New York City

[vintage_blowout]

any idea how much roundtrip airfare to NY via cathay pacific? presumably not straight flight MNL-HongKOng-NY?

that would be around 50K. off-peak season. not sure how much when it's peak season

[vintage_blowout]

sis, we are still undecided what hotel will we choose. for now, a friend is willing to accommodate us in their house but they live in new jersey. it's an hour away by bus daw to manhattan.

where in NJ is your friend staying? you don't necessarily have to take the bus, you can always take the subway. i go to NJ, Fort Lee area, from Manhattan, and it doesn't take me 1 hour

[Mom_S]

^sis, he's in bayonne, NJ. about 20mins lang yata daw if taking the subway... hassle ba mag-subway if you have kids with you or ok lang? also, how about if you got bags? yun handcarried bags lang? around how much would it be from bayonne to manhattan?

[vintage_blowout]

^isa lang ang fare ng subway, $2.25 if you're gonna take the subway everyday, get the unlimited ride card. hindi naman hassle may kids sa subway, i see a lot of people commuting with their kids. some have strollers pa nga. may mga stations din na wheelchair-friendly, which means cart-friendly and stroller-friendly din sila

[Mom_S]

^sis, how much is the unli ride card? are the kids fare same as adults? i have a 6  & 11yo kc...

[ZARED]

^same fare for kids. how long do you plan to go around the city? if it's at least 4 days, it might be cheaper to get the 7-day unlimited pass.

but to be honest, i wouldn't recommend the subway if you are going on a tour on your own. most people i know don't find it easy to learn the NY subway. ok sana sya if you have a travel companion from the city. 

i recommend the hop-on hop-off tour bus. that's the double decker bus that takes you around manhattan. less stressful din for you and the kids.

miss ko na NY! hope my next assignment will be in NY again...

[Mom_S]

^we'll be at NY for 3nights. a friend will accommodate us in his place in NJ & also tour us around... we're also considering the hop-on hop-off tour but still depends with our friend if he can take a leave for 3days...

[junetwentythree]

^ The subway takes getting used to. If you have kids who use strollers it might be a bit tricky as some stations don't actually have elevators.

The trick to the subway system is to learn the notion of uptown and downtown. You basically go from there. You basically need to know which direction you're going. The stations are always furnished with maps and it's pretty easy to follow. The trains also have maps, then the newer trains actually have the digitized systems that show the next stops.

I still think the subway is the best way to go. And if you choose to the the hop on, hop off, it's rather touristy. The subway gives you the feel of what real New Yorkers go through and thereafter gives the real effect of the city.

[Mom_S]

^thanks sis june... we would love to take the subway for experience & for the feel of it   i just hope that it's not that so jampacked like in our mrt/lrt here or in HK coz it might be quite hard for the kids as they are not used to it.

[honeyblue]

^just avoid rush hour sis. mahihirapan yung kids kasi sobra sikip.

[vintage_blowout]

Mom_S, it's my first time in NY. Second day ko, nag-subway ako agad. A subway map helped me a lot during my first days there. After a few days, 'di ko na kailangan ng mapa Yes, tama, you have to understand the concept of Downtown/Uptown, which I think is fairly simple

During rush hours, masikip ang train pero ibang klase pa rin ang MRT natin haha. I think if you can survive the sardine can that is our MRT, you will survive the subway during rush hours

[chuzzle]

I really really want to study in NYU. I hope I get accepted talaga. I miss NY.

[kukaikaLai]

Korean Air - great food and great serivce.. may 3 hour stop over sa Incheon

I just read this, sorry for the late thank you reply sis. I did get Korean Air tickets, and I must say, busog na busog. Hehe. I arrived here in NY last Nov 14 and I must say I'm fortunate kasi di masyadong maginaw at that time. But at present, parang I can feel na it's winter na. Super ginaw na.

It's the cold lang talaga kaya surrender na akong mag-lakad2x around Manhattan. But still, I can't help but be amazed.

[remilicious]

I remember before there were girltalkers who went to the US and asked people here kung sino may gustong ipabili.  Meron pa rin ba nun here?

[euneeann]

How's the weather in NY pag May?

[junetwentythree]

^ Depends when in May. It's still a bit cool from early to mid-May. Towards the end we get a bit of the nicer, light jacket weather.

[Mom_S]

we finally booked our reservations at crowne plaza for 2nights  (23 & 24)... hope it's just at the center of everything. we also consider holiday inn but hubby preferred crowne plaza though medyo mas mahal.

sis june, how's the weather this days in NY? it's freezing cold na ba?

[bujuy]

Cold and wet this past week It's snowing upstate but still wet and in the upper 30s to mid 40s in NYC. Mga 4 degrees celsius pag convert mo.

[miksha]

i have leather gloves na ginagamit ko dito sa middle east kapag winter (pinakamalamig dito is 1 degree celsius na naexperience ko). may lining sya pero manipis lang (syntethic fabric not fleece or wool,etc.. ). oks na sya sakin but a friend told me i need more insulation kapag punta daw ako sa NY na kasagsagan ng winter and snowing pa daw. do i really need to buy thermal gloves (yung may mga thinsulate something something) ?

[Mom_S]

Cold and wet this past week It's snowing upstate but still wet and in the upper 30s to mid 40s in NYC. Mga 4 degrees celsius pag convert mo.

so cococoooold  hope my kids can take it... how abt in NJ? we'll be staying in our friend's place for 2days in bayonne.