Travel Biography - Week 111.

Joy at last! This week, Blogger co-operated with the posting of photos where I want them to be. Here are 15 photos interspersed with the text which is the normal layout. Enjoy!

A Day Spent at New York Botanical Gardens.

I spent nine days at a HI-AYH in New York City in 1998. The time spent there gave me opportunities to check out the City properly, unlike in 1978 or 1995, when I spent at most a night and day before moving on. The latest visit to New York included a visit to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, northeast of Manhatten.

The opinions of different visitors may vary, but it was my personal opinion that NYBG was more natural and with a less man-made look than Central Park. It featured a natural waterway, the Bronx River, after which the district is named. It flows southwards for 24 miles (38.6 km) from Westchester County, through the Garden and the adjoining New York Zoo, to empty into the East River. Hence the Bronx River is classed as a tributary. As it flows through NYBG, it has on both of its banks the Thain Family Forest, a small area of the original forest that once covered the whole of Manhatten Island before the European settlers arrived in the 1700s. The patch of forest within the boundaries of the Garden was never logged.

Van Cortlandt Park.

At New York Botanical Garden

NYBG

The Stone Mill, NYBG

Bronx River passes through the Thain Family Forest.

To the south of the Garden is the New York Zoo. I admit, after visiting the San Diego Zoo a year earlier in 1997, I didn't have much of an interest. San Diego lies in the subtropical region. Hence, that venue was both a zoo and a botanical garden combined, which gave me a unique experience of walking among palm trees and cacti. For me, the New York equivalent couldn't match the Southern Californian version.

One morning, after finding out about the park at the hostel and where to find its entrance, I took a subway train from 103rd Street Station to its northern terminus, Van Cortlandt Park Station, quite a long ride without the need to change trains. From there, I began to walk towards the NYBG through the park until I arrived at the Garden entrance after crossing the bridge spanning over the main railroad out of the Grand Terminus. At Botany Garden Station, a mainline train shot through without stopping.

I also felt slightly nervous as I walked along the street in the Bronx. Back at home, I picked up some information that the Bronx as a district was a bit of a rough area. How true that would be was anyone's guess, but as it was midmorning, the area seemed quiet, with even the Grand Concourse almost free of traffic - a surprise for a city such as New York.

For much of its past existence, NYBG was free to visitors, as the park was sustained by both the State and charities. However, by the 1990s, due to maintenance expenses not being met, an entrance fee was already introduced by the time I arrived. Fortunately, that didn't bother me too much, as the park looked promising.

River Reflections

More River Reflections.

The Rock Falls, NYBG

I found it surprising how many hours I spent in the Gardens, having expected just an hour or so. I found the Bronx River so calm and peaceful, hence its reflection of the scenery remained unruffled, as there was no wind to ruffle the surface. The river passed over some rocks, creating a waterfall, and a weir was also built as the source of energy to power the Stone Mill, a rustic building now disused, but preserved as a New York National Building. Also, on that particular day, the park was far from crowded. Apparently, I just about had the whole Garden to myself, and I explored in quietness. This seemed quite a contrast to the present day, according to Wikipedia, which indicated the drawing of bigger crowds after some improvements, including the opening in 2006 of the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory, a new Visitor's Center, Restaurant, and Gift Shop. I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future, a couple of roller coasters will go up!

Therefore, if I were to revisit the Garden today, I would find it quite different from what it was in 1998, with modernisation drawing in the crowds. However, some of the original structures remain, such as the Haupt Conservatory, the Alpine Rock Garden, various flower beds, and the Renaissance-style library, a handsome building not too dissimilar to London's Buckingham Palace. However, I didn't get to enter the library, as I had little interest. At the time I thought it housed administration offices, or maybe it was even a private mansion.

Of all of New York's attractions, I would have rated the Botanical Gardens right up there, at the top.

That evening, on my way back to the station, I passed some youths lounging at the front door of a townhouse. Apparently, I caught their attention, and one of them called out while another apparently jeered. The Bronx might have been a rough area after all, and I was relieved to board the subway train at the station. None of this made sense. I have just visited one of the city's natural beauty spots, next door to the city's Zoological Gardens, yet, do these attractions sit in one of New York's iffiest districts? Then again, as I said the previous week, maybe they could see that I was a tourist. And one who was alone as well, and feeling very vulnerable to abuse. After all, if I think their perception of me was correct, then they thought that I was from a wealthy family living far away overseas, and since I could afford to travel far and wide, therefore I must have been fully loaded. However, that was 1998, 26 years before writing this. If tourism had grown since then due to recent modernisation, I wondered whether the Bronx would have become a safer area to live in.

That was when I wished that these youths followed my example. Instead of victimising the tourist, if they also wish to travel at my level, then work hard, save up, get a passport and head for the airport. Was I in a safe and secure career or job? No. Was I a scientist, a high-earning CEO or executive, a doctor or in any other well-paid profession? No, not at all. Instead, I was a window cleaner, a self-employed one as well. That means I was responsible for all financial matters. Yet, I managed to save up hard enough to travel the world - without getting into debt. As I once said to someone who seemed quite capable, yet moaned of his lot: Well, don't just dream about it, save up and get out there!

The Bronx River drops down a weir.

Cascading Stream.

Reflections.

A visit to The Empire State Building - and a near disaster!

Since it was completed in 1931, the Empire State Building was the world's highest skyscraper until the first tower of the World Trade Center was completed in 1970. It stands at over 443 metres high, including its antenna. The 86th-floor observation deck is 380 metres high and has both interior and balcony observation lookouts.

One outstanding photo which appeared on Facebook in the summer of 2018 was of a Tory Member of Parliament, minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, the 19th Century-style upper-class Etonian toff, standing on the 86th-floor balcony of the Empire State Building with two of his young sons. Despite the 30-degree Celsius summer temperature, he was dressed in his formal business suit and tie. And his sons were dressed the same way. Such a striking example of Englishness in a foreign country and in such warm weather. Above the photo, I wrote: To think that I stood at that very same spot in 1998. I never thought of wearing a tie. The post attracted attention and a humourous comment from an online friend.

And it was 1998 when I stood on the balcony, a full twenty years before Rees-Mogg ever stood on the same spot. Furthermore, facing south, I would have been looking at a different skyline from the view Rees-Mogg was looking at. What he saw was a single tower, the One Trade Center. What I saw was the Twin Towers, with no awareness of their fate just three years later.

However, at the entrance, things nearly went pear-shaped. Since the building sits between 33rd and 34th Street and is bounded in by 5th Avenue, I approached the main entrance on 33rd Street. Just inside its doors was an airport-style security system. Like everyone else, I placed my camera on the tray next to me and walked through the scanning frame. But having walked through without raising the alarm, I made straight for the elevator that would take me up to the 82nd floor, followed by the final stairs to the 86th floor and viewing gallery.

It was while I was climbing the stairs that I suddenly missed my camera. It had several undeveloped photos already exposed on the film, and if I had lost the camera, I would have lost more than just a small black box. I panicked. Then I remembered the security at the doors. I turned around amidst an ascending crowd and took the down elevator. I approached security and asked the monitor whether a camera was left behind. He produced it and handed it back to me without asking any questions. He recognised me as the owner of the gadget.

I took the next elevator up and climbed the stairs to the viewing gallery, feeling a strong sense of relief that I got my camera back. A backpacker like me just can't be without his camera. It's a bit like a car without an engine, a letter posted without its destination address, or a light bulb without power.

The Ghostly forms of the WTC as seen from the Empire State.

Penn Station from the Empire State BDG.

The Chrysler BDG is seen from the Empire State.

The Broadway, Madison Park, and Flatiron BDG.

From the viewing balcony, I was able to see Broadway intersecting with 5th Avenue, with both Madison Park and the Flatiron Building clearly discernable. Further away, the Twin Towers looked like ghostly silhouettes as the view of them penetrated the slightly misty air. To the west, I could just make out Madison Square Garden, and despite its namesake, it's a circular theatre where sporting events, such as boxing, take place, along with major concerts. Madison Square Gardens is New York's equivalent of London's Albert Hall. Next to the circular building, the dark skyscraper of Penn Station (short for Pennsylvania) stands like a sentry guarding his spot. Towards the north, part of Central Park could be seen.

I went up the Empire State Building twice, the second time after dark to enjoy the panorama of New York at night. The view was quite startling. It was like looking up at the clear night sky, only I was looking down at the thousands of pinpoint lights illuminating the landscape.

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Next Week, Miscellaneous Attractions in New York.