New York

Disclaimer: I shot everything in JPG. Rookie mistake.

It’s true what everyone says that there is nothing like New York City, it’s definitely a unique piece of land.

The first thing that surprises me the most was just how old the trains going into the city are. I had to get a train from New Jersey to New York, because there was absolutely no way I could find a cheap hotel in the city. The trains felt like they were going to fall apart. Rattling and squeaking as they traveled at high speeds through the tracks, that made me really nervous.

Everyone in the train seemed to be OK with it though. We were all so close together that it made it almost impossible for me to even lift my hand without shoving somebody.

We arrived to the station and I could feel just how massive it was. It seemed like there was thousands of people speed walking through any open space that they could find.

As I exited the station, the bright sky blinded me. My eyes took a second to adjust to the start contrast between the inside of the building, and the outside.

The buildings were huge, they seemed a lot bigger than the buildings in LA. They were definitely a lot more buildings here. I made a left and walked through Madison Square. People standing, sitting, taking pictures, and most importantly, speed walking. It seemed like the whole city was stuck in fast-forward mode.

I had my backpack behind me and my camera strap around my body ready to take pictures. I had the 16-35mm lens attached to the body because I figured I needed a really wide angle lens to take pictures of everything. The only downside was that every time I pointed the camera up, because of the distortion in the lens, all the buildings shrink at the top. There was just not getting around this because these buildings are massive.

Stopped by a restaurant that was selling some type of salad. The people inside didn’t really speak English, so I wasn’t sure what the plate was called, but it was delicious.

I continued walking, making my way down to Central Park. Stopped by a couple of shops and ended up buying a Red Bull. I took the basic pictures of the Red Bull can that I take everywhere.

By the time I got to the park, the sun was starting to set already. I decided to make it at least halfway through the park before I headed back. There was so much going on in the park that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fully enjoy everything. There were a lot of performers. Some people playing instruments, some people, singing, and a lot of people dancing. I think that dancers were my favorite.

The sun went down so I started walking back through the park. By the time I exited the park, it was really dark and I had about an hour left before I missed the last train back to New Jersey. I decided to buy a hotdog and eat it while I walked.

I’m not sure how it happened but there were a lot more people now than when I first arrived. It was incredibly difficult to walk through Town Square. Everybody was just standing, taking pictures, or looking at the performers. This proved to be the most difficult part of my walk. It seems like every two steps I’d accidentally bumped into somebody and I’d have to apologize.

As I rushed inside the train, I realize that there was a lot of empty seats. A stark contrast from when I came into the city. I actually got to sit down this time.

When I finally made it to the station New Jersey, I felt a wave tiredness hit me. I got into my car but I had to stop by and buy a Red Bull. I still had a long drive ahead of me to my hotel.

The gas station in Newark was a bit sketch. I filled up on gas and bought the Red Bull along with some beef jerky. The hotel that I stayed in wasn’t that great either, but I was just in their to sleep.

As soon as I got into the hotel, I landed on the bed and I knocked out.

When I woke up, I realized that I had about an hour before I had to check out. The hotel room was so tiny and so old but it had its own character.  The shower head was broken and water barely came out, but I managed to take a shower. I took a few photos of the hotel and the view and then I left.

New York is a city that requires more than a day to explore