I went to New York City for two days to see a show and walk around.

I go to New York often, and while I expect to do certain things while I’m there, I certainly did not expect this trip. Back in the day I used to take the Megabus from Maryland to New York, buying my tickets well in advance because of the fact they had $1 tickets, which I took advantage of. But with them selling their routes, and the fact I unexpectedly did not have my Indian visa by this time, this trip was very last minute.

Basically, I wanted to get out of the house. I’d come back from a two month trip to Korea, was funemployed, and had no car because a student at my graduate school five years younger totaled it. They didn’t look when they tried to turn onto the road, which is how we ended up in this situation. But because I was going insane sitting around for so long, I paid $70 to go to NYC on the Peter Pan Bus.

I’ve only ever been on the Megabus, but I have to say this bus line is pretty nice. The toilets actually flush, and they drop you off at Port Authority Bus Terminal on 42nd Street. I’m used to being exposed to the elements in the Megabus line, so it’s pleasant having a place to actually sit and wait—there are even bathrooms!

That said, I didn’t plan much for this trip and relied on some spontaneous decisions. Here’s what I did over the course of two days.

I did a photography self-tour on the High Line, Flatiron, and Times Square.

I’ve lived in New York, went to school here, and pretty much every month. I know this place like the back of my hand, so when I came up this time, I was itching to take photographs. Whenever I come, for some weird reason, I’ve never been able to get myself together and take pictures with my professional camera.

After spending a summer in Busan, South Korea, with my camera and wandering the streets, I think I got a lot braver. So once I stopped by my workplace in Hudson Yards, after the bus arrived at noon, I decided to wander out onto the High Line and take pictures.

I was surprised at how busy it was on a random Monday! There were a lot of tourists, which made taking pictures a little more difficult on the more congested parts of the walkway. I walked around and did that for an hour, then walked all the way from the Flatiron District to Midtown.

There was a point where I stopped at a coffee shop for an hour to get some pistachio coffee and Yemeni sweets, then I ventured out into Tims Square. I had another two hours before my Broadway show began, so I pulled out my camera again and snapped pictures of the advertisements all around us.

Sunset Boulevard is a fantastic revival on Broadway.

Once 6:50 rolled around on that first day, I got into the line for Sunset Boulevard. I had scored a ticket in the mezzanine, for the third preview, for only $100, and I was curious about the hype this show was getting from the West End.

I’ve posted a full review of the show on my blog here, which you can find under theatre reviews, but this was such an incredible experience. There were four standing ovations before we even got to the end of the show.

And to have the cherry on the cake, a lot of what I heard as I was leaving the theatre is people were declaring this one of the best shows they have ever seen. Quite frankly, I agree with them in the musical sense. This was a fantastic production and definitely a must-see for when it was on Broadway.

Bagels, The MET’s Tibetan Mandala Exhibit, and Central Park.

This encompasses most of the second day. I woke up at 7 AM, but didn’t leave the house officially until 12 PM. I was planning to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park, but then decided I wasn’t going to go and read a book instead.

So I grabbed bagels with my boss, who lets me stay with her whenever I’m in town. New York bagels are pretty special, and they’re so much cheaper in central Brooklyn. I paid $16 for two of our bagels and a drink for me. The same meal would be a lot more in Manhattan.

After eating and chatting with her, she dashed off to a meeting, and I went on to the MET. First I stopped at a cafe near Barclays Center, then I hopped onto the 5 train all the way up to 86th Street in Manhattan. From there, I walked along the park to get to the Met.

Which was also very crowded, but the sections I wanted to see were a lot less crowded. I specifically came because I wanted to look at the Tibetan mandala exhibit, so I showed my student ID, purchased a ticket, put my back in coat check (it’s free), and spent about three hours in the museum.

The mandala exhibit was quite nice, especially considering it was here as the Rubin Museum announced it was closing. That was my favorite museum in New York, so I’m a bit sad this exhibit at the MET is only temporary.

I also wandered deeper into the museum at the Southeast Asian and Himalayan art on the second floor—I wanted to see the exhibits no one else did apparently. It was a ghost town in this part of the museum; everyone was congregated at the Greek and European art sections.

After the MET, I walked horizontally across Central Park, taking more pictures, until I got to 81st Street. From there, I took the C Train to Times Square, then hung out with my boss at work until it was time to catch my bus.

Notable Eats

I didn’t eat as much as expected this trip, but here is what I did end up eating!

Nan Xiang Express: I picked up the pork soup dumplings, scallion oil noodles, and soybean milk combo for $25 on my way into the city. For this much money, the amount of food kept me fed until the next day. I didn’t really need a dinner, just a snack.
Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co.: I was surprised to see a Yemeni coffee shop in Times Square, so I stopped in for a bit and got a Yemeni pistachio latte and a khaliat nahl, which is the honeycomb bread. I prefer Qahwah House’s khaliat nahl, but both were still really solid! I paid $20 with tip for both.
La Bagel Delight in Brooklyn: A go-to for me when it comes to bagels when I’m in the neighborhood. They’re cheap, hot, and delicious.
Sofreh Cafe: I wanted to stop by because I loved eating at Sofreh when I was there, and I picked up a drink with mint/cucumber and three pastries to take home. The star of the show was the cookie with pistachio and rose cream in the middle, as well as the kanefe. We didn’t care for the cake Yazdi.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.