How right he was. Nothing contrasts a day in the Upper East Side more than a night out on Ludlow Street. After experiencing where the upper class dwell, I could not be happier that my good friend Genia decided to take me for a drink in Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, where the likes of the Strokes began their careers. Instead of suits, expect hip cool kids. And no not the types that hang about in London's East London scene. LES and West Village hipsters are genuinely hip and not bored little rich kids who are enticed by the propagated image of a 'trendy'. What is the difference you ask? Say you enter a bar in Dalston or something looking like an actual human being (i.e. not wearing a Victorian dress or kooky glasses). They stare… disapprovingly. In the LES and WV people don't care if you don't look the part, which is pretty relaxing.
One of the first bars we hit was Spritzers near Ludlow Street and then headed to a more quiet pub a block away… perhaps it was called Piano's? Well in any case that's of no importance. Ludlow St. has enough bars to satisfy anyone's taste… should you crave classy cocktails, good beer (yes America does have good beer actually!) or a place with a dancing scene. Anyway after a really long-needed catch-up between me and my good friends Nick and Genia, we decided to call it a night and head home and so Genia and I hailed a cab.
'John and Broadway please.'
Since Genia and I have not seen each other for 3 years we were engaged in deep conversation and so it took us a while to glance at the meter.
'Excuse me. Why the hell are we at Union Square?'
Apparently it's not just the nightlife that's raging. NY cab drivers are pretty enraging as well. The cheeky man had taken us a little uptown before driving downtown to her flat. In simpler terms - he was driving in circles and thought he could get away with it. Wrong.
Cabbie: 'You guys didn't tell me where you were going.'
'Yes we did. We said John and Broadway.'
Cabbie: 'No you didn't.'
'You could've asked us instead of driving in circles.
Cabbie: 'I asked 3 times.'
'No you didn't. This is what's happening: you're driving us home and we'll pay you the amount we'd usually pay.'
If I were the cabbie I wouldn't have turned this offer down. The fool did however. What then? What else? We left the cab and started walking down the street.
'Wait! If you don't pay I'll call the cops.'
'Ok fine. Call the cops. We'd like them to very much hear our story.'
So what did he do? He stood there dumbfounded while we hailed another cab and drove home.
And the moral of this story? Beware of New York cab drivers. Another scary anecdote to follow this one:
My Aunt Mona's friend, Tito Ago, once said that he was waiting to cross the street when he saw an old tourist couple hail a cab and asked the cabbie how much it would cost to get to their hotel. Unbeknowst to them, their hotel was located conveniently a few blocks down.
'20 dollars' the Cabbie replied. Unable to just stand and watch helplessly, Tito Ago walked up to the couple and told them 20 dollars is not worth a 10-minute walk down the road and after a death stare from the Cabbie and a 'thank you' from the couple, he was glad he helped another escape the trickeries of the taxi drivers.
So what have we learned ladies and gentlemen? When in Manhattan, keep your eyes on the meter and on the GPS screen located in front of you, and if you can be, be specific with your directions (e.g. 'John and Broadway please but go down Broadway and not the FDR because it's always in a traffic jam.') Abide by these tips and they are more likely to not get away with duping you.
No comments:
Post a Comment