A city that never sleeps and has been a dream come true... A solo trip to experience NYC...
Every year I have to travel to Las Vegas for our internal company conference. Its one chance for me in the year to travel across the oceans and explore a new city. So, February 2017 I was going to visit New York, the city that never sleeps.
Every year I have to travel to Las Vegas for our internal company conference. Its one chance for me in the year to travel across the oceans and explore a new city. So, February 2017 I was going to visit New York, the city that never sleeps.
It was always my dream to visit New York. Every time I see TV series like Friends, Sex and the City, and even the recent one - Suits, I would wonder what it would feel like to be living in this fast, dense, yet funny and fashionable city. Hollywood and also Bollywood has created a craze around this city, that I am sure its on bucket list of many dreamers.
So, here I was trying to squeeze in whatever vacations days I could, and give myself the opportunity to embody the NYC experience. After 24 hours of flying from Singapore to New York, I landed on a pretty gloomy rainy Tuesday.
I took the flat rate yellow taxi from JFK airport to hotel. The flat rate is USD 55 + toll + tips to the taxi driver. Tips are expected and sometimes openly requested by taxi drivers, and restaurants.
Sometimes I have this habit of talking to local taxi drivers. They give you a different view of the place you are exploring. They also help you with dos and donts. This particular driver was nice and funny. He mapped the NYC for me. Told me the easiest way to understand the boroughs, and streets layout. I always google enough information before I plan visit to new city, however, getting the ground zero experience and hands-on knowledge can go a long way.
Streets generally run from East-West, Avenues run North-South. North is uptown and South is downtown. If the streets numbers are increasing then you are heading North.
Detailed explanation at Streets and Avenues: There is a Difference.
As I was going to explore the city alone, I preferred living near the Timeshare where most hotels are concentrated. I chose a decent hotel - Fairfield by Marriot. Not much of a surprise hotels in NYC are small and expensive.
Jet lagged and tired of the journey, I decided to have a quick dinner at timesquare and retire to bed soon.
Day 1 8th Feb 2017, Wednesday -
Blessed with a nice and sunny winter day, I decided to explore the city on foot. Its safe and easy to walk around. People are generally kind and helpful. Its a great feeling to just be able to grab a coffee and start wandering to destinations, some planned, some unplanned.
There are three buildings in NYC for amazing rooftop views - Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre and One World Trade Centre.
Wednesday I climbed up the empire state building - 86th floor and 102nd floor.
Wednesday I climbed up the empire state building - 86th floor and 102nd floor.
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