i go to new york

(those are weekend rates, weekday rates are a bit cheaper)

the Chinatowns were pretty hit-and-miss

could refer both to the bus service, and the guys shooting at each other in cheap-bus turf wars

bus was $54, train would have been $200 (my return journey is on labor day, so this might not be usual). flying would have been $150ish.

is the $1 bus a scam teaser rate for only one seat? i remember RyanAir offering 5 pound plane tickets to Greece but you had to be the fifth caller or something.

yeah

i like bolt better than mega, bolt picks up at penn station which is convenient. mega picks up three avenues away

but if you're missing the UK, mega is a double decker.

the megabus boarding area has some sweet refugee camp vibes

― lag∞n, Tuesday, July 30, 2013 4:02 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

i took megabus last year on the wednesday before thanksgiving. the worst

traveling the wednesday before thanksgiving is pretty much a misery no matter how you go, iirc.

i feel like i have tried it all. bus, plane, drive, train, and it is all awful. driving being the best because even if you're stuck in traffic you don't have to listen to/smell/be pressed into so so so many other humans.

For the record, caek, in the orbit of NYC you have other options for trains besides Amtrak, although not to Boston. The Metro North plugs you into all kinds of pleasant places in Jersey, the Hudson River Valley and Connecticut, and for most of those you can get on at Harlem-125th Street which is a short bus ride from you. These can be very cheap, especially at off-peak times. The Long Island Railroad, naturally, goes all over Long Island. Haven't fooled around with that at all.

metro north is great if you want to go to new haven for anything, or stamford or wherever.

Yeah, I keep postponing New Haven architecture tourism but it's only a matter of time. I took the metro north up to New Canaan (not an un-cute town if you want a dose of Rich White Main Street, like in the movies) to see the Glass House a couple weeks ago and it was a very pleasant experience all round. Just keep an eye on the timetables, the trains seem to be organized around people commuting to NYC for work, so trips to the city later in the evening are pretty infrequent.

yeah metro north from 125th is what i have to take to get to my CT cricket games apparently.

for future ref, does it make sense/is it possible to get metro north to new haven and then connect in new haven to whatever the boston equivalent is to do the second half of the journey?

there's an amtrak station in new haven but i wasn't aware of any train to boston when i was there

besides amtrak, i mean.

ya the boston commuter rail taps out at providence iirc

whatever the boston equivalent is to do the second half of the journey?

lol its so cute that u imagine we have a comprehensive local rail network

is the $1 bus a scam teaser rate for only one seat? i remember RyanAir offering 5 pound plane tickets to Greece but you had to be the fifth caller or something.

― bishop desmond youtube (sanskrit), Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:15 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ive never gotten $1 tix but ive gotten like $15 tickets to providence. wouldnt expect it on labor day but the prices can get cheap if your flexible abt the hours

i've seen the $1 ticket once, it's almost worth it just to get an extra trip added to your 'rewards' section

megabus runs buses to like 15 different locations from their 11th avenue spot, it's crazy. bolt only does boston, philly and dc so it's more sane, and easier to get to. harder to get tix though

"refugee camp vibes" otm, its like the last bit of children of men in there

the bus is a bad idea full stop

stoked for the madness!

i mean i love children of men, especially that long shot

i book lots of bos-nyc travel. the cheapest roundtrip on amtrak is about 100. you can get a return on united out of newark for the same price, but you have to get to newark. flights out of laguardia are a ton more expensive.

my personal experience with the various buses has been generally positive, even fung wah, rip. to be clear, i totally have a hundred dollars, i could take it out of the atm right now, $3 fee, but i would still probably take a bus as first option.

can i have a hundred dollars if i cover the atm fee?

Flights out of Newark are cheaper because if you don't drive, it'll take you 3 hours to get there and if you have delays/cancellations at that point you're screwed. I once tried to get like a 7am flight out of there, arriving by the airport's OWN MONRAIL just as it started up in the morning, and you literally CANNOT ARRIVE ON PUBLIC TRANSIT in time to make your plane.

I guess if the monorail wasn't 15 mins delayed and there were no lines for check-in or security and your flight was a little bit late and Mercury was in retrograde and there was a stiff breeze out of the northwest on a Tuesday you might make it, but otherwise RIP.

xps nope, but i would autograph the receipt for you with the message "to caek, keep reaching for the stars"

i've never had trouble with newark before, but i've never flown domestic from there, so i'm always 2-3 hrs early, and it's always for an evening take-off.

it doesn't seem much that harder to get to for me than the megabus pickup point tbh (34th at 11th and 12th). train plus monoral is what, 40 minutes?

thanks for the autograph btw

the bus is a bad idea full stop

off the money, I use Bolt / Mega / Vamoose to Baltimore all the time and it's fine. 30 bucks versus what, 98 bucks for Amtrak?

a friend of mine got one of the $1 tickets once. I wouldn't call it a scam but I think you have to be the first person to buy a ticket for that bus.

i have never flown out of newark.
i have taken many many buses from ny to providence and my general thoughts are these --

1. while you may be tempted to drink some beer before getting on the bus or on the bus, then you'll have to pee. and the bathroom on the bus is truly a game of chance. drink whiskey instead.
2. bring at least two books, in case you want a break from your primary book.
3. i like to sit in the front of the bus cuz then it's faster getting off, and if the bus isn't totally full it's less likely you'll have to sit next to someone. it seems that people keep walking back in pursuit of a vacant pair, even as the bus fills up.
4. some buses have emergency exit rows with more leg room

traveling is the most stressful thing for me, just makes me incredibly anxious. if i take a train instead of a bus, it becomes like 1/3 as anxiety inducing. don't know why, but the cost is always worth it to me.

Front of the bus also better if you get motion sickness, as you're closer to the point about which the bus turns, and therefore don't feel yourself "swinging" as far. #3 is a very astute point. Seasoned Greyhound riders have all kinds of elaborate ways of hanging on to the spare seat next to them, such as pretending to have a contagious disease, or stuffing up a coat and hat to look like a slumped-over companion.

my technique is to have a can of stella open but i don't think that would work here

to keep the empty seat, i mean

hahahah i dont even know who drinks stella in the US

theyd think you had gotten it at a catered party or something

40 of olde english would probably have the desired effect.

"you gonna drink that?"

*grabs beer, sits down*

this discussion reminds me of calvino's "The adventure of a traveler" which you can read in some crummy web version buried on this page: http://web.mit.edu/jot/Public/Calvino,%20Italo/Difficult%20Loves/DifficultLoves.htm

Federico V. chose an empty compartment, not over the wheels but not too far into the coach, either, because he knew that as a rule people who board a train in haste tend to reject the first few compartments. The defense of the space necessary to stretch out and travel lying down is made up of tiny psychological devices; Federico knew them and employed them all. For example, he drew the curtains over the door, an act that, performed at this point, might even seem excessive; but it aimed, in fact, at a psychological effect. Seeing those drawn curtains, the traveler who arrives later is almost always overcome by an instinctive scruple and prefers, if he can find it, a compartment with perhaps two or three people in it already but with the curtains open. Federico strewed his bag, overcoat, newspapers on the seats opposite and beside him. Another elementary move, abused and apparently futile but actually of use. Not that he wanted to make people believe those places were occupied: such a subterfuge would have been contrary to his civic conscience and to his sincere nature. He wanted only to create a rapid impression of a cluttered, not very inviting compartment, a simple, rapid impression.

He sat down and heaved a sigh of relief. He had learned that being in a setting where everything can only be in its place, the same as always, anonymous, without possible surprises, filled him with calm, with self-awareness, freedom of thought. His whole life rushed along in disorder, but now he found the perfect balance between interior stimulus and the impassive neutrality of material things.

theyd think you had gotten it at a catered party or something

― max, Wednesday, July 31, 2013 1:20 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

poached salmon, asparagus, wild rice *this guy is clearly insane*

fwiw i buy stella sometimes when the pickins are slim cause its the type of beer i like tho i dont actually like it specifically and its discusting

basically id usually rather drink it than some watery domestic or a dank indie

everything is so dank around here

fn barbarians

stella is what you get when the choice is between stella and heineken

3. i like to sit in the front of the bus cuz then it's faster getting off, and if the bus isn't totally full it's less likely you'll have to sit next to someone. it seems that people keep walking back in pursuit of a vacant pair, even as the bus fills up.

― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Wednesday, July 31, 2013 12:35 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

another key point: the front of the bus best distances you from wafting vapors from the bathroom at the back of the bus. this is very u+k

worst part about taking the bus to nyc for me is there's always a transfer in albany & you have to wait like an hour minimum