I'm not that good a this

I hate how I'm really bad at blogging about my travels. Anyway, to sum up my trip to California, here is what I wrote on my personal blog:

Home is where the heart is
& I’ve left a piece of it back in San Francisco… though I sure am happy to be back in Vancouver.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I was sure impressed and amazed at how suited I was for the city, or how suited the city was for me. I can’t wait to one day go back and live there.

I’m not going to lie, a lot of my prejudice for the United States has lifted. I suppose years of schooling has made me become pretentious in a way, for all the times Canada has looked better than the US in so many situations and continues to apparently rise above. It just made me realize that the decisions made by the government or the majority of a country are not in itself the decisions of every individual residing there, and so it is completely unfair to be so surprised to learn that the person sitting behind me on the street car could very well be from my country of origin. (Duh, no brainer right?) A place does not determine a person, though a person can determine a place.

I am forever grateful that I didn’t spend my week there seeing the city through the eyes of a tourist, even though I have only barely skimmed the surface. It’s made me realize that I still don’t know the city I live in well enough either, but I am now determined to change that.

Every time I travel, my eyes open up wider than before. Every time I travel, the world seems so gigantic and I feel so incredibly small. Every time I travel, it’s hard to figure out where I fall in the grand scheme of things. But every time I travel, I learn even more about myself, of my hopes, my dreams, and my desires.

Seven days, and I have learned so much.

Castro

I was so excited to finally get to be here. This was where history was made, and this was where Harvey Milk spent his time. I only wish he were around... If I had seen him walk out of the theatre or out of a restaurant, I would've ran up and hug him without hesitation.

I couldn't help but feel the love while I was in Castro, even if I and my friends don't fit the LGBT category. We tried finding this vegan ice cream store but it apparently didn't exist... (we found out later on it had closed down weeks prior.)

We had finally gotten to Castro Camera and I stopped dead in my tracks. I tried envisioning the documentaries I watched and the video footage of the place entered my mind. Can you believe that this was real? I wish I were able to walk in and be greeted by a smiling face. I need a wide-angle lens anyway ;)

Now I think it's going to become a little museum of some sort. There were informative displays in the window and some memorabilia.

We went to eat at Harvey's afterward, a restaurant in place of once a historical pub and now serves as a tribute to the wonderful man. The food was great and there were a lot of vegan options. LOVE!

Can't wait to come back when I'm legal.

Things never short of in San Fran

• sandwiches
• vegan options
• Walgreens (more frequent than Starbucks)
  
• smoke shops
• graffiti
  
• donuts
• pigeons
• liquor (you can buy it at 7-11)
  

Vegan turkey sandwich with vegan cheese. YUM!!

I'm not complaining... (could do without the pigeons, though.)

Today I crossed the Golden Gate bridge

and didn't jump off.

I do believe life must seem so incredibly horrid before finding the urge to take the plunge of death. And I mean seem.

When I peered over the railing I couldn't help but think of the idea of suicide and found myself overwhelmed with sadness at the thought of it, whether the act is committed by someone else or yours truly.

Telephones are on the bridge for those seeking help.

I am not against suicide, but I don't encourage it. Hear me out. What I mean is I empathize with it. Things really can get that bad. The struggle within ourselves is to find a purpose or a meaning to our lives, and if you give up trying to discover it and can no longer find the will to live then by all means suffer no more. However, I believe there is always a way to find what you are searching for no matter what--you just have to stay hopeful. I used to think that it was possible for a person to really have no reason to live, but I now disagree. Varying as it can be, there is always a reason. Always.

I'm not going to lie, the thought has crossed my mind but I don't doubt this isn't the same for others. They're just thoughts, and they sometimes pass.

Has it really only been three days?

Our days seem so long. I'm really glad that we didn't get the 7-day bus pass for $24 because we've been doing a whole lot of walking around. As far as the destinations may seem, the walks are a good way of really seeing the surroundings. Bus tickets are $2.00 for adults and $0.75 for students (17 & under)... too bad I didn't bring my ID. I really like this transit system. It's really old, but very efficient. Many buses run until 5AM, and even then other ones will have started, so there is never no way home.

Things you'd have to get used to in San Fran:

• the constant sound of firetrucks wailing
• the occasional smell of urine
• litter
• random people talking/shouting to themselves
• homeless people being everywhere (unlike living on one specific street/block)
• pigeons
  

After dinner, our bus driver had given us bus tickets that lasted through the "late night". We decided to take advantage of pretty much unlimited bus time by heading to Castro. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do for underage kids like ourselves (aside from K Wong.) So we hopped on a bus heading toward Fisherman's Wharf. When we got there, we were disappointed once more to find closed businesses. There really is no night life in San Fran is there? Where do all the teeny boppers hang out?!

I am in love with San Fran

The only things I need to survive:

1. Green smoke shops

2. Vintage stores

3. Peace and tie dye

4. Love and acceptance

....and LGBT rights for my friends :)

5. Great vegan food

All of which can be found on this one street called Haight Street. As previously mentioned, it is fuuureeaken awesome. We finally explored it on foot and I definitely recommend visiting it if you're ever in town! Afterward we went to Castro and enjoyed some good food at Harvey's, a restaurant dedicated to the memory of Harvey Milk.

I love it here. Don't expect me to return.

San Francisco!

What a long day. Where to begin? My photos will continuously be updated here on flickr :)

DEPARTURE & ARRIVAL
Driving from Vancouver into the United States was a little interesting. K Wong, Chizzak, and I were tired from lack of sleep yet full of excitement for the rest of the week. After being dropped off at the airport in Bellingham, WA by K Wong's sis (Marble), I instantly felt homesick for Canada. It wasn't in the way in that I wanted to go back, of course I wanted to go to San Fran, but the atmosphere of the people and the place just made me so grateful to be Canadian. However, that is a terribly premature feeling. I will get back to you in a week.


click photos to enlarge

Flying with Allegiant wasn't too bad. You can't expect much for such a short flight (about an hour and a half) but I wish there was food :( We were so hungry, the only thing we could do about it was sleep it off.

Finally arriving in Oakland, CA we hit up the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and skytrained to San Francisco. The weather was a bit dreary but it was only morning yet. It took us a bit to understand the ticket machines but I finally figured it out. It's not like back home where you choose the ticket you want first and then pay afterward, you put money in and then subtract the cost until it is the exact price of what you need to pay (which is a lot more complicated if you ask me...) We got off at Montgomery station, and soon realized none of us had the smarts to memorize the Travelodge address. A quick pitstop at Peet's coffee shop with WiFi allowed me to look it up on my handy Macbook. We were at 575 Market St. and our place to stay was at 1707 Market St. We decided to walk.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
We walked about two blocks before realizing we were in the wrong direction! So in total, we walked fourteen blocks until we got to Travelodge. We were carrying our luggage, and although it wasn't too heavy we were starting to get pretty warm from the exercise. As tiring as it was, I was really glad we didn't bus instead. We got to really see San Francisco during its peak hours and boy, was it busy.

Their buildings and buses look very old and full of history. Each building, whether looking torn or looking grand all had a look of character, and I absolutely loved that. Beautiful graffiti art exploded in the alleyways and street walls. Halfway through our walk, the blocks suddenly began to look a little rough and was very reminiscent of Vancouver's Downtown East Side, only with far less people littering the streets. And just as suddenly, the streets looked nicer again. Either way, I liked what I was seeing... (Aside from the ten McDonald's, RadioShacks, Walgreens, and Starbucks seen every other block.) I liked how it was the way it was and it didn't do anything to cover it up, as old as the buses may look or as many cracks as a building may have had. Finally arriving at the inn, all we wanted to do was just pass out in our room.

TRAVELODGE (Civic Center)
For the cost of about $90 a night ($100 or so on weekends) (for one adult and one child) the room was quite alright. The bathroom door doesn't close properly, but that's okay we worked out a system :P There's a fridge, a microwave, a fan, a heater, multiple lamps, a working TV, and most importantly one king size bed (which is actually quite spacious for three people.)

PHO GARDEN
After settling down and trying not to pass out from fatigue and hunger, we planned our route to meet up with Chizzak's friend for a late lunch. The bus system isn't too confusing. In fact, it's very much like the old system we had in Vancouver, or the one that is currently in Victoria, BC. They seem pretty old, and its walls are littered with graffiti, but again... I think it gives it character.

As we wove through the streets of San Francisco, Haight St. had definitely won my heart. It was like the Main St. of Vancouver, only five times as long and ten times as interesting. I can't wait to explore it.



We arrived at Pho Garden a little early and walked around the residential area for a bit until Jenna (Chizzak & Fi's friend) came with two of her friends, Brittney and Abby. Their reason for choosing this place was due to their apparently infamous Pho Challenge.

In one hour, you must finish your bowl of Pho which contains 2lbs of beef and 2lbs of noodles. If you succeed, you won't have to pay for your meal, will be placed in their Pho of Fame and take home the bowl as a trophy. If you lose, you must pay the $22 and get a t-shirt to take home. That is A LOT OF FOOD!


"Challenger acknowledges that there are risks of personal injury, illness and possible loss of life..." SAY WHAT?


Holy cow. Unfortunately (or is it fortunate?), the girls couldn't finish their food. But it was still interesting to watch. Meanwhile, I enjoyed my vegetarian meal, which I thought was awesome of the restaurant to have.


Being vegan in San Francisco isn't too hard as there are so many restaurants I'm dying to try out.

The only difficulty is finding late night grub that doesn't involve animal products, which was what I encountered. After stuffing ourselves, we parted ways with the girls and made our way to Walgreens to stock up on water. We made the mistake of not buying munchies when we thought of it....

NIGHT OWLS
We passed out at about 7PM (seriously) and woke up around 11PM feeling hungry. K Wong and I decided to head out in search of food, with 7-11 in mind. Again, we started off by walking in the wrong direction, and ended up purposely taking a detour in hopes of discovering an avenue of some sort lined with late-night restaurants. We walked around for about half an hour, through City Hall and everything, and had no such luck. It was a very nice walk though.

We stopped by this 24Hour sandwich shop (very much like Duffins) near our inn, got a sandwich for Chizzak, and embarked on yet another painfully long walk to 7-11. Twenty minutes had passed and the street we were looking for was nowhere in sight. We found a map and realized we had a LONG way to go. Feeling tired, yet again, we settled on returning home and getting more food at the coffee shop from before at All Star Cafe instead.


Thankfully they had something I could eat! The food was actually pretty good and very inexpensive. Scouring the streets of San Fran at 1AM for food, what a way to end the night!

P.S. We are doing vlogs, but they won't come out until after we're back. Keep an eye out though! :)

I'm terrible, I know

Alright, so I lied when I said I would continue to update about my trip to Vietnam LAST YEAR, HAHA! Anyway, you can look at the pictures I took with my film camera here.

Woops...

BOY have I been neglecting this! Firstly, it was because I had no internet connection where I was staying, so I did try to write as much as I could and save it on Microsoft Word. However, I ended up slacking off and went and enjoyed the rest of my vacation without thinking of blogging :P I told myself I'd get around to doing it when I got back but made the excuse of not having all my pictures scanned and onto my computer. Now that I do, I'm out of excuses.

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What a long trip it’s been! Sorry for neglecting to blog more :( On our third day here, we went to visit my grandma on my mother’s side. She and my aunt live on the other side of the bridge connecting Bai Chay and Hon Gai (two areas that make up Ha Long.) Dave and Kirby were still passed out, so we left without them after breakfast.

A lot has changed in my grandma’s area. The elementary school in front of her home was knocked down and they are currently building a high school. There’s also this huge building by it with a coffee shop, an arcade, and an Internet Café. Those high school kids will probably get awesome breaks haha.

Everyone had gathered at my grandma’s: my aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. We had the traditional type dining experience—on the ground and cross-legged on mats :P The food was good and I had a fun time watching Korean music videos on TV.

I went upstairs shortly after to explore the house, and it was all fairly the same as before. I noticed the house had been painted a light blue inside, and the yellow walls were gone. The blue is much nicer :) My cousin’s son Nhat Anh, 11, had hardly grown since I last saw him, but he was still just as cute as ever. While on the second floor, he brought out a freaken TASER! My brother and I were thinking, WHAT THE HECK IS HE DOING WITH THAT?! And WHERE and HOW did he get it! John called up Billy and then when he entered the room Nhat Anh turned it on and Billy’s reaction was pretty funny =P Kids these days…

Everyone ended up coming upstairs and enjoyed the balcony for a bit. Later on after we all headed back home, this time with all my cousins as we had room for them in the hotel. When we got back we went for Good Coffee before heading to the beach and… well… had some good coffee.

The little bugger with the taser :P Nhat Anh.