Maybe I'm repeating myself, but still: what is America to me? The dream of 19 years of my life. So, a 15-17 hour flight didn't bother me at all.
May 29, 2014 - New York Day 1.
As you step off the plane, you can already feel a completely different world, a different life. When you enter the arrivals hall, you immediately feel the power and strength of the country. Especially when you see huge African-American women who are, in a way, politely and carefully shouting across the entire giant hall at those who are going the wrong way. Lots of police, and typical customs officers - a la consuls from an embassy. The entry process goes terribly fast. In about 20 minutes (considering the huge line), I had already left the airport with my luggage.
Right there, I was met by an old friend who had settled here long ago and promised to help me with my temporary stay in this city. For those who don't have connections in any cities but want to stay there, there is an excellent site, Tripadvisor.com, which will help you find a hotel or motel based on your parameters and even provide many opinions from past guests. Besides that, there is a unique service - couchsurfing.com, which requires a small registration fee but will help you find temporary (and free) housing with kind local people. You don't have to worry about their friendliness, as the opinions of past guests are also taken into account there. So, what was I talking about?
I agreed with my employer that I would arrive by June 2nd, and according to my plan, I was supposed to leave in 2 nights by train, travel for two days, and arrive right on time. So, after leaving our things at home, we headed to the Amtrak ticket office - the main train service in the USA. Tip #5: Need to get somewhere far away, but want to save money and are afraid to fly? Take the train. Rumor has it, it's an excellent service.
By the way, a yellow taxi in NY is cool, yes, you can take a ride once for the sake of interest, for the memory, so to speak, but for constant travel, life has given you legs, and the country has an excellent subway system. Unique, I would say. The subway and everything connected to it turned out to be the perfect reflection of New York's diversity, where in just a few stops on the train you meet completely different people: by status, nationality, age, and so on. That's when I became convinced that in this city, a person of high social status and good income can also use the subway. By the way, there are both underground and elevated stations here. Half of your route, the train might travel high above the ground. In those moments, you pay attention to the tunnels and stations. The oldest ones are covered in graffiti and various drawings, which gives each station extra beauty. You can get into the subway right from the airport, but for that, you will have to pay an extra $5 to the grumpy machine. In general, the system consists of plastic MetroCard cards, where money is credited at machines at the entrance to the stations, and then $2.5 is deducted for entry. And if you are traveling from the airport, you will have to pay $7.5 to get to your destination.
Upon reaching that very ticket office, we discovered that on the exact days we were counting on, and several following, the trains in my direction were canceled. This was a continuation of those same small and funny misfortunes of my trip. I had to buy a ticket for the next day, which meant I would leave a day earlier than expected, so we hurried to see the city. Here, I really want to dispel all the talk about New York as a "Tin Can." Yes, it's not as bright as the cities in California, for example, but it will also capture your heart. Believe me. Regardless of the fact that many streets may seem gray and uninteresting, you want to photograph them endlessly. Just every little thing that you have seen hundreds of times in movies, games, or photos, and now it is right before your eyes. I wasn't disappointed in this city at all. Everything is exactly as I imagined. That same day, I got myself a SIM card to have internet on the long road. A note for beginners in the program who want the same function: take a SIM card from any company. I personally took T-Mobile. And get unlimited. But don't repeat my mistake and don't buy a monthly unlimited plan, as it costs from 40-50 dollars and up depending on the speed, for example. Take a daily one, which will deduct 2-3 dollars a day. Just for the time you are on the road. Considering that you won't need a phone at work. You will have Wi-Fi there.
Then begins 24 hours of a whirlwind of places. Yes, of course, we immediately headed to Times Square. Where else? I was there several times during those days. The place has absolutely deservedly become a symbol of New York: so diverse and absolutely sleepless. A lot of people, everyone wants something from you: someone is shoving their album at you, someone is selling souvenirs, paintings, caps, etc. Everything you need is around: cafes, shops, a cool McDonald's, Starbucks, etc., etc. There is even a Bubba Gump cafe, the idea for which arose in the movie Forrest Gump in honor of the main character's partner who died in Vietnam. Everything around is glowing, noisy, lots of tourists and characters from different games or movies. The place is truly crazy and it's impossible not to like it if you end up here, I think. In Uzbekistan, there is neither McDonald's nor Starbucks, so I, of course, wanted to visit these places too, to be nostalgic about my other travels and other visits to these establishments.
May 30 - New York Day 2.
The next day, we finally bought train tickets for May 30, then headed to Times Square, and then went to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most majestic structures in this city. You can see that it was created with intelligence, as it is built for everyone: pedestrians, drivers, and even cyclists. In the middle, in the tourist zone, the road is divided into 2 parts. One of which is for the calm and safe riding of cyclists, and the other, accordingly, for walking on foot. By the way, at the foot of the bridge is the only subway station with an exit to the street only via an elevator. And on the way from the station to the bridge, gorgeous views of Manhattan and all of Brooklyn open up. And the views from the bridge are generally unique. Walking under the bridge, it's hard to just imagine the scale and power of this structure. Another MustVisit place in New York. By the way, be careful. If you walk on the bike path, the cyclists won't spare you. I personally saw how they pushed and bumped into other pedestrians in "someone else's territory."
After that, we headed home, picked up my luggage, and went to the Amtrak station. So, Tip #6: A very important tip! If you still decided to use Amtrak, then, my friends, arrive at the station in advance. Unfortunately, I arrived at the station exactly at the time indicated on the ticket, and the train had left about 5-10 minutes before that. First, you will need about 15 minutes to find the right gate. There are 2 floors and many different exits. Nothing is clear at all. Second, you need time to check in your luggage. Third, they just close the gates a little earlier. Here, panic already started for me. Not only did the ticket cost, if I'm not mistaken, about $365, but there are also no trains on this route for the next 5 days. A thought already flashed through my mind that I would be fired. Well, it's good that at least Amtrak returns money for tickets to the last cent. Even if you are late. This is just for your note.
So what to do? Flying is expensive. 2 options. Go in 5 days or go by bus in 2 days.
A call to work, an attempt to explain the situation to some Josh. (Although I asked to be connected to David, with whom I had an interview). He, hearing that I was going to go by bus, immediately, almost shouting, issued that I should arrive by train. And it doesn't matter that I'll be late. Well, I relaxed here. So many more days in New York. But it's not that simple. My friend's wife was pregnant at that moment. And I couldn't stay with them for too long, as I think everything creates problems for pregnant women. And even more so an unfamiliar old friend of the husband. Well, I decisively came to the conclusion to go by bus. What's the difference? 10 hours more, 10 hours less. We went to Greyhound - an organization that is one of the largest for sending buses from city to city, state to state, etc. The cashier looked at me like I was an idiot, but I didn't attach any importance to that. The ticket was $295. The tickets are a bit expensive, yes, but it's worth noting that they are more expensive due to the date of purchase. Had I bought them a week earlier, they would have been 100 bucks cheaper, for example.
Everything seemed to be settled, but now the scary part was ahead. I took my phone and saw a lot of calls and messages from my mom, who thinks I'm calmly riding on the train. The scary part is to call mom and report the departure from the plan. Try to explain to a mother that her 19-year-old son, who is in America for the second day, is seemingly independent for the first time in his life, and then he will be dragging himself across the whole country on buses through cheap stops. Do you understand my state?
A call. Dialing. "Hello. Mom, just don't get nervous. Everything is already good. Yes, everything went a little off plan, but I fixed everything. Everything is fine, don't worry." Tip #7: Never in your life start a conversation with mom with these words. Tip #7.1: Never in your life start a conversation with mom with these words if you are in another country and haven't answered for the last hour or hour and a half. Otherwise, there is a probability that on the other end, while you are finishing the phrase, your mom is already pouring herself Corvalol.
Well, what else could we all do? There were no other ways out. So we all calmed down. And I, my friend, and his wife went home. Although it was still early, I passed out from everything I had experienced almost instantly.
To be Continued.
