Location:

New York City, USA
See pictures here

Date: March, 2004
Housing: My friend Mel usually puts me up, but her Apt burned down the day before, so we both stayed at Kizzey's apt. Thanks Kiz!
Housing Info: If you are looking for a cheap place, I usually stay at the Aladdin Hotel (it's actually a Hostel too) in Times Sq, or the Jazz in the Park Hostel uptown on the west side of Central Park. Both of those are as cheap as you get in NYC (upwards of $30/night), but not dirty, and filled with cool young travelers instead of tourists (or homeless).
Summary: New York is in a class by itself. Don't compare it to the rest of America though. It's like a different country all together.
New York... What can't you find there? This famous (and infamous) city has everything you could ever want as a traveler from arts, cheap eats, great transportation, an endless list of activities to keep you busy, American pop/urban/posh/underground culture, busy streets, and quiet parks. The city is ever changing, and there's always something free or cheap to do, so to be caught up on the latest, you'll have to pick up a "Village Voice" free paper (on many street corners) or make some local friends. But for the regular activities, I'll do my best to list enough to keep you busy for a week. Be forewarned that at the end of the week, you're liable to extend for yet another week if you fall in love with it as the rest of us have.
Tourist Areas to See: Times Square, Union Square, Central Park, Washington Square Park, Greenwhich Village, Ground Zero, Off-Broadway Shows, Ellis Island, Natural History Museum (the entrance fee is actually a recommended donation, so tell them you have no money if you're travelling on the cheap), Chinatown/Canal St, SoHo
Tourist Areas to Avoid: NBC Studios/Rockafeller Ctr, Broadway Shows (unless you wait for last minute tix at 1/2 price), Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Empire State Building, Bronx Zoo
Surprises: Brooklyn, Alphabet City (great nightlife, but expect to walk quite a bit late at night to get back to public transporation - and it is still dangerous, so be very careful), The Bowery (this district used to be for low-lifes, and restaurant equipment shops, but is now alive with young people and immigrants trying to find the last cheap neighborhood to live in), Greenwich Village (I know this is also a tourist destination, but get off the beaten path early to find the gems that put the old village on the map in the first place), Hell's Kitchen, Farmer's Market in Union Square, Marriott in Times Square (just pop in for a look at this impressive waste of space!)

Food: Restaurant tipping is always 15%-20%. There are a miriad restaurants and bars in NYC - possibly pushing 10,000 - so no matter where you go, you'll find some great food, and plenty of cheap options, but here are the places I've most enjoyed recently. Galaxy Global Eatery (open 24 hours. Go here last, and try your hardest to figure out the multiple themes. GREAT food!), Tea and Symapthy (way too overcrowded, but they've got to be doing something right - great reviews), The View (now, this is not recomended for anything but the great view of the city from the revolving circular floor - otherwise it's overpriced, and plain)
Getting Around: Ah, the MTA! New York has the coolest, biggest subway system I've ever seen. It costs $2 and can get you very far, and fairly accuratly to your destination if you're willing to transfer a few times. It runs 24 hours a day, but some lines close at certain timies, some lines only run part of their route at certain times, and all lines change their schedules depending on the time of day/day of week/time of year. Don't count on any help from the subway staff, and don't bother asking anyone else for help - they won't know (Recently my friend and I were waiting on a full train platform. Eventually I decoded one of the small sheets of paper that were taped to some of the pilars - it sort of incinuated that the platform was closed and to go "up the stairs to the other side." As we went up the stairs someone who knew this routine mumbled something about how those people were going to wait a long time. My friend and I went to the other side an realized some people on our side had been shouting to the other side for some time about their side being closed. The irony was that no one in NYC pays attention to other people because there are so many crazy shouters anyway. We left them behind as our train pulled away.)

If you are fortunate enough to get lost in one of their enormous stations, you might find yourself wondering when the last time another person was there - this system is so big, and some of the forgotten tunnels and stations are so far removed, and deep underground from the popular path, that you could imagine never being found if you were to just stay put. Now, lets talk about navigation. New York City had a contest in 2000 to see who could design the most user-freindly map of the subway system, and you're seeing the winner every time you look at any MTA map - don't ask about the loosers, or the bus map! If you think the map is only semi-useful, or even think it downright sucks, join the masses. Add this to the frequent poorly mark station closings, detours, and confusing schedules, and you'll begin to understand how it could take you 2 1/2 hours to get from Union Sq to Queens with a detour through Washinton Heights at 3am as it did, me.

Tip to the wise: Take the express trains whenever possible - even if you have to get off the local train your on and transfer to an express going the same direction.

Walking is fine, but it's a huge city. Take the train to the neighborhood you're interested in, and then walk around that neighborhood - believe me, there's plenty of walking to be done.

Taxi's are expensive. Avoid them during rush hour and most of the day in particular! Only use them late at night with at least two of you if you want to keep you costs down.

Locals: New Yorkers are famous for many reasons. The shear size of the population has always had a number of effects on its people. First of all, most people in New York are from somewhere else, and many people from New York have moved away. Like its Ellis Island days, the city is a landing point for many visitors (whether they're looking for citizenship, or otherwise). So the "New Yorker" you come across these days may be "from" Brooklyn, but speak with a conspicuously British accent. That said, there are still some very "New York" qualities that are universally found on the streets. The hardend nature of the city is a combination of the climate, and the complex social "wall" one builds around oneself when living in such a super-urban environment. I've heard that it's become softened somewhat after 9/11, but if so, I haven't noticed. You'll see this "hardened" quality if you take too long to do something, or stand out as a tourist. New Yorkers have no qualms with yelling at a stranger they've lost patience with, or who's holding them up somehow. Sometimes their attempts to help, or give advice can be shocking because they often verbalise themselve in the same loud, angry-sounding voice used to yell at you.

Basically, it's a mind-your-own-business-and-stay-out-of-my-way culture, and anyone will fit right in if they do just that. If someone isn't minding their's, snap right back at them as any New Yorker would.

Climate: Very seasonal, their winters stay close to freezing, and are windy.  On the upside, their springs are flowery, and warm.  Summers are too hot and many weekend on the beaches of New Jersey, and Long Island to escape the humid city.  Autumn in the North East US (known as New England) is a beautiful sight.  The leaves on the trees change to bold oranges, reds, and yellows.  New York's Central Park is a nice place to see this.
My Experience:
Well, after getting back from Scotland I was planning on heading through NYC to see Melanie on my way to Miami. We had been in touch while I was in Glasgow, so I only bothered to call to let her know I was almost there. Boy was I shocked to hear her say that her apartment had burned down the day before. I couldn't believe it! That kind of thing doesn't really happen to anyone you know!

So instead of having the fun time we usually have, I spent the night on the floor of her friends apartment (only after staying up really late talking to and consoling Mel). Consequently, the next day of cleaning the burned out apartment was complicated by little sleep.

The apartment can be seen in the pictures I have of NYC. It was a real mess. The worste room was her roommate Kat's, where it started. There was litterally nothing in the room, including walls, doors and windows! Mels room was directly underneath, and it had been completely filled with water from the firehoses, so everything was there (including a fallen ceiling), but it was all 20 lbs heavier from the water saturation. Everything smelled of soot. Thankfully I had a stuffed-up nose, but I could still smell the nausiating stench everywhere I went for days afterward.

The day was primarly spent packing up what few things they were keeping into a van that Emily's (the 3rd roommate) dad showed up with. Believe me it was a long, emotional day though. I had only planned on staying that one night, so Mel and I went back to Kizzy's apt to chill out 'till midnight before I went to meet my ride to Miami. (I might mention here that Kiz was the most gracious of Hosts. I know Mel's apt burned down, so there was some obligation felt there, but it wasn't my apartment and between Mel, Kiz, and her boyfriend Greg, that apartment was already overcrowded. The last thing there was room for was a traveler, yet Kiz didn't have an attack when she saw me sleeping on her floor that first morning. Thank you Kizzey, for being so generous.)

That night was a long one. I left Kiz's apt at midnight and jumped on the train to Queens. Normally it takes 45-60 minutes to get from Grand Central all the way to the end of the Queens line, but my ride, Andre, had been delayed in Canada, so he would be arriving in Queens at about 1am, so I had to wait 'till midnight to meet up with him. Bare in mind that I had sold all my cold-weather clothing, and only had 2 warm-weather outfits (both of which I was wearing) on that 25 degree windy night.

So off I went on this already-long, 45 minute commute to nowhere's-ville. Well, wouldn't you know it, there was a detour, followed by a confusing schedule change, and a strange station-change. Well, at 12:30am, and after a long day with little sleep, I wasn't as focused as I could be. So all I knew when the correct train (A train!) came on the correct track (despite closure signs), was that I was thankful, and that I needed to get off at 104th St. Little did I know that there is a 104th in Manhattan, and Queens - and on the same train route no less. Well I woke up at 145th St, and was in for a big surprise when I figured out I didn't have to go back a "mere" 41 blocks, but rather something like 450 blocks (a 2 hour ride)!!! At the same time, I was underground, and didn't want to waste the time and money to exit the station to make the phone call, so a full 2 hours after I was supposed to meet Andre (3am!), I finally arrived at the correct stop. Geez!

That night he and I stayed at his friend Danielle's house. Now this is where my travels really took off.

After waiting outside in the VERY cold wind for about 15 minutes, Andre and Danielle showed up in Andres old American stationwagon. It was obviously them because Queens is dead empty at 3am. I jumped in the car without even asking, and shivered my way back to Danielle's place.

Danielle is a Sci-Fi author who lives with various other relations in her house, along with innumerable cats. I don't think there are enough bedrooms, because when we got inside, there was someone sleeping in the livingroom. Through the dark room I could make out an enormous DVD collection, which turned out to be something like 500 rare Sci-Fi DVD's. I slept on the cat-house which had been turned into a window ledge wide enough to sleep on for a night. It was all I needed, and I recall sleeping particularly soundly that night; or all 4 hours of it anyway.

The next morning I got up at 7am because they were having a breakfast party at 8, and I needed to take a shower and clear my belongings off the diningroom table before the guests arrived. Truth be told, I had little interest in taking the time to have breakfast with Sci-Fi strangers, as Andre's car troubles had set us back a full day already (not to mention the week and a half delay due to his emergency dental visit, and my trip to Scotland). However, I'm no ungracious guest, and the breakfast smelled delicious.

Breakfast was typical food (and much of it!) - eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes, OJ, coffee, tea, etc - but the company was NOT. The guests were - no surprise - Sci-fi nerds. I mean that in the best way though. Harmless, and complete with a sence of humor influenced by Monty Python, these nerds were anything but boring. They knew all sorts of weird facts no normal person knows, though mostly about Sci-Fi, and weren't too socially inept (or at least I could handle it for such a short time). Altogether, the breakfast was more than worth it, and did a great deal fill me up for a while on the long drive ahead of us.

(more on Andre, and the very inetresting drive to Miami to follow)