Schmap Photo Shortlist

A picture of Tivoli Theater in Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis which I took last May was shortlisted to be included in the 12th edition of the Schmap St. Louis guide. I hope it will be selected in the final publication, which will be published in July 2010.

Hostel Review: Hostel 104

Another hostel where I stayed in New York is the Hostel 104, located at First Street, between 104th and 105th streets uptown, in Harlem. It is accessible from the Line 6 subway, about 4 blocks away from the 103rd and Lexington Avenue station.

The hostel, located in a white multi-storey building, is fairly new. Among its amenities are free breakfast (although I wasn't to get one because I get up late), WiFi, electronic card access, a common kitchen, and included linen. There are also vending machines in the ground floor/reception area where you can purchase bottled water, juice and chips.

I got the private ensuite for $38 a night, and I would recommend it over the cheaper dorm-type accomodation (with up to 12 people to a room and a common T&B, like the pic above), as it affords you with a bit more privacy. Lockers are provided free but you have to have your own lock (you can purchase one at the reception for $5).

The beds and linen are clean, and the staff is accommodating. The WiFi is a bit iffy from my room though. Check in time is 3pm, and check out is 12 noon. You may have your luggage stored for free if you still have time to kill after you check out.

Address: 2027 1st Avenue, New York. Website: http://www.hostel104.com/

Bug-Eyed Helicopter

A 1945-vintage Bell-47D1 helicopter, on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Jumbo Kingdom

A defunct floating restaurant sitting in Manila Bay, the Jumbo Kingdom was modelled after the popular floating restaurant in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.

Go West

A small train in St. Louis Zoo, one of the attractions in the park

Camiguin Scenes

I'm on a stay-cation for most of June, so I would be posting some pictures from my travels these past 3 months. This set is from Camiguin, from last April 10, 2010.

A Place to Rest

a bench in a park along Delmar Boulevard, in St Louis, MO beckons weary passers-by, inviting them to a place where they can rest and see the world go by

Merlion at Night

A long exposure picture of the Merlion, one of Singapore's best know landmark.

Gadget Feature: Eton Microlink FR160

I'm a self-confessed gadget enthusiast, with a bit of survivalist streak on the side too. So when I saw this gadget at RadioShack I know I have to have it. It would come handy during camping trips, and as an addition to a disaster preparedness kit (as the typhoon season is fast approaching) or bug-out bag as well.

The Eton Microlink FR160, co-branded by the American Red Cross, is a self powered AM/FM radio. It is capable to receive NOAA weather band in 7 channels. It also comes with a LED flashlight, a USB cell phone charger, and an earphone jack.

What's good is that the 241-gram unit is powered in 2 ways, via solar power through its built-in solar cells, or through a hand-cranked generator. Leaving the unit out for 8-10 hours under the sun would generate enough juice to keep the radio playing for 3-5 hours. Using the hand crank for 90 second would charge the unit to keep it playing for 30-40 minutes.

The hand crank can also be used to recharge MP3 players or cell phones, via the USB charger. Ten to 15 minutes of cranking would equate to one or more minutes of talk time.

The Eton FR160 is also available in Amazon.com for $30.

Cardinals Fan

A baby - dressed in Cardinals red - watches the ballgame with her mom, at Busch Stadium, in St. Louis.

May 12, 2010

Fly High

Happy 112th Independence Day, Philippines!

Finally...

An email from Delta says that the airline is waiving the $150 ticket redemption fee when booking flights using frequent flyer miles, effective immediately.

I think this is not related to the article ran by Time yesterday about how difficult it is to redeem miles (wink, wink).

Hostel Review: Central Park Studios

Central Park Studios is located at East 105th Street. The location is very convenient as it is very near the Line 6 subway station at 103rd Street. The neighborhood around the hostel is OK, there are a couple of Mexican and Chinese restaurants and shops I saw on the way there from the subway. It is also only 3 blocks away from Central Park.

The building where the hostel is located is a bit old, with four floors and no elevators, only stairs. The office is a bit difficult to find at first, since it is located at the side of the stairs, especially when arriving at night (which I did).

The staff is friendly and helpful. I only booked for a night, choosing a dorm-type accommodation, four to a room, for about $25 a night. My room is located at the third floor, and I find it cozy and clean. The main door is a bit tough to open though, as my key got stuck a couple of times. Showers and toilet are communal, and so is the kitchen. Lockers are also provided, but you have to use your own lock. There is also free wifi, and the common area has couches and TV.

Bottomline: it's not the best hostel I've been, but I would recommend it. I love the location, and the staff is friendly and helpful.

Useful info: address is 150 East 105th Street, near Lexington Avenue. Office hours are from 9.30am-12 midnight. Bookings can be made through hostelworld.com

People Watching

Watching people in their natural habitat is one good way of getting a grasp of a city's character, especially in a big city such as New York. There's a subtle art to it, I think, and one must do it in as an unobtrusive and less creepy manner as possible. Nonchalance while snapping a picture of them would also help you from not getting accosted or getting rude stares.

People watching, or technically naturalistic observation, has a following already. Wikihow has beginner's guide on how to observe people, and even New York Times had a piece about the practice.

pics, from above: lovers check out the pictures they have taken in Central Park; a tourist snaps a picture in busy Times Square; an Abercrombie & Fitch employee entertaining a would-be customer; an old lady in Museum of Modern Art grounds.

Yummy

Waking to the sound of the stewardess chanting "chicken or beef" at 32,000 feet, and cutting short a well deserved sleep to get this reward is one of the highlights of air travel.

Mathematical Elegance

With a shape of a flattened catenary, the St. Louis Gateway Arch exudes mathematical elegance. A catenary is the idealized shaped formed by a chain when hanged on its ends and acted only by its own weight.

Because the Arch narrows as it nears the top, its shape would correspond to the shape a weighted chain would take if the links in the middle are lighter.

The equation to describe tha Arch's shape would be y=693.8597-68.7672cosh(0.0100333x)

Flights of Fancy

I love airplanes ever since I was a boy, and flying from point A to point B, tiring as it may be on some occasions, is one of the aspects that I love about travelling.

Here are some of the planes that I took in the past six months, from top: the Delta 747-400, at Detroit; the Cebu Pacific Air Airbus A319, at Chep Lap Kok airport in HK; the Delta Canadair CRJ900 going to St. Louis; and the new Philippine Airlines Boeing 777, bound for HK from Manila.

Solomon Guggenheim Musem

The Solomon Guggenheim Museum is located at the corner of East 90th Street and Fifth Avenue, in a stretch called Museum Mile (the stretch of that road hosts the Met Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Guggenheim, among others).

The museum, which contains an extensive collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and modern art, was designed by the famed Frank Lloyd Wright. It opened in 1959.

Useful info: website: guggenheim.org. The museum opens at 10am and closes at 5:45pm. Tickets start at $18

Big Apple

St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue

St. Thomas Church in 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue is an Episcopal church, built in 1914.

Atlas

The statue of Atlas in front of the Rockefeller Center in New York. The Art Deco bronze piece was created by scuptor Lee Lawrie, and was installed in 1937.

The Red Door

The door of this old house in Delmar Boulevard looks so quaint that I just have to take a picture of it.

Waiting for Passengers

A horse-drawn carriage driver waits for passengers (aka tourists), in Times Square, New York

Skyscraper City

Skyscrapers in Manhattan

Eads Bridge

Once the longest arch bridge in the world upon its completion in 1874, the Eads Bridge spans the Mississipi River and connects Missouri to Illinois.

The 1.9-kilometer long bridge is the first to use steel as primary structural component. The MetroLink light rail travels along its rail deck to connect St. Louis to East St. Louis, IL.

Eads Bridges became part of the National Historic Landmark list in 1964

St. Patrick's Cathedral

The neo-Gothic styled St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of New York. Located in 5th Avenue in Manhattan, the church takes up a whole block.

The church, constructed in 1858, has spires that reach 330 feet from street level. The church and its associated buildings were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976

The Artist is Present

Marina Abramovic's performance art piece in Museum of Modern Art, which I saw last week, ends today.

During the performance, which runs from morning till the museum closes, the artist would sit wordlessly in a chair at the middle of the platform, while inviting the audience to sit across her for as long as they like.