Comments on: Arrival and Departure Guide: San Francisco http://passportjunkie.com/blog/2009/05/arrival-departure-tips-san-francisco/ Travel planning for the independent traveler Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:21:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Johnraekown http://passportjunkie.com/blog/2009/05/arrival-departure-tips-san-francisco/#comment-2 Johnraekown Thu, 14 May 2009 02:56:04 +0000 http://passportjunkie.com/blog/?p=40#comment-2 There are great times to be had in The Bay Area, no doubt. I could tell many a story of glee, and I am not alone in this regard, of that I am sure. On this occasion, however, I would like to tell another story. One not mentioned nearly enough. Unflattering though it may be, there cannot be mention of the BART without mention of aggressive panhandling. On my most recent trip to Berkeley and SF, by way of Oakland airport, I was greeted by junkies and panhandlers at almost every juncture. First off, once you get in the BART station (this happened to me twice in three uses of the BART system) someone is probably going to approach you to beg change. In the first case, a haggard one-toothed junkie (no pun intended... let's just say, not the passport type) actually started pushing the buttons during my attempt to use the ticket machine! I almost decapitated the loathsome beast, but pity stayed my hand. The idea is supposed to be, she "helps" me to get my ticket, and I reward with a tip. I'm not having it. The second occasion, far less dramatics, nevertheless included some downtrodden and forlorn character hovering over me for the duration of my transaction after having already been denied the tuppence he sought. Listen, don't even get me started on Telegraph street in Berkeley: it is a circus one local bar goer described to me as a cocktail of suburban white guilt and dated hippie values gone awry. I nearly lost it when some dirt-smeared and rag-laden freak, bouncing from foot to foot and sporting a shit eating grin effecting the look of some undead court jester, emphatically shook his money jar directly in my face as I passed. Let us just say I was proud of myself for the level of restraint I exhibited, as I wasn't entirely sure I had it in me. Aside from that, The Bay is lovely, especially its assortment of eccentric convenience store owners and avid disc golf players. Also, don't miss the Tenerloin and TenderNob areas. Johnraekown -PPJ- There are great times to be had in The Bay Area, no doubt. I could tell many a story of glee, and I am not alone in this regard, of that I am sure. On this occasion, however, I would like to tell another story. One not mentioned nearly enough. Unflattering though it may be, there cannot be mention of the BART without mention of aggressive panhandling. On my most recent trip to Berkeley and SF, by way of Oakland airport, I was greeted by junkies and panhandlers at almost every juncture. First off, once you get in the BART station (this happened to me twice in three uses of the BART system) someone is probably going to approach you to beg change. In the first case, a haggard one-toothed junkie (no pun intended… let’s just say, not the passport type) actually started pushing the buttons during my attempt to use the ticket machine! I almost decapitated the loathsome beast, but pity stayed my hand. The idea is supposed to be, she “helps” me to get my ticket, and I reward with a tip. I’m not having it. The second occasion, far less dramatics, nevertheless included some downtrodden and forlorn character hovering over me for the duration of my transaction after having already been denied the tuppence he sought. Listen, don’t even get me started on Telegraph street in Berkeley: it is a circus one local bar goer described to me as a cocktail of suburban white guilt and dated hippie values gone awry. I nearly lost it when some dirt-smeared and rag-laden freak, bouncing from foot to foot and sporting a shit eating grin effecting the look of some undead court jester, emphatically shook his money jar directly in my face as I passed. Let us just say I was proud of myself for the level of restraint I exhibited, as I wasn’t entirely sure I had it in me. Aside from that, The Bay is lovely, especially its assortment of eccentric convenience store owners and avid disc golf players. Also, don’t miss the Tenerloin and TenderNob areas.

Johnraekown
-PPJ-

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