New York Times

New York, New York

The journey to New York was to see a good mate Seb and his girlfriend Doreen in their home. I thought it was best to use the opportunity of the proximity to bring him some OZ or just an excuse to leave work early and drink too much Tequila.

I arrived late in the night due to a 6 hour delay caused by the liquid explosive paranoia fiasco, and apart from being grilled by some smart mouth customs officer, Times Square at night was my first real impression of New York. What a way to start.

Times Square

The place felt literally unreal, as though the buildings were empty with only the facades of high tech signs all created in some giant building. The movies can not prepare you for it.

The view from Seb's work

I went to Seb's work the next morning for a free coffee and an awesome view of New York, a little easier on the brain by day. From there I took off on foot to go see Central Park.

In Central Park

Central Park is huge, I walked from the southern end to the northern end and it took several hours. I like the idea thought that in such an overpopulated place, such a large area has been maintained for the beauty of nature. The sky scrapers are like the frame of a painting the way the edge every view and surround the park.

This too

I grabbed the subway and rode down to the southern end of Manhattan island to catch a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Due to the price and the time waiting in line, I took a boat cruise around the bay instead.

Brooklyn Bridge

It was a really nice way to see the bay but it was a bit ridiculous the way all of us photographers ran around the boat like cockroaches trying to take the perfect picture.

There she is

The next day we headed down to Coney Island to satisfy my curiosity of this New York tradition. We decided that we would take Doreen's dog Buster with us, arguably the world's 2nd cutest dog. So cute, that a kid on the street came up to him and hugged him and I watched a huge security guard melt at the site of him. Anyway, walking along the street we got caught up in a conversation that built up into four separate conversations. I was amazed at just how friendly people could be while I had also been shocked at how rude they are. I guess the way to put it is that they don't hold back, which I think would take me a while to get used to. Although I did get into the spirit of things when I told someone on the street to "Go shove it up your @$$!", but I assure they deserved it.

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs

A Coney Island institution, you can't go to Coney Island and not get a Nathan's Hot Dog.

Seb and Doreen

and the Chili Cheese Dogs

I'm not too sure what Nathan's make their cheese sauce out of but I'm pretty sure one of the ingredients omitted is cheese.

Doreen and Buster on the Boardwalk

We watched the sun go down from the board walk and walked the streets of rides, games of skill and the purveyors of all that is deep fried and sugary. I was not allowed to leave without taking part in the other major institution of Coney Island, the roller coaster, the Cyclone. Its one of the oldest roller coasters at 79 years old and trust me it looks and feels like it. The first scary thing about it is standing underneath the wooden beams as the wobble from the force of the cars on the track. There is the thrill from the acceleration and the ride but also the mistrust in the construction and the way the wheels leave the track in sections. I would have ridden again, but the whiplash I received told me once was more than enough.

Here's a picture of Manhattan Island

There are no photos to accompany the tale but when we arrived home we chilled out in front of the TV eating sweets from Little India, drinking, watching Miami Vice and playing Othello. Before we knew it the sun was coming up and instead of taking a hint from the sun, we pulled ourselves together to head to Harlem to get us a real Soul Food breakfast. I was looking forward to eating Soul Food but unfortunately in New York people don't serve breakfast until lunch time. However all disappointment was lost when I saw water spraying over a street from a busted fire hydrant. I was so happy running through the water and felt like I'd really captured that piece of New York that you just won't get on any tour.

Guggenheim Museum

On the Monday, after having a Sushi lunch with Doreen in Bryant Park, I headed off for an afternoon of museums. First I thought I'd check out the famous Guggenheim museum, a great building but the collection is disappointing for a one off visit. The visit to the Museum of Natural History made up for it though. Any good thing you've heard about it is true and it was free!

Museum of Natural History

The trip really proved that to get a real idea of a place, you need people who live there so that you can live it too, not just look at it. I was happy that one of the last things we did was all have lunch together but even more so becuase the area the retaurant was in is called Hell's Kitchen. So now I can say I had lunch in Hell's Kitchen. It was difficult parting ways and as I tried to make light of the situation in my favourite way, the Richard Nixon departure wave, I was cut of in true New York fashion by the bus driver saying "Get on the bus, I want to go home today.". Well I guess that's the Honk for you.