Saturday, June 21, 2008

California Then...California Now...

Seven years ago, I boarded my first flight out of Singapore and landed in the state of California, United States. On 5 June 2008, I found myself, beary-eyed after 17 hours of non-stop flight, standing in the LAX airport once again.

Back then, I was fresh out of school, wided-eye and curious at what the world has to show me. Now, having acummulated more travelling experience, I was curious at how I'll feel to visit the same places again.

As I'm on a business trip this time round, I could only find time to revisit Hollywood Universal Studio over the weekends. A few of the attractions are preserved such as the Backdraft Tour, Studio Tour and the Coca Cola cooling area. So in a way, there's a sense of familiarity when I was there. However, the sense of excitement or high emotions which I could still distinctively recall back then was somewhat missing. Maybe it's the age, the companion or simply the "been-there-done-that" phenomenon. So to sum it all up, there's no two trips that are the same! Looking on the bright side, it could also mean that if you had a bad experience during one particular trip, it could turn up otherwise if you were to visit it again some time later. :)

I stayed in Irvine, a city within the Orange County in the state of California. In case you are wondering what the popular American teen drama television series O.C. stands for - Orange County.

And for the more exciting part of the trip....FOOD. With the exception of Chinese food, I would have to admit that the rest of the food there was pretty fantastic! If one was not careful, it is really easy to put on some extra pounds within a few days time.


Korean BBQ

Caramel Almond Popcorn - for the sweet toothies


Subway alternatives...

Chicken Terriyaki Rice Bowl
lots of chunky chicken but missing the Japanese presentation and flavour...

Crab Omelette set

Frozen banana dipped in almond chocolate coating
An Apple A Day Keeps the Dentist Away?


Bloody Mary
Dinner @ Downtown Disney

Soda Pop
a popular japanese theme soda drink for the children


Cocktails @ Crab Shack
Seafood Brunch @ Crab Shack
Bucketful load of Victories!