The American Tour Extended (2)

We slept a little later that morning. I couldn't remember what time we booked ourselves for Alcatraz, it must be for the 11am ferry I believe. We arrived just in time (phew)! It was a 10-minute ride to the island. I always had the perception that its a spooky little island since it was a prison, but actually I was wrong! It had some unbelievable stories of how the convicts escaped from their cells. We did the audio tour where you listened to the narration and followed the instructions around the building. It took about two hours but was very worth it.

Adam was telling us he knew some guys who gave him access to some places not open to the public. LOL. Wonder how true was that! We didn't get the special privilege that day. The island was peaceful despite the amount of tourism it was attracting, the seagulls made themselves too comfortable on the island they were practically the new residents of Alcatraz. I regretted not buying the overpriced Alcatraz jacket as a souvenir, not knowing if I would ever be back again.

Upon leaving the island, we bumped into the Koreans, 3 of them and we decided to do lunch together at Pier 39. The girls picked "Crab House", they served delicious food but they came with a hefty bill (+ 18% compulsory tip, 4% mandate fee & 8+% tax). Shocking! So beware if you are dining out at these touristy spots.

We went to take a look at the deserted Pier 39, all the sea lions seemed to have disappeared (compared to the photo Angela took!). Oh boy! Where have you gone???

We lost Adam on the way to lunch. I didn't know how it happened. I think he got pissed and didn't want to meet for dinner which we were supposed to have. I was supposed to meet Shawna, an old schoolmate while Syndy would meet up the sister of her friend, both of them living in San Francisco. So we took the cable car for the first time (finally) to Union Street. It was so packed we had to sit in the carriage but later we managed to sit on the side and then I was holding by the pole in no time! What a fun ride!!

We managed to meet up with Shawna who took us around to some of her favourite boutiques and of course not forgetting Syndy's favourite - Levi's Store. And we were in the hometown of Levi's!! I didn't manage to buy anything that day but Syndy surely got some happy buys.

Then Shawna took us to this Vietnamese restaurant she liked, we managed to get Syndy's friend to join us as well. We started ordering a few dishes but the waiter wasn't very pleased about the quantity we were having (this place seems like a family business). But the food was pretty good, so we didn't fuss about the hostile service. When Esther (Syndy's friend) arrived, she brought a friend along whom could speak Vietnamese. It turned the whole situation around when she started talking to them and we ordered a few more things! Thanks to Esther, we had a satisfying dinner as well as a ride home to our hotel (which was quite faraway!!). It was a great day in San Francisco.

The following morning, Syndy left super early to catch her 11 hours train (must be really scenic but I think I would rather save the time for more time in the city) back to LA while I slept in and then spent the day catching up with Adam and the rest roaming around in Burlingame before my late afternoon flight! Burlingame is really small yet filled with character! I had fun shopping and dining, I found myself yummy crepe, bought a cake as takeout, a new pair of boots and a few dresses. Then I had to leave for the airport for my Southwest flight to LA.

The flight was punctual and I even had free checked in baggage (for a budget airline!!). During the 1-hour flight, I was also given a complimentary drink and snack. Out of all my budget flight experience in Europe and Asia, I have to say Southwest would easily top it all! I would love to fly with them again.

The American Tour Extended (1)

This was my first glimpse of San Francisco city from the car, so different from Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I think I like this city best (of course besides all the nature parks which would easily top my list).

Our first stop was to see the 75-year-old Golden Gate Bridge (as of 2012), Josh drove us to the start of the bridge and picked us up at the other end. So we had a nice stroll on the bridge where we spotted Alcatraz island. It was really windy and cold, and the rest of the days were just like that! When we gathered at the other end, Josh was explaining a little story about the bridge but I had to admit I wasn't listening. The tour was about to end in a few hours and I was just sad that the 7 days had gone by so fast! But it was about time to come back to the city life and then go attend a beautiful wedding.

Then Josh took us to the hotel where some of them would be staying and the rest of us would be heading our own ways. Before that, we took our group photos and also presented our accumulated tips to Josh (we also got our left over kitty fund back!). Josh obviously didn't leave us his contact (Syndy wanted it, of course ;)). But today I am still glad he was our guide, he's an awesome cook as well! This bunch of tour mates also made this trip a special one filled with lots of fun moments. This group photo is without me (haha) because I was the one taking it :)

As we bid each other goodbye sadly, we were sure we would somehow bump into each other the next days since we were still in San Francisco :) It was some time in the later afternoon, Syndy and me took the BART headed to the airport where my friend, Adam picked us up. We were staying at Hyatt Regency near the airport, thanks to Adam who sorted out all these hotel accommodations for me and some at very affordable rates! Even though it was faraway from the city, Adam rented a car to show us around the next days. That night, we had our dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby before retiring back in our rooms! Oh, finally a cosy nest after all the camping and motel! The only dislike I had about the hotel is we had to walk a long way back to our room (especially when it was in the centre of this circular corridor).

The next day, Adam was surely adamant about showing us the Golden Gate Bridge again. LOL. But our first stop was awesome, Twin Peaks, we had the most spectacular view on a beautiful day. Not too sunny, not too windy! You should be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge in the far left. The little houses all looked like lego blocks from the top. I also had my first experience in those automated public toilet, I was so lucky, I was the first after they did the cleaning! Next, we drove back down, the slopes in San Francisco city could easily trigger my motion sickness!

Our second stop was Lombard street, and we were going to drive through it! YAY! Along Lombard street, cars have to park at 90 degrees. Wow that seems harder than parallel parking! We saw the cable car too but hadn't got the chance to ride on it, but the one going up Lombard street would be a cool ride I believe! Then Adam began to take us to a few places to see different angles of the Golden Gate Bridge, the first place was somewhere near where Josh took us but further down and less touristy, in fact, it was a quiet little spot and we were practically looking up at the bridge. I had to say the best place for photos of the bridge. Then it was Syndy's turn for toilet, so we ended up at a cemetery while she went to the girls' room. We had a little walk and found lots of tombstones dedicated to those in the recent wars. We didn't have time to go to the cafes I researched as we had too many to see that day. I bugged Adam to take me to Sausalito, because the pictures of it totally took my breath away.

Sausalito is a picturesque waterfront city in San Francisco, I don't know why, but it sounds Italian to me. We only had an hour or two there, too short! The next time, I would easily spend a day there. It's just the place I will stay if I live there! It was past lunch time and we were all starving. We saw a hamburger place which had a long queue and decided to go for it, the burgers weren't amazing but good enough to satisfy. After that, I left both of them sitting on the bench by the waters while I went hunting for my dessert - Guava cheesecake ice cream! Oh, so good!!! I love this little place.

So we headed to Marin Headlands for more views of the bridge. By now, I got to admit I was sick of it! Hahahah. I had to tell Adam, no more places for the bridge please!! But Marin Headlands' a great pick too, also if you want to do a little trail and see the greens, this place is perfect. Then we headed back, on the way back, I thought we saw Chinatown or probably a more Asian part of the city with lots of Asian supermarkets. That night, Syndy decided to stay in so I went out with Adam to get some grocery and dinner. I had the most amazing Japanese takeway! We also booked ourselves for Alcatraz the following day!

Note: Trip was in May 2012.

The American Tour (4)

The following morning, we left Las Vegas for Yosemite. I was actually very enthusiastic about it, I loved being back to the nature after all the fanciful casinos. I was dreaming about meeting the bears or some wild animals but I guess that was quite a big dream! No bears (might be a blessing actually!).

It was quite a few hours of drive and as usual Josh would stop over at some petrol station for us to use the toilets or get some drinks or snacks. It was always an interesting visit at each petrol station, some looked super retro and had some gambling machines in them. They really looked like those in old cowboy films (Brokeback mountain??).

During the long ride, I suddenly remembered I had this lollipop given to me by the man I paid a dollar to take a photo with in Santa Monica! LOL. It's called "Blow Pop" and is actually a bubble gum filled lollipop. That was something new :) Syndy, as usual, would be snapping photos of me sleeping or teasing the quiet Dutch lads or offering her handcream and lip balm to everyone. She was always hyperactive in the car, while I was always able to sleep it off ;) She didn't seem happy about it because there was no one she could disturb or talked to! It was a long ride, so we stopped over somewhere to make our sandwiches. I thought I would be so sick of them by then but surprisingly I wasn't. There was always a different way to invent a new sandwich, different sauce, different cheese or different ham.

I think we were really near to Yosemite when we saw lots of lovely mountains with snow! It was already 4pm! And not long after, I supposed we have entered the nature park. We did a short trail to Vista Point to see a waterfall, and so lucky, when we got there, there were double rainbows!!! It was so wet and slippery and most of us were almost drenched trying to take a photo there but we just had to with those beautiful rainbows.

Then we got to our campsite where we set up our tents and unpacked our stuff for the next two nights. I thought I was going to love it and I really did! The nights weren't anything like Grand Canyon (freezing), instead it was pleasant and a very safe and well-lit camping ground. Someone (a group of them) cooked dinner but I couldn't remember what we had. LOL.

The following day, Josh told us we would do 2 treks, an easy one and a more difficult one. The first one was to Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias, it was magnificent, those gigantic trees and huge pine cones! Josh conned most of us thinking that he ate some bear's poo when actually it was museli bar!! He even made a dare for someone to try and Gavin ate it. Bravo!

Even though it was Josh's first tour, but he definitely did a good job taking us to quite a few scenic spots for great pictures! Then we went to see someone taking a piss (yeah the lovely mountains) before heading for the next trek.

The next stop was to see the Yosemite Falls, it was a really long trek uphill. I don't remember how long it took, probably over an hour or so to get to the Lower Yosemite Falls, and by then I was exhausted and I kind of regretted not going up those slippery steps to see the Upper Yosemite Falls. I only saw them through the photos of the others :( I didn't know what went through me but I was tired and wasn't feeling confident to go up all the way. So I told Josh and he actually escorted me down those slippery steps holding my hand *blushing*!!

So I went back down and met lots of chipmunks on the way :) Josh told me to wait somewhere and he would tell the guys to meet there once they had seen the falls. He and Syndy joined me not long after, I guess they didn't go up all the way too. So we sat together and ate our sandwiches and chips. On the way back, I soaked my feet in those super COLD waters!!! And dear Syndy of course took some embarrassing photos of me again.

It was our last night of the tour, it was our turn to cook. Actually I was tasked to help a group to cook and none of them could actually cook! Wow, I was surprised as I thought the European boys could since they are probably living on their own by now. So everyone thought of depending on me thinking that an Asian girl could probably be better!!! LMAO. When I was in the supermarket, I only thought of the pre packed asian sauce where they would have some recipes on the back!!! Haha. So I managed to deceive everyone thinking I could cook, well actually I did in the end. We modified the ingredients slightly as they didn't have everything on the list and added some, and so I whipped out these Kung Pao chicken (slightly spicy) for dinner. It was tough, imagine cooking for over 10 people and my arms were tired from all those stirring! And of course, I had to do some vegetarian version for a few of them. The rice turned out to be badly cooked, as it was a different kind of rice and the Koreans weren't familiar with it. But all good, we had some bread to go with it.

We were so lucky to have a guide who would cook for us as dear Angela's guide never did. Josh made all of us apple pancakes the following morning for breakfast. He's such a sweetheart! It was so sad it was our last day together and we would be ending our tour in San Francisco that afternoon!

Note: Trip was in May 2012.

The American Tour (3)

I don't know many hours was it but we finally got to Las Vegas some time past noon. We settled in our Super 8 motel, most of us needed to wash up especially after not being able to shower for over 24 hours! The first sight of Las Vegas was all fancy 3D hotel facades, most of them had casinos in them. I'm not a fan of gambling, and even though it did seem like a little glamourous city, I didn't feel much attraction to this place.

Our first thing off the list in Las Vegas was the limousine ride, we were all very excited, especially after I heard all about it from Angela (who took this tour before). All of us dressed up for it. We had to walk over to another hotel where the limousine would come pick us up for dinner. Then after dinner, we would have a night ride :)

The short ride to the restaurant was a thrill with most of us crazily snapping away. We arrived in this italian restaurant named "Buca di Beppuo" shortly, a really cozy pick and awesome choice!

All of us sat down on a long table and Josh said two of us could order one dish for sharing. I chose this dish called baked rigatoni which turned out super yummy! Most of the stuff we ordered were all pretty good.
We used the money we paid into the kitty fund for the dinner with each of us topping up for our own drinks. Then the limousine fetched us, but we realised we had no drinks for the ride. So we stopped at a shop where all of us stocked up our alcoholic beverages! Of course, dear Syndy got a bottle of champagne.

Once we were back in the limo, Syndy got all hysterical, she started screaming and waving looking at the those half naked men on the music videos. That was even before she started drinking! Then after a while when no one else joined her frenzy, she quietened down. To be honest, I was more embarrassed than anything, so I decided to join the Korean clan for their milder style of partying! I recalled Johnathan coming up to ask me if Syndy was always like that, I didn't know what else to answer except,"Yes, when she's not with the husband! LOL!" We also stopped at a couple of places for photos.

The classic Las Vegas photo taken by this weird man who was giving us instructions on how to pose. And then like every other people in Las Vegas, he asked for a tip for being the photographer. So we gave him a dollar or two and learnt from it, no more taking up stranger's offer! The limousine ride seemed to be over too fast! We were dropped off at the hotel with the iconic effiel tower to witness the fountain show. After the show, one of our Korean friends realised her camera was missing, we all got into a little panic. We informed Josh and luckily it was found in the limousine later.

All of us got dispersed after the show. I was with Syndy, while the rest were in their own groups. We went into a casino where I had a go at the jackpot with USD1. LOL. It was crap as I didn't know how to adjust each stake to be 1cent, so ended up wasting the whole dollar at one go. We then roamed around the colourful streets of Las Vegas but I think we wandered too far and nobody seemed to know where our motel was! We were given wrong instructions and then ended up at another hotel which someone mistook for ours, so we went in and asked the security for instructions. He told us we had to walk 20-30 minutes along the main road to get back. As it was around midnight and I didn't feel safe at all, I told Syndy we should cab back. But she insisted we should walk, I didn't know what was wrong with her, she just seemed pissed the whole night anyway after the ride (probably because we didn't comprehend her craziness!). We managed to cab back and I was sure the decision was right as we passed by the badly lit main road, we saw a couple of homeless people on the roadside!

The following morning, I decided to go to the outlet for shopping as it was the only chance for outlet shopping in USA. I told Syndy she could go do whatever she wanted but I wasn't sure what got into her, she decided to come along. She's usually not a fan of shopping. So we went, we took a bus and spent almost 7 hours there! At about 6pm, I was almost ready to leave, we could go back and joined the rest for dinner but the lady decided she wanted to see Levi's at the last minute. So that means we would miss the dinner, it was fine as we could easily sort ourselves out. By the time, she was done, it was past 7 and we got back into the city centre around 8pm. I found this mexican place for dinner, it was then I realised Syndy got kind of temperamental, she wasn't smiling or talking much (so unusual of her). I think too much time together had gotten us on each other nerves. The following day when everyone asked where we went, of course she blamed all the long hours of shopping on me, that really pissed me off as she was the one who made us missed the dinner.

I was just glad the time with her alone was over as the rest of the time I could choose to join the rest of the group more. Just two more nights and then I would be in San Francisco where a friend of mine would join me, I was just so looking forward to that because too much Syndy was just annoying (sorry babe, but I just couldn't deal with your bipolar characteristics and dramatic outbursts a lot of the time).

Note: Trip was in May 2012. 

Missing April

April is gone. But so many things have happened!

I finally went to Japan for the first time in my life (excluding my transit via Narita last year), it was beautiful and I knew I left a little piece of my heart there. Just like Europe, I think I have left small pieces of my heart in all these places I have been.

I am back to fill up those travel stories! I need a little motivation and maybe some luck to recall my experiences. Hehe. But it's probably better as I can write with ease without being too nitpicky ;)