People watching in New York

I have been to places as far away as Mongolia, Benin and Peru, and yet I had never been to New York... until now.

I'm staying with a friend on Long Island and I have to say that being in the US is not like any other travelling experience. It's so strange to arrive in a country where everyone speaks the same language, looks the same, eats the similar food and yet... everything is bigger, taller and faster than in London. I don't just mean the buildings and the cars, the people here are huge, it's like living in a land of giants!

While the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building definitely had the "Wow factor" it's been people watching that has provided the priceless experiences. Today on the beach in the Hamptons I overheard an obese man saying to his wife (who had a lovely figure) "Oh my gawd, you're going to give yourself a heart attack worrying about healthy eating." (You have to read this using a strong New York accent in your head.) He was the only one out of the couple who was at risk of a heart attack.

The thing that made me really laugh was the woman in her 60s who had brought a deck chair and a cold box and spent the day lying back and soaking up the sun. Her skin was like well worn brown leather, she had peroxide blonde hair, bright pink lipstick smeared on her lips and giant black sunglasses. This peculiar sight became distinctly amusing when she decided that some exercise was in order. What about a walk down the beach or a swim? No, this lady whips out a bright green resistance band and starts doing all manner of bizarre exercises. The funniest involved holding the band on her head while she bent and flexed one of her legs.

Only in America...