Singapore Expats

Anybody is thinking to travel to US between 14th till 23rd of Oct?
Am thinking to go to NYC and LA so either the route is like SIN->LA, NY->SIN (preferably this one) or the other way around.
I found a return ticket that is about $1,000 but it has to be a min of 2 people departing and returning at the same time.
Anybody who is interested, PM me pls? Cheers.

Make that S$1,100 about. UA airlines.

What the...?

Don't worry Kimi, he's flooding the board at the moment!

For a minute there I thought it was some cryptic alien language meaning 'Have a nice trip.'

Any recommended places to visit in NY City, NY State especially near Troy and Boston that are not written in Lonely Planet perhaps?

Kimi wrote:Any recommended places to visit in NY City, NY State especially near Troy and Boston that are not written in Lonely Planet perhaps?

Kia Ora Kimi!

Have a look here :http://newyork.citysearch.com/

Hope that'll help you a little.

Kimi wrote:Any recommended places to visit in NY City, NY State especially near Troy and Boston that are not written in Lonely Planet perhaps?

Yikes! Kimi be careful. Boston is in Massachusetts, not New York State. Have you a place to stay near Albany/Troy? You could be arriving right at peak foliage season when everything is booked solid.

http://www.iloveny.com/fall/pages/peakmap.html

If I were going to be in Boston near Halloween, I would definitely take a trip up to Salem, Mass. Its close and old and quaint. I'm sure there a re bus trips from Boston.

I know Boston is not in NY State... The thing is only those 3 cities I'm going to go to as this holiday is rather short unfortunately.
I was thinking to stay at a friend's room in a dorm or something like that around MIT in Boston but then again dorm system there is not like in Japan probably... Cheers for the warning BH10Y!
I do have a place to stay in NYC and Troy, but for Boston I haven't really confirmed yet, being busy to catch up with work before the holiday, yikes!

Cheers everybody for the recommendation.
I'm a little bit worried about the hassle on the security check when arriving at the airport there but I guess for those who have met me, I certainly don't look like a terorist ay?! It's going to be JFK, well can't be bothered to check yet whether there is only one or more of international airports in NY...

Thank goodness I did bring some coats and winter/autumn clothes from Japan, but how cold would it be around NY and Boston in Oct by any chance?

Lastly, since I'm going to arrive at JFK quite late already and I'm thinking to go to Troy directly from the airport, I suppose Greyhound bus is my best means for transport? Should I book a ticket in advance?

After a few days in Troy, I'll be in NYC, maybe going to White Plains and certainly Manhattan, and after staying in NYC for a few days, then going to Boston before having to head to the JFK again. Again, Greyhound bus is probably the best to move around ay? Now that I think, probably should get one of those rail pass or bus pass?

Not sure why I'm a little worried, more than before I went to Europe and there I booked my train tickets at the spots like for the Deutsche Bahn and one or two staff didn't even speak English very well. Maybe cause of the seemingly high tension in US...

Kimi wrote:
Thank goodness I did bring some coats and winter/autumn clothes from Japan, but how cold would it be around NY and Boston in Oct by any chance?

I can be fairly chilly, but it's all relative. It should reach as low as 0C or colder at night; however it can also be pleasantly warm during the day. You can check average temperatures on the web.

Kimi wrote: Lastly, since I'm going to arrive at JFK quite late already and I'm thinking to go to Troy directly from the airport, I suppose Greyhound bus is my best means for transport? Should I book a ticket in advance?

Never take a Greyhound bus unless it is th eonly alternative. Look into taking train - Amtrak (http://www.amtrak.com).

Fall is a beautiful time, you will enjoy!

Definitely take the train as Merlion said, much better alternative (if only to keep you out of port authority...). Trains in the US are not like triains in Japan, not nearly as fast or as posh.

Go to weather.com to check weather. This time of year the temperature can easily fluctuate 30 degrees in 24 hours. Bring lots of layers.

First, if you want cheap accomodation in Boston, you could try staying in hostels.

Try hostelling intl's boston hostel;
http://www.bostonhostel.org/

As for commuting between NY and Boston, I would highly recommend the train over the bus, it will be more expensive though.

However, if you don't mind bussing, check out the Chinatown busses. It's really cheap (about US$30 roundtrip) and the busses are newer and more comfortable than greyhound.
http://www.chinatown-bus.com/

As for weather, October will alternate between hot and cold as the seasons are changing. My friend in NYC said it was 80 degree F the other day! Bring layers but also bring autumn friendly clothes.

Cheers Merlion, Mary HB, and rv224.
I heard as well about how dodgy China Town can be...
If it's not that cold as I feared, then it should be fine then. I was walking around Stockholm only with one layer in Sept and it was actually quite chilly but then again I walked a lot too not to feel it

Something else I was wondering about...
What can one get during a campus visit in US by any chance? I mean I was mostly hoping to be able to attend one of their classes as an observer, of course as a one-time thing, to see how classes are conducted in the univ. I'll visit, esp. of the particular prof. I'm interested in, in his/her work of course, you dodgy people!
Would it be silly to ask such a thing?
Cheers in advance.

Kimi wrote:Cheers Merlion, Mary HB, and rv224.
I heard as well about how dodgy China Town can be...
If it's not that cold as I feared, then it should be fine then. I was walking around Stockholm only with one layer in Sept and it was actually quite chilly but then again I walked a lot too not to feel it

Something else I was wondering about...
What can one get during a campus visit in US by any chance? I mean I was mostly hoping to be able to attend one of their classes as an observer, of course as a one-time thing, to see how classes are conducted in the univ. I'll visit, esp. of the particular prof. I'm interested in, in his/her work of course, you dodgy people!
Would it be silly to ask such a thing?
Cheers in advance.

If you approach the prof and say you are interested in his class and want to sit in on a couple of them, he most likely will be thrilled and will oblige. I have done this a few times.

If the class size is big (>30, say), you don't even have to ask. I have done this several times

i don't think harvard, MIT, et al would let him sit in.

maybe it's better to try UMASS boston, tufts or BU.