us disappointed that we would not be able to see the ball drop or even be near to times square, we thought of an idea. We approached the police and told them that we were staying in a hotel close to time square (It took wing commander 5 seconds to google the name of a times square hotel) When asked for our key cards we said we have not checked in yet and we are from Australia. Barricade after barricade, cop after cop “sir we need to check into the hotel, please let us through” we had been let through. No questions asked. We had just walked into times square. Busting once again we went a bar which had a private party going on. Requesting the bouncer to use the toilet and pay him $10 to do so, he let us in and escorted us to the bathroom. Whilst in line he said “ hay dude you want to stay here and drink unlimited?” I said YES! he said “how much you gonna give me for this unlimited drinks band” i said “$50” he is like sweet man lets do it without people seeing. BANG! We were in a bar in times square with unlimited drinks, including spirits, drinking with a whole heap of Aussie tourists. We had made it!!! Drink after drink overwhelmed with were we had come. At 11:50 the bar moved outside and within minutes Both the Wing Commander and I in our intoxicated states ventured outside to find the building with the Ball right next to us. We did the count down and at 12 am once again Danced! HAPPY NEW YEAR. We had just witnessed the New York Ball DROP. Dancing till 2 am! The bar closed we got some food from a food cart and then somehow managed to train it home. We had Achieved our dreams of watching the New York Ball Drop. Lifelong achievement Unlocked.

Day 7 The NY hangover setting in, we packed our luggage – it was to be our last day in New York. We then headed out to see the Flatiron building. A train ride into the city, followed by some photos and back home. We were exhausted and hungover, we also had the longest flight from NYC to Taipei waiting for us. Hungover we grabbed all our things, re packed our bags for Thailand and took an ueber to JFK, discussing with the driver why it is not legal to Hunt Kangaroos in Australia and why we cant kill and eat crocodiles from the wild.

Our American adventure was complete. We had conquered NYC. Our Dreams of seeing the NY Ball Drop had been accomplished.

New York The City that does Sleep.

Washington. USA

Washington. USA

Washington. USA

The city holding the history of a nation, and knowledge for generations.

San Francisco. USA

San Fransisco. USA

San Fransisco. USA

The Golden City of Opportunity and Red Santa’s.

Los Angeles. USA

Los Angeles. USA

Los Angeles. USA

The City of a million stories.

Las Vegas. USA

Las Vegas. USA

Las Vegas. USA

The city where ‘nothing’ happens.

Orlando. USA

Orlando. USA

Orlando. USA

A city of happiness and a childhood of memories.

New York. USA

New York. USA

New York. USA

The City that does Sleep.

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