Sex and City Bus Tour

2 July 2009 1,585 views One Comment

So this past weekend, I was in the Big Apple (New York City) for a totally fabulous bachelorette party. We kick started with the Sex and City bus tour, run by On Location Tours Inc. I think there are actually a few more Sex and City bus tours as I saw other groups from different buses. The tours are hugely popular, particularly on the weekend and in the afternoon slots. We booked ours for the 2.30 slot but were made to wait for an extra half hour since some of the tours run late. They pick up at the fountain by the famous Plaza Hotel. You may notice a long queue of girls and one supervisor with a clipboard and blue umbrella. They check the tickets but then they dont check before you hop on the bus (which makes me think that maybe some people just hop on? or is it just the legal training that has taught me to watch out for rule breakers?)

Anyways, there were only four men on the tour versus fifty screaming women. One looked like he was tortured into coming there by his girlfriend/wife/slave driver. The other two were gay and the last one was my good friend Mike who was asked if he wanted to replace my cousin who was sick at the time. The tour guide pointed out to my very straight friend at the back as most people notice a man on a bus full of women. The tour guides are amazing because they point out to very interesting facts throughout the evening (did you notice that in the opening credits, there are people on the bus, and then when Sarah Jessica Parker turns around, there are no people on the bus?) The most interesting fact I learnt was that the baby that Aiden has was actually James Wilkie – Sarah Jessica Parker’s son. That is why the baby just lights up because he saw his real life mummy.

The tour is supposed to last 3.5 hours but it usually takes longer because we wait for most people to get back on the bus. They play a combination of video clips from the movie and the series on HBO and point out to the different neighbourhoods. Two of my friends who went on the tour with me live in the city but they said that they wouldnt have gone to all the locations unless it was on a tour bus and that they never really fit all the pieces of the movie like a puzzle. Some of the stops I really enjoyed was having a drink at Steve and Aiden’s bar and cupcakes at Magnolia’s bakery. The funniest part of the tour was a visit to Pleasure Island, the sex store.

The tour also provides a booklet with discounts. For example, we get 20% off Juicy Couture which is on the street where Magnolia’s Bakery is. My best friend took advantage of that offer and bought me the sweetest cupcake necklace there. I still dont understand why Americans do not put the tax on the price tag. Perhaps its marketing but it is very annoying for us non Americans!

Anyways, one of the discounts we used was a free drink at the bar Lucky Chengs. Lucky Chengs is a drag queen bar, most people go eat dinner and then watch the show. Even the bartender is a drag queen. It has a distinctly oriental theme – the walls are painted red, more chinese lanterns, etc. Their signature drink is a Pink Pussy. To be honest, it tasted like nail polish varnish – or atleast what I think nail polish varnish would taste like. Despite the drink, the best part of the evening was watching a drag queen give a lap dance to a (un)lucky bride. These women were amazing!! I think Lucky Chengs is the perfect location for any bachelorette party. In fact, there were about 6 brides there that evening.

When we were doing our dares as part of the bachelorette festivities, my friend’s boyfriend had to go up to someone and say “I’m horny” He chose the bartender who cooly replied “I recommend Chocolate… with nuts” only to find out that it was actually…. a drag queen called Chocolate.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend both the Sex and City tour (which is about $40) and the Lucky Chen venue. It made for an unforgettable evening.