Seafarers and International House, NYC - Yay or Nay?

Though no one in particular solicited my review, I did promise previously to give my thoughts on my stay the the Seafarers and International House in New York City.

This photo of Seafarers & International House is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I initially stumbled upon Seafarers on tripadvisor. It had a mountain of glowing reviews, touting it as safe, convenience, clean, and affordable.

Right off the bat I could vouch for the location, 15th Street just two blocks east of Union Square.  If I won the lottery and could buy my own property in NYC, I would look no further than this very block.  Union Square has the convenience of a huge Whole Foods Market that's open until 11pm every night.  Not five minutes away is the Trader Joe's by New York University, when no frills groceries are required.  Also in Union Square is a 24h (during the week) Best Buy, Forever 21, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Strawberry, Barnes & Noble, Walgreens, and Duane Reade for all your shopping needs.  The Square itself has a rotating farmers market and artists market every single day of the week.  Trendy food trucks gravitate towards this area because of its close proximity to NYU and a big multiplex (the Loews Movie Theatre) is just a block away.  Miles of books can be found at The Strand bookstore, the latest in comics and collectibles at Forbidden Planet, and the list goes on.  As if there's not already enough to eat in the Square, start walking south and you will find yourself in the trendy East Village, go southeast and you're in bohemian Alphabet City, both packed with cheap eats and eccentric shops.

When I arrived at Seafarers, it was evident that it was a budget guesthouse in an older building, including some wicked slow elevators.  I knew what I was getting into though, I'd read about the place carefully before booking.  A note about booking:  Seafarers does not have online booking, you have to do it old school and give them a call.  Reception is helpful and answers any questions you may have, they're not overly friendly nor go above and beyond, but they will be able to provide you with all the info you need.  I reserved a room with a private bathroom (sink, toilet, and shower) and two twin beds, the cost averaged $140/night.  This is pretty spectacular for Manhattan.  They gave me a room on the 5th floor, and since there were elevators, this suited me fine.

Though the building is old, and walls and furnishings shows many signs of wear, the halls and rooms were well-aired and did not smell musty.  My room had enough space for our bags, there was a rod and some hangers for our clothes, a chest of drawers, a desk with chair, and a mini fridge.  I was traveling with a complete germophobe, and when we wiped the surface of the desk and chest with a white towel, there was no visible dirt from the surfaces.  I was impressed.  Having stayed in some wacky hostels and downright sketchy European B&B's, this place could have easily ranked amongst them.  Seafarers is thrift, but not filth.

The bathroom was equally clean, they provided a number of towels, but regretfully no soap.  I couldn't figure out how to turn off the bathroom ventilation fan, which provided an annoying background of white noise whenever I didn't have the door closed tightly, but if that was the worse thing about the bathroom I'm happy to deal.  I like strong showers and this was entirely passable, water heated up fast and there was plenty of hot water.

I took some issue with the mattress unfortunately.  They are old spring mattresses, key word 'old'.  I've encountered worse at higher star hotels, and for the price of the room, the quality of mattress was completely understandable.  At no point did I have to resort to painkillers for my back/neck (which happened at a 4 star hotel once due to faulty mattress), but I can't lie and say it was a pleasant night's rest either.  For a few nights stay, I can cringe and bear it, but if I were in NYC for a week, I would need to find another place to sleep.  Of course this is just one room, I may have just gotten the worse bed.

The atmosphere of Seafarers & International House is interesting to say the least.  The establishment is run by the Lutheran Church, dedicated to serving sailors and seafarers.  There is a small chapel on the main floor with Sunday services, so I was treated to organ music when I went down to get hot water for my tea one morning.  There were school groups (religious schools presumably) staying there, but also regular guests as well of all ages & ethnicity.  The groups, those staying there, and others who kinda used the space like a church basement, could often be found meeting in the lobby in the evenings.  Some sounded suspiciously like self-help... I'm sure this is fine for most, but for me, I get very uncomfortable around self-help anything.  I like to joke that I'm not "self-help", I'm about self-deprecation!  So some nights when I got home before 11pm, I'd hide in my room until after midnight before coming down to the lobby to use the wifi.  Other than that the people I encountered were fine, they weren't fanatical nor preachy, and I never worried that I was going to get hosed down with holy water or anything ;)

These are all the details I can recount, if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.  The Seafarers International House is an establishment where you must decide for yourself whether you'd want to stay there.  For me, the price and location make it a good option.  I will certainly return.

The Big Apple in Chilly March

Here I am, back in town, battling the post travel doldrums (yes, I get them even after being away only a few days.  Anticipation fuels me, and in winter months, that's one of the few things that does.)

I don't know why it took me 7 or 8 trips before I decided I wanted to visit the Brooklyn Museum.  I have always used the same web link as my resource for free museums and been in NYC over many a 'first Saturday of the month' but for some reason the city's second largest art collection just never jumped out at me.  As I mentioned, ever first Saturday of the month, Target sponsors some live musical entertainment, curator talks, free admissions and some other events.  The collections within the museum are varied, they are spread over 5 floors which took me about 2 hours to get through (I would say I was at a medium level of concentration that day...higher the concentration, longer I take).  The collection ranges from Kandinsky to Ancient Egypt to Feminist Art.  The museum itself is steps from the subway (literally) and a beautiful building in itself.

What's a trip to NYC (for me) without trendy Asian eats?  New York is where Toronto looks to for the lastest food trends, so it's always fun to get a jump on the latest and greatest.  My first evening in NYC was a chilly one, line ups for many places were out the door, so I eventually made my way back to my favourite East Village ramen joint... Rai Rai Ken.  They used to be a small counter-seating-only noddle bar, but have since spruced up and now the brighter decor and tables accommodate a greater number (note: there is still little room for your coats, there are no hooks on the wall nor rack at the entrance so be prepared).  They had a seasonal ramen:  Lobster broth ramen with shrimp, scallions, etc. which was very good.  The large "we do not use MSG" label on the menu allowed me to drink all my soup with confidence.

A place that I've been meaning to try for some time now is Buddha Bondai - a Buddhist vegetarian dim sum restaurant on Mott St. in Chinatown.  While on my way to lunch that day, I took the scenic route past Nom Wah Dum Sum Parlor on Doyers St., the oldest Dim Sum restaurant in NYC - circa 1920 (there was a line-up out the door that day for a table, good thing I had other plans).  Doyers St. also has an interesting history, the unique bend in the street made it an ideal place for many of the Tong Gang shootings of the 30's, earning it the name "The Bloody Angle".  Lots of bad ass Asian Gangster shit went down on Doyers.  Awesome.  Back to Buddha Bondai though... for those not familiar with dim sum, you may wonder what's the big deal about the vegetarian version?  Dim Sum is like Chinese tapas, where small dishes of food are ordered to share and make up a meal (typically eaten at brunch/lunch time).  Some examples of dim sum dishes include dumplings, steamed buns, little meat dishes like short ribs, and other pastries.  Most dim sum (and Chinese food really) contains some kind of pork or seafood (or both), so it can be a real challenge to find something to eat if you're vegetarian.  Buddha Bondai has straight up vegetarian dishes - ie. bean curd sheets with veggies wrapped inside, and a most delicious mushroom rice roll, and also dishes with 'meat' names where the meats are then substituted with other ingredients.  Their shiu mai (which is a very popular pork dumpling) actually uses sticky rice in place of the pork!  Very yummy substitute and creative as I was merely expecting flavoured TVP.  I will definitely be back to try more dishes next time.

I also found my way over to Jum Mum on St. Marks (the most bustling street in the East Village with a blend of trendy quick eats and head shops... weird but great combo right?)  Jum Mum is one of the newest contenders in the best Pork Belly Bao competitition of the EV (yep, that's a thing!)  I tried the classic pork belly, the crispy chicken, and sesame tofu.  It was good stuff, and while it's probably the cheapest in the neighborhood, I would have to say it's not as cheap as all the reviews make it out to be... If you're in need of a snack and want to sample a decent bao, definitely go to Jum Mum, but if you're already at Momofuku, you should prob just pay the extra few bucks and have their version (the original in the city) instead.   If you've never heard of nor had steamed bao before and you happen to hail from Toronto, give Banh Mi Boys a try.  They're the best (and only?) we've got around here.

 

You may or may not recall, during my last trip to NYC, I visited the Muppet Whatnot Workshop at F.A.O Schwartz... 

I dreamt and drooled over the idea of having my own muppet.  So I saved up, went back, and got one made!!!

Marla the Muppet with Monkey at our hotel room.

I chatted with the muppet maker as he was working on Marla.  He was a 30 year old slightly-disillusioned musician (well disillusioned with the music industry anyway) of Chinese heritage but spoke even less Chinese than me.  Thought it was too weird to try and leave him my card/info, but aside from having my dream job (haha) he also seemed exactly like the sort of friends I should have in New York.  Wonder how he responds to bi-annual stalking? (kidding...kinda...)

Another great trip to NYC...the sights, the shops, and the sheer energy of the place... even the cold couldn't stop me from wandering around outside (though I will admit to wandering into more store than usual)  Oh yeah, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof... a must for Scarlett fans, a discount-only show for the rest of us.  The second act in particular had me in a sleepy stupor.  She's good, and if you're really into (read: forgiving about) Southern dramas, you may have a more positive reaction than me.  I don't regret going, just wish they'd changed the set at least once...  The Harry Potter Exhibition is lots of fun for the family, and even though I was by myself I still enjoyed it lots.  Don't know that I would've wanted to pay much more ($22 plus service charges with the discount) to see a well-placed collection of props, but I'm ok with that price for an hour's worth of entertainment.  Skip the souvenirs though, prices are insane.

Until next time!