Winter blues

Due to rainy weather the last two days and not owning any waterproof gear I have pretty much been mooching around the hostel and venturing out only for bagles and coffee. Purchased a digital camera today though.

I have to get the shuttle to LA tomorrow at midday which is unfortunate because I have hardly scratched the surface of what you can do here in SF. Will try to do a quick tour of Alcatraz tomorrow morning though if there is time. Have met some greats Brits and Swedes but I find it really hard to hang out with people when you know that you will be leaving in one day and probably will never see them again. Have a nice life I would like to just appreciate the moment for what it is but I stuggle with this.

Flying out of LA for Mexico City on Wednesday so only one night in LA. Hoping I will see Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan stumbling out into the gutter but I think Courtny Love is the best I can hope for.

Walk a mile in my shoes

I dont know how many miles I walked today around San Francisco but my whole body is aching as I sit here typing!


Downtown

I spent the morning walking around the slightly seedy downtown area looking at shops. I was searching for a digital camera and maybe a watch. It is unbelievable how many grifters and slightly crazy people approach you wanting all sorts of things. I got grifted (minorly) within the first 2 minutes of arriving in the city yesterday. Today, this really drunk guy spent about 15 minutes trying to tell me some riddle about how a bank teller gave him $53 cash without using any coins or dollar bills. I dont think he actually knew what the answer to his own riddle was in the end so I just smiled and backed away slowly. People seem to be able to just sense if you are not from San Francisco.
My brain is having a hard time adjusting to little things like cars being on the other side of the road - for example I keep stepping out onto the road and almost getting hit by bikes or cars because I forgot the look the other way! It's also funny that the traffic walk signs are just on an automatic timer so you just wait for them to turn green - unfortunately they dont make a sound so im often left staring at the ground while the lights change (maybe thats how everyone knows im from outta town?)


Tenderloin

My hostel is right on the edge of the slightly "ghetto" area of town which is called Tenderloin (Yes, like the cut of meat). I've been warned not to walk through it but its kind of a bitch to go all the way around it so i've walked through it a couple of times and not much happened. Theres lots of bums and crazies hanging about but nothing too sketchy. I feel more unsafe walking through certain parts of Sydney at night to be honest.


Castro street

Today I escaped the CBD and caught one of the tram/bus hybrid things down to Castro and Mission. Castro is like the main gay/lesbian area of the city and its absolutely amazing. Castro steet and the surrounding blocks could be compared to Oxford st and Darlinghurst, I suppose, but its really so much better! Oxford street is really quite dirty, with trucks and buses pouring past, but this is a wide, tree lined boulevard with a beautiful village atmosphere and amazing shops and eating spots. There is nothing pretentious about it at all really, its fairly down to earth with couples strolling down the street hand in hand and people laughing and chatting in cafes. As much as I hate the american obsession with cheese, meat and bakery goods - I couldnt resist trying an apple bagle with butter and jam. Yum! On the topic of food, I have had a hell of a time trying to find anything healthy to eat anywhere. There doesnt seem to be much in the way of vegetarian / organic eateries or anything. It's a continous stream of Pizza joints, Burger Joints, Bakeries, Taco Joints, and more burger joints!. I don't understand how everyone survives of this diet! They must cook their hearty meals at home, something I would love to experience but unfortunatly no invites (yet)!



Castro



Beautiful San Fran Homes


The steep streets around Castro and Mission (The Latino district)are lined with the most beautiful 2, 3 and 4 (!) four story townhouses that I have ever seen. Its almost impossible to describe how beautiful and unique the homes are in the this city. Almost every neighbourhood is lined with these beautiful and homely dwellings.



View from Buena Vista Park

I made my way on foot from Castro over the steep hills to Haight-Ashbury - epicentre of the 1960's hippie counter culture in San Fran. On the way, I stopped in a massive park called Buena Vista Park, which is basically a giant hill covered in amazing tall trees (not sure which species) and dense "woodland" style vegetation. There is a myriad of pathways that criss cross through the shade of trees - making an interesting labrynth of pathways to loose yourself in. A red tailed eagle swooped down from a tree near me while I was walking and carried away some sort of mouse-like creature...possibly a mouse. (poor thing - being shredded to strips by an eagle would be an unpleasant death im sure but that's nature for you) Buena Vista is spanish for 'good view', which is certainly what we were awarded with at the top of the hill.

Back to Haight-Ashbury, this is the famous intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets where a very creative counter culture developed during the 60's. It peaked around 1967 apparently suring the "summer of love" but once it became exposed it was swamped with thousands of disaffected youths and edgy types from across the country which changed the social fabric quite a lot. It still has resonances of that bohemiam feel to it but the presence of shops like the gap and ben and jerry's ice cream certainly seems to be evidence of a gentrification process that is underway. (Im embarrased to say I did try a "chocolate therapy" ice-cream from B & J's). It was not that disimmilar to King Street in Newtown or Brunswick street in Melbourne but it was certainly still buzzing with it's own unique energy. As I walked along gazing up at the beautiful ramblimg townhouses, it was awesome to think that musicians like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Aeroplane and Janis Joplin were all jamming and living in those very houses 40 years ago. Now the sounds of Hip Hop were drifting from one of the windows as a DJ practised his scratching technique whilw overlooking the street from his window.
Finally I should mention Aemoba Music, supposedly the largest independent record store in America (and most likely the world!) This place used to be a full sized bowling alley! It was crammed with records and cd's of almost every genre you could think of. I was completely lost for words.



Amoeba Music (Please dont let me back there!) Notice the Felix the Housecat vs. Sasha record in the botton corner of the nearest record shelf

I managed to spend almost 100$ US on some new CD's to put on my I-pod. I figure I's splash out because new cd's are so cheap in the states (about 15-20$ Australian) and I figure I will not be able to get much new music or perhaps any at all for the next 3 months in Central / South America.

purchases;

Henrik Schwarz - DJ Kicks
Midnight Star - No Parking (On the Dancefloor)
Tosca - Souvenirs
Nortec Collective - Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3
The Timewriter - Jigsaw Peices
BT - This Binary Universe
Jimmy Van M - Balance 10
Four tet - Remixes

Mmmmmm onto the ipod they go

Over and out

Love,
Luke

x

Day One

Hola amigos!

I suppose I should hold my tongue with only the experience of one international flight under my belt, but I really couldn't understand how people whinge about the flying so much. I suppose the novelty will wear off soon enough, but god damn me if I wasn't having fun. Back at home, I would jump at the chance to set in a big, comfy reclining chair, watching 'on demand' DVD's and tv shows while pleasant, smiling people bring me meals, snacks, chocolate and free alcohol ;) It reminds me of being home again, except 30000 up in the air and maybe without the booze.

The only downside was geting a sore ass from sitting for too long, and possibly there should be a 25% ticket price reduction scheme in place for passangers who had to sit within a 10 metre radius of a screaming baby..





Im pretty jet-lagged and dizzy but San Fancisco absolutely blew my mind today! It's vibrant, multi-cultural (more hispanics, african-americans and chinese in my part of town than whitties!)and buzzing with energy. I have arrived the day after thanks giving (which is a massive sale day like boxing day apparently), disembarking from my first train ride into what was possibly the most dense, seething mass of humanity I have ever experienced. (Though there was that time on the Yarra bridge....)

After a midday jet-lag-induced emotional breakdown in my hostel room, I hit the streets on foot and soon found myself lost in what I am told is the world's largest Chinatown (outside of China of course), where there were long streets lined with uncountable numbers of shops selling exotic fruits and unidentifiable dried food stuffs. Live crabs and fried ducks heads gave equally disconcerting stares at passerby's, but no-one aside from my self seemed too distressed.



Desperatly trying to avoid the tourist frenzy at Fishermans Wharf, I ended up sneaking around seedy back alleys between the working fishing wharehouses on the northern shore-line of the city. Somehow , a giant starfish that had been pressed perfectly flat underneath the tire of a truck was more interesting to me than any of the gaudy amusements on the peer. I did see a group of latinos giving me death stares then so I quitely left that shit-stinky alleyway. Interestingly,along the water edge of this commercial area I was greeted by some of the most striking and unobscured views of the golden-gate bridge and alcatraz island that I think can be found in the city. (I vaguely rememeber seeing a movie about alcartraz when I was younger but is it actually still opperating as a prison?)

The highlight of the day though had to be two black street performers who were funky robot dancing and cutting some sick moves to late 70's/early 80's electro - stuff like prince and midnight star. They were almost completely covered in silver paint, and wearing huge black sunglasses. Amazingly, they would keep dancing and spinning on milk crates while small children approached nervously to offer them dollar bills, to which they would offer back lollipops, but then jerk it around so that the kids couldn't quite grab it each time they went for it. It was so cute! Even more amazingly, oneof the performers brought on his 7 or 8 year old son who proceeded to start doing some of the sickest breakdancing I have ever seen, while shouting "I'm a freakazoid! IM A FREAKAZOID!! TURN ME ON BABY!!!" These guys put to shame every other street performer I have ever seen! Sorry other street performers.

As I staggered back to my hostel just now, I passed local club Ruby Skye where I saw flyers up saying that Dj Sasha is playing tonight. Luckily, it is within a one block stumbling distance of where I am staying on Post St. Im keen to go but quite afraid of what will happen if I dont go to sleep NOW.

Over and out

Love,
Luke

leaving soon

Hey there, how ya doin'?

Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed or dropped by to give me well wishes for my trip!

Well, i'll be flying out of Sydney this Friday at approximately 3:30 pm bound for San Francisco on Qantas flight ____ i dont know. I saw on the news last night that there is a travel warning against going to Mexico City or Oaxaca state in Mexico at the moment due to violence and unrest after the recent presidential and congressional elections. There have been some bombings of public buildings in Mexico City and some violent clashes between workers and the establishment, particularly in Oaxaca city. I'll be flying into Mexico City on the 29th of November, but now I will most likely not spend much time there and make for the Carribean coastline along the eastern side of the country.

Rough travel plan


1. San Fran (Nov 24)
2. LA
3. Mexico (Nov 29)
4. Nicaragua
5. Honduras
6. Costa Rica
7. Panama ?
8. Peru
9. Bolivia
10. Argentina (March 07 ?)

Not really to sure which countries I will definately visit. I hope to just go with the flow and follow my interests. I'm looking forward to speaking Spanish with local people and seeing what kind of environmental/conservation initiatives are under way in these parts of the world. Would love to do a bit of photography as well! Maybe someone along the way can teach me how to use my camera properly. (I think my lense is broken from dropping my camera at a party? Oh dear...)