The next thing I remembered was someone speaking to me "Chicken or Pork?" I must have dozed off somewhere in time again...as if, there were a lot to do in the cramped chairs. Why is it always Chicken, Beef, Fish, or Pork? How come there's never Pizza, Kebab, Subway, Burger King, or Fried Calamari? So much for free meal even though I've paid in advance with charges embedded in ticket sales, I made my selection of pork. Guess what? Wrong choice! The pork slabs were tough and dry. My baby girl could cook better than this I thought. But still gotta eat, and from my experience, the chicken wasn't any better.
So after 6 hours of flight, Yahoo! New York was in sight and the plane prepared for landing, and a smooth landing this was. As I was traveling light, I didn't need to go pick up my luggage at the carousel, a tip learned from extensive traveling and "Meet the Parents." Of course, getting in the line behind Asians and not old people is another precious tip during traveling. But still, I have to wait for other members who are attending the same meeting as I am.
OK, all luggage intact, we moved throught airport security with no goods to declare and stepped onto the soil of New York City. By the time we got into the airport lobby, it was midnight, and we were tired, sweaty, stinky, and we moved to look for some form of transportation. Bus? Out of the question. Train, don't know where we were and don't know where we're headed to. Taxi was the solution. There was some Gents in the airport lobby calling out who needed taxi. We were thinking of yellow cabs, but no yellow cab was in sight. There were 4 of us, staying at 3 different locations so we had to split up.
It wasn't a yellow cab, but a black Lincoln model car. The driver had to pay USD24 for parking 30 minutes at the airport. Talk about standard of living, this is expensive! The driver and I made some small talk in the 30~35 minutes drive from John F. Kenndy Airport to Manhattan Island. He came with his father from Bangladesh before 10 years of age. The talk then drifted to Politics and this guy sure didn't like Bush. As for Obama...heh heh, his actions on BP oil spil sure didn't make him a popular president. Seems like the economy of NY was in slumps and the driver said it was really difficult making a living there. Nothing was ever the same after 911 and with the drop in residential value, he lost $$$ big time.
Finally arrived to Days Inn Hotel on 94th street. Can't wait to check in and hit for the showers. What's the price of transportation? What? USD155?!? Funny, how come I recall reading something that should be cheaper? Breaking it down, the USD24 parking was on me, but still, a bit expensive, so we had to go through price haggling. A few points went through my head: (1) Let me recall, from SF airport to Silicon Valley was about USD110 on the meter (yellow cab). (2) OK, it was way past midnight (12:40am), so naturally, should be a little expensive as this guy was working overtime. (3) The ride from JFK to the hotel went pretty smooth (air conditioned with FM radio). (4) The parking and toll charges (as he said) were on me. (5) OK, this was New York, pricing should be higher thant the West Coast. (6) The guy was definitely a whole lot larger than me. (7) No cops around on the streets. So USD155 it was, with no tips.
I finally checked into Days Inn, and got into the room. What a dismay! The room was small. I started to miss the 5~6 star hotels in past jobs. Previously it was Shangrila, Hilton, Grand Hyatt, Four Seasons, Marriot, Conrad, and Shilla in the Investment Banking Industry, now it's 3 Stars or below, Inn grade accommodation (see comparisons below). Putting this aside, I hit the showers noticing there was only soap and shampoo. What happened to the other amenities of tooth brush, tooth paste, and razor? Out of the shower, the USD155 incident was still on my mind.
Days Inn Manhattan 94th Street NY.
Conrad HK Suite Room
http://conradhotels1.hilton.com/en/ch/hotels/photoTour.do?ctyhocn=HKGHCCI
Conrad HK Suite Sitting Room
http://conradhotels1.hilton.com/en/ch/hotels/photoTour.do?ctyhocn=HKGHCCI
Luckily or rather unluckily, the room had free access to internet and I logged on.
Search: taxi fare from JFK to NY.
Result: JFK to Manhattan Island, flat fee of USD45 with no extra charges or night charges.
Kaboom! Lightning struck! It was a total rip-off! What happened to the honest way of making a living in US? Or was it just "New Yorkers?" The images of blood sucking, everyman for himself, New Yorkers from movies floated to my head. Hey, this was New York, the gateway to US of A! How could the government let this happen by allowing tourist traps straight at the airport? Did those terrorists also get ripped-off to a point where they got back by hijacking a plane to fly into the Pentagon and the Twin Towers? Or could be just human nature as Madoffs and Enrons are happening everywhere.
Still thinking that I should have gotten his license plate number to complain to NY's City Mayor, it's a minus one to my dollar bills but a minus ten to New York City. After checking by phone that the other two girls got to their hotel safely, found out that their charges from JFK to their hotel was USD165 (with tip). This must be some sort of associated crime! 02:00 in the morning, gotta make some sleep cause still got a long day ahead of me.
To be continued...
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