la experience

We arrived from LA to Madison yesterday. I had so much fun sa LA. There were just so many things to see and visit. 

Last Feb7 we woke up early for our 6am flight to Detroit. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed so when we arrived there we weren’t able to catch the next flight to LA. So we booked for the next pero walang direct flight to LA, we had to stop at Las Vegas then off to LA. Medyo frustrated na kami ni kuya and medyo pagod na at the same time. If it weren’t for the delayed Madison flight to Detroit we would have been in LA the exact time we’re supposed to. sigh..In Las Vegas, naghintay pa ulit kami for 2 hours and finally, nakarating na rin kami ng LA.. sa wakas. I was really excited makarating ng LA and we really enjoyed our stay there. It’s kuya’s second time in LA already but he told me enjoyed our trip more.

We took a cab to our hotel, sobrang ma-traffic sa freeway (more than an hour kami sa cab)…minalas yata talaga kami that day hehe:) Umalis kami ng Madison ng 530am and we arrived sa hotel in LA at almost 9pm. Pagdating namin sa room nagyaya agad si kuya kumain ng Jolibee. Since it’s the same hotel they stayed to the last time, he knew about the place already. And one thing nga that made him choose the same hotel was because of jollibee and the other filipino restaurants there (Manila Sunset and Point-Point). We took a bus to jolibee (lumagpas pa kami) since the buses have their own designated stops lang and hindi pwedeng sumakay and bumaba kahit saan. Hindi pa kami pinagbayad ng driver hehe:)

On our first day there, our destination was Disney. We were dropped there by our tourist guide (along with the 2 girls from New Zealand) at 10am. Pick-up time was 8pm. Medyo takot ako sa rides like roller coaster, the loop thing ride. We tried the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion etc. But the most thrilling ride for us was the Space Mountain. Actually, we’re still deciding if we wanted to ride that..’cause we heard that it was really dark inside and was sort of a roller coaster ride. We thought nakapila kami sa ibang ride, it was too late ng makita naming sa Space Mountain pala kami nakapila. Shucks! No way out, no turning back na to. So, I convinced him na i-try na namin (’cause we really didn’t know what’s in store for us there.) Grabe! it was indeed a roller coaster ride na super fast but the thing is it was totally dark inside thus, space stuff talaga. You won’t know kelan ka babagsak because we weren’t able to see a thing. But it was so fun! though, if only pwedeng umayaw in the middle, I would have done it. The tourist guide who picked us from disney was a filipino. When he saw us, nagtagalog agad siya. Mabait siya, ayaw pa nga niyang tanggapin yung tip pero we insisted. Sabi niya, he’s been there for more than 30 years already. He wants to go back to Pinas din after lang daw makatapos ng mga anak niya. Hindi raw marunong magtagalog mga anak niya no matter how he teaches them. But on our second day, naka off siya kaya we had a different tourist guide ulit.

Tour in downtown LA and Universal Studios were our destinations on the second day. I liked the 2nd day more than Disney ’cause we’re able to see Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Walk of Fame etc. This time, marami na kami, may taga-Holland, NZ, Minnesota, Argentina, Italy, Ireland and may 1 pinoy family. Yung mga taga- Argentina (1 family sila- parents and 3 children), at first parang nagrereklamo yung tatay sa tourist guide/driver (I think, kasi nga hindi sila nakakaintindi ng english). Nagtatranslate naman yung tourist guide (but only when he’s addressing to that family) pero mostly, kapag nagkukuwento na siya about the history of this and that place etc, english na. Nagulat nga kami kasi bumaba silang buong family. Sabi ng tourist guide, they decided to explore LA on their own na lang. Naawa ako sa kanila. Siyempre yung tatay, gusto niyang ma-enjoy ng family niya yung trip nila, kaso na-bad trip agad sila. Well, it happens talaga esp if you don’t or can’t speak the language. Pero sabi nga ng tourist guide, good riddance na rin raw, ’cause the father was so mean to him already. Well, sometimes it happens talaga.  

Sa third day namin, we were on our own, so I told kuya I want to see Santa Monica beach instead of roaming around hollywood. From the hotel, nagbus lang kami to Santa Monica. It was an hour ride to the beach. Pagbaba pa lang namin ng bus, t’was so cold already because of the beach nga. But we walked through Third St Promenade first, ang ganda. Shopping haven talga siya but I only bought an aviator shades from Banana Rep. Buti na lang may discount card si kuya and I only got the shades for 56$. Nakasave ako ng 50$. We ate lunch at Fatburger then we headed to the beach na. Medyo mahabang lakaran to the beach but the view was amazing kaya you wouldn’t feel tired. The only problem was nanginginig na ko sa lamig and I didn’t bring anything with me. Kuya enjoyed it very much sa beach, he walked barefooted sa sand and there we took pictures. Upo upo lang sa sand, enjoying the sun.

Sabi nga niya, it seemed that I enjoyed myself more in LA than in Wisconsin. Yeah, I did. It’s winter there kasi. I like the sun more. Mas maraming tao, maraming buildings…parang you’ll never get tired of walking because of the beauty of the surroundings. Plus, it’s the seat of entertainment in US. Napansin ko rin while naglalakad kami sa stretch ng third street na maraming homeless. Parang dala-dala nila lahat ng belongings nila, nagsasalita mag-isa, tumatawa mag-isa, naglalakad ng pabalik-balik. Marami rin sila, actually.  

 I like LA. It’s very alive and bursting with people. Masaya. Masarap maglakad. Mag-frolic in the sun kasi hindi ka naman papawisan kahit super sunny. I like its diversity. I told kuya, given a chance, I will choose to live in LA than in Madison. Well, actually he decided na nga this June to move to San Fran, second choice niya is LA so, sabi ko that will be my next stop hehe:) Oo raw..yehey!

Pero, kelangan nang umuwi ulit to Madison..kainis:(