TRIP TO SEATTLE

Set in the mountainous terrain, the plush green forests, tall trees, the cool breeze,  dust free environment, flowers and their odour, the beautiful clean roads, the pollution free city –  is  Seattle. It is located between an inlet of the Pacific Ocean to the west called Puget Sound and Lake Washington to the east and is  about 100 miles South of the Canada – United States border. 

It is the Headquarters of Microsoft and Boeing companies. The people there are well educated and the weather during August to October (summer and fall  days) is the best in the year. The leaves on the trees turn from green to light yellow and then to brown after which they fall.

Recently we got a chance to re-visit Seattle and would like to share its beauty and grandeur with my readers.

Seattle’s official nickname is the “Emerald City”; the reference is to the lush evergreen forests of the area. Seattle has a reputation of heavy coffee consumption; coffee companies founded or based in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, and Tully’s. 

United States Census Bureau conducted a survey  which indicated that Seattle was the most educated city in the U.S., with 52.5% of residents aged 25 and older having a bachelor’s degree. People are courteous, well mannered and decent. 

Seattle also boasts of having many beautiful Malls and Stores.  The most popular ones are Fred Meyers, Best Buy, J.C.Penny, Wal-Mart, Target, Ross and many more.

 QFC and Safeway are the food stores with several branches all over the City but Costco is the most popular food store as it sells goods at wholesale rates. Essentials are affordable, but luxury items are very expensive. 

‘Best Buy’ is exclusively for those who want to buy electronic items; ‘Fred Meyers’, ‘J.C. Penny’, ‘Ross’, ‘Target’ and ‘Wal-Mart’ are famous for ready made garments. 

Kids’R US is famous for children clothing and Toys’R US is frequented  for kid’s toys. U.S. is basically a consumerist market and they know how to project, showcase and sell a product. The ‘sales’ there are genuine and goods are fabulously cheap  during  ‘Thanks giving’ and “Christmas’. During these days the whole City is brightly lit up and there is ‘liveliness’ all-round. 

Each store has a laid down ‘return’ policy and if you don’t wish to keep an article already purchased – it can be returned – without any questions. And refund includes the taxes also which you had paid on it. 

Seattle has the most beautiful lakes and Lake Washington is the biggest.  It is the largest natural lake in King County and the second largest in Washington (after Lake Chelan). It is bordered by the cities of Seattle on the west, Bellevue and Kirkland on the east, Renton on the south and Kenmore on the north, and surrounds Mercer Island. It is fed by the Sammamish River at its north end and the Cedar River at its south. Then there is Lake Sammamish, Beaver Lake and many others.

The entire city is dust-free and there is no pollution. Smoking is not permitted in public places and one can light a cigarette at least 25 feet away from residential areas.  Even though it rains for at least ten months in a year, there is no water accumulation on the roads as the drainage system is very efficient. 

Residential areas are far away from the Malls. People have to commute for 10 to 15 miles to buy groceries and other household goods. 

Bellevue market is for the rich and famous and the location is rated as one of the most favoured places to live and set up a business.

As of July 2008, the city had an estimated population of 598,541, making it the twenty-fifth most populous city in the U.S. 

A pedestrian is the king of the road. Once you start walking on the road from the side-walk, the  traffic comes to a halt and will not move until you have crossed the road. It is the biggest crime, if a driver hits a pedestrian. 

Restaurants are  neat and clean and provide American, Mexican, Chinese, Mongolian, Spanish and Italian foods.  There are lots of noodles and burger joints also. The most popular ones are ‘Cheese-s-Cheese’, McDonalds, Red Robbins, Mongolian, Pabla, ‘Take and Bake’,  to name only a few. 

Seattle-Needle is the most famous land mark in Central Seattle which is 605 feet high and has visitors all through the year. From the top of Seattle-Needle the view is breath-taking.  High rise buildings all around and  clean roads will be visible everywhere. 

The Argosy harbour cruise rides at Elliott Bay are also very popular and they take you all along the city’s beach and back, from where the city looks very remarkable. This view of Seattle Needle has been clicked from the deck of the cruise.

The view of the sunset from 28th floor Seattle centre building is breathtaking as the sun appers to go down into the Pacific Ocean.

Seattle one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I can say for sure that if America is King, Seattle is it’s crown.

 

Ravi Matah