HIVE OF ACTIVITY. A busy Nolita Street on a sunny day in New York. This is the area north of Little Italy. Pictures: Sibusiso Mkhwanazi, iStock
Depending on who you ask, New York City (NYC), a city populated by about 8.5 million people packed into 780km2 , is either the most exhilarating or exhausting metropolis, but one thing most visitors and residents will agree on is that the Big Apple has something to offer for everyone.
Your first taste of the world famous NYC experience depends on which of the three airports you land at.
My last trip last month to the city that never sleeps saw me land at JFK International Airport, which has been in need of a major overhaul for years now.
Dated amenities, inefficient layouts, an unappealing interior, and unnecessarily long wait times for absolutely everything have consistently ensured JFK remains on the list of worst airports in the world.
Luckily, a R342 billion redevelopment that will conclude in 2026, is well underway.
Till then, only opt for JFK if you are a fan of impossible traffic. Because I value my sanity, my previous trip in June this year saw me land at Newark Liberty International Airport, despite it being in New Jersey, just a 45-minute bus ride away from NYC.
Although it is just as dated as JFK, at least Newarkers know what great service is supposed to look like.
This is thanks to helpful Transportation Security Administration employees who take the time to approach passengers and inform them of the quickest ways to process passports, why the train is better than an Uber to NYC, where the best coffee is sold at the airport, and which terminal has the cleanest toilets.
FOOT TRAFFIC. People wait at Newark Liberty Airport in Newark.
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I am an arts and culture enthusiast, so my first stop was always going to be Broadway, where theatre shows like The Lion King, Hamilton, Hell’s Kitchen, and others continue to thrill hundreds of audiences, over and over.
What I did not know was that there are productions that seem to never leave, as they are huge hits with theatregoers.
Next year, the longest running Broadway show – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, will celebrate its 30th Broadway anniversary.
I could not help but smile when I walked into the Minskoff Theatre and saw that the almost 20-yearold Lion King was still bringing in the crowds.
I was very tempted to tell everyone that they need to thank a South African by the name of Lebo M, who arranged and composed the iconic music for a production they cannot get enough of.
ATTENTIVE. An art student sits around and sketches the Burnett Fountain in the English Garden section of Conservatory Garden in Central Park, NYC.
One of the best ways to see the city’s other cultural landmarks, such as 5th Avenue’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, is to buy a ticket (starting about R900) for the various hop on, hop off buses.
A three-day pass allows you to disembark at various iconic attractions such as the Brooklyn Museum and Manhattan’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, which features definitive works of impressionists, surrealists, and minimalists.
The government of national unity might be doing wonders for the rand, but at about R17 or so for one dollar, exploring the Big Apple still takes a big bite out of your pocket. Luckily, there are a number of free activities you can take in.
Situated between the Upper East and West Sides, Central Park is always abuzz with artists trying their new jazz track, theatre students who need an audience for their latest Shakespeare production, and buskers who will accept any change you may have for them, including rands, to my surprise.
Every day, book readings take over the Conservatory Water area of the park, where literature lovers congregate around the Hans Christian Andersen (author of the Ugly Duckling) statue, as well as the Alice in Wonderland statue, although I struggled with some readers who adapted some readings into hip hop style performances.
Public art aficionados a.k.a. broke art lovers are well-taken care of by the various murals, sculptures and graffiti on offer throughout the city’s five boroughs.
RUSH HOUR. New York is always bustling with traffic.
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My highlight was the elevated High Line, which was once a rail track that went out of use in 1980.
In 2009, the 2.3km-long strip was transformed into a unique park, complete with statues, art installations and unbeatable views of the New York skyline.
And don’t think you have to stay in your hotel room at night just because you keep converting how much activities cost in rands, as there is plenty to do and see at night as well.
Just being at Times Square at night is probably the most quintessential New York activity you can do, as the blindingly bright electronic billboards, 24/7 shops, and restaurants, as well as complimentary art shows mean you are never without something to see or do, even at ungodly hours of the morning.
Come to think of it, it is like Johannesburg’s Small Street Mall or Tshwane’s Marabastad on steroids, brought to life by corn dog vendors, photographers hustling to make a quick buck, and Nigerian scammers looking to make an even quicker buck.
HOP ON HOP OFF. New York double-decker tour buses.
This time around, having spent a week in the heart of the beast, NYC also proved to be the most frustrating place on earth.
Being an admirer of oddities, during my 5am jetlag runs, I learnt that Madison Square Garden is round, farting in a house of worship is a criminal offence, but going topless is completely legal.
And it was only on my last day riding the subway that a friendly Costa Rican fella explained to me that native New Yorkers are so in love with convenience that they even came up with shortened names like SoHo (South of Houston Street), TriBeCa which is the Triangle Below Canal Street and my favourite, NoLita, which refers to North of Little Italy.
I love getting off the beaten track, so each day when it was time to grab something to eat, I would think of all the times I binge watched the TV show Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern.
Los Paisanos butcher shop in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, serves the most tender alligator, rattlesnake, and reindeer meat.
Calm down. I checked that it was not Rudolph or any of the other eight of Santa’s transport providers.
Of course, NYC has macaroni and cheese ice cream – as well as other interesting flavours at the Museum of Ice Cream, located at 558 Broadway Street.
The idea of mogodu Monday might not yet be a thing in NYC, but you can sample some bopis, which is a Filipino dish of chopped pig or beef lungs sauteed in tomatoes, onions and chillis.
I also had the time of my life savouring curried lamb brains at Haani, a popular Pakistani eatery in Murray Hill.
More than 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.
While visiting, the author overheard South Africans who live in the city speaking Afrikaans, IsiXhosa and IsiZulu.
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