Back to work again

Holiday has passed soooo fast!!!
I came back from the trip last Sunday morning at 12.40am. I felt veryyy tireddd... My hubby fetched me from the airport and we reached home around 1.30am. Didn't have mood to open my luggage at all.. so I just left it on the floor and tried to sleep.
I took Northwest Airlines from LA to Tokyo, and the journey is around 11 hours. In Narita, they informed me that I would be transferred to JAL since the NWA was overbooked.. well.. not bad oh? 'Cos I don't think I took JAL before and I had to take bus from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 (more exposure on Japan's airport.. hehehe...) and I was waiting there for about 1 hour before boarding to the plane. I was sooo tired... I only had a short sleep in the airplane, 'cos I need to change back my body's hour from LA's time to S'pore's time and I didn't want to sleep so much as I was afraid that I couldn't sleep at night's time in S'pore..
I was tempting to buy Japan's food or souvenirs.. but I was lazy to change money and I don't think it's such an important thing.. so I only waited and sat there in waiting lounge.
Then, I started to feel very different of taking both airlines. NWA's food & beverage is very limited (you even had to pay $5.00 for beer and any other alcohol beverage). Unlike JAL, they serve the wine, beer, and liquor for free. JAL also provided their guests with EVIAN, 1 bottle per guest, but you could get more if you request, unlike in NWA.. they give only limited water/ other drinks on the plane. In JAL, they have Mission Impossible 3, Ice Age 2, and other movies that were quite new. You can choose to watch it anytime you like 'cos every seat has personal screen in front, while in NWA, you have to watch the common screen in front of the sitting area and can't choose on what to watch. Well.. I was lucky to sit in JAL, but still complaining about the NWA, hihihi.. sorry.. didn't mean to.. but I just couldn't stop to share here.. =P
Back to my trip.. It was a very busy trip. I only got little time to online.. and the rest.. went out shopping, eating, and drinking.
I have experience 3 different cities in US with different weathers in each place. LA was hot but was not as hot as LV. LV was damn hot!!! But on our last two days, there was thunderstorm. First at nite, then on our way back to LA. Scary.. There was even a heavy rain while we were inside Pimmh, a factory outlet near LV. SF.. hm.. it was hot.. I got burnt there. There was a sun shine.. but the wind... brrr..... and even at nite.. it was foggy, cold like winter time.. in the middle of the city. Can u imagine? All in summer time.
Luckily I was so healthy during my trip. Thank God!! Otherwise, really can't imagine myself sleeping on my bed for few days instead of going around the city..
The food? Hm.. First week, I still controlled my portion. Second week, the worst.. In LV, we went for buffet lunch twice in MGM and Bellagio, and end of week, we ate buffet dinner in LA, like Todai (wow, they served a very excellent Japanese buffet ever!! Lots of crab legs - big and fresh, fresh oyster.., lots of varieties of sushi rolls, sushi, sashimi, etc. Hot foods were excellent too.. giant prawn tempura, vegetable tempura, lobster, fried rice, etc.. Miso soup.. Varieties of desserts.. like cakes.. fruits... etc.. for US$29.90 per person before tax.
My friend also brought me to Korean BBQ Buffet nearby her old house.. and she taught me on how to eat the BBQ using the rice roll. I think it's my first time experiencing eating in such way! I went to lots of Korean restaurants before in many different countries, but it was my first time on eating in such a way.. First, I found it too fully, 'cos imagine eating one rice roll with one meat.. but after that, we went to Seoul Oak, the fine dining Korean BBQ on my last two days in LA, and eating the same thing again, then I felt much better.. Perhaps because the roll was smaller and the meat was cut bigger. It was very nice. I miss it already!!! Dun think can find it in Korean Restaurant here in S'pore.
I love one Thai food there too, in Jasmine Thai restaurant. It was recommended by my friend to eat there as she eats there often for lunch. I love the padthai very much.. and we ate three times within 4 days we were there.. Can you imagine? hahahaha...
Third week, SF. We found SF was very different from the other two cities we went. Oh yeah.. my impression of LA.. LA is a very big city. There were lots of highways and without it, you can't reach ur destination.. hahaha.. Each road has 4-5 lanes.. very big road for one direction but still jam during peak times. They have a car pool.. those who drive min. 2 persons in one car. If you wanna go from one place to another, the distance is very far away. It took 1.5 hours from my friend's house to north LA and that's why we didn't go there 'cos it really took our time only for the journey. I seldom see people walking on the street 'cos they drive car in everywhere they go even only to have their lunch or dinner nearby their house. The house mostly only one level, the most only like two levels because of earthquake and their land is bigger than the house itself, quite funny rite? O ya, I drove too.. a short distance.. using my friend's car.. It was my first time driving using the automatic car and using the right lane instead of left lane like many Asian's countries use. I just realise on how easy driving using the automatic car. I seldom drive in my life, and when I drive, I feel funny using the gear and pedal.. but with automatic car.. all the problems fly away.. I told myself.. if one day I got a chance to buy my own car.. I would by the automatic car instead of a manual one.. hehehehe...
Las Vegas... My friend drove from LA to LV. It took us 4.5 hours drive. We saw desert almost all the time on our way there. The problem was only to find toilet. Unlike in Indonesia, where we can just stop aside and pee somewhere where can't be seen by others, at there... we can hardly stop aside the road and we had to find a restaurant or small groceries store, which are very seldom, to release the pee.. I encountered it one time in each way.
And quite amazing.. although it was a desert, they still can build Las Vegas, quite big cities with strong electricity and water inside. I was imagining LV to be like Orchard road.. but I was totally wrong!! The distance from one hotel to another was not that close and each hotel was big, even huge!!! And in such a weather.. it really hurts when u walk in the afternoon. It's either to walk at night or drive during afternoon time. Hahaha...
For SF, it's amazing to see a place like that. My other family members have been there except me and my eldest sis before I went there. And I saw their photos in SF before, but after seeing it myself.. it was really different from what I imagined. The road was very steep and taxi didn't even on their air-con, quite not used to it.. and when my friend brought me to Golden Gate... wow.. my feeling was... it was a bit looked like the Harbour Bridge in Sydney.. only my feeling..
The wind blows very big... so cold.. although the sun was shining strongly. Finally we got to know what is Pier 39 about.. And Alcatraz!!! We only realised that we need to buy the ticket at least one week earlier just about 2 days before we went there.. but luckily, we managed to buy the ticket, with more than twice price (U.P.$16.50, and we purchased at $35 per person) from the concierge of the hotel we stayed. Thanks to the concierge who worked there at that time. Without him, I wouldn't be able to go around the famous Alcatraz island. And the hotel.. I got staff's rate staying there, 'cos it is under the same management of the hotel where I work and it is famous too over there.. If you ever watched 'The Hotel' series.. or 'The Rock', they took the film down there.. According to the book that I read there, the United Nation was also held there before and US presidents were staying there too.. My friend and I went to their bar, called Tonga, which is also famous in the city ( there is a rain inside the bar/restaurant), and they had a unique name for their drinks. We drank 5 of them and it was fun. We came in quietly and went out laughing very loud *perhaps we were high.. hahahaha....
We went to Fisherman Wharf (previously I only saw it on the pics, but then I finally experienced it myself), and we had our dinner at Crab Station #2, having a fresh crab, half lobster, fried prawn and calamari, and clam chowder with the bread, and Corona too.. hehehe... I was full... but my friend just never had enough.. too bad she didn't feel very well on the last day we were there, otherwise, we can go back there again before flying back to LA.
Oya.. I also finally ate a Lemon Raspberry cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory in LA on my second last day in US. Actually we wanted to eat it in the Cheesecake Factory in SF, but only after one course, we felt very full already, that's why we cancelled the order and ate it again back in LA.
I love jamba juice!! Wish that they could open one in S'pore!!!
Well.. I think I write a lot already... now back to work again!!! hehehehe.. Ciaooo...