Good Morning from New York!

Good morning, it’s a beautiful day in the big apple. It’s now 08:20am in New York (we 6 hours behind South African time).

Oh, what an adventure it has been already filled with so many emotions. Leaving my son behind was extremely hard for me but after travelling for so many hours I don’t regret my decision at all.

We travelled for 22 hours across the world and finally reached our destination to Manhattan in New York city. We arrived yesterday morning around 8am and checked into our hotel around midday. The traffic from the airport to the hotel was a bit hectic – reminded me of home.

About our trip:

• Security checks were hectic in Dubai. I had to take out my shoes too! Never had to do that before but apparently for the USA, they have to be extra careful.
• I don’t know if this happens everywhere but why is it that the airport staff are rude? During our entire trip – no one at counters smiled…
• 22 hours on the plane with a 3-year-old was easy. Kitana enjoyed the plane ride but she did get sick just before we left South Africa – so she has a cold at the moment which is horrible.
• Travelling with a fussy eater is a big problem! Kitana isn’t eating well. She told me she wants to go home to eat porridge and come back. Haha!

• Wish I packed lighter jackets. Vije told me New York is cold but for me it’s very similar to our weather at home so my big jacket wasn’t really necessary.
• Our carry on luggage was just too much – Vije and I both carried laptops, 1 vanity bag and 1 small suitcase with extra clothes plus my handbag. Carrying extra clothes for your child on the plane is a MUST. I changed Kitana twice during our trip.
• Wish I had business class – my back is killing me.
• I expressed breast milk during the flight – people were swearing me for taking so long in the toilet. Haha! Aeroplanes need to accommodate for nursing moms.
• Aeroplane food sucks!
• Aeroplane toilets are disgusting when you have a flight with 499 people.
• I’m tired of watching Dora the explorer – The only show Kitana watched on the plane!
• Carrying activities on the plane for your little one is a must –  I carried an activity book, blank pages, and crayons for our trip. Kitana enjoyed colouring and learning her numbers. I bought everything Disney related to get us excited about our upcoming trip to Disney world!
• Kitana was exhausted when we arrived at the airport. The times and new place overwhelmed her so she cried the entire time until we reached the hotel.

Yesterday was exhausting for us so we got to the hotel room, ate, had a bath and passed out! I slept like from 4pm yesterday until 12:10am this morning. I’m still adjusting to the times so I woke up wondering about. The city at night is beautiful and it seems like no one sleeps here because there was still traffic at midnight.

What I’ve learnt about New York thus far:

• Our Uber trip from the airport to the hotel cost us R 2000.
• Food is expensive for us because of the exchange rate – we spent around R 2500 already on food (room service). I’ve learnt that there are higher taxes in New York.
• New York is huge. So many tall buildings!
• Fast pace city.
• Fashion is big here – everyone in the city looks smart and even the moms walk around pushing their Doona strollers! Can you believe it? I spotted one already!
• So many awesome restaurants – This is one thing I am really excited for because I love good food.
• Times square is exactly what everyone says about it. 🙂 We staying in Times Square which is amazing – we on the 44th floor of a hotel so the view is something else…

What are we doing today?

• We going on a food tour with the hotel.
• We visiting a sushi restaurant.
• A bit of shopping and visiting the iconic places – Can you guess one of them? 😉

So the Question is what do you want from New York? 😉 I am going to be purchasing small items for a few lucky readers throughout my trip.

How to enter:

All you need to do is follow my journey and posts. 

1. Comment below – What would you like from New York?

2. Share this post on social media.

3.  Subscribe to my newsletter on the right-hand side.

If you have snapchat – add me – youbabyandi.

Good luck!

I am still working throughout the trip which kinda sucks…

I will try to publish as many posts as I can in between tours.

Loves of love

Shan

Shan

Hi, I’m Shan. I’m an entrepreneur and a sucker for good adventures. I was listed in Forbes Africa 30 under 30 2019 and just recently launched my start-up – MomSays.

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