New York. USA

Hungover and exhausted from one of the most spectacular new years i have ever experienced, and on board one of the longest journeys i have been on, flying from the USA to Koh Sumui Thailand. I set out to document the events and experiences of my Wing Commander and I in the Big Apple. New York City.

Luggage in hand we arrive at JFK Airport and conveniently catch an Ueber Ride to our first set of accommodation in Flatbush, Brooklyn – A step up from our initial plans to stay in Bedstuy, which happened to be the location of the two police officers that were murdered (Dec 2014).

Arriving at our lodging and having a slight crisis of the door not opening n our Air BnB place, we finally got into our abode. Seemed that the Wing Commander had been overcharged, a quick fb complaint later, the reimbursement was satisfied.

We did not have much time to loose as our first adventure was to be heading to New York State i.e. out of the city to a town known as Poughkeepsie. Why you may ask were we venturing 2 hours out of the city to such a place? The wanes is simple, a very close friend of both the wing commander and I had gotten married and moved there. To add to this she had given birth to an Adorable set of twins. With Converse sneakers and Polos in our hands we took the local subway to Central Station. We took some time to marvel at this beautiful piece of architecture and engineering. Our first sense of New York Fever set in, a hint of realisation was creeping up that we had made it to the epitome of the United states. We took for the Suburban metro and headed up the Hudson River, finally making it you our destination. Here we were graced by some food and replenishments as well as seeing our friend after years of missing status. We also got to meet one of the two trouble makers. Adorable just doesn’t cut it.

Time constraints creeping in we made a dash for our train back to the city. Saying goodbyes with the uncertainty of when we will meet was tough. We returned to Grand Central at about 12 am and decided rather then heading back, we would see if this City ever sleeps. Walking trough Manhattan was like a child in a chocolate factory. We were marvelling at every building, gasping and letting out ooo’s and Ahh’s at every turn. Times Square was the first of these locations to blow our little minds. Huge, Bright, Busy, are the first words that come to mind, once again he photos cannot do this justice. New York, New York. A stroll around the city as time crept to 3 am we realised that the City that does not sleep actually does take a Nap. With most places closed we walked the streets looking for some food to have. Finally finding an overpriced Pizza joint at Times Square. Our first lesson was there is only a small area in Manhattan that is open all the time, aside from the little food stands. The first night was getting used to the sirens outside the windows, with one going off at least every hour. It was clear that were staying in a rough neighbourhood.

Day 2 Started with a Pizza slice for breakfast at a local pizza shop, as it was late already we headed straight for the Rockafellar centre, we had to see this giant tree and head up to the observatory to see NY. Arriving in the city was madness, People everywhere, packed streets, body to body we crept to the building. We Purchased a Tour ticket and decided to get lost in the City until our 10 pm tour time came up. First up we checked out the Lego Store, followed by the Nintendo store – now that the novelty was complete we started walking and looking for a place to eat. We passed places such as Radio City Building and the Late show studios. Just as we were exhausted and sitting with our phones Googling where to eat, we over hear a few tourists calking about the Jerry Seinfeld Soup Nazi Place. Wing commander and i let out an audible GASP and high fived. with our stealth modes initiated we crept up with them looking for this place following home a block we saw the ORIGINAL SOUP MAN sign. This was it! We both ran to the door, only to find that it shuts at 8PM and the time at the moment was 8:03 – we had missed it by 3 minutes. Vowing to come the next day we took some snaps and headed back towards the Rockafellar. As a Novelty and an experience we saw Applebees and thought this would be the best place to eat. Since the venue was over run by people the wait time was 20 – 30 minutes, which we decided to take in and head to the bar. We slammed our drinks and feeling pretty intoxicated, ate our overpriced meals and left.

The tour time had come – we were heading up to the top of the Rock to check out the New York Skyline! It did not fail to impress. A sea of lights and buildings. This view is something to be seen. Man made beauty at its finest.

Intoxicated and still hungry we stumbled towards the station, only to see a garage of people, massive lines all leading to a food stall. When asking someone in line what is this – they responded “The Halal Guys” – the best street food place you will find in NY! With a quick glance at each other both the Wing Commander and I sailed to the start of the line. After about 45 minutes, in our hands was a platter of Meat Rice and Salad. Sitting on the side walk we guzzled our newly discovered meals with delicious haste. IT was amazing. Heading home we had started getting used to NYPD and the sirens in the background throughout the night. We also had become accustomed to the random Hissing noises that came out of the heaters in the building at all times.

Day 3 The Wolves came out to play. Wall street was our first destination. Walking alongside the great financial powerhouses we could visualise the power deals that were made here every day. Money Money Money. Absorbing the mecca of finance we said goodbye to the Wall Street Bull and headed for one of the saddest places i have been to. The 9/11 Memorial. I can tell you arriving at this venue our smiles had gone. a creepy eeriness filled our bodies. We walked along the foundations of the twin towers feeling and imagining the pain. Both Wing commander and I felt a heaviness take over. After leaving this place we both discussed the feeling that we were having walking around it. To cheer us up we headed down to SOHO for some shopping. We walked up and down the strip of boutique shops stopping at places to check out the variety. Both Wing commander and I were shocked that the prices were very similar to what we have back home. Not much was bought – except a ton of Mac make up products for some special requesters. Some bags in hand, we were exhausted. At 7PM we head to the Soup Kitchen to try our luck, only to find that on Sundays the Soup Kitchen closes at 7, we missed out this time by 2 minutes – It was looking like “No Soup for You” yet again. As a consolation it would be Amit and Raggie go to White castle, venturing the city we found one. Happy and exhausted we reached and ate the extremely sad tasting burgers. To consolidate our sad meals we then went to a Pub for some proper grub. Calling it an early night we headed back to Brooklyn.

Day 4 Liberty Calls and we awnser. Leaving early the first destination was liberty island to meet the fine lady of liberty. We reached Battery park to catch the ferry, only to find thousands of others had the same idea. A line that went for about a kilometre, we went to the end, being advised it would take 3 hours to get a ticket. Whilst in line a poacher came over and suggested taking the ferry that doesn’t get you off onto the island but rather does a lap of the statue for a better view. We choose this option, and the wait was only an hour before the captain was on the seas! Despite the hard winds and cold weather, we could not asked for a more beautiful day. Saying hello as we sailed by, we took some photos and marvelled at the lady of beauty, soon we were back on mainland.

We headed straight to the Soup kitchen to try our luck for the third time. As they say threes a Charm! Viola! Staring at us in the face was the Argentinian Staff of the Soup Kitchen! To maximise our Soup’age we split and got 4 different soups, one of which was the AMAZING and famous Lobster Bisque. Served with bread, chocolate and a piece of fruit, we got the Chicken Rice, Chicken Dumpling and Italian Wedding soups. I can tell you that the soups were divine, with the crown for the best taken by the lobster bisque.

After this Point the Wing Commander and the Captain had to split ways for the first time in the trip. The Captain had to go and visit his relatives in Jackson Heights and Wing Commander was to head to the Rockafellar for the morning view. Unfortunately due to a mix up Wing Commander could only few this on another day. As I was gone and having a chance to meet my beautiful relatives, Wing commander had allocated the task to himself to find tickets to a broadway show. Wing Commander was visiting the box offices of each show seeing if he could manage to get seats to anything, after a few failed attempts the Box office advised that he can enter a raffle to get a ticket to the show. After inquiring how this worked he put his name in to see if he could “win” tickets to the show.

With 30 seats and over 200 people entering he awaited the raffle to commence. One by one Names were called and winners of the tickets announced. The nerves were kicking in. with only 6 positions left. “AMIT” the name echoes as the wing commander is in Shock! Jumping with Joy he runs up to pick up 2 Tickets to the Idina Menzei (Frozen, Glee) Musical “If/ Then”. The tickets are for the Second row! He messages me as I am leaving the dinner to head back. The news is overwhelming. We organise a rendezvous point and in the middle of times square and do a little dance to celebrate this huge victory. People are looking as us if we are looney, but little do they know that in the Wing Commanders Pocket are 2 second row tickets to a Broadway Show. We had some Food Stall Kaati Rolls (indian Meat rolls) and then headed to the theatre. The Show is fantastic. A story of 2 scenarios and what would happen if either of them materialised. A truly brilliant show. We both agreed that we would go again in a heart beat. To watch it on Broadway was another feeling altogether.
The show finished late, we quickly headed to Five Guys Burgers so that the wing commander could get another fast food chain off the list and then headed home, the last day to hear the sirens and the gunshots.

Day 5 Moving Day – for the last few days of our stay in NY we decided to move closer to the City, moving from Brooklyn to Sunny Side, Queens. A much nicer and better suburb, with a much nicer apartment. Moving with haste we got the apartment, left our luggage and headed to Central park. Today was the day we clocked the Central park end to end walk. Arriving in central park the first activity was to Ice Skate. Both wing Commander and I had never done this before. After some difficulty putting on the skates and some weird ice cleaning times, we approached the rink with newly cleaned Ice. After a few minutes, The captain had picked up how to ice skate, however the wing commander was severely struggling with the task. Not able to find the balance he needed it was tough, he persisted holding the railing and moving along with the crowd. The Wing Commander was doing a fantastic job until the second round in which he fell and laughed as he went down. No real injury except a bruising on his leg. No harm done but a heap of fun. An activity we would both like to do again.

Leaving the Rink the sun was setting and we had the whole Walk to do moving from Manhattan to Harlem. We changed our shoes and started the epic walk across. 5.8 Miles is the distance from one end of the park to the other. To brave the forces halfway through the park the sun had set it was dark and we were walking towards Harlem. We walked admiring all that Central park had to offer, watching the sunset over NYC. The walk in the end was a breeze. Our legs had become accustomed to this and this was a “Walk in the Park” .

The first thing to visit was Toms restaurant – A Seinfeld fans dream. The cafe they always ate at. To add to the nostalgia both Wing Commander and I ate tuna Sandwich and a Chicken Sandwich in memory of the show, even though the inside looked nothing like the TV show.

Once this was complete we headed to Centre 21 a Shopping centre. This is where the Captain went a bit crazy and bought a heap of cloths. Unlike Soho the prices in Century 21 were remarkable. All brand names at low prices (low for Aus standards). The captain went ahead and bought shirts, tees and everything under the sun. Unknowing that his bag is already full and reaching weight limits fast. Grunting YOLO, we headed to our last and final destination for dinner and drinks – The Meat Packing District. Our Air BnB host – Nina had decided to meet us for a couple of drinks. She had suggested the best bar in the District – the Tripler. What started as a couple turned into a very VERY messy night. Starting with some cocktails before Nina arrived, moving to high strength beers and finally a few round of good old huge American shots. Vodka and Fireball was on the menu. At some point the Wing Commander and i separated, whilst i was getting fed shots by a group of randoms, Wing commander was getting to know Nina. without any recollection why it was time to go. Nina had disappeared as if she had just thrown up in the bathrooms. We left, with a book taken from the bar and the Captain vomiting at every step. The evidence shows 8 times, however the wing commander insisted that it was more. At this point i don’t remember how i got home, although I hear stories and see incriminating photos, including me passed out on the NY subway.

Day 6 NYE – Waking up Extremely hungover with a heap of phone calls and texts, it seemed that the rest f the wold had moved into the new year, somewhere between my third bottle of water and going to the bathroom to pee. The end of the year was nigh. i switched my phone on silent and went back to bed. Finally waking up to a headache there was a heap to be done before we had to restart celebrations for New Year. The captain and Wing Commander got dressed, listening to New your state of mind on repeat. Today we both had different missions, the captain was to head to New Jersey to visit the Jay and Silent Bob Comic book store and Wing Commander to the Rockafellar for a daytime view of the city. With not much to report form our journeys, except meeting some interesting people on the 2 hour train trip and walking across the Washington bridge, we were both successful and met back in the Apartment where a bottle of Grey goose had been kept in the freezer, thanks to the wing commander, we were to be drinking in style. Kicking off pre drinks we put on our favourite shirts and discussed our plan of attack. Our dreams have been to watch the Ball Drop at times square but we had been advised by many residents that the amount of people is crazy and we would have to line up from about 4pm and stand there in order to see it. The time was already 8. We decided what the hell lets just go and try our luck. Arriving at grand central station both wing commander and i had to use the bathroom very badly, after asking people to no avail both of us decided to walk int o a closed off area of the station. We walked around and in a empty and pretty obviously closed area found some open toilets. We were both 100% sure we were not meant to be there.

Leaving the station we found that 2 blocks surrounding times square had been barricaded by police – the place had reached capacity. Both of us disappointed that we would not be able to see the ball drop or even be near to times square, we thought of an idea. We approached the police and told them that we were staying in a hotel close to time square (It took wing commander 5 seconds to google the name of a times square hotel) When asked for our key cards we said we have not checked in yet and we are from Australia. Barricade after barricade, cop after cop “sir we need to check into the hotel, please let us through” we had been let through. No questions asked. We had just walked into times square. Busting once again we went a bar which had a private party going on. Requesting the bouncer to use the toilet and pay him $10 to do so, he let us in and escorted us to the bathroom. Whilst in line he said “ hay dude you want to stay here and drink unlimited?” I said YES! he said “how much you gonna give me for this unlimited drinks band” i said “$50” he is like sweet man lets do it without people seeing. BANG! We were in a bar in times square with unlimited drinks, including spirits, drinking with a whole heap of Aussie tourists. We had made it!!! Drink after drink overwhelmed with were we had come. At 11:50 the bar moved outside and within minutes Both the Wing Commander and I in our intoxicated states ventured outside to find the building with the Ball right next to us. We did the count down and at 12 am once again Danced! HAPPY NEW YEAR. We had just witnessed the New York Ball DROP. Dancing till 2 am! The bar closed we got some food from a food cart and then somehow managed to train it home. We had Achieved our dreams of watching the New York Ball Drop. Lifelong achievement Unlocked.

Day 7 The NY hangover setting in, we packed our luggage – it was to be our last day in New York. We then headed out to see the Flatiron building. A train ride into the city, followed by some photos and back home. We were exhausted and hungover, we also had the longest flight from NYC to Taipei waiting for us. Hungover we grabbed all our things, re packed our bags for Thailand and took an ueber to JFK, discussing with the driver why it is not legal to Hunt Kangaroos in Australia and why we cant kill and eat crocodiles from the wild.

Our American adventure was complete. We had conquered NYC. Our Dreams of seeing the NY Ball Drop had been accomplished.

New York The City that does Sleep.