Chinatown in Seattle

Three years ago, I wrote about Chinatown in Los Angeles, comparing it to the many other Chinatowns I've been to (hint: L.A.'s Chinatown fails miserably).

Lately, I've been spending time in Seattle's Chinatown. The Faery and Miss Pie have been doing weekly Kung Fu classes there, and - happily - it's a part of town that's enjoyable to hang out in. I've had a few people say to me that it's sketchy and unsafe, but nope. I've never felt a dodgy element there. I think there's a preconceived idea that because it's so close to downtown and a couple of major bus/train stations and stadiums, with a large presence of homeless souls, that it's perhaps not safe. I would say that's rubbish. Unlike so many inner-city neighbourhoods, it simply hasn't been gentrified... yet.

It's not a large Chinatown, but definitely bigger than Melbourne's and London's. It's not cramped together, nor is it sprawled and difficult to navigate. It's less colourful and vibrant than San Francisco's, but the colours and patterns are around. There are the requisite restaurant windows with barbecued ducks strung up, signs advertising Chinese herbs, and curb-side trees that have a more Oriental feel to them.

We've settled into a bit of a groove during the girls' Kung Fu lessons, where I go for a wander to take in the streets. I obsessively take snaps of buildings, windows, and fire escapes (that remind me a little of San Francisco in general). At some point, I usually head to Uwajimaya, which is one of my Happy Places. It's a massive Japanese-owned supermarket where I can find various Asian (and other imported) goods that I have trouble finding elsewhere - including real passionfruit for my beloved pavlovas. Uwajimaya also happens to be right next to a Kinokuniya bookstore, which was my Happy Place in Sydney. The last thing I do is grab some bubble tea as a treat for the girls, as they've become quite obsessed with it. I have a feeling that as winter closes in on us, we'll start having dumplings and other staple Chinese food afterwards, to warm our bellies before heading home. I'm not looking forward to winter, but I'm looking forward to a good excuse to eat some hearty Chinese food.

I've yet to bring the proper camera with me, so it's just iPhone shots for now.
(Also, yes. It's no secret that I have a thing for dragons...)

Chinatowns

Over the years, I've come to associate certain things with Chinatown. These expectations have been supported by visits to Chinatown in a number of cities - Sydney, Melbourne, London, Vancouver, and San Francisco.

Some of these Chinatowns are small and quaint (hello London! hello Melbourne!). Modest in size but charming, nonetheless.

Others are massive. My weekend in San Francisco was nowhere near enough time to fully discover its Chinatown.

No matter what, they all have a lot in common. They have more than their fair share of shops which look like they belong in an episode of Hoarders (I haven't actually watched it, but it taunts me whenever I browse through the shows for instant streaming on Netflix).

The buildings are beautifully jumbled, close together, and crowd the narrow streets and laneways that are a standard for districts found within walking distance of other city attractions.

San Francisco

They are always cheerful and full of colour. Vibrant.

San Francisco

I thought these qualities were a must for Chinatowns world-wide.

Until we visited LA's very own Chinatown last weekend.

Sure, there were the Hoarder-qualifying shops. And I guess it was within walking distance of other city attractions, if you count the Dodger Stadium - which is only really accessible by car. This is Los Angeles, after all.

But jumbled buildings on narrow streets? I didn't know it was possible for Chinatown to do sprawl. On wide, can't-cross-quickly roads. The closest resemblance to bustling laneways were depressing, dark arcades which would have felt right at home in the communist era.

How about some colourful vibrance, you say?

Los Angeles

Um, not really. I didn't take any photos of the buildings, because I wasn't feeling terribly inspired by them. At all.

Happily, there were plenty of shops with all kinds of products spilling out onto the footpath. After walking past the twentieth shop selling turtles the size of your middle toe, the Faery now has a new obsession and wants one.

And of course, it wouldn't be Chinatown without seeing some kind of food product to turn your stomach (as well as drooling over the more appealing food).

Los Angeles

I'm sure that Lady Fish Paste is tasty for some, but I think I'll pass.

SF - The quirky and the colourful

I've had fun going through the hundreds of photos I took in San Francisco. Unfortunately, in my rush to get a bulk of them onto Facebook for family to see, I didn't notice at first that so many of them were overexposed. Oh well. Thanks to the wizardry of computers, I've tweaked quite a few photos, and am happy with the results. Hey, I'm still learning, and never claimed to be great at taking photos! I just enjoy it, that's all.

For today, I'm going to share some of the quirkier and colourful sights of San Francisco. Check back later for the scenic money shots...