California: A Great Start of 2020

The name of this post cannot be more ironic. Well, at that time, I really thought that 2020 would be such a great year. It was not that great for me and, perhaps, for everyone in the world due to the Pandemic that hit us in March 2020. However, I cherish the memories and experiences I received when I was in California. Now that I know that I’ll be in the US for 5-6 more years, I’ll definitely visit Cal again at some point!

Day 1: LAX - Mexican Market - Little Tokyo - La Jolla

After 6.5 hrs on the plane, I finally arrive at LAX. My boyfriend “Poy” picked me up at terminal 5 (It was supposed to be 4, but my direction brain never works, so I walked past the meeting point.) From LAX, we took flyaway, just like the silver line in Boston, to Union station.

Pics: (left) Union station, (right) Mexican market

Our first destination is the Mexican market next to the station. Walking under the bright and warm sun made us feel like we were in Mexico! I didn’t buy anything from the market, but I got the collectible penny from one of the stores. A picture of a skull was pressed on the penny I inserted. If I’m right, the skull is related to the day of the death, one of the most famous festivals in Mexico.

The next destination is Little Tokyo: the Japanese community near the station. There, we had lunch together at a ramen shop right at the main square. I ordered spicy udon while Poy ordered spicy ramen. It was different tastes of spice, and I liked mine better :P

(left) Ramen shop, (center) the symbol of Little Tokyo, (Right) SomiSomi

After that, we were walking around to see if there was anything we wanted to buy. I got two packs of pen fillings, the kind that I was so much in love with. Since we had about 30 minutes left before the train departed, we went to SomiSomi, a Taiyaki ice cream shop. Milk tea and matcha swirl topped with graham crackers, rainbow sprinkle, and Nutella-filled Taiyaki was so unreal. (Sorry for being so detailed about that, but the only kind of porns I watch is food porn.)

About 3 pm, we hopped on the surf liner amtrak to go to La Jolla, where my friends actually live. The scenery kept changing: from Mexican houses, tall buildings, desert to the ocean.

We went right to Poy’s friends’ place to drop our backpacks. The first night ended with a comfort dinner at Westfield mall near the house.

That meal was the foreshadow of our eating habits. Curious? Let’s see where we were going on the second day!

Day 2: UCSD - Torrey Pine State Park - La Jolla Cove - Welcome party!

We started the morning with two crispy rice treats. (Yes, that’s why I told you our eating habit doesn’t look great.) I decided to walk from the house to Scripps research, where Poy works. It took us a whole hour to walk, but it was nice to see weird-looking buildings on the UCSD campus.

Then after 6,000 steps, we took, instead of continuing walking for 30 more minutes, we called Lyft to Torrey Pine state park.

Our host mom, Margaret, told us that this state park is her most favorite spot in the world. It was hers, but not quite ours. Although the view was gorgeous and the hike was not at all difficult, the heat somehow reminded us of Thailand. (Disclaimer: I love my country so much. It’s just the heat. )

After that, we went to La Jolla cove, where all the adorable creatures live! That was the first time I saw seals and sea lions in their natural habitat. They are unbelievable. I’d love to stay as long as I wanted, but, unfortunately, the smell from their feces was a bit intolerant. Just some tips from my Californian guide: seals and sea lions don’t live together. To spot where they are, you have to spot where most of the tourists are. With this trick, you don’t have to climb down the rocky path to see the bare rocks and disappointed faces of other tourists.

Last but not least, his friends (most, um actually, all are graduate students who are studying in La Jolla) gave me a welcome party! It was a lovely night with all of these lovely Thai people. P’Waan and P’Un picked Poy and me up at the cove. (back in Thailand, we call older people with the prefix P’, which means older brother/sister) Then, we drove to a couple of Asian supermarkets to get veggies and sliced meat for the hotpot party. P’Fai and P’Boat, the oldest of the group, later joined us at P’Un’s house. It meant a lot to me, and I’m so glad to have these people in my orbit.

(from left to right: Poy, me, P’Waan, P’Fai, P’Boat, P’Un)

Day 3: San Diego Zoo - Babua Park - Sea Port Village

Good morning! Lucky enough, it was sunny throughout my trip! P’Waan offered us a ride to the San Diego zoo in the morning, so we wouldn’t have to pay $20. (I love you, P’Waan!)

We arrived quite late (about 10.30 AM) since people usually arrive at 9.30 AM. We started with two English muffins with cheese and eggs. The price was a little high as if we were in Disneyland.

After we were fully charged, we then stored our huge backpacks in the zoo’s lockers, and we were ready to see our friends!

We saw a lot of exotic animals: small and big, scary and cute. The one we were kinda confused about was the labrador in the last picture. He was there to play with the cheetah cub, and of course, we didn’t know that a dog would do something like that. That was the first time I went to a zoo in the US and was the first time I went to a zoo after 10 years passed. It was the most amazing experience so far this year.

Just a tip: there is a cable car that we can go across the zoo. We used it once, but it was very pretty from above.

We went out of the zoo around 4.30 PM. The sun still didn’t set, but almost, so we decided to go to Babua park, which is also an iconic place in San Diego. Before the park was established, the area had been used for the world expo. After that, the rich donate quite a lot of money to build something for the public, and here it is: one of the most beautiful parks in the US, “Babua park.” There are several arts shops selling handmade crafts, paintings, and drawings. The view outside was gorgeous, and it somehow reminds me of European, plus Indian, architecture.

At night, we went to Seaport Village to have dinner. We had tacos and nachos (I know. We were that kind of couple who doesn’t need much to live.) Seaport village was lightened by thousands and thousands of those yellow light bulbs and was filled with the music from a street band. Before we went back to the house, we also bought two cupcakes from a famous shop that once won the cupcake wars! The cupcakes were eaten later, but they were still so tasteful and fresh!

Day 4: Thai Town - Griffith Observatory - Hollywood

Taa-daa! Where were we? We were in LA! LA is probably one of the most well-known cities in the US due to its diversity and various tourist attractions.

We started our trip with a nice and cozy lunch at Paa-Ord noodle restaurant in Thai Town. I ordered Kuay Teaw Doo-dee (egg noodle with roasted pork, minced pork, sour/sweet/spicy soup). It was the best choice of the day! After that, we went to Silom Market, where we could be authentic Thai ingredients. I didn’t buy anything because of the limited space in my backpack, but it was enjoyable to see Thai goods after a long time.

Then, we went uphill to Griffith observatory. It was 4ish by the time we got there, so we decided to wait until the sunset. While waiting, we went to see much interesting innovations in the observatory: camera obscura, huge telescope, and heat-detecting camera.

And the time came! Here are some pictures we took when the sun was getting down. It was such a great moment, and people were out there to appreciate the fact the earth already fully revolved around itself. (sounds funny, doesn’t it?)

However, the moment was brief but worth it. I couldn’t help but applaud along with the crowd. Those applauses might be for us, humans, who were there not thinking about work and life problems yet appreciating what nature was.

Later that night, after we could call Lyft to take us to downtown, we had dinner at Paa-Ord again. This time we ordered fried chicken and Somtam (papaya salad), and that was awesome! Then, we went to Hollywood where Oscar night is held annually. It was a bit different from what I thought: rather dirty but still lit up by thousands of lights and street shows. I noticed a couple of famous Hollywood stars’ handprints that I known. It was cool, after all, to see these iconic things in LA at night :)

Day 5: Santa Monica - Downtown LA (The Last Bookstore, Ginza, Bradley building)

Last day of the trip. Time flies, doesn’t it? Now, we were back to the first place I had lunch, Little Tokyo. Poy took me here so that we could grab some snacks for breakfast. We went to Dulce, a Japanese dessert shop, and get roti and two matcha lattes. The matcha was very refreshing, and the roti brought me back to my childhood time already. (YUM!)

After we stored our bags with bagbnb at a store in the area, we took a train to Santa Monica. Santa Monica is one of the most famous vacation places in LA. The town was lively and full of people from around the world. I really like the fact that although there are lots of people coming in and out, the city was very clean and organized!

Oh, the picture above is me picking various candies. Yes, I love eating, so it’s all clear now why I was so detailed about food.

Then, we walked, walked, and walked. The entrance! What does it say? SANTA MONICA! The sun was directly above our heads, so we only got hard lights in our photos. Anyway, the place was amazing and colorful. The ocean was not so blue, but the waves were so strong, creating millions of bubbles on the surface of the sea. Note that we also had a cup of vanilla ice cream. (Who is the best at spoiling me?)

(Bradley Building)

Before we caught the bus to the airport, I got to see some interesting places in downtown LA as well such as Bradley building where Blade Runner was filmed a long time ago; a huge fresh market that I don’t remember the name; and The Last Bookstore, the coolest bookstore on earth!

(above: a huge market in the heart of downtown LA below: the last bookstore)

P.S. This trip couldn’t happen without my boyfriend, so I’d say I’m so thankful for seeing him, though it was only five days before I leave for another adventure in Budapest. It was one of the best things I could have in 2020, and perhaps in my life. Thank you :)