"I left my heart....." San Francisco by Ramonq

click: San Francisco song

The streets of San Francisco undulate along the countours of its numerous hills. Some are so precipitous that a trip in one of the city's world-famous cable cars, is like a roller coaster ride in a giant theme park. San Francisco owes much of its breath-taking scenery to the geological quirkiness of the Bay area. This region lies within the geographical faultline where intercontinental plates collide. It's for this reason that San Francisco Bay Area is surrounded by rocky mountains and steep hills, but this also means that the city is in an earthquake zone, a frightening reality that's always in the back of the minds of San Fransiscans. Two very destructive tremors have hit San Francisco in the last century and San Franciscans cannot do much but wait for the next one.

Despite the earthquake bogeyman, San Francisco has learnt to shrug it off and go on with life. I was amazed to see the dense cluster of earthquake-defying skyscrapers in the Financial District near the Embarcadero Station. I was most impressed with the tall pyramidical Transamerica building, a familiar San Francisco landmark and the Bank of America Building. The impressive skyline is a strong reminder that San Francisco is an important business centre in America's west coast along with Los Angeles and Seattle. But in my opinion, San Francisco is the most charming of the lot .

What makes the city attractive are its neighbourhoods which have interesting features and inherent characters of their own. There's Chinatown, of course, with its obligatory Chinese arches and noodle shops. Nob Hill is where the antique cable cars pass through and glide up and down the hill. Telegraph Hill's got the Coit Tower, which offers a good view of the city. along with Fishermans Wharf which is at the bottom of this hill. South of Market district (SOMA) is the place for clubs and pubs. The old hippie haunt, Haight Ashbury is now a bohemian section. Presidio is at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge and is a great place to do photo-ops with the bridge. Castro/Mission is the gay area ; and Sunset and Forest Hill offer fine views of the Pacific Ocean.

San Francisco has beautiful parks facing the ocean. The most notable is the Golden Gate Park and Point Lobos at Linconln Park. San Franciscans visit this area mainly to relax or stay fit. It's easy to get to these areas using San Francisco's efficient public transport system, particularly the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). San Francisco's transport system is world class.

The San Francisco Bay Area covers a lot of cities that surround the southern portion of the bay. All sorts of high technology industries have evolved around the metropolis. Across the city are the university town of Berkeley and Oakland. Further south is Palo Alto and San Jose. The Silicon Valley , where most of the research and development of computer technology happen, are headquartered here. The Bay area is America's high-tech city which made San Francisco affluent and an expensive place to live. San Francisco is a desirable address because of the pleasant lifestyle it provides for those who have high-paying fulltime jobs.

Around 450 years ago, San Francisco was discovered by the Spanish and Portuguese and they were met by the Native American Ohlone tribe. The Spanish missionaries set up a church, the Mission Dolores, in 1776 to convert the natives, and it's now the oldest existing structure in San Francisco. Trickles of pioneers started arriving in the early 19th century, and this turned into a flood when gold was discovered in the area, including gold miners from as far away as China and Japan. San Francisco later grew from a tent town to a brick town. Progress was rapid after the transcontinental train was completed and San Francisco became America's premier gateway to the Pacific. The 20th century brought massive infrastructure building and the place began to put on a "big city" aura. The Golden Gate and the Oakland Bay Bridges were completed in the 1930's which sparked further expansion into the surrounding area.

For many pioneers who crossed the vast continent of North America, San Francisco was the light at the end of the tunnel. Many settled here because of the fertile land and the pleasant climate. The descendants of these pioneers are still here, some are more obvious just by looking at the many Asian faces on the streets. However, that pioneering spirit hasn't waned. San Francisco leads the world in computer development, as well as research and development in many high-tech industries.

Although there's a downturn in some of these industries, I am very confident that San Francisco will come up with something bold and new in the near future because of the city's optimistic outlook.

• Pros:Pleasant city to explore
• Cons:Expensive
• In a nutshell:America's Gateway to the Pacific