part 2 - san fran, LA

Part 2 of my US photos..

SAN FRANCISO!

it wasnt a very pleasant trip due to one thing - our accomodation, which was green tortoise hostel..ok la, i guess for a hostel one would find it alright, according to lulu..but if u wan a good holiday, PLEASE, find a hotel..really, the accomodation makes up a huge part of whether u enjoy ur holiday totally a not..we liked going out, but the thought of going back to that place juz makes us all very, sian..pics will tell u of our dire circumstances..


btw, it was located in the middle of san fran's version of geylang..there were shops selling porn stuff right across the street, and u hear bottles smashing at night, ppl arguing, the police siren as the police whisked by on their duty..wenjun's cousin lived ard in this area once, and she said she ever heard a gunshot..whoa, scary..

our room is very very small..imagine the size of ur room, and u squeeze 6 double decker beds, a sink, a heater (the size of an aircon) and a clothes hanger inside..

we actually had to fix our own meals in the kitchen..and when u are done, u are supposed to wash ur own dishes..hmmmm, doesnt sound like my sort of HOLIday..

First stop - City Tour, courtesy of wenjun's cousin..

went to pier 39..which was where most of the tourist attractions were..

and there were these sealions along that pier! dunno wat they are doing there..they juz stay there all day..lazing ard, fighting, being smelly, fishing, sleeping..they live there literally..

limos are a common sight in san fran..juz had to take a pic with one haha..

the bay bridge, which is one of the things u muz visit when u go san fran..the other is the golden gate bridge of course..but that was so far away and we didnt haf time to go there..so we satisfied ourselves with the bay bridge instead..

our tourguide :) thanks for bringing us ard!!

their version of a bus ticket..with this ticket, u pay abt 3 sing dollars, and u get to ride any buses or trams in san fran for 2 whole hrs! preety cool huh!!

san fran is VERY hilly!! there are a lot a lot of steep slopes that goes upwards like 45 degrees! no kidding..being on a budget, we didnt wan to take public transport, so we decided to walk..and boy, we really did walk a lot indeed..its like going trekking!!

steep huh..all these juz cos we wanted to visit..

its not that crooked really..i tink singapore's multi story carpacks can give this crookedest street in the world a run for its money..walking up all that steep hills juz to see this not-so-crooked-street wasnt really cool..but that view from the top made up for everything..

preety houses in san fran..

went to BOUDIN for dinner..and if u are planning to go to san fran, you MUZ go to boudin and eat there!! the clam chowder there absolutely rocks my socks off my balls, bounce them off the walls and onto the floor..superbly creamy with a generous portion of clams given..

and you MUZ try their fish and chips as well..their fries are NOTHING u haf ever eaten before, i bet! it is heavenly..i couldnt stop eating the fries..neither could the rest..and so many pieces of fish!! gosh, i wana eat it again!!

the legendary clam chowder..the bread bowl it comes in totally complements the creamy and smooth taste of the soup..a must try..

Second Stop - Alcatraz Prison

onboard the ferry that would bring us to the prison..a little background..alcatraz used to be a prison on this island off san fran..it was very isolated, and used to house the most notorious prisoners that USA knew off..however, due to high maintainance costs, and the horror of how a failed escape attempt that resulted in the deaths of 8 officers shocked the heavens out of san fran ppl and they decided to close it down..now, its a tourist attractions..it was freezing cold that day btw..FREEZING..

its really juz a tiny island..

ancient fire engine..cute huh..they didnt need air-con..the weather there is COLD..

the cells are really tiny..each held a bed, a toilet and this little shelf for the inmates to put their stuff on..nothing more..they sleep there, or stay there most of the time..

the prison actually served nice food! dunno wassup with those americans..but even for inmates, they still harp upon having nutrious and nice tasting food for them..doesnt sound like prison huh..i guess changi prison inmates here in singapore, who doesnt give a hoo-hoo abt u when u are a prisoner, doesnt haf it that good..

ok i muz talk abt the isolation cells..these are cells for inmates who misbehaves, so they get sent to isolation in the dark room, also known as the "Hole"..its is DARK in these cells..how do i know? cos they opened them and let us walk into it..when i walked in, i couldnt see my hand in front of me..u know how those prisoners pass their time in there? since they couldnt come out at all for like 5 to 7 days..they take a button, throw it in the air, get down on their knees and search the whole cell for that button..when they haf found it, they throw the button again, and repeat that process..preety sad huh..

Next Stop - Castrol

went to castrol on the advice of wenjun's cousin..who said we muz go there to check it out..its kinda like, gaytown..gays and lesbians freely express their sexual preferences there..u see 2 big burly guys holding hands walking down the street..hmmmmmmmm..hahah the guys were freaked out! cos they said that as they pass this coffeeshop, a grp of burly guys checked them out! LOL..that was hilarious really..the gurls werent really scared tho..

had thai food for dinner at castrol that day..yum! but small portions and quite expensive..with 18 percent GST :( and singaporeans still complain abt the 7 percent GST..after being to US, the jackies have come to an agreement that we are never going to complain abt the GST in singapore anymore..not unless it reaches 15 percent..

the rainbow represents GAYS..so if u see it above a store, or on a t-shirt a guy is wearing, u know he's gay..

packed our bags to leave for LA the next day..once again i haf to say this - We Have A Lot Of BAGS!

me being super happy leaving green tortoise!! cos i know that marriott residence inn awaits me at LA! loves marriott residence inn..if i ever go US on holiday again..i will only stay at marriott residence inn..and you shld do!! trust me, u wun regret it..

MARRIOTT!! HOW I MISSED YOU!!

Last Stop - LA City Tour

the familiar palm trees of LA county greeted us as we went on the tour..

a really funny sign that we saw..

above are the pictures for fisherman's village..its the largest man-made pier in the world and houses MANY boats..i forgot how many..all the rich and famous ppl, such as tom cruise, boats are located here..

headed down to Venice Beach next..this is where they film the series Pacific Blue..gosh i miss that show!!! too cold to do any swimming or watever..it was freezing..

rodeo drive, where the rich and famous do their shopping at..its pronounced as RO-DEH-O drive..long story, ask mi if u are interested..

versace is damn nice!

this is the hotel where they film the show Pretty Woman!

Beverly Hills, where the stars live at..but im sorry to say, all three of us fell asleep as the guide was taking us on this tour..so we didnt hear anything at all..lol..

The Walk Of Fame! yes the stars!!

this is the place where they hold the academy awards..

HOLLYWOOD!

and this is the place where they film the drama superman!! he will rush down from the office to go into that telephone booth and changed into his SUPERMAN outfit!! cool cool..we even saw a movie being filmed right in the middle of the road..they cordoned the whole road, which is a really LONG stretch of road btw, and did their filming..could see cars, cameras and ppl walking ard..wow, the ppl in LA are long used to such sights, but not us!

Next part would be on Oklahoma City..the place where i stayed for 3 weeks..in lovely marriott residence inn of course :D