A little info about the USA - New York

It was a 6 day/5 night New York trip on Aug 2008. We went to several attractions and our legs were so tired from all that walking! Let me give you a little info: we flew from St. Louis to LaGuardia airport, where my friend, Y, met us. She booked a room with a double bed in the Farrington Hotel in Flushing (in Queens) for US$90 per night in cash. The public bus fare is US$2 per adult (they only accept coins if you don’t have a Metro card); the taxi fare is around US$12 (plus a tip) from Main Street in Flushing to the airport.

The part of Flushing where we stayed was a small Chinatown. Flushing’s Chinatown is not big compared with the Chinatown in Manhattan, but we felt it was a bit like a little Hong Kong. There are many Asians, with a lot of Chinese shops and foods. Be prepared to pay cash, because most places didn’t accept credit cards and most charged no tax. Everyday, crowds of people were moving quickly, especially at peak hours; the subway’s trains were packed. Like the bus fare, the subway is also US$2 per entrance. You can buy a one day Metro card for US$7.50, but we bought the 7 day card for US$25. The Metro card can also be used for the buses. Take one of the free maps from the subway station to find your way around.

We joined a one day tour from a Chinese company for US$35 per adult. At 7:30a.m., they picked us up by van to go around the city. We stopped for a few minutes at the World Trade Center site, where the Twin Towers were destroyed on 9/11. Near the New York Stock Exchange is the famous statue of a Charging Bull. We also stopped at the United Nations Headquarters. (Tours are available, but by the time our group arrived, all tours were full.) In addition to the US$35, we also had to pay US$69 per person for a package of three tickets for: a 90 minute sightseeing cruise on the Hudson River, tickets to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and admission to “The Top of Rock” at Rockefeller Center. Lunch was not included in the tour package. The driver, who is also a ‘tour guide’, mentioned everyone needed to tip him US$6 before he sent us back to our hotel around 5p.m. I do not recommend you join this tour because you can go those places yourself, and purchased individually the tickets cost a little less than was charged by the tour company.

We went to the following places by subway:

Chinatown: the Chinese people who came here built a statue of Confucius, which has become an easy landmark for meeting point of those Chinese to meet someone when they first time arrive in New York.

Little Italy is a busy night market, full of restaurants.

Grand Central Station is the old train terminal, which is still used today.

Broadway has many shows. The TKTS booth sells tickets to Broadway shows for up to 50% off the normal price. The booth opens at 10:45 a.m., and for night shows the booth opens at 2:45 p.m. for ticket by cash only. So if you line up early maybe you can get a good seat. We arrived there around 9a.m., and there was already a line forming. We saw a policeman on a horse on the street! Y and her friend lined up for tickets, while Steve and I went to walk around with a friend, AB.

We passed by Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trump Tower, and many other beautiful buildings. Standing on the street under those many storied and high buildings, lets us feel the prosperity of this big city…. We had a half price (US$59) ticket for the Broadway show ‘Hair Spray’ at 3p.m.; it was a wonderful performance. By the time the show ended, it was evening.

Greenwich Village, it is a residential area with some distinct characteristics. Sometimes, there are street performers, but we didn’t see any of them.

Little India, we arrived there in the evening. After we came out from an Indian dinner, most of the shops were closed.

Bowling Green, there is Battery Park. Also there is the harbor for the ferry (US$12 per adult round trips) that goes to the Statue of Liberty. You need to go through the security check with no drink or food, and no backpack if you go into the statue area. If you have those things, you need to rent a locker to store them. Visitors are only allowed up to the observation deck at the base of the statue; since 2000, visitors are no longer allowed to go up to the crown of the statue. After visiting, the ferry goes from this island to Ellis Island, which is a heritage site that used to be the entry station for immigrants entering the USA through New York. After that, the cruise returns to the Bowling Green harbor.

Empire State Building, it is currently the tallest building in New York. They have an observation deck - the ticket is US$19 per adult, but we didn’t go up.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, the ticket is US$20 per adult. It is huge and we spent around six hours in there.

2008年8月 六天五夜的纽约游记，让我们去了不少的纽约景点，每天都走得很累耶！好，让我来提供你一些资料﹕从St. Louis飞抵LaGuardia机场，我的朋友Y来机场接我们，她也帮我们订了在Queens区, Flushing镇的Farrington Hotel双人房每晚US$90，须付现钱。LGA机场 – Flushing Main Street，公共巴士每成人US$2（只接受银币若你没交通卡），而的士费约US$12（要加给小费）。

Flushing虽然不比在Manhattan区的Chinatown大，但我们感觉这有如小香港，大多是亞洲人聚住，华人店及小食店居多，而且是做现钱交易不付税，因有些店不收信用卡，所以须准备现钱住食。这里每天人潮多，生活步伐快，尤其上下班，快铁都很拥挤。每次快铁入口卡是US$2，可买通行一天卡是US$7.50，我们买七天卡是US$25，这Metro交通卡也可用来坐公共巴士。在快铁站拿一张各快铁行程的路线，了解那一快铁去那一景点。

我们参加华人团一日遊每人US$35，7.30am起程坐在van内遊市区，只小停世贸中心9/11被毁的Twin Towers、股市交易中心的铜牛像、联合国总部。我们另须加付三项景点费每人US$69，即90分钟的船遊Hudson河观看有名的建筑文物及桥、Madame Tussauds 蜡像馆及自行午餐、The Top of Rock上高楼观市景。5pm送你回酒店前，司机也是‘导遊’说明要每人给他小费 US$6。不建议参加这一日团，因这些景点都可自行去观遊，自行去以上三项景点的票价还便宜过这旅团的。

我们自己坐快铁去的景点如﹕

Chinatown，这孔子像是早期华人移居到这儿后建立的，大多华人跳飞机来这里时，孔子像是最容易做为与朋友聚合的地点。

Little Italy，小意大利夜市。

Grand Central，古老的火车站。

Broadway，有著名的百老汇歌剧，星期三、六、日的下午场有优惠价，10.45am开始售下午场的票，我们9am就到TKTS 售票处，希望可买到较好的座位，只接受现钱购票。这时我们在街上看到骑马的警察！Y与她的朋友排队买票，我们和另一朋友AB走走Time Square，Radio City，Rockefeller Center 的GE Building，St. Patrick教堂，著名企业家的Trump Tower，还有很多有特色的建筑，站在高楼大厦的街头，故且感受一下大城市的繁华… 3pm的‘Hair Spray’半价是US$59，很棒的歌声演剧，歌剧完时，我们走出剧院已是傍晚。

Greenwich Village，据说是艺术者聚合的地区，有时他们会在街头艺术表演，但我们却没看到任何表演者。

Little India，我们是傍晚去，在那儿吃印度晚餐后，有些店已关了。

Bowling Green，这里有个Battery Park，也是码头，船票全程US$12，去自由女神像岛，进入女神像须經過保安，检查严格，不可携背包食水，若有须自行收进租箱格。遊客只能上到石台，2000年起已不让遊客登上女神的皇冠。观遊后，从这岛乘船到Ellis 岛，这是以前移民到美国须进入纽约的关站。過后，从Ellis岛乘船回Bowling Green码头。

Empire State Building，美国最高楼，可上高楼观景US$19，我们没上去。

Metropolitan Museum of Art，每成人票US$20，很大的傅物馆，我们在里面约六小时。