The greatest city in the world with only London or Berlin as real contenders to the title. The saying “If you are bored with London, you are bored with life” should really apply to New York. Despite terrorist attacks, a superstorm and countless attempts by Hollywood to bring utter destruction to the Big Apple, New York City has stood tall and life has continued at frenetic pace.
When to go?
Like all big cities, any time of the year is a good time to go to New York - it is really up to you if you like really hot, humid summers or cold, freezing winters. Whatever the temperature, New York’s many, many shops and restaurants and bars are always open and there’s always something to do in the city.
Where to stay?
New York is one of the most expensive places to stay in the world and the task of finding cheap accommodation without the cockroaches is quite an Everest to overcome for backpackers or any travellers with a limited budget. However, they definitely do exist.
One of the quirkiest places you could possibly ever stay in anywhere in the world is the Gershwin Hotel in the Flatiron District, just above New York’s Museum of Sex. If you can’t find that or the Gershwin’s garrish entrance, then you are seriously lost. The Gershwin may be a hotel with a great cafe at the bottom as well but they do have dorm rooms; they’re pretty good actually with proper hotel style bathrooms. This is no 5-star hotel but for character and decor, it definitely gets the full stars.
Where to eat?
You don’t have to live off McDonald’s and fast food outlets to eat cheap in New York. In fact, this is possibly one of the best places in the world to have a cheap yet fabulous meal. Thanks to New York’s ethnic diversity (in bold), you will find cuisine from pretty much all corners of the world - only London can claim to have food from anywhere in the world except in New York, you usually don’t have to pay through your nose for it.
But of course, if you’re still after hot dogs, burgers and pizza, there’s plenty of places that have that. Here are some of my favourite places in New York.
Gray’s Papaya, 402 Sixth Avenue at 8th Street OR 2090 Broadway at 72nd Street
This famous hot dog vendor may not look like much from the outside but Gray’s Papaya is very much a New York institution and rightly deserves its place alongside more illustrious and well known company. There is always a queue to get its “recession” deal hot dogs and papaya juice, be it lunch time or after a big night out. However, you can’t say you’ve really experienced New York without trying a hot dog from Gray’s Papaya.
This famous hot dog vendor may not look like much from the outside but Gray’s Papaya is very much a New York institution and rightly deserves its place alongside more illustrious and well known company. There is always a queue to get its “recession” deal hot dogs and papaya juice, be it lunch time or after a big night out. However, you can’t say you’ve really experienced New York without trying a hot dog from Gray’s Papaya.
New York’s Chinatown quite possibly has some of the best Chinese food outside Asia. Thanks to a very well grounded Chinese community not just in Manhattan but all over the New York metro area and a continuous flow of migrants to New York, the food here is very much up to the standards back in the homeland.
You are definitely spoilt for choice as you walk around Bayard, Mott and Mulberry Streets - the heart of New York’s Chinatown. However, Green Bo Restaurant is definitely not a bad place to start. They only do cash here - which means food is dirt cheap and absolutely sumptuous. This place is famous for the fried scallion pancakes and dumplings - however, as evident from their novel of a menu, there are plenty of other things to try out.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, 65 Bayard Street
Let’s be perfectly honest, I bet most of you wouldn’t really associate Chinatown with good ice cream, would you? But the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory definitely blows that myth out of the water. Great place to wash down Green Bo’s dumplings, chicken soup and noodles
Besides Chinatown, you can find a good cheap eat in Koreatown - it’s sort of between Times Square and the Flatiron District. Koreatown is much smaller than the other ethnic districts in Manhattan which means the area is far more concentrated with restaurants and Korean supermarkets.
Most people would associate kimchi with Korean cuisine - order a main and you get these bowls of veges on the house (usually). The best place to try Korea’s interpretation of the side salad is Muk Eun Ji. Now I admit to never having been to Korea, but I have had quite a bit of Korean food and have to say that for kimchi, this place is numero uno. Muk Eun Ji claims that its kimchi is absolutely fresh and you can tell from the bowls of kimchi that keep coming as you clear bowl after bowl. The mains itself are not too bad either and it is pretty affordable.
Hungarian Pastry Shop, 1030 Amsterdam Avenue
Worth the trek up to the lovely neighbourhood of Morningside Heights on the Upper West Side, this neighbourhood cafe has been serving coffee and delicious pastries to its main clientele of Columbia University students for years. It is a very old fashioned bakery from the old world in every sense. And the beautiful Cathedral of John the Divine is just around the corner.
Roadside falafel stalls, everywhere
Hungry and up for a quick snack? No worries. There’s always a stall selling falafels, kebabs, hot dogs, whatever you fancy. And they’re actually not too bad. I wouldn’t recommend living off these while you’re in New York - although their nutritional value might be better than a lot of other things for that price. Even so, make sure you do at least bow to your curosity and pick up something to go from one of these stalls while you’re on the run trying to see as much as New York City as you can.
Free sights?
WTC 9/11 Memorial
Still free while I was there and I’m sure it’ll not cost a penny for years to come as long as the horrific events of the worst terrorist attack of modern times remains fresh in the mind - hopefully. You need to reserve online to get in - otherwise you will be turned away. The memorial site itself is still very much a construction site, as the city continues to push for redevelopment of the World Trade Center area. The impressive pointy One WTC is almost finished and now stands as New York City’s tallest building. Below is a very sombre yet poignant and fitting tribute to the thousands who lost their lives that September day all those years ago. In years to come, this will join the likes of Killing Fields, Pearl Harbour and Holocaust Memorials worldwide as reminders of how evil mankind can be.
Staten Island Ferry
Thousands of commuters take this ferry between Staten Island and Manhattan. But it doesn’t cost a dime to get on. The Staten Island ferry has been free since a move by popular mayor, Rudy Giuliani and it’s possibly the best way to see the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline without having to fork out much. Worth it if you don’t have happen to have a voucher for the Ellis and Liberty Island ferries via CityPass.
Any tricks of the trade?
Get a Metrocard
New York’s public transport system is one of the best in the world in my opinion - but even if you disagree and can’t really bear the admittedly filthy stench from the tracks and thte heat, you still have to experience the subway. And to be fair, it is a wonderful way to get around the city and see New Yorkers live their everyday lives. As we witnessed with the recent Superstorm Sandy, the Subway really is the blood and lifeline of a city that is used to operating 24/7 on steroids and pure adrenaline.
Get a Metrocard which suits you - there are several options. It means all you have to do is just swipe at the turnstile and hope on a train or bus regardless of which fare zone. Check carefully which trains and buses accept Metrocards first.
New York Pass/CityPass
Definitely one of the most value for money options for travellers. By getting one of these, you are able to see most of New York’s most famous sights at a discount price. Often included are the big guns, e.g. Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), Guggenheim Museum, Natural History Museum, Ellis/Liberty Island, Top of the Rock.
TKTS Time Square
It'll be criminal not to go to a show off or on Broadway. And TKTS, an establishment by the Theatre Development Fund, has been helping nurture theatre's popularity all these years by selling discounted tickets at Times Square to whatever show you can think of - they display all shows each day every night. Discounts can be up to 75% as competition is very stiff between theatres in the area. This is a wonderful initiative to be involved in a truly New Yorker experience and I'd highly recommend making this one of your more splurges in the Big Apple.
Free Wi-Fi
Like most first world cities, free wifi spots are aplenty. Most hotels and hostels have free wifi for their guests. AT&T customers also have access to the network’s free wifi hotspots around the city. The Apple store near Central Park also has free Wifi.
Another great excuse to visit a museum - and I suspect this is the main reason most would go to a museum anyway - is for the free Wifi. Yes there is a time limit but of course there is a very simple way of getting around it which I shan’t share here - but you should be able to figure it out.
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