New York City: 2023

I was looking forward to returning to one of the best cities in the world, the Big Apple, I timed it to correlate with the Christmas and New Year period. This is the only city where I've visited (not residing) and celebrated the most number of public holidays while I was there, in 2019 I was there for World Pride but coincidently also celebrated 4th July, this trip I was there for Christmas, New Year and Martin Luther King Jr Day.

The main reason I came to New York instead of checking off another country off my list was to tick off a bucket list of mine, flying Air NZ non-stop service between Auckland and New York JFK, the 5th longest flight in the world. You can read more about it here.

New York is also much more than just Manhattan and some of its tourist hotspots, so on this trip I was able to venture out a bit more and experience life as a local. I booked an Airbnb in the middle of Brooklyn, just on the southern edge of Prospect Park, with convenient transportation direct to Manhattan, Coney Island and also 1 stop connection to Queens.

I will be trying to break down each day of my trip, but some days might be more or less a repeat or not significant enough so I may skip or consolidate it, I will try to include as many details as I can but there will be things that I may forget to add so if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or message me.

24th December 2022 - 25th December 2022

After arriving at JFK, there was a significant delay due to the winter storm passing through plunging the temperature to -10 degrees, which was the coldest day I've experienced during my time there.

Even though I touchdown at the airport at around 5:15pm, I didn't manage to get out of the airport until 11:30pm. By the time I arrive at my Airbnb, it was after 1am, and I wasn't able to get into the apartment as the host gave me the wrong code, but fortunately Skype came to the rescue and I was able to call the host which she wasn't too happy about and I didn't get settled in until past 2am.

On Christmas Day, I slept in a little given how late I went to bed and also not getting a good sleep during the flight. I research some Christmas markets in advance so I headed into Manhattan in the afternoon, but for some reason most of them weren't open which was annoying given that I had to walk a fair distance to get to some of those places, those articles didn't mention the publish date or the operating time even though I did search markets that open on Christmas Day. Anyhow, I ended up in Bryant Park which was the one spot that was confirmed to be operating on Christmas Day.

Bryant Park is well known given they have a large skating ring, bar area and a couple dozens of stalls which gets fairly crowded due to their popularity.

26th December 2022

Boxing Day is huge for Australia and New Zealand, I was thinking it would be something similar hence I rented a car through Getaround and planned to visit a few shopping malls around New Jersey.

The first stop was Coney Island as I picked up the rental car fairly early given it is a day rate I wouldn't want to waste the day if I can explore more places more easily. Given that it is winter, the theme parks were closed and a lot of the shops seems to be closed as well, I'm not sure if it was because it was still early but the street was definitely fairly empty and looked more like a ghost town, I suppose if it's a summer only tourist spot then it would make sense.

I started driving to The Mills at Jersey Garden which has got a good number of outlet shops, but to my surprise there weren't any sales going on and it wasn't too busy either, in comparison if it was NZ or Australia queues would go out the door by 7am. I spent over an hour there and hop over to Ikea which is right next to the mall for lunch. I got a really good deal with the vegetarian balls, peas and cauliflower rice, for only over $6. I'm not sure if it was a staff error since I couldn't get it for $9 across the state line, there could be a difference between states, oh and I cannot forget to mention the views from the restaurant to Newark Airport which is really exciting for an avgeek.

After lunch, I headed to American Dream, as I got closer, traffic started building up on the highway all heading into the car park. As the car park was full, the machine refused to dispense tickets hence it took 30 seconds for each car to get through the gate. I was pretty lucky to find a parking spot without too much of an effort or wasting too much time going around looking and fighting for it.

American Dream is the second largest shopping mall in America, it houses a ski slope, 2 themed parks and over 450 stores. I spent almost 5 hours inside and still couldn't manage to see everything, before leaving due to time constraints to return the car, I headed over to the only 2 Mr Beasts burger chain store to try it out, since it would be very unique that cannot be found outside of America. The queue was very long as with other eateries but I think they may be one of the most popular ones.

As I drove back to Brooklyn, I had half an hour to detour to Dyker Heights which is well known for its residents going all out for their Christmas Lights Decoration, and it was truly massive, there was no start or end, and it was difficult to find out what block to start as they spread out widely and you can just turn to any street to find it, but with the huge traffic in the area, parking was sparse as well, not that I had time to walk and look, so it was just a quick glance for me.

Prior to returning the car, I had to refuel it, and I had a guy coming up telling me a long story about how he was stranded with his family and they couldn't get back so they wanted a dollar, and that caused me to be a bit late on returning the car and added more stress, on top of the lack of parking in the area and not knowing the law for street sweeping and metered parking as I wasn't sure if they were still on a public holiday or it was working day the following day. After many rounds of searching around the block, I found one metered parking spot and tried to call Getaround to find out whether I can park there, since I have no local sim card I couldn't call them either. After sitting in the car for a while with the engine off, the electronic lock engaged which also automatically ended the trip, fortunately that opened up a data call option for me as I do have an e-sim with data. After about 15 minutes, I was told that it would be fine to park there and so I did, I have dealt with similar stressful situations in the past renting in America and I do not recommend renting cars without a dedicated parking spot as public parking is difficult to get especially in such dense city and also there's a lot of rules as to where you can or cannot park.

27th December 2022

Today I wanted to check out the most hyped Christmas tree in America, situated just in front of the Rockefeller Centre. They have an ice skating ring here as well, but not as big as the one in Bryant Park. A few blocks away is the largest Apple flagship store, it was really crowded and seems like a lot of people were there to use the free charging and wifi.

I was going to go to Hudson Yards on Christmas Day but due to my very bad migraine which gave me body aches as well, I couldn't walk anymore on that day so today given the light activities and also feeling a lot better, I took the opportunity to head over to check out the amazingly decorated Vessel, trees and inside the mall, it truly was lit up.

28th December 2022

I bought a ticket to this interactive art exhibition, it looked cool from the promo that I saw, so I headed over to the Hall des Lumieres on Chambers St where the exhibition is held. The art is projected to the walls of the 4 corners accompanied by music, it was definitely a highlight of my trip, it was stunning in a way that I couldn't have imagined, the creativity and artform are next levels to what I've been exposed to in the past. They have exhibitions all across the world especially concentrated around Europe so I would definitely recommend going to one if you are in town.

For lunch, I went to Tonii's Fresh Rice Noodle, they have a diverse variety of options to add to your rice rolls, and while you may be able to customise what you want to add to it, there was no clear ingredient list or pricing, also there's no sitting inside so you will have to find a table outdoor, but I prefer Joe's Steam Rice Roll at Canal Street Market as they offer much better customisation and also it is much more comfortable eating inside the market, I will talk more about it later.

The rest of the day I went window shopping, Macy's on 151 W 34 St is the largest store with a good range suitable for everyone all under one roof, they also have multiple restaurants and on the 8th floor named "backstage" you can find all the bargains you can get, I got myself a pair of walking shoes which was great timing as I was trying out I discovered the one I was wearing just about to break into half, talk about good timing.

29th December 2022

I bought a ticket in advance to watch the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular by Radio City Music Hall. The theatre was packed which I suppose was expected given it was a holiday period. I did see tickets being sold by TKTS but I didn't know at the time of my purchase, although in saying that I find out later that TKTS doesn't always sell the cheapest ticket, and you may find buying direct can save you more as they may be selling premium seats at a discount so if you are looking for a budget option it may not always be the best option.

During the evening, I got a ticket through Eventbrite for a comedy show over at Greenwich Village Comedy Club, while the entry is free, they will have a minimum drinks requirement, and it ranges from around $10-$15 per drink.

30th December 2022

After a few days, it was time for me to do my laundry. Fortunately there was one 2 minutes away from my Airbnb. The owner is either from Hong Kong or Southern China, and while he was not very friendly when I was asking for help, he did give me all the instructions needed to do the wash. The wash on the small machine cost $2.25, and the machine only accepts quarters so it took 9 coins to start it, a bit of an effort but can't complain if it's affordable and does the job, only wished he told me that the washing powder they sell and advertise for 1 load is actually more like 2 loads for half a machine full, so my first wash ended up very soapy. The drying is a lot cheaper, a quarter gives you 7 minutes worth.

After chores were done, I headed over to Dumbo which is famous for its view towards the Manhattan Bridge, and also a view towards Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan skyline. A ferry service from the pier can take you to lower Manhattan but I didn't know how to get a ticket or how much it costs, I took the subway instead which is a good 15 minutes walk and a very long hike up while exiting the station (York St / F line) so it is not recommended for people with difficulty doing stairs.

For lunch, I went to Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles (1 Doyers St) which is also right by a very unique street, and in the Chinatown region so you can find lots more other food and souvenirs after. They cook up delicious spring like noodles and are very affordable for NYC standards.

After dinner I dropped by Bloomingdale's which is more upscale than Macy's, there are not a lot of discounted options and features more designer brands.

31st December 2022

Today is one of the biggest calendar days for NYC, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to NYC especially for this event. I started out late by going to Ikea over in Brooklyn for dinner before going into Manhattan.

I arrive at midtown around 5:30pm, most streets were blocked off and only partial streets are open for entry. Unfortunately today was also not the best day as it was raining, after finding the entrance and getting squeezed like sardines, we slowly get through the security lines, where I discovered that bag packs and umbrellas are not permitted. Fortunately with my multiple jackets and many hidden storage compartments, I was able to evade not having to throw away my umbrella even after going through multiple security checkpoints. But as a good person, I hold off from taking it out and use it as a shelter even though there were many people who were able to sneak past and then took it out without any consequences, but definitely I would hate it if they decide to take it out during the countdown as they would impede people's views. I was standing at 48 St which is about a couple of blocks from the stage and we could barely hear or see the action even with the big screen, but we did have a direct view towards the ball. After the clock ticked midnight, the magical experience came, confetti flying down the skyscrapers and the city soundtrack New York, New York played. While it is a great experience at the countdown, standing for hours and hours getting squeezed by thousands of people, not accounting for the rain, is still not a comfortable way to celebrate the New Year, but of course if you are willing to splash hundreds or even thousands of dollars in a private event overlooking the ball, that might be a much better and comfortable way to get through it.

After getting out of the area, I went hunting for pizza given how expensive vendors were charging people standing in the viewing area, a bottle of water can set you back $10, sandwiches $20 and pizzas might be more which is absolutely ridiculous, given that once people leave the area they cannot return and have to go through the security check, assuming they haven't close off the zone and move you further back, the vendors are taking advantage of people that are desperate.

I wouldn't say that I would redo this again unless there's some special reason to or bringing someone that has never done it.

1st January 2023

I started the day just prior to noon heading into Chinatown where I previously spotted this place called Vegetarian Dim Sum House. I went in for yum cha but the food was subpar at best, definitely would not recommend it if there's another restaurant that can offer the same food options.

After brunch, I headed to Whitehall Terminal to take the free Staten Island ferry across to Staten Island. There are many people who will be telling you to buy tickets to take the ferry across but you do not need to take the private ferry or pay for the free one, and there is no ticketing system, all you have to do is to walk up to the boarding door and wait for them to open, it can get crowded but once you're on the ferry it is usually fine, unless you are looking to secure one of the spots outdoor for a view then you may want to be quick.

The Staten Island Outlet Mall is not huge by any means and most shops are abandoned, which is a shame given there's a lot of potential with the great view across towards Manhattan and the 24/7 free ferry services. It seemed like once upon a time they did have some restaurants and bars on the rooftop but when I was there it was a ghost town.

After getting back to Manhattan, I went to Il Corallo Trattoria (176 Prince St, New York) as the review was good and pricing was ok as well. I had a good meal there and it was absolutely packed, as I was waiting to pay my bill, the waitress came to me and said it was paid and I was totally confused, she told me the 2 gentlemen who sat next to my table which they left shortly after I got settled in paid for my meal because they thought I looked like a great person and they wanted to wish me a happy new year, this is the first time I actually had a totally random stranger paying for my meal, and I didn't even pay attention to people around that much, but I wish I could have thanked them and I would have probably declined to have them pay for my meal but it was a really nice gesture nonetheless, and people queuing up waiting for a table was looking at me while I was in shock and couldn't believe what has just happened. Anyway if those guys ever came across this blog, thanks for the dinner.

After that I went back to Greenwich Village Comedy Club for another night of "free" comedy, some of the comedians were the same and some were different, fortunately that was the last ticket I got anyway but there are definitely plenty of other comedy clubs to choose from, some more well known than others, which they would also charge a cover fee because they can.

2nd January 2023

During my 2019 trip, I didn't get to explore much of the Western part of Manhattan. I started the day at Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District, there are plenty of food stalls, restaurants, supermarkets and clothing retailers inside. I saw a pop-up shop with designer brands that are sold as is, basically the very last pieces that they couldn't sell anymore, but I couldn't find anything to my budget or my liking. I then stumbled on this restaurant called La Devozione, they have a signage saying they are the best so I decided to try it out. Their to-go menu is much more affordable than eating in which is great for people looking to save some money or on a budget, given it was a peak season when I was there, seating around the market was very limited but I manage to get a table just opposite the restaurant. The portion is good however I didn't really like the taste of the sauce.

There are other little quirks of the past that have been preserved which was cool to see, after spending a little longer shopping around, I went over to Little Island which is a few minutes walk, this spot was opened in May 2021, featuring island like design on the outer shell and on the inside are various combination of amenities people can enjoy, such as a kids playground, an amphitheatre and several lookout spots.

To catch the sunset, I quickly went over to the Roosevelt tramway which I intended to take during my 2019 trip but did not have the time to do so. The tramway charges the same as any public transport, but they have yet to introduce the OMNY pay system so you will need to have a physical card to get through, there are 2 ticket machines and it was fairly busy when I got there, so if you are planning to take the tramway I would recommend topping up your card at a subway station prior, after about 10 minutes of queuing I got to the front of the queue and a guy randomly insert himself without saying a word, I was a little annoyed but I saw a partial wording on his jacket which I thought he could be working there and assisting someone with their metro card so I didn't say anything, and then he asked for my metro card which I find very strange but I handed it to him anyway given there are police there so if anything is to go wrong they might be able to catch that guy, and I was watching him inserting coins and he asked me if I was going one way or back and I said one way given I use OMNY so I'm not planning to pay twice, and then he finished topping up my card and I was ready for him to run off, but then he gave me the card and I was just as confused as ever, this is the second time I got free stuff for no apparent reason, and 2 consecutive days which is highly unusual.

After cramping into a packed tram, I manage to secure a spot just 1 row behind which gave me a good opportunity to take some footage and I was surprised that one photo actually turned out a lot better than I would have imagined in that situation. There are free buses running around the island, I went to the southern side of the island given that I was hoping that would give me a better view of midtown and downtown. The sun has set by the time I was leaving the park, while I wanted to check out the other park on the northern end, I didn't feel like it anymore since it was getting cold, the subway station is located not too far from the tramway station, and the F line is conveniently the one I needed to take to get me back to my Airbnb.

3rd January 2023

Today I went to the new museum that has opened up in midtown, the Museum of Broadway is a walk back in time showcasing the birth of the now famous Broadway and the ins and outs of running such a production. I spent roughly 2 hours inside and it is definitely one of the recommendations for anyone who hasn't visited this museum.

After I was done it was getting late, I hop into AweSum DimSum across the road from Port Authority, I got a combo consisting of some stir dry noodles, deep-fried spring rolls, steamed bun and wonton. I wanted to try the different variety that they offer but it didn't taste as good as other proper dim sum restaurants.

After dinner, I have gotten a free ticket to a comedy show not far from Central Park, this pub is called The Three Monkeys, they have a makeshift outdoor area where the gig was held. When I arrive, they informed me that the starting time was not for another hour and a half, which was an hour later than what was indicated on the ticket. She told me that the bar tab can be transferred upstairs, but when I spoke to the bartender about transferring it she told me that upstairs was a different tab and I had to do it separately, given there's a minimum drink indicated on the ticket I didn't want to buy a few more drinks given it's the same establishment and I've already spent some on the bar below. She eventually transferred it up even though she told me it was different, during the gig I asked the bartender whether there was a minimum drink requirement and he said no, the impression was that no one in that place know anything and I was glad I didn't have to buy any more drinks from them. There was one comedian that I've seen from when I visited the Greenwich Village Comedy Club, other than that one the rest was new to me, but it felt more like we were a testing crowd for their new materials, while it means we will hear mostly new materials most of it didn't land either and there was just a lot of awkward silence.

4th January 2023

Queens Museum was having a free visiting day today, I planned to visit Flushing given the close proximity to the museum. I didn't have a lot of time after arriving in Flushing given I miscalculated and ended up being late. I visited a Malaysian restaurant called Malay, however it seems like it was run by the mainland Chinese, and the food was mediocre at best. I then headed over to Queens Museum by walking through the Flushing Meadows Corona Park, there were a lot of squirrels running around which was a bit of a fresh breath given you don't get to see a lot of wildlife roaming around in NYC.

Queens Museum is fairly small even though the building seems large, there was a single level and a small number of exhibitions and arts, I wouldn't have wasted my time going if I knew how small it was, but that's just how it goes when there's not a lot of information.

I planned to cook at my Airbnb, so I hop over to Rego Center where a Costco is located, and I was curious about the difference between our Costco and theirs. There are definitely some differences and they are slightly bigger and offer more varieties. I didn't buy much given that I didn't have much time left and wouldn't be able to eat them all before I leave.

5th January 2023

I was hoping to catch the Moulin Rouge Broadway show today, looking through TKTS website where they sell discounted Broadway tickets, I headed to the Times Square branch to try to grab a ticket but it wasn't showing on the board there, after a few minutes of standing around trying to grab the attention of a staff member, they checked the website and it was also showing none available even though I was on the website merely minutes ago when I was on it. I was told that I could go to the theatre box office to try to get it, but they informed me they only have it before the show time and they don't do discounted tickets. After a bit of research, I found that buying directly through their official website was much cheaper than buying through TKTS, as TKTS only sells discounted seats of any category, meaning they might sell higher price tickets for a discount but it could still end up being more expensive than the lowest price seats that they sell for their shows. If you are looking for a better seat but not wanting to pay the full price, you might score something at TKTS, but if you are looking to get the cheapest ticket available, it pays to do a bit of research first.

Without scoring a ticket, I headed over to Queens where the Museum of Moving Image is located. They have a free entry day today, it spans 3 levels and probably the most exciting part was the 3rd floor where all the horror genres are located. I was in there for almost 2 hours before they close for the public to prepare for a private event. I would definitely recommend checking it out even if you are not able to get to the free entry day as I think it is worth the money if you are into movies, TV and props.

About 10 minutes walk from the museum is the town centre of Astoria, I found a Thai restaurant called Eatzy Thai, the food was fine and wasn't busy either.

6th January 2023

I took today easy as I've got to watch RuPaul's drag race later in the evening at a club. I went to Zen Vegetarian to get a takeaway for lunch and dinner as they were doing a lunch special. While ordering, I found the lady's accent to be similar to where I come from so I asked her, and she told me she was indeed from Malaysia so we had a short chat given they were rather busy. It was very kind of her to include a free drink in my order because she found it rare to find Malaysian in NYC. The food was good although one of the items I ordered was spicy and I don't handle spicy food well, so it was a bit of a struggle to finish that. The price was very reasonable and I didn't even get to finish everything after dinner.

The viewing party was held in a Brooklyn club called House of Yes, I am not sure if they are specifically queer space or queer-friendly club as I couldn't find information about that, but there's definitely a larger portion of queer people and also equally heterosexual people in the crowd. After the viewing they gave all of us free entry into the main club as it was their 7th birthday and they were throwing a large party to celebrate. I wasn't prepared to stay up that late and wasn't dressed appropriately for the club night. I stayed past midnight after they did a countdown.

7th January 2023

Today I have a few programs planned and will also be returning to House of Yes for an adult cabaret show before continuing to the main club.

Given the late night I had, I started in the afternoon with my first stop was Central Park, and I wanted to check out the ice skating rink. I spent a short time exploring nearby where I found a peak overlooking the skyscraper and the ice rink.

After that I headed up to Central Harlem walking from West to East along the main shopping strip, this area has a larger population of people of colour and the stores reflect that as well. You can find footpath stalls similar to Chinatown except it is catering more towards a different clientele.

The next stop was The Jewish Museum, today was also the day of free entry, it was slightly busy and I arrived earlier than my ticket time and they told me that it was fine. There was a diverse range of arts, artifacts and history which was very interesting. I somewhat misjudge my time so I spent slightly longer than I intended, after over an hour I had to rush back to my Airbnb to get ready for the evening.

Arriving back at the House of Yes main club, the entrance was closed and everyone was left waiting at the bar for a good half an hour, which if I would have known was the case I wouldn't have rushed and grabbed some dinner. The show was fun and had a cast of diverse acts performed, including the founder (or co-founder) of the club. After the show, we also got invited to stay for the club night and we went back out while they clear the room and set it up.

I asked a staff member if I was able to quickly grab something to eat and still get back in and she told me to ask the security by the exit, the security was hesitant but told me to be quick, and since I didn't know the area I asked where I could get something that's vegetarian and they pointed me to a supermarket a couple of minutes away.

After rushing back with my sandwich, the security told me to go back in and said I could eat in their backyard/smoking area, and that caught the attention of a couple of people who were very jealous of my feast and they tried doing the same thing and not long after, they brought food in as well, which is less awkward I suppose given if I was the only one eating it will be rather weird.

The music playing tonight wasn't my jam but I stayed till past 1am to watch the countdown but it wasn't as glamorous as the previous night, but was fun to end the night with Crystal Waters performing live.

8th January 2023

Today started in the afternoon given how late I got back. My first stop was to grab some brunch, I went back to Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles given that it is cheap and tastes good. About 10 blocks away is the Ghostbuster Headquarters, with stickers and painted pictures of Ghostbusters and the logo, it seems like it is a fire station but it wasn't open during the time I was there.

A short walk was the subway where I took to WTC mall to get something for someone back in NZ, and then towards Brooklyn Central area to buy some chocolates from Target, as they were a few dollars cheaper compared to Manhattan.

9th January 2023

I bought a 3-day city pass early last year when they announce an imminent price increase, so I have reserved and plan to visit as many attractions that I have not been to previously by using this city pass.

The first stop was Essex Market where I was able to claim a free bagel from Davidovich Bakery, there were a lot of different bagels to choose from and were actually fairly filling with cream cheese in them.

The second stop was the One World Observatory, this was not open during my last visit back in 2019 so I was keen to check out the observatory, and also slightly nervous given the history of this place, even though I know nothing is going to happen. It was the first time I have been to an observatory in lower Manhattan given my previous trip I have only been to Empire State and Rockefeller. It wasn't open until 10am even though it was written that they open at 9am, or at least that's what I thought so, and quite a few people turn up when I was there. I took the chance to eat the bagels while waiting for them to open, and once the time was up, I went to the machine and was rather disappointed that the machine stated I can only get a ticket for the afternoon or I could pay to enter immediately, which I was reluctant to do, after a minute of trying to look over my plan and knowing that there's not much I could shuffle around since I had made a timed reservation for them, a staff member came over and said there was no one so we can enter even with the later reservation that doesn't require extra payment. So if you are planning to visit, do so early with a city pass or buy your ticket in advance so that you don't have to pay extra to get in.

The third item of the day was a walking tour of Chinatown. I got to the tourist booth and after a few minutes the guy standing there asked me if I was doing the tour and he told me the tour guide was on the way and we chatted a bit. I was the only one doing the tour so it was very personal and I was impressed with how much information someone could remember about the area, given I am bad at memorising I would find things like this to be impressive in comparison to my standard. I would suggest doing either the Chinatown tour or Little Italy tour, but given there's a lapse since they both share similar history it would be a waste of time doing both.

The next tour was Catacombs by Candlelight. I had my expectation set way too high given I thought it would be something similar to what I went to in Paris, but this is nothing like that at all. The tour started with a bit of a history of the church and who was buried there, and then we were led to the underground of the church where we then lead into the catacombs where only graves were present and the names of people who were buried there, including a high profile grave with the original Tesla bulb installed inside their private grave suite. There were no skulls or anything close that may be scary, although it was fairly dark inside and has some battery candles scattered around the catacomb, and is fairly small as well so a few minutes would be more than enough to see the whole thing. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are really interested in something like that. I had some time before the next tour so I was exploring the area and found Pane Pasta which is a bakery despite the misleading name, so I had a short break and had a croissant before heading to the next tour.

The fifth item in the itinerary was another walking tour, this is the Pride walking tour set up by this guide and some of his friends I believe. He wanted to teach the history of Pride and quite a few things that were not prevalent in Pride history, so we were brought to a few spots where there were some significant events related to the history of Pride that occurred. It is very worthwhile given you are able to get to visit the spots in relation to the occurrence of historical events.

After the tour, one other guy who was with me at the tour invited me to go for a drink at one of the pubs we went past, but I had other spots to go to to make use of my 3-day pass so I declined and rushed to a restaurant I scouted earlier called Go Zen. A short walk to the subway took me up midtown where I went to 2 of the observatories, Empire State Building and Rockefeller. I have been to both before so it was just more of a revisit and there was a significant change to the Empire State Building museum/information area before heading up to the observatory while Rockefeller was not much to it. The lady at the ticket counter over at Rockefeller asked me about the tour of Rockefeller which I thought I had booked but I thought I would double check the reservation and apparently I didn't make the booking for whatever reason and she told me that it was showing that I didn't have any reservation made, so she made the reservation for me, unfortunately the date and time I originally planned for was full and she told me as long as I make the reservation before the expiry of my city pass, it could be at a later date even after the pass has expired which was news to me, I am not sure if this applies to all advance reservation tickets but I can only confirm this is what they have told me.

10th January 2023

Today I skipped the bagel given I was in a bit of a rush. I headed to Pier 17 to pick up my rental bike to ride to Brooklyn Heights through the Brooklyn Bridge, it was much more tiring than I would have thought, I would have paid extra for the e-bike but given how unstable I was probably wasn't a good idea either. The last time I rode a bike was when I was 12 or so, and that's around 16 years of no bike riding experience, plus with my accident it may have also caused my orientation to be slightly off as I couldn't find my balance for the entire ride even being on it for a good 1 and a half hour.

I returned the bike just before noon and headed back into Chinatown for lunch. I went to Joe's Steam Rice Roll inside Canal Street Market, I love this place much better than Tonii given I was able to customise what is included inside the rice roll, and they have a good printout to show the information and also a self-service booth to do it, meanwhile Tonii is more traditional and they don't advertise whether you are able to change or add any additional ingredients, and they are both the same price so Joe's is my first pick if given the option. I still had some time and was still hungry after the very tiring bike ride, so I went to Bodhi which was recommended by the tour guide, they serve a majority of vegetarian friendly options but they also have meat which I didn't know that's what Kosher means.

After a heavy lunch, I went for the Little Italy tour, as I've mentioned above that there are a lot of similarities and history with Chinatown, so there was not a lot of new information. After that I went to Times Square for another walking tour, this is the Broadway Insider tour. It does involve quite a bit of walking and showing of various theatres in the area, the past and present shows and the history of Broadway. It is very informative and I would recommend it if you have never been to a Broadway tour.

Without a lot of time between my next tour, I went straight to Pier 83 for a night cruise around the Hudson River and East River, it was pretty to look at the skyline brightly lit up. The cruise took over 1 and a half hour, by the time I got back to the pier was over 9pm. Given the lack of subway, I had to wait for the bus to get back to Times Square, and I found this somewhat fast food spot called Wok to Walk, it is an Asian restaurant with a variety of ways to stir fry noodles and while it was not the cheapest by any means, it was also considered cheap for that area.

11th January 2023

I started the day the same by going to Davidovich Bakery to get a bagel, but today the staff working there was not very friendly and didn't ask what bagel I wanted and gave me the plainest and basic one, I usually don't eat those ones as I prefer ones with grains but I wasn't given an option. After grabbing my bagel, I headed back to Pier 83 to grab the ticket for the next ferry cruise, but with a lot of time to spare, I quickly went to Intrepid Sea, Air & Space museum, it was rather large and have many interesting things to see, I was able to enter the submarine with only a few people in front and behind me while everyone else was rushing to the aircraft carrier. They have a Concorde there but only people with a special tour pass can enter so I wasn't able to get in. I spent some time in the aircraft carrier as well but was fast pace to try to see as much as I could before having to rush back to the ferry.

This ferry was much longer and was supposed to do a full circle around Manhattan, but due to the tide we had to turn around somewhere abeam the middle of Central Park and did a full view of Roosevelt Island, which we got told was fairly rare for people to do so that was our compensation, and we went further up the Hudson River to the tip of Central Park as we had extra spare time. The ferry wasn't well stocked and didn't have a lot of food options, there was some food in the refrigerator but they were leftover from last night that I saw and might have been there even longer than that so I wasn't keen on it, and they also charge a ridiculous price for everything.

After the cruise, I was thinking of going back to Wok to Walk given that I was under time constrain and didn't have time to search for anything, but I walked past this restaurant called King Fu Kitchen just a block from them and had food that was suitable so I went in to try something different.

After the late lunch, I went to downtown Manhattan to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, unfortunately they didn't inform me of their closing time so only around 40 minutes or so, I got told they would be closing soon. I once again walk at a fast pace to try to take pictures of anything interesting while they were following behind me to get me out. I would pay to enter again if I wanted to given there was a lot to read and see, but I just didn't have the time planned to return, and also having seen half of the exhibition I didn't think it was worth paying to complete the rest.

After the museum, I went to Hudson Yards to go up to the Edge observatory, this is a new observatory that was not open at the time of my last visit even though the Vessel was open and the observatory wasn't. The vessel has been shut for some time but people can still go to the ground level to take pictures, just not climbing up it, and it was terrifying when I did it the last time given how high it felt and the fence wasn't that high to protect you from falling, and apparently this attracted some people to do so. Anyway, after getting up to the observatory, there was a mock ice skating rink, even though it's rather small so I wouldn't think it would be worth paying extra for that, and you don't get such good views while skating there at night. There were some other stalls selling various food and drinks but they were at sky high prices, so I didn't really take any interest in them. I went to their outdoor area where they have some stairs for sitting and also a glass bottom looking down, it is actually one of the more terrifying observatories I have ever been to, I could feel the floor shaking given it sticks out of the building without much support to prevent the wind from causing vibration, and the glass around the edge was at an angle so you could lean fairly far out to look down which I felt sick just with the thought of getting close to it, so fair to say I didn't get anywhere close to the edge of the outdoor area.

12th January 2023

I took it easy given it was an intense 3 days I've had, I headed out to Brooklyn Central to get some stuff from Target and also to pick up some Amazon parcels. In the evening I bought a ticket to watch Moulin Rouge, this is the first Broadway show I have watched since arriving, not accounting for the Christmas Spectacular. I was hungry after arriving given I had eaten early, and the only snack that entice me was the Pringles, it costed me USD$5 for a small can of it which I thought was a total rip off but I didn't have any choice either. I enjoyed the show though, and after the show I went back to Wok to Walk for a late dinner before heading back to my Airbnb.

13th January 2023

I booked to do the UN Headquarters tour late morning, there were a lot of security protocols and the instructions weren't too clear. I got my permit to enter via a security office at the visitor centre, and after passing through the security check, I got into the building and had a bit of time to spare so I took the opportunity to use the loo, tried to use the vending machine to get a cup of hot chocolate but it ate my money and gave me an empty cup which I wasn't impressed at all, especially with their signage saying they want to eliminate waste which the lack of maintenance on the machine created more wastage and my money, I then went to the food court area to sit, and had a look at the exhibition just by the main entrance before heading to the meetup point.

At the tour time, we were called to follow the guide, and got told to show a specific colour sticker which I do not have, and one of the ladies told me that given I did not have the tour pass I can only visit the free exhibition around the meeting point area and not the tour, but I was confused as I did book the tour and she told me I had to get a sticker from the desk at the meeting point which was not conveyed and the lady held the door for me while I get the sticker.

The tour brought us to all the rooms that were accessible by the tour, including the General Assembly which was the main attraction given that's the one with the highest coverage on TV. We got some information regarding the design and function of each room we went into, and some exhibitions and artwork that were on display outside the hallway. We did not have a lot of time and the tour towards the end was rushed through as we were running outside of our allocated time, while it was cool to be able to visit and learn a bit about the UN, I wouldn't do it again but definitely something that should be done once.

After the tour, I went to Greenwich Village to Tue Thai Food where they were doing a lunch special, it was a good lunch and without too much time to spare, I rush off to Rockefeller Centre where I had pre-booked my tour of the Rockefeller Centre. We spent most of the time outdoors and the wireless headset was not very good with a lot of loud static noise at times so it was a hit or miss listening to the commentary.

14th January 2023

Today is the first day where there's forecast for a snow flurry. I got out at around noon and found a bit of them blowing on me and sticking on my jacket which I thought was really cool given I have not seen snow fall before, I have been to ski field with snow on the ground but there's some magic vibe with snowfall, even though it wasn't necessarily the coldest day I've experienced during my time here, the day of my arrival was -10'c but there was no forecast of snow but bitter dry air blowing. I had to go to the bank to try to find out what to do with some broken notes but they told me that unless I bank with them, I won't be able to exchange them.

I spent the rest of the day packing and then headed to an off-Broadway show called Stranger Sings, a parody of Stranger Things, I was late given some delay at the subway, but fortunately things seem to run late in NYC most of the time so I even had time to use the loo which I desperately needed before heading in and settle for the show. It was interesting but I couldn't understand them a lot of the time as they were speaking really quickly to try to squeeze through the very long script within the timeframe.

15th January 2023

It is check-out time for me to move to a hotel in Manhattan given my flight is leaving in the evening the next day and the Airbnb checkout is in the morning which will not be convenient. I moved my luggage to the hotel and was told my room was not ready and so I left it there and had a stroll around midtown before heading back to Bodhi for lunch.

I wasn't sure if it was the groceries that were left for over a week in the fridge that I used for my meals before leaving but my stomach was very gassy and ballooned, so I had to go to a pharmacy when I went out for dinner to try to sort it out before heading to the airport the next day. I went to Hong Kong Noodle & Sariku Sushi restaurant a couple of clocks from my hotel, the portion wasn't that big and was around the same price as I would pay for double the portion around Chinatown so I wasn't too happy with it.

After returning to my hotel, I took it easy and had an early night. There was some drama the next day which I created an entire post in regards to the incident and the hotel room itself, which you can check out here or search for "Hotel 48 LEX" on my blog hotel section.

16th January 2023

After checking out of my room, I walked to Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen for lunch given the hotel breakfast was more of a baby snack than a proper breakfast. I enjoyed the large portion and tasty variety in it. While walking back to the hotel, I admire some of the architecture and also to top up my metro card to travel to the airport. I would have gone up to the newest observatory Summit One Vanderbilt, this was not included in a city pass and is the newest, latest and hottest thing in NYC right now, but the stuffed up at the hotel means I wasn't able to explore much and wasted the entire day.

METRO FARE:

NYC has transitioned most of their network to OMNY, a contactless payment system that you can use either your phone, watch or paywave card to make the payment.

When you are using the exact same card, you will enjoy the same benefit as an adult fare on a metro card, including a capped fare for travel between Monday to Sunday. Do note that if you start on Friday or Saturday and spent up to the cap fare, you will be paying the same as someone who started on Monday and reached the cap fare a lot earlier and have free travel for the rest of the week.

Once it hits early Monday morning, it will reset for the new week again, so it pays to plan properly and try not to travel extensively if you cannot benefit from the cap fare.

You must also use the exact method when you tap to pay earlier, even if it is the same card. For example, if you are using the physical card and decide to switch to using your phone with the same card, the machine will read it as a different card and charge it as a new card and your cap fare will not apply to the physical card. So use one and stick to it, if you think you will run out of battery especially for smartwatch, then use the physical card or a phone. I have seen people who had trouble getting through even with a contactless card, I am not sure what type of card is not accepted so you may want to do a bit of research. I use the Wise Visa card and I have not encountered any issues during my trip.

If you are using Airtrain to get in and out of JFK, you will need to buy a physical metro card and load a minimum of $8 which is the charge for that service. You can combine it with a normal metro fare if you wish, depending on how you are going to travel it may be worth looking into.

Some services like Airtrain, Roosevelt Island Tramway, Express bus services and Long Island Rail are not included in the cap fare, you will be charged extra for those services so do check which services are included before you take them. All the subways will be included so you will be able to take any one of them.

LUNCH SPECIAL:

A lot of restaurants offer lunch specials, whether it is sit in or take out, make sure to check out their website to see what special they are doing and you can save a lot. There is a certain period of time for the lunch special set by each restaurant so try to find one and check their time so you don't end up late and pay more for your meal.

Note that it is only during weekdays that they offer these specials, weekends and possibly public holidays will not apply.

CHEAP FRUITS:

I have noticed that the street market vendors usually sell fruits at either a lower price or a bigger portion in comparison to the traditional supermarkets. Some are located near supermarkets but the easiest and the most selection you can find is around Canal St in Chinatown. They seem to be there most of the day from the several times I've passed through, but do check if they have any specific time or day that they might not be there.

CITY PASS:

A good way to explore a lot of attractions for less is through a city pass. There are various ones out there, you can check what they might or might not offer, given each program are slightly different. You can buy anywhere from 1 day to a week, it would be smart to list down the attractions they offer and the ones you will be going to, and find out how many you can do in a day, which will give you a good indication of how many days you may need, and of course if there are attractions that are cheap to enter, you should prioritise the higher price attractions and leave the cheaper ones to the last, as you may find it is not going to worth paying an extra day to visit a handful of cheap attractions, so booking directly instead of paying an extra day may end up saving you money.

TKTS:

Broadway shows are expensive, and many people will tell you to buy discounted tickets from TKTS. While it is true they do sell it at a discount, but it may not be the cheapest seat that is discounted as they may be the one that gets sold out the quickest so the higher priced seats ended up getting pushed to TKTS and after a discount, they could still end up being more expensive than the lowest price ticket.

Make sure to check the official website for ticket prices and if you are able to be flexible, you might find cheaper tickets for another day when they are not sold out. If you are after a more premium seat, but at a lower price, TKTS may be a good option but then again you won't be able to pick which seat you can go after, it is chosen by them and whatever seats the theatre release to TKTS.

NAVIGATING THE SUBWAY:

While it may seem confusing at first, there are ways to make it easy especially if you're unfamiliar with how it works.

Starting with the easy ones, outer suburbs with one or 2 subway lines will usually have 2 platforms, one going in each direction, you should check what the last stop is for your direction and the signage should say that. Some entrances will tell you the direction the subway is heading to, such as Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, or Brooklyn. Every subway car will have a signage telling you the last stop, this is mostly reliable if it's electronic but if it's a manual card, they may not change it so you might want to check with the train conductor or staff, they are usually located in the middle of the train.

Newer subway cars with electronic signs telling you where it is going, so it will be easy to read, older cars may not even have working signage so you will have to ask someone. Some platforms have newly installed electronic signage showing you the services from that platform, the stops, transfer stops, time of arrival, accessibility and any disruptions.

In more complex and bigger stations, the easiest is to read the signs at the subway entrance on the street, making sure it indicates your subway number or letter, and the direction it is going. Some entrances are only for access to 1 particular platform so you do not want to mess up and go to another platform going to the opposite direction. Some platforms will have a bypass to get to the other platforms, especially if you are looking to transit to another service, they could be towards the other end of the platform so following the sign is the safest way to do it, sometimes it may be confusing when it shows to be around that platform so walking right to the end of the platform could help since it may not be very well signed and is hidden with pillars.

At peak, weekends or overnight services, they might end at a different station, platform or run in conjunction with another service for parts of the route, checking the notice and schedule of the service should give you the information.

I've been using Google Maps to show me the scheduled time, service and they have mostly been reliable, it would be the easiest way to navigate the subway system or other public transportation modes.

Another thing that makes NYC subway world class is the fact that they run 24/7, overnight services will be greatly reduced but they do still run once or twice an hour so you can still get around if required. For a city that never sleeps, this is on brand given at any time of day there will be people going somewhere and is in need of transportation. I've been to or planning to go to places where the city is large but they do not even run their service 24/7 making early morning flights to be challenging and the only viable ways are either taxis or buses, one is expensive and the other is time consuming, a route that may be 20 minutes can end up being an hour or more on buses which is not ideal if you're already having to wake up early for the flight and needing to add that additional time for travel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pehfu3q3imY