Latest news with #BigBus
Los Angeles Times
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
12 things you probably haven't done in San Francisco — but should ASAP
Maybe you've heard about San Francisco's doom loop. But have you met its jumbo nude? As just about any San Franciscan could tell you, 'doom loop' is shorthand for the city's post-pandemic troubles. Many of those worries stem from dwindling demand for office space, but would-be visitors have also been nervous about crime and withering retail energy. That brings us to the jumbo nude. It's a 45-foot, semi-translucent sculpture of a woman now standing at the foot of Market Street, officially named R-Evolution. Not everyone loves her, but she is one among many new or improved elements attracting locals and visitors these days. Even with San Francisco's office vacancy rate hovering around 35%, the sun keeps rising and visitors keep smiling, most of them, much of the time. Make your way to the city and you can see major park upgrades at the Presidio and Ocean Beach. Or you can frolic among massive balloon installations, vintage photo booths and '60s artifacts in permanent and pop-up places that bill themselves as museums. There's also the prospect of a new 'bay lights' show with 50,000 illumination points on the Bay Bridge. (Those lights were supposed to be on by now, but installation snags led to a delay; organizers say they're hoping to be ready 'sometime this fall .') Also, the food doesn't hurt. When our critic Bill Addison chose 101 of his favorite California restaurants recently, 35 of them were in San Francisco. Meanwhile, crime has been falling since early 2023, especially this year. Tourist arrivals are 11% behind 2019 but have grown steadily since 2021. As this list attests, there's plenty to see. But first, we should talk about a few places not on this list. One is Fisherman's Wharf. It has added a SkyStar Ferris wheel (which migrated from Golden Gate Park in 2023) and the Port of San Francisco says it will soon begin a big redevelopment, but the area remains dominated by T-shirt shops and multiple old-school restaurants that have been shuttered since the pandemic. The neighborhood was to have added a Museum of Failure this year but, not kidding, the enterprise collapsed amid an intellectual property dispute before opening. The storefront 'failure' sign was still up in June, creating the snarkiest photo op ever. Another mixed bag is Union Square , whose hotels, department stores and passing cable cars have made it the starting point for legions of tourists through the decades. The square is still pleasant by day, with young visitors drawn to assorted free games (ping-pong, badminton, cornhole) while cable cars pass, tourists line up for Big Bus tours and guests at the adjacent Beacon Grand Hotel (formerly the Sir Francis Drake) explore the neighborhood. But many key retailers have shuttered, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, and Macy's will follow. (The company has said it will close as soon as it finds a buyer for the property.) 'We feel safe here. But kind of disappointed by all the closures,' said Melinda Parker, visiting San Francisco with her husband from Boise. Also, Parker said, 'a city should be judged on the quality of its public toilets. They have one here, and it's closed.' Still, there are more than enough bright spots to light up a San Francisco visit. Let's go back for a second to Tunnel Tops, one of the city's recently improved park spaces. You grab a snack, commandeer a patio table and gaze upon the Presidio and Golden Gate. A family debate erupts over whether to hit a museum next or try an urban hike. This is a sort of problem, but a nice choice to have. And San Francisco now offers plenty like that.
NZ Herald
21-04-2025
- NZ Herald
Is Oman in the Middle East safe for female travellers?
My trip coincides with Ramadan, however, the holy month experience enhances it and furthers my understanding of a region that is much maligned. A couple of friends pointedly advise that 'the Middle East isn't safe' when I mention our plans to travel. Sure, parts are off-limits - there are wars and conflicts – but Oman is as safe as its stone houses and we two women travellers view our trip as an adventure, not something to fear. While Doha has its intriguing old quarter, much of the city is playing desperate catch-up with nearby Dubai, which can't help itself when it comes to creating structures to qualify for the Guinness Book of Records. Muscat is a delight: little high-rise, no man-made islands populated with expensive villas and the only edifices are the hills that touch the coast in several places. The city spreads from west to east along the Sea of Oman, forming a thin white line moving subtly from brilliant white to soft beige, a palette that works beautifully against the dark ragged backdrop. I book a hotel in the west, not too far from the airport, but discover the location isn't ideal. Next time I'll book digs near the Mutrah Souk further east, where we can easily walk in the old town and along the Corniche to observe Omani life. Public transport is rare, necessitating taking taxis, but by week's end we've worked out how to get the best deal. On the plus side, we stay in a Western-owned hotel and can order room-service dinner with wine, despite Ramadan. On my first morning, I walk to a corner shop, only to find it's closed but a local man offers to take me to the nearby Lulu Hypermarket (which sells everything imaginable and soon becomes a second home). I hop in his car with his wife and am happy for the ride and the intel. A trip on the hop-on-hop-off Big Bus puts Muscat in perspective on day one. There's hardly a soul on the top deck, so I can move from side to side to view one of the most dramatic cities I've seen. We alight at Al Alum Palace fashioned in an unusual Indian design and the accompanying array of ministerial buildings so pristine they dazzle under a perfect blue sky, and after rounding a coastal bend come face to face with two magnificent forts. Built by the Portuguese during their 150-year rule in the 16th and 17th centuries, they flank the rocky outcrops at the harbour's entrance. A few kilometres further there's Mutrah Fort, standing sentinel above the port where the Sultan's private yacht lies at anchor and is a stroll to the souk with its trinkets and frankincense of many colours. We learn a lot after striking up conversations with young Bangladeshi men queuing for takeaway meals of chicken biriyani and Laban yoghurt drink to enjoy when the Ramadan fast concludes an hour later. Some 30% of Oman's population of five million are immigrant workers drawn from the subcontinent and the Philippines. Day two and we're on a 4WD tour to Wahiba Sands Desert and Wadi Bani Khalid, a waterhole perfect for swimming where we don our shorts over one-piece swimsuits. We share the day with a German mother-of-three, who is about to embark on a two-week solo driving trip down the Omani coast and into its interior. Her only trepidation is working out which of Muscat's motorways will take her out of town! Another day, our guide, who insists his name is 'Sultan', takes us to the former capital of Nizwa and its imposing fort, the biggest in the land. He later steers us expertly up a precipitous road to Jebel Akhdar, or the Green Mountain, with unending views of peaks and canyons. The highlight is a downhill hike past terraced orchards, or hanging gardens, planted with pomegranates, apricots, and damask roses, the latter to make the prized rosewater. On our last day, we adopt the required dress code, covered head-to-ankle in opaque clothing, to visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It's named for the late ruler who opened Oman to the outside world, gave women equal rights, and preserved the country's allure, which had wooed me all those years before.
