Vegas & Grand Canyon

Vegas is 270 miles from LA. US is still using the imperial system of miles, yards, gallons, quart, lbs & oz. Brings me back to school days. The metric system is a breeze when compared to the imperial system.

The drive to Vegas is almost 5 hours, similar to distance between KL & Singapore. The drive seems never ending & the desert scene reminds one of the cowboy movies.

See one road sign which can definitely send you "zzz" .

Making a stop-over at a factory outlet is refreshing especially for me. Of course we made quite a few purchases – some items are value for money when compared to prices in Singapore.

My boys just reached their 21st birthday & were eager to try their gambling luck. Maybe it will provide them the "scholarship" for a US university.

No more coins in the Jackpot machines. Just notes, prepaid card & paper for your winnings. I have not heard of Taxas Holden until then. As usual, they had beginner’s luck & were very happy with their first day gains. But soon after that, it was downhill & they kept to their limit. It is good that they learn to control their losses & realised that gambling is not a way to make money. But their dream to a US university is "vanished" into thin Vegas air.

Besides gambling, a stroll along the strip at night is very entertaining for the family. Vegas is very hot & it is unthinkable to stroll around during the day.

You must plan a trip to Grand Canyon when at Vegas. Of course a must stop-over is the Hoover Dam. The white stretch above the lake shows the drop in the water level.
The same scene in the evening on our way back to Vegas.

If you have time, plan a nite's stay near the park. We did not make it to the new skywalk. But I understand that the road is not constructed yet.

Enjoy some shots of the grand canyon.

Does this look like a dynasaur head?

A snap shot of some vegetation at the Grand Canyon.

Los Angeles – Universal Studio & Hollywood

Our visit to Universal studio on Mother’s day was better than expected. The queue to most rides is shorter than usual, as most families are out at restaurants. Thus we managed to enjoy quite a lot of the shows & rides with less waiting time.
The terminator 3-D show is an eye-opener. Advancement of IT & multimedia may make props a thing of the past. The props are plentiful & used for amateur photography like these.

This is a commercial plane taken apart & used commonly for air crash scene.

So, this is how they do car crash!!

Manns Chinese Theatre is where you can get to see the cemented signature of most of the famous movie stars.

My boys observed that this is only one of those plaques mounted on a wall.

Further away from there along Hollywood Blvd is quite a disappointment, as it looks quite run-down.
Of course whilst in LA, we must have a drive around Beverly hills. Did not see any rich & famous on that day.

Guess who I met in Pasadena

I just came back from a 10-day holiday in California with my family. This is the first overseas holidays (excluding holidays in Malaysia) for my family together. Studies & work commitment makes it quite difficult for us to find a common date until now.
We decided on a free & easy tour instead of a package tour, as the boys are now bigger. A free & easy tour gives us the freedom to decide on places to visit & length of stay. Nonetheless, there is still a need to plan the itinerary, book hotels etc. We rented a car & the brave man of the family decided to be the driver. Driving in US is on the left & it took quite a fair bit of getting use to it. With the traffic conditions, it ended with him as the sole driver and four back-seat drivers & navigators. We got lost – missing exits on motorways & unexpected one way streets, almost everyday.

We visited Los Angeles, Las Vegas including Grand Canyon, Yosemite park & San Francisco. I will try to write up on the significant places when I have time. The weather in Vegas is hot but San Francisco is colder than expected.

Here's the memoir of the first day.

DAY ONE in Los Angeles
Our very first day was disrupted by a 3-hour delay in our departure. So, the program for the first part of the day had to be cancelled. But I still managed to get to meet an old friend who is now residing in Pasadena, which is 1/2 hour from Los Angeles. Our great Sherlock Holmes managed to track him last year, after being "lost" since 1975 (or was it end of 74) when he left for Canada.
Guess who the guy is? He is a true blue Thomian from the 73 Monkeys Form 5 batch. Most of you would have known him. He’s a great singer & plays the guitar well. Some of us in 74 & 75 may remember him as he had performed on stage with his good friend. Cannot mention name!! as you can easily guess. Those from the "crazy gang of nine" are disqualified from this guessing game.
After some many years away from Kuching, I am one of the first "old" friends he met in US. Next time when anyone of you are in that area, do look up for him. But guess who he is first!!

Brilliant Life

After a busy and hectic week of work and traveling, I was really looking forward to spend some time on the waters even if it meant waking up at 4.30 am this morning!

But I was rewarded with a brilliant blue sky and water; and where they meet it was almost impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. Life is magical. We just need to get out there and see it. And it's worth it. Be well.

One Night in Bangkok

On the way back from visiting numerous health spas and resorts at Koh Chang, Koh Kood and Koh Samui we stopped over at Bangkok for the night.

We stayed at Somerset Park Suanplu on the 18th floor and here's the view from the kitchen balcony of the 2 bedroom service apartment. It was a nice spacious and comfortable place to stay.

Happy Mother's Day

I was away for about a week in Thailand on a business trip looking at various properties there. I came back late on Friday night with a missing luggage and had to work again the next morning. But fortunately I managed to get some good rest yesterday afternoon and last night.
I felt like being back to normal - well, almost.Here's wishing all the mothers in our classes a very Happy Mother's Day!
Give yourself a pat on your back because you are beautiful, special and wonderful!

Animal antics

watch the birdie..




.. and what about a 'watchdog'?


I love that tortoise.

I will survive...

A song that I'm sure a lot of you remember..