San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz

Hey all,

This is gonna be a quick post with some pic uploads, but ive been chillin in san franciso for the last couple of days and its a very cool place. All the perks of a big city whilest having some of the most amazing scenary i've ever scene, definitly a potential place to live in the future. Im off out tonight to see whats around and here are some pics of the bridge, prison and shops.


Laters,


Rob

Venice Beach, Hollywood and Universal Studios

Stayed at Venice Beach Cotel youth hostel for three nights which is like 10 yards from Venice Beach and Muscle Beach. Everyone was friendly and although pretty needy, selfconcious people - kinda reminded me of 1st year of uni it was fairly quiet and made a few cool friends. I woke up early the first morning :-o im loving still being on english time cos mornings are actually pretty cool with the sun coming up and no one else being about. Anyway take a look at some of the pics below 'its beautiful here' :-)

What does amaze me though is the amount of homeless bums there are hundreds of them. At the moment with it being off peak they probably out number the regular people. I have no idea why this has not been cleared up and speaking to a dude it gets worse in the summer when more come to Venice. A great beach and i would definitly come again although not much nightlife i defintly wouldnt bring kids as is not that safe.


I took a day trip to hollywood and saw some of the landmarks and famous buildings/shops e.t.c. Didnt really get to much out of this trip other than seeing the amount of homeless people in hollwood as well :-s they all come here to make their fortunes and if they do well then they go and live up the hill, and if not they either go back to where they came or onto the streets. With the writers strike a lot of B-grade actors have been hit hard as well and are now homeless. It WAS cool to say ive seen some of these things.

I decided to go to universal studios at the end of the tour, of which a few others from the coach joined me. I recommend this trip and theme parks arent usually my thing cos i like to be in control and not a huge fan of fast rides, however i went on all the rides and even for me they werent bad at all and the worst was the mummy which is set in the dark and you go forwards and backwards but no loops or upside down and was a bit like the run away mine train in the dark at chessington.

I went on the studio tour as well and got to see several film sets and running demonstrations of which ive videod showing how many of the special effects were made. e.g. Jaws, King Kong, Fast and the Furious and the middle image below is there biggest set from the new war of the worlds movie.



Im now in San Francisco staying in a well nice hotel which anna found for me - in central union square. I will be going to bed now and getting up early to see alcatraz and the golden gate bridge during the day.

Peace Out,

Rob

Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Hoover Damm

I set off to go to Las Vegas and took the greyhound bus from Long Beach - I soon realised as you get away from the sea front on Long Beach it becomes a lot more ghetto... Im down with the brothers but it was still a little intimidating being the only white boy. Anyway at the bus stop i befriended a black women and then took the 8hr long ride to Las Vegas.

Everyone is friendly in Las Vegas and willing to talk to you, I went to all the big casinos and each one has a different theme. Circus Circus, Bellagio, The Paris Experience, Caesers Palace e.t.c. Other than that though there isnt much to do in Las Vegas other than gambling or seeing some shows, i would only recommend spending a few nights there unless you are really into losing your money.

I went on a day trip which was a 15 hour coach journey in total :-o which went to hoover damm not really that impressed with that. And then the grand canyon which is awesome, I was expecting it to be more a sheer drop but its not - its lots of canyons that go down. The size and the height is very inspiring and although i didnt know how to process what i saw it was definitly worth while. And it makes you think that our lives are very short and often pointless in comparison to the grandcanyon which hasnt changed for thousands of years so its important to make the most of it.

p.s. dont ever watch the film 'are we nearly there yet' its pointless and boring and completely not accurate. We were forced to watch it on the coach with the volume right up.

Today I took a flight from Las Vegas to Venice Beach on the smallest airplane ever, it seated like 40 people and for those in the know how 'you know who you are' I am not the best flyer. It was terrible I could feel every movement and turbalence and bit my tongue for the whole journey.

Total its raining in Venice and im stuck inside the youth hostel, Ive made friends with everyone and im no longer all alone like pinochio :-p :-) however there is no where to go out even for a quick corrona or redbull so im stuck inside - hence the blog :-)

Ill upload the next lot of photos tomorrow i cant access the usb on this computer.

Rob

First Day in LA - Long Beach

I took a the long hall flight to LA talked to a few people on the plane and made a couple new friends. Once arrived at LA airport after 12 hours :-o I took a taxi to long beach, my taxi driver was russian and had no idea about road safety. He almost crashed 3 times on the way, recieved the middle finger once, had to fill up for petrol and then got lost - welcome to LA :-) Here is the man himself

Woke up at live 4am LA time this morning and couldnt get back to sleep so decided to check out long beach and left the hotel at 8am. Its beautiful here perfect warm weather and not a cloud in the sky, I spoke to a lot of people to find out where to go and where stuff is, got invited out to drinks by this american group but im not gonna go as i goto be up early to catch the bus to Las Vegas tomorrow. Walked up the waterfront,

until i got the the aquariam center, I got a day ticket for $20.00 and checked out what was happening. It was awesome, pretty much every sea creature you could think of was there, sharks, seals, crabs, eels, sea horses e.t.c. here are some of my favourite pics from that,

I also got to touch the sting ways, and watch the feeding time for the sharks :-0

After that I walked half way down Long Beach and then gave up cos my feet were beginning to hurt and its just too far. I had a fish lunch and a huge chocolate ice cream sunday at a local restuarant of which i got some more information on where to go e.t.c.

Everyone is really friendly here in LA and and happy to talk to you or even ask you questions. I thought it would be harder work but its cool so far and im definitly not lonely despite being on my own. Once i hit the youth hostels i have a feeling i will be wanting my own space more and more. First day and im really enjoying my time and the freedom to see what i want when i want and just soaking up the culture and environment.

p.s. everything is really big here and I've seen a lot of fat people :-o

p.p.s this is seagul feeding man - he apparently goes to the same spot every day at the same time to feed the seaguls. Cool guy.

Rob

USA Booked

Hey all,

Just managed to most all of my usa trip, there is so much to do in 2 weeks in the US but im trying to fit most of it in - my first stop is the Hilton Hotel at Long Beach in CA :-) thought i'd treat myself before staying in the youth hostels as i travel and was pretty much the only hotel in a nice area.

1. Flight from London to Los Angeles - Arrive 17th Jan 18:00
   Hotel for 17th and 18th Long Beach


2. Bus from Long Beach to Las Vegas 19th Jan


3. Hotel for 19th, 20th, 21st
   
4. Bus to hoover damm and grand canyon 20th at 6:30 - 18:30
   
5. Bus from Las vegas to Long Beach 22nd Jan 12:01


6. Hotel for 23rd Jan Long Beach


7. Travel to Venice/Santa Monica


8. Youth Hostel 24th, 25th


9. 24th Venice Beach
   
10. Beverly Hills Tour 25th JanBus from Los Angeles to San Francisco 26th Jan 29th Jan
    Accomadation 26th, 27th, 28th,
    
11. Bus from San Francisco to Los Angeles 29th Jan


12. Hotel 29th in Los AngelesFlight from Los Angeles to New Zealand 30th Jan

Injections :-o

Just had my injections for the trip. Hep A, Typhoid, Diphtheria, Tetanus & Polio.

Didnt need maleria and i didnt have time for Hep B but the nurse said it shouldnt be a problem.

My Travel Plans

I will be travelling from Jan 17th 2008 to:-

USA

• Los Angeles
• Long Beach
• Venice Beach / Muscle Beach
• Beverly Hills
• Las Vegas
• Hoover Damm
• Grand Canyon
• San Francisco
• Golden Gate Bridge

New Zealand

• Lord of the Rings Experiences - Waikato, Wellington, Queenstown and Tongariro
• Whale-watching - Christchurch/Kaikoura
• Maori cultural experiences - Paihia/Cape Reinga
• Hiking - Tongariro National Park
• White water rafting - River Valley
• Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park
• Dolphin-watching/swimming - Kaikoura

Australia - East Coast

• Sailing - Whitsunday Islands
• Bondi Beach - Sydney
• Whitehaven Beach - Whitsunday Islands
• Steve Irwins Zoo - Brisbane
• Dolphin Experience - East Coast
• Neighbours Tour - Melbourne
• Surfing - Byron Bay
• Reef Diving - Great Barrier Reef
• Sydney Harbour - Sydney

Thailand

• Thai Boxing - Bangkok's Lumpini Stadium
• Learn Thai Cooking
• Tiger Temples - Kanchanabur Province
• Maya Beach - Phi Phi Le "from the film The Beach"
• Full Moon Party - Koh Phangan
• Elephant Treking, Bamboo Rafting & Swimming in the Jungle - Chiang Mai
• Grand Palace - Bangcock

South Korea

• North/South Border
• Temple Stay 24hrs living as a monk - www.templestaykorea.com
• Jjimjilbong Sauna and Steam Pools
• Haeinsa Buddhist Temple
• Gyeongjus Tombs and Bulguksa Temple
• Digital City and Night Life - Seoul

Japan

• Electric City - Akihabara
• Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park - Fuji
• Kokyo Imperial Palace - Tokyo
• Tsukiji Fish Market - Tokyo
• Sakura Blosom Trees - Tokyo
• Bullet Train 'Shinkansen' - Tokyo West/Kyoto
• Temples - Kyoto
• Sumo Wrestling Tournment
• Ryokan Inn Meditation and Relaxation

Booked hotel for thailand with bruton for 'Dream Bangkok' for 2 nights. http://www.otel.com/hotels/dream_bangkok_hotel.htm?processid=OU-00612175&sort=4&Page=0