Day One/Two (SG-> TPE -> SFO)
I had an incredible experience touring San Francisco, Vegas and Los Angeles in the West Coast of the United States. After what seemed to be an awful mushroom of petty inconveniences that almost saw the lot of us diverting travel plans, we ultimately made our way across the globe for a spectacular trip of a lifetime! Woohoo...!!
We chose ASA’s 13D West Coast tour because its itinerary suited us best. They included an offer of 2N in Taipei (absolutely free!) on the return leg which we gleefully accepted. The total damage amounted to $2788 + $420 (taxes). The amount for shopping was, well, let's just call it shameless.
Hangs head low.
We spent a good part of the first day basically traveling. Our first flight of 5 hours took us from Singapore to Taipei’s Tao Yuan Airport where we stormed over to check out the Hello Kitty terminal and their duty free shops.
The 2 hour transit flew by after an embarrassing impromptu video with me as the main lead! It's private so it's only for the few in the know =)
I had a meal for each leg of the journey! Heeheehee...
We spent a good part of the first day basically traveling. Our first flight of 5 hours took us from Singapore to Taipei’s Tao Yuan Airport where we stormed over to check out the Hello Kitty terminal and their duty free shops.
Scary Movie Part 1 - the dead body & the pseudo Japanese
Scary movie Part 2 - happy murderer at the pay phone
Once again, the calefare Pseudo Japanese girl. Wahaha..!!
The 2 hour transit flew by after an embarrassing impromptu video with me as the main lead! It's private so it's only for the few in the know =)
Tao Yuan airport even had a lovely orchid showcase!
I was quite pleased with EVA air’s leg room and the frequent round of drinks the stewardess made though I personally felt the food was merely passable. Entertainment wise, I was initially elated when I realized they had the latest Harry Potter installment!
But I accidentally hit the pause button twice and exited the movie. Urgh...!! Horrified, I tried in vain to fast forward the movie but it would simply freeze and auto exit after a 5 seconds. Exasperated after my feeble attempts to fast forward, I cursed and slept; waking up only to check if the parts I had watched were over. A couple of times, I awoke and tried to rewind but the blardy movie exited again!
KNNBCCB (in all it's glory) ah!!
I was this <-> close to punching the console with my fists!
I left my heart in San Fran too...!!
San Fran is a place where people can easily fall in love with. It's Sharon Lee's fave state, and mine too!
The view from our room
We chose the latter and soaked in the bright lights of the large stores over in Union Square. H&M, Forever 21, Macy’s! Sumi bought Benefit stuff while Ching and I attacked H&M. Basic tees were going for USD5.99! Lounge slacks for USD7.99!
It began to freeze as evening approached and I ended with hives as my denim jacket chaffed the dry skin over my arms. It subsided with a quick dose of Pred and loads of Burt Bee’s moisturizers (about USD10 for a large tube) which I bought from Walgreens, together with touristy magnets (which have incidentally become my latest obsession) and a hell lot of Reese’s peanut butter cups and organic milk!
Low fat milk tastes like fucking full cream!
We had dinner over at an Asian establishment where they included guidelines on tipping for the uninitiated. Like Sharon Lee had forewarned, tipping is expected and MANDATORY. Food was GREAT..! Seriously. The 4 of us shared 3 mains and a couple of drinks with each of us shelling out about 10USD including tips.
We finally reached San Francisco around 3pm after 13 hours in the sky! Hurray!!
Clearing customs was a breeze! The officers on duty took the time to make conversation and you have to stand in front of the counter to have a mug shot taken and scan in your fingerprints when you arrive.
As most of them are of Asian descent, I felt like I was back in Singapore. Only they have an American accent and are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more polite! Weather wise, San Fran proved true to its promise of cool winds and cloudy skies!
Just the way I love it!
Even the vending machines in San Fran are ass huge!
On our journey to the hotel, we passed by many lovely Victorian styled buildings and super colorful artwork splashed across the sides of buildings. Graffiti (in an awesomely good way) was everywhere!
We even passed by rough neighborhoods where shops sold their wares through windows which had bars as grilles. Just like in the movies where tough characters mingle along the sidewalks of the ghetto! The tour guide warned us not to head over to these areas as the evening would lure drunks and homeless people who could be potentially dangerous.
We even passed by rough neighborhoods where shops sold their wares through windows which had bars as grilles. Just like in the movies where tough characters mingle along the sidewalks of the ghetto! The tour guide warned us not to head over to these areas as the evening would lure drunks and homeless people who could be potentially dangerous.
Obviously, we heeded his advice!
Sumi's fave in all the hotels are the superb coffee makers and their thoughtful takeaway cups!
Ching and I loved the fact that we could keep every single security card as a souvenir!
Though we all agreed the free toiletries that came with each room drove us delirious with joy!
Ching and I loved the fact that we could keep every single security card as a souvenir!
Though we all agreed the free toiletries that came with each room drove us delirious with joy!
The view from our room
We stayed in Hilton over at Union Square which was stuck in between worlds. If you walk towards the left from the main entrance, you’d see homeless people loiter the pavements. If you walk down the right, you’d be able to hit the 3rd largest shopping belt in the States – Union Square.
A very jet lagged Sadako in San Fran, while Ming is in the background trying desperately to ignore us, poor excuses for Singaporeans..! Wahaha...
This pic is so funny!
We chose the latter and soaked in the bright lights of the large stores over in Union Square. H&M, Forever 21, Macy’s! Sumi bought Benefit stuff while Ching and I attacked H&M. Basic tees were going for USD5.99! Lounge slacks for USD7.99!
My fats were giggly with joy!
It began to freeze as evening approached and I ended with hives as my denim jacket chaffed the dry skin over my arms. It subsided with a quick dose of Pred and loads of Burt Bee’s moisturizers (about USD10 for a large tube) which I bought from Walgreens, together with touristy magnets (which have incidentally become my latest obsession) and a hell lot of Reese’s peanut butter cups and organic milk!
Low fat milk tastes like fucking full cream!
We had dinner over at an Asian establishment where they included guidelines on tipping for the uninitiated. Like Sharon Lee had forewarned, tipping is expected and MANDATORY. Food was GREAT..! Seriously. The 4 of us shared 3 mains and a couple of drinks with each of us shelling out about 10USD including tips.
Just a part of our dinner!
And just in case you're wondering why some pictures look damn professional, it's because we really did have a professional photographer, Francis in our midst. And he helped us capture some great shots with his drool worthy kick ass pro DSLR.
More about our tour group later!
After which we walked off the fats with a nice slow walk around the community of hill after hill after hill, under a blanket of stars and the gentle embrace of the wind. A really nice way to end our first night in the United States of America!
After which we walked off the fats with a nice slow walk around the community of hill after hill after hill, under a blanket of stars and the gentle embrace of the wind. A really nice way to end our first night in the United States of America!
Woohoo..!! And so the adventure begins....
