China Town, USA

China Town is located in lower Manhattan. It is several streets that resemble a market place in China. A market place is exactly what it is. It is shop after shop. These shops include multiple clothing shops, also many NYC souvenirs, along with many items that originate in China. Fish markets and authentic Chinese cuisine is also common in this neighborhood.  

The main street in this unique area is Canal Street. When you take the subway from anywhere in the city, just simply get off at the Canal St. station, and when you emerge from the underground subway you will be smack-dab in the middle of little china.  (China Town is very close to Little Italy)

China town can be fun, because you can barter with venders to get good prices on goods, as well as get a lot of things you can't get anywhere else. You can eat at many good and delicious restaurants. However, there are some things to look out for when visiting this neighborhood.

Do Not's!

1. DO NOT talk to the venders on street corners who will try to sell you "real" Tiffany, Coach etc. These products are always counterfeit, and it is illegal to buy them. Police patrol these areas heavily and you WILL be arrested for buying a counterfeit item. *don't be rude to them, just simply decline*

2. DO NOT leave the street to go into shops located in alleys or off of main roads. ONLY go into shops that are located on main streets with heavy traffic. 

3. DO NOT try to bargain with the venders too much, because you can offend them and they will get very angry and possibly violent.

4. DO NOT lose track of your personal belongings, and keep a good eye on your money. DO NOT flash money.

5. DO NOT eat anything that you are not used to, or anything that does not look or smell good. Food poisoning is highly possible in areas such as this.

**photo taken by David Cox**

Arrival

The day you leave for your get-away to the city is the most exciting. I am going to give you a few tips for that day. Most of these are obvious to frequent travelers, but for those who have not traveled I sure they will come in handy.

1. show up to the airport at least an hour early (depends on size of your local airport)

2. Double check your packing list and make sure you have packed your bags according to airline regulation

3. Bring a camera with you for some awesome shots of Manhattan as you fly into the city (Pictured Below)**

4. Bring something to keep you busy, the flight is usually about 5 hours of air time (not including layovers)

**This is something that I always love to do, because it is the best view you will ever have of the city.

(All photos were taken by me, David Cox 2012)

Why?

I know some readers and people may wonder why I love New York so much. When asked this question the first, and instant reply is "because it's the best city in the world." Most people will shrug your reply off simply because that's what everyone says when asked why they love a specific city.

So, why is NY the best? I am going to list several reasons why I think NY is the best city in the world.

1.) attractions: there are so many attractions and landmarks to visit in NYC. You can go into tall historic buildings such as the Empire State Building, see sights such as Central Park, Times Square. You can also participate in events and festivals in Bryant Park and other venues. You can also visit museums and art galleries such as the MET, MoMA, and many more. There is also monuments to visit such as the Statue of Liberty, see Wall Street and even go to China and Italy in lower Manhattan.

2.) food: there are thousands upon thousands of authentic restaurants in NYC. It is said that a New Yorker could eat out three times a day, for a lifetime and never eat at the same place twice. All these restaurants range in types of foods, you can get anything from Mexican to Indian within blocks of each other. And contrary to popular belief, some foods (not all) are very cheap to enjoy.

3.) shows: broadway, is the longest road in manhattan that houses hundreds of life productions. Famous broadway shows can be a fun and exciting way to spend an evening.

There are many many more reasons to say NYC is number one, but above are my top three. In future posts I will be breaking down visiting and attending these events/attractions with tips and tricks to do it cheaply and efficiently.

Attractions Attractions Everywhere!

There is so much to do in NY, and it would take hundreds of posts to list them all. In the course of this blog I will break down and give detailed information about several of my favorite attractions. I would like to say that there is a lot to do in the city that is free or very cheap. Below is a video with a few attractions that are either free or very reasonable in NY. Watch the video to get a broad overview of some of the types of attractions that are available. Please be aware, that some of the locations in the video are not free nor inexpensive. The Empire state building is rather pricey when compared to other places to visit in NY, and that will be broken down in a post to come.

Also, check out this video, it has some duplicate locations but also some that aren't mentioned in the first video.