When I went to New York City a couple of years ago, I had taken gloves, mittens, scarves, and lots of good will to meet up with the poor of New York. Being my first trip to New York, I was not aware that I would not run into many beggars in Manhattan.
But I got lucky the very first morning, standing at the roadside in front of our hotel at 5:30 in the morning. The pick-up trucks had made their noise, the sirens kept going, lights keep flashing and throwing shadows in the room, and then jet lag did the rest to get me out of bed. On the steps of the hotel outside, I watched the dumpster guys pick up the trash, saw flashy young New Yorkers returning from their night out, took in the air, and stood there, bracing myself against this November cold.
So, on that morning, as I took in the New York City air, smell, sounds, and lights, this guy approached me. He only asked for a cigarette, but I actually was looking for a place to get a cup of coffee that early. So I ended up inviting him to breakfast and he had to lead the way. His name was Charly. While we had breakfast at a little place around the corner, I felt the staff eying us.
Charly told me he never travels without surgical gloves as there are so many diseases about. He took his apple juice with a slice of chewing gum which served as a non-existent tooth brush and paste combined.
He showed me his mobile phone and told me most of his kind do carry one as life on the roads is too dangerous without one. He then asked me for my mobile phone number and I declined. Then I asked him if I could take his photo and he declined. Nevertheless, our conversation was very engaging and lively and he struck me as someone you and I would meet anywhere while having a cup of coffee.
On the way out, I asked him if he wanted anything else and he chose a couple more low-cost things from the menu. I learned a lot from him in those 30 minutes. He had dignity, he took care of himself in his own way, he knew when to say no, and he was gentle. I do not know if living on the streets was his choice. He was too young to be a Vietnam veteran, he was too old to be a hippie of some kind.
I have always liked this song by Ralph McTell.
So whether you are in New York City, London, or Frankfurt, you might find an interesting street person to talk to. Just give them and yourself the chance – they are usually grateful for any interest you show in their life. Wouldn’t you be?
Monday morning I was able to sleep a bit longer – until 7:30. This could have been due to getting adjusted to the new time frame, but I also believe Sunday night’s dinner (red wine only) partially helped to keep my spirits lingering in slumber.
After a hearty breakfast of coffee, bagels and cream cheese, we set off for our final stroll through the streets of New York. We finally noticed the Empire State Building after having passed it numerous times already.
Empire State Building entrance
Empire State Building
Margo caught me being goofy...
We stopped at various gift shops again, had to count our money to buy some last-minute souvenirs, took some more photos including the one above.
Another observation we made was the absence of dogs in New York City. In those two and a half days we saw dogs on three occasions and they all happened to belong to bag ladies.
A rare breed to find in New York City
We returned to our hotel shortly before noon to gather our suitcases and settle the bill before leaving for our late afternoon flight from JFK Airport. By then we had gotten used to the American way of advertising the net price with the sales tax being added on later at the cash register. We had gotten used to one extra charge in sales tax…
But my bill read as follows:
* Room charge (TX) XX
* State Room Tax $ 33.08
* City Room Tax $ 19.75
* Occupancy Room Tax $ 2.00
* State Occupancy Tax $ 1.50
Four different types of taxes were added on to each room charge. You well-traveled N.Y.C. hotel residents probably already know about that, but we didn’t.
And we definitely enjoyed our stay at the Stanford Hotel in Manhattan. The location (between Broadway and 5th Avenue) can’t be beat and service was excellent and often beyond. The rooms were spacious, the furniture was outdated and well worn (my goodness, the sofa had me almost sitting on the floor…), but the beds were comfortable.
In an earlier post I had mentioned the things I planned to do while in N.Y.C, which were:
* taking interesting photos
* buying lunch for some homeless
* talking to some interesting people, besides the homeless
* taking a peak into Tiffany’s
Conclusion: I took some photos, I bought breakfast for a homeless guy, I talked to many interesting people and I took a peak into Tiffany’s (through secured bars though).
We love New York and I have already gotten my first “inquiry to join the next N.Y.C. tour”. Would anybody else like to tag along? Then please sign up under comments.
Five more days and I will be sitting on an airliner to New York on Friday Nov 21.
We will land at about 9 p.m. and hope to arrive at the hotel by 11 p.m. My daughter says she would be up to taking a stroll down Broadway after we have registered and unpacked. The only kind of stroll I could imagine doing would be towards the bed. We will see how we feel.
Throughout my life and travels I often had made some priority plans when visiting a certain city or country. It hardly ever worked out that way, but instead I did things – some unusual and much better - I would not have dreamed of. Now I will share with you what I think I will be doing in New York.
I plan on:
* taking interesting photos
* buying lunch for some homeless
* talking to some interesting people, besides the homeless
* taking a peak into Tiffany’s
This is supposed to be a shopping trip for ladies only and we also have just received our Economic Stimulus Payment rebate from the U.S. government, which was supposed to encourage spending and strengthen the economy (before the crisis). Of course, being loyal to this currency, we plan on taking it right back to where it came from, because we want to stimulate the economy. My daughter will be the biggest helper in doing so.
Having just read Michael Kinsley’s article on Consumer Confidence, it is clear that Americans are in two minds. On one hand, they are encouraged to spend to stop this downfall, but at the same time, October retail sales were down double digits from a year ago.
And then there are new groups which preach against this Shopocalypse. For example, The Church of Stop Shopping is a project that has expanded from a one-man performance artist preaching against consumerism on the sidewalks of Times Square to a 35-person choir and 7-person band with dozens of original songs, a critically acclaimed stage show, a major motion picture and multiple media platforms. The Church is committed to educating the public about the consequences of unsustainable consumption.
And then there is this fake New York Times issue, a very interesting prankster act. These papers were passed out and nobody noticed the publication date of July 4, 2009. Well, with such good news (the war in Iraq has ended) to be read, I might not have caught it right away either. This quiet and bold act is a good demonstration of what has been brewing this whole time in parts of America. Very clever idea to get to the public. 1.7 million papers supposedly have been distributed. They have planted the seed of dreaming of better days soon to come. Let’s hope for a speedy harvest.
In the meantime, I will go shopping in New York this weekend.
We have booked our hotel for the trip to New York City in late November. We will miss Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which is the week after, as well as the famous Christmas decorations of the city put up right after Thanksgiving. Oh well, we can’t have it all.
The Stanford Hotel is situated right in the center of Manhattan. It is located on 43 West 32nd street between Fifth and Broadway and just steps away from all the attractions & things to do in Midtown Manhattan. We will have immediate access to all the major midtown business and major tourist attractions. We are only a few minutes of a walk to Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Jacob Javits Convention Center, the Empire State Building, the Broadway theater district, Fashion district, and the Manhattan Mall.
I had contemplated booking a lower-priced one out in New Jersey – which claims to have excellent bus service to and from Manhattan – but we want to see and stay in New York for the nights as well. We won’t be going out much at night as I will be traveling with my by then eleven-year-old daughter. It will be nice just to stroll up and down the street, while staying near the hotel, to see the famous lights, hear the big-city sounds and do some serious people-watching. And November in New York City will be cold – another reason for getting a hotel nearby, therefore limiting the wait at a dark and drafty bus-station to get back into the cozy warmth of our hotel room. I wonder how cold it will get…
Another factor for staying in Manhattan is that I tire easily even after only three hours of shopping. It will be so nice to have the hotel in walking-distance to go back and take a rest – and unload some shopping bags, too.
Last, but not least. Our hotel is in Korea town as well, where I will have my favorite food – Korean cuisine – at hand. I was told I should try Sul Long Tang (beef soup) at the restaurant Gam Mee Ok, which serves supposedly the best Sul Long Tang in the whole world.
