Berkeley Day 3: Aug 3-Packaged food, Redeyes, and Red sunsets

The wonderful joys of pre packaged microwaveable holiday inn express breakfast are actually highly recommended, no matter how sarcastic that sounds. You can read up on that on the hotel blog later.

The penultimate dash for Malaysia was a flight to Hong Kong at an ungodly hour of 120 am. I decided I needed to rest more than go out personally, but my family and my sister in college had a farewell dinner until next week when she joins us at an ethiopian restaurant which i can't seem to find the name of. It started with a cafe, but unfortunately I'm not completely sure with the name.

Now, Ethiopian food without silverware (no silverware allowed sign on front door), sounds odd, but I was open to this as my sisters love going to exotic places and the places are usually not too bad. The cafe/restaurant is well outiftted to give you a tropical feel. Some tables are glass and have all the seeds they cook with on the inside of the table which is fun to sit at. I ordered chicken berberi which is a barbeque type chicken. Very spicy, but good. However, I was dissapointed with the high prices and small portions, but seeing as Ethiopian restaurants aren't exactly as common as most, this cafe was entitled to charge high prices. Berberi Chicken came with three small pieces and costed approximately $12. Although extremely critical, I thought servers came waay too close to customers. I did not necesarily want to smell their breath while they served me water. Pretty decent experience, but I was left hungry afterwards.

A trip to San Francisco and the bay area cannot be complete without going to the Golden Gate Bridge. Parking at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (while driving along the Marina Blvd west of the Fisherman's Wharf bear right at the fork of 101N and Mason Street, and head west on Mason Street to Crissy Field.) From here it is about a half mile hike towards the actual bridge. Besides the famed bridge, there are old military batteries built during the civil war for fear of an attak from he Confederacy on display. If you take the Battery Trail towards the bridge instead of the main trail, you can go under a battey tunnel which has very low clearance and is super cool to see. Walking across the Golden Gate is easy, with a dedicated path, but watch out f or the abundant numbe of bikes. This is truly an amazing part of San Francisco, and beautiful as the sun lunged its way through dark clouds making one last hoorah before giving into the pitch black sky. Humbling. Now it was off to the next destination: Penang, Malaysia-a stark contrast from 60 degree weather.

Berkeley Day 2: Aug 2-Salty crepes, Singing drains, and Cash only

After sleeping in after the concert, and the long drive home across the San Mateo bridge, lunch was spent at crepe dvine on shattuck and vine north of campus. A great place for brunch, this outlet serves crepes with everything you can think of. Ham, turkey, mushrooms are some of the toppings. Don't forget to try yummy desert crepes too, complete with ice cream. Wait is very short and made fresh mind you, and the only complaint is that this place is so busy, that some tables are a bit dirty. Otherwise food is very worth it coming with a salad, or ice cream depending what type of crepe you want.

Besides telegraph ave, college ave is also a great place for shopping.However, seeing as shopping Isnt exactly my main interest, my family and I went hiking which was a bit more remarkable. Locally known as the fire trail, this place offers a grea dirt jogging trail or even biking, with stunning views. My sister told me of a story of when she was running at the fire trail.

A guy was finishing up a jog, rushing back to campus, when he heard some subtle singing. Thinking it was his imagination he kept on going. Still the singing continued the next second, so he stopped and looked around listening intently.
"Anybody there?"
A shaky response followed in the form of a yes.

Within minutes, police were on the scene. Apparently a women had lost her way in the dark, and ended up in a manhole. Being there for nearly 24 hours she yelled, then talked, then finally resorted to singing. She was stuck in the manhole, so they had to get a crane of sorts to pull/dig her out.

Anyways, tired and hungry my family and I trudged to an Italian restaurant on college ave with an exquisite name, which I have forgotten. for five people the wait is long, so you might want to make reservations. The restaurant is very small, with two stories. Cash only, which seems a bit odd for a place where prices can add up. Portions are huge, and for five people we only needed two dishes and an appetizer. Calamari was not fried and seemed more boiled and rubbery, which I do not like. The main dishes were vey flavorful, but not warm enough. Linguini pesto with pine nuts with shrimp and penne arrabiata. Linguini pesto had tiny tasteless shrimp which was dissapointing, and penne arrabiata had a great firey taste. Overall food that was very near perfection and some of the best I've tasted. Bread was also great with a nice dipping sauce of olive oil, thyme, parsley, pepper, garlic, and a touch of vinegar. With two great meals I had no trouble finding slumber that night.

Berkeley Day 1: Aug 1-Samples, $5 Water, Screaming (out of pitch) girls, and In N' Out

Having been to berkeley a couple times before to visit my sister in college, i expect traffic, honking horns, and general berkeleyesk chaos. Such should be said for driving down 880 south to the san leandro costco. Eating samples at costco is usually fun and comical. Having a stingy person behind you telling the robotic worker very unenthusiastically cutting meat, "ah! The pieces so small!", can be best defined as entertaining. Hence they call it a sample. But whatever.

Driving back up the lovely 880 which could make some weak stomachs feel sick, i decide to be adventurous and head to a ghanian restaurant where my other sister has been before. Authentic art, and nude art too: viewer discretion advised, line the restaurant walls. Boasting the only exotic western african dining in the baya area, and calling itself tropical paradise, one should love the atmosphere. However the atmosphere is slightly degraded when you see dusty chairs in corners, and printed oit menus from some place like menu.com on scratch papaer. But alas the food is wonderful. If you are willing to wait. Like a long time. Seriously, since everything was "fresh", making getting water take approximately 40 minutes and food taking around the same. Most. Foods come witha tomato based rice, which seems weird at first, but my tastebuds warmed up to it after awhile. I ordered some chicken breast dish which was garnished with a powdery curry. Some spinach was tossed on the side, whch was very salty but actually very good. Other dishes my family got were fufu, potato dumplings, vegetarian stews, and salmon salads. Maybe not completely exotic, and more catered toward the local flavor, everything was actually very delicious despite the wait.

The fray. Repetitive songs. Calming songs. Piano rock. Uplifting. Not pump up music. I actually love the fray when I'm in certain moods. This time in mountain view, the fray was also hosting jacks manneqin. Overall a great concert with a great environment, even if girls screaming their lungs out break your cup of coke. No, that did not happen but it felt like it should. The fray part was more lively and popular, but jacks manneqin was also decent. Food was a rip off to say the least. $5 water. $9 hot dog. Oh, and hot dogs are tiny. I shouldve planned ahead as my parents went to an in n out before picking my sister and I up. And they payed a quarter of the price. If you go to California and need something to eat and like burgers and like fat and like salt and like all that unhealthy crap, then go to in n out burger and contribute to an American past time.

Note: Due to being on a plane for so long to malaysia and jetlag, these blogs are a bit behind. I am actually in malaysia right now at an internet cafe. I will try my best to catch up as soon as possible. Please keep note of the dates in the title. Thanks.

Berkeley, California Intro

Most San Franciscans would love to think that the east bay is merely a suburb, and that they never need to cross the bay bridge or take the under water bart. However berkeley is far more than a suburb. San francisco would be incomplete without Berkeley.One of Berkeley's most important and famous landmark is the university of california berkeley. With over 30,000 students and multiple nobel peace prizes, this sets the stage for what used to be a very politically active place during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The alleyways and greenways still fume politics, but not as openly before. To completely experience the city, read the bumper stickers, and get out of the car into the intense urban blocks of telegraph ave immediately south of campus. Blazing kites wave near the marina, couples eat a romantic cash only dinner, and joggers stare equally at san francisco from strawberry canyon. They should stare equally at San Francisco, as San Francisco does not deserve to overshadow Berkeley, which is a crucial player in the culture and life of San Francisco.

Selamat Datang (Welcome)

Packing up the few remaining essentials, and electronics, i am about ready to go. Blogging should be frequent throughout my stay in Malaysia. However, before heading off to Malaysia, I am going through the Bay Area for seeing my sister. All of my posts in San Francisco and Malaysia will be kept in this blog.

I forgot to mention the purpose of this trip.
Malaysia is to visit my many relatives there. Vacation is made out of it for my family and i.
I hope this will encourage you to go to Malaysia and travel in general.