RSSOct|07|2006
New Yorkers Are So Nice!
Posted by Zahir as Americas, Cities, Getaways, United States
A real surprise in New Yorkers – they’re completely friendly. Apparently they don’t make eye contact because they don’t want to be interrupted – everyone’s terribly busy. But one vendor stopped and talked to us for what seemed like an hour. He was great, made a point of showing us his vendor badge and making us feel welcome.
And after that, we started noticing things: people held doors for you, even if it took you a few minutes to get to the door. Restaurants did everything they could to make sure you got what you wanted. And store owners watched patiently as we browsed and bought nothing, even after playing with all the swords and other lovely cutting implements. Come to think of it, that may have been fear, not patience.
But anyway – I’ve heard that New York changed after …
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Oct|05|2006
New York City – Wow
Posted by Zahir as Cities, Getaways, Reviews, United States
I’ve been in New York City for a couple of days, staying at Staten Island and going across on the ferry. Though I’ve lived in cities most of my life, and though I’ve visited Chicago, New York has been a treat!
First, riding over on the ferry is a blast. You’re on this boat that can carry over four thousand people. On the top deck standing outside, the wind in your teeth, it’s like – well, it’s rather cold, really. But exhilarating. Approaching the city – watching the skyline grow bigger and realizing that you can’t even see buildings like the Empire State Building, that the two Tallest of Them All are gone now, and yet getting that sense of bigness built all the way up to Manhattan Island’s edges – it’s like seeing another world. Very nice indeed!
And then you descend down into the steel and …
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Oct|03|2006
The Pirate Sets Off Across America
Posted by Zahir as Adventure, Americas, Family, Getaways, News, United States
I’m preparing to embark on a hell of a journey. For reasons I’ll keep to myself, I and my dearest friends are driving from one side of the United States to the other. We’re starting in Boston because it’s convenient. We’ll wind up in California, because it’s a nice place to wind up. On the way, I’ll be sharing with you my experiences.
Have you been to New York, Washington, Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles? Or Tijuana? If you’ll let me know what you want to know, I’ll do my best to help you out. A journey like this is more than a tour through different parts of a country/continent. It’s a journey through many very different cultures. The atmosphere in south Texas is different from that in east Texas – let alone Boston! The Gullahs of South Carolina and the Cajuns of Louisiana …
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Oct|01|2006
Asia’s Best of The Best
Posted by Zahir as Asia, Awards
As we’ve done quite a few posts on Asian destinations, it was interesting to see the Asian winners at the World Travel Awards.
The coveted title of Asia’s Leading hotel went to nonother than the Oriental in Bangkok, a fine choice, as after staying there I cannot imagine a better hotel I’ve ever stayed at. It was also nice seeing another grand old hotel win a top award when Tokyo‘s “Imperial Hotel” won as “Japan’s Leading Hotel”
The Peninsula group also won a quite a number of awards in the region, including “Leading Hotel Brand”, “Hong Kong’s Best Business Hotel”, “Thailand’s Best Business Hotel”, “China’s Leading Hotel (Beijing) and “The Philippines Leading Hotel”. I’ve visited most of them, and I quite agree that you cant go wrong with the Peninsula anywhere.
In Sri Lanka, I was mildly surprised to find that “The Hilton, Colombo” won as the …
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