USA South West Trip - Thur 2 July

PREPARING FOR THE ROAD TRIP

We got up early in the morning to pack our things and hire "the grandpa car" we were planning to drive around in for the next week. It was a sky blue Grand Marquis with a boot that even Billunta could sit in comfortably if he should feel so inclined. Even then, it only managed to fit the 5 of us and our luggage.



We left LA into the Mohave desert, noting the stark difference of LA to the flat sandy plains and towering rocky mountains in the countryside around us. We also passed the greatest concentration of spectacular looking windmills i've ever seen.

Anyway, our first stop was at In-n-Out burger fast food restaurant - which only exists in California. I was recommended to order the burger with "animal fries", which appears to be a secret codeword for getting something not on the menu, which is fries drenched (literally) in bacon bits, melted cheese and 1000 island dressing. After filling my arteries with the stuff (I swear i could feel my heart murmuring while eating it), we continued on.




JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK

We headed towards Joshua Tree National Park, famous for the strange hardy spiky trees that grow there, and only there in the whole world. It is a rather eerie landscape, being in the middle of the desert with random large boulders, mountains and trees scattered around the place - and nothing else. We spent a few hours climbing over things, taking photos, pretending to be trees, and other touristy things.






DRIVING DOWN ROUTE 66

We then headed out towards Las Vegas, where I had my first (and only) attempt at driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Boy it was scary! Even though i drove on just the highway with not many cars around, doing so on the wrong side of the road, in the biggest car i've ever driven, during nightfall, with headlights that were either too dim or too bright, in speeds of miles instead of kilometers, is a little overwhelming. The nice thing though was that I got to drive on the famous Route 66, which is an old road that originally connected across the whole country from left to right. Now it's only used for nostalgic reasons since new bigger faster highways have been built. It's nice to know that even though America is not as old as most countries, you can still get a feel of history by doing things like this. If only it was still light outside, i could enjoy the scenery more and imagine better what it was like 150 or so years ago..


FIRST IMPRESSION OF LAS VEGAS

We finally made it to Las Vegas at around midnight, tired, and hungry as we couldn't find anything open on the road, even fast food restaurants were closed. Many smaller casinos where open though, from the time we entered Nevada. It seems that Nevada is the only state that allows gambling, hence Las Vegas being built in such an area - the middle of the desert - but as close to LA as possible.

Approaching the Las Vegas strip however, all thoughts of tiredness and food were gone; I felt like a bug that's drawn towards a bug zapper. The neon lights of the strip reminded me of that too. The sense of size and amount of money you could see that has been spent on this place is overwhelming. Massive buildings and casinos advertising american consumerism and sin at it's best - giant coke bottles, harley davidson bikes, adult clubs, a hooters owned casino, a black pyramid that beams light up into space... huge casino complexes, some still being built, causing traffic chaos with it's construction, others providing some kitsch or unique element to draw in gamblers - paris with the full size eiffel tower; The Venetian with it's indoor and outdoor canals, towers and gondoliers; The Bellagio with the famous musical fountains in front (it's hard to imagine that Las Vegas has a water shortage crisis)..





I must admit that after driving through the strip I was slightly disappointed with where we were staying - Circus Circus - because it didn't really have any of that. We were also further away from the action that I thought, despite it being on the strip. I realised then that Circus Circus is one of the original casinos that is now lost it's appeal since the new grander ones were built, and now generally caters for families and people who can't afford the prices of it's neighbours. Circus Circus isn't cheap, but comparatively not expensive either, and in all i'm glad we stayed there instead of a hostel further out, just for the experience of staying on the strip itself.

Anyway, we managed to find parking and our way through a maze of corridors and pokies to the reception area, then through another maze of lifts and pokie areas to our room. Finally, we could relax. After freshening up, we went back down to the main casino area of Circus Circus to see what fun we could have. We went to a smaller casino next to and owned by Circus Circus called "Slots of Fun", quite a sad dingy casino compared to it's neigbours, but cheap and good enough for us. We got cheap beers and we sat out the front of the casino, enjoying the scene and drinking on the street - which is the only place you could do it in the US. I also ate my first foot long hotdog. It didn't last very long since i was famished.

We didn't do much more that night, being exhausted and all, so we called it a night. Unfortunetly, because there were two double beds and I was the only single person there, I had to sleep under the desk.

USA South West Trip - Wed 1 July

SANTA MONICA BEACH

I figured it was time to actually see the beach properly, so me and Yujin went to Santa Monica while Billunta did other things. Because Billunta wasn't around, we had to catch the bus. One downside with LA is that public transport is slow, inconvenient, and confusing. It's a car city, and I'm glad I had friends who lived here who could drive me around - I don't think it would be much fun being a tourist backpacker with no car here.

Anyway, we first checked out the malls and did some shopping (cause that's the American thing to do). Then we walked down the beach coast and onto Santa Monica pier, full of buskers were busy performing, street vendors, artists, and all kinds of souvenir shops. There was even a small amusement park with rollercoasters and rides - on a pier! I was rather amused the the restaurant Bubba Gump" which served - well, you know what movie it's from, right?

That night, Colin and Alexis finally arrived, so we could begin our road trip the next day. We had a reunion dinner at Hooters - mainly because I wanted to see it, since my Hooters experience in Korea was more Goosebumps, and I wanted to see what it was supposed to be like. I wasn't disappointed. :)

Hey, I am trying to get the real American cultural experience here, right?

USA South West Trip - Tue 30 June

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

I was a little hungover when I went here. Billunta and Yujin needed to get some stuff done, so I went here by myself. I must say that this place rocks, and I imagine much better than Disneyland, unless you're a kid of course.



I went on the studio tour, which involved being driven around in a long cart, with the tour guide making jokes and showing movie clips on the screens in front of us, relating what we saw outside such as some set, to what was used in the movies flashing before us. We saw some cool special effects such as the flooding of a small town, an earthquake in an underground train station, a trail of destruction left by a boeing 747 from War of the Worlds, and so on. I was excited to see the Back to the Future car, the Psycho motel, and other things. If you're a movie buff it's definitely worth checking out.







The rest of the day there was spent going on the rides which were pretty cool - the Mummy rollercoaster which goes forwards and backwards in pitch darkness; the Terminator 2 3D ride which combines live action with visual special effects - lots of fun; the Waterworld stunt show combining stunts with water and fire effects... I could tell the effects technologies used in the studio tour were taken from all the other rides around the studio, which kinda dampened (slightly) the excitment and novelty of it all. But it would be silly to expect more than that.


DOWNTOWN DISNEY

That night, we went to downtown Disney, which is a shopping/entertainment/food area just outside of Disneyland. We decided not to go in Disneyland because it was more for kids and i'm not really a big fan of people dressed up in animal suits taking photos with you. Anyway, it was fun going through the Disney and Lego stores. Because Billunta had trouble walking, we found a nice fancy hotel generous enough to let us borrow a wheelchair for a few hours.





There was heaps of restaurants around, and we were looking forward to trying some traditional gumbo from the Lousiana restaurant - Billunta's childhood food - after walking around, but it closed for the night by the time we got there. We were a little disappointed, as Billunta told me it's not easy to find food like that unless you are in Lousiana itself. We consoled ourselves with the biggest burrito I've ever seen,.

USA South West Trip - Mon 29 June

CHINATOWN

I decided that I should probably check out Chinatown, as i think it's used in alot of movies. Anyway, arriving there, it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, and more kitsch and not authentic at all. The yum cha there was good though.

We also tried to seek out Tokyotown, which turned out to be a few japanese shops in a small block that was hard to get to. Not sure why they bothered calling it that.



HOLLYWOOD HILLS

We went to seek out the famous Hollywood sign. Billunta said we could see it from many places, but wasn't sure how to get up close to it. So we drove up and down windy hilly roads trying to get as close to it as possible, but always losing sight of it just when we thought we were on the right track. It seemed hopeless, until we saw a tourist bus drive past us. We thought, maybe if we just follow the tourist bus, it might lead us to the closest point we can look at it. Sure enough, we were rewarded - we noticed the bus stopping at some point, tourists getting out and taking photos, getting back on and turning around. So we did the same. :)



KOREATOWN

That evening we went out to Koreatown, which is huge compared to the touristy chinatown and non-existant Tokyotown. I suppose LA has a massive korean population, driving down the big streets and boulevards, you can see pretty much all the signs are in Korean. If it weren't for the big clean roads you would think you were actually in Korea! Anyway, we ate dinner at an awesome korean bbq place, but it's a little different from when we were in Korea. For example, asking for a small side dish of mushrooms resulted in a huge platter of mushrooms and less money in the wallet. Also, a bottle of soju, which costs around $2 in Korea, was $12. A small fact we forgot while drinking about 5 bottles of the stuff. That was an expensive meal..

USA South West Trip - Sun 28 June

SCHOONER OR LATER @ LONG BEACH

Schooner or Later's is a relaxed, lovely brunch area in Long Beach, a nice area in the southern part of LA. The rich and famous sometimes dine here, as well as own the hundreds of boats and yachts floating in the piers in front of the restaurant.



We met up with Billunta's sister, Dana, and another of Billunta's friends, Connor. Because the restaurant is so popular, there was a waiting area overlooking the boats where one can order drinks and chill out before being seated, which is quite nice. 45 minutes later, we were seated and slightly inebriated on Mimosas - a delicious champagne/orange juice concoction.

As aways, I like to order whatever is considered popular or famous or stereotypically American. The result was a beer served in a Schooner - which isn't the little tiny things we get in Australia, but a massive (around 1.5L) goblet. With that i had something called "The Mess" - a famous omelette with "a tasty blend of chopped ham, onion, and bell pepper grilled with hash browns and eggs. Topped with melted Cheddar cheese. Served with sourdough toast". Yummy! Did I mention I gained a lot of weight here?



VENICE BEACH

That evening we went down to the infamous Venice Beach, where the spectacle of human life can be enjoyed in all it's myriad forms - tourist walking down the street taking photographs; buskers getting people to pay before doing their performances; people from the ghettos taking all kinds of drugs; crazy people and exhibitionists, such as the famed bodybuilder walking around in speedos posing in front of people and carrying a crystal ball. Shops advertising doctors selling Medical Marijuana abound, as it's legal in California to possess it if it's for medical purposes. Muscle Beach is full of bodybuilders and fitness fanatics who spend all day working out on the outdoor work out circuits. At around sunset everyday, large groups of people from everywhere would go to the beach and play drums and dance in a massive free-for-all drum circle, playing until the police come to break it up after sunset. Definitely a place to check out.







PROHIBITION STILL HAS IT'S EFFECT

It's interesting to note how strict America is over alcohol consumption, probably stemming back from the days where alcohol prohibition was in effect by the puritans. These days, at the age of 18, it's ok to have sex, get married, vote, drive, and take medical marijuana, but not drink until you are 21. At any establishment that serves alcohol, you must present proof of age before they will serve you. I had to bring my passport everywhere I went.

This law was a problem to us, as Yujin was 20, turning 21 in the following month. Even though she could drink and go to bars in pretty much every other country in the world, in the US she couldn't, which meant we were also restricted in where we could go at times.

USA South West Trip - Sat 27 June

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF LAX

I arrived hot, tired, dishevelled and rather disorientated at LAX airport. For some reason, the airline neglected to provide any indication of what time it was - no announcements, no clocks in immigration/customs. I only managed to work out the time after asking the information desk. "Must be because the US think they are the center of the world that they don't need to tell us the time, we should just know it, like English" i thought cynically to myself, not paying attention to how half the people in the airport were speaking languages other than English. Of course, LA, like most US countries, are cultural melting pots of various civilisations, creeds and nations, so clearly my cynicism is misguided.

I did notice how authoritive and downright mean the immigration officers sounded; in fact any LAPD officer i encounted in my trip here. I don't know if that is their intention - they could be very nice for all i know - but their aggressive loud commanding voice and manners make sure you don't even try to joke around with them. Imagine dealing with a police force where they all seem to have had a really bad day and you'll get how I felt.

At least the weather was warm and welcoming, a nice reprieve from the cold winter i escaped from. I took off my layers of clothing worn to insulate me from the ice cold blast of the airplanes air conditioning (what's with that anyway, they have Harry Potter's "dementers" running the thing?), and sat down on the floor (lack of seating) hugging my baggage, looking warily around at the shifty seemingly shifty looking characters around me. For some reason, maybe due to too much television, maybe due to the fact that any of them cold be carrying legal guns, i felt a little unsafe.

Of course I had no right to feel that way, seemed like strangers were quite comfortable chatting to the people next to them. One old asian man even offered me his seat while his wife asked me if i was waiting for someone. The cheerful friendliness of the locals was an experience that would replicate itself over and over again throughout the rest of my trip. Americans are really friendly people.

Anyway, I was waiting for my American friend, Billunta, who coincidentally was arriving an hour later from a trip to Peru. Being good friends since we met teaching English in Korea a few years ago, it was decided that we, along with his Korean girlfriend Yujin, another American, Colin, and his british girlfriend Alexis (all friends met in Korea), would try to do a roadtrip around the southwest of America. Being here was the result of nearly a years worth of planning, of making sure we could all make it to the same city at the same time.

I have to say that LAX is not one of the best airports in the world - it's rather confusing and badly designed. It took me half an hour beforehand to find out exactly which gate Billunta would be arriving from, and from that gate it seemed like 3 different places they could come from, 1 from the first floor, 1 around the corner, and 1 from the main door. I was worried I would miss him.

After a tense 20 minute wait, Billunta arrived, appearing in good health after a long trek up Macchu Picchu. Only his knee seemed to struggle, which he dismissed as a little pain that hopefully will go away, since we planned to do alot of hiking on our trip.

Later on, we would find out that his knee was sprained that that he would not be able to do much hiking, let alone walking, for the next 6 weeks! Bit of bad luck and bad timing.


THATS NOT A LARGE, THIS IS A LARGE!

We caught a taxi to Billunta's apartment in Santa Monica, where we unloaded our baggage, set up my floor space to sleep in, woke up Yujin, then went to get some food.

First impressions of LA is that the roads are big, traffic moves fast, and traffic jams like to appear for no reason at random. Forget rush hour; Billunta tells me that even at 3 in the morning, you'll might see traffic backed up on the highway in one direction, for no reason at all. Where are these people going?!!

Anyway, we stop for lunch at some famous pizza joint nearby. As food is always a major attraction for me in foreign places, I order a large Peperoni pizza, because it's a typical american stereotypical food. I'm glad i shared it with Billunta, because a large in the US means something different to everywhere else in the world i've been. I mean it was huge!! I can't even imagine what XXlarge size would look like.



Turns out that American food is usually of large portion sizes, and all soft drinks, water, tea and coffee is refillable and plenty. This explains why in two weeks i still gained 3kg, despite the hiking and exercise i got.

As for the taste, well, pizza is pizza. It was so big though that the best way to eat a slice is to fold it first.


HOLLYWOOD IS A SEEDY PLACE AT NIGHT

We had a few days in LA before Colin and Alexis arrived, so we went to check out Hollywood at night. The main Hollywood strip is just that - a strip spanning a few blocks, with the pavement lined with stars and actors names. As this was just after the death of Michael Jackson, it was an interesting time to be there. A huge line of people were there, aiming to walk past Michael Jackson's star, to throw flowers and pay tribute to him. Security guards were there, continually shouting at people to "keep moving", "take your photos and leave", which was practical but rather insensitive also. Unsurprisingly,in the area were lots of MJ imitators, some good, some bad; and people selling MJ tshirts in all poses and styles.



We also saw some familiar sights but didn't go in any, such as Madame Tussads, Ripley's Believe it or not, and things we didn't expect, such as an open shopping mall with massive elephants on giant pillars and an arch with hieoglyphs on it. Cool. We had a late dinner in a strange burger place which had computer screens on the table, allowing you to order food and play games with other tables.






Hollywood at night is a scary place. Lots of crazy people come out at night on the streets; the smell of marijuna everywhere. Overheard near a club was a man telling the security guard how he just got out of jail for murder. We just kept walking and avoided eye contact with everyone else.

Not the Hollywood experience i was expecting, that's for sure.

Japan part 2

Maido!

OK, so after a helluva weekend partying it up in Tokyo, in need of
rest and reprieve, I head for Kyoto, Japans cultural capital.



Kyoto: This city is what you think when you think "Japan"; temples and
pagodas and ancient wooden buildings,
as well as geishas and maikos (apprentice geishas) hobbling down the
streets somehow looking demure and
elegant despite the humidity and heat. Their makeup must make a good
sunblock. There are great shopping areas
and restaurants along picturesque canals, stone bridges and rivers,
where couples would walk or sit with at night.





One thing that is annoying about Japan is "Table Charges" which could
be $3 to $6 upwards. This means they will provide you with some sort
of small side dish, and water, which isn't really much. So it sucks
when you're looking for a meal thats around that price range alone.

They say its not that easy to see geishas walking around as they tend
to come out in the evening around small alleyways walking to their
homes or in fancy restaurants behind the scenes in private functions
for the excessively rich. However I was lucky enough to get lost
wandering the city at night to see one walk past me. Was tempted to
ask for a photo but thought that would be disrespectful. On the other
hand, continuing the walk home I had two mischevious looking maiko's
giggling past me, and then one of them blew me a kiss! Too stunned and
embarrassed to respond, I walked quickly away. Not sure if that was
unusual or they are trained to play with men's minds. Oh well.



A few days in Kyoto, then I head off to Hiroshima.


Hiroshima: I think that if I was to compile a list of cities that
people must visit in the world, Hiroshima would be one of them. It's
amazing to visit a city that was destroyed only over 60 years ago by
the first Atom bomb used in war (out of two) and changed the world
forever. It was so sad when you think it was unneccesary (Japan was
pretty much defeated anyway, especially with the Soviets planning a
secret pact with the Allies against them to take place a few months
later anyway. But the US wanted to win the war without the Soviets to
have some advantage over them. They choose Hiroshima out of several
other cities (including Kyoto and Tokyo), because of its military
function and because there were no Americian POW held there compared
with the other choices. And also because it would be easier to measure
the power of their new weapon there. In the end, mostly civilians died
as well as many Koreans and Chinese who were forced labour. Seeing
photos of the aftermath, stories and exhibits of people burning, skin
melting, people jumping in the river and drowning, is truely
horrifying and moving to see. A perfect example of the horrors of war
and how evil we can be.

Peace Park has the iconic A-Dome building, which is the only building
left in the ruined condition it was after the bombing (others were
destroyed and cleared). It is a clear testament to what occured in the
city, which is now a fairly modern city, set out in grid format (since
they could plan the whole city from scratch), with the usual shops,
malls and drinking places. It's hard to imagine anything so horrific
happened there as life goes on as normal here. So it's good they kept
this to remind people.




The children's memorial is also quite moving. Many of you know the
story of the girl who was diagnosed with leukemia 10 years after the
bombing, and believing that folding 1000 paper cranes will grant her
the wish to get better, set off on that task. She completed it but
still died soon after. Today, children all over Japan who visit come
to pay respects to her and others who suffered like her, bringing with
them thousands of colorful paper cranes, some chained, some arranged
as a mosaic poster about peace.




I was a little surprised how little attention was paid to the
epicentre, the exact place where the A-bomb detonated 600m above.
Looking up, it was a perfectly clear sunny day, the exact same
conditions that the bombing took place. Today, what was once a place
for the hospital is now an ordinary car park building; the only sign
is a small plaque mentioning it as the epicenter. Perhaps the people
don't want to really remember it?



Anyway, I head back to Kyoto for one more day before heading to Osaka
for my last night before flying home. It has been an awesome
allrounded trip, from the vibrant life, fashion and energy in Osaka
and Tokyo, to the historic ancient temples, shrines and traditions of
Kyoto and Nara, and the horrors of how it could all be destroyed in
Hiroshima.