Moved to San Francisco from San Diego earlier this month, after an 8-hour/500 mile drive – most of it on the straight stretch of the I-5 freeway that is faster but far less impressive than its scenic alternative, the 101. The distance is not the only thing that separates these two cities – they are as different as two cities can be that lie on the Californian coast. San Diego perhaps fits the stereotype one may have about California – sun, sand, beach, and the kind of near-perfect weather that would make your local weatherman or woman break into odes of joy. The place where I moved to in San Francisco is 7 blocks from the ocean. I braved the cold one morning to jog up to the beach. It was like a black-and-white movie shot of a beach with cold winds that make you draw the hood of your sweatshirt over your head, and fog that envelopes the ocean as if in wait for an ominous ancient ship to break through it. The city has other charms though that are good on their promise. There’s the famed Golden Gate Bridge – yes the red one, which is impressive. My favorite is the Golden Gate park – a vast rectangular escape into nature that runs horizontal from west to the middle of the SF bay – akin to Central Park in NY except that this one is not ‘central’. More updates shall follow as I embark on explorations of the city.
Among other interesting developments, a buddy and I will be backpacking in South America – specifically Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. I won’t be carrying my laptop and will not be able to update on the go. If memory and patience hold me good once I get back, I promise detailed posts. I do intend to document some of the pre-trip preps on this blog before I leave Saturday morning, for the benefit of anyone embarking on a similar journey, has an Indian passport and needs to figure out the formalities – a topic on which information on the web is inadequate.
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August 27, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Parth
That’s a lot of dislocation you are attempting π Backpacking sounds like a great idea, more likely for my next birth. So, in the present one, I’ll look forward to imagining it through your posts π Good luck.
August 27, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Pallavi Shrivastava
Backpacking in S.America should be a good one. Recently, another friend did the same for about a month and she was maintaining a blog diary of each day. Not taking a laptop might be an interesting move but I hope you will scribble things down on a notepad or something. Hope you have fun!
August 28, 2009 at 12:06 am
Niranjan
@Parth: Yes, been an unsettled existence – these past few months.
I hope to build a case, to get you to backpack in this lifetime.
@Pallavi: Can you point me to the blog your friends blog? Yes, I’ll be scribbling notes, though on occasions in the past, I have trouble deciphering my scribbles π
August 28, 2009 at 8:30 am
Pallavi Shrivastava
Sure, Niranjan! Can I email you the link? Please drop me an email at pallavi.s@gmail.com
September 16, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Niranjan
Sorry Pallavi. Didn’t see your comment until returning back. Still interested in the link – will e-mail.
August 27, 2012 at 8:59 pm
Diksha Idnani
I really enjoyed reading this post for so many reasons, most notably that I could relate to what you describe exactly from my own personal experiences. Secondly, your description of the feeling created by the fog is so beautifully descriptive and paints such a vivid picture! Loved the part : “It was like a black-and-white movie shot of a beach with cold winds that make you draw the hood of your sweatshirt over your head, and fog that envelopes.”
Keep writing and sharing!
August 28, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Niranjan
Thanks π
Ocean beach, described, on a foggy day can feel like it is straight out of a Bergman film