My New York Top Five

So in no particular order, here are my favorite spots in New York City:

1. Central Park
I just love, love, love, walking through the park and looking at the beautiful autumn leaves. If only I was staying longer, I would love to jog around, have a picnic there, or just go sit on one of the benches and read. I really wish we had parks like this here in the Philippines.

It was a walk in the park

Lovely autumn colors

2. Grand Central Station / the Subway
There's just so much history inside the Grand Central Station. And I love watching the flurry of activity! I also love the subway for its character and the different personalities in it. You won't get bored too, because of all the musicians and entertainers.

Grand Central Station

Waiting for the train

Entertainment in the subway

3. Brooklyn Bridge
The view from the bridge is breathtaking- the sunset to my right, and moon rise to my left! From afar, you can also see the Statue of Liberty.

For cyclists and pedestrians

4. Broadway
I was only planning to watch one Broadway play for this visit, but I was fortunate enough to be able to afford to watch two! I have always loved the theater so just being in Broadway felt like I a childhood ambition coming true.

Lining up for the Phantom of the Opera 

Chicago and all that jazz!

5. Manhattan at Night
Oh my gosh, just look at this view! 'Nuff said.

View from the top of the Empire State Building

I can't wait to go back to New York and add more places to this list!

Houston, We Have A Problem!

For my very short US trip, I made a 4-day detour to Houston, Texas to visit family. As I wasn't originally planning to go there, I didn't have time to research about things to do and places to see there. I decided to take it easy and just go with the flow. =)

1. Space Center Houston
Our first stop was, of course, the Space Center which is probably the most famous tourist attraction in Houston. I was super excited to see all the space and astronaut stuff!

The non-existent line should have given me a clue, but I thought it's because it was a school day that's why the place was not crowded. Apparently, the place has had very few visitors in the past years, probably because of the budget cuts made by the US government on their space program. I was even told that years ago, real astronauts used to train and exercise inside the Space Center!

Despite the lack of more 'hi-tech' attractions, I was still very much in awe of the exhibits, especially the astronaut suits and actual items that were brought in space. And of course, who wouldn't be amazed looking at an actual space shuttle?!

Evolution of space suits

What an inside of a shuttle looks like

The Saturn V

But the highlight for me was being inside the mission control where NASA monitored the historic Apollo 11 mission to the moon! It felt like being part of history!

The Command Center

I do wish that they add other attractions and activities here to give visitors a more interactive and fun way of learning about space and astronomy.

2. The National Museum of Funeral History

My cousin was being mysterious when I asked him where he was taking me for the day. He only said that we're going to a museum that's unique and can only be found in Houston. I made several guesses but a funeral museum was definitely not one of them.

True story: Coffin made for a family of 3!

Who says you can't bring your wealth to the grave?!

I was expecting to see morbid and gruesome stuff, but the museum's totally cool! Of course they had the usual coffins and other funeral and embalming memorabilia, but they had lots of interesting stuff as well like exhibits on the history of embalming and funeral methods, strange coffins from around the world, and even a replica of the Papal mobile and Pope John Paul II's grave.

Mummified

Replica of Pope John Paul II's grave

An actual embalming table. This gave me the shivers

Coffins from Ghana. People actually use these.

This is definitely one of the most interesting and unforgettable museums I have been too. I think if they add a horror booth here, that would be sooo cool! Right? ;-)

3. Houston Museum of Natural Science

I was pleasantly surprised by this museum because they had a great exhibition on dinosaurs.It was definitely smaller than the Museum of Natural History in New York but I liked their installations and layout better. I especially like that, beside the skeletons, they put a picture of what the dinosaur looked like at that time. Helps me better visualize what they look like with flesh, hehe.

The museum also has other great exhibits on gems, underwater marine life and wildlife. Pretty much lots of things to see and explore here!

4. Houston Zoo

The zoo is in the same compound as the museum. Too bad we weren't really able to explore around because when we got there it was already 1 hour before closing time. I still enjoyed though since I really love zoos. I will definitely spend more time here if I get a chance to visit Houston again!

Public Commute: How To Get Around New York City

I just got back from my very short trip to NYC and all I can say is, it was a dream come true! It definitely did not disappoint! Anyway, I'll talk about all my adventures in another post but for now let's talk about how to get around the city.

57th Street

Of course, the best way to get a feel of the city (if you're up to getting some exercise) is to travel on foot. I just loved walking down the streets of Manhattan in awe of all the sights, smells and flurry of activity. The wonderful autumn weather made walking more, well, wonderful. Aside from all the amazing things you'll see, another benefit to walking around is you have less chance of getting lost. All the streets are numbers so if you know how to count, you're ready to go!

My station

Another favorite of mine is taking the iconic New York subway. Most people find the thought of navigating through the crowded station a bit scary, let alone trying to figure out which train to take by looking at a seemingly confusing subway map. But not me because I totally looooove the subway! Yes, it can get very crowded and it's not as clean as Singapore's MRT but hello, isn't that just like taking public transportation here in the Philippines? The major difference though is that the New York subway has so much character and the people in it are such characters as well! I've seen lots of artists singing, dancing and even playing classical music so you won't get bored with all the entertainment. And it's not at all scary, I felt comfortable in the numerous times I took it alone. (Of course, I might be a singing a different tune had I taken it at 12mn and the station's empty.)

Subway performer playing classical music

And being a map nerd that I am, I loved figuring out which train to take to get to my destination. Every morning before I headed out, I would plan where I was going and then check the subway map and note the trains and the transfers I needed to take. It would've been a lot more convenient had I not lost my Samsung phone before this trip and had there been free wifi around the city, so I can easily check the map as I went along but hey, I ain't complaining! =)

NYC Yellow cab

One thing I didn't get to try though, is to ride a New York City cab. I thought of taking one from the airport when I arrived but the fare, approximately $60, was a bit steep. And my taxicab issues here in the Philippines (drivers charging more than the flag down rate, or taking you through a longer route, blah blah) helped in me deciding against it. But had I been travelling with someone else, I would have loved to have that experience though, just so I can say that I've been inside a New York cab hehe.


Getting to and from the airport, I decided to take a shared van via SuperShuttle. I made use of its service to and from JFK airport and also to and from La Guardia for my Houston trip. The price depends on the distance: from JFK to my friend's address at 83rd street would cost around $23 plus tax and tip, for La Guardia it's around $15++. Pretty reasonable. The online booking is convenient, the service is fine, and in the 2 times I got picked up from my friend's place, the drivers were on time so I didn't have any problems catching my flight. They even called me up even if I placed my Philippines mobile number as the contact number. And if you're coming from the airport, you just approach the Port Authority desk and give them of your reservation number and then you wait. The wait time is variable so better not make any plans within an hour from your arrival. One slight hitch I observed is that in their website they indicated that the maximum number of passengers is 11, but I think they failed to consider people's sizes. Good thing I only experienced this once and that we were 3 Asians in the van and I was the first one dropped off, otherwise I'd probably get claustrophobic like the others. But other than that, I would recommend taking the SuperShuttle because of safety, the convenience and reasonable price. They also offer their services in other cities and if sharing a van ride with strangers is not your thing, you can opt to pay higher for their SUV or sedan cars.

So there you have it, I hope I was able to give you helpful tips that would make your trip around the city less overwhelming. Happy travelling!

Soundtrack Sunday - American Boy

And because I still having a New York hangover, I'm sharing the video of Estelle's American Boy, one of the songs playing in my head while walking around the city.



And no, I did not meet any American boys during the trip. Maybe next time? Hehe.

Dreams Do Come True!

I have always dreamed of going to New York City, and I just did! =) I love everything about the city- the pace, the people, the sights- everything! It really was everything I dreamed of!

So while I still let everything sink in, here are some of my favorite pictures taken around the city:

Walking down the streets of Manhattan

I love the subway!

Chillaxin' in Central Park

Grand Central Station

With all the other tourists in Times Square

Afternoon stroll on the Brooklyn Bridge

These are all I can share for now. More stories and photos to follow soon! =)

P.S. Did I tell you I love New York City?