MANHATTAN- Towering infernos. Review on New York

When I happened to tell my friends that I am planning for NY for the long Thanksgiving weekend n anybody can join me, the initial reactions were,’’ U must be crazy to go to NY,NOW’’ Everyone were singing the same chorus But I as adamant as ever had that nagging temptation to visit my dream location no matter what. Finally 3 of my friends did curse me but still joined me on this trip.So come on, join me in this trek in the concrete jungle. Okay moving on, I wud concentrate only on Manhattan in this revu .NY is divided into grids by horizontal streets, intersected by vertical avenues n with the long long Broadway that runs diagonally across the city n is the heartline of the city.I must say with so much travel info at ur finger tips like maps etc u can never get lost in the maze of skyscrapers in downtown MAnhattan.Starting from Southern tip this is the place which controls the world financial markets like NYSE n other financial,corporate headquarters located in n around Wall Street. GROUND ZERO: All the neighbouring skyscrapers try in vain to coverup this horrible tragic site,but it sticks out as a thick black scar in otherwise overwhelming downtown.The real impact of the tragedy hit me when I stood there in Broadway ,with full view of that mangled wreck of WTC. I couldnt believe that I was standing n watching the very same scene which I had watched on TV a couple of months earlier with shock ’n horror.The whole area has turned into some sort of a memorial with candles, photos of dear ones who perished there,flowers ’n ppl watching it with stunned expression! Walking up along the broadway ,u enter into the fashionable shopping arcades ,designer showrooms , trendy restaurants in the famed ’’SoHo’’.This elegant fashion street is a delite for the ultimate window shopping exp.DEviating a bit to the east ,is the grand entrance to the famous Brooklyn ’n Manhattan bridges.Moving up into Greenwich village ,feel the walking spirits of Bob Dylan,Jimi Hendrix ’n other rock stars. Further up , by 34th street ,u r in midtown Manhattan,’n is a hot tourist attraction .

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: isnt the tallest building now( ’n is dwarf compared to Sears in Chicago), but stands out as an epitome of the tradition of future skyscrapers that was inspired from it.Going to top of Empire isnt as as easy as Meg Ryan makes u believe in ’’SLeapless in Seattle’’ .It took me nearly an hour in a queue to reach the 86th floor observatory,but finally that wait was worth it to get the breathatking vew of surrounding NY. I felt I was on the top of the world ! Jumping down the empire ,explore the ’’Madison square ’’ garden n I happened to remember all those famous concerts I had seen on TV .Moving onto the ’xtreme right ,u can find the UN headquarters ,’n take the guided tour which includes the ’’General Assembly Hall’’ ’n witness the very place where many historical decisions r taken.Chrysler Building: This building has one of the best exterior design among MAnhattan skyline.The glazy curved arched building top is one of the most instinctively visible landmarks among the skyscrapers.TIMES SQUARE: Mama Mia!! Bellisimo!! FRankly I was zapped by this place!! I spent almost all my 5 nights right out here n still m not satisfied !! This is indeed the Milky way of Manhattan ,with blinding riot of colours. This place is full of glitz ’n glamour ’n can range from being raunchy to elite !! Virgin records , MTV studios, giant electronic glittering hoardings,NASDAQ , hoards of restaurants, sleazy bars ,broadway theatres playing all those famous plays like Les Miserables,Chicago , etc etc , the crowd from all corners of the globe all day long, ....oh !!it can simply go on n on.The area around this place throbs with pulsating-energy.The upmarket chic shopping plazas, showrooms along Fifth avenue ,madison avenue especially now after Thanksgiving day,which is the official kickoff for the shopping festive Christmas season,adds more zest to the whole place .The Trump tower, boutiques from all the famous names across the world CK, D & G, Italian names etc etc, SOny tower, Rockfeller centre uggghh..I was really tired just walking whole day.Yes , walking is the best way of explaoring the whole downtown ’n be ready for it bigtime.Also ,dont miss out the 8 storey Macy’s which is decked with Christmas festivities. One surely ,’ll end up with a pain in the neck at the end of the day, as u walk ,gazing skywards at those skyscrapers all along MAnhattan,which takes the form of all unbelievable geometrical shapes one can ever imagine. ROCKFELLER CENTRE:This huge tower is the home of NBC studios. It also displays the biggest Christmas tree ,an ice rink ’n is the most famous tourist attraction,especailly now during the build up to Christmas.Take a guided tour of the sets ’n behind the scenes trivias of some famous shows like Saturday Night live, Rosie O Donell SHow, NBC news etc. STATUE OF LIBERTY:Ellis island wher eits lcoated is now closed to public,due to Sept 11 attacks,but only a ferry ride ,which takes u just in front of the statue is all that’s allowed now.SO I couldnt really take that walk up the Liberty statue, so another good reason ,for which I have to visit NY again.But never miss the ferry ride to see the overview of the NY skyline!

CENTRAL PARK : After feeling being trapped among the buildings,u can appreciate the value of vastness of space,if u venture into this park,which occupies a large hectares of land in the central Manhattan.The lush green meadows, ’n the serene atmosphere is truely a relief for this city .

FOOD: Never a prob here ,as its a game for any cuisne.As for Indain , check out some good ones in downtown at UTSAV or SHAAN. Also dont miss out the Hard ROck Cafe!

There r lots of famous museums out in this city,but I wasnt so enthused to visit those,so I cant eloborate much on that.

NY ,I must admit is damn different from any other American cities (I ’ve seen so far).Any Indian wud find any US city to be too quite ’n calm ,’n that may be one of the reason why any Indian can relate to NY instinctively ,bcoz of its chaotic crowd for which we r so used to.The other reason(s) why its so different from other places in US, r :

1)there is gross violation of traffic rules (atleast in mid-town ), both by pedestrains ’n drivers 2) An average New yorker has no time for courteous ’’Thank u’’,’’U r welcome’’ , ’’ ..’’ , .... etc etc,which is a tradition in other parts of US 3) I was surprised to see begging on the streets

SOme tips for tourists:

1) In a hurry to cover all the attractions ,many minute details r missed out.ALways plan ur iternary well.For eg : it wud be foolish to be in south financial district of Manhattan in evening or inTImes sqaure in the morning. Plan so that for eg, cover Central park in the morning, shopping exp in the afternoon along 5th av Macys. top of empire/ ferry ride in the twilight of the evening so that u can see the specatcle both in dalight n in the dusk a whole evening in TImes square n if u r planning for any theatre shows book in advcance n dont waste ur time standing in long queues.

2)Always book a hotel right in the middle of the city, as all the attractions r just round the corner.It may be a bit costly , but its compensated by ur parking charges or ur commutation charges to the suburbs in taxis.(As surely it will be very late night by the time u return to ur hotel ,as NY is a city to be seen in night, I advise not to take trains late night).And believe me there’s a hotel to satisfy all the budgets , unlike in Paris ,which I beleive is way way costly than NY ,in all aspects.

3)Carry ur photo-id like passport etc bcoz of hieghtened security ’n may be needed to be produced before entry into many visitor areas. In all ,NY never seemed to me ,a city ,which is in mourning