Travel NYC like Kino, Yuto, Jinho of Pentagon
After Sammie’s wedding, we needed some serious R&R. And what better way to relax is to go into the frenzy of New York.
There are many things we love about NYC (we know our last two posts probably say otherwise). We love the sights and sounds, but what we love even more is seeing the sights and hearing the sounds from a different vantage point than on the street.
Rooftop bars are everywhere in Manhattan and they all offer different, breathtaking views of the city that never sleeps. We chose to hit up one of these many bars to celebrate her matrimony, while also deciding we needed to start planning our trips to Korea and Japan.
The one Pentagon to chose to visit happens to have a view of the building we work across the street from. A famous staple of New York. The Empire State Building.
A building that at night has different themed light shows to dazzle the people who take a second to glance up at its magnificent wonder of architecture.
Located on the 20th floor is 230 Fifth Rooftop bar. The location that Yuto, Jinho, and Kino decided to spend their day and night enjoying drinks, some food, and best of all taking in the view of NYC, after there concert in the city. Which we got to see! Click here to see how the lit up the city skyline when they performed.
And you guys can do the same. If you’re 21 or older you’re all good. If younger you need a parent or guardian. But have a drink and take in the amazing views as you travel NYC like Kino, Yuto, and Jinho of Pentagon.
Travel NYC like Felix, Lee Know, and Woojin of Stray Kids (We still love and support Woojin)
Since Stray Kids are coming to New York in January, we decided to cover another travel of the boys from their last visit to our city. (Click here for our previous Stray Kids Travel)
We don’t live in NYC. While we wish we could, our day jobs do not make that a possibility. So we have to commute from our homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania by taking the train. Every day we go into the city via NJ Transit, probably the WORST train system in the United States. (Google it. We’re pretty sure it is top 10 worst or pretty darn close)
But we digress. The reason we bring up the train is where it funnels into. New York Penn Station. Another nightmare of NYC. Yes, we are jaded to certain aspects of NY that some people will love to experience. The hustle and bustle of people waiting for and then ultimately running to catch trains, all the new food and drink spots that have been added, and now all the brand new construction causing even more pandemonium as half the waiting areas are closed…SUCH FUN.
But on one day several boys of Stray Kids chose to go and visit the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) section of Penn Station and enjoy a staple of New York, Shake Shack. And since we frequent the station we chose to go too! We didn’t eat Shake Shack as we are trying to not eat too bad ALL the time. Lol.
After you arrive in NY Penn Station, make sure to hit up the Shake Shack, have a burger and revel in the fact you traveled NYC like Felix, Lee Know, and Woojin of Stray Kids.
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Travel NYC like Sanha, Jinjin and Rocky of Astro
We love when ASTRO comes to the US. We have seen them all three times they’ve been to the states and we can’t wait for their next tour. And when they come to NY they don’t usually have enough time to actually enjoy many of the sites that we love. But they have been able to see some of the sites that a lot of people know best about NYC.
Now we would like to preemptively say…we are not fans of Times Square. We understand the hype, sort of. You see this place in any movie or TV show about NYC. It’s on all the ads to visit NYC but to us, while it is famous for all the bright shining lights, the stores, and the hustle and bustle, the lights are obnoxious, the stores are large chains you could find in most cities, and that hustle and bustle is so tightly cramped you will get elbowed and possibly pick pocketed. If you think we’re kidding, just ask several of our friends. This isn’t New York. The New York we know and love are the small coffee shops in the basements of buildings, vintage shops and even the designer shops in the Meat Packing district, and the lights and sounds heard from the Highline. (several of these places will be covered in future articles)
The only times we would say to visit this location is in the dead of night and early morning so basically the hours of 2am-8am. And even that isn’t great. This is the time most idols tend to go to Times Square. After they wrap up a show, or they just landed and are jet lagged, Sanha, JinJin, and Rocky took to the streets of NYC like any tourist and enjoyed the lights and sounds and…smells of the area.
We happened to be staying in the area, not because we wanted to, but there was a writers convention and the hotel was right off Times Square. So we took the opportunity to get some pics like the trio. It wasn’t too bad that night and a lot of idols come to the area and so in the future we might have to journey back. Maybe we will fully test the 2AM theory. Just for you guys.
And once you eaten a burger, shopped at H&M, and lounged in the middle of the street, you can cross this off your bucket list of travelling NYC like Sanha, JinJin and Rocky of Astro.
Travel NYC like Hong Joong of ATEEZ
Ever have a day where you crave a food so bad that nothing else but that exact meal, in that exact restaurant will do? Well the day we found a spot Hong Joong had walked past was one of those days. And what we craved were steamed rice rolls down on Canal St.
During a usual summer lunch break at work, we loved going for nice walks in the areas of the city we hadn’t fully explored. We would always stumble on a cool new shop with amazing clothing, or a free experience like a traveling double decker bus decked out like a forest.
But that day we were on a mission. To get rice rolls. We knew about the Canal St Marketplace and all the amazing food and shopping (including a k-pop shop) it had to offer. And while one of us craved steamed rice rolls, the other craved to find this gem of a restaurant tucked away on the streets of SOHO. So we struck a deal with each other. One of us got the rice rolls, the other got her picture like Hong Joong.
Near one of our favorite rice pudding joints (yes that is a real thing), Balthazar is a French restaurant on Spring St. We haven’t eaten there yet but maybe now we will after we’ve wrapped up a day of traveling NYC like Hong Joong of ATEEZ.
VVXXZY Makes Waves
With his mixture of rock, hip hop, and “kpop inspired melodies,” VVXXZY has released his first solo track “Molly Alexandra.” While we are in New York, and he is based in Texas, we were still able to set up an interview to talk about his music journey, and what music means to him.
At the age of nine his friend showed him a Green Day music video and from there music became part of his blood. “I was really into alternative rock before discovering k-pop and later hip hop.”
Getting into making music wasn’t always in his cards, but after the tragedy of one of his friends committing suicide last year, he realized how short and precious life can be. “When he passed, I began to seriously reflect on my own thoughts, feelings, and actions. I began to write everything that’s been haunting me down and it kind of turned out pretty poetically, like a rap.”
And with that, he has his first single to prove it. “Molly Alexandra,” has lyrics that while they might seem simple, actually have a powerful meaning behind them.
“Pop the molly, pop the xanx, take a picture for the gram, I don’t want to understand, I don’t want to give a damn.” When we asked VVXXZY what he sees in his lyrics, he explained, “To me, it represents the youth in today’s society in the sense that kids don’t inherently want to do drugs but rather take them as a means to forget or avoid certain issues in their lives that are difficult to address.”
Getting inspired by personal experiences, listening to other peoples stories, as well as going to live shows, he ultimately hopes that people can connect to his music in a way that shows them they are not alone.
And since this is a site about learning Korean we asked him for a phrase he would like to teach us. His response:
“ ’꿈 꿀 수 있는 자, 그 꿈을 이룰 수도 있다’ (kkum kkul su eessnun ja, koo kkumool eerul sudue essda)
“This quote means that ‘if you can dream it, you can also turn it into reality’. I chose this quote because it really resonates with me. Oftentimes others put us down or we ourselves may hold inner doubts. But I believe that if you have a dream and work hard for it, it can definitely become a reality.”
We were so excited to find this amazing artist and we cannot wait to see what he has coming next. Check out his single “Molly Alexandra” now on Spotify and Apple Music.
Travel NYC like Mark and Jaehyun of NCT 127
A rainy day was suddenly made bright and cheery when we realized that we had walked the same steps as some of our favorite idols.
It was the night after a very stressful day of work when Sammie left to meet up with some of us for dinner. As she ran to not be late, she went past her absolute favorite place in NYC, New York Public Library. Behind said favorite place is a park. Bryant Park to be exact. A small park that, during the holiday season, becomes an decked out ice rink, gifts galore, food stall filled, Christmas marketplace.
That particular day, while gloomy, was still mid-summer so the trees still had their gorgeous big leaves, the flowers were in full bloom and the water fountain spouted its nourishing H2O.
A lot of these places we know but don’t know that we know. (Yes that was a ‘Friends’ reference)
So when she ran into the corner where Mark and Jaehyun stood, after going to see Phantom of the Opera, to admire the gorgeous view of the Empire State Building, she texted us to meet her so we could take a few photos.
Located at the corner of 42nd St. and 6th Ave. is this spot where you can enjoy the greenery of Bryant Park, nestled behind the massive library of the New York Public Library.
Grab a book, take a seat in the park to people watch and as you leave, run across the street to Travel NYC like Mark and Jaehyun of NCT 127.
Travel NYC like Many K-pop Idols
While on our Travel NYC Like ___ journey, we knew this next place was a definite must see! From all the pictures we had seen of so many different idols making the spot a stop on their NYC travels the place was a no brainer.
ATEEZ shooting a dance practice video The spot we’re talking about today is a setting that we have seen many a k-pop idol frequent. Not even just K-pop idols like Stray Kids, and ATEEZ, but K-drama actors, like our boy Woo Do Hwan, who inspired Hwan Soo in Seoul Searching, jokingly, made a stop here.
Woo Do Hwanss funny insta post at the famous location This was another location that we had always seen and wanted to go to, but never actually went. But as we drew up the plans for this series, it was one of the top on our list. Rather easy to find, and not actually in Manhattan but in the borough of Brooklyn, we found this gem of a location.
Stray Kids during one of their challenges Located at the intersection of Washington and Water St. in the area lovingly named DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), is where you will find this picturesque setting. Settled between the cobblestone streets and old brick factories now converted to shops and apartments, it has a view of the Manhattan Bridge so breathtaking it’s no surprise why idols make the trip.
Sammie and E. enjoying their day at the gorgeous area of DUMBO We felt like we could’ve spent all day stood in that intersection. The lighting changed with every passing cloud, and the sun dipping back down to bring on the moon, and we wanted to stay to witness it all. We unfortunately had a lot more ground to cover and we had to sadly move on. Maybe we will hit it up once again and spend all the time we had planned. And maybe we will even see you there while you take amazing, Instagram worthy photos and enjoy your travel like many kpop (and K-drama) idols.
Sammie wishing she could dance along with ATEEZ (Actually just wishing she could dance) Travel NYC like Bang Chan, Changbin, Jisung, and Hyunjin of Stray Kids
On a hot summer weekend in NYC, the heat not only radiated from the sun above but off the concrete below causing us to want to spend the whole day in the nice cool AC of our hotel room. But no! We were determined to go hunting for travel spots. With our list as long as Priyanka Chopra’s veil, we ventured out into the jungle.
Hopping onto the subway, we made our way to the always entertaining area of SoHo (short for South of Houston). A place filled with amazing restaurants, cool shops, and all around fun stuff to adventure and find.
On this adventure we were going to a place we had actually never been, but knew from a movie called Two Weeks Notice (released in 2002). See how we have, are, and always will, love love. While they had put a different name on the building, Sammie’s mom had said she knew where the place was and had been with coworkers years prior.
When we watched “Stray Kids: 제 9구역 시즌2 ( chae 9 guyeok shijon 2 – the 9th district season 2) we loved seeing so many sights of the city we love, which will be showcased in future articles, but when we saw them walk past an iconic scene in RomCom history we paused and proceeded to screech. We knew the image very well.
Sandra Bullock running to save Hugh Grant Sandra Bullock had run to that very spot to find Hugh Grant had called her for the ‘emergency’ of not finding the right outfit to wear to an event. And our fan fiction hearts started imagining Jisung meeting us in one of the gorgeous rooms in the hotel for a romantic rendezvous, or Bang Chan ordering room service so we didn’t have to leave our room and simply spend time together, or Changbin buying us a drink while Hyunjin performed on the small stage in piano bar.
Stray Kids Bang Chan, Hyunjin, Changbin, and Jisung outside The Roxy We knew we had to go. And so here it is. The Roxy Hotel is located at the intersection of 6th Ave, Church St. and White St. Yes, three roads all meet to make the area that is The Roxy Hotel. Outside is a gorgeous old black clock with a white face that reminds us of the clock in the historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel (which is currently closed).
Sammie outside trying not freak out too much that she was living out a childhood memory. After you see some art at a small local gallery, do some shopping at some cute boutique, get a gelato from the local creamery, or a drink down at one of the local pubs, go and relax in the gorgeous venue that is The Roxy Hotel so you can say you travelled NYC like Bang Chan, Changbin, Jisung, Hyunjin of Stray Kids.
PLT make fans Go Holic in NJ
White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ was once again packed with K-pop fans. This time, it was for PLT. A group consisting of five solo artists ranging in different genres of music, like R&B, rap, and pop made NJ their kick off stop in their US tour. Fans lined up around the block, even in the chilled windy air, to wait to get in and get the best spot to see, Gaho, Moti, Jung Jinwoo, Villain, and June perform not only their solo songs, but also their combined music as PLT.
A little background on PLT. The five members, like stated above, are all solo artists under the label Planetarium Records. They have mixtapes, solo albums, singles, etc. singularly and then together to mix their genres to make music as a group, named PLT (a play on their record label name).
As we entered the venue, which we have been to many times, it never ceases to amaze us how gorgeous the place is with it’s stained glass ceiling windows, the large open space for fans to clamor into and the stage in the far back awaiting the presence of the artists who are waiting in the wings to perform.
The lights cut out, a screen dropped to promote the company that was able to make the concert possible, My Music Taste, and as the screen raised, the curtain opened and out walked Gaho. Dressed in a sleek black suit that, when he turned around, had pieces of printed cloth on the back, Gaho grabbed the mic and kicked off his set. He nervously explained her was jet lagged, but hearing the fans cheers gave him all the energy he needed to perform. The fans swooned as he sang his dulcet tracks like, “Going On”, followed by the soul crushing, heart breaking, ‘WHO HURT YOU?!’ song called, “있어줘 (eessojyo- stay here)”, and his most recent single, “Pink Walk,” which we still have stuck in our heads.
Gaho After thanking the crowd for coming, and letting him perform his music, Gaho walked off the stage to make way for the next artist. Jung Jinwoo, with his fluffy curls, oversized suit jacket and pants, stepped out to kick off his set with “위성 –weeseong – satellite) He was so nervous and excited, and the crowd was so happy he was on stage he missed his cue and asked for them to restart, letting the crowd enjoy his melodic entrance once more. He was sweet as he grabbed the hands of the fans as he walked across stage singing “She’s Got Everything,” a yet to be released song, and also “문제 (munjae – problem)” Jung Jinwoo had everyone begging for more and when he walked off stage, it was June’s turn to make the crowd lose their minds.
Jung Jinwoo June kicked of his set rather calmly. Sitting relaxed on a stool, dressed in a green and black flannel, with the new version of UFO pants (which we didn’t think would ever make a come back and have and we’re here for it), and a voice like Jay Park, he slayed the R&B game with his songs, “Gas Station,” and “Serenade.” The chill vibes of his set didn’t stop the fans from screaming for him to continue. When he wrapped up a few songs he spoke about how excited he was to be there and how he wanted to share some new unreleased music. Honestly, most of the members announced and performed an unreleased song and mentioned that new music was coming soon. It not only was exciting for them, but it made the fans crave more. After “오늘 밤은 (onul bamun- tonight)” he concluded his set and asked the crowd if they were ready for the next performer.
June We don’t believe they were and neither were we. As the music started, the fans went absolutely bat sh*t crazy and Villain, in his white denim jacket, spray painted jeans, blue hair with a center part and round Harry Potter like lenses, took the stage to start singing “Fairy.” Now we have never seen PLT perform live, we had heard that all their stages are amazing and we had seen some videos from previous shows but Villain came to kill. His overtly sexual motions as his hands ran up and down the mic stand caused us to hear squeals and even some straight moans from the crowd as he continued. He knew what he was doing and it fueled his entire performance. He finished the song and went into a personal story about how people are essentially shitty, and realized as he went to start his next song he had forgotten his set list. With a laugh and a smile he continued on and performed his hits “마니또 (Manitto),” and “Luhvin It” before also announcing he would be coming out with new music soon.
Villain It was then time for the final solo act. Moti. Once again, a man rocking a black suit, white shirt, but this time he added his own flare by having some pretty sick diamond chains. He kicked his set off with, “겸손 (kyeom seon- humble/modesty)” and when he moved away from his mic stand all hell broke loose. We’ve been crushed by fans before while taking photos. ASTRO at K-expo was probably the most insane. That was until this show. While we were crowded and pressed against the stage for all the other performers, when Moti came out is was a whole different ball game. The dude was running from side to side and seemed to always stop right in front of us. See crotch shot below for proof. He had the crowd who had already been at a 10 shoot up to a damn 20 as he performed, “Blue,” “GO,” and a new track set to hit the rest of the worlds ears next month.
Moti (crotch shot lol) Did you think after he performed it was over? Oh no. They still had their group act to perform. Remember how the crowd had bounced up to a 20? Yeah at the point they were over 100 and climbing to flipping infinity fast. PLT came out and it was like we entered Coachella with how loud and chaotic the crowd went. As they sang their group tracks like, “Igoholic,” “Blah,” and “Hocus Pocus,” they began showering the fans in water. As we were crushed in the front we got a solid shot to the face a few times. And while we were hype on how excited it made the fans we weren’t hype on it getting our camera wet. But such is the life of a concert photographer.
PLT Chaos All in all this concert over shot our expectations. We knew PLT were coming for us but not as savagely as they did. Every solo performance brought new waves of excitement, and when PLT came together there was no stopping the tsunami of hype. If you’re interested in seeing them and are in the US. Their up coming stops are Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago so hopefully you can make your way over to any of those locations. We highly suggest experiencing “We Go Holic” for yourselves.
Travel NYC like Jin-Young of GOT7
Do you ever have one of those moments where you look at something and say, “Wait. This looks familiar.”?
After starting this “Travel NYC like _____” series, we realized we say that A LOT. Most of the time, while the buildings look similar, they are in fact, not the same. Which can be disheartening, but it hasn’t stopped us yet. And this is a tale of one of those times.
We will say, this picture was a challenge. Our lovely friend over at @starlightseungmin sent us this insta post of Jin-Young from GOT7.
brb just letting Sammie know she’ll never find me. -Jin-Young Gorgeous right? We’re talking about the waterfall obviously…*clears throat* anyway…
We wanted to find the place just for sheer amazement that there was a location like it in NYC. But Sammie had her own reasons.
When she was in High School, her and a friend skipped prom to roam around NYC. While on the adventure they stumbled upon an amazing waterfall tunnel. And to this day, almost 15 years later (omg we’re old), they still have not been able to find the mysterious passageway. Seeing another waterfall triggered Sammie and she became even more determined to find this one.
But even with our combined group of eyes, including Sammie’s mother, none of us had a clue where this place could be. We pushed it to the side for a lot of the other locations we knew where to find, and in time it had become forgotten.
Sammie had gotten out of work early one day, and was meeting her mother for their monthly mother/daughter date (a location The Boyz visited as well! Look forward to that in an upcoming post). They chose to kill some time and walk around to find a few locations they knew were near each other.
As they walked Sammie paused, smelling the fresh scent of misting water. If you’ve ever sprayed a hose, you know the smell of that scattered water as it nourishes the ground beneath your feet. The smell stopped her dead in her tracks. Water misting in NYC? How? WATERFALL!! She looked around frantically trying to find the source of the smell. Did she find the tunnel she had been always searching for since her high school days? Was it where Jin-Young chose to sit and relax and scroll through his phone?
She pulled her mom along the streets to follow the scent and she finally found its location. She ran over, seeing a restaurant where couples were out to a late lunch, a mother with her kid fresh out of school, some coworkers out for drinks, sitting by the side of a waterfall. It was at that moment she said, “Wait. This is familiar.”
The chairs were exactly the same as those in Jin-Young’s photo, the color of the marble/granite behind the waterfall was identical. But when she looked from the photo to where she stood, it wasn’t the same. So as that familiarity and hope subsided, she realized she had not found the spot she thought would never find in the first place.
She snapped a few photos as it was gorgeous either way, and she was resigned to keep a small hope alive to find the real scene.
Come on! They looked so similar! Walking away to move on to another location she saw her mom, a few steps ahead, stopped, looking off to what seemed like a small alleyway. Her face unreadable, Sammie ran up concerned her mom had stumbled upon a not so pleasant sight, but when she followed her mom’s line of sight and her jaw hit the floor.
A small waterfall with red marble/granite stairs, modern white metal chairs, flowers surrounding large trees, and the kicker? A building with a turret like structure with windows on each side.
Her mother had found where Jin-Young sat and enjoyed a nice spring day in New York.
Queen of the awkward poses? Our loving leader Sammie. Sammie wanted to cry. It was a gorgeous little hidden gem that she was shocked existed in Manhattan. Brooklyn? Sure. Queens? Maybe. But in the center of New York City? For real?! And yet, there it was. This gorgeous secluded, serene, majestic spot, that she had searched months for that her mother and her had simply stumbled on.
And so we get to share the location with you guys! This hidden spot is in an area not normally frequented by most tourists. The block (53rd st) is nestled in between the large office buildings, housing massive corporations (between Madison Ave & 5th) and a few blocks away from the MoMA. If you make your way into the city, this is definitely a chill place to relax after all your Traveling NYC like Jin-Young of GOT7.
