The sights and sounds of San Francisco

Had a lot planned for today but as is so normally the case I had profound problems, no issues, with getting my arse out of bed! So by the time I had eaten the complimentary bagels and moaned about the fact that there wasn't any free tea when there was meant to be I hadn't left the hostel until past 10am.

Purchasing a three day bus ticket I proceeded to try to find my way to Haight/Astbury which is meant to be a pretty funky 70s style street area with some cool places to hang out. However, one thing I am fast learning about San Francisco is that the buses are a complete mystery and really difficult to grasp as I havn't a clue what goes where! Eventually jumped on a 71 and headed to the area. Walking down the streets is like walking through Camden in London. People cruise down the sidewalks dressed in some elaborate cloths with hair cuts right out of the 70s. The area also boosts an over-abundence of strange weird people with my favourite character being this middle aged guy dressed in a rain-mak coat who was talking to himself whilst swinging a 2 litre container which had a few drops of orange juice like it was his price possession!

I had been told that Twin Peaks had the best fews of the city and since I was in 'the area' I thought I may as well give it a try. It became quickly obvious to me that this wasn't a great idea as I sweated my bullocks off walking up the beginning of the hill in the sun knowing that there was still an hour or so to go! So I managed to somehow find myself on the 37 bus which was going to take me near to the top. Onboard I joined a number of tourists and most interestingly a couple of Californians who were being tourists in San Francisco. Both girls were Asian in origin and had just started studying at San Francisco University. Being new to the city they were doing the tourist thing which involved trekking all over the city.

Coming back from the Twin Peaks I suffered for over an hour in traffic that would give London congestion a run for the money in terms of waits. Eventually, with the sun setting, I managed to jump onboard the tram which San Francisco is famous for. Holding on for dear life hanging from the side of the tram it navigated the streets of the city up and down numerous hills. At this point I must stress i regretted my earlier decission in wearing shorts. Hey I had spent weeks in cold and often wet miserable cities so relished in the sun. However, with the sun setting and the wind blowing through my legs and into certain 'other places' I started to wish I had worn those jeans after all!

At night San Francisco really comes alive. Like New York the city lights up with signs glowing advertising everything from strip clubs through to the latest chewing gum. The area of town I am staying in turns out to be one of the most 'interesting' areas of the city. Just past Chinatown the area is home, without a doubt, to the main bulk of the cities strip clubs. Everyone has a rep outside trying to tout for business which inevitably means that I get 100s of invitations to come in and 'sample' the local 'delights'. I don't know why I got so much attention, like I was some walking sign post with the words 'desperate for a strip club' written across my foreward! Last night I had popped out to buy some tea a few doors down (as the bloody tea machine in the hostel was broken!) and found that this area is heavily patrolled by the police. Let me put it this way the road next to the hostel has six police cars and about a dozen policeman gathered on the corner like they were waiting for trouble to occur. I always seem to find the 'interesting' places to stay!

Unsurprisingly I declined the offers of the strip joints and headed for my bed as tomorrow is going to be a long day.