'New York, New York!'

20th Dec

After goodbye breakfast, it was on board the famed Quadrangle shuttle in the attempt to get to South station on time to get to New York. As predicted, I was there in far too good a time and had to wait a bit in the cold terminal building. After boarding my train, i fell asleep only to awaken and see my phone had reset its time to 4.30am?!!! then on the next stop, the time flashed 3.41pm and i started to shit myself as the train was due to roll into the Big Apple shortly before 2pm... so where the hell was i? Washington DC?

'i survived the New York transit strike 2005...'

Phoned 2 people and asked a few passengers to rest my soul: they confirmed that it was only in fact coming up to midday...thank whoever, as i was predicting that during my travels i would at least sleep past a stop once...after getting over the panic, I was finally able to enjoy the pleasant Connecticut scenery though it was a purely saccadic experience due to the speed at which it past by.

As the time crept toward 2pm and the speedy Amtrak train glided with its airplane-like cabin, i was getting excited to be going to such an awesome final destination. This was confirmed by the sighting of the infamous New York skyline with the still outrageously tall Empire state building gleaming in the Manhattan sun. The train then tantalisingly encircled manhattan island on its way under Brooklyn toward Penn station to provide me photo opportunities. Several friends gave me a heads up, whilst i was on the train, of a New York Transit strike, which was to disrupt all subway buses and ferries at the time of my arrival and potentially my entire stay here. NICE TIMING.

So i walked the 15 or so blocks mapless to my hostel with my finetuned orienteering skills... refusing to get ripped off by yellow taxis. After dropping off my stuff at yet another top bunk, with nobody present, i went on my customary exploring/wander around town, stumbling into Times Square which I didn’t recognise until I read the sign – its not even a square, more a triangle!; intentionally walking to Central Park, and returning to ‘Times Square Hostel’, which is completely unmarked above a Japanese restaurant, via the ultra-busy 5th Avenue taking a peak into the show-off Trump Tower where 'The Apprentice' is filmed. The grid like urban layout is good for finding places but also creates some mean wind tunnel acceleration; its f***ing fr***ing. Id Est: below freezing.

Having seen these main sights, yellow cabs, using ‘Blocks and Avenue’ jargon, low hanging yellow traffic lights, pizza joints, expensive shops and fashion, broadway lights, smoke escaping the Ninja turtle sewer covers, apartment blocks with those external iron fire exits, and feeling like a foreign ant amongst ze giant buildings, I finally felt like I was in NYC.

Met up with an old friend Emily, who has recently become a New Yorker and whom i met a few years back on the way to Japland, and had a lush and appropriately expensive dinner enjoyed rather leisurely at Olive Garden restaurant addressed 2 Times Square... it gets my seal of approval with the best white wine ive ever had, let alone the mean artichoke dip!

21st Dec

Today was about getting my sightseeing organised despite the fact there was no public transport to help me. So, with tourist shame, I joined a tour bus group, getting a 3 day pass for a massive 99 dollars… I knew NYC was going to bleed me dry anyway, so, in the wise words of Lock Stock, I pulled down my pants, greased myself up and aimed for penetration…

Although these buses were the only transport running besides the taxis, it was the millions of taxis and private cars/tanks owning the traffic show causing outrageous carnage in town esp at Times square from which most of the guided ‘loops’ begin. So getting on the ‘downtown loop’ which takes you down past sights such as Empire State Building, battery park for Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Macys, Ground Zero etc.., it took literally an hour to get down 15 blocks where ESB was; the same 15 blocks I walked in 15 mins with my pack yesterday. In the process, I got really cold sitting on top deck listening to an equally freezing guide who initially was funny but then hadn’t quite prepare enough material for our snaillike progress along 7^th avenue blaming the MTA for ruining her jokes. Although my time in Asia had given me near angelic patience compared to NYers and other tourists alike, i still got the hell off at the first opportunity.

Walked the rest of the way to the ‘King Kong’ tower, and had to queue for half an hour to get security checked before being allowed into the ticket hall; and as I didn’t bring a backpack with me, all my shit was in my pockets, and thus it became a self induced strip search to locate why I kept setting the metal detector off?!

Luckily, the 3 day pass included the ticket to go up to the famous Observatory on top of the ESB, so I skipped another hour long entry ticket queue to get to the elevators which zipped us up quickly to the 85^th floor. Ears-a-popping. Very worth it I must say after all the faffing, and with a italian-immigrant sounding audio guide, I was able to get a bearing on where I was in the Urban jungle with arguably the best views in town…gaining an appreciation for NYC’s vastness and grid nature, though I didn’t meet Meg Ryan! But then again, who would want to.

As everything’s taken so frigging long to happen, its getting dark already and due to the strikes and stuff, the delays to the tour bus routes meant they were stopping at 4pm instead of 6pm. Great. So nothing left but to wander around the area, taking in the intimidating Macy’s store filled to the brim with nervous shoppers and the absolute chaotic Madison Square Garden, which because of its proximity to Penn Station, was also filled with nervous/irate NYers (shoppers and workers alike) who didn’t know how to get home that day; and luckily there was a large police presence to sort out the mess. I fortunately dodged the area quickly, where I heard later there was some fierce rioting going on. The tour guides that day proudly proclaimed these next few days as a platform for visitors to witness how NYers can deal with anything thrown at them esp after 9/11, though by what ive seen; they don’t handle themselves well at all.

Wandering through Times Square gave a much better sensation for this place and it really is a City of Blinding Lights…I decided to waste no time and get onto the first running ‘Holiday Lights Tour of New York’ also included in the package, which turned out to another freeze-fest on top deck in a monster traffic jam – not seeing very much, which I should have predicted, but I did get a flashing holiday badge for my torture. Ive literally never felt that cold, esp not for the 2 and a half hrs it took to get around the small circuit taking in ESB, which looked cool at night, the stylish Chrysler building, Bryant Park, the festive Rockefeller center and Central Park. On alighting I ran to the nearest restaurant to thaw and satisfy my intense hunger that had developed. Japanese food it was and the waitress was impressed I could eat 2 main courses. Yum.

22nd Dec

Made sure I got my ass up early this morning as I wasn’t gonna waste another day like yesterday visiting only one sight. First on my agenda was the Statue of Liberty, and after woofing down an stoopendous 3-egg omelette – their smallest size – I was on the early ‘Statue of Liberty “express” loop’ which was meant missed out everything in between Times Sq and Battery park to get people to the ferry, but still got tangled in some ridiculous traffic. + these low traffic lights have been known to strike unwary tourists standing on the top deck!

And on the Liberty and Ellis island ferry I was: it was a choice between an overly heated cabin or the spine chilling upper deck and I chose the cabin as ill have plenty of the latter on the island. Quite impressed to see the French (!) statue for real and it was a true icon to behold, but not impressive enough to warrant paying money to climb a little way up the pedestal. Took pictures from all angles, read a few displays before running for the next ferry out of here…to be honest it was just to say I went there… Next stop was Ellis island where all the immigrants were processed and then back to Manhattan: this portion of the trip giving good panaromas of both New York City and New Jersey.

Back on dryland, it was to Ground Zero and joined the gathering of people still paying respects and listening to a true patriot who still to this day retells stories of the real events so that we can get the real goings on of that fateful day. Almost 5 years on, the place is still empty but for the sadness.  Buildings affected by asbestos damage are still to be destroyed. If we sidestep the politics – the who deserved what - for a moment, one might not neglect that many loved ones still perished here, which is why it's such a sobering sight indeed.

The great Urban sprawl of New York City is finely punctuated by shorter yet grand neoclassical buildings and stunning cathedrals cementing the Christian faith within the city. This was pretty clear when I took a stroll around lower manhattan taking in NYSE and Wall Street (w/ federal hall) before ending up at South Side Seaport to board a mind-numbing tour around chinatown and then Brooklyn, across the east river on long island, where nobody was allowed or willing to get off at the stops and a wise-cracking tourguide spent most of the time describing the area where she lived and bitching about the traffic that meant she had to walk miles home after our tour ended…I got off at City Hall and witnessed several news crews with their barbie doll news reporters covering the MTA transit demo there, which was more interesting than the last 2 hrs stuck in a toy bus with steamed up windows.

With latent energy in my legs and perhaps a deathwish as it was already dark and getting colder, I walked from Lower Manhattan back toward Times square stopping briefly @ starbucks for hot chocolate and to recover a sense of extremital feeling. It took almost 3hrs to claw my way back, though I got to see more of the city and its people and hit upon the gem of Bryant park with its skate rink and a district containing HBO, Fox and NBC broadcasting centres and when I looked closer, there were live broadcasts being shot and you could watch the mechanics by peeping in. Rockefeller centre was pretty magical with mutated xmas trees and ice rink and lots of families with smiles and the festiveness rubbed off on me at last, which actually meant I finally felt like I wanted to go home.

23rd Dec

Big Hurray! The transit strike is over on my last full day here…and im proud to say along with some fashionable t-shirts: “I survived NYC transit strike 2005”

Forget about the tour buses, I wanted to walk to the end of 47^th street and arrive at the UN headquarters at my own convenience and speed. And it didn’t take as long as I thought it would to cross the 10 or so avenues taking in new views of the Chrysler building as well as taking a peak at the transport hub that is ‘Grand Central Terminal’; best looking train station ive ever seen. Certainly beats Barnehurst. As I was not allowed even close to the UN building, it was a meagre experience. Jumped on a bus to Central Park and finally got a chance to take a stroll through it. Turned out to be a bit of a mission as this artificial park is humongous. After a slow 45 minutes, I wasn’t even half way but was thoroughly enjoying the fresh air and lovely scenery under the soundtrack of my thoughts and iPod shuffle list.

Took my first ‘Uptown loop’ bus around the Harlem area as less face it, id be dumb to walk around there by myself and saw some cool areas such as the birthplace of some great singers actors and playwrights whose names ive already forgot. Went past the Guggenheim and Metropolitan museums in the ‘museum mile’, Columbia University and this interesting grand gothic cathedral which to this day is still not finished despite its 200 yr age.

Moved my stuff to another hotel as my hostel didn’t have room for my last night, with this place setting me back some 70 dollars; the cheapest room available, the most expensive by far on this trip and dossed around Times Square where some break dancing competition was happening.

24th Dec

Had my first bagel breakfast today and took my final wander around New York Cityand indeed of my trip taking in 5^th Avenue with its retained Cathedrals battered by the panic buyers roaming the sidewalk and closed off roads.  Now the strike was over, I also had to take a ride on the famous subway and travelled all of one stop back to Times Square! Chilled in hostel until my ‘Supershuttle’ took me to a well-dressed Terminal 7 of JFK to get on my flight back to London.