San Francisco <3
[2nd Aug 2010]
Anyway I think the bus for 11 or close to 12mn and we spend our 4 hours journey back to LA. Reaching LA, we had to take another bus to SF. I can’t recall how I spend the time in the bus. Probably slept a lot..
Oh wells. We reached SF at around 1 plus 2? Anyway we forgo our hostel plans and booked this hotel called hotel whitcomb. It was located near the central district. The price was really steep. For 4 nights, we paid 1018 sgd! But I mean, it was a price to pay in order not to stay in the dangerous area after all the stories we heard.
Initially, we were supposed to take taxi or bus but gosh it was so confusing and our luggages. Argh. We ended up in a cab instead! It was just a short 5 mins ride.
After reaching the hotel, came our next problem. They needed us to pay the full payment but WOW all of us had not enough cash on hand, neither do any one person have enough money in the bank account. Oh wells, ended up with me singing a CC which I had to repay when I reached SG but gosh, without that signing of CC, I would have been like 300$ poorer in US and Taiwan. I was already struggling damn badly in Taiwan because I was short of cash.
Well, we were hungry and starving and we see subway across the street. What else could we do? SUBWAY! Then again, I’ve been trying not to eat subway since I’ve returned. I think I only ate it once or twice since then.
After that, we decided to try our luck with Golden Gate Bridge despite the fog. BTW, it was really cold in SF! The temperature is like 10plus! We had to wear jacket all the time. I guess it was good to end the trip with cool weather. I think we took a taxi there? Suddenly I can’t remember why they allowed us to squeeze 5 in, or was it a big taxi? Hmm. After that we tried damn hard to get out of the place but there was no taxi. Well, later we got out via a bus. We met some Singaporeans while walking across the bridge. We didn’t reach the end because it was getting real dark and cold. But it was okay, because we went back 2 days later!
then at the moment we thought, it’s pretty interesting to see a foggy golden gate bridge. who ever gets the chance to see the bridge leading to, no where. but it wasn’t long after before we realise that such fogs were very common. hmmpf.
well, while walking halfway through, it started to get really dark and we decided to head back. that place was like empty. we were desperately trying to flag a cab to no avail. we couldn’t get through the phone for the driver who sent us here =/ and we were stuck, not knowing what to do. and so we decided to hop on some random bus which brought us out to the main road. i can’t remember what happened next. all i knew was that it was freezing and uber cold.
i think i wanted to get on another bus, or i can’t remember, did we miss the bus? but anyway, we ended up in a taxi back to our hotel. bought subway for dinner again. (then again, i ate subway just now for lunch:D my 2nd subway since i return from the states)
i’m not sure how the night ended, but it was really cold..
[3rd Aug 2010]
in the morning, we went to chinatown!
and it was the start of all the slopes. gosh. SF has a lot of slopes. and i remember the princess diaries movie. lol. i would really love to drive in SF. oh wells.
the famous SF trolley bus which we didn’t sit because it was 5 USD. LOL.
we searched high and low for this dimsum place which xh found online..
and it was CLOSED. zZz. what luck we have =/
and we ended up at..
interesting name..
food!
the food was not bad, really.
and everything tastes good with chilli (though it’s really nothing fantastic)
not forgetting singaporeans all time favourite.
and after that, we took a bus (yes we only paid once for public transport. eventhough it’s only valid for 2 hours, we use it the whole day) bad karma =/ but ya we still did it anyway.
and we went to pier 39!
too expensive.. so never buy =(
i have never sat in one before..
alcatraz.. if you want to visit this island, please buy your tickets very early. we didn’t manage to visit it becauase we didn’t book beforehand and the next available tickets was 1 or 2 weeks later. it was that popular = =
well after a while, we decided to visit the famous lombard street and the crooked street. so we took a (free) bus ride again. and yay. i managed to force my friends to walk all the way up lombard street. yay. i’ve walked the crookedest street and steepest street in the world!
i swear i didn’t tilt my camera!
the tram we didn’t sit
poor souls~
look how far we’ve walked.
down crooked street.
and so we walked all the way down, took a (free) bus ride again. and we ended up in shopping district!
and the first shop..
i should have just bought it right? but they didn’t have the 3g version. only wifi. hello, i should have bough an IPAD. WHY DIDNT I? and the first thing i did when i had internet was to log into CORS. what sad life.
then we went shopping. especially the 2 for $5 old navy slippers. so if it happens to be your gift from me, HAHAHHAHAHA. i hope you are not reading.
dinner was carls junior.
okay our walk back was quite funny. it was quite dark, and the place was sort of the cbd, and there was not alot of people? so when we walked, we started walking faster and faster everytime we saw someone mysterious. oh wells, we were back safe and sound, that’s all that matters (:
[4th Aug 2010]
Today was cycling day! After we convinced ourselves that we can go for the uber long bicycle trip. okay lah i have to admit i died cycling uphill. but after that the view was oh.my.gosh let pictures do the talking.
well, it was $45 for rental + insurance + ferry trip from suasiloto.
it’s very cute. attached to the bicycle, was the directions! how sweet of them to do so. HAHAHAHA.
we were in for a scary adventure =/
i can’t stand it. i need to re-visit this place.
can i live in one of those houses when i’m old?
and very soon we were on the bridge. okay maybe 1 hour later =/
i tell you, the end of the bridge was like heaven and hell.
let’s start with looking at heaven.
oh, so pretty! so so so so pretty! (looking)
this is my favourite shot in SF! and as we bade farewell to the bridge, the nightmare came.
okay, you saw that the nice looking place was like so much lower.. which means, we have to cycle down right? and you know how freaking steep was the slopes we had to cycle down. and there was no cycling path. we were just at the side of the road. i tell you, if i had a sudden break or something i swear i would have flipped in the air. it was so scary that i didn’t even dare to touch the camera hanging on my neck.
i tell you the cars were driving so fast.
anyway, somewhere there was this person holding a sign [smile please] or something around that line. i wish i stopped to take a photo of that. i’m pretty sure he isn’t begging because who in the right mind will risk their life by breaking and donating money to him? but it was so funny. i was too in shocked to react. maybe i did give a smile, i hope.
but after the end of the horrible crap, was a wonderful paradise 
i can’t think of any word to describe this beauty.
look how far we cycled. you can’t even spot the golden gate bridge. and it was all downhill.
can i stay here?
it was absolutely gorgeous..
and after soaking in the beauty of this wonderful place, we went to starbucks. and i got my green tea drink! HOT. haha i rarely drink HOT drinks, but it was rather cold so i didn’t have much choice.
we shopped around for a while, while waiting for the ferry. interesting shops, but mainly with those tourisy things.
bye bye pretty place.
entering the ferry.
“locking” our bicycles.
then we went on the freezing deck.
i love such shots.
golden gate bridge. u know what’s the irony? golden gate bridge is red in colour.
looking at the distant alcatraz from afar.
the foggy city.
look how far we’ve cycled. the truth is, it’s not that far. LOL.
after returning the bikes, we walked around the area and had dinner at boudins. the famous sour bread place? hmm. who likes sour bread. argh.
i dunno what’s this but we saw it along the pavements.
and after that we proceeded with our ( ) bus ride back.
[5th Aug 2010]
I think we had muscle ache the next day, maybe not a lot, but i’m pretty sure we were tired. so we decided to go to chinatown for chinese food!
omg, my first pig liver in the whole trip!
im sure you can’t resist not ordering this when you see it.
and then we went to the fortune cookie factory. the funny thing is, in usa, they give you fortune cookies after you pay in chinese restaurants. but, we don’t even do that in chinese countries? HMMM?
this place was like in a hidden alley =/
we found mooncakes! anw i think it was somewhere here where i HEARD a singaporean. LOL. singlish is so distinctive, especially when you are overseas. crap. i should have said hi and pretended that i’m local and i could be smart and guess that they were singaporeans. LOL.
after that was just shopping shopping and shopping. on a random note, i remember i bought one mango. LOL. and i was eating it messily in the hotel room. even though it was sour but it was so nice eating a tropical fruit. went to the huge f21 too. on a random note, i finally bought a stamp and posted the postcard that i wanted to mail home. you know what’s the funny thing, it came home on the same day as me! lol. it took one week from SF. ha.
i think i bought a burger from BK for dinner.
and then it was packing time! you need a lot of skill to squeeze.
i regretted not buying 10 pairs for myself.
well, the next day, we went shopping again, around the area. went to abercrombie and all that nonsense and i started swipping card because it was my last day in usa.
i even splurged on the chocolate exlir by godiva!
they asked if i want to become their member, all i had to do was to leave my email address and zip code. and i am entitled to a free piece of chocolate every month.
so i paid $5 plus tax = chocolate elixir + godiva choc.
saw this random shirt while shopping. but it was XL. desperately searched for another piece but i can’t find it.
haha and i was busy stocking up by $1 sweets. can i just buy one carton back? gosh. how i miss swedish fishes and my huge huge huge candies for $1. ZAH.
and the last meal of USA, was subway, sadly.
we flagged a taxi to the airport, since there was only 3 of us this time. and the luggages could fit.
i remember the only thing the taxi driver said about singapore was the “singapore girls” and the next moment i saw a SIA billboard..
and i was really lucky at the airport. wheeee! bulls eye for the weight of my luggage!
after that it was adios to USA. i remember i was desperately trying to find an adaptor to charge my iphone just before we enter the plane.
anyway, it was a 1am flight, which was actually a good thing. i was so tired that i fell asleep once we entered the plane, and i even slept through take off! only waking up to food. la dee dum. it was a good ride back, or so i thought,
and we sort of slept through saturday on the plane.. and the next thing we knew,
sunny taiwan was waiting for us!
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