On the18th of Nov 2000, we started our trip to the West Coast of America. Our group consisted of my parents, 5th uncle & aunty, Peipei, Lingling and myself. We were sent to the KL International airport by my last uncle at around 12 pm. Everyone looked excited at the airport as this was our furthest trip holiday. At around 3 p.m. we were off to Taipei for transit to San Francisco. We had to wait for transit at Chang Kai Sek airport for 3 hours after our 5 hours flight from KL.After another 13 hours of a boring flight , we finally arrived at our destination.
Saturday 6 p.m. (local time), we stepped down from the plane with a sleepy but delightful face. After checking out from San Fransisco airport, we were awaited by my cousin, Ah Ping, her wife Winnie, and uncle Kingchong. After some exchange of words, we were on our way to my cousin Shwu Yuan's home. On the way, I couldn't see clearly the city because it was dark.. Soon, we reached Shwu Yuan's house at San Jose and we were greeted by my 1st , 2nd aunt and her grandson.Everyone felt warm after having a simple meal. After that, 5th uncle's family and my family were brought to Ah Ping's house which was also in the same city but about 20 minutes drive away.
The next morning, we started our day first day of visiting. Shwu Yuan rented a van with a 15 persons capacity. Our first place would be Disneyland, but before that we would stay a night at at our friend - Ah Yang's house in Los Angeles. Along the way, we enjoyed the mountainous view and grass land. After feeling bored of the journey, Pei, Ling and I would play cards together in the van. Hours later, we reached Ah Yang's house in Wallnut Crest of LA. After taking turn to have our shower, we went to a chinese restaurant to have our dinner.
On the 20th of Nov. Monday, we started off to Disneyland. It was really crowded that day and we wasted quite some time at the entrance. We had some quick look at the mainstreet which was a colorful street with stalls by the two sides. Then, we went to visit ADVENTURELAND and had a boat ride of Indiana Jones which was a visit of the tropical rain forest with some animals appearing at the river. After having the jungle cruise, we headed to FRONTIERLAND. We went for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where we had our bodies splashed wet. Before going to another land, we visited NEW ORLEANS SQUARE and entered some of Disney's creation like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of Caribbean. The next place is TOMMOROWLAND which was more exciting than the previous. Space Mountain won much of our interest because of its quick turning and speed in the dark. 1st aunty was the oldest of all to taste the ride. Afer visiting other places, papa, pei, ling and I went for our last roller coaster ride in FANTASYLAND. We ate some muffins and coffee before going to the other attractions like the Peter Pan's Flight and Small World. Aunties and the girls went for some child's ride while I had my time on the bench resting my tired legs. Soon, we prepared ourselves for the evening fireworks. Everyone was amazed by the half an hour show.
On the 21st of Nov. Tuesday morning, we were off to Hollywood city to visit Universal Studio. We had some photographs at the Universal Citywalk before getting into the main entrance. The first place we went was "Back To Future Ride". Then we went down to the Studio Center by the Starway escalator. We visited the World Of Cinematic where we could learn the tricky work of film makings. After visiting some of the other excitements like the Backdraft and Jurasic Park, we went for a studio tour. We were brought to the film scene and experienced some horrifiying effects. We also had a chance to watch stunts at Waterworld show and 3-D show of Terminator II.
The following day, we went shopping at some nearby supermarket - such as the 99 cents store - where every item is only 99 cents each. In the afternoon, we left LA to Las Vegas soon after Ah Pin and the other family members arrived from SF. At around 8p.m. we were in the city of casinos. After checking into Stratosphere Hotel, 5th uncle's family and my family decided to walk around the city. The weather was very cold at night because it was located in the middle of a desert. Although it was nearly midnight, but the all the hotel's light were still brightly lit. It was beautiful to see multi-color lights, twinkling and moving around us.
23rd the next morning, we had bufffet breakfast at the Circus Hotel. Then, we went to visit each hotel which have their own casino and their own unique entertainment. There was volcano eruption at Mirage Hotel and pirates show at Treasure Island Hotel. There was the Eiffel tower in Hotel Paris, Statue of Liberty in New York Hotel and the piramid at the Hotel Luxor.
On the 24th of Friday, we left the state of Nevada and off we go to Arizona. On the way, we visited Hover Dam. A few hours later, we reached Grand Canyon. The view was breathtaking from the hill top, but it was too windy and cold. Then, everyone lined up for the bus to fetch them to another view point. Unfortunately, Ping and I were were left behind because the shuttle was too full. With a disappointed feeling, we went to a nearby restaurant and had some food. That night, we headed back to Vegas again. We were given a luxurious pent-house in Bellagio Hotel by 2nd aunt's friend called Kiki -who is working there. We all had a nice time enjoying the two adjoining hotel suites. Everyone was simply amazed and we only go to bed at around 3.00 am.
After a comfortable night, Kiki's husband treated us with a sumptous buffet breakfast at Bellagio Hotel. This was my first time I have so much variety of mouth-watering food. Then, we visited their house which was like a theme park to us - with Pin Ball machines, foos ball game, billiard table etc. Before leaving, we received souveniers from her generous husband. On our way back to Ah Yang's house, we dropped by at one of the largest factory outlet in LA. My parents and the other aunties bought a few pairs of shoes at the Reebok store.After taking some rest in Yang's house, we continue our journey back to SF in the night. As soon as we reached Ping's house, I immmediately fell onto the bed. That night, none of us bathe because it was already 4.00 am when we reached home.
The next day - Sunday we woke up at around 10.00 am . That day, we didn't go anywhere. We all need a rest after a past hectic week.
25th - Monday, Shwu Yuan brought us to another town called Gilroy for some shopping. The stores there sell mainly branded goods and are therefore quite expensive. However, we had lunch at In-and Out burger stores and the burgers there are tasty.
26th - Tuesday, Shwu Yuan again brought us shopping but this time to a more affordable place called Costco shopping centre. We also visit the Goodwill store where only used items are sold. Pretty cheap but abit old and worn out goods.
On the 27th of Nov, Wednesday, Winnie drove us to San Francisco City. The first place we went was the China Town. We had to walk up a hill along the street where there are all kinds of Chinese food sold in the shops. After having lunch, we visited Coit tower. From there, we had a great view of the whole city including some of the famous landmark like Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz island and Bay Bridge. We also went to see the world's most winding road called the Lombard street. In this street, only cars can go down the winding one way street. It is so winding that all the cars going down move very slowly at less than 10 mph. Then, we had a ride of the famous cable car called the "Trolly" that brought us around the city. This Trolly ride is unique because it moves along the road together with other normal cars. Our next stop was at the Golden Gate bridge. It was known as the longest hanging bridge in the world. Its red color was strikingly beautiful.
The next day, after having sushi for lunch, we went shopping around that San Jose area. We visited Macy departmental store, K-mart and also Albertson shopping centre.
On the 29th of Nov, Friday, we were off to Lake Tahoe. After a long drive at around 9 p.m. we finally found the motel we booked. It was very cold (around - 3 oC) and the fog was thick too. We took no chance playing with the snow before going to bed.
The next morning, I was awakened by a mini earthquake. This would probaly be my once in a life-time earthquake experience. After breakfast, we drove to the skiing site. Everyone had fun playing with the sled. The snow was really soft with a few inches thick. At noon, we left this wonderful place.
On the last day of our trip, we had BBQ in Ping's backyard. After packing all our lurgages, we went to have farewell dinner at a Taiwan restaurant. Then, Uncle KC treated us pearl tea. After saying goodbye to the others we went to the airport for our departure back home.
That concludes the end of our dream holiday to the West Coast of USA.
Written by: Tan Kay Neth
Date written: 18/12/2000