Author: bratislav

SFO v2.0

On By bratislavIn TravelLeave a comment

I knew I’d be back there someday but never thought it would be this soon. And this trip would be somewhat different to. For starters, I no longer had an over ambitious ‘experience all modes of transit in one day’ agenda and more importantly, I would be in the city for a lot longer than 12 hours! Two nights and two full days in this case. So without further ado, I present to you the second installment!

Staying with the Great Ganesha in ‘The Mission‘, and only a few blocks away from Castro, meant that I would get to see a lot of the Mission-Castro District by night and day. From an ethnic and cultural standpoint, two of the most diverse and exciting neighbourhoods in San Francisco – Castro with its thriving gay community and Mission, steeped in a rich Latin American heritage.

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Tour De Queens

On By bratislavIn Biking, NYCLeave a comment

Three consecutive days with highs in the mid 30s (~ 100 F) is considered a ‘heat wave’ in NYC. Laughable if you come from India but not so humorous when you take into account how sudden the transition was. From a low of 14C (60F) one day to a high of 36C (97F) the next! Add to that a humidity index of over 70% and you’ve got the best of Indian summer scorching down at you!

So it was with some trepidation that I set off from home on the second Sunday of June to join 500 other bicyclists on the first annual Tour De Queens. The venue: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, right by the Queens Museum of Art and in the shadow of Arthur Ashe Stadium, where tour marshals braced themselves to lead riders on a 20 mile route through the largest borough of NYC.

The route would take riders through the western perimeter of Queens along waterfront greenways, parks and a gamut of neighbourhoods ranging from residential to historic to the industrial, finally ending back where we began. Ten neighbourhoods in all – most of which I had never seen before!

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Tour De Brooklyn

On By bratislavIn Biking, NYCLeave a comment

On the 22nd of May 2008, the city of New York, amidst much fanfare, fireworks and a Navy fly past, celebrated the 125th Birthday of Brooklyn Bridge. To coincide with the event, the 4th annual Tour De Brooklyn was moved ahead by a few weeks. And befitting such an occasion was the location chosen for the flag off – on Water St right under the glorious bridge itself!

The event recorded the largest turnout to date – topping out at a little over 2000 riders. While not nearly as large as the 5 Borough event or even the Tour De Bronx for that matter, the enthusiasm amongst the riders more than made up for the numbers. And at a cool 24C (80F), they couldn’t have asked for better weather to ride in.

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High Five!

On By bratislavIn Biking, NYCLeave a comment

Sunday the 4th of May, 45 past noon, Staten Island, NY: A moment of immense physical and emotional accomplishment. I had completed the 42 mile (67 km) Five Borough Bike Tour. I was well and truly stoked! 🙂

4 hours and 45 minutes earlier: The northwest corner of Duane St and Church St in Manhattan – I wait for the flag off along with 29,999 other cyclists. We are four blocks away from the starting line and the mass of bikers behind me stretches for another 15 blocks south. I don’t feel so bad any more for having awoken a little past 5 that morning!

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Fringe Benefits

On By bratislavIn Biking, NYCLeave a comment

May is ‘Bike Month NYC’ and the official start of the cycling season. But the first weekend of May also hosts the largest urban recreation event in the US – the 5 Borough Bike Tour – so most cyclists are out training a whole month before. And I was no exception! More on that in my next blog though. For this one, I focus on a relatively short but most interesting 10 mile ride in Brooklyn, the day before the tour.

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative or BGI is a non profit body working towards building a continuous 14-mile long waterfront Greenway (or bike path) from Green Point to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. Each year they conduct a tour of the route to showcase their plans and progress on the same. On Saturday, the 3rd of May, I joined a hundred other cyclists on that tour.

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Islands, Escalators and Soaring Lights

On By bratislavIn TravelLeave a comment

I was ten years to late, to experience, what many have described as ‘thrilling’ – a landing at Kai Tak Airport. Instead I would have to make do with Chek Lap Kok which, apart from boasting several other engineering landmarks, is also known to have the second largest terminal building in the world. It was enough to stun me for sure and I shudder to think what the largest would be like!

Welcome to Hong Kong! My trip would involve a time difference of 12 hours, the longest non-stop flights I have ever undertaken and the added benefit of a little over 4 days to see it all.

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SF.Oh!

On By bratislavIn TravelLeave a comment

Getting a free ride to the West Coast and back was good enough to begin with but an aerial tour of Yosemite National Park in all its winter glory was completely unexpected. A welcome bonus for sure and the best possible way to start a whirlwind visit to the city of San Francisco!

The 7 am flight out of JFK meant a painfully early start for me but the last hour or so out the window made it all worth while. The National Park followed by the very affluent Silicon Valley stretching from San Jose to SF – palatial houses, golf courses and private air strips – we could see them all!

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So long, LIC

On By bratislavIn Home, NYCLeave a comment

December 21, 2007. I was all set to walk out the door and head to JFK for my winter trip home. But the excitement was short lived – my landlord showed up and handed us an eviction notice. Our building was being sold and we had to vacate by the end of January ’08.

On my return to NYC in January, I had little or no time to recover from jet lag. Instead the hunt for a suitable apartment took up all of my waking hours outside of work. After looking at no less than 7 apartments across Upper Manhattan and Queens, we finally found one in Woodside. It was time to pack our bags and say goodbye to LIC. It had been a short 6 month stay for me but a memorable one nevertheless.

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Celebration on wheels

On By bratislavIn NYC, TrainsLeave a comment

We’re back in winter now – towards the end of 2007 and more specifically the last 2 weekends leading up to Christmas and my departure for India. The Big Apple is a joy to wander through at this time of the year and 5th Ave typifies the festive spirit best. From the giant snowflake suspended high over 57th street, to the window displays of Saks to the massive Christmas tree at Rockefeller Centre, celebration is in the air.

But what better way to celebrate the holidays than with trains? And the city did just that. No doubt, with a much broader audience in mind, it dished out 2 huge treats on successive weekends and gave me a fitting send off on my trip home!

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Windows 2007

On By bratislavIn Trains, TravelLeave a comment

No, this is not a review of Microsoft’s latest product release. Instead, it is about 2 particularly pleasant journeys I made in the latter half of last year. There were two things common to both of them – 1) they were easily accessible from New York and 2) both offered window seats with great views!

To the end of a very ‘long island’

The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is one of 3 commuter railroads that serves the NY Metro area. It is also the busiest commuter railroad in the US. Montauk is the furthest point East the LIRR will take you and like it or not, it is also the very end of Long Island. But given that it is 3 hours and over 100 miles away from Penn Station (including a transfer at Jamaica), it seems unjust to apply the ‘commuter’ tag to Montauk. Fact is, almost no one commutes daily between there and Manhattan – the furthest commuting point East being Babylon.

But the stretch between Babylon and Montauk serves the trendiest part of Long Island – the Hamptons. Best known for its palatial summer homes, private beaches and golf courses, the Hamptons is a summer favourite not only for the rich and famous but also for vacationers seeking a quick get away from the city. And the LIRR gets you there in style.. For a 29 USD return, it also gives you the best bang for your buck!

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