Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 43.

Why New York in 1998?

By the time the 1997 Round-the-World backpacking adventure ended, I had become addicted to travel. Even while on the final flight back to London from Los Angeles, I already had in mind the next adventure, another Round-the-World, this time, to Cape Town, then surface travel to Johannesburg, fly to Perth in Western Australia, travel across Australia to Sydney, before the Trans-Pacific flight to California. Such was my plan for 2000 or thereabouts.

Sounds far-fetched, doesn't it? But during the late 1990s, into the 21st Century, such a worldwide trip on a budget was still possible, with the Kensington travel agent Trailfinders being the main gateway to such an experience. So successful was their London centre that new branches began to open in provincial cities around the country. 

And so, I return to work five days after landing at London Heathrow. After landing on a Wednesday, the five-day readjustment break was necessary before resuming work on the following Monday. This way, I was able to resume business easily, while my post-holiday blues began to fade as I looked to the future.

However, totally unknown to me, in a house about a mile away from my apartment, a fiery teenage girl already had her eyes on me. Apparently, she had already made up her mind even before I took off to Singapore in 1997.

Blissfully ignorant, I carried on as normally each day. However, as 1997 gave way to 1998, the FIFA World Cup tournament in France was approaching, and most of my church friends anticipated England to win and bring the trophy home. This created some issues that needed to be addressed.

My travel experiences have created a level of envy among my associates. As one who favoured Italy over England to win the cup, I knew that I would be the target of teasing should England win, or just beat Italy during the tournament, especially during the knockout stages.

However, by the summer of 1998, I was financially healthy enough to afford a trip to New York City, not only to escape from the World Cup fiasco, but this time to explore the city properly. True enough, I first set foot in New York in 1978, and I spent just the one night in a dingy hotel on 8th Avenue. Then, in 1995, I returned, and once again, I spent a single night at the same cockroach-infested room after failing to find better accommodation on a budget. The pic below shows me on the roof of the World Trade Center taken in 1978.

On the rooftop of the World Trade Center, 1978.

This time, I was able to reserve a bed at HI-AYH New York City with the purchase of the airline ticket. With as many as 624 beds in one building, this was the largest youth hostel in the world, although, like all the others, the term "youth" is a misnomer, as all those residing were adults. However, its members' kitchen was incredibly small, with just four cookers, no dishes or crockery, or cutlery, and I literally had to eat both breakfast and dinner out of the same frying pan. And coffee? I drank from a discarded chocolate spread jar. Thus, the catering facilities, or lack of them, belied the size of the hostel. Furthermore, I sat alone in the kitchen to eat. But at least the dormitory was good.

Getting to the hostel from JFK Airport wasn't difficult. An excellent rapid transit system, very similar to the London Underground, meant a rather long subterranean train journey from the airport to West 103rd Street. But with Line 1 (now Line A), I was able to complete the journey without the need to change trains. It took over an hour to complete the subway journey.

New York is 40.7 degrees North. This makes New York City roughly the same latitude as Madrid, Spain, at 40.2 degrees North. However, as Spain is the sunshine retreat for sun-starved Brits, while walking the streets of New York City, there was rain, with passersby holding up umbrellas. The very stereotypical image of London!

This week's album concentrates on Central Manhattan. The city is a vivid contrast to the natural sites I visited, especially in Australia. For example, New York couldn't be more contrasting than the Great Barrier Reef or hiking through a tropical forest. But this series of albums is very precious to me, as they will feature the twin towers of the World Trade Center before the 9/11 disaster. These pics of the World Trade Center should appear next week.

So, is New York just a forest of cubic buildings scraping the sky? In many cases, yes. But on the Broadway hike from West 103rd Street to the Clinton National Monument, I passed buildings that were other than cubic, but had an architectural uniqueness of their own, which gave delight to the skyline. Mingled with the urbanisation are areas of greenery which give the city its own beauty as well as some air to breathe.

After nine days spent in New York, I boarded a Greyhound Bus to Boston, Massachusetts, my final American stop ever. A very different city from New York, at least the HI-AYH Boston City was a smaller but far better hostel with a decent-sized members' kitchen with all the necessary equipment.

Click here for the Index link to the main Biography, Weeks 108-112.

Photos of Central Manhattan, 1998.

The view out of our dormitory window.

At the start of the Broadway hike.

The Broadway crosses West 72nd Street.

Columbus Circle intersects with 59th St and 8th Ave.

Looking back down 8th Ave, west of Central Park.

Nearing Times Square.

Times Square, Bway, 45th St, 7th Ave.

Flatiron Bdg, Bway, 23rd St, 5th Ave. 

The Consolidation Edition Bdg overlooks Union Square Pk.

Independence Flagstaff, Union Park.

New York City Hall, City Hall Park.

Battery Park, near the end of the hike.

Approaching Castle Clinton National Monument.

Castle Clinton Memorial, interior. The hike ends here.

The rest of Manhattan.

The New York Stock Exchange. I went inside.

Federal Hall houses a museum of the city's history.

Trinity Church at Wall Street.

Wall Street seen from near Trinity Church.

It rains on 5th Avenue. And it's July.

Yellow taxis ply 5th Avenue in the rain.

Rockefeller Center, 5th Avenue, 50th Street. 

Statue of Padmetheus, Rockefeller Center.

A taxi cuts across 42nd Street.

The Empire State Bdg in the mist.

The Flatiron Bdg was once the city's tallest structure.

The Metropolitan Life Bdg.

Looking north along Broadway. 

Another look at Times Square.

Bryant Park, 42nd St, New York Library is behind.

New York indoor Mall.

View of the Mall from the opposite end.

View of Madison Park from the Empire State Bdg.

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Next Week, Photos of New York centred around the East River.

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 42.

A bicycle ride from Santa Monica Pier to Malibu, as I prepare to fly home.

This was the last-but-one full day in California before boarding the British Airways flight to London Heathrow. Therefore, throughout the day, I felt an underlying sense of sadness as I gazed out at the picturesque scenery on the southern California coast. This was, of course, more than 27 years before the Franklin Fires broke out over the area in December 2024, destroying many homes and reducing them to ashes.

Ten weeks of unlimited travel, away from the normal routine of daily window cleaning, a sabbatical break from having to deal with difficult clientele, along with enduring days of freezing cold, windy weather, and days of sunshine and showers. This mixed bag of weather could be antagonising, as my clientele in general never appreciated their window cleaned while it's raining. At least, with all-day rain, I knew where I stood and stayed at home. Yet, the reader may be surprised to know that here in the UK, all-day rain is quite uncommon. A mixed bag of weather in a day is more frequent.

But there was more. Since taking off in May 1997 for Singapore, each evening was spent with fellow backpackers, mostly in the hostel members' kitchen, the social hub of the hostel. In some venues, I made friends; in others, I cooked and ate alone, but in both mornings and evenings, the kitchen was never deserted.

This was a life devoid of responsibilities, except to eat, drink, clothe, and ensure that I had a bed for the night. The three "menial" tasks, other than watching my budget, were shopping, cooking, and laundry, but even while engaging in these tasks was enjoyable, as I was always in a different environment. And so, I spent such a precious time as a wanderer, travelling from one location to another, alone, and avoiding the risk of disagreements had I travelled with company. 

Yet, where do I stand in all this? As a self-employed window cleaner, someone who spent his whole working life engaged in manual jobs, especially in the area of cleaning, long-haul travel was a wonderful privilege. Yet, I still envied the graduate or the undergrad who takes a gap year and can live like this, on the road, for a full year. I had met a few of these people while I was in Australia. Furthermore, they were all British.

Hence, my morose expression as I posed with my rented bike in Malibu.

Looking very morose, at Malibu, my final venue.

Two days before flying back to London (I took off on the evening of the next day, hence, I spent my last day in Santa Monica), I saw a bike hire shop near the pier. I rented a bike from them and rode west along the coast to Malibu, the market town over twelve miles, 20 km, west of Santa Monica Pier. It took about an hour to complete the one-way journey. The scenery was picturesque, and this intensified my feeling of sadness. The wide sandy beach was backed by the Santa Monica Mountains, similar to Santa Barbara. 

The town itself, along with its pier, was to the east of the district. Further west, a strip of residences lined the coast, including Central Malibu. It was the home of celebrities and wealthy businessmen. Immediately east of the town centre, the Malibu Creek opens out into a lagoon, and the Pacific Highway crosses it before continuing on along the coast. I crossed that bridge on the bike before arriving in this small town.

To be honest, there was not a lot to see, rather like San Luis Obispo. Malibu, more famous for its name on a drinks bottle than for its character, was the home of the rich and of the celebrity, whose work was to perform in front of the camera at Hollywood Studios.

Very, very different to my daily mundane window cleaning job.

Until December 11th, 2024. It was in this area that a forest fire took hold of the Santa Monica Mountains and spread to the coast, destroying hundreds of properties that lined the coast. Homes owned by the wealthy and the celebrity were reduced to ashes. It goes to show how unpredictable the future can be, and the wisdom of taking heed of Biblical warnings not to take tomorrow for granted, for nobody knows what's around the corner, whether a vehicle collision, fire, or any other unexpected incident.

The moment arrived when I vacated my bed at AYH Santa Monica for a bus ride to the airport, the same airport where, a few weeks earlier, I flew in from Sydney and then boarded another airline to San Diego. From LAX, the overnight flight landed safely at Heathrow by mid-morning. From there, I took a bus back to my apartment. After passing through the front door, the silent stillness hit me. My spirit fell like a boulder that has rolled off a cliff edge. Post-holiday blues. In my case, severe. That was when I had to get to a friend's house nearby for counselling and setting my path straight.

This week's album contains 18 pics of Malibu. Following that, I have included 28 pics from the 1997 Round-the-World backpacking journey, starting with Singapore. Therefore, in this post, there are 46 pics to go through. These photos are all of which I took myself. The majority of these photos are of Australia.

Click here for the link to the Index to the main Biography covering Malibu; from there, it's Weeks 105-107.

Photos of Malibu.

The cycleway from Santa Monica to Malibu.

Housing estate, Malibu, destroyed in Dec 2024.

Malibu market town plaza.

Mr Hammer sculpture.

Malibu Lagoon is backed by the Santa Monica Mountains.

Looking towards town from the lagoon bridge.

Facing southeast across Malibu Bay.

Facing west towards Central Malibu.

Open shrubbery lines the coast. A fire hazard.

The lagoon sandspit and pier are at a distance.

Santa Monica Mountains back this garden and homes.

Looking across the lagoon mouth.

Lagoon sandspit.

The mountains back the creek.

View of the pier. It was closed for maintenance.

I begin to ride back to Santa Monica.

Evening, as I arrived back at Santa Monica.

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This brings the 1997 Round-the-World backpacking adventure to a close. 24 hours after this last photo was taken, I was heading for LAX Airport for the flight back to London. No photos were taken of that flight or its environs.

However, I have selected 28 of the best photos of the entire adventure, starting in Singapore. Most of these pics are of Australia. The selection wasn't easy. There are many memorable photos, all in this extravaganza, and permanently accessible on this blogger's page.

Yet, are my days of travel over? By no means! There will be more to come. Stay with us.

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Photos of Singapore.

The pavilion, Chinese Gardens, Singapore.

The Merlion above the Dancing Fountain, Sentosa.

Tropical Gardens, Sentosa Island.

Clarke Quay, Singapore.

Photos of Australia.

The Trinity Forest Reserve, Cairns, Queensland.

Port Douglas, Queensland.

Approaching Low Isles, a coral cay on the GBR.

Snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef.

A Mangrove Tree, Arlie Beach, Qld.

Nara Inlet, Hook Island, the Whitsundays.

Hiking along Wanggoolba Creek, K'Gari.

Lake McKenzie, K'Gari, Queensland.

Southbank Parklands, Brisbane.

Mangrove Boardwalk, Botanical Gardens, Brisbane.

Hiking through a nature reserve at Byron Bay, NSW.

Mangrove Boardwalk, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.

The Boardwalk continues over Coffs Creek.

Banana Plantation, Coffs Harbour.

The 3 Sisters, Blue Mountains National Park, NSW.

Hiking Trail, Blue Mountains NP.

Sylvia Falls, Blue Mountains NP.

Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains NP.

Palm Beach Peninsula as seen from Barrenjoey Rock.

Sydney Opera House and Manly Ferry.

Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

California.

Balancing art in San Diego.

Sunny Jim's Cave, La Jolla.

Yes, that's me at La Jolla coast.

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Next Week, I fly to New York - for the wrong reasons!