Big Apple Blog

I don’t watch much television these days and when I do, I normally watch re-runs of Seinfeld. I like half hour shows because I feel like I do not have to invest a bunch of time. Unfortunately over the years I have found the major TV networks pack their schedules with hour long shows and the half hour shows are of questionable quality.

I had heard good things about 30 Rock on NBC and I haphazardly caught a show last night. It is not often a show these days will make me laugh out loud but I could not stop laughing. The show did a wonderful job of taking real world politics, economics, and social issues and integrating them into a hilarious story line. I also found several references to my age bracket which caused me to laugh pretty hard.

I think I will start recording episodes and possibly rent DVD’s from previous seasons. If you are now in the over 35 bracket, give the show a shot, I think you might like it.

I am all for anything that is going to get more people on bikes, but this one might be going a little far for me. I guess I am now officially an old man because of the old saying, “If it’s too loud, you are too old.”

I like loud things, but time and place are important and with headphones you don’t bother others. And there are too many loud things in NYC already. This picture comes from an article in the New York Times -

Kids are outfitting bikes with elaborate sound systems. Here’s a quote from the article:

“This one puts out 5,000 watts and cost about $4,000,” said Nick Ragbir, 18, tinkering with his two-wheeled sound system, with its powerful amplifier, two 15-inch bass woofers and four midrange speakers. It plays music from his iPod and is powered by car batteries mounted on a sturdy motocross bike.

Obviously the bikes are to be ridden only in dry conditions. For the whole article and slide show, go here.

For the first time we ventured to the Upper West Side location where the Macy’s Day Parade balloons are filled up the night prior. We went with some friends that had done so before I learned that if you are persistent and a little crafty, you can view the balloons after the streets have been blocked off.

When we first got there, thousands of people were being channeled into the viewing area.

We decided to hang out to let the crowds dissipate, while the same time imbibing a bit.

After they close the streets off the police screen everyone that wants to go through. You either have to live in the area to get in, or have an invitation of some sort. And if neither applies, you just let the women in the party sweet talk the cops to let you in. Blue and I hung in the back and let the women work their magic. Worked like a charm.

Shrek

Ronald McDonald with his eyes on world domination.

Maybe you thought the bike tips were over . . . no such luck!

When you use your bike to do lots of errands it is not always comfortable to wear biking shoes. There are bike shoes that are made for walking around that have the cleat embedded in the sole, but stiff bike shoes are not always the most comfortable to walk around in.

Most “fancy” bike pedals are designed for use with a shoe that has a cleat that makes it impossible to walk normally. There are hybrid pedals out there that provide the flexibility to go with or without cleats. I purchased such a pair and love them. If I want to cleat up I can, but if I am just headed down to the store and want to wear some sandals, the pedals have a flat side that acts as a standard pedal.

I landed back in NYC on Friday and promptly fell asleep on the subway. I could not fall asleep on the plane, but after close to 48 hours of no sleep, my eyes could not take it anymore. The flight home from Kenya routed me back through Dubai and of all things, fog delayed my flight out of Dubai by two hours. Dubai? Fog? Who would’a thunk? I do have to say that my flight from Dubai to NYC although my longest flight ever (14 hours) was the most luxurious flight ever. Emirates Air gains my highest customer service rating ever and the in flight entertainment system was off the hizzle.

The last stop on my tour, Kenya, proved to be the most enjoyable. I have to say that going on a Safari rates as one of the top travel experiences in my life. Being around animals in a natural habitat was simply amazing. We went to Amboseli National Park. Most of the park lies in a lake bed that does fill up during certain months of the year. The animals have no fear of vehicles and several times our drive was stopped by herds of cattle crossing the road.

When we drove up to some animals they did not even flinch. These zebras continued to chow down like we were not even there.

We saw just about every major animal except leopards. Upon arriving, a group of giraffes were off in the distance.

I had wondered if we would get to see lions, and boy did we. We saw 6 over a two day period and during one point four female lions were within a few feet of us. Again, no fear of passenger vehicles.

Elephants were a constant and they crossed our path more than once.

We also saw two cheetahs but my digital point and shoot did not have the range necessary to really get a good shot.

The scenery was also truly stunning.

The park lies next to Mt. Kilimanjaro but the cloud cover kept us from a full view. Another reason I loved Kenya was the number of bikes I saw. Bikes were absent in almost every other place I visited but Kenya was full of them.

It was also not hard to understand why Coke is the most recognized brand in the world. Their ads were in each country everywhere I went. Of course the way to finish off a safari is with a local brew in a chilled glass.

I cannot recommend going on a safari highly enough. It was an outstanding experience I will never forget. If you ever go to Kenya I would highly recommend the tour company we used, Landmark Safaris.

Getting to spend time in the Middle East and Africa was really special. The message the media sends is that we are worlds apart. This may be the case on several political fronts, but the people on the trip could not have been nicer. One classic moment was when I was talking with a local in a small Kenyan village.

I was looking at his bike and he asked me if I had ridden a bike before. I told him I did not drive but rather rode to work every day. He said, “Oh, a motor bike, correct?” I said, “No, a pedal bike.” With a look of skepticism he reached down and grabbed my left calf. He squeezed a few times, stood up and with a big smile said, “I doubted you, but now I believe it.” It’s a big world out there, explore it!

I am suddenly a huge fan of Spain. Solar farms rock! Click here for video.

The past few days have been somewhat of a whirlwind. I got a free day in Egypt and was able to take a tour of the major sites. First was the Mohammed Ali Mosque. It overlooks the city and you can see the pyramids in the distance.

Next were the pyramids. Quite impressive and I never knew that the pyramids were actually used as a rock quarry. The pyramids used to be covered with a smooth surface of rock (all shiny and nice) but at some time in history a ruler decided it would be easier to take rocks off the face of the pyramids than to quarry them. I guess tourism was not a major industry back then.

The juxtaposition of new and old in Egypt was a consistent theme. This gentleman was sitting near the Sphinx and text messaging while hanging with his camel.

The Sphinx as it turns out is a major pigeon hang out.

One thing that has been a bit shocking in each major city has been the air quality. The amount of traffic is stunning and leaded gas is still used. The smog is thick and I took this picture from my balcony in Cairo in the morning.

I finally crashed out in Dubai. Most of the trip I felt okay but we landed in Dubai late at night and I ended up sleeping for 15 hours. We then had our business event and flew out early the next morning. I did not even take a single picture in Dubai. While Jordan and Egypt had an energetic vibe, Dubai was very antiseptic. The mood was really set when as I checked into the hotel and Snoop Dog was playing over the hotel sound system.

Dubai is pretty much a brand new city and every block has construction. The architecture is all ultra modern and it is being designed as a destination for the ultra rich. Everything is talked about as being either the “biggest” in the world or “the most luxurious” in the world.

I am now in Kenya and the hotel is fantastic.

It has been raining and it is cool which is a change from the rest of the trip. On the road on the way into Nairobi we immediately saw wildlife – vultures. The trees were full of them. And these vultures could easily fly away with any small animal.

It’s business today and then off on Safari! One other consistent them on this trip is how incredibly nice the people are. Everywhere I have gone people have just been nice, nice, nice! We are not just talking a smile and greeting, we are talking about practically inducting you into their family. In NYC locals treat the tourists with contempt much of the time. Here people bend over backwards to help you out and extend a helping hand.

The one question I constantly get is, “So what do you think of your President?” My answer? January 20th, 2009 cannot come soon enough. Everyone here is pretty much in agreement that our current president has done so much damage to the U.S. image in this region that it will take decades to recover.

On my work day in Amman I had some free time during the day and explored the city a bit. Probably the most talked about monument I was told to visit was the Citadel. It is comprised of ancient Roman ruins that lie on a hill in the middle of the city. The complex is quite large and does have ancient pillars that are spectacular.

When you look down from the hill you can see an ancient Roman theater as well.

My colleague and I did not really know how to get from the top of the hill to the theater but we saw one local take a pathway and followed him. You could say that it was the unofficial path (a little sketchy but cool).

The streets of Amman were fun to walk around as well. I was curious if the locals would pay attention to foreigners but they paid no heed to us at all. When I lived in Korea I got stared at a lot but no staring here.

Overall my time in Jordan was fabulous. This morning I flew into Egypt and the view of the city blew my mind. Sure NYC is big, but Egypt is probably three times bigger. Not so many tall buildings, but the scale is just amazing. I got a pretty cool hotel room as well. It overlooks the Nile. Could be a lot worse!

I got to see a lot of Jordan today . . . and almost all of it looks the same: rocks, sand, and dust. I guess growing up in such a green place with foliage did not prepare me for such an arid area. I went to Petra which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is a three hour drive from Amman.

Petra is quite stunning. It is an ancient city that sits in a dried up river canyon. You enter through a large crevice that is hundreds of feet high. The layers of rock are amazing and it was an amazing feeling.

The first thing that appears at the end of the canyon is The Treasury. Carved out of the side of the canyon, the closer you get, the more impressive it is.

The man made carvings are impressive, but the natural wear from the water is just as impressive. There are holes . . .

. . . and the rock striations are amazing.

I had to get the obligatory camel shot, no I did not go for a ride.

Without water, you would be out of luck.

And speaking of fluids, no better way to wrap up the walk than a refreshing local beer.

Why Philadelphia and not NYC I do not know.