Chinatown and a Ferry

Today for lunch I was craving some delicious KFC. I went to one in a different part of the city, and ordered my meal. Compared to back home though, it seemed to be missing some of the secret herbs and spices.

Not long after I sat down, a peculiar man sat at the table next to me. He must’ve noticed I was a tourist, with my camera there, and he asked me where I was from. We started having a chat and it turns out he is an artist in New York. Lived here all his life, he is hoping to see some of the world as soon as possible, and to take his designs along with him.

He had his computer with him so he showed me his t-shirt designs. You can check them out at eatlomein. I found them to be quite funny, so asked if I could get two from him before I left. He said he would get them done, and I was to meet him at 7pm at his place.

We both jumped on a bus, he was headed towards home, and he directed me on a wander through Chinatown, and then south along the bank of the East river. China town was certainly a different area to what I had previously saw, but also very interesting.
I walked south and come upon South Street seaport. It was quite bustling in the evening, with a band performing on the pier, and various little stalls set up. I sat and watched the world go by for a little while, then continued further south towards the Staten Island ferry.

The ferry is free, and takes about half hour to go from Manhattan to Staten Island. Along the way you get to see an impressive view of downtown Manhattan from the water, and also a nice view of the Statue of Liberty. On the ferry, a lost tourist asked me if I knew whether or not the ferry was returning straight back to Manhattan. She thought I looked like a local, but, I knew no more then she did. She introduced herself as Louisa, from Sweden. In New York for just the one evening, and dearly wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. She has been on a tour with kids from an English school back home, and was allowed some free time to see New York.

Once the ferry arrived in Staten Island, we disembarked and lined up to head straight back to Manhattan. It was already dark, so sadly my photos of the Statue are far from amazing.
She was due to meet up with the students at around 10pm, but the ferry was running a bit late, and it left her with not much time to spare. I helped her navigate her way on the subway system as best I could, and she arrived only a few minutes late.
After a rather tiring walk, that became the end of my day, and I headed back to my hotel for some rest.