My Travelogue #6

Of the Lonely Planet top 200 cities, I have visited exactly 10 starting with "S", and here they are:

San Francisco was probably one of the most charming American cities. Unfortunately it was also one of the most expensive. I could not find any decent hotel room in the city under US$200 a night. The first time there I stayed in Berkeley, and the next two times I stayed in Airbnb but those old terraces were pretty rundown and rather uncomfortable.

San Francisco was supposed to have one of the best public transport in the US, but the Bart and Muni metro could only bring you to the Union Square, Castro and few other places. To explore the Golden Gate Bridge and other neighbourhoods would require taking the bus, which was sometimes unreliable. So even after 3 visits, there are still many places I haven't explored.

The Bosnians were pleasantly surprised when their capital was ranked so high by Lonely Planet, ahead of many other European tourist destinations such as Seville, Lisbon, Stockholm and St Petersburg. I did see the merit in this after visiting. Sarajevo was a unique city marked by major historical events and wars. I had experience with war tourism before (in Vietnam and Cambodia), but the brutal siege of Sarajevo was still fresh in everyone's mind, such as the story of Romeo & Juliet in Sarajevo. The local tour guides experienced the war themselves in their childhood, and would share with us their own stories growing up during the siege. Today the city is still divided, with East Sarajevo being the capital of Republika Srpska and the two sides have not yet fully reconcilied.

Another nice American west coast city, Seattle is the more civilised version of what the country could be, dominated by corporate giants Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks and Boeing. I did not spend too much time there though, and it was raining all the time when I was there so I did not see much of the city. I could see that it had a high liveability among all American cities, but as a tourist destination it did not really stand out.

I stayed at Gangnam before it became known globally. I was there for 3 days but could only scratch the surface on what this huge metropolis got to offer. In the past decade or so, Korea dominated the pop culture in Asia and extended its influence to all over the world. I'm not a K-pop fan myself, but can see how a visit to Seoul becomes a pilgrimage to many young people these days.

I got cheated by the taxi driver from the airport so I didn't have a good start to my journey. However it didn't dampen my experience in Seville. It was a splendid city to visit; the architecture, the food and the flamenco dancers all yelled out passions in life. With the afternoon reaching 37°C in summer, make sure you return to your hotel room for a siesta before venturing out again in the evening.

Shanghai is the largest and richest city in mainland China (don't listen to citypopulation.de, no sane person would count Shenzhen as part of Guangzhou). Although most foreign travellers to China would go to Beijing for the palaces and the Great Wall, I personally prefer Shanghai as the city and its citizens are more modern and fashionable (it's the New York of China). And the food is better too (Chinese cuisines differ widely between regions).

I was in Shanghai three times, one of which I spent 5 days there so I have travelled more extensively than other cities. Shanghai is split into two; Puxi or west of Huangpu River was the original old city and French concession, and Pudong or the east was built in the 80s at the same time as Shenzhen and is where all the skyscrapers and Disneyland are located. You want to stay in the west, as the new Pudong area is relatively bland and you wouldn't want to be there unless you are on a business trip.

Calling Siena a city is a bit of a stretch. It is the heart of Tuscany and attracts many tourists (i.e. another tourist town). Siena is beautiful and full of history and culture, what you'd expect in a renowned tourist town. However if we are comparing cities based on their vibrancy and significance, then Siena does not qualify.

Sorry I called you soulless previously, I had nothing against you. You should be proud of your achievement (and you are proud indeed). You created wonders artificially and there is not a single untidy corner we can spot on you. You preserved your history well (although not a lot of it to be honest). You united your diverse population by all speaking Singlish and worshiping money. Your food is fabulous, your public transport is world-class, your airport is a safe haven when I returned from the chaos of Southeast Asia. Only if you were not so hot and your people not so boring and shallow, you would be heaven on earth (and you already conquered the former by the most important invention in human history, so you are one step closer).

Lonely Planet tried to include as many countries as possible in their city book, so somehow Suva made it to the list. But no one visits Fiji because of the city of Suva, and I didn't see anything special beside being a commercial hub for all nearby Pacific nations. Don't worry about Suva, just head to the resorts in Nadi and you'll have a wonderful relaxing holiday.

I did it for New York and Paris, the bronze medallist deserves three photos too.

Sydney is as pretty as you can get for a city. It is endowed with natural beauty of its iconic harbour, wonderful beaches and surrounding national parks. It has a relaxed and festive atmosphere during summer (northern winter), e.g. barbie on the beach during Christmas.

Its diverse multicultural citizens bring over authentic food from Asia and beyond, e.g. the freshest sashimi, fiery Sichuan hotpot or Indian curry, or how about Vietnamese phở with wagyu beef or fresh prawn laksa or Thai-French fusion fine-dining? As a tourist destination, there is not much more one could possibly ask for. So go there next December (when it's open again after covid), watch the New Year's fireworks and have the best trip of your life.

So we are near the end. One more blog to go and I'll finish all 70 cities. In the final blog, I'll also rank my own top 10 cities visited, as well as 10 other cities in my bucket list. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, and thank you.