Saliheen & Farhana Goes To San Francisco & L.A 2017 from fazmals on Vimeo.

Our neat little travel video put together by my sister, as always! If you have any videography assignments or need editing help (she charges $100 for personal videos), you can contact her here or on her instagram (@nfzmls) ♥

Our Travel Dates

1 February 2017 to 10 February 2017

Flight Itinerary & Journey Duration

Singapore to Los Angeles via SQ12: 16 hours 45 minutes (Layover: 1 hour 45 minutes at Narita Airport)
Los Angeles to Singapore via SQ11: 19 hours 30 minutes (Layover: 1 hour 10 minutes at Narita Airport)

Time Difference

Singapore is 15 hours ahead of California (3.00pm in Singapore = 12.00am in California, same calendar day)

Weather During Our Stay

Between 10 to 18 degrees (depending on day/night, and whether there is rain)

Why We Chose to Travel to California

We went to California because................. kita nak makan Halal Guys, gaize. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

And yes I ain't even lyin', we booked our flight tickets to Los Angeles that very night, after this Whatsapp text conversation hahahahaha

Ok la ok la, it wasn't a super sudden decision la. The topic of heading to Los Angeles for a holiday has constantly popped into our conversations - the idea of going to the US now now now while we have no children and no other major commitments or health issues was just very attractive ok. And I guess the idea somehow blossomed in our minds and reached its climax when Halal Guys are mentioned HAHAHAHA #fat4life

Actually kan, before we decided on LA (and along with it, San Francisco), we were planning for our return trip to Tokyo tau haha! Terbabas ke Los Angeles pulak, and Tokyo became our flight layover instead hur hur (We're planning to go Tokyo at the end of this year instead insya Allah! That's if kita tak terpesong lagi ah)

Were We Detained Upon Arrival at LAX

Unfortunately, yes. You can read more here.

Where did We Stay at in California

We stayed at Hotel Stratford in San Francisco and Hollywood Celebrity Hotel in Los Angeles.

Which Attractions did We Visit in California

We went to a number of fun touristy places in San Francisco and Los Angeles, all of which you can read about by clicking the links below:

• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 1, Part 1)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 1, Part 2)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 1, Part 3)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 2, Part 1)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 2, Part 2)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 2, Part 3)
• US 2017, San Francisco, Feb 2017 (Day 2, Part 4)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 3, Part 1)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 3, Part 2)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 4, Part 1)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 4, Part 2)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 4, Part 3)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 4, Part 4)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 5, Part 1)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 5, Part 2) 
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 6, Part 1)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 6, Part 2)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 7, Part 1)
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 8, Part 1) 
• US 2017, Los Angeles, Feb 2017 (Day 8, Part 2)

We usually make it to 75% of our planned itinerary for every trip, so there were some places that we decided to skip because we didn't want to rush / we wanted to make a repeat visit to another place that we really liked. If we ever make a return trip to LA, I'd want to watch a drag show/comedy show, go down the skyslide at Skyspace LA, drink juice shots at Verve Cafe, drop by Union Station (where several movie scenes were shot), get lost in The Last Bookstore, eat rainbow grilled cheese at Chomp Eatery and go thrift-shopping. Maybe even go for that hip hop guided tour around Compton that Saliheen was considering to go! Hehe.

We also wanted to try out theme parks in Los Angeles too but it was sooooo difficult to decide between Disneyland and Universal Studios that we decided to eff it, let's go to Six Flags instead hahahaha. But in the end we didn't go to Six Flag either, since we couldn't work their opening hours into our itinerary lolol. Still kept it open for consideration once we were there but like what my cikgu melayu used to say: Masa amat mencemburui kita. Lolol

Availability of Halal Food

There are a few places that sell halal food in San Francisco:- there's Wings Plus (chicken wings and burgers), Bang San Thai (thai cuisine), Bellissimo Pizza (didn't get the opportunity to try but apparently they have halal chicken pizza), Ziggy's Burger (burgers and sandwiches) and of course The Halal Guys.

As for Los Angeles, there are halal options as well (read here: mostly Indian or Middle Eastern, including The Halal Guys) but they're not easily accessible (like Thai restaurant Barn Rau Thai), especially if you're not driving. The nearest halal option near Hollywood is Yogi Dog but if you're irrationally allergic to the word "dog" like Malaysian's halal certification board (read here lol) then... makan rumput je ah kau. Haha. Luckily, LA is known to be a pretentious, health-conscious place so there are many good vegetarian/vegan cafes you can check out la.

Oh! I think I forgot to mention we also dropped by SUGARFISH by Sushi Nozawa (popular mid-range Japanese restaurant in California) for lunch on one of our shopping days. They're not halal certified so consume at your own discretion, but in any event, their food isn't worth the hype. You can get much better Japanese food in Singapore (which says something, since our local Japanese food is nothing compared to authentic Japanese food in Japan) 

Transportation Around California

Really happy we decided to drive around in Los Angeles because it made Saliheen a very, very, very happy man! Korang nampak tak muka ada senyum dia at the start of our travel video above hahaha. He enjoys driving and it helped that we had a very positive experience driving around LA.

Not sure why their locals bemoan their LA traffic, maybe they haven't experienced the horrors of traffic in Asia! Their drivers were respectful and patient and cooperative, and we couldn't get over the pleasant surprise of other drivers automatically giving way and slowing down whenever Saliheen signal nak tukar/masuk lanes. NOTHING like Singapore's rude, selfish and inconsiderate drivers lor. And Angelenos' complains about "bad" traffic jams??? Pfffffttttt. They ain't got anythin' on Jakarta's infamous 3-to-5-hours-long traffic jams! Seriously, they have no idea how good they have it. We'd take LA traffic over Singapore traffic any day! In less than a heartbeat!

All that aside, I personally do think that it would've worked out just as fine if we chose to Uber around in LA instead of driving - a lot of Angelenos move around in that way too and it was easy to get an Uber (from our experience booking Uber to and fro airport). We mostly travelled by Uber in San Francisco too, otherwise we walked.

Where to Buy Souveniers

Everywhere! Hahahaha. I'm not kidding you gaize, there were sooooo many souvenier shops near our accommodation so memang takde hal untuk dapatkan ole ole. Bought cute Hollywood movie clipboard acrylic key-chains for colleagues whereas we got t-shirts and cosmetics for our family and friends.

Availability of Wifi

As always, we relied heavily on our wifi router from Changi Recommends. If you're not willing to pay for that, Wifi is generally available in accommodation and some cafes.

Research Resources

It was very easy to research for California because all of the resources available online are in English and are very comprehensive. Some of the resources I relied on were San Francisco Travel, Nomadic Matt, Discover Los Angeles and Lonely Planet. Additionally, there are sooooo many vlogs on Youtube about travelling to and around California! I also sought advice from friends who have been to California before and stalked hashtags and location tags on Instagram.

Would We Return to California for Vacation

Sure! It has everything that makes up a happy and memorable holiday: Great shopping, lovely sights, excellent service staff, laid-back vibes. Food is A-OK, not the best if you compare against places like Japan and Thailand but ok la, we enjoyed ourselves at good makan spots like The Codmother Fish & Chips, Pokinometry and SQIRL.

That said, if you asked me to choose between Los Angeles/San Francisco or New York City, I'd pick NYC any time any day in any way possible. There is just something very charming and very exciting about NYC, and I am hopelessly in love! Till today I wonder if we made the right decision in not packing up and leaving for that job position in NYC that Saliheen was offered 2 years ago.........

Oh! We also struggled to get decent food at late hours (11pm, midnight ish) in LA - we eventually ordered food in via an app called LA Bite and paid a bomb, whereas in NYC we could pop into a 24 hour deli near our accommodation or easily pick up a $1 slice of pizza. Tapi at the end of the day Singapore tetap the best la got 24-hour hawker centres and coffees shops cheap cheap good good hahahaha

And there we have it! The last of the last of the last blog entry for our holiday in California!

Catch up with you guys when I'm back from Bangkok next week ok! Please excuse me while I stuff myself with tomyam soups and thai milk teas and pamper myself with massages and cheap shopping heh heh heh BAIIIIIIIIIIII

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 2, Part 4) - Cable Car & Chinatown

So now that I've blogged about our day 1 (part 1, part 2, part 3) and earlier parts of day 2 (part 1, part 2, part 3), it's time to wrap up our second full day in San Francisco!

Even before we stepped foot ke sana, we knew we had to hop on their cable car at least once - it is one of the main icons of San Francisco seh. So we chose to travel from Fisherman Wharf to our next destination (which was Chinatown) by way of cable car! A one-way trip ticket costs US$7.00 per adult, which is about S$10.00 (although you can get a one-day unlimited pass for US$17.00 if you're going to take multiple rides in a day) 

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 2, Part 3) - Fisherman's Wharf

Ok fellas as per usual, you can read about day 1 (part 1, part 2, part 3) and the earlier parts of day 2 (part 1 and part 2) first before this entry - where I blog about our trip down to the popular San Francisco spot Fisherman's Wharf! And the first order of business is lunch, of course.

I read great reviews online about this cute little food truck called The Codmother Fish & Chips and wanted to try the hype - happy to report that we were not disappointed at all! Yay! Great service from friendly staff and I like its casual al fresco setting. Shared a basket of fish and chips and fish tacos with baja sauce, both of which were super filling and so sedap!!! Comparable to the fish and chips we had at Poppies in London, if not better.

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 2, Part 2) - Golden Gate Bridge

Since we're done with day 1 (part 1, part 2, part 3) and the earlier part of day 2 (here), I'll blog about the next part where we headed out to the pride, the joy and the icon of San Francisco - the Golden Gate Bridge, of course!

One of the important things we wanted to figure out before San Francisco was the best location/spot to view the Golden Gate Bridge! There are several spots recommended from what we read online (here, here and here) but we narrowed our list down to these 3: Fort Point, Battery East Carpark and Crissy Fields.

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 2, Part 1) - Mr Holmes Bakehouse

After a fun and fruitful 1st day (part 1, part 2, part 3), we woke up bright and early for our 2nd day in the city by the bay! Because nak makan breakfast cantik punya pasal hehehe. 

Chanced upon pictures of delicious looking bakes from Mr Holmes Bakehouse online so I made it my personal mission to grab breakfast from their cute little bakery! Konon nak photoshoot onsite but there were so many people swarmed in front of their neon lighted sign zzZzzz so I'll lift a sample picture off the internet la ok.

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 1, Part 3) - Pier 39, First Swensens & Lombard Street

After leaving our hotel for breakfast and visiting Alcatraz Island for a tour, Saliheen and I walked from Pier 33 (where Alcatraz Cruises is stationed) to Pier 39 for lunch and to see the famous sea lions! We were starving when we arrived at Pier 39 so we had lunch first.

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 1, Part 2) - Alcatraz Island

After our very yummy breakfast during the first part of our first day in San Francisco, Saliheen and I hopped into an Uber to head to Pier 33, where we were due to board the first ferry out to Alcatraz Island. The Uber driver glanced at me from her rear screen mirror after our initial pleasantries and asked me with genuine concern as to whether I was properly bundled up for the freezing weather

Hahahahaha! I clearly wasn't la but what to do, I didn't bring anything else that is meant for single digit temperature! Confident gila seh it won't be so sejuk, clearly didn't learn from my experience pergi pier in the early morning kat NYC. Dah tau nak gi pier pagi pagi buta tapi tak bawak appropriate wear to battle the cold! Nasib baik gemuk, ada jugak babat tolong tahankan sejuk 

Had to wait about 15 minutes to board the ferry because we arrived early! Just in case we need time to queue up and exchange email printout with actual tickets but the ticket printout attached to their confirmation email was enough.

We booked 2 adult tickets at US$35.50 per pax (which converts to S$50, and includes two-way ferry trips and entry tickets to Alcatraz) via the one and only official website Alcatraz Cruises here. Made our online booking slightly more than a month in advance because tickets sell out weeks in advance! 

It felt so surreal for me when we were in the ferry approaching Alcatraz Island!!! I've always dreamed of visiting Alcatraz Island (as much as I really wanted to step into the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Krakow, which I did in 2014) and I was struggling to comprehend how lucky I was to have another one of my teenage dreams come to life right in front of eyes (only with His will and grace of course, syukur Alhamdullilah)

That's me, when I stepped into one of the cells to take a picture. Also stepped into one of the solitary confinement cells (pictured below) where I got hardcore goosebumps. 

The minute I stepped into this cell, my mind and heart started racing SO HARD. I don't have claustrophobia but even I started feeling panicky at the idea of being left inside this cell! It boggles my mind seh how anyone can even survive a stint in solitary confinement. Maybe this is why I'm a law-binding citizen - I cannot stand the idea of being imprisoned in a prison cell and having my freedom and liberty taken away from me!

Some of the other areas we got to see during the tour - the dining hall, the warden offices and accommodation, the gardens outside the prison building, the visitation area and the gun gallery (where one of their infamous break-out attempts first started). We also happened to walk past when one of the staff was just starting her demonstration of the cell doors clanking and banging open and shut so that was interesting to watch and experience. 

The whole tour around Alcatraz took us about 2 hours, 2.5 hours? Loved the tour because we could stop and pause anytime we want (since it's a self-guided audio tour) to read information boards, to take pictures or to discuss dengan each other without worrying we will delay anyone else. And it was really easy to follow because the signs/pit-stops were all clearly marked. There were intermittent construction noises since Alcatraz is undergoing restoration works but we didn't mind la since it didn't interfere with the audio tour.

Really worth the trip if anyone is planning to go to San Francisco, I won't delve into all of its history and stuff since you can read all of that online or when you head down to Alcatraz yourself. All I want to say is that I enjoyed myself thoroughly and I am very happy to have stepped foot into this piece of history - I mean, this is where Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Arthur "Doc" Barker, Harris "Mickey" Cohen and Al Capone has walked and lived and breathed before seh! (Let's just say I was obsessed with post-Great Depression outlaws and criminals and mafia bosses at one point of my life haha)

So long, Alcatraz! Thank you for being better than what I can ever imagine. 

(Also, not sure why I expected the prison cells to smell of piss and sewage when nobody has lived in the cells for so many years??????? Sepatutnya aku should be more concerned eh kalau ada bau hancing HAHAHAHAHA OK BYE off to the next part of the day pls)

US 2017, San Francisco (Day 1, Part 1) - Hotel Stratford

Hi hi hi! 

I was going to start blogging about my recent US trip with what happened at LAX airport but since that is a whole other creature on its own, I've decided to skip that part for now and start off my entry on a happier note!

Except now that I think about it, starting my first entry with our trip to Alcatraz Island isn't exactly made up of happy stuff ah hahahahahaha

Ok la let's just start the ball rolling ok: So Saliheen and I flew in to Los Angeles via SQ, got detained for 2 hours aaaaand missed our domestic flight to San Francisco kwa kwa kwaaaaaaa. But nasib baik Virgin America offered us seats on the next flight out (which was their LAST flight out to San Francisco for the day, phew!)

Back From Murica!

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!

And still not blogging as regularly as I would like to

But it's ok akak feeling generous today so akak belanja you all dua gambar! You nak terima ke tak nak terima ke, tu bukan akak punya problem, you all yang datang blog akak

San Francisco and Los Angeles was fun, fun, fun! The rain messed up our itinerary for 2 whole days but all part of the memories, amirite??? And kalau compare dengan NYC of course ada its strengths and weaknesses but I'll blog about that in days to come. Or weeks. Or... months. Who knows??? I'm such a ~mystery~ nowadays 

(Pre) California Checklist

Only 18 days into the new year and I'm already breaking my resolution to blog more hahahaha why do I even try anymore.......

Aaaaanyway, besides making fun of my own uncommitted blogging ass, I just wanted to come on here and squeal out loud that we're exactly 2 weeks away to our next US trip! 17 hours of flight, baby! Ready to burn some serious ass, baby! Woohoo! 

So far, we've pretty much settled these items on our checklist:

1) Finalized our itinerary

Quite happy with our itinerary for San Francisco and Los Angeles! And yes, after much painful deliberation, we decided it didn't make sense to take an additional 6-hour flight out to NYC to lepaskan rindu. Oh well. Hopefully our 1.5 hours flight out to San Francisco will make up for it; we've never been there before so that's something new and exciting.

2) Booked accommodation

Saliheen was open to consider Airbnb this time round (who is this new person?!) but we couldn't find anything we were comfortable with / met our criteria so we've booked hotel accommodation via Agoda. And as always, we've chosen accommodation that is right smack in the middle of (tourist attraction) action because #convenience heh heh.

3) Booked flight to San Francisco

We booked our flight to San Francisco via Virgin America! Paid extra for their Power Trip Package upgrade: we actually wanted the Plans Change Pass over anything else, just in case our SQ flight from Singapore to Los Angeles gets delayed and we need to change to a later flight to San Francisco. The other perks like priority boarding, checked baggage and seat selection are welcome, of course, considering this is a budget flight. 

4) Booked a rental car

We were debating whether to drive a rental car or just whack Uber all over LA for the longest time but we finally put our foot down and decided to #yolo. Wish us luck! Saliheen and I fight the most whenever we are in a car trying to figure out directions so I have NO idea what we're thinking

5) Booked tickets for Alcatraz Island Tour

Decided we are too chicken to go for their night tour so we booked the first ferry out to Alcatraz Island i.e. 8.45am hahahahaha wish us luck again pls hopefully tido tak terlajak!

6) Updated ESTA application

Found out we don't need to re-apply for ESTA (required for Singaporeans to travel to USA) since our last application (for our trip to NYC) is still valid up till 21 February 2017 (lucky!). Read more about ESTA application here. 

7) Booked tickets to go to The Broad museum

Last minute addition to our itinerary! Happened to watch a Youtube video about the newly opened Broad museum and we like some of the exhibits so we're heading that way. We usually buy museum tickets off the counter (but remember don't do that in Russia because their signs are confusing and their counter staff are dicks hahahahaha) but tickets to the Broad museum run out fast (we couldn't get tickets for a weekend date) so we went online and booked tickets (free admission for a limited time) for a Thursday (our last full day in LA)

Other travel-related things left to do, which we'll try to settle by this weekend:

🔺 Purchase travel insurance

🔺 Admin stuff like e-register with MFA and reserve wifi router

🔺 Book Ultimate Hollywood Tours tickets

🔺 Print out all documents

🔺 Start compartmentalizing so easier to pack luggage the following weekend

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Oh and yeah, before I forget, curating my to-buy list for Sephora DUH.