"I have live here for 30 years and I have never taken the public transport!"
Today is my last day in LA. A lot had happened since I first arrived a week ago. While I look forward to going home, I am also sad to leave this country which is full of friendly people and great places and food.
One of the most impressive thing I have done in LA was taking the public transport. I was told that everybody drives. Otherwise, you can't get anywhere. I have proven that it's possible to take public transport everywhere.
Going back in time....
28 September
I had the greatest time of my life on this day. My friend got me a visitor pass to enter the Warner Bros studio. I was allowed to roam around by myself as long as I don't get into the way of the filming crew. I met two great people today, Christine and Tatum. I went into the jungle where True Blood was filmed. The place looked awfully small. I walked on the streets of New York and other European cities. I saw the filming of the Pretty Little Liar.
At one point, one of the crew from the show approached me and WP. We thought we were in the way (i.e. appearing in the camera). But he only asked for our camera. As soon as he had my camera in his hand, he made a dash giving both me and WP a fright. Luckily, he was only pulling our legs. He offered to take a photo for us.
The people are really friendly. I got a bit lost as I tried to make my way back to the Bridge Cafe. To be fair, all the roads I wanted to use was blocked due to ongoing filming. Luckily another nice crew showed me the way and told me the cordon was only meant to frighten people away. I will not be penalised for walking past the filming as long as I am not within the camera angle.
29 September
It's time for the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. I took the metro for the first time since I arrived in LA. Similar to the German system, the metro here is based on trust whereby no one will check my ticket. Cost me $6 for a daily pass, enabling me to take both metro rail and bus till 3am the next day.
The Kodak Theater was full of tourists. It was not easy to get a clear shot. It's hard to imagine that the way leading up to the theater is lined up by shops. According to WP, during the award days, these shops have to close and the stalls will need to be removed. I wonder if the shopkeepers are paid any compensation for their loss of business.
I saw the stars on the floor with the names of various celebrities. I saw the famous hand and footprint. A thought came. Having your name printed on the floor is indeed cool. But what's not cool is having people stepping on you whole day and perhaps a runaway dog might even poo-poo on your name!
After awhile, I got bored. The day was getting hotter. I decided to head to the Getty Museum. I walked all the way to Vine and Sunset to board a bus. I was told it was ten blocks down and 2 blocks to the right. Unfortunately, LA is no NY. The blocks are much longer and hence, took me ages to get to there. Nevertheless, I made it.
I boarded the Metro Local Line 2 (Sunset-PCH) heading west and stopped at Hilgard Av/Westholme Av which is close to UCLA. The bus passed by Beverly Hill (fancy, big houses) and Bel Air. From there, I took the Metro Rapid 761 (Pacoima) heading North, which took me straight to the Getty Centre. The whole journey took about an hour (inclusive of waiting time).
Getty is a very interesting museum, housing European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, European and American photographs. Admission is free. I was lucky enough to arrive at a the hour where the free Baroque and Rococo tour was about to begin. For the first time in my numerous visit to art museums, I learnt about art appreciation. I hanged around the museum till closing time, before heading to Westwood to meet WP for dinner.
30 September
This was the day I shortchanged everybody!
It began with a lazy morning. I set out at about 10.30am to take a bus to downtown LA. I walked around Chinatown and stopped by a foo chow restaurant where rush hour was shot. Although the price was reasonable ($4.70 for rice and a dish), the food was just not great. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone. Also, the service was poor. I left without giving tips because I thought no tips required.
My next stop was the Walt Disney Hall. WP recommended the dash bus route B which cost only $0.25. It goes in a loop, stopping at major attractions such as MOCA, Financial District and several others. I had fun sitting in the bus on a warm day, passing by important buildings in the downtown area. Later, I learnt that the cost for riding on a dash has been increased to $0.35 (my second blunder for the day).
The trip ended abruptly when I realised that I needed to make a move to USC if I want to attend the lecture on public health policy. I left behind the Warhol tote bag I was considering to purchase, got onto the dash, stopped at Union and took a cab to USC. The driver charged me $10 and that was all I paid. On hindsight, I should have given him tips cause that's the right thing to do. Good thing he didn't shout any abusive words to me.
After the lecture, I joined WP and her friends for happy hour.
1 October
When going public went wrong...
We were late. WP was supposed to drop me off at the Union Station but we left home late. So I ended up waiting for the free shuttle to Union Station. 1 1/2 hours later and after 3 rejections from the driver, I set out to leave the campus on foot. I had vague recollection of the road taken by the cab driver two days ago. I went on San Pablo St and reached the main st. From there, I discovered that I could take bus 76 to downtown LA. The bus driver was kind enough to alert me when the bus reached the closest stop the Little Tokyo. That was where I was heading.
Little Tokyo is really little, unlike Chinatown. But I must say that the service is way better. I wanted to have sushi for lunch but the price was too much. I decided to try some ramen instead. The advertisement on the Daikokuya Restaurant was too tempting for me to resist. As I stepped in, I was surprised to see the restaurant buzzing with activity. It was almost full and they were opened only about 45 minutes ago! As I was alone, I was quickly ushered to my seat. There was no regret. The Daikoku ramen was the best I have ever tasted. The soup was thick with flavour.
I left Little Tokyo after lunch to get to the Moca store. I was still contemplating to get the Warhol bag. But in the end, I decided against it. I took the dash (this time paying the right price) and then the metro to get to Los Feliz. There is no shuttle to take me up to the Griffith Observatory and so, I decided to walk up. It was a long and lonely hike. Took me 45 minutes. By the time I reached the top, I was exhausted. The first thing I noted in the observatory was the pendulum, which was swinging because the earth is moving and not due to any other forces. I saw exhibits on the moon, galaxy, different planets, telescope etc. I watched a show - Centred in the Universe - in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. A lady did a live narration while taking us around the universe.
WP was to pick me up from the hill as I couldn't walk anymore. We went to an Argentinian restaurant, Lala's, for dinner.
