Central Park
... and the cowboy
Drive
Don't leave home without an EZ-Pass, if you're driving to NYC. It reduces wait time at toll significantly.
Hotel
Stay at Fairfield Inn East Rutherford Meadowlands, NJ with Marriott (join club and use the points to stay for free) so you don't have to drive into downtown and get stressed out. Hampton Inn is also nearby. We requested a room facing the meadows (versus facing the street), it was quiet and we had a good sleep. Free Internet and free breakfast with coffee, juice, bagels, milk, cereal, yogart, banana, CNN, newspaper, etc. Sofa and carpet need to be replaced though. If you use GPS, be sure to plug in this address instead, else GPS will take you to a marina out of no where. 10 Murrayhill Parkway, East Rutherford, NJ 07073. Here's the hotel review.
Transportation to NYC
There's a bus stop right in the front of the hotel. Bus 163/164 Local! will take you to Time Square via Port Authority in just 15-20 min. depending on the wait time in Lincoln Tunnel. It costs $3.10 per person, one way. Hotel is at East Rutherfod (Paterson Ave. at Hackensack St.) and you get off at New York Port Authority bus Terminal. The bus was very puntual and notice the gate and time frame where you catch your bus back to the hotel. Be sure to ask the hotel check in desk for the bus schedule and subway map.
Subway
Once you're in the Port Authority, you can buy 1 day unlimited pass is $7 in newstand stores. Use care when entering the station through turnstyle, because you can only go into station once like every 15 mins. (to prevent multi-people from using just one pass). Once you figure out how to ride subway, it's fairly easy. One color might have various names/numbers, just depends on the final destination, but if you're just in Manhattan, names/numbers might not matter as long as you know if you're going in uptown, or downtown entrance. Streets are in grids. Horizontals are Streets. Vericals are Avenues. It may help to have a compass to you know which way is N / E / W / S. Common rules in major city applies -- don't walk alone at night, go where there are people around, casually notice your surroundings, watch out for thief who target your bag or wallet, and be casual and bend in like one of New Yorkers.
Be sure to wear comfy shoes and prepare to walk a lot.
It might look seem far to walk two or three blocks, but it's actually not too bad, if you're in good shape.
It's useful to have cell phone charged or a meeting place determined, since it's easy to get lost in the crowds.
Time Square
If it's a nice day, you can walk from Port Authority to Time Square on the street level. Time Square has a Toy R Us store, which is fun to visit. Go to basement for the game room and the magic tricks.
Virgin music store is still there. To find out about the origin of this store, read Virigin's founder entrepreneur Richard Branson's fasinating book.
Nakes Cowboys, Cowgirl, and various drummer and entertainers are in various street corners. Leave some change in your pocket makes it easier if you want to tip them, so you don't have to take out your whole wallet.
Watch out for crazy taxi drivers and pedistrian lights to cross the street. With all the stores and things to look at, it's easy not to pay attention where is safe to take the next step.
5th Ave.
To save your energy, take the subway to 5th Ave. and 59 St. by Central Park. If you've seen trees, ponds, and grass, it might be more fasinating to walk on 5th Ave instead. Walk toward south, you'll see Apple store, Trump Tower where Apprentice was filmed, and Tiffany (bathrooms at upstair are really nice) - Breakfast at Tiffany's movie was filmed there. After a few blocks, you can get to Radio City, and Rockefeller Center to see the lights and people skating. walk by NBC Today's studio. Nintendo store is also by there, where you can see the new Wii.
As an American, if you have never visited Statue of Liberty, it's well worth it. Seeing and feeling what she symbolize, my experice was compariable to seeing 4th of July firework in Washington D.C. Also, you're not only taking a boat ride, but to experience how original immigrants feel like when they first arrive New York.
If you have time, you can catch a broadway shows. if you like ABBA music, Mamma Mia is really fun.
"Sex in the City" fans
If you're a "Sex in the City" fan, a show about four smart, pretty and fun girl friends looking for love, career success and life in NYC, you can find their spots in Manhattan. Carrie's apartment is at Upper East Side (245 east 73rd street, New York). The show grabs viewers, because the show is smart. It shows the depth of relationships in life. It's about young professional women looking for love and making choices about their lives. And it's fun to watch their life in NYC.
Thoughts
NYC is a densely populated place, so its easy to see the haves and have nots. It made me believe even more about the oppotunity to receive good education, and to work hard, because at the end of the day, it'll make a difference. Even if you have the dough, you still need the smarts to know what to do with it to keep it. If you have just enough, question is how do you maximize it to make your life most enjoyable. Live long and prosper as Spock says.
China Town
Take the subway down to Canal Street - China Town. Walk toward East to Mott Street for some authentic food. They have bubble tea, bakery, peking ducks, fruit/vege stands, restaurants and purses.
Restaurant Read revews on line. Buddha Bodai's snow pea tips was pretty good.
Don't buy any of the DVD from the street vendors, horrible quality and not worth the cost. However, if you look like tourist who like to shop, you might get invited to the secret back room where they sell look alike hip juicy purses. So to sum up, it was the ultimate NYC experience in one day.
