New York City Thread II

[JINJIN:*]

hello mga sis!!

Ngayon lang ako nakabalik dito after my trip last July. for 3 weeks.

I stayed in New Jersey but I was all over New York the whole time kase mga kamag anak ko is all over the place too. So eto po ang mga napuntahan ko:

1. 9/11 memorial site, Century 21, New World trade center (magkakatabi to ha)
2. Serendipity plus a walk in Times Square ( day or night)
3. Park Ave, Manhattan, Broadway...eto naman eh parallel to each other. I stayed in my sisters apartment in manhattan, sa center mismo, so I used the subway and the walk where i want to go.
4. Rockafellar, SAks 5th Avenue, Michael Korrs shops...lahat to magkakatabi, sinilip ko lang sila lol
5. I did a dinner Cruise to Statue of Liberty
6. Watched Jersey Boys in Broadway
7. Ate in Morimoto's restaurant (the iron chef man)
8. Went to Central Park (44th st siya)

Hindi ako ganun ka amaze sa lugar..probably because I been to different places and mas gusto ko ang nature (siguro dahil sa Dubai ako nakatira and lahat ng modern infrastructure eh andito mu makikita)
Magulo sa Time Square, matraffic, mabaho..tapos ang hirap ng parking.  Hate na hate namin ng ate ko na abutan ng alas 4 ng hapon sa New York because of this.

On the other hand naman..Fort Lee New jersey is a very lovely place.

I ever papipiliin ako kung saan ako titira, I will choose Fortlee NJ

[angellove]

Hello mga sis,

First time namin mag new york sa december, ok ba sa Four Points by Sheraton Long island city? 

[junetwentythree]

^ Reviews on the hotel seem good, the area looks alright and there's subways closeby. LIC is one of the up and coming neighborhoods of Queens that holds a lot of promise and it's close to the city, just a few stops away. That being said, I'm not really that familiar with the area and I'm just kinda going with what I've heard about the place  .

[j_in_tokyo]

5. I did a dinner Cruise to Statue of Liberty

Sis ask ko lang, san ka nagpareserve for the dinner cruise?
and mga how much? thanks

[angellove]

^ Reviews on the hotel seem good, the area looks alright and there's subways closeby. LIC is one of the up and coming neighborhoods of Queens that holds a lot of promise and it's close to the city, just a few stops away. That being said, I'm not really that familiar with the area and I'm just kinda going with what I've heard about the place  .

Thanks sis.  How about Asiatic Hotel - flushing? Ok yung rate nya kaso baka naman masyado ng malayo sa tourist spots?

[junetwentythree]

Sis @angellove, Hmmm... di naman gaano kalayo to certain tourist spots. If we're talking Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, downtown Manhattan spots then yeah mas malayo siya. If we're talking Central Park, 5th Ave, midtown Manhattan spots then it's definitely not that bad of a commute. Flushing is further into Queens and if anything you'll have to do the whole train transferring and such. The 7 train runs near the hotel, there's an express version of it that I think runs on the weekends so that might be good. Again I'm only going from what surface knowledge I have of Queens based on maps and such since I'm not from Queens and I rarely go there but I hope this is helpful nonetheles

[shegie_285]

angellove Last time I was in NY I stayed with a friend who lives in Woodside, Queens (25 mins away from Grand Central).  Apparently the area where she lives in not that safe but wala naman nangyari sa amin, pero maingat din kami lalo na sa gabi. These are my views:

1) Subway 7 is fine. Based sa Googlemaps 38 mins ang flushing and 18 minutes ang Four Points from Grand Central.  Kung ako I would prefer Four Points because nung nandun kami pagod na kami sa gabi. Ayaw na naming mag-subway so cab na kami. I cant remember na how much ang cab but it was reasonable naman but Flushing parang mahal na (judging by the minutes it takes using subway).

2) In the morning we didn't mind the subway. Alis sa umaga tapos gabi na balik. Nalayuan na kami sa queens so hindi kami umuuwi. Pag nasa bahay na tamad na lumabas. Unlike pag dun ako sa friend ko sa Manhattan nakikitira, nagpapahinga minsan ako sa bahay nya kasi malapit lang naman.

3) I stayed in Four Points by Sheraton in Dubai, it was a very nice hotel. I'd say that one in Long Island is also good.

[mama squeak!]

We will be in NYC next week coming in from Paris. I hope the weather will be cooler than Paris'. It has been unusually warm this time of the year here. Weird weather!

By the way, since there was a government shut down, are all the government-run attractions really closed or are on staggered operations? Which tourist attractions are affected?

 

[junetwentythree]

I'd have to agree with shegie_285, angellove The distance by train might prove to be cumbersome come nighttime, when you're weary from the sightseeing from the day. So between the 2, I'd choose the LIC hotel. Even better if you get a deal in Manhattan

Also, something to note if you are thinking of taking a cab home, cabbies don't necessarily like to take passengers to the outer boroughs. So the trick is to always get into the cab first, then tell them where you're going. By the law, they're not suppose to say no to a fare.

mama_squeak, looks like the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island are closed according to this http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131001/civic-center/how-government-shutdown-affects-new-york-city. I think that might be it for federally run attractions. I'm not sure how long this shutdown will last 

We're also having warm weather here! 84 degrees today and 80 tomorrow! I'm not sure what it'll be like next week but definitely unseasonably warm as well.

[mama squeak!]

^thanks for the reply, sis! Weird weather talaga. Okay na rin wag lang uulan (keeping our fingers crossed!) Re Statue of Liberty, good thing we didn't get advance tickets pala.

 

[JINJIN:*]

Sis ask ko lang, san ka nagpareserve for the dinner cruise?
and mga how much? thanks

Sis yung sister ko ang nag book through American Express, centurion holder kase siya. Its a bit pricey, around 250$ each. I suggest you go to the docking area ng mga boats to Statue, marami duon na selections for you, me Class A to Class C boats, meron na nag seserve ng food, merong wala. Its a very nice experience, ganda ng skyline ng New York from the sea. Love it!!

[angellove]

Thanks Sis junetwentythree and shegie_285   We will look for a deal in Manhattan na lang.  How about sa Chelsea area?
Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea? 

[junetwentythree]

^ Perfect! Great area, close to the 34th St area where the sights are like MSG, Empire State, big Macys, 5th ave. You're also gonna be close to a lot of different subway lines.

[j_in_tokyo]

Sis yung sister ko ang nag book through American Express, centurion holder kase siya. Its a bit pricey, around 250$ each.

A bit pricey nga..nagcheck na din me sa net..may mga nakita ako na less than 100 dollars lang..mas mura pag bruch cruise..although im sure mas mahal pag christmas season na..

[aquacharly]

We will be in NYC next week coming in from Paris. I hope the weather will be cooler than Paris'. It has been unusually warm this time of the year here. Weird weather!

By the way, since there was a government shut down, are all the government-run attractions really closed or are on staggered operations? Which tourist attractions are affected?

 

Thursday to Saturday - warm. Sunday/yesterday --  cool but not chilly, some drizzles .  Foggy, "zero visibility" at Empire State observation deck .

Paris to NYC - a nice transition. .

[angellove]

^ Perfect! Great area, close to the 34th St area where the sights are like MSG, Empire State, big Macys, 5th ave. You're also gonna be close to a lot of different subway lines.

Thanks, Sis. 😄
 
Advisable bang bumili kami ng new york explorer pass?  And which is better top of the rock or empire state
Building? Kaso after christmas kami magpunta for 2 weeks, baka naman
Wala kaming makita mula sa taas?

[mama squeak!]

^^Thanks aquacharly!  It was kinda warm nga last night when we arrived.

Anyway, my sisters and I decided to just take a cab. Andami kasi naming bagahe, total 6 plus handcarry pa! I didn't want to take our chances with the airport shuttles at baka hindi magkasya mga dala namin together with the other passengers sa van.

Good thing also JFK airport has the $52.00 flat rate cabs to Manhattan not including toll and tips. A bit pricey but it was faster (no dropping off of other passengers) and more convenient (no lugging of bags all over the place if we decided to do it cheap via train). I asked the dispatcher for a mini-van so all our bags could fit and good timing merong naka-queue na sa stand. Travel time from JFK to our midtown Manhattan hotel at 9PM took around 35-40 minutes.

 

[aquacharly]

Yes, Mama SQUEAK, the yellow cab is always better.  We always take a yellow cab, safer than the black "private cabs" that line  up on the left parallel to the yellow cabs.

Yesterday was lovely, cool, a little windy & no drizzles (as far as midtown was involved).   

Hope today is just as good, hubby wants to walk along the Hudson River.  Search me, why.  Lol

Welcome to NYC! 

[junetwentythree]

Thanks, Sis. 😄
 
Advisable bang bumili kami ng new york explorer pass?  And which is better top of the rock or empire state
Building? Kaso after christmas kami magpunta for 2 weeks, baka naman
Wala kaming makita mula sa taas?

I don't really know about the explorer pass but here's a tripadvisor link that you might find helpful:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60763-c140362/New-York-City:New-York:Attraction.Passes.An.Analysis.html

I've only been up the Empire State building, but again here's a tripadvisor link where people have reviewed Empire State vs TOTR:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1092179-Empire_State_Building_Top_Of_The_Rock-New_York_City_New_York.html

Or perhaps sisses who have been up there can let you know

Winters have been kinda unpredictable in NYC as of late. Your best bet is, if you can, just kinda see how it goes when it gets closer to the date maybe and see how the weather is.

It was kinda warm nga last night when we arrived.

Back to cool Fall weather the rest of the week! Enjoy your stay  (albeit, the dreary London-like weather)

Hope today is just as good, hubby wants to walk along the Hudson River.  Search me, why.  Lol
 

A bit dreary for a walk along the river.  But I guess today is better, it's suppose to rain the rest of the week I guess.

[shegie_285]

angellove I cant really say which is better, depende sa time siguro.  If night time, I think better sa Top of the Rock so you can see the Empire state. Mas ma-identify ang ilaw ng empire state sa gabi. you can have a picture with empire state sa background.

Umakyat din kami ng gabi ng Top of the Rock - I don't have recollection of the view so maybe its just normal. Didn't really stand out.

Hindi pa ako nakaakyat ng araw sa empire state  - top of the rock lang - I actually enjoyed the view from TOR. Ganda.   Although it was June ng umakayat ako ng day time sa TOR.

If December - super super super lamig sa taas ng building. as in. sandali nga lang ako sa labas tapos pasok na ulit ako sa building.

Explorer pass -  Mukhang okay naman kase if you go to the attractions at least $25 din ang entrance fee, hindi naman yan day pass di ba? Plus I have been to NY ng Christmas/New Year haba ng pila so kung maka-skip ng line mas ok. 2am na kami umakyat ng empire state para walang tao.