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Hollywood & Highland Mall

2006-07-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a long weekend.. Americans are celebrating their Independence weekend and so skool is closed. There was a screening last night of Evil Dead by the pool and tho it was nice, I was actually there more for the free food.. heh.

And so, instead of rotting in my bed for the next 2 days, I decided to venture into the unknown - which in my case is downtown LA and beyond. After the tour Tim gave me the other day, I was kinda freaked. Downtown wasn't all it was made out to be in the nice little orientation brochure.. so I decided to stay away from the eastern parts of downtown.

The public transportation isn't that bad actually. Once you get a hang (and probably a map) of it, moving around isn't that difficult. Got on the F-Dash headed downtown and unto the Metro Rail (daily pass = 3 bucks) Red which heads west to Hollywood. Took me 30 mins to get to Highland Mall so I had lotsa time to kill.

1st star to greet me was none other than Mr. Jackie Chan..

Didnt get any more pics coz was there this time mainly for the movie. I've been dying to watch something for the past week so I decided that I'd see superman, in the famous Mann Chinese Theatres.

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The show was ok but man, was the theatre excellent. Sure, the price might be a bit steep (9 bucks) but the picture and sound quality unparalleled in KL (the seating in 1U still comes out tops.. haha). And this ain't the best yet. Planning to check out LA's finest - The Arclight, next week.

Went on a mini shopping spree @ The Gap (sale!!) and later got a map from macy's (yesss!!) and LAN cable from Radioshack.

T'is a good day!

Food, Glorious Food!

2006-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

The tasty traveller checks in with a couple more sumptuous meals!

1st up is KFC. Comes in 2 flavours (original and spicy) just like back home but there's a choice of 2 side dishes. Got mashed potatoes (super smooth =+1) and mac & cheese! (+1).. Got spicy, tastes just like the ones back home but strangely the chicken is spotted. :S (-1)

Winner = KFC USA

Next up, Denny's All American Slam: Bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, toast, grated potatoes and good ole American coffee.. Just what I have been craving for!!

Winner = All American Slam!

And finally, Cuban food. Had the Aros Fritto.. supposed to be some kind of cuban style pan fried rice and hatuey, a malt drink which was touted as a mixed between root beer and cereal drink.

Winner = Chow fan kah tan and Guiness Malta. :)

Clockwise from top left: Group mate Tim, Hatuey drink, Me!, El Aros Fritto and group mate Jorge

Starry Starry… Day!

2006-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight (or should I say afternoon, as it was only 3pm) (edit:this was last week) the stars came out in full force! The BET awards was held just right behind the Vagabond at the Shrine auditorium (which I read had hosted Academy Awards in previous years). For the uninitiated the BET awards honors some of the outstanding African American entertainers. Although the crowd was confined to a distance from the red carpet, it didn’t stop the fans from having a good time! Have a look see!

Shrine Auditorium

Stars! Clockwise from top left: Marlon Wayans, P.Diddy, Damon Wayans (host), TI, Fat Joe and Masta P's posse

Nice ride!

Super Size Me

2006-06-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

After sleeping the whole day and night yesterday I was famished. Since I needed to take a walk around the neighborhood, I decided to grab a bite along the way. Walked down Figueroa till I reached some nice looking buildings at the corner of West Adam. The building on the left is actually an Automobile Association!

Hunger pangs were already at an all time high so I ducked into Carl's Junior. My 1st meal:

A double western bacon cheeseburger combo... and this was small! Look at the size of the drink!! o.O

Couldn't finish it in the end, and had to tarpao back. Guess dinner's taken care of. Heh. Kinda know what the guy felt with his 1st super size meal.

Super size me!!

LA Confidential

2006-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Touched down at 12.30pm, Saturday morning... man was it a long ride, not as long as I expected (just 11 hours from Taipei), but nevertherless.. long.

Somehow, I don't recall airplane rides being this painful.. on my posterior and so dull. Sure, the food has improved, and the service hasn't deteriorated, but man have the seats hardened! Don't even get me started on the in-flight entertainment. Well, at least it wasn't a total disaster, my source of entertainment was a little girl name Chloe from seat 55... had fun playing with her. :)

Landed in LAX and 1st impression was how un-modern it was. Had a shuttle BUS from the plane to the terminal.. and they say we are a third world country.. sheesh. The terminal was dull, reminiscent of Subang in its hayday. Once again, kazomoto was frisked at the customs check-in.. nothing new. :P

After re-packing my stuff, I headed out into the terminal and straight into the... toilet! Try holding it in for 11 hours! No way was I going on the plane.. So my 1st activity in LA was a soothing one.. hahaha.

Looking around, it really feels like I haven't left home. LA is more international than I had imagined it to be. There were koreans, hispanics, blacks and the white people seemed to be a minority. So the myth was broken..

A shuttle ride from LAX to the Vagabond took about 20 mins (minus all that circling of LAX) and cost a cheap $15. My bad for not tipping the driver.

Here's home for the next 3 days...

Despite the name, the room's pretty neat and has basic facilities. One thing I noticed while driving in was how many fast food joints there were on Figueroa.. yum yum!

Took a bath and wanted to go out but alas... the big bad jet lag wolf got me! zZzzz...

Taiwan Transit

2006-06-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

You know you're in Taiwan when u see this...

Chen Kai Shek airport:

Man, would like to come back here another time. Wished I had some currency to splurge on some local food and this..

Had to move on quickly, LA is calling!

Don't cry for me, Malaysia...

2006-06-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

The last breakfast.. in Malaysia for the next 2 months. Would have liked a nasi lemak/wantanmee send off but this is nice too.

Thanks for the farewell! Will miss your company for the next 2 months.. Don't be a stranger!

A new template

2006-06-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

Man, this is a lot harder than expected.. everything's in code!!

At least I found a nice little template that kinda fits my theme. Really "Academy Award-ish".. now if I could only fix that picture of mine.. sheesh.

Some new posts coming up. Have a look see!

The Grand Premier

2006-06-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, kAz has entered blogging-land.. haha. Been putting this of for ages, but since I will be away from home for a couple of months, mayb this is the best way to let everyone at home know what I'm up to.. heh.

Do bear with me as I try to figure out what to do here.. lol.

Look out for my next posts, have a fun one!