Brooklyn is Manila. Manhattan is Makati.

New York reminds me of Manila and Makati very much. To my fellow Pinoys out there, I'm sharing you a picture of what to expect in America's most expensive city.

Subways in NY, LRT/MRT in Manila.

I'm telling you, our very own LRT/MRT is a lot more good-looking train than the subways in New York. Maybe because it's underground and it doesn't have to be really squeaky clean down there but folks, the dreaded roaches and healthy rats out there seemed to have found a nice place to live. The good news is, the subways in New York are intersecting, passing all the major streets around New York, from North to South, East to West. Public transportation is absolutely not a problem. Oh and the subways? They are the cheapest of them all. So unlike in the other states, everybody can survive without a car.

Taxi cabs, anyone?

Yup. They are the most expensive public transportation around New York. The initial fare is $2.50 with $ 0.40 charge for every 4 blocks or a minute idle on the street. The tip is a must so it's relatively expensive for a single passenger. Oh and there's T&LC plates which stands for Taxi and Limousine Commission. While Limos in New York with T&LC plates are just one of the public transportation, in Manila the luxury car Limos are much visible in the street as bridal cars. The cabs in New York are required to have a maximum of 4 passengers - 3 at the back and 1 beside the driver's seat. In Manila, it doesn't matter. As long as you're a paying passenger - it's a deal!


Stubborn Pedestrians

Oh this is what I must say pretty much like in the Philippines. When the sign says STOP for the pedestrian lane but the coast is clear, it's OK to cross the street. It's the same thing in New York but be very careful. Some private vehicles just suddenly appear from nowhere. Hit and run cases are sometimes left unsolved.


Bullied

It's tested. We were driving along Madison St. in Brooklyn and the car following us keeps on honking. It's a "car talk" that means "move it!". Since our plate number says Virginia, we're being bullied by a New Yorker. You're lucky if there's a police patrol around. Honking is not allowed along the streets. There's a fine for violators or stay in prison for days. You choose.


UTO sightings (Unidentified Tall Buildings)

I mean their architectural designs are so amazing! They're like the hands that made the Pearl TV Tower in Pudong, Shanghai or the famous KL Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Our Filipino architects and civil engineers will love it. No wonder, no matter how huge the cost of living there, a lot of people still dreams of working in New York.

I wish Makati City will start the idea of having offices that looks like a bird's nest or a 30-story elongated donut shaped building and retire from old ordinary cubed offices along Ayala Avenue. Well, just a piece of a "lighting bulb above my head".


The Community

If there are whites out there, there is an equally huge number of blacks everywhere. My one week observation is that the blacks are usually seen in the suburbs and the downtown area is dominated by the whites. Brooklyn is a neighborhood lived by black people. That's where Hubee's cousin stay. It's a nice neighborhood though and the streets never sleep.

But if you intend to go somewhere else for a joy ride, don't get lost in Harlem. It's the Pinoy version of "Tondo" so to speak. They say it's the territory of hispanic and more black people as well. For some reasons, some says it's"dangerous" to get lost there especially at night. I am not sure what that means but if a Pinoy who's lived there for 20 years says it's a Tondo version, then I wouldn't think twice.


Are you OK?

Most malls in Manila and Makati, the sales people will greet you nicely and follow you wherever you go, making you a bit uncomfortable as if they're saying "I have my eyes on you so don't do something stupid, old hag". It's annoying. Here in New York (actually in all the malls I've been in the East Coast), the sales people will greet you, "Hi! How are you doing?" So you reply "I'm fine. Thank you". And they will say "Did you find what you're looking for?" or "Everything ok?". And then you reply "Yeah/I'm ok. Just looking/Thanks". And then they will leave you. Poof! Disappear right before you. They give you time to look around without following wherever you go.

Does that makes sense? Yes, it does!



Business as usual

It's surprising that New York, the big apple has a lot of underground businesses going on.

In Manila, the blind people and the homeless sing and perform along the busy streets where traffic is unbearably huge. Hoping that some good samaritan will pour some blessings in their small tin can. To this day, it's a normal way of life there. They do that in order to survive.

In the subways, in and out, a lot of "performances" happen. That's how people become so creative and resourceful just to find ways to live. They also serve as an entertaiment to the public.


Where else can you see a 3-foot man in a Michael Jackson suit dancing in "Smooth Criminal" mix and a naked (no top) Indian in Central Park working out with his "pet" to come out the basket as he plays his magical pipe? I'm telling you, there are sooo many things to see there!


I'll call the cops!

And I also miss the MMDA and the traffic enforcers hiding beneath the trees. They don't have cars. Some of them do. Some of them have motorcycles but some of them just stand in the corner waiting to pull-over someone. In New York, all traffic enforcers have car patrols. They're cute and they look like the match box cars of my brothers when they were little boys. When you see them move and the lights above the car turned blue, it means they got someone to pull-over. And it also makes them easier to chase the bad guys. I wonder if the Philippine government is dreaming about having car patrols in the high ways.


So there. Let me know when you're coming up there. If Hubee and I are free then we can join you so we can explore New York together! Don't worry about the food. An $8.00 bill can survive you for a day. The famous New York steamed hotdogs are not so bad at all. Sometimes it comes with a drink :wink: :wink: