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.