A new beginning

My apologies for the delay. Landed at about 6 pm on the 15th...which doesn't sound like much given that I saved a day crossing the international date line. *sigh* So in reality, flew 5.5 hrs to Singapore, was there for about 8 hours and then spend another 20 hours flying to LA.

The flight by itself was alright...the food was brilliant and since my friend, who came with me to LA, works with SIA, we managed to score good seats and asked them to keep the two seats next to us free as well...yay!

The 1st week has really gone by in a daze...we didn't really get a chance to get over the jet-lag thing since we set off the next day for Disneyland, in Anaheim (15 mins away from my parents place) and Universal Studios as well as tours to the beaches of LA and the City sightseeing...Sunita was here for a little less than a week so we had to complete the touristy things first...

She wanted to get to the Kodak Theater and taking a pix with the Hollywood sign in the background...heh heh heh...we unfortunate couldn't get to Mann's Chinese Theater since they were having the premiere for Scooby Doo on Friday...but we lined up and looked the part of crazed fans..heh heh heh...shall get the pix developed and send them to you....

Disneyland was nice too...but they have expanded it heaps since I was here last...so there are 3 different theme parks now, 1)Disneyland 2) California Theme Park (part of Disney and with all the heart-stopping rollercoasters and rides) and 3)Downtown Disney...We loved the rides but the lines waiting to get into them started driving us crazy...

Universal Studios was a lot easier to deal with coz we had a strategy!! ha ha ha...we decided to get to the lower level first that opens at 11am (the rest of the park opens at 10am) coz there would be no crowd. Worked beautifully! We went on the Jurassic Park ride (with a straight down 84 foot vertical drop waterfall in a raft) It was brilliant! The last time I was there my brother and I went on it 4 times...its such an mind-blowing high! Sunita and I went on it twice...after which she decided she had enough...heh heh heh...The best part is that just as you start the 84 foot vertical drop, the ride organizers take a pix of you and when your raft comes to a halt, they display it in the window where you can purchase a copy for an insanely expensive amount...but its good to re-live the moment by having a pix of you screaming your lungs out!

Then there was Backdraft where we endured a blazing inferno of heat in apparently 10,000 degree blast of pyrotechnics and special effects. It kinda makes you realise the intensity of a Fireman's job...*bowing with deep respect*

At Universal Studios, we also went on the Studio Tour, where we saw the sets of "Crossing Jordan" and the actors' parking lots with their names painted on the road...Saw the Bates Motel and various other back lots as well as the clock-tower used in all the "Back to the Future" series and the Mummy's tomb from "The Mummy Returns" and a whole King Kong thing where the buildings fall, a helicopter crashes infront of your and the like..then there was the parting of the Sea as Moses did and don't forget Jaws...heh heh heh... Prolly the best ride was the "Shrek 4-D" where the story continues and while we are given 3-D glasses, it was brilliant because the show includes physical aspects like when Donkey sneezes, we get a spray of water on our faces, when the spiders are thrown into the audience (in 3-D) the floor has rotating balls under the carpets that make you believe the spiders are running down the aisle heh heh heh and when we follow Shrek down the waterfall, a cool blast of air comes out of the seat back and on your neck...it was brilliant!

*grin*

On Friday we went into LA City (My parents live an hour+ away at Huntington Beach)

Saw the Disney Theater, Kodak Theater, walked down Holywood Boulevard and saw the Walk of Fame, Frederick's of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, saw the showroom for Ferrari & Lamborgini and 2 Ferrari's on the street! gawd!...then there was Sunset Blvd, Santa Monica Beach(baywatch is filmed here), Venice Beach (the Hippie section with Muscle Beach where guys get together to lift weights...good view...heh heh heh)

The traffic on the freeways are insane, not to mention the freeways themselves! At one point we were on the 7th level of the freeway...and when we look down over the edge, there are 6 freeways meandering under ours...its freaky!

It took us two hours to get back home from Universal...by which time we were exhausted...we'd come home, have a quick shower, have dinner and pass out till 6:30am...only to start the whole process again...most tour companies ask you to be at their bus station at 8:30am and with Dad dropping us off before going in to work, we were there a little early...*deep sigh*

Well...thats it from me for now...shall write again soon...