We flew to New York City en route to my brother’s place in New Jersey. It is our first visit to the Big Apple using public transportation. To sum it up, it can be done.
We originally planned on taking the long (10 hours) bus ride from Bangor, ME to New York, NY. But after some research (and planning ahead), we found a cheap flight from BGR to JFK. It cost about $50 more than the bus fare.
We took the early flight from BGR to JFK. We arrived in JFK before 7 AM. There are several public transportation option we can take from JFK to downtown Manhattan. We picked the train because we wanted to go to Jollibee in Queens for breakfast. From our arrival gate we made our long walk to the AirTrain station and boarded the train to Jamaica Station.
From that station, we bought our MetroCard with enough credits to take use to Manhattan. We took the E train that brought us to Jackson Hts and transferred to the 7 Train. It was morning rush hour at the station. The 1st train that stopped was overflowing with passengers. The last time I saw that rush of people was over 20 years ago in Baclaran. There were ‘lesser’ number of passengers on the next train but we were still squeezed tight just like my last bus ride in Manila. We got down at Woodside Station and walked a couple of blocks to get to Jollibee!
After a good sampling of Jollibee’s breakfast menu, we walk up the street and bought some take out at Blue Ribbon (bakery). We walked back to Woodside Station. We took the train express train (instead of 7 Train) directly to Penn Station. More expensive but less hassle considering we have our carry-on bags in tow.
The cost of using public transportation is similar to what we have spent in other cities (London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc.) we visited. We used prepaid passes (when using the subway in NY) and also bought one-way tickets (for commuter trains from New York to New Jersey and vice-versa). Riding the subway and train system is easy to follow. You just have to plan and be on-time.
Penn Station! What a sight at rush hour! After getting off the train, we easily got lost in the maze of pathways in Penn Station. We wondered around until we found the Amtrak bag check-in counter. It cost us $20 to leave 2 bags. Relieved that there isn’t a heavy bag in tow, we started walking out on the streets of Manhattan.
We passed by Times Square on our way to redeem our Hop-On-Hop-Off tickets on 8th and 47th. It was noon time when we hopped in the bus. The bus went from midtown to lower Manhattan. The commentaries of the tour guide were very informative. Manhattan came from “manahata”, as the indigenous people of the island used to call it. Wall St was called so appropriately because there was a wall in that area. When transferred bus to upper Manhattan, we stopped at Central Park near the American Museum of Natural History (yes, the same museum of the movie ‘Night at the Museum’). We strolled around Central Park.
When it was time to start going back to Penn Station, we walked a couple of blocks to the nearest subway station. Evening rush hour in Penn Station was chaotic but orderly. You have to see it appreciate the thousands of people going from the subway to waiting for their commuter trains (going up Hudson river and beyond, to Long Island, and to New Jersey). Passengers are constantly looking at the board to see which platform their trains will be boarding from. That info will only flash 15 minutes before departure. You will have to wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for the next train (or longer after 9 PM).
Our train trip to Orange Station took less than 45 minutes from Penn Station. We waited from my brother to pick us up from the station for a few more minutes. Their house is about 15 minutes from the station.
Our weekend was spent celebrating my brother’s and his wife’s 60th birthday with family and friends. It was a great evening. On Sunday, we drove to Levittown to visit Karen’s friend. For some reason, I-95 wasn’t that ‘busy’. I can’t imagine commuters driving that stretch of 12-lane highway everyday. I remember driving that portion of highway 8 years ago when we drove to Washington DC.
When it was time to come home, we took the opposite train direction from Orange Station to Penn Station. Then, we took the Long Island Railroad train to Jamaica Station and transferred to the AirTrain to bring us to JFK. It took us $25/person and less than 2 hours from Orange Station to JFK. We were able to grab lunch before boarding our plane trip back.