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Published: June 18th 2009
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If you’ve ever been to New York City (NYC) before, you’ll know what a real buzz it is. On the other hand if you haven’t ever been, it’s a must do one day. There’s simply no other place like it on earth! New York is all go 24/7.
I was lucky enough to have already been there a couple of years ago so I knew what I was in for this time. In fact I’ve even met people on my travels so far who have been there up to five times already! It really is a city that never sleeps.
If you can for a moment, imagine an island that’s about 60 square kilometres in size has some of the tallest buildings in the world on it, about 2 million people that live there and as many as 4 million people that commute their each day for work…. well that’s NYC!
This time around I didn’t do as much of the normal sightseeing things like you would have if you were there as a first timer. Instead I decided to immerse myself in the hustle of bustle of the city that is New York.
I found a
great little new hostel right near the corner of 51st and 8th, which is pretty much smack bang in the middle of it all (it was called Jazz Hostel - Time Square). It was great, the minute you stepped out your door your basically in down town NYC and only about 2 blocks away from Time Square itself. Just far enough away to escape the noise but close enough to still be amongst it all.
Mostly I wandered streets between Central Park (about eight blocks north) and 41st (obviously about 10 blocks south) and had everything I needed right there. Obviously it’s an expensive city to be a backpacker in but if you look hard enough you can still find some cheap places for food and drink. The good thing about NYC, well actually the USA in general) is their food portions are massive, so if you plan it right one meal can pretty much be two!.
One thing I should mention though and this is going to sound totally crazy to you, NYC was the hardest place yet I have it to try and find free wifi!!!! I know, it sounds silly but there are networks everywhere
but all of them are secure. Even Starbucks makes you pay for it and sign up to a membership etc.. Anyway luckily my hostel had a good connection so I was ok but be warned if you ever go there.
Other than that and exploring the city I also had some great times back at the actual hostel. It had a great little communal area downstairs complete with a large LCD TV, good sound system, Wii, computers etc. We had a few crazy nights there with some cool drinking games and once again I meet a few great people who I’ll try to catch up with again on my future travels. I’ve included a few random pictures of our antics too for your interest. I know I’ve said this before but it’s amazing how close you can become to some people so quickly as a backpacker/traveller. All the normal social barriers drop and instantly you’ve got things in common and stories to share.
*** Big hello to my new German, Belgium and Canadian Friends! You know who you are, xox.
Oh and there’s a great little bar over the road (the Brew House) that we spent a
bit of time in too. The bar tenders name is Mike and he’s a good bloke. It’s well worth dropping in one day for a chat if your ever in town.
Next stop Barcelona! Stay tuned…
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Ella
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comments from that canuck..
im loving your blog...i just discovered it...and of course the pictures!! (especially the ones that cute canadian girl took and you stole from ; ) but I wanted to say hey...thanks for sharing and i think I can speak for all of us ... well at least for that germ and that swedish bloke...when i say... we had a blast with you too..and hope our paths cross again!! xoxoox