The primary reason I wanted to visit the US West Coast was that I'd not been there before. And now that I've stopped researching before trips (I like to let the destination surprise me), I thought it'd be a good idea to visit a couple of friends who live around San Francisco. I flew in from Dublin, which has a very convenient US pre-clearance facility that allows you to clear immigration, customs and agricultural inspections before boarding your flight. During my two-week stay in California, I was based in Oakland — conveniently connected by a direct train from San Francisco International Airport. (In picture) The San Francisco office district. I find these areas in many big cities look the same — a bunch of highrises packed together
Photographs by the author
Golden Gate Bridge is San Francisco's most recognisable landmark. Anupam, my old friend, drove me across it and took me to this vantage point from where it's possible to get a great view of the structure. However, due to its geographical location, it has continuous clouds enveloping the area. We stayed put for a while and managed to get some glimpses of the entire bridge for moments before the clouds returned
On the way back from the Golden Gate Bridge, I asked Anupam, "What's the building with the Humayan Tomb-like dome right ahead?" "That's no Humayun Tomb! It's the Palace of Fine Arts. And guess what its claim to fame is? The song 'Chunari Chunari' was shot here,” he said. “I hate that song,” I said. “Let’s go check it out. It’s quite nice,” he grinned
(Top) I had to admit the place is quite beautiful. It had these huge columns and a waterbody with colourful houses around its perimeter. Several visitors carried cameras and were taking pictures. I looked up the 'Chunari Chunari' song on YouTube and then made Anupam take a picture of me at a location (above) where Sushmita Sen is seen dancing in the song
