#2

But you need to be very careful with your belongings since you are staying with strangers (it's okay to open yourself up and make new friends but do not trust people so easily). Always remember to bring a lock for the locker in your hostel room. Some hostels do sell locks, more expensive than they are supposed to be, of course. There are also hostel lockers that use quarters, like Hollywood Youth Hostel in Hollywood, LA. If there's no locker in your room, lock your valuables in your big baggage, or bring them with you when you leave the room. Keep them by your side when you're sleeping. I'm kind of a paranoid person, know what I did when there was no locker in the room? I hugged my bag to sleep! I haven't lost anything in hostel yet, so far lol.

Watching broadway is a must-do in NYC for many people, but not for me. I didn't watch a single show in NYC. Before I went to NYC, friends told me that I should at least watch a broadway show there. I actually wanted to follow friends' advice, but when I got there I realized that I shouldn't spend time doing something that I'm not really interested in or something that couldn't bring me satisfaction. Travellers don't just follow  travel guides and visit all the must-go's or do all the must-do's on the lists (must-eat's an exception lol), only tourists do that. So I ended up spending the three days doing things that made me happyyy. HOWEVER.... if you are interested in broadway shows and really want to watch them, you can get the tickets online (usually fking expensive), or get discounted tickets (for same-day shows) at the ticket booths.They sell full-fare tickets as well (for shows in the future). There's one at the center of Times Square: TKTS. The logo is TKTS in white color with a red background. At the booths there are boards showing ticket selling time for each broadway show. So what you need to do if you want to buy tickets is: Decide what show you want to watch, arrive 1 hour (or at least 30 minutes, because the line will be super long) before they start selling tickets for the show, line up, and buy tickets. 

The next thing is, taking subway at NYC. It's actually pretty easy, as long as you have the map. You can get one for free at visitor center. Ask the staff at the center if you don't know which subway line to take. Do not afraid to ask for help. The locals would be more than happy to help you. I've been doing "asking" most of the time and I really love doing this. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to look at the map :p This is also a good way to start a conversation with the locals. To take the buses/ subway, you need to have a metrocard. You can get this from the vending machines (at the stations), station booths, merchants or on the bus. Get a 3-day pass or something (I'm not sure) if you plan to stay for more than 3 days. I didn't know they had these day/ week passes when I was there, so I got myself a reloadable metrocard, and I walked a lot just to save money TT Good lesson though. Now I usually look for day passes first once I arrive at a new city. 

............................................................................................................. To be continued