so here I am beginning my US diaries... copies of notes I took on different dates just as they were.... which were supposed to be uploaded daily during my travels but that never really materialized until now....Good thing is, you will get to see a lot of pictures of my travels....
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27 June 2008
Its friday and 10 00 pm here. I just arrived here at this hostel. The ride from JFK to Manhattan was fine through Airport shuttle costing 20 dollars and I got off at 34th street. Hailed many cabs and the guy in the 7th cab finally agreed to look for this place in Brooklyn called varet street. Others simply didn't want to go there which kind of raised my eyebrows. This guy was really nice and talkative. He has been an illegal in US for 15 years and came from Russia. But he has all fake IDs and licenses and he told me the cops never cause a problem even when they find his status. He turned out to be more nice when we were unable to find Varet street twice and he stopped his meter so that we can find the place. A really nice experience with him and finally when he did drop me off, he asked me specifically NOT to give tip as I am like his son and he knows how non-Americans are lost in this huge country when they arrive. Varet street gives an interesting look. All buildings are abandoned and the rest are factories or sheds or warehouses. Very less lighting the hostel looks equally gloomy. Likewise, contrary to what I thought, they do not have there wifi up and running. It seems am the first person to have ever come to this hostel. The look of this place is desolate, abandoned, dimly lit and kind of scary. Bt maybe I am too tired because of 2 days of travelling to judge it and feeling kind of lonely and missing everyone and all. The receptionist is a really nice guy named Marcello from argentina and because of my email, I am only paying him US$ 168 for my 7 day stay here which is not bad at all. There is also this other guy Nick from Florida I guess and he is really friendly and he also just arrived. And for both of us, we found this hostel through craigslist. I am feeling sleepy and this unsecured wireless connection am using is not working properly. Anyways, I think I would go to sleep after emailing mom n dad back in pakistan. I will be placing my bags up in first floor with marcello as I have a good close to US$ 2000 cash with me in it.
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28 June 2008
Its Saturday and 8 35 am. I woke up at 6 15 am which was not bad at all for my first day. Left after changing for NYC. Followed another person to Morgan station of L train as didn't really know where it was. Bought a one week metro card and got a free metro map of NYC. Went staright to penn station as that was the only place I recognized from my last years visit. Went to a starbucks thinking I would find free wifi there but couldn't find any so didnt feel like drinking the coffee I spent money on. Went to a subway and again there was no wifi. It was just paid internet on pre-installed desktops so this means I'll be carrying my laptop whole day. Just now I had a cup of good espresso at this starbucks and had a funny episode. A european guy came to me and offered me 2 dollars to use my laptop to transfer his pictures from his camera to his flash drive and I let him use it for free as long as he wishes because I am not worried about the battery or anything as I guess I won't be using any free wifi today anywhere. They say it truly maybe. Nothing is free in this world...until you really know your stuff. hehehe. Now I will be leaving this place soon and will write more again. I better checkout about this party listed on couchsurfing. It would be an all-nighter if I do go there as it'll be my first time at such a place and am not sure. And there is a $20 cover but I guess it is fine with me for a one-time experience.
(here you can see a picture of the hostel on that bright sunny morning in Brooklyn on Bushwick ave... miss that place dearly... a hippie heaven)
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29 June 2008
Its sunday and 7 15 am and am dead sleepy and dizzy. It was a long long night. Stayed awake whole night at that party and just got back to hostel. Its 2 nights and still only I and Nick are at this hostel. I came out of party at 5 am and me and Nick lost each other and then I walked 2-3 miles in wrong direction- alittle bit drunk and finally had to spend some money and take a cab to get back to hostel as I am so much tired. Am going to sleep now and will write when I wake up. So I woke, went to the city and came back. It was a really nice day and I walked all the way from 2nd street up to the central park. Saw so much. Bought some strawberries to be consumed and lived on water. I loved the walk. Talked to some people. Stopped at some cellular companies outlets to ask about cell phones but still didn't figure out anything for that. Stopped at Library to talk to some people and found out about free internet at Bryant Park. Stopped there on way back to Brooklyn just to email other people. Had a shower and felt good that 2 more guys are here in hostel and tey are fixing up more bunk beds. One of the guys has this beautiful COEXIST sticker on his laptop and the other one wears a peace sign all the time. Its so great to see such good people. They are both asleep now so will talk to them later. I have to give back to Nick the $50 I owe him too.
( here is this graffitti covered truck I found really interesting near my hostel...)
30 June 2008
Its 7 pm on Monday now and I got up early today. Walked around a bit in the neighborhood and liked the place. Nick maybe going today as he finally found the place he was looking for in NYC and he has a dinner with that guy tonight. An interesting thing happened today. When I was out, 2 more guys checked in. One of them is a Vietnamese American named Fu while the other came all the way from Toronto via megabus and his name is Clayton. When I went to them and introduced myself, we had a nice conversation and then he told me about this website he is amember of called couchsurfing and I was like, 'wow, am also a couchsurfer and then we had a big handshake which I hope is the beginning of a good friendship'. We maybe going out tonight somewhere.
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1 July 2008
It was Tuesday today. No time to write in detail. Met Ian and went to Zebulon. Stayed out till 4 am. Had a fantastic conversation about freedom, love, jazz and fake IDs. Loved it. Feeling dead sleepy. Plan to go to Coney Island beach tomorrow. Excited about taking a dip in atlantic ocean. zzzzzZZ...
some randome pictures of the neighborhood i was staying in... alongwith the subway station, and the shoe sign... (mostly believed in US to mean that illegal drugs are available somewhere in vicinity - though dont know how true it is)
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