San Francisco - Part -IV

Welcome to the fourth and final chapter of my grand endeavor to San Francisco, California as narrated by me. In previous chapters I indulged you in exciting times expierienced by me and my buddies at the golden gate at SFO and Universal Studios at Los Angeles. In this chapter, I will let you in on our visit to 'The Alcatraz' island and stroll down the down town streets of SFO.

THE TRIP TO THE WEST

-narrated by me

Chapter 4:

Sunday:May 26 The Ultimatum

Back in our hotel the Saturday ended without much drama. We were pretty tired after an exciting day at 'The Universal Studios' and slept for the most part of the ride back to our hotel in San Mateo. Now the hotel we had reserved this time was classic. Unlike the dump we had stayed the previous night, this hotel room had everything that would make you feel right at home. We actually arrived past midnight and hotel staff had left for the day, but the keys to our rooms where kept in a mail box with our names as a security code. Talk about technology and the comfort it brings. As I mentioned in the earlier chapter, we followed the same under-booking formula and this time it worked like a charm, no-hassle. We retired to our comfortable rooms and after a brief discussion about weather sustained control of the market forces by a regulatory body help in maintaining the balance of supply and demand in a nation's economy (not really, the talk was mostly about you-know-what!!) it was time to sleep.

When I woke up the next day, I realized that I had just had an absolutely wonderful sleep. There was a big clamoring going on around me and I could hear people talking in high voices. I was unable to make out what it was about and but then again, I wasn't paying attention. I half listened to what folks were saying as I went on about the usual rituals in getting ready for the day and by the time we started our car, I vaguely understood that someone had woken up really late. Our first destination for the day "Alcatraz Island" – the notorious island prison made internationally famous by the movie 'The Rock' (which also the island's nick name ) featuring Nicolas Cage. As I reveled at the fact that I am going to be in a prison (or at least used to be) for the first time in my life, I suddenly realized that, apparently, it was me that had gotten up late and because of that we might miss the ferry at Pier 33 to the Island. Of course, no one can stay mad at me for a long time, especially when I so naturally pretended that they I had no idea about what or why they were screaming at the height of their voices.

Anyway, after getting scammed for 20 dollars by a con artist at the parking area (seriously) we caught the ferry on time and set sails to experience the great and depressing Alcatraz. On the outset it looks like a midevil fortress beset on the rocky island in the middle of San Francisco bay. Indeed it was used as a fortress during the early wars of our ancestors, but what made it known for, in the later years and today is the iron clad maximum security prison and the notorious convicts that it housed. Upon arrival, one unmistakably notices the enticing scenery set around the Rock, which completely masks the deep and much darker stories associated with it.

The island was surrounded by spectacular views to The Golden gate and San Francisco city sky line, but one cannot escape the feeling that the inmates of this federal penitentiary saw the outside world only for a brief moment of the day. As we strolled down the concrete corridors listening to the audio narration of the prison's history and the experiences of some of the inmates in their own words, the sense of being free gets a whole new meaning. The prisoners' narrative of how they did anything allowed by the prison guards to pass the day made me cringe at the reality of countless hours I waste on a daily basis. Scheduled hours with the visitors, precious little moments of music and sanctioned indulgence in sports seem to be the only thing they looked forward to while the empty and endless times of loneliness slowly engulfed them with nothing to do but rue the faults of their life time, committed in peace or a fit of rage. One certainly finds it interesting to see the way society marks an act as noble or criminal.

The stories of Alcatraz include escape attempts, some which are daring and others mystical, while seeming impractical. Factually the most intense escape attempt resulted in an intervention by the US Marine Corp which come to be known as ' The Battle of Alcatraz' while, as far as drama goes, the escape of three convicts using dummy heads at their beds and soup spoons for scraping the tunnel tops the list. During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners as having ever successfully escaped. It is definitely a tribute to the strength facility as well as the discipline and bravery of the prison officials.

Beyond the grim history of Alcatraz, the place still seems to be living with the old. The walls and the prison cells seem to have not aged at all, since the facility was shut down by federal authorities. The audio narration that was provided guided us along the various pathways, cells and rooms while giving a chilling chronicle of of each of the venue. It also included interviews and narratives by some of the prisoners themselves, as they told us their sad days and joyful moments. When it was time to go, we did it with heavy hearts.

The ferry ride back to the main land was a kind of getting-back-to-the-holiday-spirit sort. By the time we docked, we had a few hours left before it was time to catch out respective planes back home and we decided to have walk around SFO downtown. After having a good lunch in a Pakistani restaurant, we headed out into the streets. Now I have never been to a really developed American city before and hence in every which way, the SFO downtown mesmerized me. Posh offices, tall buildings, corner coffee shops and ATM centers, corporate banks, luxury hotels and the city's own wavy roads reminding you that this is a mountainous land. Although I have seen these sky scrapers on TV, it is nothing like standing next to it for real. There is something about the place where all the buildings are tall enough to block the sun completely off the streets on a bright day. More I wandered those impressive streets the fact that California has the highest tax and was one of the cities with crippling cost of living in all of the US was beginning to disappear in my mind. For a few minutes I was living in my dream place exactly the way I pictured it. But then again, such blissful moments have a lifespan similar to a rainbow. As soon as we came back to our car, my brain (at least the functional part) quickly calculated my salary and expense for a year and a negative number in big font and red color flashed in front of me (Stupid Brain).Sigh. At least, it was good while it lasted.

We are only a couple of hours away from our scheduled flight departure and, the sorrow had filled the car already. We had a great time these past three days here and saying good bye really sucked. After a very long time we had spent some excellent experiences and, for what its worth, this trip will be remembered for a long time. Following the tradition of guys around the world, we spent the last few minutes joking about cars, movies and women before boarding our respective planes.

As for me, as I trudged off the Sky Harbor International Airport back in Phoenix to take the local bus to my house only one thing was in my mind – "Oh My God, I gotta work tomorrow!!"

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Thanks for joining me. Until my next time.

San Francisco - Part -III

Hello and welcome to the third edition of my ongoing narration of my trip to San Francisco along with my friends. In the last chapter we looked at our first day in the Frisco and how we went about exploring some of the best tourist sites that ' the City by the Bay' had to offer. In this chapter we travel down south to the city of Los-Angeles where I and the rest of the travel party had an exceptional day.

THE TRIP TO THE WEST

-narrated by me

Chapter III-
Sunday:May 25 The Supremacy

The day ended on Friday in a rather dull way as we checked into our rooms in what I would like to call not-the-most-welcoming-motel in LA. It was located just adjacent to a bar and its parking space was about the size of basket ball court. Like a miniature paint artist going about his work on a grain of rice, we manured our full size mini-van in the only available spot cheekily avoiding the other cars that were crammed in alongside. Meeting a fellow Indian may not always be a delightful experience. The phrase most definitely summed up the situation as we entered the hotel lobby. As customary of our travel band, we always book hotel rooms in such a way that more people stay in a room than that is allowed by the management. The reason is purely financial. We were 6 and we had 2 rooms and 2 per room was the stipulation and mathematically 2 more too many. The plan, as always, was to sneak the extra people inside, while the legitimate four were doing the paperwork. But on that particular night, it was not to be. A middle-aged Indian guy was at the front desk and apparently he was good with maths and sight. He made us pay (In dollars) an extra fee for the extra humans and let us spend the night in a hotel which, in all fairness, must be offering boarding for free. The carpet smelled with old dampness and elevator squeaked like a haunted house. Unlike I mentioned in the chapters earlier, my luck turned its back on me this time. You get a very different sensation when you inhale stale air, while thinking about the fact that it will be dark when the lights go out at night. The fact that I had most recently experienced severe bug problems in my house was making the phobia progressively worse for me. After connecting our cell phone and camera chargers to oddly placed power sockets, I told myself that I was too tired and thankfully it was true. I remembered closing my eyes doubtfully, almost certain that the bed bugs have already started their feast, and the next thing I knew it was morning.
And morning means good news. Apart from the fact that I was not carried out of the place by night crawlers, a more important reason to be excited was that were headed towards the 'entertainment capital of LA' – The UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. We got ready and to my delight, the hotel served my favorite brand of morning cereals-'Honey Nut Cheerios' (not affiliated in any way) at least there was one thing sensible about that place. After a hearty breakfast we headed out into the famous and seriously polluted LA streets. Throughout the drive I noticed that LA, at least the part we were traveling through, did not resemble any thing like a metropolitan city. The freeway way was bordered by simple housings and there weren't any high rise offices either. Anyhow, when we arrived at the Universal studios I was not exactly sure of how I was feeling right then. The reviews for the place were out of the roof, but then again, I am not really a fan of reviews. Also, I have never been a big supporter freaky roller coasters either and for some reason my vision of theme park has always been crazy rides and expensive souvenirs. What I did not know was that I was about to be entertained in the right way and proved wrong at the same time.
Thanks to the VIP tickets we had bought earlier, parking was hassle free. I noticed that the there was big crowd that day and given that it was a Sunday and that too in the middle of a long weekend, I guess it wasn't a surprise. The studio greeted us with red carpet, literally. The huge circling metal globe with the marquee 'Universal Studios' was placed in the center of a concrete cavity with water fountains surrounding it sprayed needles of water on people trying to get too close to it, sometimes with the help of some wind on their cameras. Then the red carpet and then the huge metal gates that resemble some of the gates from Lord of the Rings and once you enter it, you have officially set foot on a moviegoers fantasy land. some of the best movies to come out of the studio were captured once again with props, hydraulics, pyrotechnics and some fantastic live characters to bring them to life. The adventure started with 'the Studio tour'- a trip in a mid-size cab on tracks which went rolling down various sets and locations in which many movies and prime time TV shows were being shot. It was hard to believe that all those buildings and fountains and streets were simple cardboard and metal props. I have never been to a movie set and to be in the one of Hollywood's major factories it was just amazing. There was a simulated flood- huge amounts of water just rush through a make believe street as it inundates everything in its path including the cab in which we were seated (only up to feet level, of course). Then there was the earthquake simulation. Here is the scenario. Our cab gets stuck inside a typical city rail-tunnel and without warning a Richter-9 scale earthquake hits the location. Things explode around us as the train cabs in the nearby tracks tumble; electric cables snap and create massive fires and somewhere a major water line breaks flooding the whole area. Just when you thought its over, the roof breaks open and the rescue helicopter falls down into the tunnel before exploding; the interesting part- the whole thing takes place in a matter of minutes. If such a complex scenario can be executed everyday for tourists, no wonder Hollywood is able to make spectacular movies. We were even shown the set in the movie 'War of the Worlds' which involves a crashed Boeing 747 with its various parts strewn in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, which looked exactly the way it was shown on the movie. After that, we were off to the movie rides. The attractions included a daring boat drive through the Jurassic Park, then a thrilling roller coaster with the Mummy, a gut wrenching Terminator 4D ride, and a live fear-factor show- you know the show in which people are asked to eat goat testicles (yuk) for prize (why didn't say so).
Everywhere there were artifacts, performers and actors in costumes. One thing that definitely made the day more pleasurable was that we were spared from the agony of waiting in the line for hours for each ride, because we had bought VIP tickets(extra fee of course) and hence we were given a separate entrance, front row seats and the best of all perks, multiple rides. Thats right- while others had to wait for their turn in 'The Simpson Ride'- the studios newest attraction and my personal favorite, for about 45 minutes, we took the ride twice in a matter 10 minutes and the same for all the attractions. I have to admit, being treated special was pretty cool. No wonder why many people go crazy after becoming famous. It was an absolutely spectacular experience. We immensely enjoyed the magical world (note: world, not kingdom) and wrapped up the day with some hotties. As we left the studios for our car, I couldn't help but think that it has been proved yet again that when it comes to entertainment, these guys are pros.
Back to the car, and our long drive back to San Francisco begins.

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Coming up.. Our Final day of the trip - a walk through the SFO city streets and prison halls.