Mafia in JFK

JFK flight - Majority of crew's nationality was Filipino. We were 4 then plus a Korean who spent her secondary school and university days in the Philippines. She speaks fluent Filipino, so this trip was a blast - a big Filipino mafia aboard!

It's very rare to fly with crew who'd want to visit the Statue of Liberty. Instead, crew would head to Time Square and splurge into shopping the whole day. We took advantage of this opportunity and went straight away to this iconic statue.

We purchased a round trip ferry ticket that operate a loop, stopping first at Liberty Island and then at Ellis Island before returning back to Battery Park, New York. Sights from this boat trip were astonishing. As the boat moves away from the harbor, you will see the beauty of Manhattan. While we approach the island, with a torch and a book in her hands, Lady Liberty welcomes visitors.

We stayed there for a couple of hours and proceeded back to NY. We didn't anymore go to Ellis Island as were were exhausted. Earlier, after purchasing the ferry ticket, we had to wait under the mid-day sun in a 2-block queue to board the boat.

Back in Brooklyn, our Filipino Mafia decided to split into 2: the rest went for snacks and others to Brooklyn Bridge. It can be seen from the from the hotel; it looks so near but a walk to it takes like forever. Unfortunately, we took the wrong direction so we traveled a bit farther. After some photo moments, we settled for a snacks in the nearby fast food and made it a day.

After a long day in NY, here are 2 notes to keep in mind:

Go and visit Liberty in the morning. If you want to maximize your adventure and be granted a crown access, you need to be in the ticket booth as early as 6am. Otherwise, available tickets for USD12 are limited to the island only, which means a view of something like the above.

After the 9/11 terrorist assault, her crown was closed to the public due to safety and security reasons. It was only reopened last 4th July and permits 10 people per 20 minute block of time.

MRT/ LRT is better that NYC subway? Despite its aged appeal, NYC transit system continues to
deliver efficient service to the public. In fact, among the world's busiest metro system, it is the only one that runs 24 hours a day, 365 a year.

Until then...