Inner Solace

US Trip Brain Dump Intermission

Well, those posts were long. Will get to the Seattle and San Francisco parts eventually.

And I still have to sort through photos. >_<

US Trip Brain Dump #2: New York

General:

• People in New York (the people I work with are pretty great) will swing from incredibly and offensively rude, to so nice it’s actually worrying.
• Pedestrians in NY generally feel they have the right of way 100% of the time.  If people are obstructing an intersection, forcing vehicles to get stuck in the middle of an intersection and then have to edge their way through when the lights have changed, the people will feel justified in screaming at them for being ‘knuckleheads’.
• Drivers in NY generally feel they have right of way 100% of the time. Okay, they don’t really. But they also don’t understand keeping an intersection clear if the other side is congested. They’ll cross anyway even if it means they’ll get stuck in the middle of the intersection when the lights change and cause the cross traffic to get angry.
• Security and ushers (not all) can be quite mean and treat guests like cattle or like you’re stupid. They’ll talk to you like you don’t speak English, and call out instructions in really condescending tones. If you ask questions, they’ll also give you attitude…
  Exceptions: Airport security were surprisingly pleasant, helpful and even perky. Dedicated floor helpers (like in the museums) are all really nice and helpful.
• Greeters are everywhere. This is a little unnerving if you’re not used to it.  Some of them seem to run on auto and if you respond to their greetings it surprises them.  I guess because most people ignore them… I like to say ‘hi’ back and wish them a pleasant day.
• Toilets are actually a little hard to come by. I was told this and it is kinda true. But I was also told to look out for Starbucks, and the major book chains because most of them have toilets.
• The subway is easy to use. But a bit dodgy later in the evening. I walked whereever I could generally. There are also week long unlimited passes for something like US$30 and if you’re planning on catching at least one return journey a day this is pretty economical.
• Directions in NY are given using cross streets like “59 and 6th” which is a combination of the horizontal and vertical streets. Everything is in a grid which makes things easy to find.  Street numbers mean nothing (like 208 8th Avenue or somesuch). Grid makes it so easy to figure out where about in the city you are. I like it.
• A lot of people tell me Times Square is a bit meh after a while because it’s too touristy. I was staying in Times Square and since it was my first visit I thought it was pretty fun.  It’s busy and crowded and people are generally very perky.  A lot of the restaurants around there are targeted at that market though, so you’re better off going elsewhere for food.
• Tourists in Times Square are very friendly. If you see people trying to take selfies, you can offer to take a photo for them and ask them to take a photo of you in return. Very helpful since I was travelling alone. :P
• Around Times Square you’ll see a lot of people in costumes like Elmo, Mickey, Cookie Monster, etc.  If you want to take a photo of them or with them, they’ll want money.
• Also around Times Square you’ll see a lot of other costumed people handing out flyers. They’ll tend to be advertising for a show or display of some sort, and the flyers will probably give you discounts on tickets.
• You’ll see other non-costumed people trying to spruike tours and things, I don’t know what the quality of these are, if you’re carrying a camera, they’ll probably try to stop you. If your camera is not visible and/or you walk with purpose they’ll think you’re local and ignore you.

Sights:

• The Met and the Museum of Natural History (didn’t get time to visit the latter, loved the former) have suggested admission fees of about US$20. But this is suggested. You don’t have to pay that much. Some people just pay $1 to get in and they won’t give you the stink-eye. When I went to pay my admission I was asked if I wanted to use the whole note for admission or if I wanted change.  For special exhibits you will have to pay extra though, but when you pay for admission you can ask if the special thing you want to see is included or not.
  Important: You can’t take photos of the special exhibits, but you can take photos in the rest of the Met. I didn’t realise this until quite late in my visit. No video though. Just photos.
  Also Important: You can’t bring any bottled water inside the Met. Even if it’s unopened. Security guard got very uppity about it. :(
• AnnaTheRed also sent me this link for other museum deals and free admission places.
• Walking through Brooklyn was pleasant. I heard so much about Front Street that I was expecting a buzz of life and well… stuff. It was quiet and barely anyone was around. If you’re after a nice quiet stroll through from Front Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn Bridge Park, through Brooklyn Heights then this is a really nice route to take.  It’s pretty, you get to see people with their kids or walking their dogs. There are a few little community things going on as well. Bring water with you. And the thing about the lack of toilets applies here too.
• The walk across Brooklyn Bridge (towards Manhattan is pretty, towards Brooklyn a little dull and industrial, but still neat) was nice, but not as ‘fantastic’ as people seemed to describe.  Also, the bridge was under construction so I probably didn’t get to see it at its best.  You can also see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. I didn’t bring a long enough lens to get a good shot, but it was still a nice walk and it’s fun people watching.  Watch out for the cyclists.
• The High Line Park is very nice. It’s pretty and pleasant, and there are lots of people with cameras, many of whom I’m sure are locals.  There are water fountains and a couple of street sellers here and there.
• Central Park is also a really pleasant walk. Lots going on and it’s huge. There are performances in the evening (google for them I guess) and there are lots of people going through at any time. And squirrels. Lots of squirrels.
• FAO Schwartz. I wanted to have a go on the giant piano from Big but I didn’t have time to go when it was open. :(
• Saks Fifth Avenue wasn’t as interesting as I thought it would be. It’s just a department store.
• Broadway is the win. Only got to see Motherfucker with the Hat with Chris Rock, which wasn’t my usual preference for theatre, but a good experience all the same.
• I wandered through the shop of the International Center of Photography on Avenue of the Americas at 43rd street, but I didn’t have time to look at the exhibits. *tear*
• Ground Zero - Eric told me I should go see. So I did. There are tours and exhibits relating to the event and rebuilding that you can do, didn’t have time to. Just walked around the site and surrounds. The new structures are coming up nicely and they update the status of the rebuilding regularly.
• Wall Street. Mum’s been a trader for a long time, so I went wandering through that area. The old financial district is actually very, very cool architecturally speaking. The streets are narrow, there are cobblestones, and the little laneways are kind of windy but you have these tall buildings rising up around you.  Really liked this bit.  Also amused that Trump Towers is directly opposite a Tiffany’s.

Food:

• I was told the best place for a slice of pizza is Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn. Everyone talks about it, but I heard there was something like a 2hr queue even before it opens. I didn’t have the time to wait in a queue so I gave that a miss. :(
• Food carts are everywhere. Lots of kebab type carts and carts that sell candied nuts. Candied nuts are like crack. Just a warning.  Some of their signs indicate they sell chestnuts in perhaps autumn and winter too. I <3 chestnuts.
• There’s a metric crapload of food available in NYC.  You get a lot of misses.  And using review sites doesn’t always work, there are a lot of meh places that are reviewed really well.  See if you can find real people to recommend you stuff.
• Michelin star ratings on restaurants in the US I suspect aren’t the same standard as in Europe.  While going to Momofuku Ko was an experience I’m glad I had, I’m not sure that I haven’t had better food elsewhere.  However, I highly recommend Momofuku’s Má Pêche (busy, but takes walk-ins, reservation probably safer) which is connected to the Milk Bar.  I hear Momofuku’s Noodle Bar is fabulous too (busy, I think it takes walk-ins). It’s pretty much next door to Ko.
• Japanese restaurants will give you spoons with your miso. This was also a bit of a surprise.
• There is a ridiculous amount of inside out (nori on the inside) and spicy rolls in the US. Unexpected but not all bad.
• There is anago (sea eel) in many many Japanese food purveying premises. This made me deliriously happy.
• Dean & Deluca, interesting chain. The one on W 46th was staffed by very perky people. I like.
• Starbucks seems much sweeter in the US than in the other countries I’ve had it. Not sure if that’s psychological or not. I try to ask for less sugar in whatever I order. Doesn’t always work but it was nice to try.
• Have a NY bagel. I haven’t figured out where the best place is, but Ess-a Bagel is meant to be good. I didn’t get to go, but AnnaTheRed recommended it. I bought my bagel from this other chain bagel place that I don’t remember the name of. And food carts.
• Other recommendations she gave me that I did go to are Minca and Hasaki. Minca is a great ramen place, cosy and quiet (and so good on a rainy night). Hasaki was good for a quiet evening, and not a ramen place, but in terms of atmosphere I’ll choose Minca any day.
• Lobster roll was disappointing. I hiked all the way to what I can only imagine is the Brooklyn stix to the Red Hook Lobster Pound, and it was small, expensive and kinda boring.
• Baked the bakery in Brooklyn I kept hearing about was also lacklustre.
• Magnolia Bakery is meant to be the bees knees though. Lots of cakes which I hear are awesome, but I didn’t buy any. I’d already had breakfast when I wandered in (I was attracted by the people decorating cakes in the window) so I only got a hot chocolate (they use Hershey’s syrup).
• El Centro Mexican Restaurant around 54th and 9th was pretty tasty. And more authentic than the bean and cheese monstrosities they have here (*cou*Pancho’s*gh*).
• I wish I had company to investigate some bits of Harlem, especially Amy Ruth’s which is meant to be famous for soul food.

I’ve probably missed some bits of the New York brain dump. But I think I got all the bits I thought were important. :P

US Trip Brain Dump #1: Airports, General, Internet

I forgot to post this earlier, but it’s now September and theresalighton is going soon and she did ask for notes. :P So… brain dump:

Airports:

I had intended to opt for getting felt up at the airport instead of the body scanners, but by the time I got to those checkpoints I was too tired to put my foot down about it and just went with the flow.  The body scanner isn’t that bad. And the only time I got a pat down was in the Australian airport.  The airport staff and security were generally pleasant, friendly and helpful.  The worst experience I had was from a cranky cow at Sydney Airport who went off at me without provocation.

DO NOT put any locks on your bags. I had TSA open a box of mine on the way home and they resealed it and slipped in the note to say they’d taken a look.  So that part of the process works.  However, if you put locks on your bags, that’s an indication to the less scrupulous of the airport baggage handlers that there’s something of value in there. They will cut your locks off, rummage through all your things and if you had anything of interest in there, they will take it.

If you file a complaint about it, TSA will ignore you.  I didn’t have anything stolen, just the loss of the lock, so there was probably nothing that could be done anyway. But I had mentioned this to a member of airport staff, and they said they’d had stuff stolen as well, but nothing was done about it either.

I put locks on my bags not just because I’m concerned about stuff getting put in or taken out, but because I don’t like the idea that some stranger’s grubby hands are molesting my possessions. It’s a violation of my privacy and it is defiling my stuff. I get really pissy about things like that.

If you have to secure your bags, use coloured cable ties (not just black or white ones which are common), they’re cheap and makes it easy to tell straight away if someone has been through your things.  Or use that service that puts a ridiculous amount of plastic wrap around your bags.

And carry any valuables in carry on.  Always. I’ll pack cables and chargers in check-in if I don’t have the space in carry on, otherwise just bring it all with you.
Also check the airline site for baggage regulations and their fees for extra baggage. Most charge you for anything more than a single check-in item. Anything from US$25 extra per bag to $75.  It’s really quite the money-making scheme.

General:

• Food is large, really sweet or really salty.  I had to teach myself very quickly to not feel guilty about leaving food on my plate.
• So much corn syrup. -_-
• Food and alcohol is pretty cheap. $3 happy hour margaritas cannot possibly exist in Australia.
• I found Yelp really not helpful to find places to go and eat. All of the recommendations I used were misses. Most of the good food I had were recommendations from people I knew myself.
• Just because it has a Michelin recommendation (not stars) does not make it any good at all. At. All.
• Tipping is not as scary as I thought, and convenient math tip is to double the tax amount on the receipt.  At least that’s the case in New York where tax is about 9% and an acceptable tip is around 18%.  Don’t tip on top of the tax.
• I gave up on the stupid coins. I learned to fish quarters out of my wallet pretty quickly, everything else was just useless shrapnel.  However, a good way to get rid of shrapnel is to use it as part of your tip. I don’t know whether this is good/poor tipping etiquette though, but it gets rid of the coins.
• Leaving payment and just walking out still weirds me out. I am accustomed to money changing hands, getting confirmation that everything is okay then going. Leaving money on the table is just… odd.
• Hotels in the US also have express check-out type thing.  They’ll slip your final bill under your door on the last night. It’ll generally be all paid because you left your card details when you checked in.  And you just leave your key on the desk and go. Again, I’m accustomed to going to the front desk, formally checking out and then leaving. I like being able to speak to people about these things.
• Hotel concierge are like magical directories of knowledge. It’s like the movie The Concierge with Michael J Fox. They’re friendly and know Everything (TM).

Internet:

I used T-Mobile and bought a pre-paid one month SIM card to use on my carrier unlocked iPhone.  Gave me calls and 3G access. You only get a small amount of data on 3G though, once you go over you get stuck on Edge and GPRS.  But it was enough for me to use my iPhone for maps.  Coverage is surprisingly a bit sketchy and slow though. But your map will load eventually. :P  I think they also have this cheap 24hr internet plan you can pay for on top of the prepaid but if you don’t need to make any calls and just want the data, ask the T-Mobile person for suggestions.

NY Specific: Few T-Mobile shops are open on a Sunday in NY.  If you need a SIM on a Sunday see if the generally very nice and helpful hotel concierge can help you find the nearest one that’s open.

I don’t know how many hotels have WiFi for free. Hilton does (or at least it does for the ‘special’ Hilton members. Otherwise it’s like USD$15 a day or something.  If you don’t need to use your own laptop, they might have a business centre with computers you can use to check your email downstairs.

WiFi in airports, like LAX, is expensive.  In SFO you get 30-45 min free and the access is locked to your device.  I had two devices and swapped between them when I was stuck and somehow by the time one expired, the other one was able to use it again. But I overheard a guy say he was there six weeks ago and his device still couldn’t use the WiFi again. YMMV.