NYC Sightseeing Cruise

October 29, 2018 Archel Arindaeng

The New York skyline is best viewed from the water! Before our trip, we booked a sightseeing cruise with KKday.com. KKday is Asia’s leading travel platform where you can book amazing experiences for your next destination. On our last day, we took a metro bus to Pier 78 and boarded our boat with minutes to spare. It was time to depart, and soon we were cruising down the Hudson River. Make sure you arrive 15 minutes before departure to get a good seat.

The boat was very spacious and there was a lot of room to sit or roam around. They had a downstairs area with seats and tables if you didn’t want to be outside in the cold. Make sure to bring a jacket, it gets a little windy and chilly. We definitely got the best views outside on the upper deck. They had a bar, just in case you wanted something to drink. We also had a knowledgeable tour guide who pointed out all buildings and bridges and told us some fun facts about the city.

On our 90-minute tour, we passed by many sights in NYC and New Jersey. We got to see the Chrysler Building, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and more. The highlight of our trip was seeing the Statue of Liberty in person, it’s just a majestic and beautiful up close! I recommend finding a spot near the edge before the boat comes up towards the Statue of Liberty, so you get a great shot without people in it. If you have time during your trip, you can catch a ferry to the statue and take a closer look!

This was a great way to see New York’s iconic skyscrapers from a different perspective. Next time, I definitely want to try taking a sunset or twilight cruise to see the city lit up!

Book your sightseeing cruise with KKday.com.

NYC Explorer Pass

October 29, 2018 Archel Arindaeng

With so many things to do in New York City, planning your itinerary is very important before you leave for your trip! We bought our Explorer Pass on KKday.com and looked at the full list of valid attractions on their website. KKday is Asia’s leading travel platform where you can book amazing experiences for your next destination. The Explorer Pass has over 80 things to choose from, but figuring out what items you’d like to see depends on a few things. If you decide to purchase the Explorer Pass, I have a few tips! Your choices depend on how long you’ll be in the city and what area you are staying in. Some tours take a few hours so you want to make sure you time it accordingly. Also be sure to look at hours of operations and if there are lines. Below are the activities we got to experience while in New York, having an Explorer Pass definitely made planning easier!

1. Madison Square Garden

We had an exclusive inside look at the famous Madison Square Garden. Home to many iconic concerts, basketball and hockey games! We had an opportunity to view the stadium at different angles, from a box suite and the sky bridge where media sit. They had a VR experience that allowed to have front row seats to a few events held at the venue. At the end of the tour, we got to visit the locker rooms, where the athletes get ready and take breaks.

2. Natural Geographic: Encounter

An immersive and education experience all about sea life without having animals in captivity. During the guided part of the tour, you journey through different parts of the world, like the deep sea, coral reefs in the south. We became anchovies with 3d glasses and played with sea lions in the digital kelp forest. By using cutting-edge technology, Nat Geo Encounter was a unique way of learning about our ocean and why we need to protect it.

3. Biking in Central Park

We used the Explorer Pass to book an all-day bike rental. The pickup spot was only a couple blocks from Central Park. The rental included a lock so we used it while we visited the American Museum of Natural History. In Central Park, there is a bike route that loops around. It was a fun way to sightsee in the park, definitely faster than walking and saves you a lot of time!

4. American Museum of Natural History

During our bike ride, we stopped at the American Museum of Natural History. This museum is must see! There are so many things to see, my favorites were the dinosaur fossils and the animal displays. You can spend hours in here reading all the information and getting lost in history!

5. Museum of Modern Art

6. Hop-on, Hop-off Big Bus Tour

With our explorer pass, we had access to the Uptown and Downtown routes, which are both super convenient if you are trying to see most of the top attractions in NYC. Make sure you get a boarding pass from a rep, before getting onto a bus. They have an app which has live tracking of the buses and a map to show you where each stop is located. Make sure to board first so you can get a seat on the open upper deck. They have complimentary headphones if you want to plug in and listen to the guided tour.

7. Top of the Rock

I highly recommend Top of the Rockefeller Center over the Empire State building! We arrived at around 9:30 pm on a Thursday and we only waited in line for about 10 minutes before going up. While going up 65 floors they have a projection on the ceiling of the elevator. Once you get to the top they have various observation levels. The first two have glass panes, but if you want an unobstructed view go to the third upper deck. You will get an amazing view of the Empire State Building! It was breathtaking seeing all the city lights at night, and I’m sure the view during the day is just as beautiful too!

Purchase your NYC Explorer Pass at KKday.com.

The Ride NYC – Masquerade

October 24, 2018 Archel Arindaeng

The Ride combined everything about New York City into one; lights, comedy, tours, and quality entertainment. Experience a tour bus decked out with LED lights, two hilarious hosts that are also experts about their hometown, and front row seats to one of the most unique shows in the city. Once you step onto The Ride, the streets of New York have magically transformed into a stage.

THE TOUR

We made reservations through KKday.com for the 6 pm tour which was perfect timing for sunset. KKday is Asia’s leading travel platform where you can book amazing experiences for your next destination. Once it got dark, all the lights came to life! All the seats on the bus were facing one way, towards the street, and each one had a great view. With big windows that extended all the way to the ceiling, we were able to look all around. There were so many things to see when we looked up, like skyscrapers and even the Times Square Ball, which drops on Dec 31. If you go during October, The Ride is themed Masquerade. All the performers wore Halloween costumes and pretended to be "ghosts" that roamed the city. Some sights that we got to see were Madison Ave, New York Public Library, Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, the Empire State Building, just to name a few. There are also a few TV screens on the bus that visually explain some of these attractions. The tour was filled with facts and interactive quizzes. We used traffic to our advantage!

THE HOSTS

What I loved the most about our tour were our two hosts. You are not going to hear your average tour commentary! They told jokes, kept the audience engaged and even interacted with the performers and pedestrians on the sidewalk. They kept the energy alive by starting a “bus wave” were we all waved at people outside. It was so funny seeing which people gladly waved back, and those who didn’t really care about the huge bus of tourists passing by. With all the fun and laughter, it felt like a comedy show as well! Even the bus had a persona of itself. It reacted to jokes, told us information about buildings and pretended to be the subway (flashing lights and sounds)!

THE ENTERTAINMENT

We had a surprise performance at every turn! The Ride blasted music allowing the street performers to express themselves through dance, song, and rap. This traveling theater featured various types of performances. We encountered a breakdancing surgeon, an Irish dancer, a saxophone and a masked singer duo, and a glowing ballerina at near the Columbus statue. We even enjoyed a rapper, who walked through the crowded streets of the city to keep up with the bus. He even had a special handshake with one of the shop owners.

We ended our tour with a group karaoke session, everyone was singing the classic song “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra. We were dazzled with our journey through Manhattan. The Ride is definitely an experience you can’t miss while you’re traveling to New York!