I go to Manhattan for the first time in my life , and all this happens ,

[UndertheOcean]

1)I found it hard to read the subway maps.
2) While sitting at an Irish bar enjoying my dinner and my Margarita , the woman next me basically offered sex for money , when I politely conveyed I am not interested , She wasn't interested anymore with the small talk we were having.
3) Found the empire state tour too commercial for my tastes. I really imagined you just take an elevator to the observatory , and thats it . The building did not look very tall from the ground .. from from up, wow.
4) Number of people , whom I asked for what train to take on the subway ,in confidence gave me wrong information.
5) Some Black dude on a corner , wearing a green turban , has pictures of people (white) with gruesome injuries (one was of the woman attacked by a chimpanzee). I never got his point , but I think it was the lords revenge on the white devil or something.
6) A man started harassing a woman he does not know on the subway , I intervened and told him to chill else he will spend the night in jail , and he starts frothing at the mouth about how he breaks the necks of "Homo" people like me.

NewYork is beautiful...but scary.

[rug]

1. A Margarita in an Irish bar? You're lucky you weren't killed.

[trof]

2. Yep, that's a capital offense.

[SoxFan]

4. Hell, eating food in an Irish bar iraises its own set of questions

Let the Italians handle the food.

[UndertheOcean]

5. That is why the bartender was looking funny at me ....

[SoxFan]

3. ...

A man started harassing a woman he does not know on the subway , I intervened and told him to chill else he will spend the night in jail , and he starts frothing at the mouth about how he breaks the necks of "Homo" people like me.

LEAVE RUDY GIULIANI ALONE!

[Kali]

6. ...

:spray: :rofl:

[HipChick]

7. you need to get out more

the chick wasn't interested in smalltalk..she was working

[rcrush]

8. ...

:rofl:

[KamaAina]

9. Where, exactly, did you have to go to pile up #4, 5, and 6??

Even seasoned Noo Yawkers (like myself, over a decade ago) would have to go a week or two to earn that many merit badges!

[gmoney]

10. Reminds me a little of "Homer vs. New York"

"Marge, New York is a hellhole, and you know how I feel about hellholes!"

[peekaloo]

16. but without the Khlav Kalash and Crab Juice.

:D

[NNadir]

11. 1) It's the largest subway in the world and is necessarily complex.

I love those subways though and find only the system in Paris to be comparably useful.

2) New York is generally not a place to make dates with strangers. If you feel you must do that, try one of New York's great museums. My wife once made a date with a guy she met at the Met, although truth be told, he turned out to be a wierdo.

3) It's a tourist attraction, and is necessarily commercial, but it is a very beautiful piece of architecture from the Art Deco age and if you look carefully, a work of art.

4) Every New Yorker has a different opinion of how to get from here to there, just like everyone has a different religious opinion. It is the best way to meet New Yorkers and they were seriously all trying to help.

5) I miss the days when you could read tracts pasted over subway maps about how the Pope, the illuminati, the Masons and aliens from Venus were all secretly putting electrodes in your brain in a plot to steal all of earth's water.

6) Thank you for caring. It's a dense city and the probability of seeing a freak is higher than say, in a corn field. On the other hand, there are people who have leaped on the tracks to save the lives of people who have fallen there. Occassionally one can also hear some very beautiful music on the platform.

[ThomCat]

12. #5) Those guys claim that

black people are the real Jews, the real chosen ones, and that Jewish people have had an organized conspiracy throughout history to steal the title of god's chosen one from rightful black people.

They are a very small, hateful, sect that stands out preaching on street corners about the violent retribution that will be visited down upon all white people and especially upon all Jewish people. Scary, scary people.


#6) Thank you very much for intervening. I wish more people were willing to help in situations like that. When someone is willing to back up their sexism and homophobia with violence, Only strength in numbers in going to make them back down. Few women alone, or LGBT people alone can safely deal with nutcases like that. :(


#3) Yes, the commercial tours suck. But the view from up there is fantastic! I wish you could have seen the view from Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center. That was an absolutely amazing, inspiring view that actually beats the view from the Empire State building.

[MrScorpio]

15. I've seen the city from Windows of the World, myself

It was spectacular.

And so was seeing the city from the observation deck of the Empire State Building

[SoDesuKa]

13. Hopstop

Try www.hopstop.com for subway directions. One weakness is that they tell you which exit to use but don't provide information how to find it. Other than that, Hopstop is very handy.

Incidentally, east side and west side trains aren't all that far apart. If you're looking to get to West 23rd Street, it wouldn't kill you to walk from 23rd and Park to wherever you're headed. It's often far less of a hassle to hoof it than to make connections to the uptown train on the west side.

Carry a subway map. Ask for one from the station agent.

Trivia question: What is the locale for West Side Story? You'd be surprised at the number of people who say Spanish Harlem. The correct answer is the West Side.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

14. That is better than my first time on the subway,

Where my young eyes saw a homeless dude getting blown by some cracked out chick, and the black israelites are a fucking riot, try talking to them next time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv1wbWGds2s

[mdmc]

17. I just went to Pittsfield MA for a week and had no such problems

I hope ya had a good time in NYC - sounds good, all in all..