It's all very strange seeing my friends live their lives 15 hours ahead of us. At this point, we're still very connected to Singapore and it's a bit perturbing that while winding down after a day out on Monday night, my friends had already finished sleeping, completed one meal, half a day's work and were in the midst of lunch. It's like looking into the future. Anyway, I hope we get adjusted soon. Falling asleep during the Terminator 3D show at Universal Studios today was not the coolest thing to do. Even the elderly Korean tourists were more spritely than we were.

Some thoughts that were milling around my head over the past hour while tossing and turning in bed:

Sometimes I forgot how small my world is back home. Not just in the fact that I can walk anywhere I want to and nobody tells me that it's too far. (Today, Guy At Hotel looked at us in horror when we said we would walk half a mile to the car rental company office... "NONONO!! You don't walk, you tell them to drop the car off here!" Isn't half a mile approximately 800m, which is just 2 rounds around a running track?)

I feel it in terms of scale of the things coming at us. My senses feel like they've taken a beating. At Universal Studios today, it was as if the sound systems were operating at 300%. There I was waiting my turn on the Simpsons Ride with my fingers in my ears cos Krusty the Clown was yelling at me. I was going from ride to ride with a splitting headache after awhile with no access to the Panadol which I had brilliantly left in the car, which was parked on another planet, which in turn was - you guessed it - too far to walk to.

At the hotel, the bright neon lights from nearby shops spill into the room (even through the slit of a window in the toilet) and I can't sleep. Advertising screens are bigger, brighter and louder. Even the TV advertisements seem to yell at me "BUY NOW!! EAT NOW!! SUE NOW!!" (Side note: it's very bizarre to be watching Comedy Central and all you have are advertisements for 99c fastfood, and calls for sufferers of asbestos poisoning and retirement home abuse to come forward to file class actions, then all of the sudden it becomes a relentless onslaught of trailers for girlie videos! Wait a minute - weren't we watching South Park just 2 minutes ago?!)

I guess that's all part of traveling - experiencing life in a totally different way than what you've grown so accustomed to at home. And I guess we'll get used to it soon... which leads me to my next thought.

I have to remind myself not to keep comparing life here with how things are back home. On the bright side, it makes me learn to appreciate the little comforts we have. Thank you PUB for letting me be able to drink water straight from the tap so that I don't have to buy drinking water or constantly boil it. Thank you SBS Transit for those comprehensive info boards at every bus-stop telling me which bus to take and listing every single stop on each route. Thank you LTA for not planning a useless MRT line that doesn't bring people where they really want or need to get to. It's good to be reminded of our blessings, but I just don't want to go around being comparative. Guess I'll be able to tune these thoughts out after awhile.

The great thing about being in LA is that people have been really friendly so far: offering suggestions on where to eat, what to see, areas to avoid (like downtown "cos the whole place is filled with bums!") This guy at our hotel spent 15min of his breakfast time helping us check up on car rental options on the Internet and advising us on what to do. He also helped another guest search for driving directions so that the guest could return to his room and get his stuff ready. A customer at the supermarket used his membership pin while we were making our purchase to help us get a member's discount on Reeses.

And not to forget the folks at home. It's so great that people are actually following our blog and telling us they enjoy reading it and are looking forward to updates. Friends whom we haven't been in regular contact with are coming forward to with recommendations on their favourite places to eat at in the US (bearing in mind our budget even.) Friends who have been to the places we're going to are digging out their itineraries and travel contacts from past trips to share with us. People are asking us where we're heading so that they can ask their friends staying overseas to help or host us if needed. Acquaintances made more than a decade ago have contacted us just to say "hey, I'm here in the US too - let's meet up and I can give you some travel tips."

It really is heartwarming. Thank you all very much. It brings to mind a quote from Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" about following your dream, that "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it". I've never quite been able to fully comprehend this idea.

Now I do.

'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it - boldness has genius, power and magic in it.' -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

written by  DanYilin on March 31, 2009 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: go.
Send a Compliment

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I was just wondering about how to find your itinerary... :D

written by  Jo on March 31, 2009

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I like this travel.

written by  guilin on March 31, 2009

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You're so damn right abt looking forward to your updates... Hahaha... This is a ritual for me now... checking your blog after breakfast in office...

Hahaha... this blog gives us the ability to live your travel vicariously I suppose...

Just enjoy it babe... and thanks for letting us enjoy it with you... =D

written by  Zennie on March 31, 2009

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I know exactly what you mean about the sensory overload when you are in the US. I used to get headaches watching TV or trying to do simple things like buy something from the supermarket - all the adverts, constant talking, the lights, the colours, the sound!!!

But take comfort knowing that not all of US is like that. Hope the jet lag eases soon! Travel safe x

Cheers,
Debra aka olimomok

written by  olimomok on March 31, 2009

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Whoa! Babe, you only left 4 days ago and you already have TEN blog entries!!! Hahahaha very onz! :)

But its great to read all about your musing and what you guys are enjoying at the moment. Although you won't realise it at this point in time, you WILL change and grow from this experience, and you'll only fully realise it when you're home.

Enjoy the year-out experience, have amazing, unbelievable fun and make tons of friends! Make GOOD friends so that when Tim and I go to South America, we got people to stay with during Carnaval! Ahahaha...(ok just kidding)

Missing you both already! BIG HUGS!!!

written by  Mandy on April 1, 2009

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Hello!

Really liked your first post and like many others reading your blog, I'm living vicariously through your travels. Love it.

LA is a place where everything is big and loud, like Vegas, but what another post said is true, not the whole of the US is like that =) If you think people in LA are friendly, wait till you get to SF!

Thought I'd ask when you'd be in Brazil, I'll have a friend based there from August onwards, in Sao Paulo. I'm sure he'll be happy to receive friends from home, so let me know!

Ben

written by  Benjamin Ng on April 1, 2009

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Hi you all,

Thanks for all the comments! We're doing pretty OK. This post was written when I had a splitting headache I think, so tad grumpy there. Heh. Ben, Deb - we're looking forward to seeing the rest of US and it's quieter places. Loved Santa Monica - it was a welcomed break from Hollywood.

Ben - thanks for the contact in Brazil. Will keep you posted on whether we'll be heading to Sao Paulo.

Keeping reading!

Yi Lin

written by  DanYilin on April 1, 2009

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