The Big Apple

Last night we ventured into Manhattan. We met a friend for dinner and wound up in the SoHo district where I was harassed by a homeless man for looking like Pocohontas. That incident kinda sums up NYC for me.. you come across the most random yet interesting people on the streets of New York. Everyone is so different from the other. It's not exactly multi-cultural but more like multi-layered in regards to people of society in Manhattan. The divide is great between the rich and poor which is clear with upper and lower east and west sides (I'm still not sure which side is the wealthier one) and being defined by not just where you live, but HOW you live. Most of the minorities also reside in the suburbs of Brooklyn, Bronx and Harlem since Manhattan is very pricey for pretty much everything. The public transit is also pretty horrible with 1 in 10 trains having A/C and all the stations reeking of urine.

The divide is also evident in dining and shopping, especially since these two are also every New Yorkers' fave past times. We walked into what we thought was an Italian restaurant only to be charged an arm and a leg to eat dishes we had no idea how to pronounce. It got some of my girlfriends quite frustrated, why can't pizza just be pizza? But put a fancy name on it and you can charge whatever you like for it! We were so hungry we couldn't complain, UNTIL the bill came.
Even though it was our first night in NYC and we wanted to do much more, we were all indescribably exhausted so we had to crash.
Did I also mention how humid and hot it is in the city right now? We have all given up on make-up.

We made up for it on today though because we had a jam-packed day and an even better night (sort of!).

We had to get up early to get to Manhattan because we were all eager to watch a play on Broadway. Luckily we were able to get last minute half price tix to watch the Phantom of the Opera which was amazing! After the play some of us shopped around while the rest of us (including me) hit the museum to soak in some culture. We got to the MET just before closing so we're not sure if we snuck in or not since no body at the entrance really asked us anything. Because we only had about an hour before closing we split into 2 groups and split. Avi, Thusha and I got to explore contemporary American art and Asian art.

After the MET we took a stroll through Central Park, but it was already dark. We have easily managed to master the NYC transit system with its numerous lines and with a metrocard it's very easy to get around the city. By early evening we checked into our hostel for the night which was located in Chelsea. We got 2 rooms but they were in different buildings so we ended up getting ready in one room. Again, the rooms are uber small but we managed. I really don't understand how New Yorkers can deal with such small living space?!
The hostel was also pretty grimey, looked like something from the 60's but we just needed a place to come back and sleep in after a late night of partying.

We headed into the Meatpacking district which is infamous for the club scene. After waiting in line for a club known as One, Avi and I decided to jump the rail into the smoking section. The bouncer saw us and conveniently ignored us so we were left to party on our own while we waited for the rest of our friends. This club was pretty jamming and had a mix of people. Since New York lacks a major population of Indian/Sri Lankan females, we were quite the attention getters tonight. After a good few hours of dancing a man decided it was time to end the night, American styles, and started a fight with another man. Unfortunately, my friend got caught in the middle and ended up scabbing her knee. Good thing Judy is a doctor in the making! It definitely came in handy.

After that incident the club closed and it was only 4am so we went looking for an after hours place. We were positive that something had to be open but being as intoxicated as we were, it was quite the task to locate one. So after sitting around on the street and grabbing food at a convenience store (there is always somewhere to go for food at any time of day here), we gave up and crashed at the hostel.

---

---