New York City Thread II

[mama squeak!]

@junetwentythree, that would be great! Thanks! Sige I'll post the hotel's address as soon as I find one. I'm still on the lookout though for deals in the Manhattan area, we'll see. I would have wanted to rent an apartment in Manhattan sana but we might be staying for two nights only.

^Talking of missing Jollibee, last year when when my sister and I were in NYC and we went to NJ on our last day. Dinala kami ng friend ko sa Red Ribbon and a Filipino store in NJ. Grabe sister ko nag-hoard lang naman ng mga Pinoy chicherias plus Red Ribbon sweets.    Paano ba naman she hasn't been home in 14 years! 

[iamsuperizch]

j_in_tokyo when you go to Jollibee in Queens (7 train Woodisde Station) visit Red Ribbon too.  Few blocks away lang.

[junetwentythree]

There's every nationality you can think of in NYC. If you visit, you really need to get into the mindset that this is the case and this is what makes NYC a great city. Not one particular kind of people should be feared

With that being said, there are more crime ridden areas of NYC that would probably behoove you to avoid. Some parts of Brooklyn are dodgy, if you google a certain location you're interested in staying at and see a 'housing project' nearby or within a few blocks, I would advise against staying in that area.

As one of the sisses said here, it's important to have a subway nearby (if you're not planning on cabbing it to and fro)...but even better if there's an EXPRESS line nearby rather than a LOCAL. Something to keep in mind as well when taking the subway in the weekends is that some lines have weekend schedule where they run intermittently and/or different routes altogether (or not at all!).

@j_in_tokyo that 70-80$ a day apartment seems a little cheap... where is it at?

[shegie_285]

Yes Jollibee and Red Ribbon - closest station is 61st-Woodside. I brought butter mamon here in Dublin. yum! kung pwede ko lang dalhin lahat..

[m_lim]

nung pumunta kami, sa Times Square area kami nag stay. mali pala. too crowded and mahal ng hotel!

[j_in_tokyo]

j_in_tokyo when you go to Jollibee in Queens (7 train Woodisde Station) visit Red Ribbon too.  Few blocks away lang.

i will certainly visit both! ngayon pa lang nagkecrave na hehe

[mama squeak!]

@mlim, sis anong hotel nyo? The hotel we stayed at before was two blocks away from Times Square. Pretty convenient since lapit lang sa subway. We got lucky that time kasi we got a very good deal. If I remember right less than $200 a night lang. That's pretty cheap considering nasa Theater District yung location nya. I am hoping I can find another good deal for our next visit.

[m_lim]

^sa Candlewood Suites times square kami sis. $250 per night. 4nights kami.

nanghinayang nga ako kasi maski hindi pala kami sa times square mag stay, ok rin. madami pang ibang area na pasyalan. dibale, next time alam na namin. hehe.

[j_in_tokyo]

hi mga sisses..
im planning to surprise my partner with a broadway show treat.
San ba maganda bumili ng ticket?sa gate na mismo or sa internet?
Dec. 30 yung plan ko..pero i want to buy na sana as early as now..
kasi baka mahirap makabili pag ganung dates..
any tips and suggestions?

[mama squeak!]

^if you're sure na of your dates better buy ahead of time specially if the show is popular baka maubusan pa kayo ng seats. Plus with advance purchase you can choose your seats pa unlike if you buy sa gate kung anong matira lang (kung meron).

Although yung iba naman who like taking their chances buy last minute tickets since they can be heavily discounted.

[j_in_tokyo]

^^ yung date sure na..
di pa lang ako sure kung anong show...
do you know where I can purchase cheap show tickets online?

[shegie_285]

^ agree buy your tickets way in advance especially if popular ang show. first time I was in NY, December din, tickets were expensive so hubby said to take chance for discounted ones. hindi naman maganda nabili namin kase ubos na magagandang show, play na boring. sayang pera kahit mura.

Ay December baka you want to consider din watching The Rockettes Christmas Special sa Radio City, super ganda. naaliw ako. Mga last week ng November naman ako nandun, dun na kami bumili ng ticket.  Tumingin din muna kami ng discounted ticket sa broadway, walang maganda tapos while we were at times square, may nagbigay ng discount vouchers for The Rockettes. We were able to get tickets for that night, at mura, I cant remember how much na basta mura compared sa Broadway, super sulit.

I asked my friend who lives in Manhattan kung may masa-suggest syang cheap tickets online. Sya na kase nagbu-book sa amin pero she's a member of something kaya minsan daw may natatanggap syang mga deals. 

[babykiss_625]

@junetwentythree thanks for answering my question re the hotel location in Brooklyn. We also viewed the hotel location through Google Maps and I can say that we are not that comfortable with what we saw. So we adjusted our budgets and booked Holiday Inn Express NYC - Herald Square located at 60 West 36th St, NY. Do you have suggestions on what to see first? We'll be arriving lunchtime Sat and leaving Monday before lunch. Our plan is to see the famous attractions like Times Square, Empire, Statue, Grand Central, Central Park, Library, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall St, Rockefeller, Museum. For the Statue, we would want to avail the cruise up to the monument.
Would you also recommend to get city pass? BTW, trip will be in August.
Thanks for all your inputs.

[junetwentythree]

@babykiss_625 You're at the hub of tourist attractions with your new hotel, good spot!

Empire State would be the first thing to see since it's right there almost around the corner from your hotel.
Hop on the subway (or walk but since you're on a tight schedule you might not have a choice), and go up to 42nd St. Bryant Park. The Library is there.
Keep walking East and you'll get to Grand Central.
Walk back towards Fifth Avenue around 47-50th Sts because this is where Rockefeller Center is. You'll also see Saks Fifth in the area and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Walk North and you'll get to Central Park.

Statue of Liberty, get there real early and get on the first ferry out. Then come back and do Wall St. since it's all in that immediate area. Then walk the Brooklyn Bridge and come back. I'm not sure which Museum you guys wanted to see cuz there's a few famous ones here. Museum of Natural History is one of my favorites but that will easily take a few hours. You could incorporate that when you hit up Central Park since its in the area but just manage your time well.

Times Square is best seen at night.

To be honest, I have no idea what the city pass is but I googled it and a lot of tourists seem to think it's good so read up on it a bit more or perhaps other sisses on here can give their insights on them

Lastly, prepare for Philippine like humid summer weather  ! Also, spot thunderstorms are common these days so umbrellas are probably going to be necessary (bit of a hassle I know, but check the weather that day).  And bottles of water on hand to beat the heat!

Hope this helps!

[mama squeak!]

^sis, I found a deal on Hotwire for a hotel at only $162/night (original price is $317/night) for our dates in the Central Park West area. The problem with Hotwire they will not tell you the name of the hotel until you book it. I'm wondering how safe the area is specially at night in case gabihin kaming uuwi.

My other concern is we will be arriving at JFK around 8PM and will probably be out of there by 10PM (it's an international flight from Paris so meron pang immigration ek-ek yan). Would it be better to cab it to Central Park West or take those airport shuttles?

Thanks again for your help! 

[junetwentythree]

@mama squeak! Hmmm... Central Park West is the length of the park which is quite long and if this is a hotel in the upper part (above the 100s streets) then it'll border Morningside Heights which isn't a great neighborhood. Also, you're quite far from a lot of the attractions.

I'm not quite sure how those Airport Shuttles work but I think if you're getting in late, I think taking a cab would be your best bet. From the airport, they're only suppose to charge you a flat fee of 45$ plus toll (depending on your route) and tip.

[TuscanSun]

Cab cost me an arm and a leg based on my experience. Or I was just duped?

[junetwentythree]

Law mandates flat rate of 45$ plus toll and tip from JFK into Manhattan. If you paid more, you might have been :-( cabbies won't tell you, you kinda have to tell them.

[junetwentythree]

Actually I think they might have raised it to 52$

[mama squeak!]

^Thanks for the tip on the area, sis! I don't want to take our chances there na lang. Hanap-hanap na lang ako ng good deal somewhere else safer.

Re cab fares, since we'll be arriving past 8PM meron pa lang night surcharge sa fare so malamang tataas pa yung fare namin.    The tips are still 15-20% right? Luggage in the boot wala ng fee yun di ba?

Edit ko lang, I found out Super Shuttle (same ones I use in LA and SFO) has a service in JFK too. We'll probably be taking this. It comes out cheaper at $19/person + tip, of course.