San Francisco on a Budget Day 1

After touching down, we took the BART train that cost us about USD4-5 to the Powell Station which is the nearest station to USA Hostel. It was quite a walk from the BART station in Powell Street to the hostel because the roads are hilly! We stayed in a 4 bedroom dorm there with a bathroom en suite with another girl from England and Germany. Feeling hungry, we wasted no time to find food.

In the BART

The walk to Chinatown takes about 15-20 minutes. We had lunch there at one of the Chinese restaurants. Here, there are many cheap and affordable souvenirs. You can get key chains, magnets, bags, shirts or anything you can think of. There is even a tea specialty shop from Taiwan called Ten Ren. The cost of our set meal with one soup, fried rice with a dish and some fried sides is about USD11 each. The portions are huge and you are welcomed to pack your food if you can't finish it.

Chinatown, Food, Views....

My friend YH noticed a pyramid shaped building from far. Being curious and having some time to spare, we walked to it by following its direction. We found out that it was the TransAmerica building. Later, we found out that there were some controversial issues when the building was planned out. There was even a terrorist threat to the building in 1995!

TransAmerica Pyramid

On our way back, we went over to the Union Square. Surrounding it are shops and departmental store that are more upscale. Union Square itself have scupltures, cafes and seating areas that are beautifully decorated with flowers.

Union Square