Asian Arts Museum in San Francisco, April 5, 09

The Asian Arts Museum in San Francisco is free on the first Sunday of each month, and Bao and I are on our Spring Break/Vacation, so we decided to take the advantage of the free admission to visit the museum. Wendy, a friend of mine who also got the same idea, called me the day before and we agreed to made a rendezvous at the F-bus stop in Emeryville the following day. Our buses connection was on time and perfect. Wendy drove and parked her car at the mall there. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day (70's), but we all bundled up anyway because the weather in San Francisco can be unpredictable sometimes.





San Francisco City Hall and its surrounding were gloriously basking in the sun.







The main attraction at the museum were the artworks from Bhutan, a country near Tibet and China. There was already a long line of people in front of the museum when we got there around fifteen minutes to 11am. It was our first time at this museum, and the large banners in the front suggested the main theme and exhibits.



The lobby/ticket and information desk.



Buddhism was the main theme/display. There were statues of Buddha, artifacts and ceramics from all over Asia. It was nice to see a small collection of antiques from Viet Nam too. I felt very close to these sacred objects from this far away land of my birth, and I miss Viet Nam so very much.



This Bhutan monk and artist meticulously worked on his sand-artwork (a "mandala") using a small amount of fine colored sands at a time.



Using his thumb and forefinger he picked just a little bit of sand each time he made a stroke or line. I imagine it would take many long hours just to finish this inner small square. He still has a long way to go before finishing this whole large square block.



Wendy and me with the monk/artist.





Here is one finished block with a different design.



Detail of the middle square so perfectly made using colored grain of fine sands. A beautiful, time consuming and colorful work of art, and yet permanent in picture only.



Wendy, Bao and myself in front of a Bhutan gate.










These columns are on the second floor of the museum. I was told not to take any pictures on the second and third floors, but the architecture and artifacts were just so magnificent that I completely forgot the rule.



Those rectangular objects in the foreground are pillows. Ouch! That's hurting my neck just thinking of using one of these as a pillow.









Windows, skylights and the blue sky. Wow!





Museum store attracted lots of people, including us. I bought a small rosary made of fragrant wood from India.









Farmers' market is held on every Sunday across from the City Hall. We browsed the stalls, tasted some flavored almonds, and Wendy bought some vegetables. The weather was so nice and our energy was also high, we decided to take thirty minute walk to the bus terminal and catch the F-bus back to Berkeley instead of taking the Muni.