USA Trip Day 15 - 18 Sep 2014 - Back to LA

Nothing much on agenda for today.  We just wanted to take it easy after an activity packed day. So we slept in, had leisurely lunch while waiting for laundry, and started on our packing before leaving the hotel at 3pm. 

After an hour bus journey (with #20, through Koreatown), we reached the beautiful LACMA campus on the Wilshire Boulevard. 

Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008) Installation was the main reason for our visit to the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Since seeing such mesmerizing setup in the movie Valentine Day, I had wanted to see it in person. 

There are 202 restored street lights, which used to lit up areas in Hollywood, Glendale and Anaheim back in the 1920s and 1930s. Chris Burden started his collection in 2000 with just 2 lamps, purchased at US$ 800 each. With the goal of keeping his entire collection together, he invited prospective buyers to his studio. Among them, LACMA's then new director Michael Govan fit it was a perfect fit and hence, we get to enjoy such as fascinating installation today. 

USA Trip Day 14 - 17 Sep 2014 - Happiest Place on Earth

WE ARE VISITING THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN YOU IMAGINE MY EXCITEMENT??!!!

I KNOW I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS BUT HEY, ITS DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D  

Opened on 17 July 1955, Anaheim Disneyland is the only theme-park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walk Disney. Disneyland has a larger cumulative attendance than any other theme-park in the world, with over 650 million guests since its opening. 

USA Trip Day 13 - 16 Sep 2014 - Hollywood Glamour

Whoohoooo it's Hollywood day! 

Regardless of how indifferent I had felt about the City of Angels, I was beyond excited to see Hollywood.  

I meant we all grew up watching movies and cartoons, listening to music, copying the style of those hottest stars - all products of Hollywood. It was also portrayed as the place, where many made it big and had gone from zero to hero. 

Be it unconsciously or consciously, I'm sure we all wish to one day be able to experience such glamorous lifestyle, typically associated with Hollywood! Right?

USA Trip Day 12 - 15 Sep 2014 - LA Downtown & Korea Town

While we checked in soon after midnight, we fell asleep only around 3am as we decided to Febreze the whole bed, pillows and blankets. It was of course expected that we slept in and had a leisurely lunch. 

One of the few good things about this hotel was that it was surrounded by food and amenities. There were loads of restaurants nearby including a very homely Mexican diner and a Chinese take away shop round the corner. There was also a CVS pharmacy nearby for all your necessities. Our hotel didn’t provide us with drinking water so we had to get ours from there.

Another reason we set out only around noon was that venturing out into the sunny LA during heat wave felt like an uphill battle.  While our 'boutique hotel' room didn't have air-conditioning, we were still under the shelter. So doing laundry was our excuse for starting our sightseeing so late.  

Heat wave + sauna like room + bathroom with bad drainage + noisy and shady neighbourhood all combined made us lose our excitement and curiosity in exploring the City of Angels. 

The nearest subway station was like 15 min walk away! In this heat! Grhhhhh

USA Trip Day 12 - 15 Sep 2014 - LA Hotel (Stay on Main / Hotel Cecil)

Oh Heat Wave! Why you no go away! Why must you visit LA, while we were there only for a short 4 days?!  The lack of air-con in our room made it worse! We kept taking a shower when the heat got too much for us too handle. 

Initially, the room I booked didn't even have an attached bathroom.  I realized it when I read the confirmation email. So immediately I cancelled my booking and made a new reservation for a room with private bathroom, for extra charge.  Thank god I did that. Otherwise, I can't imagine how bad our stay could have become. Can I just share a bit about our hotel / hostel?

Stay On Main (Old Name: Hotel Cecil)

+ Great location downtown (convenient to buy food and take public transport)
+ Affordable rates
+ Grand lobby
+ Free iMac in the lobby

- Can be scary location too with homeless, the city's worst drug addicts and most destitute citizens, typical of DTLA 
- Foreboding past with haunted stories and murder cases (Mister wisely kept this history from me and only told me after we checked out.  Otherwise, I don't think I could have lasted all 5 days there)
- NO AIR-CONDITIONING
- Horrible drainage in our private bathroom
- Rooms are not sound-proof, so if your neighbors are night owls, good luck to you
- Extremely noisy with police sirens