Dinner time in Portugal is rather late for us. Local people usually have dinner after 7pm. The street might look deserted because all the shops are closed. However most restaurants around there are packed with patrons. Popular places all require advance reservations and we learned the hard way tonight..
The contrast cannot be more extreme. At night in our neighborhood, if there is any sound at all, it would be some wild life crying or howling. Here in San Francisco, our first night at the Fisherman’s Wharf, those man-made noises were almost unbearable at times. It’s more or less all quiet down by now. I can only hope that that was it for the night.
On my way to the Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner, not far from the old, original Kaohsiung Station, I found that there’s an area full of Indonesian and Vietnamese restaurants. These places were packed with people with different shades of complexion. The signs were in a language I didn’t understand. For a moment it was as if I’ve been brought back to Jakarta or Hanoi. A bit stunned at first, I’d admit. Then I felt proud how much this city that I used to know has changed and is embracing and welcoming diversity.
