me.

There’s no better feeling than the satisfaction of going home at the end of the day (or weekend) and saying: wow, I really had a great time. That’s exactly how I would describe my trip to New York this past weekend. As a college student (rising sophomore, in fact), I’ve begun to take advantage of my independence to plan various activities and trips. For me, there’s nothing better than a well designed and executed schedule of events—and I guess I can take pride in the fact that every single outing has gone perfectly. I had a great time during the school year at places like Santa Monica, The Tonight Show, and San Diego, and it really makes me happy to say that New York is no different.

My entire visit consisted of a four hour bus ride on Friday night, staying at Conan’s apartment for two nights, and another four hour bus ride home on Sunday night. Of course, I didn’t travel alone—Paul came along for the adventure as well. The weather was nice and sunny, although it was a bit on the warm and humid side. Conan’s apartment was also very accommodating—there were several couches on which Paul and I could sleep. Other than snoozing the night (and half of the morning) away, we spent the majority of our time walking the city.

First impressions. Having been to New York City once before (and vaguely remembering that I didn’t particularly enjoy the atmosphere), I came into the city not expecting the best conditions. The anticipation became somewhat of a self fulfilling prophecy as dimly lit narrow streets came into view—the scene wasn’t appealing at all. However, the situation rectified itself as I quickly realized that the bus windows were tinted; I stepped off the bus into the “bright lights” of NYC and took in the environment. Maybe things won’t be so bad after all.

One of the things by which I like to evaluate a city is the public transportation system. For instance, I really like Boston and the T (generally clean, timely, and fairly extensive); it takes me where I want to go without much hassle. On the other hand, Los Angeles’s Metro isn’t as nice or convenient. For New York, here are my observations from my arrival:

• Expensive. Before getting on the subway, we obviously had to purchase tickets. The first thing that jumped out at my were the costs—$2.25 for a single ride, and $27 for a week! Compare that with $1.75/$15 for the T. I originally intended to grab a week pass, but opted for buying individual rides instead.
• Complex. I think it took Paul and I ten minutes to figure out the system map—a series of lines imposed on top of a map of Manhattan. All (or most) of the stations were named after their respective intersections, which didn’t make for great memorization either. But then again, Boston is smaller, so it’s probably easier to get to know everything.
• Large. I had gotten so used to the Green Line T stops that I completely failed to foresee the possible sizes of the stations—I think just about every stop we used was more than twice the size of Park St. I can’t categorize this as positive or negative, but it really goes to show how extensive the public transportation system is here.
• Decent. To both Paul and my surprise, the subway was actually fairly clean.

Of course, New York being the financial capital of the world, my suppositions probably should have been set higher. We hopped off around midtown, and walked 5-6 blocks to Conan’s apartment at roughly 10 pm. The streets were reasonably clean, and we felt fairly secure walking down the streets and avenues. The methodology by which the streets are named actually made it really easy to reach our destination. Everything up to this point has exceeded my expectations.

Phantom of the Opera. After meeting up with Saurabh, Nicky +friends, and having some nice dim sum in Chinatown for lunch, we enjoyed our first major event of the weekend on Saturday. Now I’ve seen the movie and even played the scores, but watching Phantom live is really an experience all on its own. The technical production was simply amazing—everything from the chandelier to the dungeon and all the transitions in between conveyed a sense of realism that put the audience in the scene. The music speaks for itself—I found it even more enjoyable than the recording. There were even certain parts that gave me goosebumps! Needless to say, it’s not surprising that Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on broadway.

200 West. Though not originally in our plans, Saurabh (who’s interning at Goldman Sachs) showed us around the company headquarters at 200 West St. It was really cool to see the offices of one of the well known (or infamous, depending on who you ask) investment banking firms in the nation. We visited the trading floor and gawked at the banks of computers (each with 4-6 monitors!) lined across the room; digital clocks hung down from the ceiling to signal the beginning and end of the trading day. All in all, the scene bore an eerie resemblance to one particular scene in the movie Wall Street. Saurabh’s office was even higher in the 43 story building, and carried a gorgeous view of the surrounding city and Hudson river. I think ground zero was also visible from that perspective.

While I had never considered finance as a career (unlike Conan, who walked around with a look of awe), the environment really impressed me. The facilities were understandably clean and new, but even on top of that, all the workspaces and rooms were incredibly organized, giving a very professional appearance. For me, working in such an office would be sensational.

Night life. Traveling with a friend from high school and visiting friends from college means that I get to see two sides of the story. On Saturday night, Paul and I experienced a few hours of the New York night life by meeting up with Di Fu, an old high school friend. We had snacks at a Japanese restaurant and chatted our way until two in the morning. The waitress didn’t even card us when Paul and Di ordered cocktails. Apparently, 2 is even early, since there were still crowds of people on the streets. As a student who’s used to staying up late, this scene felt much more lively and comfortable than the silence of Pasadena past 9 pm.

We stopped by the 5th Avenue Apple Store en-route back to the apartment—who knew it was open 24/7?

5th Avenue and Rockefeller Center. Seeing televised or filmed landmarks in real life always fills me with a sense of enchantment and fascination, which is why I went to see The Tonight Show, and still want to see The Late Late Show. Sunday afternoon, I loaded up on the feeling of wonder as we walked down 5th Avenue past various shops and landmarks. My head turned left and right as we went by Trump Tower, the Empire State Building, and 30 Rock. The area was really nice compared with the rest of the city, which I guess shouldn’t be surprising since it’s deemed the most expensive street in the world. We also dropped by Times Square for a bit both after Phantom and on Sunday. As usual (or so I would think), the place was jam packed with tourists, making it difficult to walk.

Inception. Watching Inception at the AMC Empire 25 was our last stop before embarking on our journey home. Since Inception isn’t unique to New York, I won’t say much other than that it was a very original and intriguing film. I might watch it again sometime for the details.

Final thoughts. I have to say I really enjoyed my New York trip. I walked (or rode) away with a generally positive impression—the city is definitely more “livable” than I originally imagined. The sheer number of attractions and events also make it very appealing to young folk like myself. That being said, I still consider Boston a much more comfortable city in which to live. New York, however, has certainly earned a place in my heart.