The subway can be a challenging and yet somewhat entertaining pastime. It’s by far the best way to get from A to B, or even C. I take the C train which runs from my front door to downtown. And takes only 10 minutes. Which is so worth the risk.
The subway here is far less appealing than those found in other cities. It’s grubby, and sparse. Clinical functionality with little entertainment bar its diverse and fascinating occupants. No comfy cushioning here just good old GRP plastic in dubiously moulded 70’s shades etched with the tags of the bored and the careless. I imagine it’s designed this way to be easier to clean but that seems to be a job nobody wants to do. It’s advisable to have a quick scan of your seating conquest before you relax. I’ve seen too many assorted waifs who seem to undertake all manner of personal hygiene rituals on these very seats. So be warned.
One of my favourite things to do is to get off at random stations, walk around, explore the area then do that again and again until I get a good sense of what’s what and where is where. It’s a great way to discover a city. And before long you realise how diverse six blocks can be. The atmosphere and buzz changes dramatically.
There are no guards on these trains, or at least I haven’t seen any. No ticket checks. Which is why it’s easy to jump the turnstiles and blag a free ride. I don’t of course, but many do.
You see some interesting characters here. Those who steal the subterranean warmth and lie uncomfortably for a while whilst reorganising their meagre belongings and rearranging their dilapidated attires, under the noses of the oblivious masses. Others, members of various and indistinguishable sub-cultures, proudly display the plumes of their different breeds and creeds. There are those that permeate pungent odours, those that shout at the world and the door. Whilst the rest of everybody else, faces suffused by facebook glare, sway and dodge and move along with the general flow of the tram.
Then you get the hawkers and the beggars and the buskers. Tastefully timed performances between stops. Any donations for this contrived canvas masterpiece? I glance at an uncoordinated mass of blobs and shapeless forms, art? maybe? An unexpected acapella reprise of ‘Somewhere” by a trio of ‘not so close’ harmony. It all adds up to the eclectic and demanding atmosphere.
The romance may be tired but the heart is still there. It may be edgy, dirty, tired, and noisy but it still has its charm and is a wonderful way to experience the bowels of the city. Just check your seats please.
