Years ago (over a decade ago now) I never really really cared about traveling. Friends and random people would tell me about their travels but it didn’t really excite me. I wasn’t a fan to be honest. I was too busy working out and playing videos games. Even though I did not really care for travel, there were three places on my mind that I always wanted to go even as a teenager. People would mention these places and I always thought about them. One of these places was New York City.
I was 24 years old at the time and I had just gotten a lovely new IT job. A proper adult job. As a gift to myself, I decided to go to New York City alone. I wanted to see if I would like it and potentially live there one day. I wanted to see it all, do it all, and live it all.
Apparently I have many cousins in the states so my dad made some calls and I had a free place to stay in Queens New York. This was awesome. This saved me tons of money and I would finally meet family, something I’ve never done. I was also afraid of going on an airplane. Instead of flying, I purchased the cheapest bus ticket through Greyhound. The roundtrip bus ticket was $170.00 CAD at the time. The time it took to get from Toronto to NYC on a bus was well over 12 hours. The bus made several stops but I still found it to be very scenic. It was also just me doing it all alone. Someone who has never explored. I went for 3 days and had the time of my life. This is the only city I have returned to due to the dense population, boutiques, food, family, and ongoing attractions. I love the city so much and I still plan to move out there.
On this trip I brought all of my best clothes, my Nikon D3100 camera, and anything that I thought was important in my life. Yes. I was that materialistic. The camera was bought last minute and I did not know how to use it. You will see what happens when you shoot in manual mode and you don’t know the basics of a DSLR camera. I apologize for these really bad pictures. My second and third trip pictures are much better. They are better because I use my camera phone and quit my amateur photography dream from this failure.
The first day was ROUGH. The 12 hour bus ride was tiresome. I stayed awake the whole time. As soon as I entered Manhattan, I became very awake. As soon I left the underground bus terminal, I was handed a piece of paper by a NYPD officer providing tips on how not to get robbed (in short, don’t look like a tourist or flaunt). I then lost my cellular connection and had to find a way to call my cousins. Luckily I befriended a Puerto Rican hotel clerk who helped me out. I couldn’t believe how many people were speaking Spanish. It felt welcoming. I met my wonderful cousins for the first time in my life and proceeded to pass out in their lovely home. That was my first day. I also explored the city that day but I didn’t take too many pictures since I was carrying a lot of things all over Manhattan and I didn’t want to flash all my expensive clothes and gear. My goal was not to be robbed on the first day. Success.
Day 2
The second day was interesting. My cousin took me out for breakfast and then threw me into the fire. He literally drove me to the subway station in Jamaica Queens New York and said, “have fun”. He left me at the subway station. I had to figure out how to get to Manhattan. This is what I needed, this is what I wanted. Me. Alone and loving it. I bought a subway day pass and figured out how to get from Jamaica Queens to Manhattan. The rest is history. E train for life!
Subway life from Queens to Manhattan
I enter Manhattan on a humid summer day and I begin to hunt for food and cool boutiques. The amount of times I got lost and went in and out of the subway was absurd. I managed to always find new pizza places, buy a slice, and continue exploring. I just started snapping photos of this busy city and hoped to get decent shots as an amateur photographer. I took the worst pictures but I kept trying.
Night time approaches and I was taken to Coney Island. Ever since I saw the movie The Warriors I wanted to go to Coney Island.
That wraps up day two. It was busy. I walked all day and all night. My feet were in excruciating pain but this is what you do on vacation. You explore until your body gives out. AHAHA. I’m serious.
Day 3
That’s it! That’s all the photos I have. It was an eye opening trip. I learned more about myself and became much more open minded and excited of this new cultural experience. I got to spend time with myself which is what I love doing. This was my first trip alone and my first trip…ever. If you are looking to do a solo trip, I highly recommend NYC. There’s tons of things to do. If you like eating, shopping, and you just want to explore, this is a great city. There is also tons of other things to do but don’t get overwhelmed. Just go and do it. I will post my next solo trip which was in 2017. I have returned to New York City and there’s always too much to do, it’s such a vibrant city. I still have not made a dent in this city since it is so huge and there’s always events happening. If you’re reading this, go now!