Lao Voices

I think Chinatown is not what it used to be, since 911 many restaurants and small businesses folded, if you never lived in the area, you would not know the difference because it appears that it’s still bustling, and crowded as ever.

We walked so much that I thought my legs would fall off, and I wish that I thought to take the classic double-decker, hop-on, hop-off guided bus tour. This red double decker bus has lower level enclosed seating and open top, but then I wouldn’t be able to take some of these shots to share with you all.

We got lucky that we saw a live concert, as you can see that it’s so small, I’m not sure if it would qualify as a live band or concert. The group sang beautiful traditional Chinese music, I guess somewhat romantic to some (I just hope it’s his wife), and we stuck around to listen, a break from our walk.

I think since 911, things have changed tremendously, many restaurants closed down due to lack of business; this is because many offices in that area are no longer there. When I was living in Brooklyn in the early 80s, garment factories were everywhere in Chinatown, and most are no longer there. This happened even before 911; I believed rent has gotten to be so expensive that many factory owners were forced to move their business to Flushing, Queens. Chinatown is not just a place of business, but it is also home to over half of the city’s Chinese population, and many of the apartments in the neighborhood, above the stores, and restaurants are rent control.

As I looked around the Mulberry Bend Park, I saw Chinese men sitting around, gazing into emptiness, scary to think of the uncertainty of the future, and it shouldn’t be this way, this is America, the land of opportunity, but in reality, it’s not like that at all. Some of these people were once business owners, restaurant workers, or factory workers.

I love these tropical fruits, they’re very fresh and not as expensive, we brought some back home with us, but it didn’t last us very long.

When I lived here, fish market is not my favorite place to walk pass, more like I used to hold my breath, and run as fast as I could, but not this time. I want to show you what all they have in Chinatown New York. Since I’m not buying anything, I wasn’t greeted with a warm smile, more like ‘No Picture, No Picture!’, with a butcher knife in one hand, so I snapped as fast as I could, happy to say that I got out of there in one piece. As you can see that everything is so fresh, some of these I’m not sure what they are, especially the strange looking fury fish with big head.

Yes, the city still has an earthy/pungent odor (some might say, stinky in a good way,) and No I don’t smell the millions of people’s sweats, and if you ever in the area, don’t try to breath in the fresh air because it might take your breath away.