San Francisco

all images © James Tung, 2001-2008 San Francisco

The feeling of quirkiness around me while I rode the bus into downtown was reinforced over and over in the next five days. There are palm trees, non-Floridian-friendly hills, a perpetual chilly wind under the warm sun, murels, seals, victorian houses densely constructed next to one another, and a wilderness area on the edge of the city, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. A wonderfully eclectic group of people inhabits these surroundings.

I had visited the city about twelve years ago, when I just arrived this country. It's nice to be back, and one day I just might move out there for good.

Around Naveen's place

I stayed with my friend Naveen, who lives sort of between Haight-Ashbury and Castro, right next to Buena Vista Park, on top of one very serious hill.

night view from Naveen's place

view from Buena Vista Park

Walking to downtown

The first day I was crazy enough to walk from Noe Valley all the way to downtown, passing by some of the main tourist spots, like Mission Dolores, Chinatown, and Coit Tower.

Mission Dolores	City Hall	City Hall
Gate to Chinatown	Chinatown	near Coit Tower
near Coit Tower	view of downtown atop Coit Tower	Coit Tower
view of city atop Coit Tower	view of city atop Coit Tower

Around Fisherman's Wharf

After climbing up Telegraph Hill to get to Coit Tower, I gave up walking and took the bus and cable cars for the rest of the day. I found seals and tourists at Fisherman's Wharf. The place is not too bad; I managed to find a relatively quiet spot on the pier, away from the tourist commerce, with a great view of the hills of San Francisco.

many boats	view from pier	Alcatraz Island
many seals	sleeping seals

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Most of the pictures above were taken during the first day; after that I acted less like a tourist and took fewer photos. The rest of my photos seems to consist mainly of the area around Golden Gate Bridge.

Here is a link to the homepage of the recreation area.

Golden Gate Bridge	Golden Gate Bridge	north of Baker Beach
on cliffs along Baker Beach	on cliffs along Baker Beach	Murt and me