My Recent 24 Hours In New York

Herald Square
And thus, I eschewed sleep (as demanded by the body-clock) for the full benefit of taking in NYC. First destination was the COMPUSA store on Broadway. I have been itching to get myself a MacBookPro but the prohibitive price of admission has so far thwarted me. Hopes of a super sale were soon dashed. It's even more expensive when the 8.25% municipal sales tax is factored in. I then drifted along Broadway until Macy's. That's where I snapped the picture of The Empire State Building on the left. It was on that spot, too, where I suddenly felt peckish. Aimlessly walking, I found myself quite tempted by this kosher deli.



Perusing the menu for five minutes without any commitment, I decided to walk on. There were many hot dog and bagel joints by the roadsides. And this time round, I noticed there were a lot more Halal stalls. However, I felt that I needed a full meal. Like two or three hot dogs. My legs just carried me along as I anguished over what to eat, wondering what happened to the meal I had on the airplane three hours prior.



Along the way I saw this:


It's a common sight all over NYC streets. Africans flogging 'branded' handbags and sunglasses.

Soon, I found myself walking past the AMC 25 Empire Cineplex on West 42nd Street, with the Loews Cineplex Regal Theatre across the street.


I took this picture,
and saw a sight at once heart-wrenching and heart-warming. A pair of Siamese twins who were joined at the head walked pass me. One twin was about the size of a 10 year-old and had no use of her legs. She was perched on a trolley-like contraption. Her twin-sister provided the mobility. But barely. Manoeuvering the trolley with the heads joined must be difficult, to say the least. Yet, they were smiling and talking to each other. They are somewhere in this picture.

(The following day, I saw a picture of them in USA Today. They were among the many guests of honour at the re-opening of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium in New York. I had probably missed the proceedings by a few hours.)

Then I met Mr. Morgan Freeman!

Well, his likeness in all his waxed glory, anyway. Waxed glory.... you know what I mean. 'He' was standing in front of New York's Madam Tussauds


A couple of minutes later, the Naked Cowboy of Times Square comes into view.



That's the cool dude with the guitar in his white briefs and ten-gallon hat, in the bottom right of the photo.

People actually tip this man to just to have a photo taken of or with him. I've seen him in winter, peddling his umm, talents in the sub-zero temperatures here in Times Square. Attired exactly the same! I'd have tipped him a buck then for his tenacity but getting to the warm sanctuary that the Virgin Megastore is in winter took priority . On my previous trips, I've seen a lot more curious admirers around him. The novelty must have worn off, I thought.



Walking past the singing half-nudie, I crossed the road and found THIS very compelling signboard outside the Hawaiian Tropic Zone.

There was actually a queue of five eager-looking guys outside the restaurant. It did cross my mind to dine there and get myself an autographed souvenir. It was around 2.30pm local and jet lag was probably impairing my judgment. And taste.

"Naaaah!", my inner voice told me, "What's the big deal about a woman taking off her clothes?" Yeah, and I'd have to pay an inflated price for the meal AND the magazine . And to what end? Laughing at myself for even considering the whole thing I walked on towards Virgin Megastore, my favourite stop in Times Square.

Just before I reached the entrance to this must-go place of mine, someone caught my eye from across the street. Could it be? Sure looked so. I dashed across the street, thanks to a red light further up. And there she was:



The Naked Cowgirl! I didn't know the Naked Cowboy had his counterpart. This lady had so many more fans. Male and female tourists, families, all thronged her. That explained the dwindled fuss around the poor dude in briefs. I joined in the jostling, too. Played tourist. It was all in the interest of this blog, of course. Found out later that she has appeared at Times Square for quite a while now. Pretty enterprising, this lady.

Eventually, I made my way to the massive music store and had spent an hour browsing when I abruptly remembered that there was unfinished business. By then, the munchies had deteriorated to near-starvation.

And so I hi-tailed down East 51st Street to my favourite burger joint in Manhattan:





After gobbling down two cheeseburgers, medium rare, I straggled back to the hotel five blocks away on Lexington Avenue. The subsequent warm shower relaxed my time-zoned-out muscles. Easing into the nice king-sized bed, the comfort was oh-so heavenly. As I was slipping out of consciousness I thought, "What's the big deal about a woman taking off her clothes, anyway?" My inner voice offered: "Maybe some, if she plays the guitar and earns money while at it...."And the last thought I could recall was: "The cheeseburgers were superb."