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Not Your Typical Tourist: Alternative Guide Books to New York City

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 01:00 AM PST

Planning a vacation in the Big Apple, you already know all the tourist spots: Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, shopping on 5th Avenue. And these are worth seeing, once or twice. But if you’ve already done all that, or just aren’t interested because you know there are so many other things to do—and other neighborhoods beyond midtown and downtown Manhattan—let these atypical guide books lead the way.

Not For Tourists Guide to New York City: Even though it’s smaller and has a stylish black cover, you might still get pegged as a tourist if you walk around with your nose in this guide book. However, this little black book is more about living in NYC than it is about being a tourist. It covers 35 neighborhoods in detail, with maps and lists of local businesses: coffee shops, movie theaters, grocery stores, farmers markets, bike shops, drug stores. This way, you can get a feel for a variety of neighborhoods where New Yorkers go about their daily lives; plus, you can find out where to buy food to cook and get a bottle of wine to drink at “home,” and generally settle into your rental apartment. If you’re not staying in Manhattan, note that there are Brooklyn and Queens guides too. Beyond that, though, Not For Tourists can’t help you.

Clean Plates: When you want to eat out and avoid the tourist traps or mediocre spots, you’ll need some kind of guide. There are just too many restaurants in the city to know where to start. For those of you who are interested in healthy, local, organic, and simply high-quality food, this book will tell you where to go. The Clean Plates food critics and nutritionist have filtered through the massive restaurant scene to bring you options to meet your dietary restrictions (gluten free, vegetarian), health concerns (avoiding artificial sweeteners), and sustainable lifestyle. Suggested eateries range from fast food to fine dining, and you can choose between the Manhattan and Brooklyn guides (or try to work your way through both).

Forgotten New York: This book by Kevin Walsh is a celebration of the obscure, historical, and way-off-the-beaten-path spots of NYC. The fact that the first section of the book is about the Bronx tells you that it’s not for typical tourists. It’s for savvy, adventurous, curious folks who are intrigued by details that others don’t usually even notice, and who are willing to walk down alleyways and far away from subway stops to learn more about New York’s quirky history. Using this guide book, you can track down colonial cemeteries, bizarre sculptures, rusting ruins, and practically unheard-of museums in all five boroughs.

Zinester’s Guide to NYC: You don’t have to know what a “zine” is to make use of this book by Ayun Halliday and her zine-making friends. You just have to be open to activities that are quirky, DIY, budget, participatory, irreverent, and non-touristy. The most lighthearted of all these alternative guide books, the Zinester’s Guide suggests attending events with names like Nerd Nite, the No Pants Subway Ride, and Elephant Walk; and visiting unusual spots including a troll museum, a ship graveyard, and a room full of soil. It’s also the only guide book that can tell you things like where to spot rats on the subway tracks, where to find black-and-white photo booths, and where to see the best bathroom graffiti. And at the bottom of the pages, you’ll enjoy the handwritten list of books, movies, and songs about NYC, as well a silly Q&A and a scavenger hunt of sorts.

Joanna Eng is a New York-based writer and editor who covers travel, green living, food, careers, entrepreneurship, and more. Her travel experiences have ranged from hostel hopping in Mexico to staying with distant relatives in China to renting a beach apartment in New Jersey.

Celebrating New Years in Different Parts of the World

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:09 AM PST

by Isabel Eva Bohrer

In the Western world, the 31st of December marks one of the biggest celebrations of the year. Many people travel far and wide to attend festivities, often partying until the sun comes up on January 1st. We all know about the expensive clubs in New York and the beach parties in Miami. But what happens in other parts of the world? Here's how some other countries celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

CAMBODIA

The inhabitants of Cambodia rely on the Indian calendar to calculate when the New Year's festival should start. According to the Gregorian calendar, this falls anywhere from the 12, 13 or 14 April, depending on the year. It last for three days, and the Cambodian New Year's Eve is the day before the festival starts. In the local lingo, it's called "Chaul Chnamn Thmey," meaning "entering the New Year."

HUNGARY

Hungary runs on the Western calendar, and thus New Year's Eve falls, like in the other countries, on December 31st. However, even though it runs on the rest of the world's calendar, there are still Hungarian traditions that remain. That is, even though opening a bottle of champagne has become part of a modern Hungarian New Year's Eve (as has counting down to midnight), some Hungarians still retain the customs of their ancestors. For example, they burn effigies or a scapegoat that embodies the evils and misfortunes of the past year. This scapegoat is also known as "Jack Straw" and is carried throughout the villages prior to being set on fire.

SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, things could get a little loud on New Year's Eve. The inhabitants have a tradition of ringing in the New Year with church bells and gunshots firing. Those who visit the Cape Province New Year's Day and Second New Year's Day will see a carnival with people dressed in colorful costumes. If you are in town, throw on a colorful outfit yourself and dance in the street to the sound of drums with the locals.

WALES

Tradition in Wales has it that the village boys would go from house to house at around 3 or 4 a.m. with an evergreen twig. They would sprinkle the latter over the people and then on each room of their house. Sprinkling the evergreen twig was said to bring good luck in the New Year. On New Year's Day, the children moreover get up early to sing songs for their neighbors. In return, they are given sweets, apples, mince pies and sometimes even coins. But you have to get up early – after noon, the singers will be called fools.

Happy New Year!

Isabel Eva Bohrer is a freelance writer and photographer who has dispatched pieces from over twenty countries across five continents. Learn more about her work at www.isabelevabohrer.com.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011