New York. The Big Apple. A city full of world famous landmarks and a city ingrained into popular culture. Its status is unrivaled. Think of the United States and you instantly think New York, whether it’s the skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty, movies or 9/11, it’s an icon.
It was Wednesday 15th January and I’d finished work, I was free for 20 days and my trip was under 24 hours from starting. Unusually for the night before a trip I slept for a few hours and was early for the bus to the HSR station.
I was so well organised I was at Taipei Taoyuan a full 4 hours before departure and I had chance to get some lunch ahead of my 14 hour 35 flight across the Pacific. I checked in and the waiting was over, I was on my way!
In spite of having the middle seat, the opening 6 hours of the flight was comfortable and had no issues keeping myself busy. Yet as it got to the 10 hour mark over Alaska, it started to become uncomfortable and eventually I fell asleep for a couple of hours. The flight landed around 7pm and it was a pleasant flight. Getting into the city would take a bit longer…
40 minutes later after hitting the track I joined the immigration queue which seemed to take forever. There were a few questions, and the officer realising I worked in Taiwan tried some Chinese. It was absolutely not a gruff, stone faced interrogation at immigration as I’d expected.
I took the skytrain to Jamaica and then tried getting the subway. I wanted a 7 day unlimited which I was unable to get and had to get a metrocard, then top it up. Like a true newbie, my swiping technique didn’t work and a local pushed me through the gate.
I hopped on the F line subway which quickly turned into an issue. Due to track repairs the train only went as far as Jackson/Roosevelt and I had to change on a 7 train, a change at 42nd St, and I’d arrived on 103rd St. It was bitterly cold (minus 6) as expected but got to the hostel and checked in without an issue before 11pm. It was fair to say I was travel weary especially given the flight crossed the international date line and I’d arrived in New York the same day because of a 13 hour time difference. What would day 1 bring?
Day 1 in NYC
Breakfast was included in the room price which worked out at $40 and so began 5 days in a row of muffins, coffee and a piece of fruit, good enough to start the day.
I’d come prepared for the cold, buying a pair of fleece lined jogging bottoms at Uniqlo in Taiwan and up top I’d wrapped up in 5 separate layers, good enough to explore in the cold.
So where to start at 8:30 on a cold January morning? A museum? A skyscraper? Somewhere warm? No! I’d decided months before my trip to start with a walk around Central Park and on a crisp, but clear morning it was beautiful. Paths leading in all directions and I explored the northern part, trying to see as much as possible. To my surprise Central Park and indeed Manhattan ISN’T flat.
It got to 10am and I needed to get inside, conveniently exiting the park close to Museum of the City of New York right on opening time. Needing to get out of the cold and inside would become a theme over the next two weeks.
For $20 I got a good insight into the history of the city. I’ve always felt it’s important to learn about a new city so you understand the culture better and after just under 2 hours I felt sufficiently ‘woke’ so left to continue my grand exploration of the park.
I passed the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir, the quaint Belvedere Castle and the woody ramble in the middle portion of the park before hunger took over. I’d been recommended Grays Papaya hot-dogs and just 0.3 miles west of the park was one of their two locations. I got the recession special, two dogs and a drink for $6.99 and nourishment attained went to complete my park walk.
I exited out the south east corner and was surprised to find even in midtown skyscrapers stood in every direction. I guess my research had been ‘good’ but not ‘too good’. 2:25pm provided me a question, where next?
I walked to the Rockefeller Center and after 15 minutes found the ticket office. It became clear signposting was not one of NYCs strong points. To my disappointment, because sunset was in 2 hours I had to pay $10 more. The clerk offered to give me a timed ticket for 3:30pm which seemed fair and I found myself with a $4 Americano in Times Square.
This was the first time things really hit home, I was in New York. Here I was sat in minus temperatures having a coffee in Times Square. It felt surreal.
The Rockefeller Center experience was totally different to what I expected. First, the security check (something which I’d endure a further over the next 18 days) and second, they did just herd everyone in an elevator up to the top. There was an exhibit, a couple of short movies and people were allowed to go at their own pace.
There were 3 levels and on arriving on floor 88, my first reaction was to gasp. The view was something to cherish, it was cloudless and you could see for many miles. I would spend 47 minutes going between the three levels with time indoors to avoid the cold. Finally at 4:54, the sunset set and I got a few photos.
As I debated whether to purchase a t shirt I kept taking photos and as the light faded, saw and captured this shot of the Empire State Building 14 minutes after sunset. Was it worth $53? Yes. A wonderful end to an exciting first day.
I took the subway back to the hostel and with a good selection of eateries around decided to have a Chinese. A huge bowl of chicken livers and beef with mushrooms came to about $13, I mean what could be more American than a Chinese American meal? Tasty food and that was it, the standard has been set for the trip.
Dinner and the aforementioned Rockefeller Center t-shirt…
Day 2
This was a day based around the Brooklyn Nets v Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA and would start in southern Manhattan.
It was overcast and I took the subway to Chambers Street as I prepared to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a little disappointing. The pedestrian walkway was in the middle over the roadway and the bridge structure made views of the lower Manhattan skyline ‘meh’ at best. Still I spent 40 minutes making the 1 mile walk. The main attraction was actually on the Brooklyn side, DUMBO.
DUMBO. Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass, once off the bridge I walked down river level where you can see the Manhattan Bridge pass over. This was the iconic view I’d seen and I got the photo I wanted.
I walked along the river before turning back as I tried to get to Brooklyn Heights. I ended up walking for a frustrating 45 minutes trying to find a way up into the cobbled streets and the nearest underpass was a mile south on Joralemon St. Despite my frustrations there had been a clear view of the Manhattan skyline though!
The cobbled streets of Brooklyn Heights were a delight and I meandered through, left, right and into Brooklyn downtown where I’d embrace my inner nerd.
Brooklyn Transit Museum was indoor stop number 1 and for $10 got to learn all about New York public transportation. The museum was below street level and was an active but unused subway station with live rails. There were old subway trains dating back to 1916 in the basement and it was fascinating to go on, sit down on vehicles that were so old.
Only 1 hour 20 had passed but upon climbing up the steps back to street level, SNOWWWWW! SNOW IN BROOKLYN! There wasn’t much but it was heavy and settling.
I grabbed some pizza and had a time issue. 2 hours 30, what do I do? I got on the subway to the Brooklyn Museum which was mainly concerned with art. Only having a short time, I asked to pay $10 rather than the suggested $16. The look on the clerk’s face was a picture! $10 and I wasn’t ‘overly’ interested but found the museum to be more interesting than expected. I liked the pieces of Japanese art, the ancient tablets and Egyptian exhibit, 1 hour 30 was easily chewed up and I had a 25 minute walk in the snow to Barclays Center.
I had expected to get some food near the arena but for whatever reason, didn’t. I instead crossed the road to Modells Sporting Goods for a Milwaukee Bucks t shirt. No Giannis shirts but there was a plain Bucks one for $10 which was a bargain. I went back over the road to wait in line for entrance.
It was Spencer Dinwiddie bobble head day and I was quite determined to pick up a free souvenir. The first 10,000 in the arena got one and I was inside a full 1 hour 15 before the start.
So what kind of view did I get for $154.50?
A 7/10 one. This game was all about Giannis, the reigning NBA MVP and the Bucks as a secondary, and ok, Kyrie Irving. So how was the game?
The visitors went 30-22 up after a quarter and never looked back. Giannis got in foul trouble early but still had a solid game. It was the first basketball game I’d been to in about 2 years and loved it, attending an NBA game and on TV are two completely different things. The atmosphere was better than expected and the play was something you can only appreciate whilst there.
At half time a United States serviceman was given a medal by a certain, former President… Bill Clinton… It took a moment to take that in, 2 days in the states and I was looking at Bill Clinton…
In the second half Milwaukee took a 57-42 lead and continued to extend. Bucks 117-97 was how it finished.
Despite about 18,000 spectators leaving the arena there were no queues to speak of for the subway and I managed to cock things.up. I was on a 2 train that stopped at 96th and 110th. Rather than change at 96th, I stayed to 110th. A short walk back to 103rd it was not. It was a horrid one mile walk in slush that took about 25 minutes. I stopped for a McDonalds to try the American version and get 2 burgers including a Bacon Big Mac, it wasn’t enough but the day was done and I wasn’t going back out again.
What would day 3 bring?
Day 3
This would be the warmest day for the first 8 days and I didn’t need 5 layers, just 3. I had boots on though and they were necessary. I took the 1 train to Colombus Circle and walked to the Intrepid Air Space Museum in timing for opening with conditions very icy underfoot.
$28 admission was standard but for a further $5 got myself a 20 minute Concorde experience with the ticket being for 12pm. I quickly regretted 3 layers with a biting wind coming off the Hudson River. I should just point out the museum is actually based on a USS Intrepid, a former aircraft carrier which is cool in itself.
I spent over an hour upon on the flight deck looking at bombers, helicopters and a multitude of other aircraft. Each had a description and my inner OCD just had to have me read all of them, I shiver just recalling doing it!
Once I got too cold I took my scheduled ‘inside break’ and went up on the bridge which was good. There was a Vietnam veteran up there who was interesting to listen to, despite not having served on the ship but having served for two years and in a very insignificant capacity.
I finished off the aircraft on the flight deck and went into the space section. Inside was Enterprise, one of the four surviving Space Shuttle’s and the one that had been never been to space.
I spent a little time on the hangar deck but it was approaching 12 and it was time to go on a Concorde!
What struck me was how narrow it was. The experience was a guide giving a 20 minute talk as 10 of us sat on seats that had plastic over them with instructions not to touch anything. There was a chance to go in the cockpit and I had to duck my 6 foot frame down to get into it. I just couldn’t comprehend how it been in use for 30 years and it was like that.
Tour over and I went to get lunch. Oh how this would become an expensive but necessary part of the thing. Museum food isn’t cheap. A soup and Italian sub came to $14 and I was still hungry after.
The hangar deck wasn’t overly memorable but I did get to sit in a helicopter…
The last thing to do was the USS Growler, former submarine. This was part tour and part free visit but given how narrow the sub was, you couldn’t realise stop and it was one way. My first time on a sub and I really liked it, I just couldn’t imagine living on one! 4 hours at the museum was enough and I had what would be familiar museum fatigue. Time to head to Wall Street.
It was an easy walk and subway ride to the financial district in Lower Manhattan. The narrow streets and gargantuan skyscrapers left me in awe. The NYSE and Federal Memorial National Hall were notable sights and so to was the Charging Bull which was too crowded to get near for a photo. I’d reached the lowest end of Manhattan and the waterfront, Brooklyn to the left, Staten Island straight ahead and New Jersey to the right.
Time was on my time which suggested I could take the Staten Island ferry and back. The ice hockey was at 7 and it was 3:45, the next ferry was 4 and just about doable even if I had to wait a bit.
The next ferry was 4pm and I found you could buy a beer and drink it on the ferry! I bought a tall (24oz/710ml) Modelo and got on for the free journey over to New York’s often forgotten fifth borough.
The decision to do the Staten Island ferry was a work of genius. The setting sun made for a delightful backdrop and I had time to get off, buy another beer and take the next ferry and the actual sunset. Words don’t do it justice so pictures will.
Back before 5pm and having had 2 very quick beers I needed food, and upon getting off the subway below Madison Square Garden found pizza at Bravo on 32nd street.
Two slices, a Budweiser and water came to about $15 which seemed fairly standard for midtown Manhattan.
Madison Square Garden is a name famous all around the world and home to both New York Rangers and New York Knicks, two sides without much in the way of good fortune in recent years or more precisely, decades…
Security check cleared and it was upstairs to the 200s level of the Garden. One thing I must mention is ticketing is almost exclusively on your phone using a QR code which makes attending games so simple. My seat was in 224, row 4, seat 13 right on centre ice with an excellent view of the arena and the ice. I hadn’t a clue what to expect from the game and with a while until the start purchased my first sports beer, a $14.75 24oz Corona. Yes Corona. Yes $14.75.
The pre-game warm up wet my appetite a bit and this game pitted the Rangers against the Colombus Blue Jackets. I’d always found ice hockey tough to watch on TV but live at a game it was a captivating spectacle. It’s easier to follow the puck at a game than on TV.
What I didn’t know was the format of the game which turned out to be play 20, 20 break, play 20, 20 break, play 20. The Rangers scored late in the 1st and MSG erupted, it felt more like a football stadium than anything else. With ice hockey being a low scoring game, I guess it made sense.
Colombus would come back into it, leveling in the second and with 26 seconds left, just as I was preparing for overtime, they stole it.
I’d had a sufficient amount of alcohol and inadvertently took the subway 4 stops the wrong way before realising! With each fare being $2.75, I’d not lost much except some time.
Back to the hostel and in bed very quickly.
Day 4
A fourth morning and another clear one. My phone said minus 6 and it was back to wrapping up as if I was on an Arctic expedition. No time for a proper breakfast but did pick up a coffee as I headed for a pre 8am subway to South Ferry.
Cold didn’t cut it. It was perishing and there was wind. My body was not used to it and despite my fleece lined jogging bottoms it hadn’t prevented cold rash. The conditions on day 4 made it worse, wearing skin tight chinos made my legs feel like they were on fire.
I made the short way to Castle Clinton to pick up my ticket for day 4’s main activity, the Statue of Liberty with Crown access. I didn’t have confirmation number, card I’d used and after a few minutes of faffing, the clerk eventually searched by name for my reservation and I was set… Except I wasn’t…
There was a huge queue for the mandatory security check but at least I wasn’t in thin layers like most other tourists. The ferry set off just after 9 and there was a cafe on board selling hot drinks which came in handy. Coffee in hand and I started to warm up a little.
Castle Clinton
The view from the security line
I opted to stand at the back rather than in the heated middle of the ferry for a good reason…
Yes. That’s why.
Arriving on Liberty Island I made my way to the statue itself as apparently Crown tickets had a time…
This didn’t turn out to be the case and after a second security check ascended up to the pedestal where for many they can go no further. I stepped out into the cold and New Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island were all visible. On a clear day, I’d have been satisfied if that was it, but I was going up a bit more!
My Crown ticket allowed me to be one of the ….each day that could go up the 397 steps of the narrow double helix staircase to the head of lady liberty herself. The statue to my shock was hollow, yes, I’d assumed it was solid and after a couple of minutes arrived at the top.
The view from the window was fairly limited (so much so I didn’t get any photos!) and the platform was quite small meaning that with a person climbing roughly every minute, time at the top was also limited to a few minutes.
At the base there was a museum where I spent some time learning about the statue and trying to avoid going outside. That said, the museum was interesting and very detailed.
I had a walk around the island and over to the second museum which was more of the same but the views were very pleasant in spite of the cold.
With 25 minutes until the next ferry I popped into the cafe and experienced a ‘wise guy’, I asked for latte and he either genuinely couldn’t understand me or was deliberately being awkward but I had to spell it out to him. L A T T E. He then thought it was funny to mock me in front of his coworkers. Not wanting to end up in jail for punching the guy I kept a straight face, gritted my teeth and left. Later experiences would tell me my accent wasn’t the issue, and this guy was simply being a prat.
I took the ferry to Ellis Island which was migrants to the US used to be processed until 1924. Inside the main building was a 3 story museum all about immigration to the United States and whilst it was interesting, there was too much. Museum fatigue/information overload set in and my brain had simply had enough.
I got back to Manhattan at 2:25 and had a wander up towards the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I passed the crowded Charging Bull again and got a quick snap before moving on.
I remember 9/11. I remember where I was when I found out about the terrible events that unfolded. I was 8 years old having just started Y4 at school. Coming to NYC and not going to the former site of the Twin Towers would have been wrong.
In the place of the towers are two huge fountains with the victims names inscribed. With time on side (3pm) I had to go into the museum and learn more. I didn’t expect to learn much but I was wrong. The museum is a masterpiece. It’s a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives. It’s a place to reflect and remember but also one to be educated about the World Trade Center’s construction, the attacks and their aftermath and also the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
The exhibit on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden was more detailed than you’d expect. It felt as Bin Laden’s death avenged those who died on 9/11 and it left me with very mixed feelings, both about the War on Terror and the United States role in the world.
It was back to the hostel and close to it was an Italian, once I saw Lasagna on the menu my face lit up as I hadn’t had it in over 5 years. A good sized portion with a salad was about $13 and it was washed down with a couple of Modelo lagers. A good meal and day four was over. One more day in New York…
Day 5
This had always been designated as clear up day. Do anything I hadn’t already but there was a clear target, the American Museum of Natural History. It was only a mile away and being up early, decided to walk down there via 7 Eleven for a coffee and Central Park. A perfect combination on a winter’s morning and I was at the museum early.
By now I was prepared for the security checks and I was first to get a ticket costing $22. I added on the Volcanoes 3D movie at 10:45 tor an extra $5, so $28 and it’s fair to say, it was huge.
I walked around the space exhibit on the ground floor before making my way to the theater for the movie. I’d always been interested in volcanoes and I had never seen a 3D movie before, it was 45 fascinating minutes.
Most of the museum was about aniimals and around 1pm I got myself some lunch which consisted of pulled pork, some chicken, some more pork, rice and a few other things from the buffet. Priced at $3.54 per 100g, and with a coffee and tax, it ended up costing a hefty $31! Lesson learnt, don’t go crazy on museum buffets…
Around 3 I’d finally seen enough and made my way out and into Central Park. I wanted to head to the east side, the UN building area but never made it. It was too cold and I walked towards the Empire State Building and Grand Central Terminal over the course of an hour. With it being 5pm and my second NHL game being at 7:00pm I walked a bit more until I got to Bravo again for more pizza and a beer.
Empire State Building
Ice hockey game two pitted NY Rangers against NY Islanders, it had been a late addition to my schedule having picked up the ticket on row 16 for $100 incl fees just 2 weeks before the trip. Previously resale prices for this game had been crazy and as it turned out, the arena still wasn’t full on the evening.
What I hadn’t realised was you can see the Empire State Building as you ascend the escalators inside Madison Square Garden and got a nice photo…
The game was a strange one, the Rangers dominated the play but found themselves 4-0 down. At one point the shots tally reached 40-13 or something similar, two goals late on plus a power-play threatened to set up a grandstand finish but the Islanders held on for a 4-2 win.
I headed back to the hostel to pack up ahead of day six. I was moving onto Boston and my alarm was set for around 5:15am.
New York was as cold as expected and I’d done everything I had wanted to, perhaps negating food at times.
Onwards to Boston!
Stay tuned for part two…
Tom.
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Tom's Travels 2020 