5 days Maldives, Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa (9 - 13 Nov 2017)

November 17, 2017

The first time I came to Maldives was in 2012, staying in Centara. My experience staying in Centara had been an really enjoyable one and if it hasn't been a huge increase in their resort price, I would have chosen to stay in Centara again. This time, I have chosen to stay in Vilamendhoo, which is within my budget and I have read many good reviews online about it.

1st day

It was a 4hrs 35mins flight and Maldives is 3 hours behind Singapore. I arrived at Male at around 12noon and I proceeded to check in for the seaplane to the resort. The seaplane journey takes about 30 mins and it will be quite an interesting experience for those who have not taken it before as the plane will take off / land from the sea and throughout the flight, you will have a nice view from your seat as it fly past many resorts and coral islands.

This was where the trip starts to go south on my first day. First, I was told that the seaplane was facing some ‘technical issues’ and would be delayed until 3 pm. When I reached the resort, it was already about 4 pm and I was told by the resort staff that I needed to downgrade my room on my first day from Water Villa which I had booked, to Jacuzzi Beach Villa as the resort had been ‘overbooked’, and the room I paid for was not available until the next day. I was compensated for the difference in pricing, given USD100 voucher to dine in one of the ala carte restaurants, a bottle of red wine and a fruit platter for this inconvenience. Can’t say I was happy about it but I willingly accepted as I had no other choice and I really didn’t wanna spoil my holiday mood. Looking on the bright side, I get to experience staying in 2 different types of room during my stay. After I settled down in my room, it was already pretty late, so I just explored the island a little before heading for dinner.

This resort comes inclusive of all 3 meals in their buffet restaurant, which I find the food to be really nice. There was a good spread of India, Western and Chinese food and their menu changes on a daily basis. There is an option for you to dine in 2 of their other ala carte restaurants but that will be separately chargeable. When I booked the resort, I had opted for the ‘All Inclusive Plus’ package which, at an additional price of USD53/person/night, and I got to enjoy all beverages in all restaurants, most of the drinks in the mini-bar in your room, food from ‘afternoon tea’ at no additional charges, ‘all day - all night’.

After dinner, it was raining and a little cold that night. I decided to try the outdoor Jacuzzi and I love it! I love it so much that throughout the rest of my stay, I made use of the Jacuzzi at least twice every day. The Jacuzzi allows you to adjust your preferred temperature and is big enough to sit 3 persons. When it is not raining, you get to enjoy the night view of stars in the sky while you are in the Jacuzzi. When it rains, it is nice to have the raindrop falling on your face, while your body hides in the warm of the Jacuzzi.

If you have opted for the ‘All Inclusive Plus’ package, they will deliver a bottle of Champagne in an ice bucket to your room on your first night of stay. I popped the Champagne, took a few sips and reconfirmed the fact that I do not like alcohol.

As the Beach Villa faces the beach, naturally there will be some insects. I found some big ants and cockroach outside the doorstep of my room. Just a point to note if you are someone like me who "does not enjoy' the company of cockroaches/insects.

The 'Jacuzzi Beach Villa' which I stayed in on my first day on the island

2nd day

It was another cloudy/drizzling day. Breakfast starts from 7 am - 10 am, every day. The spread of food was pretty standard. I was told that my room was ready and switched room early in the morning. The Water Villa was a world of difference! Your room directly faces the coral reefs ocean and there is a direct staircase to the coral reefs from your room. The room looks abit bigger than the Beach Villa and there are no insects/cockroaches.

Went for snorkeling from the Villa. The sea directly below the Beach Villa was shallow and filled with sand and some dead corals. You will have to swim a short distance out (about 50-100m) to actually see more corals and fishes. The water was extremely clear and even though it was raining, visibility underwater was very good. Unfortunately, I saw that most of the corals were near to dying. I later found out from one of the divers working in the resort that this is due to the effect of global warming, especially after April 2016. Seeing the effect of global warming first hand, I made a promise to myself to commit in playing my part in saving the earth from now on.

Lunch starts from 12.30 pm to 2 pm, every day. Again, the spread of food was pretty standard, but the quality was decent.

After lunch, I decided to explore the activities that were available in the resort. There were many activities for you to explore. From whale shark snorkeling, to scuba diving, to water sports and even excursions. Most of these require additional charges. If you have included 'All Inclusive Plus', you will be able to sign up for the 'Sunset cruise' for free. I signed up for this and the 'Turtle snorkeling', which costed USD25/pax. For their snorkeling activities, you are required to bring your own snorkeling equipment and fins, both of which can be rented from their diving center. USD6/day for the snorkeling equipment and USD6/day for fins.

For dinner, I went to their 'Asian Wok' restaurant as I had the USD100 credits given by the resort to utilize. Apparently, every Friday is a 'Thai night' at the restaurant, and there is an additional menu option of a 3-course set menu at USD28/pax. The food was nice and compared to their regular buffet restaurant, this was more classy. Price was a little on the high side and the cost of each item ranges between USD10 - USD20. But the biggest attraction was the ambiance. Their outdoor seats gave you a direct view of the ocean and every so often, fishes/sharks will swim below you. I recommend to bring some bread so you can feed the fishes while you dine or while waiting for your food to be served.

The view from the Water Villa where I stayed

Just outside my room, reef sharks chasing a pool of small fishes

3rd Day

Other than the usual breakfast, lunch, dinner at the buffet restaurant, today I decided to try their massage. All guests are given a 15 mins free trial massage, and USD10 off if you sign up for their 1 hour massage. If you do sign up for their 1 hour massage, you can combine the 15 mins to make it 75 mins. The catch is, you need to consume this within the first 2 days of your stay and you have to book your massage session between 10 am - 2 pm. Personally, I find this clause too restrictive. Especially as their massage is quite popular and even if you book at least a day in advance, a lot of the slots would have already been taken. That being said, their massage is really good. Probably the best massage I've ever had. I was escorted to a room facing the ocean. And when you lay down for the massage, you will be facing a glass panel which you can view the ocean below you as you enjoy the massage. The masseur is very professional and the massage relax both your body and mind. Can't really describe anything more than this in words, but I do strongly encourage anyone to try this.

Today was the day when I had booked the 'Sunset cruise'. In total, there were 22 of us who signed up for this activity. We set off at 5 pm and the tour took approximately 1 hr 30 mins. Other than to view the sunset from out in the ocean, another objective of the cruise is to search for dolphins. Sunset was really beautiful on that day and we were lucky to see and come close with a few groups of dolphins.

It had been raining and cloudy for the first 2 days. Today was the first day when there was clear sky. And when in Maldives, a clear sky at night is something to look forward to. Maldives has the best stars view I have ever seen. On this night, I saw a total of 7 shooting stars (And made 7 wishes).

4th Day

Went for the 'turtle snorkeling excursion' in the morning. There were 10 of us who signed up for this and it took about 15 mins of boat ride to the coral island where turtles can be found. We were constantly warned not to swim too close or touch the turtles as this may stress them up and attack you. In total, I saw 4 turtles. It was a short but enjoyable 1 hr 30 mins trip. The experience of swimming close to turtles - priceless.

This was the last full day I was staying in Maldives, and the one last activity I wanted to try was Kayaking. There are both single and double kayaks available for rental. Kayaking one round around the island at a relaxing pace would take you approximately 45 mins. It was a very relaxing way to get close to the fishes and corals, and to have a nice view around the island.

I skipped past the lunch hour and as I had the 'All Inclusive Plus', I did not need to worry about missing the meal hours as I was still able to dine at the 'Bonthi Bar' restaurant which serves noodles, sandwiches, finger food and drinks, 24/7. The noodle in the menu was instant noodles but taste was good.

A typical lunch in the buffet restaurant

5th Day

With an extremely reluctant feeling, today marked the end of my vacation and the day I left Maldives, Vilamendhoo Island Resort. The resort receptionist had gotten from me the timing and details of my return international flight and had helped to book the seaplane and planned the time when I need to check out from the resort.

In conclusion

I did not expect to enjoy this much in this vacation. I really regretted not staying longer. If I had a couple more days, I would have loved to spend my time in Maldives in a more relaxing pace, and maybe try the fishing excursion, the whale sharks snorkeling and even diving.

In addition, seeing most of the corals in dying state was really shocking. When I previously visited Maldives in 2012, the corals I saw was beautiful and colourful. Seeing this first hand, I was more than convinced that we need to act now. If you are reading this, hope you would consider doing your part in saving earth as well.

My recommendations

Except from within the restaurants, WiFi is available throughout the resort. But on the first night of my stay in Beach Villa, the WiFi in my room was extremely weak and unusable. The WiFi when I stayed in Water Villa on the other hand was extremely strong. Using the resort internet constantly requires you to key in the ID and password which occasionally has some issues when I log in. I recommend at least 1 of you to purchase a pre-paid data SIM card just in case. It will come in handy.
From Singapore, there are no telcos that has a collaboration with Male’s telco for data plan bundle deals. Thus, data plan usable will be base on ‘pay-per-use’ which is unbelievably expensive. I recommend getting a pre-paid data SIM. I purchased mine from ‘Changi Recommends’ and it costed me just SGD28 for 15GB of data usage.
Having stayed in both Beach and Water Villa, I highly recommend the Water Villa.
Bring 1-2 loaf of bread. Although not all, most of the fishes eat bread and feeding the fishes as you snorkel makes it extra enjoyable.
I do not drink alcohol and it would be subjective on whether I would recommend adding the ‘All Inclusive Plus’ package. At the end of the day, I don’t think I’ve consumed more than what I had paid for the additional of USD53/night for ‘All Inclusive Plus’. But not having to worry for the price tag and having to drink almost everything on the menu does take one less thing off your mind. I could say, if you drink alcohol, opt for it. I asked one of the waiter and he said about 95% of the customers opted for this. Other benefits of ‘All Inclusive Plus’ package includes a free ride on ‘Sunset Cruise’, Kayaks rental, etc.
Bring an underwater camera, or simply, a GoPro camera. In my opinion, this is a MUST!

4 days Shanghai (23 - 27 Mar 2017)

May 23, 2017

This will be a short trip. I'm not here for a holiday, but I'll try to make the best of it. It's gonna be my 3rd time coming to shanghai and the first 2 experience here had been very pleasant.

Day 1: Shanghai

Flight from Singapore to Shanghai is approximately 5 hours and 30 mins. Got my seat 'upgraded' to a preferred seat with extra leg room as the entertainment system at my original seat was faulty. Would had like my original window seat though, as it was a window seat. Checked in to my hotel, Kempinsky. Room of the hotel is big, nice and located in the heart of CBD area. Had dinner in a restaurant called "张生记“ in 'Super Brand Mall' "正大广场“. Food was nice and price was very reasonable. They have window view seat which has an excellent view of the Bund "外滩". When in Shanghai, one of the must-eat local speciality is 'DongPoRou' "东坡肉". 'Super Brand Mall' "正大广场“ would be my go-to place for a nice meal as there are many nice restaurants in this mall. Whenever in China, always eat Chinese food. Even though Singapore has lots of nice Chinese restaurants, the Chinese food in China is really nice and authentic.

One thing I immediately noticed on the street of Shanghai was, there were a lot of rental bicycles. Nothing much for the first day but I did manage to find some time taking some videos with my drone.

The seat on my flight to Shanghai, being upgraded to 'preferred seat'. (Btw, I was watching 'La La Land')

My room in hotel 'Kempinsky'. Probably one of the nicest hotels in Shanghai.

Some parts of the street being flooded with rental bicycles

One of Shanghai's local speciality 'DongPoRou' "东坡肉"

Day 2: 'The Bund' "外滩"

Had another famous Shanghai food for my breakfast today. 'Yang's Dumpling' "小杨生煎", which is basically steam+stir fried Chinese dumpling. My 3rd time eating this and it still tasted very nice. This would definitely be my must-eat food in Shanghai. Took the 'Bund sightseeing tunnel' across to 外滩. Single way ride cost RMB50 (RMB70 for both ways). Although it was just a 3-4mins ride, I highly recommend it as the experience is pretty amazing as the whole tunnel is decorated with many beautiful lightings. Had a brief walk at 'The Bund' "外滩" which is another famous place to visit in Shanghai. The Bund overseas the entire business district of Shanghai and gives you a very different view both during the day and night time. Didn't get to do much for today as well, as it started raining since afternoon which lasted till midnight.

Day 3 'Yu Garden' "豫园"

Started the day taking some drone videography. Discovered a really nice place that has a panorama view of the bund river, as well as a great place for drone flying. (Go to 正大广场, walk out from the back door on the 3rd floor of the mall. You will see a connecting bridge. Follow the path and walk towards the bund and you will arrive at the jetty).

Went to 'Yu Garden' "豫园" in the afternoon. It was a weekend and crowded with people. A modernised traditional place with temples and lots of small stores selling Chinese food. My second time there and I still find it a pretty interesting place.

Had dinner at 'Xiao Nan Guo' "小南国" which is again located in 'Super Brand Mall' "正大广场“. It was a pretty high class Chinese restaurant with nice ambiance and nice food. Price was pretty reasonable as well. Another shanghai food to try is the "黄鱼面", which is a fish noodle that tasted pretty saltish.

Day 4 'Tian Zi Fang' "田子坊"

Started the day late and went to another tourist spot in Shanghai, 'Tian Zi Fang' "田子坊". 'Tian Zi Fang' has preserved the original architecture and has it's streets designed to symbolise the chinese character "田". There are many small and interesting stores selling arts and crafts, local chinese snacks etc.

In conclusion

And with 'Tian Zi Fang' being the last place I went before flying back to Singapore, it concluded my 4 days of Shanghai travel. It was really a relaxing trip, didn't go to many places, especially since I was there on special assignments. I even get to shoot enough footages to create a youtube travel vlog from this trip. In short, Shanghai is a very interesting place, with many nice Chinese restaurants, and a fair bit of nice tourist attractions. Didn't buy anything from this trip, and just spent my money on food. I did notice that even though I was at the city, there were hardly anyone in the street when it was past midnight, which could make you feel really unsafe since you would be literately alone in the street. But in the day time, it was ok and you can frequently see police patrolling the streets. I did however bum into a few conman during my trip, which kinda spoiled the experience a bit. But overall I would say my 3rd time in Shanghai was a very enjoyable one.

13 days Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas (21 Jan - 3 Feb 2017)

February 26, 2017

It was my 2nd time to US and the last time was more than 20 years ago. This time, it's mainly for work but I had spent a few days for leisure as well. A tiring 20+ hours of fight from Singapore and altogether 4.5 days in Los Angeles, 4.5 days in San Francisco and 5 days in Las Vegas.

Day 1: Los Angeles, Hollywood walk-of-fame

First time on a 'Premium economy' class seat and the extra comfort definitely helped in my 20+ hours of flight. Arrived at LA around 8am in the morning and checked in to 'Hollywood Celebrity Hotel'. The hotel was big, location was pretty good, but it was a little old. I was really tired after the flight and only took a walk along Hollywood walk-of-fame on that day. There were many Hollywood stars with their names and signatures printed on the floor for tourist to take photos of. It was a short and straight stretch of road with some street performers along the street. Point to note, if you were to take photos together with the street performers, they will demand a tip from you. The walk-of-fame is worth going but would not take you more than half a day.

Premium economy class on SQ airline. More comfy than economy, not as good as business class.

Day 2: Rented a car, Desert Hills premier Outlet

Really not many photos to post for this day as it was a shopping day. Had 'Panda Express' for lunch. It is a chain restaurant that selling Chinese food. Something like a food court selling economic rice in Singapore. It was my 2nd day here and I was already missing Singapore food. Shopping was ok. Was told that the 'Desert Premium Outlet' is one of the biggest premium outlets in America. It took me more than 2 hours drive from my hotel to reach. Shops in Premium Outlets sell mostly 'older stock' and if you are not particular, you could find a good bargain. Had 'Sizzler' for dinner and was really impressed by their huge spread of salad bar. The salad bar will be included when you order a set meal and although it was said to be a salad bar, it served chicken wings, spaghetti, tacos etc. I enjoyed the salad bar more than the actual course meal I had ordered.

My rented 'steed' for my 4 days in Los Angeles.

Not your regular soft toy catcher. This catches limited edition sport shoes. You catches one, the other shoe gets send to where you stay.

Day 3: Universal Studio Hollywood

From the hotel I stayed, Universal Studio was really close by. Grabbed an Uber and was there in less than 15 mins. I had been to Universal Studio in 3 different countries (Singapore, Japan (Osaka), Los Angeles). From my impression, the one in LA is one of the biggest (Singapore's being smallest among the three). Purchased 'Front of Line' pass but it was really not necessary as there were little queue for most of the rides (Maybe due to rain on that day). One thing the pass would be useful is that it entitles you to get on a ride to go behind the scene in the making of hollywood studio films. Easily could spend a full day in Universal Studio.

'Front of Line' pass in Universal Studio

Lot's of interesting shops outside of Universal Studio.

Day 4: J. Paul Getty Museum

J. Paul Getty Museum is situated on a hill. I drove about an hour and parked my car below the hill to take a mini tram to reach the museum. There is no admission fee to the museum but car parking cost US$15 (US$10 if park after 3pm). I do not frequent museums and did not have high expectation of this visit considering it was free entry. I was totally blown away and surprised at the scale and comprehensive collection of western arts. Reached there after lunch and stayed till the last minute before they closed for the day. Regretted not allocating more time for this. Managed to participate in one of the museum tours which explained how the museum was built and why certain decisions of building the museum was made. Very informative and I would highly recommend everyone to join the tour.

One of the art room in the museum. Permission was seek prior to taking this photo.

Day 5: Returned car, San Francisco

Returned the car at the Los Angeles airport (Most of the rental cars have drop off points near the airport and provide feeder bus services directly to each terminal). Took United Airlines to San Francisco. There are a total of 7 terminals in LA. Domestic flight from LA to San Francisco took less than 2 hours and generally, domestic flights in US are priced fairly reasonable (I paid less than US$200 for each flight). Arrived in San Francisco around noon time and checked in to Chancellor Hotel at Union Square. Location is fantastic. Room was a little small and although the hotel is old, it was very well maintained and very clean. The rooms does not have air conditioner and rely on a ceiling fan and window for ventilation. There are a lot of shopping and interesting things going on around the area where I stayed which is just across the Union Square. San Francisco is very accessible as compared to LA. Buildings are more close together and the city is well connected via buses, trams and subways.

My room at Chancellor Hotel, Union Square

Day 6: Alcatraz prison, fishermen's wharf, Lombard street

Bought the 3 days city 'Muni passport' at US$32, which entitles you to take any tram rides in San Francisco. Didn't really utilise this much so I can't say I would recommend everyone to buy this. I had signed up online for the package tour of Alcatraz prison in advance. The package includes return ferry rides from the wharf to Alcatraz island and an audio tour. Ferry ride takes around 30 mins and you can catch some pretty nice scenery along the journey. Once you disembark to the island, you are free to explore at your own pace. The audio tour is nothing like what I had expected and the narration really brings alive the Alcatraz tale and history through the actual voices of officers and inmates who lived on the island. It is available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

I had initially planned to go Alcatraz, fisherman wharf and cycling at Golden Gate Bridge on the same day as they are fairly close to one another. But only managed to complete the first 2. If your time allows, I suggest not to squeeze Golden Gate Bridge in so you could have the time to enjoy the first 2 at your own pace. Alternatively, you can just spend 5 mins at fisherman wharf, take a few photos and move on. I personally didn't find the fisherman wharf particularly interesting.

Decided to have McDonalds for dinner. The burgers are generally the same as what Singapore has except that they do not have McSpicy burger. They do have however, 'Buttermilk Crispy Chicken' which was very nice. That was probably one of their most expensive burgers, slightly more than US$6. It was the selection of condiments that was shocking. Singapore only have a few selections (chill, ketchup, curry, mayo etc). In the states, the list runs to more than 20 types. Buffalo source, mustard, hot mustard, honey mustard etc. All free for you to choose via a big touch screen panel. Impressive!

Take the 'F' number tram to the ferry terminal to Alcatraz Prison

Price and ferry timing to Alcatraz Prison

One of the standard prison cells in Alcatraz

McDonald's self ordering/payment machine

Day 7: Cycling at Golden Gate Bridge

It was Chinese New Year eve in the states. Decided to have some Chinese food and went for a Chinese steamboat called 'Mongolian Steamboat' for lunch. Food was good, price reasonable. Can't ask for a better Chinese steamboat in America. After lunch, it was straight out to cycle to the Golden Gate Bridge. Really was looking forward to this. There are options to rent normal, electrical and tandem bicycles. Most popular are the normal ones, probably as they are the cheapest. The bicycles are charged on hourly rates with a max ceiling cap. I opted for normal and regretted immediately after 10 mins into my ride. There are lots of slopes towards the Gate and I would recommend to take the electrical type. The ride though, was amazing. Like what was recommended online, I rented the bicycle and cycled from fisherman wharf, across Golden Gate Bridge and took a ferry back. Do take note that the last ferry operates differently on weekdays and weekends. I went on a weekday and the last ferry was 7.10pm.

Rented my bicycle from a shop called 'Blazing Saddles'. They have a rather big selection of bicycles and even a video briefing on points to take note when riding to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Day 8: The NBA match: Golden State warriors vs LA Clippers

This was my main reason of coming to San Francisco. Ever since I was about 12 years old, I had always dreamt of watching a live NBA match. After holding on to this dream for more than 20 years, I had finally fulfilled that dream on this day. The match which I watched was between Golden State warriors and LA Clippers playing in the Oracle Arena. In total, my ticket costed me more than US$800 and I was only sitting on the 15th row from the front. Hell lot more expensive than I imagined but considering I had to fly more than 20 hours here, this could be a chance of a lifetime. It was well worth it in the end. Entry into the stadium starts 1 hour before game time, but I arrived 2hours 30mins in advance. Having watched NBA matches on TV for more than 20 years, watching a live game was very strange in many ways. Everything happened really fast, you need to keep looking up at the score board on the ceiling to know the score and timing of the game, no instant replay and, you will only be watching the game from one angle (Where you are seated). But the crowd will really get you into the game. The crowd will cheer with every shot, 3pt made, successful basket made. I'm sure that even if you are not a big fan of NBA, you will enjoy yourself. This was the biggest event in my whole US trip.

Mechanise shop selling home team apparels

Rooster year Chinese New Year Souvenir towels for every audience

Day 9, 10, 11, 12: Las Vegas

Took an early flight to Las Vegas via Virgin Airlines. Compared to United Airlines, Virgin Airlines is considered as a 'budget airline' and relatively inferior in themes of service quality. Flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas is another short flight (Less than 2 hours), but the view from the plane is really beautiful as you will fly pass a huge area of snow mountains.

After you disembark from the plane, you will immediately be overwhelmed by the gambling culture in Las Vegas. Jackpot machines are scattered everywhere in the airport. Every hotel has it's own casino with it's own characteristics.

Jackpot machines can be seen everywhere in the airport

Tried my hand on electronic black jack. Using US$20, won myself US$201.50 #beginner's luck

My purpose in Las Vegas was mainly for business trip and spent most of my time attending conferences (working). Stayed in hotel Palazzo, which is a 5 star hotel. Can't recall if I have ever stayed in a 5 star hotel before, but this is by far the most luxurious hotel I have stayed in.

My crazy room in hotel Palazzo. Probably the most luxurious hotel room I've ever stayed in.

The 'Grand Canal' is built inside the Palazzo hotel. Something which is similar to the ones in Singapore and Macao.

Went to 2 shows in Las Vegas, Le Reve The Dream and David Copperfield. I've watched David Copperfield's magic on TV since I was a kid and still remember him performing the great wall of China trick. Photography is strictly prohibited and before the start of the show, the staff would literately lock your photos in a box on your table. He started his performances by telling a story about his childhood and performed his magic tricks throughout the show around his story. Most of his tricks involves getting people in the audience to participate.

Le Reve The Dream is a show which I know is good from the review, but went in without knowing what to expect. I came out from the show blown away from what I saw. The chronograph of the whole show was amazing. Dancers were very professional. The stage evolves around a pool which would raise and decline as the scene changes. Excellent use of music and lighting. I had never seen this before and never imagine this could be possible. Out of 10, I would give it a score of 12. Photography (without flash) is allowed, whereas videography is prohibited.

'Le Reve The Dream' - An artistic aquatic show that will blown your mind with it's amazing display of music, lighting, aqua stage and dance.

Las Vegas, being an entertainment city, has a lot of restaurants and cuisines from all over the world. Read online that the 'Burgr by Gordon Ramsay' is one of the must try food and went to take a look. First time in my life that I see an exterior of a restaurant being decorated with a real fire! Ordered one of the recommended burger, truffle parmesan fries and orea milkshake. At this point, I had been in US for more than 10 days and long gotten tired of burgers and western food. I was pretty sure no burger is going to impress me. But this was really good. The burger was nicely toasted, making the burger a little crispy. Truffle parmesan fries was amazing. So impressive that the person sitting next to my table came over to ask about the fries. Milkshake was also one of their specialty and goes really nice with the burger and fries. They have 5 different flavours of milkshakes in total and Orea is #4 on the list.

Their menu. It was meant for diners to bring t back as a souvenir.

Day 13: Home sweet home

After 13 days of long trip, it was finally time to go home. Time really flies when you are enjoying. There were so much experiences gain from the trip and it has changed my perception (misperception) of America. I am already looking forward and hoping that I would have a chance to visit here again.

Some of the lesson learned

It has been 5 years since the LA had rain. The rain which I was experiencing when I reached was rare.
For drivers who are used to driving on the left (driver seat is on the right side of the car), America is opposite and you will encounter some challenges, especially in left turns and U-turns. In America, most of the road allows right turn even when the light is red.
The law in US is not very strict in enforcing cars to have a number plate. There is this law for cars to have a number plate, but it is not uncommon to see cars without one. Shocking for me.
LA is a very 'spread out' city as compared to San Francsico which is more dense.
Tipping in restaurants is recommended to be between 15% - 20% and a lot of restaurants even have this pre-calculated for you in the bill
When you buy things from shops, 10 cents will be charged for carriers.
People in the service industries are really nice. I've been to a lot of countries, and I would rank America on top.
LA is generally flat, but San Francisco has a lot of slopes. In a way making the city unique and interesting.
Most shops and restaurants close by 9pm.
For asians, the food serving in America is really huge. A couple can just make do with ordering one set for sharing most of the times.
Uber is a lot more popular than taxi in America. One of the reason is cost. I experimented this to compare and found that the price of taking taxi is more than double than calling Uber. Another reason is Uber's rating system ensures that drivers can be rated in Uber. In taxi, there is no such system to rate the drivers.