Hi :) So Rajat and I have a dream! We want to visit 25 countries in 25 years! And so far we are on the right track!! This is the 3rd country we visited in the last 2 years! yeahhhh!!! so go ahead, read on & have fun! and hopefully it'll help you plan your trip too!!
16th Aug-
Took the early morning flight from Delhi to LA (via Abu Dhabi). Etihad Airways.
Reached LA by late afternoon.
Hadn’t planned anything for day 1 as we knew we were going
to be tired because of the long flight. Our hotel was in the Hollywood area(2
mins walk to the metro station), so very close to the Hollywood Boulevard
where there is walk of fame, Chinese theatre, Dolby Theatre (where the Oscars happen)Madam
Tussad’s Wax Museum and few other tourist spots, including tons of souvenir
shops. So just went for dinner in that
area.
17th Aug-
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
It’s best to reach the park as early as possible since there
is a lot to cover. Took the metro and then the shuttle. Get a map at the
entrance of the park. Now, the park is divided in two lots. I recommend you to
take the studio bus tour first and then cover the lower lot. Awesome rides! Transformers
(the best one), Jurassic Park and The Mummy. Then move onto the upper lot. Little
kiddy rides here, but might as well do them if u have time & also if
rollercoasters aren’t your thing. Yes, very imp, pls catch all the shows! Check
their timings and plan accordingly! Shows not to miss- special effects and water
world. Animal show is ok, nothing gr8.. All in all a fun day
J
18th Aug-
LA CITY TOUR
Took a guided city tour which took us to Santa Monica Pier,
Beverly Hills(where we saw few famous mansions!),Rodeo Drive, Griffith Observatory but only to see the Hollywood sign( which is
such a overhype :P) and the Hollywood Boulevard. Checked out Madam Tussad’s and
tried finding fav celeb stars at the walk of fame, but its tough! There are way
tooooo many stars! N again, a lil overhype! But that area has a nice feel to it…Very
American ;) you don’t need to pre book the city tour. Can easily book one at
your hotel.
Disneyland is a little away from the main LA city. So in
order to save time traveling, we shifted to a hotel in Anaheim(area where the
park is) on 18th night itself. Reached the park by 10am on 19th.
Got the map and started having fun! Now since its Disneyland, don’t expect
rollercoasters n all. Just be a kid and feel the magic!
Now there are two parks in this area (just opp to each
other)- Disneyland Park and Disneyland California Adventure Park(more suited
for grown-ups). We didn’t have enough time to cover both, so just did the 1st.
Check it online and do whichever one u like more first and can cross over to
the next one if your are done on time or just keep 2 days for Disneyland! :P
Drove to Vegas right after we were done with the park!! It’s
Vegas Baby!!!! ;) lol.. You obviously understand the excitement. Anyways we
reached Vegas by late night (2ish)! Checked into the hotel and checked out the
hotel Casino! Played on the ‘FRIENDS’ slot machine and won 20$.. oh yeahh!
20th Aug-
GRAND CANYON
We hired a convertible Mustang!!!!!! Yes the roof went fully
down!!!!!!!!! Yeahhh :D And drove to the Grand Canyon! It’s a long drive, so
try leaving early.. takes around 4-5 hours to get there. But we left late, so
reached late! Now if u r just going to see the canyon, then that’s gr8, but I guess
its more fun if you go hiking! Obv need a lot of time for that..but that’s the
fun part..just seeing the canyon isn’t tht gr8 (overhype again). N ya we didn’t
hike.. no time L
drove back to Vegas after seeing the canyon.
21st Aug-
BACK TO VEGAS
Now Vegas is super famous for casinos, strip clubs, booze n
all that! But at the same time there are amazing shows u can catch! Very different
experience! N since Vegas is more fun at night, u sleep all day n wake up late
;) lol.. so did we! Our day started at around 2-3pm. Walked on the strip a bit
and then saw the show – ‘
Marriage can be murder’.. Murder Mystery Dinner Show! Greaaatttt Fun! Take the VIP tickets; you become a part of the show that
ways!! After the show, walked on the strip, saw all amazing hotels, Venetian
being my favourite ;) (You can enter any hotel and play in its casino.. all
hotels are pretty much connected) Then went to a strip club late in the night!
;) Another must to do things in Vegas!! Its better if I don’t give u the
details, go check it out for yourself-
Spearmint Rhino! so ya u
have the night to yourself, go crazy!
22nd Aug-
VEGAS CONTINUES!
Now we wanted to be a little adventurous so did
Sky Jump
from the tallest building in Vegas, Stratosphere! After the adreline
rush, we just crossed the road and there it was! The Little Vegas Wedding
Chapel ;) N yesssssss we got married!!! How can you come to Vegas n not get
married!! Hehehe
J
Damn Fun! Then later in the night, saw another show-
Blue Man Theatre Group. This show was ok, not that great but ya the ending was amazing!! Kinda made it
up for an otherwise boring show :P lol.. After our strip club the previous night,
we were still not done with naked chicks: P so went for a strip show-
XBurlesque!! Was amazing,
as expected.. we had our favourites too ;)
Now, there is a magical music fountain in front of
Bellagios! A 5 minute fountain show, happens every 15-20 mins.. Also, there’s a
5 min volcano show in front of The Mirage! Check out both… pretty cool and its
right on the strip!
Misc:
- We didn’t really use the car after canyon. So if u want you can drop if off sooner!
- Instead of pre-booking the shows, you can try your luck at 'The Half Price Show Ticket' counters in Vegas. They usually have tickets to all famous shows at half the price!
23rdAug-24th
Aug: SEATTLE
Took an early morning flight to Seattle. You can drop off the rental car at the airport and if you want to do any last minute gambling, there you are! The Vegas airport has a couple of slot machines! Lol :P Reached Seattle by 10-11am. We had friends in Seattle. So stayed at their place and they took us around! Their house was this cute little thing, one usually gets to see in movies! ;) We were in Seattle for 2 days, so saw a couple of normal things, which kinda define US- Sex Store, Comic Book Store, Car Wash, Indian Restaurants, a drive through coffee place which is famous for the booby girl who serves coffee pretty seductively! Bath n Body Works (lol do check this shop girls…I assure you’ll love it), Premium Outlet(factory outlets of all premium brands. Good for luxury shopping! Go Nuts!), Cabela (A store for all adventure gadgets- hiking, trekking, hunting, fishing, u name it, they got it!). Also saw the Washington University, pretty nice campus! And finally the Seattle Downtown lights in the night! Super cool :)
25th Aug:
SAN DIEGO
Took an early morning flight from Seattle to San Diego. Flight
was via LA, so reached San Diego by afternoon. Had cousins there, so again no
hotel :P Went to La Jolla Caves where we saw hundreds of sea lions just soaking
the sun! Was pretty cool. Had never seen them in the open like that before..
Amazing beach, very picturesque. But the water is super cold, so think before
taking a dip!
San Diego has the largest zoo in the world and that means it
has all possible animals, popular ones being- Pink Flamingo, Polar Bear, Kangaroo, Koala and PANDA!
J The
zoo pretty much takes the whole day, but try doing it a lil quickly so that you
can go the
San Diego Safari Park too.. Now its about 45 mins from the zoo but
has a totally different experience. They have tried to recreate the African and
Asian safaris by keeping animals in open spaces, to give you a wildlife kind of
experience. Good to check it out! There are fewer animals in the safari park
but its still fun!
Now you’ll get to see all sorts of sea animals in this park!
Pretty nice J
but the dolphin and the whale shows are to die for! Get the map at the entrance
and make a note of all the show timings! U sure don’t want to miss any of them.
Also, there’s white whale in the park n coz of lack of publicity, ppl don’t really
know about it… but it’s damn cute!!! Check it out along with thousands of
penguins and walrus! You also get to feed and interact with the animals if you
wish too, but obv it comes at a price! But its worth it J we interacted with the dolphins...
they r super cute!
**Try out Buffalo wild wings in San Diego! It’s a sports bar with
the awesomest chicken wings ever! U can choose the spice level as per your
comfort! Dare u to try 10!**
28th Aug:
SAN FRANCISCO
Flight to SFO in the morning. Again stayed with a friend! It’s
a really small city, so we got on the Hop on Hop off bus. It takes you around
the city, and covers all tourist places- fisherman’s wharf and golden gate
bridge being the most famous. Now remember that the bus just goes in one
direction, so cover spots as they come.
29th Aug:
SFO- SANTA CRUZ
Drove to the Santa Cruz pier/beach which is around 1-2 hours
from the SFO city. Spent all afternoon there. Pretty cool
J on the way back, took
the 101 and saw a lovely isolated beach- coast diaries (secret) beach!
Had dinner at the craziest place- CRAWDADDY! If you love sea
food, you will kill for this place! Crabs, prawns, squid... everything tasted
amazing and this place gives you the right to be as messy as you want! Just dig
in and go crazy! A must try :)
30th Aug: Flight back home- same Etihad Airways
via Abu Dhabi. Reached home with another awesome, memorable and a fun filled
trip!!
Misc:
- Make all your bookings via expedia.com (yes .com, not
.in)… you'll get to see a lot more flight/hotel options
- Download the Uber cab app before travelling. It’s
much cheaper than the other taxi providers
- US follows right hand drive (the opposite
driving rules as India), so if you are not used to it, it might be confusing
- And it's better to know someone who lives in the States. Makes travelling way easier!
Have fun and feel free to ask whatever you wanna know! Have a
great trip!!
