Posts from the ‘USA’ Category

Final days in the US

We’re on our final days in the US, and we’re spending them in San Diego. Short days though, since we only drove down to San Diego on 5 Jan. The initial plan was to leave for San Diego on 2 Jan, but we had to send back some stuff home instead of lugging them to Latin America (less luggage is better there!) and so we spent some time planning the packing ie. deciding what to send home, which box to use, etc … We also have to return our Chevrolet Tahoe on 5 Jan and rent a smaller car for the drive to San Diego. These things sound easier on paper than the actual doing, which usually takes more time. PK’s flight was on 6 Jan midnight so we driving out on 5 Jan is also good timing for her.

Tip: From our experiences of car rental in the US (we’ve rented 3 different cars in 3 different cities), it is always cheaper to rent it at the airport. Also, we’ve had really good experiences with Alamo – it’s swift and easy in terms of procedures and services.  

In hindsight, I’d have driven to San Diego from Las Vegas and spend longer time here than to stay longer in LA. Reason being, it feels more ‘real’ here. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation (he stayed in San Diego for almost 2 years before moving to Singapore), we booked our 2-night accommodation at Ocean Beach, a beach town about 20 minutes away from downtown. Ocean Beach Hotel has quite good reviews on Tripadvisor and the price was quite decent with wifi (too bad wifi connection sucked in our room!) and free parking. Its location was strategic, fronting the beach and close to cafes and shops. On our first morning, I found many people crowding along the beach, watching the waves. There was even a TV crew filming the waves. We later found out that San Diego authorities had shut down the beach from 6 Jan to 4pm, 7 Jan to the public due to the dangerous high waves.

Tip: My friend recommended 2 places to eat, which we didn’t manage to visit as Phil’s BBQ was closed for renovation while we were there and Hodad’s was too crowded (the queue for a table was just too long!).

Downtown San Diego is like any city, with high-rise buildings and sidewalk cafes. We had initially wanted to have brunch at Phil’s BBQ, the third most popular restaurants on Tripadvisor but we arrived to find out that the place was closed due to renovations L We drove to downtown instead and stumbled upon Aro’, a Mediterranean restaurant. It turns out to be one of the best meals we’ve had in the US. The waitress recommended gyro kebab, a mixed meat of beef and lamb, as well as kafta kebab. Boys decided to have a combo of beef, kafta and gyro while I took only gyro. They came with rice (or French fries), salad and pita bread. The meat was really tasty! As the portions were huge, the boys didn’t manage to finish their meal.

After lunch, we took a stroll down Broadway St. and found Broadway Pier at the end of the road. A ship museum was on exhibition but I wasn’t too keen. We ended up having drinks and desert at The Fish Market – the chocolate brownie was super yummy! – while enjoying the warm sunny day, watching yachts and boats passing us by.

We had wanted to welcome dusk with a sunset at La Jolla Cove. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to make it in time as we underestimated the distance (15 km away from downtown) and traffic was a bit heavy on the way. By the time we reached La Jolla Cove, it was already dark. We stayed for a while, watching the high waves hit the shores, before driving back to Ocean Beach.

Blue eyes and I are flying out on 8 Jan midnight, and we have to be at LAX by 10pm for the check-in. As Jarmo will be staying longer in San Diego, blue eyes and I decided to rent a car to drive to LAX as, believe it or not, it’s the cheapest option – even if blue eyes had chosen a convertible Mustang, the cost at $85 is still lower than a combination of Amtrak and airport shuttle bus (close to $120 for 2 persons). It’s also the easiest arrangement, as we don’t have to haul our luggage in between public places.

I was telling blue eyes today that I’m ready to leave the US. It’s been an expensive affair, on average each of us spent almost $5,000 for 8 travelling weeks, inclusive of accommodations, transport and meals. It’s excluding any shopping done in between, which we did quite a bit here 😛

Tip: From all our lodgings, the cheapest were Days Inn and Motel 6. They are good options especially when you want to just stay the night and travelling the day after. The cost includes Wifi, breakfast and free parking.  

I look forward to Latin America, albeit concerns about safety. We plan to take it easy in Antigua, Guatemala. The idea is to rest and catch up on reading and writing, and enjoying some quiet moments after all the American hustle and bustle. From Guatemala, we will be heading to Cuzco and onward to Machu Picchu, which will require more energy. Besides, there’s enough to do in Antigua than rushing to somewhere else 🙂

So goodbye USA, it’s been fun and well worth all the time, effort and money getting to know you! And hello Latin America!