With the Holiday Season and the year-end celebrations in the rear-view mirror, New York City is now gearing up for the Chinese New Year. The Year of the Ox begins January 26, and New York’s Chinatown is already showing signs of turning over a new leaf, with stores stocked up with bright red decorations.

AP Travel Editor Beth Harpaz has suggestions not only for Dim Sum restaurants (Golden Unicorn, 18 E. Broadway near Catherine Street) and gift shopping (Pearl River Mart, 477 Broadway ), but also outdoor markets and gathering spots for bird owners. She also lists some upcoming events in late January and February.

Best of all, she’s got recommendations for a couple of New York hotels (Best Western Bowery Hanbee Hotel at 231 Grand St. and the Holiday Inn at 138 Lafayette St.) which cost around $200 per night. That’s about 100 dollars less than what you’ll pay at almost any other hotel in Manhattan, where the average rate is about $282, and most will end up charging you well above $300, after you factor in all the add-ons. 

More information about Chinatown NYC, including the visitable landmarks, bakeries, nightlife, and details about walking tours you can find here - www.explorechinatown.com/.

And following on the heels of the Chinese New Year comes the other big winter event of the year - New York Comic Con (www.nycomiccon.com/, February 6-8 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center).

Jaunted has a pretty neat roundup of what you need to know about vacations in New York, both as a tourist and as a nerdy comic book fan.

If you want a comic book (store) tour of the Big Apple, they suggest Forbidden Planet on Broadway and 13th or Jim Hanley’s Universe, on 33rd Street. And a visit to The Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art.

I’m not too impressed with their suggestions for hotels, though. Surely, there’s better places to stay in than a Comfort Inn, Andre Balazs’ half-finished Standard and the Pod Hotel, which is in a terminal stage of tourist-trap-itis.

Time was when the Pod was a budget hotel which attracted nerds and geeks and single backpackers, with its bunk beds and tiny LCD screens. But now its just a cramped, over-priced and over-hyped hotel.

Chinatown photo by 13bobby via flickr (creative commons). Jedi Knights & Stormtroopers photos courtesy New York Comic Con. 

Posted on January 6th, 2009 by Thomas
Filed under: Festivals, NYC