Around The World Without Flying: New York Part 1 - A walk around some of the city

When I caught a taxi from the ship terminal to my hotel that was supposedly located in Times Square, but in fact was a block from it, I was driven through some of the older parts of New York, and even through a tunnel under the Hudson River to avoid the peak hour traffic as much as possible. As we weaved past many old, run-down buildings and some fairly old and very unattractive skyscrapers, I saw roadworks everywhere, a multitude of cranes at work on half-completed buildings, and excavators and so forth working on really narrow blocks that were squeezed in between buildings and encroaching onto the very narrow roads. So my first impression was that of an overcrowded, really noisy city where a lot of work was being undertaken, that no doubt was necessary but was impacting incredibly on the ability of traffic to flow and of the people to walk unimpeded and without stress to their workplace.

But I was lucky enough to see the memorial and the new glass skyscraper being built at the twin towers site. I saw it before the crowds arrived, as it was just dawn, though only through the taxi window as we drove along. Still, it was very moving to see, knowing the suffering and heartache and loss that resulted from that terrible day. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the appalling news on my car radio.

As we drew closer and closer to Times Square to hunt for my hotel, however, I saw a much livelier city full of theatres and shops and bright flashing lights. Yet it was still very crowded and noisy - cars tooting all the time, big delivery trucks and even semi-trailers backing into tight spots in narrow roads, machinery . . .

The taxi driver himself, who told me he was from Jordan and had lived in the US for over ten years, said the city was a nightmare to navigate because of all the one-way narrow streets, the roadworks, the building works, impatient drivers, massive trucks blocking traffic . . .

After depositing my luggage at my hotel early the morning, having paid the taxi driver an exorbitant amount for the half-hour ride and tunnel route fee, plus the large tip he demanded, I asked the concierge if he could point me to a good hairdresser. Yes, my hair was like a bird’s nest - again!

The concierge kindly made an immediate appointment with one, gave me a map and marked out the route, then described how to get there. I followed his verbal instructions because he told me my appointment was in 10 minutes. I finally made it in 30 minutes, and apologised profusely for being late, having first gone in the wrong direction. By the time I got there I had walked 12 city blocks and was quite puffed out, scurrying along the very busy streets and dodging more roadworks. But the hairdresser did quite a good job, although I was astonished when she handed me an envelope with her name on it and said that was for her tip. It was a surprise because neither taxi drivers nor hairdressers in Australia would dream of demanding, or even politely asking for a tip. It is just not in our culture. (In fact wherever I go I always do give taxi drivers a tip because I know that unless they own at least one taxi they are not paid very well.)

When I returned to the hotel I was informed my room would not be available until after 3 pm, so then I asked the concierge how I might find Central Park, which I always wanted to see. By now I had figured out my bearings and how the streets and avenues worked, having learned the hard way. He showed me a route that would take me past Times Square and the Rockefeller Centre, so off I trotted again. My goodness, it did not seem far on the map, but by the time I walked there and back, including my extra long excursion to the hairdresser, I had walked over 50 city blocks, and could barely walk to my room from the lift! I was far too tired to go to any play, and had already found out that operas do not start at the Met until later than the time of my visit. In fact, I could not even find the Met! It was not marked in my map.

On the way, by asking directions, I discovered that the Rockefeller Centre is not just one building but about 30 buildings and a walkway! I just saw some of that. I saw a little of Times Square and even saw some of Fifth Avenue, not that I am into high fashion.

Following are some of the photos I took - just from the pavements. I did not go into any of the buildings. I will talk about Central Park in my next post.