My New York

I’ve been travelling to New York for the last 15 years. My first trip was in 1981, and a colleague was assigned to me to make sure I didn’t get into trouble. He said, “Shibu, remember this, everyone will tell you scary things about New York. You get pick pocketed, you get beaten up; all that is not right. If you apply common sense, you will be fine.”

This advice I will always remember because every city has its positives and negatives. People will scare you. Please don’t be scared, you do whatever you want to do. For example, people told me driving in Manhattan is very difficult, but I have done that multiple times.

Just apply common sense and that has worked well for me.  

Recommendations
I usually go from Boston and take a taxi to New York. I leave by 4 o’clock and am there by 8 o’clock. But if you have a weekend, there is a lot you can do. You can hang around in Times Square, see the Empire State Building, go for a show on Broadway, see a musical, and go to the Statue of Liberty. You can go see the monument they are building at Ground Zero. It is not a city that sleeps. Travel is very easy because of taxis and the tube. Given my hectic schedule, I haven’t been able to catch any of the new plays in town, but I do fondly remember seeing the classic Lion King with my family.

Another thing you can do in New York is walk. Most other cities don’t support walking. If you have some idea of the streets and avenues, you can figure it out. There is a lot of shopping you can do.

Recently, I bought a winter coat at Macy’s. Actually, I wanted to get my winter coat altered and that is the thing about New York, you find everything. It’s not like Boston. I don’t think in Boston I can find a place where I can take my winter coat and get it altered. New York’s a place where you can really find a variety of things.

One thing you should not miss when you visit New York is a visit to Times Square and the food in the city.

I have my daughter studying at Columbia Business School and when I go it is customary that I take her and her friends out for dinner. I like to try new cuisines and hence I have a lot of favourites; some that come to my mind are Shila and Crema. After Indian food, authentic Chinese food is my favourite. When I’m not staying with my daughter who lives in New York, I like the Mandarin Oriental.

Tips
If you are not familiar with how to travel in New York, taxis are better as it is not expensive.