Day Thirty : East Hampton, NY - New York City, NY

PLEASE SEE WWW.ASIAANDBACK.COM FOR CURRENT ADVENTURES

I rest until at least 6pm as I delay the inevitable and short ride to NYC. I start the day restitching my saddlebags which I had taken off the bike. They had endured an extra few miles since Kentucky and the stitches are just starting to give way again. My bike is still out near Montauk at Surfside Restaurant where I started my drinking the night previously. Bernie's car is at Stephen Talkhouse and her friend is gone to New York for the day. There are apparently no taxis in the area, after calling several companies. We decide to hitchike to to Alagansett. It takes 20minutes to hitch a ride with a lady who only speaks Spanish. 

We get to Stephen Talkhouse and Bernie's car awaits us. We make the extra distance to pick up my bike. We pick up her daughter Catriona but fail to locate Claire. We pick up some sambos and vitamin drinks and hit the beach. I enjoy another Reuben sambo. We return to Bernie's caravan where she has to get ready for work, I'm back in my boxers and having a nap. It's difficult to leave the Hamptons during rush hour so I wait til 6pm to leave for NYC which was neiher a good or bad idea, I could have drank less and left much much earlier in the day. 


I only now contact my beautiful friend, Michelle. I met her in Zambia earlier this year and we hit it off dancing to Van Morrison in a big empty bar in Livingstone near Victoria Falls. The same night, Michelle also happened to meet Peter who I stayed with in Boulder, CO. so the world continues to get smaller. Michelle is a local New Yorker, born and bread and she seems to know the area like a New Yorker would. She is located in China Town/Little Italy and so is my bed. She works in design and fashion, she's quirky, insane, hilarious. Her apartment interior is white and shiny, like a new Macbook, there's a cool fancy walk in digital shower and otherwise it's pretty simplistic design. It's a tidy apartment but so is she.

Before getting to New York, I ride into a sunset acting as a backdrop to Manhatten's skyline. I knew I was New York because I could clearly see the Empire State Building in all it's sunsetty glory. It was really pretty and even more so because I'm aware of this being my penultimate ride. Very frequently I would gasp or 'awww' audibly, more so than I would if I were in a car with company. I look for parking to view the Highline (elevated gardens) but it's tricky getting around, I accidentally leave Manhatten and end up on one of the many bridges leaving the city. I see a petrol station on the otherside and complete an illegal U-turn in front of some cops in order to get more gas, and back into Manhatten. The cops do not see the U-turn.  I find Michelles place closer to 10pm at she greats me at the door with a huge embrace. Her street is lined with Italian restaurants mostly.

I inform her that my number one priority is food and that we have to go straight back out so she kindly brings me somewhere, quick, easy, healthy and tasty. It's a cool but busy restaurant/bar called Barrio Chino in the Lower East Side. We both get some form of healthy salad and I guess it is Asian style cuisine although Michelle questioned it's authenticity, I guess it has a modern twist. We go to a second bar and enjoy a local beers, we retire early as I'm still feeling rough and after many late one's I get an early night sleep. In my diminishing health I will manage to sleep most of the next day. 

I do lie in, almost paralyzed. I feel generally weak and given the two beers I had, a healthy light evening meal, there was no real reason for me to feel shit. When I drag myself up, we take the subway to the famous Papaya King Hot Dog. It's apparently the best in New York and I'd well believe it. I actually had less than 24 hours in New York but I guess eating a hotdog is a must while you are there, and yes, it was much much nicer than a 7/11 dog.

I actually need to get back to bed. I had planned on leaving that day but I'm still trying to figure out my malaise. Michelle does work from home and while I sleep, she so kindly tops up the meter on my bike parking every two hours. She comes upon the ticket warden who was present the minute my ticket expired. He had started to issue the ticket so had to proceed with it. Michelle worked her magic (possible flirting involved) and says she is going to sort it all out for me, she claims it is easy to have quashed.

Lessons;
It's not THAT hard to drive in Manhatten.