I <3 NY

From the moment I walked into Times Square, still bustling at 3am on a Tuesday, I knew I was going to have a great time in New York.

Geographically speaking, New York was about what I'd imagined but on a vastly bigger scale. I spent my first couple of days eating pizza whist hiking all over Manhattan Island, from Wall Street and ground zero in the financial district to the north end of Central Park. I probably clocked up 10,000 calories and 30km. Central park is literally big enough to get lost in and if the 3.4 square kilometers it comprises were subdivided, it would sell for $600,000,000,000. One misconception I'd like to dispel is that New York is an expensive place. With the exception of accommodation (one bedroom apartments on the island rent for US$3000/month) - food, transport and shopping are remarkably cheap. A $23 ticket allowed me ride the subways for the whole week and cheap, delicious food was available anywhere, at any time, from huge $3 pizza slices to a ridiculous $15 pastrami sandwich from Carnagies. Just for the record I did managed to finish it all, sustaining only a minor heart attack in the process. Other excellent meals included an Afghani dinner (something like a combination of Indian and Turkish), a fine dining, 3-course lunch and as many small Thai noodle bars as i could manage. After 2 months of Thai withdrawls I had a lot of catching up to do. One reason New York can seem expensive is that there are an infinite amount of things to do, so it's easy to watch your money divide into an infinite amount of tiny pieces and fly away. There are a good amount of free activities if you know where to look and I managed to check out the last 5 minutes of a huge, free outdoor concert by the NY Philharmonic orchestra. Broadway shows offer standing room tickets at vastly discounted rates ($20-$25), so I took the chance to see Avenue Q and Phantom of The Opera, both of which were top class. The same ticket allowed free entry into the Birdland Jazz club and I made it there for open mike(sic) night. Chelsea (who previously starred in Road Trip : New York) invited me to a games night with a bunch of her friends, so I spent my first Saturday in NY playing Balderdash and Cranium. I'm sure i would've been doing exactly the same back in Australia - just without the New Yorkers. A 2 hour boat cruise with excellent commentary gave me an overview of the city's history and I also absorbed my yearly dose of culture at the Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the Natural History Museum's Planetarium. The Statue of Liberty was impressive, but tiny when compared to buildings in the city. Looking up for the beer garden at my hostel gave an amazing view of the 80 story skyscraper situated right next door. Once again I met a bunch of fantastic people at my hostel. I shared a room with Daniel, a firefighter from Madrid, who was just starting to learn English. Trying to understand me, must have set him back at least a couple of years. I spent my first few days escorting Kerstin, a school teacher from Bonn, though the rioting gangs of Brooklyn and Harlem although we did also make it out to a live comedy gig, a Maximo Park concert and some great nightlife in the East Market. I joined forces with two students, Hiroki (Melbourne) and Stephanie (Paris) for the last few days of my trip, celebrating my final night, and Steph's birthday at an exclusive 'Employee's Only' club which stayed open until 5am on a Tuesday. New York retakes #1 position on my favourite city list, dislodging recently crowned champion Montreal. I'm not sure if I could stand to live there for an extended period, but for a few weeks of non stop excitement and cultural diversity, nowhere else even comes close.