Seattle..

Weather

Currently, the weather of Seattle is bright and sunny!! (as can be seen in all my previous photos) with cool air that makes you feel like you are in an air-con room. A thin jacket is only required, but not necessary to wear them in the afternoon. Many locals say this kind of weather is not usual at this time of the year.. so i must treasure it and try to travel around Seattle to take nice photos! and hope the rain dun come so early! Good weather pls continue for more weeks to come!

But there's one thing i dun like abt the weather, the sun is too glaring! and i got sun burnt just by walking around the streets! i dun even get burnt walking around S'pore -_-''' i think it's because the buildings here are all low rise so they can't 'block' the sun like in S'pore. So i have to put sun block and wear a hat when walking around in the afternoon and in the evening.

Transportation

Public buses are the main mode of transport here in Seattle, but a lot of walking is still required! I feel the bus system here is a little complicated (maybe cos i'm new here) cos the distance between bus stop can be quite far, and need to try collect bus information from diff places to try and find out which buses go where. As bus fares are still paid using cash here, so need to keep in mind when to pay the fare, how much to pay (for peak and non-peak hours), and the fares differs if you travel to more then one zone (like travelling outskirts).

But i'm fascinated with buses here! Firstly, most of the bus captains are very friendly! Like they wld greet u when u board the bus and wish you a great day or say bye to you when u get down the bus. wow! talk abt service! Maybe is also because the ppl here wld also greet the driver when they board.. I so like this and am getting use to greeting the bus captain too! I guess it is also because bus fare is paid in cash or commuters need to show their pass to the driver so there is more interaction..

Secondly, buses are handicapped friendly! yar.. some S'pore buses are too.. but it require the driver to get down from his seat and put down the ramp.. in Seattle, all buses are handicapped friendly and the driver just have to press a button and the ramp wld automatically unfold.. so even those with trolley bags can easily get off the bus using the ramp.. the drivers wld also ensure that the wheelchairs are properly lock in place with buckles so that they won't move around during the ride, and seats at the front of the bus can also be folded for the wheelchairs. For some buses, the front of the bus wld also be lowered as they reach a bus stop so that the distance between the first step and the pavement is not too high (they called it kneeling bus) cool!

Thirdly, fares here are a flat rate. So like for non-peak hour is US$1.50 and for peak hour is US$1.75 (this is within the city) Upon paying this fare by cash, you can request for a transfer ticket like those below:

Using the middle ticket as an e.g, with this transfer ticket, you wld be able to take any buses from any company till 1.00p.m for free! Just have to show the driver this ticket. So to make your money worth.. just take as many buses as possible lor.. But downtown Seattle is a free ride zone so buses there are free for morning to evening. :):)

But hope i wld be able to get my pass soon! then for US$50, i wld be able to take unlimited number of rides for all types of buses for the whole 3 mths i am here! Can't wait! then i can travel all over Seattle!

Seattle in the late evening/at night

I haven't been out at night in Seattle before (i dare not!) Around evening time, you would be able to see people loitering around/standing around and it gets pretty scary.. Lots of homeless ppl around too.. i would just want to faster go home and stay home.. On the first day here, in broad day light, i've seen some teenagers with needles hanging around on the streets.. i just pretend not to see the needle when they drop it or slip them into their pockets.. so far haven't see any more of such cases.. but better to stay home.. :)

Shopping for stuff

Seattle is quite wierd.. as compare to other states in USA, they do not have much mega chain store here, such as Walmart & Kmart where you can get stuff relatively cheap. The nearest one is quite far away. :( no cheap grocery shopping here..

So far i have only found one shopping center in Downtown Seattle which is like paragon? expensive.. need to go hunting.. so for now no shopping :( hee.. so gals.. no need to worry too much.. i got nothing to spend on! :p

and surprisingly.. i do not see a lot of McDonalds here.. u won't like bump into one at every corner. Subway is more common here.. so healthy eating! :):)