US help.

invisible999

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Oh haha..ok thanks. Cos I just went Japan 1 week so thought is sufficient for US too.
Anyway I'm looking at New York, any views whether it fits my requirement?
You think 1 week to see Japan is enough? Man... sometimes I envy the simplicity of some conclusions. Personally I wait until I have enough time/funds to spend 45 days in Japan exploring it via train.

To see US one must travel. Better by car, to experience it. But take a look at the map to understand distances you are going to be deal with.

The best US offers is nature and 80% of natural wonders are west of Continental Divide. I might be biased here, but it is till my opinion.

At the same time, most urban life, shopping and attractions are located on East side. However I still fail to understand people who from Singapore (or Tokyo, or Hong Kong) go to US and spend two weeks in New York. With the same success they could stay home.
 
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bendi85

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The West Coast will be better for you and your kid. Disneyland, plenty of nature and shopping malls. A self drive is recommend to cover cities like LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Yosemite etc.

Ah ok...will look into it . Thanks
 

seth07

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Just putting out there...
Anyone got lobang for Hamilton tickets in July?
Without paying an arm or leg and kidneys...
2 weeks in NY is too long?
There so many things to explore in NY right?
Is Brooklyn a safe and fun place to stay especially Williamsburg side or Bushwick?
Cheers all.
 

patryn33

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Oh haha..ok thanks. Cos I just went Japan 1 week so thought is sufficient for US too.
Anyway I'm looking at New York, any views whether it fits my requirement?

Japan? U gone to Osaka, kyotoa, Tokyo, Fuji, hakone, Sapporo etc and u are done with Japan. U seen it all? It's sufficient?

Well ppl define sufficient differently, some do amazing race and felt it's all cool
 

patryn33

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Just putting out there...
Anyone got lobang for Hamilton tickets in July?
Without paying an arm or leg and kidneys...
2 weeks in NY is too long?
There so many things to explore in NY right?
Is Brooklyn a safe and fun place to stay especially Williamsburg side or Bushwick?
Cheers all.

New York? Yes big state. Finger lakes, niagara etc
NYC is a city, if you city lover not long
 
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KuKuBerg

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Hi bros, will be heading to CT for a week. thinking of heading NY for a day. likely to take the amtrack. hope to get some suggestions on what to do in 1 day. thanks.
 

WantedRaptor

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Totally. The one thing to be careful of is that the road over the back of Yosemite to Death Valley isn't open all year - it can be closed as late as the first week of June. If it's closed, you're going to have to take the long way 'round through Bakersfield.



3 nights in Vegas is fine, but you wouldn't want to do more than that. Yes, the traffic in LA is terrible, and all the museums are over on the other side of the city from Anaheim - driving from Disneyland to LACMA is roughly the equivalent of driving from Changi to Woodlands via Jurong. Keep that in mind when you're planning your LA travels.



What are your dates? In Vegas you'll be able to do that easily, especially midweek - midweek you might even be able to get something fancy like the Vdara for that price, on weekends you'll want to look at the Monte Carlo or the Mandalay Bay.

In SF, yeah, you're going to have trouble. Let me know your dates and I'll have a look.



I was there last week: Monday was single-digits and chilly, Thursday was nearly 20 degrees Celsius and disgustingly humid, Saturday night and Sunday morning was a full-on blizzard. (I spent an hour on Sunday morning queuing for rush tickets to School of Rock, which incidentally is brilliant, and nearly froze even though I was wearing a shirt, a sweater and a heavy jacket.)

You're gonna need to pack for winter and summer, sorry to say.



You've missed a brilliant opportunity to rack up some hotel points - you're staying across three different chains there.



Well, theme parks on the east coast: you're pretty boned, especially this time of year. Your missus will have better luck; the east coast is full of historical sites, and nature (though you won't get a lot of nature in the middle of NY and DC, aside from Central Park).



Wow, don't take thousands of dollars in cash - carrying that much cash makes you a great target for muggers. Use a credit card instead.

Siyu, that goes for you too:


Always, always use a credit card. Taking thousands of dollars of cash is just dumb.
Change at People's Park. I changed mine at 0.5% commission a fortnight ago
bring cash just be careful and don't walk in shady area asking for trouble. its the same deal as going to Malaysia or Thailand. even in Singapore bring thousands of dollars and be at wrong place maybe asking for trouble money or no money if kena those desperate.

I have seen ppl carry alot of money.. esp those PRC and Indo, the African American too. with a little care and be aware of your surrounds one will be alright.

no theme parks in NYC.
but into rides can go
http://lunaparknyc.com/
https://www.darienlake.com/
Thanks bros for the tips on changing and keeping your usd safe. Just to share my friend also suggested opening a usd acc with a bank and directly deposit your usd into it, I heard that citi atm are quite common over in the us, is it true? Plus is there like transaction fee involved? since its already converted to usd initially

Sent from tiongapore using GAGT
 

patryn33

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Thanks bros for the tips on changing and keeping your usd safe. Just to share my friend also suggested opening a usd acc with a bank and directly deposit your usd into it, I heard that citi atm are quite common over in the us, is it true? Plus is there like transaction fee involved? since its already converted to usd initially

Sent from tiongapore using GAGT

On citi bank atm not hard to search it on their atm locator site
 

Shiny Things

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I beg to differ with Shiny Things with regards to using credit card...the exchange rate is worse than using cash that you changed at the money changer. The difference can be as much as SGD0.10 for every USD you spend. Limit the amount of cash in your wallet to $300 per day just in case

Enjoy your trip in the city that never sleeps!

I definitely agree that you don't want to carry more than $300 a day in the first place, but I don't think you want to bring thousands of dollars of cash either (not least because you're going to get awkward questions from USCIS if they catch you).

Any self-respecting bank is going to charge you pretty close to moneychanger rates - I know they're not a Singaporean bank, but my Chase debit card uses basically the interbank rate when I use it overseas. Ask your bank what rate they use on credit- or debit-card transactions; if it's anywhere near 1000 points over the interbank rate (it shouldn't be), find another bank. That said:

Thanks bros for the tips on changing and keeping your usd safe. Just to share my friend also suggested opening a usd acc with a bank and directly deposit your usd into it, I heard that citi atm are quite common over in the us, is it true? Plus is there like transaction fee involved? since its already converted to usd initially

If Citi Singapore will give you a debit card linked to your USD account, then that sounds like it'd be a solid way to do it. Citi isn't the most common bank on the west coast - Chase and Wells are a lot more common - but they're around.

Just putting out there...
Anyone got lobang for Hamilton tickets in July?
Without paying an arm or leg and kidneys...

Nope. There are no cheap tickets to Hamilton, and anyone who says they've got cheap tickets is trying to steal your money.

Depending how lucky you get on Stubhub, you're going to be paying $500-$700 USD for the rear mezz, $700-$900 for front mezz, and four figures for the orchestra.

2 weeks in NY is too long?
There so many things to explore in NY right?

There's a heck of a lot to do in NYC, but two weeks is also quite a long time (and also NYC is expensive). I'd do five nights in NYC and the rest of your time somewhere else - DC and Boston are great.

Is Brooklyn a safe and fun place to stay especially Williamsburg side or Bushwick?
Cheers all.

Williamsburg's full of hipsters but it should be fine.
 

Neways

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I called Citi last week to enquire abt their USD acc. Here's wat was conveyed:
1. U need to open a SGD acc first b4 u can open any other acc.
2. U can deposit SGD into SGD acc then have it trs it over to ur USD acc.
3. U can deposit USD into ur USD acc but there will be a 0.5% fee or min $10 per transaction.
4. Both accs are free for 6mths. After which u need to maintain 5k either acc or combined else a fee of SGD10-15 (can't remember clearly) will be charged.

My 2 cents worth. I'm thinking very hard though cos sometimes it may not be that easy to locate the ATM. Just need to be very careful with whatever u do there. I guess.

Thanks bros for the tips on changing and keeping your usd safe. Just to share my friend also suggested opening a usd acc with a bank and directly deposit your usd into it, I heard that citi atm are quite common over in the us, is it true? Plus is there like transaction fee involved? since its already converted to usd initially
 

WantedRaptor

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On citi bank atm not hard to search it on their atm locator site
I definitely agree that you don't want to carry more than $300 a day in the first place, but I don't think you want to bring thousands of dollars of cash either (not least because you're going to get awkward questions from USCIS if they catch you).

Any self-respecting bank is going to charge you pretty close to moneychanger rates - I know they're not a Singaporean bank, but my Chase debit card uses basically the interbank rate when I use it overseas. Ask your bank what rate they use on credit- or debit-card transactions; if it's anywhere near 1000 points over the interbank rate (it shouldn't be), find another bank. That said:



If Citi Singapore will give you a debit card linked to your USD account, then that sounds like it'd be a solid way to do it. Citi isn't the most common bank on the west coast - Chase and Wells are a lot more common - but they're around.



Nope. There are no cheap tickets to Hamilton, and anyone who says they've got cheap tickets is trying to steal your money.

Depending how lucky you get on Stubhub, you're going to be paying $500-$700 USD for the rear mezz, $700-$900 for front mezz, and four figures for the orchestra.



There's a heck of a lot to do in NYC, but two weeks is also quite a long time (and also NYC is expensive). I'd do five nights in NYC and the rest of your time somewhere else - DC and Boston are great.



Williamsburg's full of hipsters but it should be fine.
I called Citi last week to enquire abt their USD acc. Here's wat was conveyed:
1. U need to open a SGD acc first b4 u can open any other acc.
2. U can deposit SGD into SGD acc then have it trs it over to ur USD acc.
3. U can deposit USD into ur USD acc but there will be a 0.5% fee or min $10 per transaction.
4. Both accs are free for 6mths. After which u need to maintain 5k either acc or combined else a fee of SGD10-15 (can't remember clearly) will be charged.

My 2 cents worth. I'm thinking very hard though cos sometimes it may not be that easy to locate the ATM. Just need to be very careful with whatever u do there. I guess.

Thanks bros for the tips on changing and keeping your usd safe. Just to share my friend also suggested opening a usd acc with a bank and directly deposit your usd into it, I heard that citi atm are quite common over in the us, is it true? Plus is there like transaction fee involved? since its already converted to usd initially
Thanks for all your helpful tips bros, really much appreciated

Sent from tiongapore using GAGT
 

invisible999

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I beg to differ with Shiny Things with regards to using credit card...the exchange rate is worse than using cash that you changed at the money changer. The difference can be as much as SGD0.10 for every USD you spend.

If your bank charges 10% for foreign currency transactions on top of interbank exchange rate - my advice: find another bank.
 

Neways

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Hey guys, where can I buy a US SIM card in spore?does anyone have a new one to spare? Need it for car rental. TIA
 

fone

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I was told u need to give a local number when u book a vehicle. Stuck :s34:

Where are you booking from? Usually, these car rental companies should cater for tourists. I usually give my SG number.
 

expert128sg

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is it cheaper to bring a wifi egg ($12/day) or buy a data SIM card at the airport? Which one makes more economical sense?
 

Shiny Things

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is it cheaper to bring a wifi egg ($12/day) or buy a data SIM card at the airport? Which one makes more economical sense?

It's way cheaper to buy a data SIM. You should be able to get a couple of gigs from ATT or T-Mobile for about $50-$60 USD - it'll pay for itself in less than a week.
 

fone

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is it cheaper to bring a wifi egg ($12/day) or buy a data SIM card at the airport? Which one makes more economical sense?

Do note that the US 3G and 4G bands are highly customized. Your phone might not have all bands for the best reception, which might affect your usage experience, especially for more rural / suburb areas.
 

lcpteck

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I'll be flying to US end of the month and transiting JFK (New York) from Terminal 1 (Japan Airlines) to Terminal 8 (American Airlines) then fly to DCA (Washington DC).

Anybody knows what is the procedure for the transit? I already applied the US ESTA and will have probably 2 checked baggage.

I heard I'll have to go through immigration, pick up the checked luggage, go through customs security check, then drop off the checked luggage on some international luggage belt then proceed to Terminal 8. The luggage should be tagged all the way to DCA and I should be able to get the boarding pass at before I reach JFK or maybe pick it up at the JFK Transfer Desk. I have 3 hours and 30 mins for the connection (hopefully no delays landing into JFK).

Flight Route: TPE-NRT-JFK-DCA

TPE-NRT-JFK on JL
JFK-DCA on AA

First time doing this.... Appreciate all the help I can get..
 
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