I love to travel, even though I’m not always blessed with funds or time to do so. As someone who more or less belongs to the middle class, I am not necessarily struggling, but I’m not out there “following my wanderlust” anytime I please. In fact, my first plane ride was in 2012 – I was already 25 then and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing riding an international flight by myself. But just as I suspected, I enjoyed it, and yearned to do it as often as I could.

I’m not a travel blogger, but I’ve always wanted to write about my experiences and never really had a chance to. Now that I’m blogging again, I’ll try to write about previous and future ones, and maybe help out people who want to visit the same places someday. I’m not sure what the appropriate length or scope a travel blog is supposed to have, but here goes. I’ll start with a place probably everybody wants to visit at least once in their life: New York City.

Even when I was younger, I’ve always wanted to go to the Big Apple, and I’m sure this sentiment isn’t unique. Most people I know want to visit it too, or have gone there at least once. Maybe it’s the movies, the songs, the photos we see from other peoples’ journeys. Truly, NYC has that appeal. It’s not my favorite city (I’ve always dreamt of London, but that’s a topic for another day), but it’s definitely up there in my top 5. Imagine my surprise, coupled with internal screaming, when I learned I was finally going there.

Dreams Come True

In 2014, I got hired as a technical writer for a multinational semiconductor company based in Arizona. We had offices all over the U.S. (and all over the world), and by the Universe’s weird way of getting you where you need to be, I was invited to visit our office in Hauppauge, in Long Island, which is literally a long island east of Manhattan. I initially had no plans of visiting NYC, but my cousin who lives in Virginia insisted that I go and that he’ll even help me tour the city. It was just a train ride and a few miles away, after all. “Imee, you’re right there,” I told myself. “Just go, you’ll figure it out,” I kept convincing myself. With not much pocket money and no plans whatsoever, I agreed. I was excited, realizing I had been dreaming of this for years, and it’s finally coming true with minimal effort!

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not some privileged kid with an endless stream of money. I still had to work hard for the experiences I was about to go through. I had been working my ass off at my day job, and still going at it at night because of my freelance work. I did what I can so I could have pocket money. Yes, my company shouldered my accommodation and food in Hauppauge. However, everything else that wasn’t work-related, that was all me. Transportation, accommodation in NYC, shopping, souvenirs (“pasalubong“) for my family, tourist attractions, etc., I was going to shoulder all of that, and I had no idea how. My cousin and my aunt were kind enough to help me out, but part of me still panicked knowing I still had to be responsible with my expenses in a foreign land.

In a New York Minute

Friday afternoon after my first week at work, my coworker Karen let me off early so I can catch the train into the city (yeah, that’s they seem to call NYC – I find no one really calls it anything else except for tourists). I took the Long Island Railroad (a.k.a. the LIRR) and it took maybe an hour or hour and a half to get to Penn Station, which is right below Madison Square Garden. Filled with Rangers fans already half-drunk on the way to or from a hockey game, the LIRR is a strange place to be every single time I’m on it. By the way, if you’re taking the LIRR and you’re buying a ticket from the vending machine, do not – I repeat – do NOT use $20 bills. Your $8 change will all be in $1 coins. Not like the dude from my hotel didn’t warn me, but I did it anyway, so I was left creating a jingle-jangle sound in my purse. Typical newbie tourist mistake.

Anyway, once I got out, I freaked. You know that thing in the movies where New Yorkers are always in a hurry and seem to be rude? Yep, it’s true. I was in a blurry sea of people, and had no idea where to find my cousin. If he hadn’t snail-mailed me his extra SIM card so I could text him, I would probably still be in the streets of New York as a beggar because I swear I would’ve gotten lost in there. It was hilarious.

After checking in to our hotel, my cousin took me to dinner at Serendipity III. I’m not sure if it’s because of the movie, but man was the wait pretty long. I recommend going there for the experience, though, as the place is really cute and the food’s pretty good. Of course, you gotta try the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate, but that’s about it.

Off the Beaten Path

Over the weekend, I really had nothing planned per se. However, I knew I wanted to go both as a regular tourist and as one that goes off the beaten path. For Saturday, we went the unconventional route and visited The Highline, which is a bunch of old train tracks converted into a park. Its entrance is somewhere along the Meatpacking District near West 34th Street.

We then went off to have lunch at Chelsea Market, which is really cool. It’s packed with so many people, though, but you have so many restaurant choices that you wouldn’t even care about the crowd. My cousin and I ended up eating on the ground, which was pretty common, but that gives you an idea of how full the place was. Once we got out, I literally felt I could breathe more easily, but man what an experience.

We also checked out Academy Records, a store filled with new and old CDs and vinyls, as well as Bookoff USA, which is filled with $1 books and CDs. Did I buy anything? No. Honestly, it wasn’t because I didn’t have any pocket money – I was just being careful with my purchases because: 1) I had no extra luggage, 2) books are so heavy, and 3) I might break the CDs (some cases were broken when I bought CDs in Singapore a few years back). But the feel of being in those stores was purely amazing – I found books and CDs I never imagined still existed, so yeah, I guess you could say I should’ve bought the titles I wanted.

We also took a nice walk around the city, checking out some street art, obscure buildings (including one that’s some sort of porn hub…see what I did there?), and the famous New York Library. In the distance I could see the gold and black gothic building called the Bryant Park Hotel, which I wish I would’ve taken a closer look at.

Our last stops were Grand Central Station for a few photo ops, then dinner at La Mela Restaurant in Little Italy. It was my first time eating genuine fresh Italian pasta, and oh my god I swear I could still taste how good it is five years later. It was a huge plate, but I finished it all, no regrets. By the way, if you’re into Italy, Italian food, and stereotypical gangster films, you’re in for a treat at this area because literally everyone sounds like they’re in the mafia. It was cool yet terrifying at the same time.

The Low-Key Tourist

The next day was much different. What kind of tourist would I be if I didn’t take the stereotypical our of the Big Apple? While of course I prefer areas that aren’t too popular or crowded, I had a YOLO moment and visited some of the more traditional tourist areas. My cousin treated me to the Top of the Rock (on the top of NBC Studios), St. Patrick’s Cathedral (which was under renovation), Trump Tower (boooooo), the Apple Store, parts of Central Park (when I freaked at the sight of a squirrel… I love squirrels), The Dakota (John Lennon’s apartment), lunch at Gray’s Papaya (its last standing store), a stroll along the West Village (queue the “Friends” theme song), a snack at Magnolia Bakery, and then some photo ops at Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden. We also found a few street performers, which was pretty rad.

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After a tiring day with much sightseeing, I took night time photos of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, went to dinner at a Persian restaurant (whose name escapes me), and then went back on the LIRR to head back to Long Island, along with a takeaway of something from Magnolia Bakery. It was weird, but I thoroughly enjoyed my short NYC weekend trip and told myself I would come back again when I get the chance.

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Back for More

I found myself back in Manhattan twice on the same week. Again, I rode the LIRR back and forth, each ride costing me $12 one way. In all honesty, I kept going back for more because I didn’t know when I’ll be back in the States, let alone in NYC.

On Tuesday, I went back into the city to do some last-minute shopping. I went to Times Square (eep) and took photos with those people in costumes and mascot attires. While it’s not mandatory, it is customary to give a tip when you take a photo with them. Essentially, I was ambushed by a bunch of dudes in Avengers costumes and a chick wearing her Catwoman outfit… that is how I lost 5 dollars in one sitting.

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On Thursday, I came back yet again. I tell you, each time I ride the LIRR there’s just a certain breed of Rangers fans that seem to all know each other. They have beers in tow, drinking on the train, yelling whatever it is that hardcore hockey fans yell (I love hockey but I don’t think I’ve seen myself do this, ha ha ha).

I met up with Hadi, a friend from college, to hang out at a couchsurf meet (which I didn’t know was a thing). He was living in Brooklyn at the time, couchsurfing and doing odd jobs. You know, the millennial thing to do.

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And then that was it… I went back to Long Island and prepared for my flight back home to Manila. I never knew when I’d get back to the Big Apple, but I certainly enjoyed this first time.