Rare Street

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Over the summer I made plans to spend four fall days in New York City. True to my hopes the weather was absolutely perfect this October weekend. Booking a flight was the easy part. Finding a place to stay was not. I have a few friends in NYC, but like many New Yorkers their places are small and or shared. I didn't want to impose and preferred to be independent without worry of disturbing people when returning from jaunts around town or coming in late at night.

Recommended budget hotels like the Pod were all booked. I checked out a few sites like New York 50- a site devoted to hotels and rentals for around $50 a night. Needless to say the reviews were atrocious. I found various lists of top rated budget hotels including this About.com collection, but they were booked too. I checked out a condo rental site with attractive rates, but balked when I learned they wanted a 50% deposit forked over via wire transfer. Yeah right. Take a credit card already - This isn't 1950. For a month I occasionally read reviews and prices. Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns and the other chains run north of $300 a night in Manhattan. The nicer hostels were booked. Tripadvisor's reviews of budget hotels were actually amusing to read - if not frightening. When finding a place for under $140 I would pull up the Tripadvisor review and read horrifying tales of bugs, mold, surly staff, and even beetles crawling over people as they slept. I wish I had bookmarked some of the reviews as they're hilarious. I'm far from high maintenance, but I do require my room beetle free.

Someone on Lonely Planet mentioned the Chelsea Pines Inn to another poster looking for accommodations. It was the neighborhood I wanted to be in, for a very good price, and they had availability. Tired or searching and comparing I immediately booked it.

Chelsea Pines sits on 14th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue. Typical to the area its a narrow building with five floors, with about four to five guest rooms per floor. Giving the rooms a distinct style and character, each is dedicated to a former actor or actress from Hollywood's golden years. There's a sunroom and patio for socializing and meeting fellow visitors, and breakfast is served every morning until 11am. Even though I always travel with earplugs just in case I wind up above a noisy street, the sounds below on 14th Street didn't wake me at all. It was fairly quiet at night, and central airconditioning helps too. (Above photo of 14th Street taken from room.)

Something else makes this place special though: The variety and diversity in their rooms and rates. The deluxe, modern rooms on the lower floors are decked out in granite, have iPod docks, flat screen TVs and modern fixtures. Standard rooms reside in the middle floors, and the fourth and fifth floor house smaller economy rooms with a partial shared bath - (not uncommon in NYC hotels.) My room wasn't as modern as the updated ones, but that was ok by me because the rate was below average for a place of it's overall superb quality. When I return I may opt for fancier accommodations, but this time my needs were simple. There are plenty of economy rooms dotting the city, but being able to find an economy room that's also in a well hosted and well kept building is rare. I'm appreciative of proprietor Jay and the staff for offering their guests a variety of economic options, which results in a nice blend of guests too.

Although there were a few faces manning the front desk I didn't meet, I chatted with the owner Jay a few times and met a small group visiting from Scotland. Chelsea Pines is clean, comfortable, and more than spacious enough for myself traveling solo - and I'd recommend it as a "second home" to anyone staying in the city.

They're at 317 West 14th Street in Chelsea, and about 30 steps from the subway too. Check out Chelsea Pines Inn .com for rate details and their history. And any other hotel should be so fortunate to have their Tripadvisor ranking.

If you find them booked when visiting NYC check out this article in New York Magazine listing other highly rated budget hotels.

by James Van Dellen

Jonker Street: The Street with Many Names

Copyright (c) 2009 Nowal Khan

Jonker Street, Jonker Walk or Jalan Hang Jebat, you can pick your own choice of name to call this famous street in the heart of Melaka, Malaysia. Fondly called as Jonker Street, this narrow alley was once a wealthy street where rich colonial families lived while today, it evolved into antique collectors and bargain hunters' paradise. It features unique antique pieces dating back to 17th century, handmade Chinese porcelain, decorative brassware, cast iron beds, lamps, age old coins and genuine paper money that were used in early Melakan trade. You can also find priceless Buddha statues and one of its kind pieces made by locals from different Melakan eras.

Shopkeepers offer great deals to buyers. Indeed, Jonker Street is the best place to hunt for unusual finds and center pieces. Among the noted antique dealers are Abdul Company which sells antique furniture, Chinese porcelain, brassware, cast-iron beds, and lamps from all over Malaysia; pioneers T.K. Kutty and Hj Abu Bakar while second hand shops are found at Nos 25, 26 and 55. Within these shops, you can find antiques dating back as far as 300 years and some Victorian memorabilia.

Jonker Street is part of the old Chinatown of Melaka. This, aside from the fact that most of Jonker Street's occupants are Chinese, appears to be the reason why this street is closely identified to Chinatown, some even mistakenly referred to this street with the latter. On the other hand, Jonker Walk is part of Jonker Street. This is the exact location of the Jonker Walk night market, a must-do when visiting Melaka.

While Jonker Street is known worldwide for its rare and priceless finds, by weekends around 6pm, the street is transformed into a busy, carnival like affair which tourists visiting Melaka eagerly looks forward to. The Jonker Walk night market is a weekly affair for locals where they assemble stalls and display products to sell. The usual wares you can find in this side of the street reflect their cultural heritage such as local and ethnic Melakan fare, indigenous handicrafts and souvenirs you can take home, ornamental jewelry and wooden clogs. Prices tend go higher for nonlocals but some stalls encourage bargaining. For bazaar type shopping spree, don't miss Jonker Walk night market while in Melaka.

Another thing that made Jonker Street in Melaka famous is its food choices. This street is considered as the most popular food and entertainment district in Melaka, Malaysia. Here you can find extensive food options from different cultures. One must try Baba Nyonya delicacies to complete his journey through Melaka. Jonker Street is full of shops and cafes in daytime while food hawkers come at night. You can just imagine how busy Jonker Street is, anytime of the day. Wide variety of food and beverages are offered in Jonker Street. Ice cold desserts are among the famous ones which are highly recommended for hungry travelers.

Other must try food trips are Melaka's signature food, the Chicken Rice Balls, Dim Sum, seaweeds, candied fruits, Put Chai Ko, Hongkong's Curry fish balls, Nyonya's pineapple tarts, fried radish cake, Popiah, bbq squid, fried carrot cake, Vadai and herbal eggs. This is only a portion of the food list which you should try while passing Jonker Street. Basically, Chicken Rice Balls are balled rice, served with sweet chili sauce and steamed chicken meat. One picky palate could never go wrong here.

If you crave for some nightlife, Jonker Street offers karaoke nights where entrance is free and you can sing your heart's out in whatever dialect you like best. Available dialects are English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Hakka.

Although Jonker Street made some improvements in their way of life and adapted to some modern methods, it never lost its cultural charm and tradition. This, in fact, is very visible with their buildings, houses and shops that were constructed with elaborate carvings and pillars reflecting culture and heritage of Melaka, Malaysia.

About the Author

Nowal has been a freelance travel writer and photographer for almost 10 years now. His expertise lies in Asia Travel Guides. Melaka Travel Guide is his recent travel guide to the historical city of Malaysia. The guide provides travel, tourism, heritage and local attraction information of Melaka including Jonker Street and many others.

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