The title of this entry should have been "Chicago, and why I am a terrible traveling companion". But since that sounds really cheesy and also cos blogger would not allow such a long title, let's make do with "Chicago".

As with all essays go, lets start with the first part of the title first.

I left Ann Arbor on Monday morning, which also happened to be America's Labour Day, taking the AMTRAK Train to Chicago.

Dirong and I spend the night before at Ben's place, drinking a couple of beers, eating chips (generally unhealthy) and chatting (generally healthy). Have to thanks Ben and Yisheng for driving me to the train station early in the morning.

My first experience of the train wasn't too bad. Americans are generally punctual people, but expect delays. (I can tell from the look of your faces that you're seeing the oxymoron haha). But yeah, for the price (25 USD one way), it was a comfortable ride, and generally everyone has 2 seats to themselves and able to spare the trouble and danger of driving (esp with the hike in oil prices, which is really noticeable here). The scenery is great too! As we zoom by golden maize fields and weirdly named small towns which one will never hear of unless you take the train. For planes don't fly there and tourists don't flock there. It all just serves to remind me how vast US is.

Train was, all in all, delayed by an hour, plus I forgot that there was a difference of 1 hr between Ann Arbor and Chicago, so it got me worried for a while that I might have fallen asleep and missed the station. But as the train pulls near an almost industrial place and then emerging into a underground station, I have reached Chicago Union Station, which is a huge station.

After seeing the industrial stuff and the old looking underground of the Chicago Union Station, emerging from beneath into the heartland of downtown Chicago is a complete eye-opener change.

Welcome to the city of the Architectual.

As nicely placed by Qionghui in her email to me:

"... you get to see all the old and new skyscrapers on one side, and you have a nice park on the other. Nice photo opportunities!"

And indeed, the city view is breathtaking. Rows and rows of skyscrapers, all uniquely different and all coming together to give downtown Chicago such a one-of-the-kind look. Yet the area stands alongside the coast of Lake Michigan, giving the balance of the calm waters and the bustle of the city. And the amazing thing about the buildings is that the streets look different from every angle you look at it, and circling just one building will give you different views every moment. I just walked and walked, lost in the concrete jungle, where no 2 trees are alike.

And if you wonder how the photographers take artistic shots of the buildings? Here's Kenneth attempt at one. In an attempt to capture the space of the cities, not just limited to the roads, but the skies as well. I also took one of a glass building reflecting the clouds and another building.

With my one lousy map, I managed to reach the Visitor's Center and got myself some pretty neat maps. And I decided to walk all the way to my hostel, taking in the sights at the same time. Upon planning my route, I headed for the Millennium Park, which is along Michigan Ave (The Magnificent Mile, where all the shopping is, almost like a One-Mile long Orchard Road back in Singapore).

And as qiongz has said. You have the Lake Michigan on one side, and the city on the other. Beautiful.

Coke in hand,
Lake Michigan at my feet.

After checking into my hostel, it's time for more exploring! I decided not to go downtown Chicago anymore and leave that for the whole day on Tuesday and thus explored the north, which was supposed to be where the gay community hang out. It gets a bit obvious, as evening draws near and you start observing the people on the streets.

I met my first gay club (don't ask me how I know) and i make a ke-blakang pusing and headed back to hostel. It was getting dark anyway, and any good traveler will tell you not to stay out too late in the shady streets of Chicago.

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Tuesday morning, I headed South to downtown Chicago, for all the main attractions. I was early enough to see the city wake up and people going to school and work. I walked by Lincoln Park again, because I love the view so much from the day before, taking in more sights of the monuments, lake and beach.

Went to Navy Pier, checked out the Stained Glass Museum amongst other attractions. Walked on south to Soldier's Field, and the other museum in the area. >I really love that area the most, because of the scenery, how everything is spaced out and placed against the clear blue skies with beautiful greenery in front. Fantastic buildings, beauty of architectural.

I had a look at Northwestern University, which also happened to be the one of the University I applied to after 'A' Levels, the one that I put in the most effort for, but still rejected. It's lovely, sitting there beside Lake Michigan.

As I walked further south to Chinatown, you can almost sense downtown Chicago disappear. Upon reaching the peripheral of downtown Chicago, one can just feel that he is walking out of a city and into a town. Less whites and more blacks. I feel the swiss knife in my pocket and walked on. And upon reaching Chinatown, suddenly it became all Chinese! Almost as if Chicago is segregated properly!

I had a well deserved lunch in Chinatown in a store called BBQ King House, a plate of roast duck rice with a bowl of water-cress soup (my favourite soup!), all for only USD5!! The portion's really huge, so I was really full by the end of the meal. Great recommendation by qiongz again.

Late afternoon after exploring the Chinatown, I caught a train back to downtown because my legs were so tired from all the walking. I went up Sears Tower, the worlds 2nd highest building, to check out the scenery of looking down at Chicago from the 103rd floor in the midst of the setting sun. Toy-liked buildings stand in front of me, glimmering in the sun. My favourite view is still that of Lake Michigan in the east. Haha, looks like I got a favourite lake already! And furthermore, the lift up 103 storeys only took 1 minute!

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My last morning in Chicago saw me walking through the Magnificent Mile again. Reviewing the sites and eventually hitting the Art Institute of Chicago, which I unexpectedly spent a good half day in, before rushing to catch the train back to Ann Arbor.

The Art Institute is fabulous, which a good selection of art pieces, ranging from European to contempory. I really enjoyed walking through the many galleries, even with my little knowledge and untrained eye, I was able to appreciate some of the works. The basement holds some miniature rooms thingy, which I really liked, and so did the photograph sections.

All in all, an institute to visit if you're in Chicago!

I've seen so much in Chicago that it really isn't possible to name every attraction I visited! Do check out my photos here.

And well, every picture has a story, and maybe one day I may have the chance to write it, =)

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So we have come to the part where I'm supposed to say why I'm such a terrible travelling companion.

1) I walk all the time, must have covered like 20 miles (about 32km) a day. Partly because transportation is really expensive (like one bus trip is USD1.75!!!) but mainly because I like to see the sights along the way, and the way of life. I try not to walk the same street twice, always exploring, until the night of course, where I stick strictly to the main street.

2) I have like 1 meal a day. Breakfast is usually milk only and I have a heavy lunch, which might even end up to be dinner as well. Not dieting or saving, but it's just that I don't really get hungry while on the move with so many sights to take in. Plus their lunch portion's huge. My stomach must have shrunk or something, cos even MacDonald's seemed to fill me up. For how to enjoy good food, please visit Charissa.

3) I get up really early. I usually leave the hostel at like 8am.

4) I'm not into fine dining or shopping, not really the typical tourist. I walk, observe lives, take photos and absorb the sights.

I really can't imagine traveling with someone like that. Maybe someone with that kinda traveling habits need to travel alone.

And so I did. =)