Newark/JFK to Manhattan via Helicopter for $99

by Justin Glow on

How much does it cost to take a cab from JFK or Newark to Manhattan these days?

US Helicopter — an “8-Minute Airport Shuttle” — says it’s a cool $60, but that seems pretty high. Regardless, the company is offering a helicopter ride from either JFK or Newark for only $99 one way, which seems pretty fair considering regular helicopter tours of Manhattan can cost almost $200 per person for less than 20 minutes. So if you’re planning on taking a pricey helicopter tour of NYC anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone and get yourself from the airport to your hotel in style?

The $99 is a sale price which lasts until October 31st, when the fee will get bumped back up to $159.

Tours on the Run

by Catherine Bodry on

One of my favorite ways experience a new place is by going for a jog. I love not having a map or a plan, just tying on my shoes and meandering along. I’ve had memorable runs in Tuscany as well as Ireland and France. Suffering from annoying jet lag in Asia motivated me to get out at dawn in China, Vietnam and Thailand. Asia is buzzing at first light, and in Shenzhen as well as Hanoi people gathered in parks for exercise routines that ranged from flag dancing to tai chi to something that seriously resembled jazzercise. These runs always felt a little bit magical, like I was privy to sights other tourists didn’t get to see. I also never felt like the usual conspicuous tourist, but just seemed to melt into the landscape with all the other early-rising exercisers.

I love running as a way to get to know a place so much that I’ve been planning to write a post about it for a while now. And then today I came across the website for City Running Tours, which offers guided jogs in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Personalized tours are led by a guide who takes you on a nice long run and points things out along the way. Runs start at $60 for the first 6 miles, and are $6 per person per mile after that. Besides the guided tour, you also get a t-shirt and a souvenir photo.

I’m not a huge fan of guided activities, but this is the type of tour I would totally take part in. I have to try really hard to get all my exercise in while on the road (especially in countries where transportation is cheap and the air quality bad, like India), and an early morning jog with other travelers seems like a great way to wake up, burn some calories, and do some sightseeing.

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Seinfeld Via Google Maps

by Erik Olsen on

It pains me to think that there will come a time when people think of Seinfeld the way I now think of, say I Love Lucy. Already, you watch some of those older episodes and the pictures a bit faded, the styles dated and even some of the jokes a bit worn. I don’t want Seinfeld to get any older. I want to show to range in my thoughts as fresh as the bread I buy at the local bakery. Having lived in New York for the last (almost) eight years, I feel like Seinfeld and New York are one, and to see the show get old kind of makes me feel old.

All of that is a long preamble to a nice little Google mash up I saw over at Gothamist that refreshes the Seinfeld allure, if just for a moment. The map shows many of the spots in Manhattan where various scenes and episodes took place. Take, for example, Jerry’s apartment on 81st and Columbus, where, the map tells us, Jerry actually DID live while here doing stand up. And, of course, the location in mid-town of the infamous Soup Nazi, who has made quite a little business keeping that character alive. So, good stuff for Seinfeld fans and New Yorkers alike.

Enlightenment Available in Upstate New York

by Iva Skoch on

During a recent trip up the Hudson river (Carmel, NY to be precise,) friends took me to The Chuang Yen Monastery, home of the largest indoor Buddha statue in the Western hemisphere. I must say the complex of buildings is quite impressive, especially the one that houses the 37-foot tall Buddha Vairocana and 10,000 small Buddha statues. The hall can accommodate 2,000 people.

For those advanced in Buddhism, this is what they say about him: “Vairocana is regarded as the highest form, a god of light whose reflection throughout the universe is represented as endless. His wisdom is the Wisdom of the Dharmadhatu. The Dharmadhatu is the Realm of Truth is which all things exist as they really are. Vairocana’s wisdom is also referred to as the All-Pervading Wisdom of the Dharmakaya, the absolute Buddha nature.”

There you have it. Almost as mind-boggling as Heidegger.

Photo of the Day (7/25/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on


There’s no guessing what kind of prizes are available here if you win this carnival game. How big is the prize you ask anyway? It’s big… It’s a “BIG ASS PRIZE.” This game vendor was captured at Coney Island in New York by shadixpn during Memorial Day weekend when I’m sure the place was crawling with children and kid-at-heart adult types looking to win a big stuffed toy.