New York, New York

Perhaps one of the most famous and popular American cities is the City of New York. You can like this city or you can hate it, but you can t be absolutely indifferent towards it. New York is one of the largest cities in America and approximately 20 million people live there. New York is not a usual America. This huge ant hill is not similar at all to “one-two-three sleepy” America. New York consists of five large separate from each other boroughs: Manhattan (the central and the most expensive district), Brooklyn (the Russian quarter is situated here), the Bronx, Queens and the Staten Island. Actually what kind of people come to New York? Well, New York is a city of the world scale. Everyone who comes to America tries to visit New York. This city is a classic of world’s traveling. What do we want to see there? Well certainly we want to see the symbol of freedom with our own eyes, the Statue of Liberty. We want to watch a Broadway show in theaters that are situated on the “theatrical” district of the Broadway (many performances are shown daily and all day long. The price for the tickets varies from 40$ to 100$. You have to buy cheap tickets in advance). Tourists usually take a walk along the Downtown which is situated in the Manhattan district. It is the business centre of New York. The famous Wall Street (the embodiment of American financial power) is situated here. During their trip to New York tourists want to see Chinatown. It is a Chinese quarter with a great number of shops and restaurants. It is the best place for the cheap shopping and you can find not only Chinese goods there. Well I came to New York with the same purposes as well as other tourists. I did not have any certain purpose or plan that’s why my trip trough the city was a pure improvisation, a happy-go-lucky trip. Moreover, I want to say that it was rather fascinating. This city really reminded me a big ant hill. Everybody runs somewhere, fusses. I had an impression that these people do not have rest at all. But my opinion was erroneous. Of course, they have a rest as well as all other people do. Everyone has a rest here according to their financial possibilities and free time. People seldom go to the theaters. You can meet in the theaters basically only those people who have arrived to the city for the first time or real theater-lovers. More often people go to the cinemas and restaurants (however a restaurant is a very expensive pleasure in New York). In summer people usually rest on the beach or play different lotteries or spent their money in casinos. Well, if you have enough money and free time, you will find the place in New York where you can spend these resources with a great pleasure. One of the visit cards of New York is a yellow taxi as in London red buses and black taxis. The yellow taxi is a symbol of the City of New York. The fare of a taxi depends on distance. Journey is naturally more expensive at night and in days off. But approximately it is necessary to count 2$ for a mile in addition you have to pay 2$ for an embussing. As the conversation turned about the public transport it is necessary to mention that the situation with it in New York is rather complicated. If you wish to move about the city into your own car, I can warn you at once – it’s a very bad job. It is practically impossible to arrive at any place in time because the roads are very busy there. The prices for a parking are astronomical and the probability of larceny is rather great. So you can use the public transport. The most convenient is the New York subway. Subways in New York are awful and even dangerous. However, in spite of all its disadvantages including noise and the heat, the subways are more convenient and quieter place that the streets of the city. Although the travel with the subway is the fastest way of moving, and the majority of sights of Manhattan are situated in close proximity from its stations. The payment system in New York subway is the same as in others cities. It is necessary to buy a ticket for a 1,5$ then you have to pass trough the turnstile. Of course you can spend the whole day there till you leave the subway. You can also travel by bus along the city but they move very slowly. Well, in conclusion, I want to add that New York is just that city when the imaginative picture coincides with the reality. It’s a pity that there are few trees in the city and the only oasis is the Central Park. So if you want to find yourself in a huge ant hill, where everybody constantly is in a hurry you have to come to New York! Iuri Tarabanov writes about interesting travel experiences. His Discount Travel site is http://www.travelime.com