There is a distinct kind of energy that greets you when you step into Times Square—a dizzying, vibrant sensory overload of towering digital billboards, street music, and a colourful, endless sea of humanity moving to a rhythm unique to New York City. My recent two-day visit to the city began precisely there. Spending my first evening roaming the bustling streets surrounding the New York Marriott Marquis, I couldn’t help but be struck by the sheer vivacity of the local population.