day of being jack kerouac - dec 28, 2009

we intended on leaving toronto in the morning but encountered a few hiccups, such as, ahem my unwillingness to wake up. when I finally did, we realized that my passport was missing. we scoured the entire condo and just when I thought someone had stolen my identity (because where else could my passport be), Daniel comes up from our storage locker with it in hand. whoops. apparently I had not put it away the last time I travelled.

but we did hit the road eventually and drove eight hours to the big apple. being the great road trip companion I am, I slept for most of the trip, only awaking to eat and inform daniel that I need to pee.

we stayed in jersey city because all the affordable hotels were booked for the week and all the non-afordable hotels were, like, a million dollars a night. our hotel was 15 minute walk/train from the financial district of manhattan and it was a very easy commute to and from.

prior to the trip, I had compiled a list of places to eat for less than $20 for two; so upon arriving in new jersey, we boarded the train and headed to nyc’s chinatown for some dumplings at the dumpling house. it was about 9pm at the time and most of chinatown was surprisingly closed, though you could hear the clicking of mahjong tiles as you walked past doors. and so we wandered the dark streets aimlessly until we came across the dumpling house, the only lit storefront on the street.

the dumpling house deserves a space on a list of “cheap eats nyc” as daniel and I did dinner for $25. out of budget, but we ordered enough food for four people and took home two barely touched noodle dishes. daniel vows to make the dumpling house a new york tradition and each time we’re in the city, we are to make a trip there.