This gallery contains 3 photos.
(Even though I’m no longer in New York, the story of 12 of its streets must continue. Here’s Chapter IV. Words and Photography by Yours Truly.) “The sky is a landfill. I see you take another drag.” Jeff Buckley, The … Continue reading
This gallery contains 28 photos.
Across the Kali Mas (Mas River), East of the Jembatan Merah (or Red Bridge), sits a different world altogether from the one the Dutch lived and worked in. Here, there is a sort of dignified stillness and anonymity, associated with … Continue reading
This gallery contains 25 photos.
The colonial is everywhere in Surabaya, even as it lies buried underneath a layer of outwardly nationalistic symbols and slogans. Behind the banners in Bahasa, and past the hordes of chugging motorcycles and cars, the Dutch East Indies still lurks, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
Paradise on Earth If it weren’t for the Hotel Majapahit, I would have had trouble remembering that Surabaya even existed, so entirely overshadowed has the city been by the Indonesian capital Jakarta, and by other tourist hotspots like Bali, Lombok … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
“ ‘What do you think of that?’ asked Rienkie’s mother, pointing at the painting. ‘A real Indies sky, don’t you think?’ And only a few people could reproduce an Indies sky, she went on to say. To do that you … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Finally, after an epic journey through Hell and four circles of Purgatory, the Pilgrim has arrived at the West Bank: a quiet sanctuary at the edge of the water, plied by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. Beyond the water, Paradise … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
Past Hudson Street sits Far West Village, or Sodom and Gomorrah – the final circle of Purgatory. Along this short expanse of street reside homosexuals, Sufis, artists, Turks and Frenchmen, five races known for less than stalwart mores and blasphemous … Continue reading
This gallery contains 14 photos.
Past Greenwich Avenue, 11th Street makes a 45-degree turn and veers off into what looks like a completely different city altogether. This is West Village, where the Goddess – Jane Jacobs – holds sway. It is a fantasy garden-world with … Continue reading
This gallery contains 9 photos.
11th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues was described by Jane Jacobs as a “dignified and interesting street” to walk on, because of the diversity of uses and ages of the buildings here. Today, most of this block and its … Continue reading
This gallery contains 9 photos.
Between Broadway and 5th Avenue sits some of the grandest residential buildings on 11th Street, in a variety of opulent styles: cast-iron, mock Tudor, Beaux-Arts and somewhat more Contemporary. The intersections, in particular, stand out for the European cities they … Continue reading
Dream Of A City 