My first long haul travel! How exciting! Back in 1995 (this blog can only backdated up to '99 - so I have no choice on the accuracy)I had a chance to visit US about 3 weeks with my grandparents. I consider it a very lucky opportunity because it happened before 9-11. As you know, after that, it’s very difficult for muslim like me visiting that country though we mean no harm :(
Anyway, it was 24 hours something trip from Jakarta to Los Angeles (via Tokyo). Very tiring indeed. When we arrive at LAX, I feel very nauseous and disoriented. “I think you need a fresh air little girl”. “Fresh air” in LA? Yeah right :D We stay at my grandparents friend’s house. It was a two storey building in a very quiet area.
To explore LA, we took a guided tour to all of the famous touristy place: Mann’s Chinese Theatre, Rodeo Drive, the so called celebrities houses (although I’m not sure they really living in it) etc. Tacky? Yeah. But then again, still a good experience.
The best way to see Hollywood is on a walking sightseeing tour. Most of the main attractions are located within a few blocks of Mann's Chinese Theatre, on Hollywood Boulevard. The courtyard of the Chinese Theatre with its famous handprints and shoeprints of all the Hollywood celebrities since 1927. Well, I think the old stars and very famous ones got the hand/shoeprints – and if you’re well known enough but just actually-not-that-good; they’ll only put your name in the printed stars ha ha…
The funny thing is during the Hollywood tour, I brought some significant cash on hand. My mom said, if you see a celebrity and you want to take picture with them – you’ll have to pay. So bring some spare change. Errr, how naïve I was! Now I know that REAL famous celebrity of course wouldn’t respect the dollar cents that I’ll pay them :D
LA was also the first time I encounter the Disney experience. When we went to the Disneyland Anaheim, I was overwhelmed cause it’s bigger than the amusement parks in Indonesia (obviously!). Again, the detail in Disney parks are just immaculate. They really think through of everything. On the other spectrum, after my other trip to Tokyo Disneyland; just realize that the rides and details are pretty much the same on every Disney parks. Unfortunately at that time, we did not visit the Disneyworld in Orlando. I heard it was the largest – where 1 day just would not be enough. It was only quick brief visit to Disneyland. NO exciting rides that can challenge your heart. Only like going through the river using steam boat, doll house, etc. Well, what do you expect when you’re going with your beloved grandparents he he…
Another place we visit was the Universal Studio. I love the Flintstone stone aged car! We also visit studio where they dubbed the films. As a 13-year old girl, I just found out that the sound effects can be made from irrelevant thing (like brushes, sands, etc). We also took the ride where the train looked like it’s being attack by sharks, going undersea, etc. It looked fake, but it’s a good copy. And man, no wonder they have a lot of obesity case in US. Their food portion is just… GIGANTIC. In Universal studio I bought a SMALL size ice cream. Well, it’s not small at all! We ended up eating the ice cream (3 people)!
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