The City that Never Sleeps

They don't say wrongly about New York that you've got to see it to believe it!
It was tough to take this pic from the Brooklyn bridge with all the wind and long exposure in the Cam.. On the left, in the background, try to spot the Statue of Liberty with the lighted torch.. When its Manhattan by night, its falling short of words and just gaping in awe..

Encore

And again.. Click and enjoy!

Times Square revisited

The Times Square looks just as spellbounding by the day, as it does by night..

Langotiya yaar - Parth

This trip was all about Parth.. I was in for the F1 race at Indianapolis that weekend, but there was no one who could've made me change my mind, other than Parth.. He's my closest pal from school, and shifted to New York to pursue his studies last year, at the Brooklyn Polytechnic University (seen in the background)..
Glad to find that he hasn't changed one bit! Same old PJs, same old 'heep' greetings, same old spurts of laughter and the same old 'Ruk, potty'!.. Among the few things in life that I really cherish, one of them is Parth's friendship..

Sourdon

Sourabh Dongaonkar, better known as Sourdon.. Sourabh, a fourth yr EE student from IIT Kanpur, was a fellow intern, and my closest buddy while at UMich.. He's probably the sweetest IITian I've ever come across! Be it discussing Electronics or bantering about the Prof's Secretary, I had a gala time in his company.. Missing your lingo a lot, pal!

Concrete Oasis

With Parth (left) and Sourabh (right).. Its a lobby inside one of the buildings of Financial Center.. The ambience looks really cool with all those coconut trees grown indoors..

Aeroholic@Parth.com

Parth is a passionate aeromodeler, and has been addicted to planes ever since he remembers.. From balsa-wood models to Radio-Controlled stuff, he's done it all! This is his desk at his dorm room..

Shopping Spree?

This is an area near the famous Fifth Avenue.. Shopping addicts would love to put it on their roster, sky high prices notwithstanding.. And what did Parth want to buy from here? "Baba, chappal!" ;-)

Albert Einstien would've smirked!

Sourabh (left), Parth(centre) and I, at Battery Park.. Parth is SO good with his whacky gestures.. Boy, I miss those school days with him..

The Statue of Liberty

12X zoom, used to the fullest! Here's the famous lady, as seen from Battery Park.. Whats better is that Battery Park faces the west, which makes it a PURRfect evening hangout..

The Hudson River

Man, that kind of a view would make a poet out of anyone! The Hudson seems draped in Gold..

New York by dusk

Lighted through the haze.. This one's from atop the Empire State Building.. Picture: courtesy Sourabh

Washington Square

Located bang in the heart of the city, this place reminds me of Five Gardens at Matunga, Bombay.. It isn't that apparent in this pic, but the tree cover around this area is pretty dense and makes it one of the surprisingly and uncharacteristically serene locations of NYC..

The Brooklyn Bridge

The 'Kal Ho Na Ho' Brooklyn bridge.. I had seen it only from a distance on the Harbor Cruise last year.. Looks pretty neat up close..

Freedom Tower

The monument that's coming up in the void created by the World Trade Center.. It has been designed to grow even taller than WTC itself! ('Museum mode' in my Nikon CoolPix rocks!)

Bus breakdowns - in the US?

Yeah, it can happen in the US too.. On the way from Philadelphia to NYC, a tyre went bust and the virtually disintegrated until the bus came to a standstill.. It wasn't before 4 hot hours and a lot of cribbing that we were finally put onto another bus.. Meanwhile, I had some lousy company in the form of a cynical American lady who thought that the world was coming to an end.. Phew!

Shucks Benjy - you made a spelling mistake!

At the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.. That is Benjamin Franklin's statue.. Arti, from my school in Bombay, who now studies at UPenn, gave me one of the most verbose tours of the campus.. This pic is dedicated to her patience and excitement :-)

Downtown Philadelphia

Philly is one of those cities that, like Athens, looks a lot more pretty by the night! With lotsa avenues to shop and a host of cuisines to eat, night-life at Philly is really enjoyable.. Arti and I had dinner at an Italian restaurant that night.. Dim lighting, soft music and great food - Easily one of my most memorable evenings!

Liberty Bell

Another symbol of the American Independence - the Liberty Bell.. Philly probably is only second to Washington DC in that sense..

Independence Hall

The place where the Constitution of the United States of America was signed.. I would've loved to go inside, though, but the day being July 4 itself, the site was cordoned off by 8 in the evening..

Bombay Pav Bhaji, in Michigan?

One of Chintan Sanjeev Kapoor's best dishes! My tummy was missing Bombay a lot.. Easiest solution - recreate it! Succulent is the word, replete with butter and neatly cut onions, with toasted bread to make up for the Pav..