The Unexpected Twists and Turns of Life

I set out upon my travel adventures this year with the goal of untapping some hidden career as a travel writer. It was my goal to maintain my blog and the associated social media and to use this time to reflect upon life and my priorities and where I saw myself in the future.

After Ohio, I headed to California, where I had about a week up north (two nights in Sacramento, and five in San Francisco). Sacramento was okay... pretty boring, but I feel like going to the capital of California was important to do



California State Capitol, Sacramento

The Bay area is one of my favourite parts of the world, along with New York City. I spend a day down at Stanford University, I spent time across the Bay in Berkeley, I frantically rushed around SF proper, catching as many cable cars and using as many forms of the convoluted public transport system as I could.


UC Berkeley entrance

View of San Francisco from Treasure Island... no really, from Treasure Island!

Cable Car turnaround

Then it was onto Washington State where I spent almost a week staying with a friend in Tacoma. After an action packed experience in the Bay area, Tacoma was the embodiment of relaxation. My friend and her roommate had just moved into their apartment a few days earlier, and they were themselves catching up on lost sleep and exhaustion. We sat around, chatted, drank diet coke, played with the cat, watched movies, went on small trips to visit family and look around where each of them grew up. Leaving Tacoma was hard, probably the hardest farewell of all my travels.

The flight from Oakland to SeaTac was the most beautiful flight I've ever experienced

One of about a hundred photos I took of the cutest kitten in the world.

Addiction, much?

Such an iconic landmark

 

I spent my last six days in Los Angeles denying that my travels were coming to an end, just trying to live in the moment and experience some different things. I was thrust into the world of PR, I was taken to staple American places that I simply 'had' to experience ("You haven't been to The Cheesecake Factory?!") and I ate. A lot. I hardy took any photos, but I feel like I truly lived.

Universal CityWalk

Seeing Jamar Rogers, from The Voice, at Universal CityWalk

Penny was not at The Cheesecake Factory, but this amazing cheesecake was!

Chateau Marmont - wish I could've gone inside!

To be quite frank, my blog and this universe was the last thing from my mind.

And I think it was then that I decided.

I love travelling, I love writing. But the “me” who I was looking to unfold didn't exist. For me, I prefer creative writing. My last couple of weeks of my travels were all about me, and about what I wanted to be doing, the experiences that I wanted to be having. And in that process it became clearer to me that this blog had become somewhat of a chore. However when the siren sounds, when my muse hits to write a piece of creative writing, to work on my fiction... it's like nothing can stop me from doing anything but living and breathing my characters and their world.

Travelling is a huge part of who I am, and I think somewhere along the way I was mixing up the notion of passions and trying to force a passion onto myself to make sense of my life. The skills and experiences I gain from travelling are transferable into real life, and travel has unveiled for me a passion for an industry that I wouldn't have had without all my experiences abroad – the overall travel and tourism industry. Here I was trying to take travel and work and writing and all of the parts of me and to put them into one box – be a travel writer, that'll make you happy.

Turns out that human beings are multi faceted and while this seemed like a grand idea at the time, in practice, I know that it isn't the kind of life for me in the long term.

And so, upon returning home, I found myself being thrown back into the mundanity of life and trying to find employment. A tough gig. My chosen profession is human resource management and because I sit at the more so entry level end of the spectrum and the employment market presently sucks, this was a depressing month and half of looking for employment. I always knew that the kind of employer who would take me on would be the kind of person who appreciates me as a wider human being, who appreciates me because of ALL of my experiences, including the time I was lost in Liechtenstein and the day I nearly hyperventilated on the New York City subway and the night I spent at Newark Airport befriending random strangers.

And it turns out, that I was right.

Because today, I have signed a contract which is going to take me in a direction which simultaneously terrifies me and excites me.

I am moving to Alice Springs for a role as a HR Coordinator in a big multinational hotel chain.

Alice Springs in practically in the exact centre of Australia. It sits about halfway between two of the state capital cities – Darwin in the north, Adelaide in the south – about an 18 hour drive to either one. It is literally in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere.

Pretty much all of Alice Springs.

I've been all around the world – I've climbed the Eiffel Tower, I've seen the Grand Canyon, I've seen Niagara Falls, I've stood in awe looking around the Colloseum.

But in my own country, my lack of travel experience is rather frightening. I've never been further inland than the three hour drive from Sydney to Bathurst.

I still have wanderlust, I still have this need to see and explore and discover the universe, and in turn, find out more about who I am.

It's just that the next segment of my life is going to be going about exploring this wanderlust in a different way. Who needs to get a working visa in the UK or Canada, when I can experience one of the most desolate places on the planet in my very own country?

Moving to Alice Springs is something that I never, ever would have anticipated doing. It isn't an opportunity I would have sought out. But I like to believe that the universe works in strange ways and that opportunities get presented to you sometimes which you just need to seize and leap without looking.

I'm intending now to use my @lightsallfaded Twitter account as a tool professionally and to muse upon my experiences dealing with relocating and adjusting to this brand new life. I may update my blog every now and then, but without any sort of pressure that I 'must' update at a particular time.

And, I'm planning to work on my first original novel. I'm told that there isn't much to do in Alice Springs, so I may have some spare time up my sleeve!

It's funny how things work out sometimes, in ways that you never anticipated, and yet somehow they just make perfect sense.

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

~ Dr. Seuss.

Hostel Etiquette 101

You’ve made the decision to stay in a hostel – excellent choice! You’re going to save some money and potentially get free amenities like wi-fi and breakfast; and hopefully, have the opportunity to meet some interesting people. If when meeting said people, you don’t want to be known as ‘the hostel pariah’ then never fear – follow my general guide below and you will get along just fine with your roommates.

Disclaimer: Written after one too many occasions of wanting to wring the neck of a disrespectful roommate.

 

Late arrivals and early departures

In hostels, it is inevitable that you will not sleep through the night. People will come in late, people will leave early. Not everyone can be spry and light footed and do this in silence, but there is a general principle to being as respectful as you can. I think the ultimately most useful thing you can do is to be organised. Should you know that you’re going out to see a show or out for a few drinks and will likely be arriving back after other people in your dormitory are asleep – get your things organised. Have pyjamas, toothbrush, whatever you might need when you come back in, out and ready to go. This prevents unnecessary rustling and fumbling in the dark, or needing to be annoying and turn the light on. Similarly, if you’re leaving early in the morning – whether checking out or have other early morning plans, get your things for the morning organised the night before.

Silence isn’t expected, but people who have to go through their entire pack at 4am are beyond irritating.

Talking

When travelling in a group or if you’re hanging out with newly made friends, sometimes this requires late night/early morning conversation. To accompany the general rules of late at night and early in the morning – be respectful with your discussion. If you’re going to chat, do it in the common room. If it is necessary conversation like ‘what time are we leaving?’ or ‘do you have the room key?’ then fair enough, but have the conversation quietly and efficiently. It’s extremely annoying being woken up by loud voices discussing the hot chicks they met at the bar, or gossipping about the guy who was hitting on them who spoke no English. Even quiet voices, in a dead quiet dorm, can be irritating, so even a whispered conversation about something trivial can be frustrating.

Alarm clocks

There is nothing more annoying than the person who has an alarm clock going off every ten minutes for an hour. In my ordinary life, I am a serial snoozer, but at 7am in a dorm room, it really isn’t acceptable to press snooze repetitively, especially not if you have a loud alarm.

Bunk beds and shared space

If you have the bottom bunk, it is easy to find yourself taking over the immediate floor space around the bed. Take a look around – make sure you’re being fair to the person above. Leave the space under the ladder empty. Don’t use the ladder to hang your towel or other items. If there hasn't been anyone in the top bunk, don't assume the entire area - someone may check in whilst you are out and find themselves without any room to place their own belongings.

Bathrooms

Different hostels have different bathroom standards. Some hostels have separate showers and toilets, some have ensuites plus communal facilities in the hall, some have larger rooms with multiple shower/toilet stalls contained within. Regardless of the particular set up, keeping the room as clean as possible is absolutely key. Don’t leave your empty toiletry bottles lying around. If toilet paper runs out, let reception know. If you drip water everywhere, clean it up. Be aware of how long you’re taking in the bathroom, and even consider altering your bathing pattern to try to avoid the morning rush.

...

In the words of Aretha Franklin, living in a hostel is all about one thing:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

You’re choosing to stay in a shared space, and coming with that is that you are staying with people from all walks of life. Even in hostels with a party driven atmosphere, you will have people who perhaps have run out of money so want to sleep, people who are sick, people who want to have a night off. In a hostel that doesn’t have such a vibe, you may have elderly people, children. Anyone who expects perfect silence and perfect cleanliness is being unrealistic, but everyone who is staying in a hostel can do their part to create a more harmonious vibe.

The balance between frugal travel and sanity

I have a few thoughts about the notion and mentality of budget travelling and how these differ from traveller to traveller – something that I’ll blog about after the conclusion of my trip. However I wanted to touch on one aspect, because it relates to a one night stopover which I had which falls next into my chronological explanation of my travels. After my night of fun at Newark Airport, I flew to Cleveland the next day, where I stayed in a lovely hotel – a rarity in my universe! It was this stay which got me thinking about this matter.

Sometimes I think that budget travellers develop a complex about the idea of budget travelling – a complex that this makes them better than other travellers, and that they’re ‘above’ taking advantage of small luxuries and conveniences. For some people, the types of luxuries I outline aren’t something that will help them, motivationally. However from talking to other travellers, I can conclude that for myself and for many others, including some little touches of ‘luxury’ and ‘convenience’ into a longer budget trip can be the key to fuelling you on to make the most of a longer trip.

This whole entry will be utterly pointless if you are a budget traveller in the sense of actually being on a strict, strict budget and having no leeway. I, fortunately, have never been in this position. I’ve always travelled with a bit of leeway money, money which allows me to make small allowances to an otherwise frugal lifestyle in the interest of my whole experience being something positive.

Hampton Inn and Suites, Cleveland Downtown

Hotel Shuttle

Depending on where you are staying, there are times where getting public transport from an airport to get to your accommodation can be complicated. You may find yourself arriving in the evening, having to get a local bus which could take an hour, then having to walk to find your hostel. Sometimes, the price of a hotel shuttle can be worth the hit to your sanity and energy. I don’t use them regularly, however every so often it is nice to take the navigation duties away from my weary brain and to instead be able to simply tell someone where you’re staying, cough over the cash ($20 on average) hop into a van and have someone drop you off at the front door of where you’re staying.

Hotel

Now, in my normal life, I have only stayed at a handful of hotels in my adult life. So when I do splash out for a hotel, it doesn’t take much to impress me. In Cleveland, I stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites which was absolutely stunning luxury in my universe. The first thing I did after entering my room, dropping my luggage and poking around the room was to collapse on the giant King sized bed and ‘starfish’ out – when you’ve been staying in hostels in bunk beds for the better part of three months, being able to stretch out on a bed in a delight – something so small that can bring  such enjoyment.

For me, I generally reserve more expensive accommodation options for occasions where I want to visit a city which simply doesn’t have an option for a youth hostel. However similar to the notion of lashing out for a hotel is to spend a little extra money on a private room in a hostel. For me, one of the  things that I find hardest about budget travelling is simply the inability to ever be completely alone and quiet. When I was in Albuquerque in 2010, I arrived at the hostel and they told me that for an extra five dollars a night, I could elect to stay in a small single room rather than in the dorm. I figured ‘what the hell’ and thought I’d give this a go. The room was a shoebox, the single bed pressed against the wall and then maybe a half a single bed width between the bed and the wall on the other side. But it was my space. I could be as messy as I wanted, I could leave electrical items charging when I wasn’t there.

Show tickets and movies

Different budget travellers have different things that they lash out and spend money on while travelling. For some people it is dining at more expensive restaurants to experience local cuisine, for some it is the party scene with copious amounts of alcohol. For some it is experiencing bicycle tours or segways or cruises. For me, I tend to direct any larger entertainment purchases into shows. In London seeing shows on West End, in New York on Broadway. I’ve been to a show at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. For some budget travellers they would wince at the price and think about how many days food budget that ticket may equate to. For me, it’s an essential experience to have.

Going to see a movie every now and again is also something that I really enjoy while travelling – just something mainstream, not some local film or something arty or subtitled. I can remember in 2008 being in Budapest for the second time, just on my way back through from getting an overnight train back from Romania. I hadn’t slept on the train and it was at that point in your travels where suddenly, all of the excitement and the lack of sleep catches up on you and I felt absolutely wrecked and exhausted. I’d been to Budapest on my way to Romania, it was really just a practical stopover to break up a longer train journey. I found myself wandering aimlessly around a shopping mall, stopping to sit at a bench every ten minutes, and then I stumbled across a cinema. In a lot of Europe, particularly in central and eastern Europe, they play movies with the English audio and local language subtitles. Suddenly, the idea of sitting in a dark room, eating a snack and doing something so normal like watching a movie was the most appealing and delightful thing I could imagine.

Shopping

Sometimes, packing the right clothes and gear for your trip can be difficult, particularly if you’re travelling across a variety of countries or at the very beginning or end of a season. I am a firm believer in allowing yourself to buy new things if the ones that you have with you simply aren’t doing the job. This in itself can be a fun cultural experience – trying to navigate prices and sizes when things are printed in foreign languages.

Taxis

In 2008, I embarked on my first overseas journey. I had ten days in the USA before heading on for backpacking around Europe. While in the USA, I took the red eye from Los Angeles to NYC, so I arrived at JFK airport early in the morning. By the time that I navigated my way to baggage claim and to the air train and then to the subway, it was NYC rush hour. The subway got increasingly packed and by the time that we arrived in Manhattan, it was absolutely chockers. I was trying to stay upright with my pack, which I originally had set on the ground but as the subway became more packed I stupidly put it on. This was less than a week into my first trip abroad, my first time on a crowded subway, and I was sleep deprived and I just remember having this sudden feeling of claustrophobia and I just had to get out. I stumbled my way to the street and hailed a cab. I had no idea where I was or how far the hostel was in conjunction, but I knew that I wasn’t going to survive that subway ride without collapsing into foetal position on the subway and rocking backwards and forwards.

Toward the end of my trip, I was a bit more travel savvy but feeling utterly exhausted. I remember arriving in Edinburgh in the pouring rain. I’d gotten the Megabus up from London, so I’d been on the road for the better part of the day. My hostel was longer than a comfortable walk with luggage and the directions involved walking a few blocks from the bus station and getting a bus and frankly, I just couldn’t be bothered. I knew it wasn’t going to be miles and miles away, so I hailed a cab and I was there within ten minutes.

Budget travel doesn’t have to mean being frugal one hundred percent of the time

This is my mantra. Of course, you should be aware of your own budget and bank balance – if you’re being frugal to make sure that you can afford to eat, then that’s understandable. But if you’re making frugal decisions simply because “that’s what budget travellers do” then I would suggest that you’re being closed minded to the notion of enhancing your travels. I’m not suggesting hiring limos or dining out and eating caviar. Budget travel, especially for an extended period of time, can be exhausting. It can take a physical and emotional toll upon your body and soul; until the point where you’re literally going through the motions of ticking off a list of places to visit, taking a photo and not really having the energy or spirit to truly absorb the experience. By interspersing little splashes of luxury into an otherwise reasonably frugal trip, you just may find that this is what it takes to give you the motivation to travel for longer, and not just to travel, but to really live in the moment of each place that you are so lucky to be visiting.

Deep Fried Garlic Mashed Potatoes On A Stick - Ohio, USA

I’m really fortunate in that I’ve had some unique opportunities become available to be hosted by people as I have travelled around the world.  Sometimes, there are places that are of interest which simply aren’t very accessible given the style of travelling that I am doing. You may remember back a few months ago when I had the opportunity to be hosted by a German family who live in a small town, staying with my friend Thessi. Well in the United States, I had one of these opportunities come up, having a friend who lives in small town north-west Ohio. At first I thought it wasn’t going to be feasible to fit into my itinerary but then I guess it sunk in that this was the kind of opportunity which I simply needed to make fit into my itinerary. With some tweaking and forcing my time, I made it work, and I am so grateful that I did.

Cleveland, Ohio

Downtown Cleveland

After my night at Newark Airport (which I outlined in my last entry) I had a flight the next morning to Cleveland, Ohio. This was pretty much for the sake of killing a night because my host family wasn’t going to be available that day due to another engagement. There isn’t a youth hostel in Cleveland so this presented the opportunity to book into a nice hotel and splurge.  I honestly only spent a couple of hours wandering around Cleveland, I was so exhausted from the night before. I can’t claim to have really had any groundbreaking or insightful experience there. I took a bunch of photos of cool looking things, enjoyed a delicious dinner of a specialty pizza and then sprawled out watching The Big Bang Theory and the Olympics in the hotel room.

The journey to Napoleon, Ohio

I got the Megabus from Cleveland to Toledo, which is about 45 minutes from where Lanie’s family live. It was actually pretty action packed for a bus ride of only a couple of hours. We were delayed in Cleveland when the bus driver discovered a passenger in the upstairs portion who was drinking alcohol – which is strictly against the law, so the driver had to call the police and we had to wait for them to arrive and for them to offload the passenger. The bus was on a longer route, I’m not sure where it started but I know it was finishing in Detroit, and between Cleveland and Toledo there was a twenty minute service stop at a rest stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The bus driver, being humorous, announced, “We will be here for twenty minutes.I am the only bus that comes through here. If you miss the bus – don’t worry, I will be back tomorrow. Maybe. I stop at different rest stops. I might not be back for two weeks. But they are open 24 hours a day.”

Lanie and her parents picked me up from the random stop in Toledo – Megabus labelled it as the ‘Southwyck Shopping Center’ but Lanie had pre-warned me that there is no shopping center and that it would just be the side of the road/a parking lot – lucky I had this warning because had I not been told this, I would’ve been mighty confused as to whether I was at the right place!

When first impressions are all that matter

Lanie and her family, from the moment that I met them, struck me as being some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. The initial first impression flowed through, being backed up with their kindness and generosity throughout my whole stay. I don’t know if I just have good taste in friends, or if it truly is one of those things where the region you’re from in the USA has a direct correlation to your disposition. Lanie’s dad is one of those people who has led a really interesting life, travelling for work, having interesting friends and stories from his ‘youth’ involving hiking and drinking adventures and all sorts. Lanie’s mum grew up in Napoleion, so is the embodiment of small town born, bred and has never moved away. It was a really interesting mix and at the same time, served to fuel lots of different conversation.

The perfect timing of staying with a host family

At this point in my travels, I was feeling rather exhausted. It isn’t being a tourist in itself that is exhausting for me – rather, it is the mere nature of extended budget travel, being responsible for yourself entirely and completely and existing in a world without your own space. I can remember in Montreal, feeling overwhelmed by the sense that I was ready to go home, with over three weeks remaining of my trip. What pushed me through was the knowledge that I would be staying with friends for over two weeks of the remaining time. It’s the little things about staying in a home environment that are delightfully enjoyable, and my stay in Ohio came at a time where I hadn’t stayed with anyone since being with my friend in Ostrava.

It’s nice being able to wander around in your pyjamas, to eat breakfast when you like rather than when the hostel prescribes. I only really watch television whilst with a friend, very rarely utilising television facilities in a hostel unless they are airing some sort of movie. Moreover, it’s nice having someone else who cares about your wellbeing – someone to ask you, while they’re at the fridge, if you’d like a refill – those sorts of little gestures that are perfectly normal but which you don’t experience often while travelling alone.

Real America, not Tourist America

The sign in front of a parking lot and a video rental store

I was staying in Napoleon for four nights. I’d already assured Lanie tht I wouldn’t get bored, that I didn’t mind that there wasn’t much to do – I was honestly really excited about the notion of sleeping and catching up on my blog and simply being able to hang out without the obligation to constantly be ‘doing’ something. However despite this, Lanie and her family kept apologising for the lack of action in their part of America. The irony of their apologies is that in so many ways I will look back on my time in Ohio as being a trip highlight of my time in the United States. I’ve done the big cities – by the time that I’ve finished this trip, on my list of cities I can tick off in the USA, I have Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Albuquerque, Milwaukee, Austin, Orlando, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Boston. These are all larger cities, even the smaller of the group is a city.

However the USA isn’t just comprised of big cities, the USA is comprised of countless counties and smaller towns. There are so many people who need to drive 45 minutes or more to get to a town with a Starbucks or a movie theatre. Where they live represents a genuine subset of American culture, one which I enjoyed being able to get to know intimately, albeit briefly. I can't describe their home town as being 'hip' or as being 'happening' but it is real, and living in it are real people who don't need to have fancy monuments or world renowned restaurants to be forward thinking, lovely human beings.

I think one of the best ways to understand a culture is to just talk to people, and for me, Lanie’s family were just beyond fascinating – they apologise for the boredom without realising how fascinating they are within themselves, without doing anything other than just talking and being themselves.

The random experiences

Lanie and her parents were really keen on the idea of facilitating for me to have the random American ‘experiences’ that I desired – sadly, a lot of them revolving around food! Things where you’re having normal conversation and I reveal, “I’ve never had a proper s’more.” Next thing you know, we’re out buying the ingredients to make sure that before I leave, they get to ensure I have this experience. And it was a perfect excuse to simultaneously fulfil another wish - I commented that I had only ever been to a Walmart in Los Angeles, and so off to Walmart we went.

Walmart is such an awesome cultural experience – seriously! The grocery section alone has me filled with gasps. The stereotypes about the USA and food exist for a reason, and a trip to Walmart is the kind of thing that really emphasises that. You have more options in terms of flavours and variety within a particular product, and more brand options. There was a section in the cold goods area that kept packets of hot dogs. I was struck by how huge the section was, and so I counted it out, it was laid out in columns and rows – there were nineteen columns going across, and then six rows from top to bottom, all housing different brands, flavours and varieties of hot dogs. You can buy practically anything in the USA in a pre-made format.

In addition to food, in our perusal to find skewers (for the s’mores) we departed the grocery area and I found myself face to face with a glass cabinet filled with guns for purchase – just down from the camping equipment, including Disney princess camping equipment. Gun laws are very different in Australia so for me, this is something very confronting.

One evening with our s'mores ingredients, we spent a couple of hours enjoying the gorgeous view from their balcony and then got to work on our delicious s'more treats. Typically, Walmart had a zillion varieties of hot dogs but the one thing that we needed (marshmallows) in a 'normal' size only came in this massive size, so the s'mores didn't quite work out as planned!

Such a serene view, perfect for a summer evening on the balcony

Would you like some chocolate or cracker with your marshmallow?

Cute Animals and Deep Fried Fun

In an effort to ensure that I didn’t get completely bored/was able to appreciate that there is more to Ohio then their small town, Lanie’s dad offered to rearrange a work day so we could take a day trip somewhere. After umming and ahhing and much indecisiveness (telling someone like me ‘it’s up to you’ is never a good idea!) we settled upon heading to Columbus for the Ohio State Fair.

The State Fair was  fun day out – if you really examined the program and were prepared to work your day around it, you could have a whole day of entertainment from local bands (both of the pop/country style and the orchestra style), comedy acts, magic shows, parades and other various demonstrations. We had two key things that we’d pinpointed from the program in our prior research as being of interest – the pig races, and an Aussie animal show. Yes, that’s right, the Ohio State Fair had a collection of Australian animals and a presentation about them.

So random but very entertaining!

The American presenter who opened with "Good day, mate." #fail

I’d been pre-warned of what to expect at a Midwest state fair from a nutritional perspective but seeing it was something else again. If it has grease or if it can be deep fried – you will find it there. Grease in the form of things like cheese steaks and giant mutated turkey legs. And when I say if it ‘can’ be deep fried – well, in Ohio, just about anything can be deep fried!

Really - you can get ANYTHING deep fried, and as a bonus, on a stick!

Lanie had a deep fried Snickers bar and I had a deep fried sampler, with bite sized pieces of deep fried butter, Oreo, cheesecake, cookie dough and a fifth one I cannot remember. It was surprisingly delicious, but I could feel my body yelling at me for feeding it so much trash in one day!

Warning: cat napper on the prowl!

If you invite me to stay in your home and you have a cat, you should pretty much expect that regardless of your cat's disposition, I will adopt it as my own for the duration of my stay.  Lanie's cat Fez became my new best friend - although, it's questionable whether I was his best friend!

Fez the cat.

Gratitude that lasts a lifetime

I am forever grateful for the generosity, kindness and companionship I got from staying with Lanie and her family. There are people in this world who will invite you into their home and give you somewhere to stay, and these people alone are wonderful and amazing. But then there’s this other category of people who go above and beyond the call of duty and who demonstrate such amazing hospitality, warmth, generosity and love.

I can only hope that one day I am able to somehow repay them in some way. So mum, I know you’re reading – if Lanie’s parents ever decide to bring the family on a vacation to Australia, I insist upon being able to take them in somehow, and if that means it’s in your house because I’m in a tiny apartment, then so be it! 

Bucket list item, check - sleeping at an airport

Sometimes when I talk to other budget travellers, I find myself creating my own ‘bucket list’ of experiences. It isn’t like a normal person’s bucket list, though, like someone who might have “Climb Eiffel Tower” or “See Niagara Falls.” Instead, my bucket list is filled with the kinds of things that budget travellers endure, like a rite of passage that may not be a good experience but will be a worthwhile experience. I found myself presented with the optimum opportunity to tick off one of these – stay overnight at an airport.

It came about, essentially, after deciding to get the train to Montreal and back from New York City to avoid paying ridiculous flight prices to and from Canada. Originally I figured I’d be heading to the west coast from NYC and so was going to try to book a red eye flight, since the train arrives in the evening. However, this changed to my next stop being Ohio, which meant that I couldn’t get a flight the night that I got the train in, and my flight would be the next morning. Now, hostels and hotels in New York City are so expensive that I seriously couldn’t justify in my brain the cost of accommodation for literally, less than a night’s sleep. It was going to be 10pm at the earliest before I could arrive at accommodation. My flight the next day was from Newark, so if I stayed in the city near where the train came in, I’d be looking at needing to be on the train at 5am to the airport, so therefore waking up at 4am. Ridiculous!

Among travellers, the concept of staying in an airport/bus station/train station for the night isn’t particularly out of the ordinary; however it was something I’d yet to experience. And so with this travel ‘bucket list’ item in mind, plus the monetary factor, I was set on bunking down at Newark for the night.

What I didn’t count on was that I would be absolutely exhausted before the night had even begun. The train trip back down was nowhere near as pleasant as the way up – between losing my phone and being stressed (long story that I’ll save for another entry) and having a seat mate the whole time (on the way up, you may recall, I had a half of a couple who were in the dining car most of the way) which meant I couldn’t get up and stretch and wander as I wanted without disturbing him, and so I only got up twice in 11.5 hours. This in itself is exhausting! A couple of hours before arrival into New York City I was researching options to stay at an airport hotel near Newark and came seriously close to booking before telling myself to harden up and that worst case scenario was that I would be unimaginably tired the next day, but I’d get through.

When the train pulled into New York City, I killed a little time at Penn Station but then decided to get going to Newark. It was probably 10:30pm by the time that I arrived at Terminal A. I’d done my research (thanks, sleepingatairports.net) and knew that Newark Airport was open 24/7 but the actual departures lounge would close after the last flight arrived in for a few hours, so the best place to bunk down is near the check-in counters. ‘Best place’ is relative to... well, not much.

The only accessible sections overnight have horrible plastic or metal chairs that have arm rests so you can’t lie down, the floor is hard, and it just feels kind of dirty. Most of the power outlets don’t work properly. I had to stalk around the area to find an available and working outlet – not near any chairs, so I was going to be relegated to the floor. I paid $9.95 for a month of Boingo internet access (which I have used again in Detroit and suspect I should be able to use again at another airport before I leave so it was worth it). I used the internet for a while and then found myself overcome with a wave of such exhaustion that I thought I might actually be able to sleep, or at least doze. I set up camp, spreading out my blanket I acquired at Wimbledon so I wouldn’t be lying on the floor. I knew that sleep was extremely unlikely but at a minimum I wanted to be reasonably comfortable so that maybe, just maybe, I could make it happen.

Before I could even lie down on my blanket, a fellow in his early twenties came up, asking if I was using the second of the two outlets. I wasn’t, so of course I told him to go ahead. He was sitting just a phone charger cord length away so sleep wasn’t going to happen. He was tipsy and nice so we chatted, mostly small talk. He was from Florida, in New Jersey for a work training event. He seemed genuinely fascinated by my accent and I gather he isn’t the well travelled type, or even really aware of other cultures – he asked me if we have Facebook in Australia, which made me giggle and was taken back to my time in Edinburgh  with my friend Shelle, going out with a group of her friends and being asked that exact same question by one of them.

I was surprised by how many people were around, and especially surprised that they didn’t all have the budget traveller look or feel. There were solo people, some couples, groups, business travellers, plus people in my age bracket. It seems that it is a common opinion that prices in the area are ludicrous and outrageous.

The most surreal encounter of the evening was one with a fellow who was either the world’s greatest actor/con artist; or he’s legitimately got the saddest tale ever. I’d seen him an hour or so earlier, pacing around and swearing about something. He then wound up coming and sitting down nearby me and my Floridian friend. He was probably in his mid twenties. He was of slim build, reasonably strong looking. He carried an army backpack, was wearing boots, basic jeans and a shirt that said ‘army.’ His story was that he’s serving in the army in Afghanistan and that he’s been in transit for two days, rushing back because he got news his mother had passed away. He didn’t even know she was unwell. He gave some elaborate explanation regarding not having access to his bank account and he was trying to get a bus three hours to Pennsylvania for the funeral which was at 9am. His grandmother was apparently waiting at the bus station to pick him up. He was trying to get his seargent on the phone because he was apparently going to call the bus company to see if they could let him on without having the cash to board. In the midst of telling me his story, his phone rings. His voice was low but I could hear a lot of “sir’s” and he was obviously dejected. While army!guy and I are talking, my Floridian friend was half passed out so he didn’t hear any of the story. He woke up, and asked if we knew where the bathroom was. Army!guy knew and said he needed to go too so off the guys went. They came back five minutes later and army!guy tells me that Florida!guy is giving him the cash he needs. Florida!guy doesn’t quite have the whole amount. I’m feeling a bit cynical as to whether this guy is legit so I offer some Canadian money which he accepts – supposedly there’s a cash exchange in Terminal B. He pretty much takes our money and runs – you know, to the bus, to get to his waiting grandmother.

It’s sad that I’m automatically questioning of people, but that’s just this day and age. There ws something off about him that I cannot put my finger on. However, I’d be the worst person in the world if he was for real and I didn’t offer something.

Between all of this, I found myself pretty much awake enough to not actually crash. My Floridian friend took a nap, I watched an episode of Happy Endings, and before I knew it, the action was starting to happen. The terminal opens at about 4am, ready for first flights out at 6am, and people were arriving at about 3:30am. Even if you were able to sleep, you only really have a 3-4 hour window where there are less people around. By 4am, I joined the queue at the Southwest check in counter, which opened at about 4:30am. I took my time after this, getting some breakfast, and for the first time ever I was gladfor a long queue at security because it took at least an hour to get through.

I’d not had a full night’s sleep my last night at Montreal, then spent more than 11 hours on a train, then it was almost 11 hours from arriving at Penn until my flight departed from Newark. Needless to say, I was exhausted, and despite my normal aversion to sleeping on transport, I fell asleep before they did the safety demonstration and woke up after we were in the air – I missed the entirety of take off.

If necessary I would do it again, but I’d avoid doing it at Newark. I’d be more inclined to try to jig my flights. I still don’t see the point in paying for accommodation for literally six hours. But if I was in the economic position where I had the money to throw around, then I can safely say that I would, with protest, give in to the hotel bed and avoid the hard floor. However I survived, and should in my budget travel life I be faced with a similar predicament, I know that I can survive a similar scenario, on the whole, reasonably unharmed. And hey – it’s always nice to tick something off that bucket list!

A Splice of Europe - Montreal

When I was first looking at planning my trip for 2012, I wasn’t sure if I would make it to Canada or not. However as I was approaching the end of my time in Europe and looking at making plans for North America, I decided that Montreal was a ‘must’ to include in my itinerary, because I knew that as much as I do love the United States, I would miss Europe – and no, Montreal isn’t Europe, but people had told me it is pretty damn close – and those people were right!

If nothing else, go to Canada to go to Tim Hortons - in its original Canadian form

 Getting There

If you’re the kind of person who can handle long distances on trains or buses, then I highly recommend the option I chose – which was to take the Amtrak train from New York City to Montreal. It is long – 10+ hours – however it is absolutely stunning, following the Hudson River through upstate New York, going through some picturesque scenery and smaller towns. The Amtrak train was sleek and modern, it isn’t like 10 hours on an old rickety Czech train. The wi-fi cuts out a little but for the first half of the journey it was pretty decent. If you were to get a flight from the USA to Canada, you need to allow extra hours on either side of the flight as it is international, so really, door to door the train doesn’t take that much longer. You’re also leaving right from the middle of NYC and arriving with an immediate and easy connection to the metro in Montreal.

 
I will note that on both my train up and back, it was a practically full train and people in groups did have trouble getting seated together. They do a pre-passport check at the train station – essentially, they make sure you do have your passport and if you’re from a bizarre country they enquire as to whether you have a visa etc, just to avoid any additional delays at the border. They open up this screening desk up to an hour before the train leaves, so arriving early is in your best interest if you care about where you manage to obtain a seat.
 

Parl-ay voo Fron-say?

I know that this is obvious. For someone who is well travelled, sometimes I am shocked at my own ignorance. But I was genuinely a little jolted when I arrived in Montreal and I was surrounded by French. It wasn’t a case of it being like a secondary language, like the prevalence of Spanish throughout parts of the United States. It wasn’t just hearing people around me speaking French – it was all of the French signage and literature. There are places in Europe that have more English signage than Montreal! There’s a chain burger joint in the USA (which I looooove) called ‘Five Guys – Hamburgers and Fries’ and in Montreal, it was signed as ‘Five Guys – Hamburgers et Frites’. I’m told after chatting to some Canadians that in the state of Quebec, it’s like an intentional act of snobbery. 

This snobbery was something I was a little concerned about. I’d been to Toronto and Vancouver before, and flown with Canadian airlines who have to make announcements in French, but Montreal is all French. Like, walking into shops and being greeted with ‘bonjour’ French, where I would blink and immediately it would be known that I wasn’t a local and that I might be be treated with condescension, just like that stereotype that exists in France, of looking down upon people who don’t speak French. My French is limited to hello, goodbye, thank you, and lyrics from Lady Marmalade.  From chatting to other Canadians, I gather that Quebec City is where you might get some ‘attitude’ for not knowing French, but that in Montreal, they don’t have that same attitude. I cannot comment on Quebec City but I can say confidently that I didn’t encounter any issues in Montreal – sometimes if I was the first one to speak then I would just say hello and therefore establish that I didn’t speak French. If they greeted first, I would just reply with bonjour. If there was ever an issue where I was asked a question (do you have any smaller change, do you need to buy a bag) then I would just say, “Excuse me?” and they’d ask again in English without a bat of the eye.

There’s always something happening in Montreal

A random part of the street celebrations for the comedy festival

Montreal is one of those cities where, particularly over summer, there’s always something going on. You won’t even know that there’s something going on, but you’ll arrive in town and stumble across a parade, a festival, a market, a concert. And it seemed that my ‘stumble across’ was pretty major, and more so just my lack of research resulting in my coincidentally being in town for the Just For Laughs comedy festival – one of the world’s biggest comedy festivals. A whole section of the city was overtaken as a street festival, with various food vendors and free entertainment throughout the evening, including musicians, dancers, magicians and various forms of entertainment. And then there were the actual gigs that you could purchase tickets for. I went to see Adam Hills with a girl I befriended in the hostel – for the non-Australians reading, Adam is one of our more popular comedians and he is absolutely hysterical.  He acknowledged appropriately that as an Australian he can be crude but didn’t try to tailor his natural style. He did this bit where he was talking about an Australian band The Angels and their famous song ‘Am I ever gonna see your face again?’ This song is known for the call and reply which was never a part of the lyrics, never something the band instigated, but which at some point a fan responded with and became a part of a typical live performance. The band will sing ‘Will I ever see your face again?’ And the Aussies reply, ‘No way, get fucked, fuck off!’ Adam was getting elderly couples to demonstrate and all sorts of borderline inappropriate but typical of an Aussie things.

Click here if you want to know what I am talking about - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQ1PEiZ8Eo

Areas of Interest

Biodome - like a giant greenhouse

Montreal is one of those cities which, from a tourist perspective, has very distinctive districts and regions to explore, in addition to any random festivals or events that are going on. My hostel was based in the Latin Quarter, a funky area surrounding the pedestrian only zone of Rue St Catherine, featuring restaurants, shops and bars. The district to the north featured most prominent the Mont Royal Park, ideal for those who are into hiking, biking and the like. Not far away was Olympic Park.

A lot of the districts of Montreal, particularly in the city centre, are connected by a complex underground maze of shopping centres and tunnels. The idea is that during the bitterly cold winters, the people should be able to go about their days and get from work or university to do their errands and enjoy the city without being subjected to the freezing streets. This helps businesses to maintain their customer patronage throughout winter, which helps the economy.

The crowning jewel of Montreal, for me, is Old Montreal. It reminds me very much so of the sweeping architecture and squares of Paris, or even a Viennese or Roman feel. It isn’t like the quaint, twirling cobblestone of old Town Riga or Tallinn. It has a grand feel, where the buildings of note tower over the city, where they meet around scattered fountains and statues throughout the old town, a very European layout.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Run, don’t walk, to Montreal!

If you are from North America and you want to go to Europe and just realistically cannot make it (due to budget or career restraints) then I wholeheartedly recommend that you make it a life priority to spend some time in Montreal.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for the Canadian flags, there are times when I could genuinely believe that I was in Europe – and that all the Canadian accents around me was because of some Canadian festival in Europe causing a mass amount of Canadian tourists to be around. Something about the overall ambience, the culture, the architecture, the city layout.  But beyond this vibe, I found Montreal to be one of the most balanced cities that I’ve visited, in terms of points of interest and attractions. I didn’t spend any money on attractions or museums and I filled a medium pace of four days of entertainment – I wasn’t constantly on the go, but I wasn’t sitting around bored. If you were with friends/the type who meets people at the hostel to go out, then there’s a whole nightlife aspect to Montreal which you could add to your experiences. Plus when you look at the paid attractions – things like museums, the Biodome, Olympic Park tours, cruises – if you’ve got the money to spend, there’s another couple of days or more of entertainment.



Mesmerising fountain in one of the underground malls

The best cities to me are the ones which offer that variety – where regardless of your interests or budget, you can find yourself understanding the magic of the city and the people.

Broadway on a Budget

 I am a huge fan of musical theatre. I say this without having seen a huge number of productions, not in comparison to real musical theatre junkies. Having said that, this is largely because Australia just doesn’t have the kind of scene that you can find in London or New York City. But I love everything about theatre, I love the way that an amazing musical can overtake your body and soul and fill you with glee. My favourite part of London is West End, I love wandering around midtown in New York and taking photos of the various billboard posters and the theatres. However the life of a theatre junkie isn’t cheap, because professional musical theatre performances are expensive.

This year after Boston, I headed back to New York City, and the primary focus of this time in New York was Broadway – on a budget.

I genuinely believe that seeing a show at some point while you’re in New York City is essential to the experience, whether you’re into theatre or not. There are a plethora of options, from Broadway to Off-Broadway and even Off-Off-Broadway. If you don’t care to spend the big bucks, you could look at one of the latter two options to go out, have a night at the theatre and see a show on the cheap. However if you’re wanting to have a real ‘Broadway’ experience, then you’re looking at coughing up the cash, or hunting around to get a cheaper ticket.

Buying directly from the box office

I generally assume that if you’re reading my blog then we are related, you are either my friend or you’re interested in budget travel. Whichever category you fit into, I generally presume that paying full price at the box office isn’t something that most people in this crowd would do, if there is a cheaper alternative available. However, this is sometimes your most logical option, as you will find out when you read below. Some of the most popular shows simply don’t have cheaper options available – they don’t need to offer discounts to fill their audience to full capacity. Sometimes it is a matter of paying for the convenience – time is money, and the time you spend trying to obtain a cheaper ticket is time you could spend lazing about in Washington Square Park or shopping for bargains on Canal Street. If you have the money and would rather just buy the ticket direct and not worry about the hassle of scouting cheaper options, you can buy tickets directly from the box office at full price, either via their website or in person. Each show has its own theater, each theater has a box office. Opening hours are usually from about 10am - 7pm, however avoid in the hours surrounding  a show time.

 Sometimes you can get cheaper tickets which have various levels of ‘view restrictions.’ I saw a show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London which was restricted view because it was the front row of the balcony, and the barrier of the balcony was supposedly the restriction. However it wasn’t at a height that would affect anyone but a very, very short person or a child. This same restriction at the Victoria Apollo for Wicked in London had everyone in the front row of the balcony having to lean forward to see. Sometimes it might be a seat on the very side which will lead to you not being able to see an element from the very side of the stage. If you’re buying in person, generally, if you are upfront with box office staff, they’ll be honest with you about the extent to which the restriction will impair your view. Tell them that you’re a budget traveller, in town for a short period and want the best experience possible spending the least amount of money.

Online discounts

Just type in ‘Broadway discounted tickets’ into Google and you’ll find a whole series of options become available. This may be an option to get a cheaper ticket if you don’t have the time available to hunt around for better prices and deals in person, via the options I will list below. The problem with doing this is that you get less control over seeing where you may be sitting, and you have less of an ability to gauge whether the discounted ticket may be partial view. However you can compare to the prices listed on the official website for the same time and performance, gauge if you’re getting a good deal, and still save time in comparison to hunting around New York City on the day of the performance to get a cheaper deal.

Half price/discount booths

At the back of the steps lies access to all your Broadway dreams!

In New York City, the main TKTS booth is in Times Square, ‘under the red steps.’ Essentially, the way it works is that on the day of the show, the theatres look at how many tickets they have left to sell. Depending on how full they are, they will then allocate their discount. For example, if it is three hours before a performance and only half the theatre is sold, they might give seats away at 50% off. It’s all a gamble – if you really want to see a particular show on a particular day, but you have a price range you can afford, you cannot rely on TKTS. You just may not be able to get what you need on the day you want it.

The main booth only sells tickets in the hours leading up to a performance. There are other booths – one downtown, one in Brooklyn – but all the action is at Times Square. The other booths also offer discount tickets the day before a performance, however, the discount may not be as good s you cn get on the day of the performance. In London, the equivalent is one of the many half price/discounted booths you’ll find around the Leicester Square region, and they operate in a similar fashion to NYC – best deals available on the day of the performance, because the theatres hang onto their tickets until the day and see how many they need to sell and therefore, how low they can go with their prices.

In New York City, if you go to the Times Square booth, a TKTS rep near boards which list the shows that they are selling tickets for and what the discount is, who can answer questions for you. There will also be reps from some other discount agencies around. In my experience they’re all really nice and if you speak to them like they’re humans, they’ll be upfront with you. I saw that Once (which won the 2012 Tony for Best Musical and is currently the ‘hot show’ in town, and very expensive) actually was on the TKTS board, which rarely happens. I said out loud, in earshot of the TKTS rep “Wow, Once is being sold discounted. Wonder how shit the seats are?” and he answered me – “They’re terrible. Don’t do it.” I was chatting to one of the other reps and told him I can only really afford rush ticket prices and he put in some calls to try and get me a ticket for The Newsies in my price range, even though it was pretty much a pointless battle. He had a conversation with me about what kind of shows I enjoy (musical theatre, poppy, funny, bright ) and gave me some suggestions about options on Off-Broadway that would fit my ‘type’ of show, and would also be in my price range.

If you aren’t particularly attached to seeing a particular show, or won’t be phased if you miss out completely, then you can gamble and show up at the TKTS booth maybe an hour or even half an hour prior to doors opening – if theatres haven’t sold house tickets, sometimes they will drop to a lower discount, or house seats (read: the best seats) that were only being sold at full price will be available discounted to try to get rid of it last minute.

In general, I would recommend TKTS or one of the similar discounted agencies if you’re not attached to seeing a particular show and you have a little bit of extra cash to spend. Have maybe a list of five shows that you’d go see, and you can compare prices/seats available. Be prepared to wait in line, especially over summer, school vacations and on weekends.

Rush Tickets

Rush tickets are, essentially, cheap tickets available on the morning of a show. Rush tickets are sometimes for students only, sometimes they are general rush.  Normally you’re looking at from $20 - $30. You queue up in the morning and the tickets are available when the box office opens, typically at 10am. Typically they offer about twenty tickets or so, but this can vary. Most shows, each person can purchase two tickets. So, effectively, you’re aiming to be among the first ten people in line.

How early you need to queue up is dictated by the popularity of the show, the day of the week, and to a certain extent, the weather. I was told that for Once you would normally need to arrive at about 6am and possibly earlier – I got there at 8am on a rainy day and I was about the 25^th person in line, so I promptly left – under the assumption that there are about twenty tickets and that the people in front of me would buy more than one, I was going to miss out.  For Hairspray in London, before I knew that they did rush tickets, I went to the theatre at about 2pm to enquire in general about tickets and was told that they had a front row ticket for thirty pounds available for that night. I blinked in shock – and then later learnt that they just hadn’t sold all their rush tickets. For Bring It On: The Musical during preview, there was only one other woman and I there waiting prior to box office opening. But I could see a bunch of people waiting across the street at Memphis. I have a friend who queued for rush tickets to see How to Succeed  while Darren Criss did a limited run of just a few weeks, and she had to camp overnight  - in February.

There are a few different shows which, instead of/as well as rush tickets available on the morning of the show, there is a rush lottery available. A couple of hours before the show, you arrive at the theatre and put an entry into a barrel. They have a set number of tickets available for the lucky winners of the lottery, at a discounted price. Sometimes these tickets are in the front couple of rows, sometimes they are variously scattered around the sides of the orchestra.

Entering her name into the lottery.

When they draw the lottery, there is an exciting process in itself, with people cheering and clapping and chanting. At Peter and the Starcatcher there was a big group of people who were all going to see the show. Apparently they’d gotten cheap tickets through some other means and they had a handful of people in the group who needed a ticket. All twelve of them entered into the lottery even though they only needed three tickets. About half of them got drawn out, so there were three times where the person would call back “don’t need it!” and the whole crowd would break into cheers - it meant they would redraw.

What I and a bunch of other people did, was enter the lottery for The Newsies – the barrel opens 2 hours and 30 minutes before a performance, with the lottery drawn 2 hours prior. The drawing takes about ten minutes. If you are unsuccessful, then Peter and the Starcatcher does its lottery with the barrel opening 2 hours prior and the draw 90 minutes – so you rush the four or so streets uptown to try your luck a second time. I tried The Newsies lottery twice and Peter and the Starcatcher once and was unsuccessful each time. I must admit, I was very heartbroken but just going through that process, running madly through the streets and waiting in anticipation, was a surreal experience in itself, and  whole lot of fun. If you’re totally set on seeing a show even though you’ve missed out, this is the point where you head to TKTS and see what is available last minute.

The location of seating for rush tickets varies for show to show. I got tickets for Hairspray on West End and for Bring It On: The Musical on Broadway via rush and was in the first/second row – you have to sit with your neck craning up but you are so close to the action that the rush is unbelievable. I was told by the woman I was talking to at Bring It On that the rush tickets for Once are all really terrible seats. At the Peter and the Starcatcher  lottery, we were told that the majority of the tickets were single and double sets of seats on the far sides of the orchestra – so for the price, a fantastic deal, though you do have a side view.

The best website I’ve found which offers an up to date summary of the shows that offer rush tickets (both queuing and lottery) is: http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/82428-Broadway-Rush-Lottery-and-Standing-Room-Only-Policies However note that it is susceptible to change and I would recommend checking on the website of the show itself to confirm that nothing has changed.

Standing room only

I’m not someone who would opt for this, largely because I’m not good at standing still for long periods of time. However if a show is sold out, they will often have standing room only tickets available, for places at the back of the orchestra. These are generally at a discounted price. You will need to queue to get these tickets – I saw people queuing several hours before the show began at The Newsies, probably an hour prior to the lottery. They were in a group, they held the place of their friend while they each went forward to enter the lottery, and then came back to the standing room line. If they won the lottery then they would pay for the cheap seat, if not, they had their back up available of standing room tickets.

Which option is best for you?

The best option for you depends on your budget, your attachment to seeing a particular show and how flexible your time is. I was staying at Equity Point Hostel which is in midtown, actually next door to the Nederlander Theatre where The Newsies is showing. If you were in New York City for a whole week and you were staying in midtown, then you could potentially play the field, give different shows a go with rush and lottery tickets. Wake up early, go check out the queues – if one looks realistic at a show that interests you, then you’re sorted. If the queues are all insane, you go back to your accommodation and back to bed/to go on about your day. You could do the lottery circuit every single day for a week and surely, surely, at some point you would strike the jackpot. If you’re a serious Broadway junkie then basing yourself in midtown is the best thing to do, so that you’re close to where you need to be and not hauling yourself in from accommodation on the upper west side or Brooklyn or Queens to find out that you’ve wasted your time and it’s 6am and you could still be in bed. If you succeed with morning rush tickets, then you’ve got the whole day to yourself to explore. If you win a lottery, then it’s a perfect amount of time to grab food and then head to the show.  If you don’t want to rely on gambling or really aren’t a morning person, then the ticket booths might be the way to go, allowing for the fact that you may need to spend a couple of hours lining up.

Whatever you decide, embrace the experience, because there’s nothing quite like the amazing feeling of seeing a brilliant show and being utterly delighted by the music, the dancing, the costumes, and every enthralling moment.