USA | We Made it to San Francisco

Throwing back to spring break last year (March 2017) in San Francisco...go!

The break of one and a half weeks was spent with Michelle in two West Coast cities none other than San Francisco and Los Angeles (psst! I went to Las Vegas after that too). Mich was in the States for a conference in San Antonio, Texas - the timing could not be more perfect!

The start of my spring break was rather horrifying. Let me tell you the story and see if you feel all levels of anxiety for us.

Buses there (at least in Bellingham) are very punctual - our Bellair airport shuttle left us upon our no-show at 6am. Switching scenes from the bus stop at north of the campus to us hauling three luggage in the rain at south of the campus: two girls dragging their heavy luggage in the cold rain while it was still dark out.

We left early, but not early enough as the rain and and three heavy luggage slowed us down drastically. So, we miss our ride...by five minutes. (In Malaysia, the bus probably hasn't even arrived yet HAHA)

Panicked, I called Bellair. The lady on the phone told me there's still a chance to catch the bus at its next stop. I'll never forget how dismissive and doubful she sounded over the phone (customer service in the US isn't the best, tbh). Okay, so we still have a chance. Cool. But how are we getting to the next stop? Mind you, there wasn't any cars around...just us and the wind.

I started frantically going through my phone book and called the Yellow Cab, Red Cab, and finally our saviour - Blue Cab. The very nice uncle got to us in the shortest time as compared to the rest, and calmly raced to the next stop for us.

(Just so you know, it's not easy hailing a cab in Bellingham. The cabs are by private companies and you'd have to give them a call for them to pick you up...and they're expensive AF.)

We saw the bus in sight! I swear it felt like I was in a movie, chasing down a lover that was leaving. Not sure if the wheels of the car screeched as the uncle stopped us right in front of the bus, but he braked and told us to quickly announce our arrival to the bus driver while he'll managed our luggage.

Anyway, we made it to the bus safely. The adrenaline rush from the literal rushing and panicking and quick thinking-on-my-toes was a rush indeed, so much so that placing my butt down on the seat felt like a huge achievement *pat on my back*. We arrived in Sea-Tac Airport after two hours, ready to start our travels.

What is life without the drama, right?

Safe on the plane

(excuse the face, my eyes were uncomfortable from napping with contacts on)

- 18 March 2017 -

First thing to do upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport - get out, of course! So exciiiited, we bought our train tickets to get on the rather filthy and smelly BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) that brought us to the station nearby our hotel. The filth of the train was rather surprising given it being an airport train. I mean, have you seen our KLIA Transit?

limited edition design

First sight out of the underground station - buildingsssss! Buildings everywhere and at every corner. Its big city vibes gave off a sense of familiarity, I liked it.

According to Google Maps, our hotel was a 10-minute walk away...but it felt like double of that because we were hauling our luggage around the block and uphill. Upon arriving at the hotel, we discovered that it doesn't have a lift facility. Yay. Not surprising though, since we always seem to stay at places without lifts. As if dragging the heavy-ass luggage uphill wasn't enough, we had to carry them up two flights of stairs to get to the lobby, and another four to get to our room. Our muscles be poppin'!

We stayed at The Urban Hotel on Bush Street that's located directly opposite of Chinatown. It's not that we're drawn to "our people", but it's just cheaper wherever the Chinese are at. No kidding. The Chinese really know how to make money. The room was tiny, but everything works, it's clean, has enough bathrooms, and its price was relatively lower than the others around.

If you're looking for a good cheap place to stay in San Francisco that doesn't have homeless people at its doorsteps, you can consider this place.

Bride of March from our window

We figured it was a good idea to take it easy on the first evening since the following days would be packed with activities, and it was already well into the day (around 4pm-ish) by the time we checked in. And what better way to do so by........eating!

For the first time in months, I had so many Chinese food options displayed in front of my eyes (Panda Express ain't the real thing, guys)! Instead of going for the fancy Western food we put down on our itinerary, we caved in and went to a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. The magnetic force of Chinese food was irresistible!

Hang Ah Tea House is apparently the first dim sum restaurant in the States. It sounds like a self-proclaimed title, but nothing matters when they have freaking hae bi hiam (spicy dried shrimp paste)! It was to die for!

We ordered fried noodles, a few plates of dim sum assortment and gyoza. Looking at the prices though, I really felt the pinch (three times more expensive than what I'm used to), but once in a while lah, right? We finished up the entire condiment jar of hae bi hiam before asking for a refill and the lady was wide-eyed surprise because I think most customers don't even touch it, much less finish an entire jar in half a seating. It was delicious - the perfect amount of crispiness, spiciness and sweetness. Woo!

If you think we're done eating, think again. Michelle took the opportunity to get some egg tarts from the famous Golden Gate Bakery since we were in the vicinity. If it's famous, we gotta try it.

The queue was long, but it moved pretty quickly. Perhaps it's because of the ferocious auntie selling the pastries. The store was a tiny and cramp one, so only three to four customers can fit in there at a time. It's best if you can speak Cantonese to the auntie, but Mandarin works fine too (and of course, English). I think anything that makes the ordering process as quick as possible would reduce your chances of getting treated annoyedly - you know...the glares, money-snatching and "tsk" sounds.

Walking around the city, we found ourselves surrounded by the bright lights and high rise buildings of Union Square. Every side I turned to, I saw department stores, restaurants, billboards and just...buildings of much fanciness. Made me wish I could one day earn enough to stay there (or New York).

We caught whiffs of weed while exploring and that's when we knew we were in the downtown area. I quite like how San Francisco city is arranged (if you may) - there's the part where fancy designer stores are everywhere you turn, and there's the more affordable brands on the other. The "separation" is quite clear and it made my OCD self approves of it.

The night ended early for us as we needed to recharge from the crazy panic in the early morning and traveling half the day away. It was for the best as the next days were all about exploring and basking in the San Francisco glory.

Catch us, the Dishonest Asians on our visit to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in my next blog post!