On The Rock

The noticeboard itself was plain and black and unexceptional, but the words stood out. Right at the top was "21 March 1963", and directly beneath it: "Assorted dry cereals,  steamed wheat, 1 scrambled egg, 2 milk".

I was in the dining hall and that was the breakfast menu. Only it wasn't my breakfast. 

March 21, 1963 was when the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island shut down, and the breakfast on the noticeboard was the last meal the inmates had before they were transferred to a replacement facility. 

"That make you hungry?" a middle-aged man next to me motioned towards the noticeboard. "Not really," I laughed.

***

Before Alcatraz opened as a US Federal Penitentiary, it served as a military fortress in 1853 and later, as an Army prison. Alcatraz began receiving Civil War prisoners in 1861 and following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, began receiving civilian prisoners from the mainland. Finally in 1934, due to rising costs, the military was forced to shut down its prison and hand it over to the Department of Justice. 

The Justice Department acquired Alcatraz at the right time. Following the Great Depression, America was hit by a crime wave in the late 1920s and there was public clamour for order to be restored in light of the surge in organised crime. Much louder, though, were the cries for a more secure,  'special' kind of prison for these dangerous criminals. Alcatraz Island, isolated and surrounded by the strong currents of San Francisco Bay, was the perfect solution. Work began in April 1934 to upgrade Alcatraz into a high-security facility. 

One gets an idea of how the inmates lived, on a tour of the old cell blocks. In one section on the ground floor, I saw lockers where inmates' shoes, clothes and towels were stored. It was a clear day and sunlight streamed through the windows, falling on the shoes that were arranged neatly on low cabinets nearby. 

Officially, no-one has ever escaped from Alcatraz alive. The story of Frank Morris, however, suggests otherwise. Morris, found guilty of various narcotics-related crimes, arrived on Alcatraz Island in January 1960 and reportedly began planning his escape soon after that. Within a few months, a concrete plan was devised with the help of three other inmates-brothers John and Clarence Anglin and another man called Allen West.

This true story is the subject of the movie 'Escape from Alcatraz', with Clint Eastwood playing Frank Morris. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember how the four of them scraped through the air vents at the back of their cells and dug a tunnel out of the prison. That was indeed how Morris and his friends had escaped. The great thing is that you can see Morris' cell in Cell Block B, furnished just like it was at the time of his escape. There's a dummy laying in bed, just like in the movie and the dug-out air vent is clearly visible. 

On the night of the escape, everything went according to plan, except that Allen West couldn't leave his cell in time. Some of their personal effects were found on nearby Angel Island, but Morris and the Anglin brothers were never caught. The official view is that they drowned in San Francisco Bay, although their bodies were never recovered. Morris would be 86 in September if he were still alive.

Standing in the dining hall, I looked up again at the noticeboard on the wall. I tried to imagine what meal times must have been like. 

I imagined the inmates eating and drinking, maybe even laughing, as they quietly planned their escape. 

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco

Before arriving in San Francisco, all I knew about it was that it had Alcatraz and street trams. I also remembered an old song vaguely- something about wearing flowers in your hair- but apart from that, that was all I knew about the city. 

Looking out across the bay at Pier 39. The Golden Gate Bridge is in the distance

Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf is a good place to start from when you visit San Francisco. This is where you get to see great views of San Francisco Bay and with that, Alcatraz Prison and the Golden Gate Bridge. There are  loads of shops, restaurants and cafes in the area so it's a nice place to spend the day and stroll around. Pier 39 is also where you might be able to see the famous California Sea Lions.

There are lots of interesting shops at Fisherman's Wharf but the one I couldn't resist going into was Chocolate Heaven. You won't miss it- even from outside, you'll see the mounds of chocolate on display, crafted into all sorts of shapes and with dozens of combinations- white/dark chocolate with rice crispies, white/dark chocolate with walnuts, white/dark chocolate with whole almonds- anything at all. 

San Francisco is famous for its sourdough and clam chowder and Boudin Bakery is the perfect place to try both. This was where we had our lunch and although it was a simple meal, I'll always remember how delicious it was. No photos, I'm afraid- I completely forgot to snap photos of what I ate! Just look out for Boudin as you walk farther up the wharf. Their bread, which they've been baking since 1849, is lovely and their chowder is simply amazing. Another great thing about this bakery is that you can see the bakers at work through the glass windows.

If you're looking for a place to sit down and rest after all that walking, Fisherman's Wharf Beach is farther ahead past the shops and restaurants. I thought this was a particularly scenic spot- it was a clear day and people were taking time out with their families and in one case, their dog. I don't swim and I'm not exactly a beach person (give me a mountain or hill any day) but there's something very pretty about sailboats and the way their colours contrast with the sea and sky. 

This tiny dog was running around like a mad thing, trying to get at the seagulls

Getting there: 

We took the F-line street cars to get to Fisherman's Wharf but you can also take Muni buses no. 8x, 39 or 47. Public transport information is here while driving and parking information can be found here.

San Francisco is an interesting, laid-back city and you're sure to enjoy it as much as I did. Just remember not to refer to it as "Frisco" or "San Fran"- locals apparently hate it when outsiders do that. Just "SF" is fine. And don't forget those flowers for your hair, either.

Pick me, pick me

This is where I take a break from talking about where I've been and what I've done and instead, spend a few minutes to embarrass myself. 

A few weeks ago, some very nice people sent me an email and invited me to take part in the Malaysia Airlines 'Big Flight' contest. MAS is going to launch their new Airbus A380 sometime in June so they've come up with a way to decide who'll be among the first passengers to board the plane. That, essentially, is the gist of the Big Flight contest.

To take part, I had to submit a video to show *why* I deserve to be on this inaugural flight. I said "Yes" pretty early on but I did so without fully realising that one had to be photogenic and animated and generally very cute for a video to be successful. It was a Wednesday when I spoke to them, so I was sort of taken over by the usual mid-week euphoria. Just say yes, Anis, worry about it later, was basically what was going through my head at the time.

Let's get back to the contest. If I get selected as one of the winners, I'll get two tickets for a joyride somewhere on the new Airbus A380 in July. This is where you (imagine a huge 3D finger coming right atcha out of the screen) come in. In my video, I reveal to the universe how I deserve to be on the flight because I'm a sci-fi nerd and can (probably) identify any line in any sci-fi movie. I'm not entirely sure how these superpowers will help me take over the world, but there you go.

This is my video:

If you like the clip, click here to submit a vote for me. This link will also bring you to the Malaysia Airlines YouTube page where you can enter the contest yourself and submit your own video. My clip is extremely and unbelievably simple as anyone can see but I had fun doing it, and I'm sure you'll have fun recording your own video too. Just remember that the closing date is Sunday, April 22, 2012. 

So go on then, click that link! In the meantime, I'll go back to writing about what I've done, and where.

Far from brave

I'm always embarrassed -and at times, a little worried- whenever friends and family members (usually much older women) tell me how brave I am to go off and travel by myself. I cringe when they say things like that because courage or bravery has nothing to do with it.

What comes across as bravery is nothing more than wanting something really badly, setting out to do it and preparing for it. It's a terrible cliche, but I'm a bundle of nerves every time I go off somewhere new. I worry about slipping and falling to my death while hiking (I have wonky feet), I worry about hurting my back (that's wonky, too) and the thought of being assaulted or robbed scares me like crazy (as the title of this blog suggests, I have short legs and can't run very fast).

That is not how a brave person thinks. 

So in order to 'make' myself brave, I read as much as I can about the country or city I'm going to, which is actually what every traveller does. I do this so that I won't be fumbling through any maps at the airport- I'll already know which train to take into the city, where to take it and how much it costs. If I have to get down at a train station, I'll know exactly how to get to my hotel so that I won't look nervous or lost and become an easy target.

To make sure I don't hurt my back, I simply don't carry a heavy rucksack and come equipped with whatever painkillers that are necessary. And what about being robbed and chased? I don't make it a habit to hang out in dark alleys, which is actually pure common sense. 

The idea of taking a taxi alone after dark in a strange city freaks me out, so if I'm going out late, I make it a point to know when the last train or bus leaves. I can't imagine anything worse than not being able to get back to your hotel at night.

So, yeah. I'm not brave. In fact, I'm a complete scaredy cat.