USA and Caribbean 2012 Day 14 – NYC Times Square Countdown to 2013

The previous day continued into New Year’s eve early morning with a hurried walk from our checked out hotel to the Union train station in the freezing night. The sound from the rolling luggage was the only sound on the street especially at that time of the day. Having heard some not so good stories from our cruise dinner companions about taking over night buses gave us to goosebumps as we headed towards the bus station which was at the top floor of the train station. When arrived at the Greyhound counter, we proceeded to check in and get in line where there was already a queue. The place was lit up adequately and not as dangerous as described. Looking at the queue, we thought for a moment that we might not make the bus but there were in fact more than a bus going towards NYC.

After boarding the bus, everything else was a blur as we dozed, only waking up some 6hrs later. Brushed our teeth at the station’s toilet before taking the metro to our hotel on 45th Street, Room Mate Grace.

At the bus station waiting for our overnight bus.
At the bus station waiting for our overnight bus.

Checked in and was unexpectedly given a room. The modern reception designed was sleek and the room was nice too, except for the incredibly small area, given that it costed $780 SGD for that night alone – the steep spike due to New Year’s Eve where accommodations in the area were snapped up like hot cakes. Lazed on the bed for a while due to poor sleep on the bus the day earlier, before picking ourselves up and going for breakfast and explore NYC.

Indoor swimming pool of the hotel.
Indoor swimming pool of the hotel.
Times Square.
Times Square.
Breakfast at cafe.
Breakfast at cafe.
Cafe interior.
Cafe interior.

Xmas deco dotted the streets of this concrete jungle, a landscape that was familiar since we came from Singapore. Difference was the cool weather that made walking in the streets in nice jackets really pleasant.

Huge Xmas tree lighting.
Huge Xmas tree lighting.
Xmas .tree balls
Xmas .tree balls
Radio City building.
Radio City building.

One of the to-do list was to ice skate in Central park, easily reachable by foot. The ice skating rink was in the middle of the park and we had to queue and pay for usage. We rented the skates and left our bags in the small deposit boxes and rented the locks with keys for a fee. There weren’t a time limit for usage but the one-time fee wasn’t cheap either.

Statue at Central Park.
Statue at Central Park.
Ice skating rink at Central Park.
Ice skating rink at Central Park.
All set and ready.
All set and ready.
Beautiful park in the middle of a city.
Beautiful park in the middle of a city.
Lovely ducks.
Lovely ducks.
Bridge over a pond.
Bridge over a pond.
Bigger duck.
Bigger duck.
Snow on the grass.
Snow on the grass.

After a trip-filled ice skating experience and a walk through the park, we continued to walk the streets, for sightseeing and shopping to return to our hotel.

Gift wrapped building.
Gift wrapped building.
Statue at the front of Rockefella center.
Statue at the front of Rockefella center.
Giant Xmas tree at Rockefella Center and ice skating rink.
Giant Xmas tree at Rockefella Center and ice skating rink.
One of the tallest, Rockefella center.
One of the tallest, Rockefella center.

We packed lunch back to hotel and also sandwiches for dinner. These had to be brought along to the countdown since we would be expected to be human gridlocked in the crowd and thus unable to get food or drinks. This also meant that going to the toilet would be mission impossible, and for that, we had adult diapers on.

Lunch
Lunch

The hotel was actually very close to the stage, which was our main reason for getting this room. However, the side streets that the hotel was situated was blocked off from main Broadway. We had to get around the barricades by going in the opposite direction and that brought us many streets away from the stage. At 4pm, we were already stuck in the crowd as crowd controllers control human movement using steel barricades. We ended up packed in a certain section.

Crowded at 4pm.
Crowded at 4pm.

It was a really really long wait. Thought it would be fun, it wasn’t. People soon got tired of standing and started to sit around. That took up a lot more space and it was uncomfortable. There was even one guy who just laid on the road and sleep.

Being so far away, we couldn’t see the stage though there were some large screens. The music didn’t reach the us and thus the crowd wasn’t enthusiastic. From 6pm onwards, there were mini countdowns shown on the screen for other world cities that were going through their countdown to 2013. Soon I was just looking forward towards the hour mark to see who was countdowning next.

Ate some dinner, talked to a Mexican, watched some pre-recorded shows on ipad and soon, the party on the stage was on the way, with Gangnam style (though the crowd response was still cold like the weather). And the anticipated final hour finally came, the fireworks from the building became more frequent and soon after John Lennon’s “Imagine”, it was 3.2.1…Happy New Year! Confetti snowed and fireworks displayed on both ends of the streets. The streets were alive again with much merry making.

Every now and then, fireworks shoot from the sides of the building.
Every now and then, fireworks shoot from the sides of the building.

The electric atmosphere fizzled out pretty quickly, probably tired out by the long hours of standing out in the cold. Like the crowd, we moved quickly back to our hotel where there was a rowdier party going on at the bar. Luckily there wasn’t a need to use the diapers. Countdown in the Big Apple felt a little overrated but heck, crossed this out from our to-do list.

Escape Plan to USA and the Caribbean in December 2012

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to USA and the Caribbean in December 2012:

Total duration 21D19N
Singapore is 13hr ahead of New York, USA.
Flight time is 18hrs flight on Emirates from Singapore to Dubai and then to JFK.
Friday evening flight on 18th Dec and arrival in JFK in the evening of the 19th.

Day 1 Flight
Day 2 Arrival at Orlando
Day 3 Epcot Theme Park
Day 4 Island of Adventure
Day 5 Royal Caribbean Cruise boarding at San Juan
Day 6 Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
Day 7 Cruising
Day 8 Castries, St. Lucia
Day 9 Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Day 10 St. John, Antigua
Day 11 Christiansted, St. Croix
Day 12 San Juan, Puerto Rico and flight to Washington DC
Day 13 Washington DC
Day 14 New York City – Central Park, Times Square countdown
Day 15 New York City – Museum of Natural History, Madison Square Garden
Day 16 New York City – Woodbury Premium Outlet
Day 17 New York City – Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport, Empire State Building
Day 18 New York City – Highline, Broadway Musical
Day 19-21 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was planned to do one of the “to-do” item of the bucket list, which was to celebrate New Year in one of the biggest party in the world – New York Times Square, and also take the opportunity to visit the Caribbean and at the same time escape the freezing cold.

Budget nature: Budget buster 

Though SGD gained against the greenback which made the spending just a little less painful, the holiday season plus the cruise with similar thinking Americans (who wanted to escape the cold) really dealt the finishing blow to the budget.

Complexity: DIY possible for the beginners

Since there is already no language barrier (less the accent), and with good infrastructure in terms of roads and public transport, making your way around is very straight forward.