San Francisco

I had heard many good things about San Francisco from people and saw views of it from movies. But as with any new place, it's always good to keep an open mind as to what to expect so to avoid any disappointment.

I'm happy to report that San Francisco didn't disappoint at all! There was lovely weather and a pleasant touristy feel to most places I visited.

A day out on foot is quite sufficient to help you get a feel and a quick browse of nearby attractions; Union Square, the Financial District, Chinatown, the Cable Car Museum, Lombard Street, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39.

Union Square, shoppers' paradise. If you don't make an effort to go beyond Union Square, you may just find yourself spending your whole day shopping!

The Pacific Coast Stock Exchange building. We noticed that most of the buildings in the Financial District has at least one proud American flag at its peak.

Chinatown, where I noticed that by their accent, most Asians there are probably Hong Kong migrants.

San Francisco is known for its steep hills and unique public transportation. First-timers could easily be confused and mix up between a cable car, street car electric busses and such.

The city's world-famous cable cars were invented in 1873. Cable cars are maintained mostly for tourists. A one-way ride costs $5.00 per person as opposed to streetcars or busses that cost only $1.50. People enjoy hanging out from the cable cars ala KL bas mini style.

Cable cars are completely mechanical and are run by huge winding wheels at the central powerhouse that pull a steel cable through a trench beneath tracks underground.

At the end of the street, cable cars are manually turned around on a wooden turntable by the operaters.

Streetcars (also known as trolleys or trams), however, draw electrical power from an overhead wire although they run on tracks just like cable cars. On top of these, San Francisco also has busses that are powered by an overhead electrical wire and busses powered by regular engines.

Most of the city is built on a grid, except for one perculiar street called Lombard Street, also known as the Crookedest Street. It looks more like a garden than a road for motor vehicles. People drive down this road just to admire its steep curves and the well-kept greens that decorate it.

While vehicles are only allowed to drive from top to bottom, pedestrians can walk up and down on foot. The view of the city from the top is well worth the climb.

Given how steep the roads can be, it's amazing how drivers manouver their cars to park so neatly along the street. My respect goes out to San Franciscan manual car drivers.

Ghirardelli Square is between the Maritime Museum (currently under renovation, due to reopen in 2009) and Victorian Park. It was named after Domingo Ghirardelli, the founder of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company from Italy.

The square centers around Andrea's Fountain, a water feature with sculptures of mermaids and turtles, which was deemed a controversial piece of art when it first originated.

Ghirardelli Square has a mixture of restaurants and quirky shops with the main attraction being the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop, where chocolate lovers can find a vareity of dark chocolate (60%, 70%, 80% cocoa).

Fisherman's Wharf stretches across three blocks at the north coast of the city. Main sights are boats parked by the jetty, seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, street-buskers. Crowded, full of tourists, very "happening" indeed.

This place is well-known for its dungenous crab and clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, both must-trys.

Dungenous crab is either boiled or steamed, they can be consumed as take-away by the streets or dined in a restaurant like Tarantino's. Half a crab and a cup of clam chowder left this hungry traveller very satisfied.

Wherever there is space on the sidewalk, there is a street-busker earning some tips, be it a singing santarina, hip hop dance group, aerosol paint artists or the World Famous Bushman.

This guy below is David Johnson, a busker who has been entertain passers-by along Fisherman's Wharf since 1980. He hides behind branches, waiting for unsuspecting people to wander by only to shock the living daylights of out of them.

Crowds gather to watch him work, including those he has previously scared, contributing to his earnings of up to $60,000 per year! He was happily counting this money when I passed by. I later spotted an immitation of him near Pier 39, but this guy wasn't that good.

Pier 39, the festival marketplace along Fisherman's Wharf, is one of San Francisco's premier attractions.



An excellent place to shop, eat and have family fun, Pier 39 more famously known as the docking place for many sea lions.

Enderingly coined "Sea Lebrities", these barking lions started arriving in 1990 after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Staff from the Marine Mammal Center are stationed nearby to keep an eye on the well-being of Pier 39's residents.

My second day in Frisco started with an all American breakfast at 1950's-themed diner, Lori's, before making a trip to Alcatraz Island. $24.50 included a return ferry ride, entry onto the island and a self-guided audio tour of the federal prison.

For someone who knew nothing more about the historical island than its name (from movies like The Rock), the tour was very informative and well presented. The audio tour included comments by former inmates and wardens, which added to the sense of reality.

This is a very popular tourist must-do and tickets sell out pretty quickly, so book ahead. It's also key to choose to go on a day with good weather. You'd want to fully enjoy the ferry ride too.

I sure am looking forward to my Hong Kong-San Francisco trip next month.