USA: Los Angeles & Las Vegas

Photo: At the Dodger's baseball game

I was so excited to see Nadeane that it felt like Christmas on the morning I was leaving NY to fly to Los Angeles. I was also really happy that it was the end of my travelling alone, for a while, because Scott and the boys were meeting me in LA to travel Central America.

Travelling alone definitely has it's benefits (deliciously selfish; can do what I want when I want, forced to make friends out of strangers, meet so many more people, more open to opportunities, people respect you and include you because you're alone, and a real feeling of achievement and self-worth and growth etc, having succeeded on your own) and I was glad I did it, but so happy when it was over as well.

Being alone is so much harder; everything is left to you (choices, maps, asking for help, security.) Just little things like having no-one to mind my pack when I went to the toilet, so had to drag the whole thing in the cubicle with me. I had to fight so many internal battles because half of me is eager and half of me is lazy, had to always motivate myself to put myself out there. Sometimes you have nobody to share moments and experiences with, it can be a little scary and boring only having yourself for company, and experiences really depend on the people you meet. Sometimes you luck out in hostels- that's when I got lonely.

Either way (travelling alone, or with friend/s) has such positives and negatives. I had this conversation a million times with lots of people who agreed. So I'm glad I mixed it up a lot on my trip. Started with Scott and soon made friends with Matt, Nadeane and Drew (who were all travelling solo) for the rest of Asia. Had Mel in France and Spain, and Zoe as well for Ireland. Then alone until Mum met me in Eastern Europe for two weeks, then alone again until now. Will have the boys until Peru, then my last month alone in Cuzco.

Anyway. The flight was a little claustrophobic as I was seriously trapped in my seat by the obese woman in the aisle seat. At first I was just being polite, not wanting to cause her the effort of getting up to let me out. But then I started needing to go to the loo and told myself I'd wait until her tray-table was cleared, to make it easier. But every time an attendant walked past, she ordered a new soft drink. I think she drank like four cans. And kept the tray-table down the whole time. I was about to ask her to move anyway, when we started descending into LA. Decided I could wait, but of course we were delayed on the tarmac for what felt like a year and then I was stuck behind her as her thighs had to be squeezed past every seat on the way up the aisle. Torture.

Then I was so giddy about seeing Nadeane's friendly face (she was picking me up) that I waved madly at about five strangers, thinking they were her!

It was so great to see her. I couldn't believe how much we'd bonded in Asia and how much I'd missed her since then! After her Asian trip she moved from Canada to LA into an apartment in Park LaBrea and started a new job as a cardiac nurse at Ceder Sinai Hospital where all the Hollywood rich and famous get treated. Juggling her night shifts at work we still had a lot of fun, and it was perfect for me to be able to drop my pack, have a home base, cook, watch TV, catch up on my journal and blog, stop travelling for a bit.

I met some of her nurse friends and we did things like:

Turtle racing at a bar (yep betting on turtles)

Photo: At Venice Beach

Surfed at Venice Beach. This place is insane. The pavement running along the beach is like a stage filled with the craziest characters having the most random interactions. I saw a guy with blue hair and a Ramones tshirt telling off a policeman, and an old half-naked man twirling a fire-staff and losing his shit yelling at a tree. A leathery skinned hippy woman kicking her bare feet out dancing to a band, yanking on the leads of her two chihuahuas who just stared at each other disdainfully. There was a black bodybuilder wearing only red Speedos and running shoes walking around with a boombox on his shoulder, and a tiny blond punk guy rollerblading along with his labrador on a lead, his dog was wearing wraparound sunnies. Old surfer dudes on the benches, a pirate in a wheelchair. A perfectly normally dressed man in one of those scary full-face gas masks.

Walked around Hollywood searching for Heath Ledger's footpath star (shattered he hasn't got one) and bumped into Dave Niproski.

Photo: Disneyland

Went to a Carrie Underwood concert at the Hollywood Bowl (she's a country singer who won American Idol.. she was actually really good!) Listened to country music in a non-ironic way for the first time in my life!

Found ourselves at Beverly Hills Hotel (I think it's the classiest place I've ever been) for her nurse-friend's boyfriend's 30th birthday... Had one of those moments wondering how on earth I got here as the last time I'd been with Nadeane was in a horror-movie type bungalow in Vietnam..

Went to a baseball game with Dave (ate a hot-dog, sung Take me out to the Ball game, and saw David Hasselhoff in the crowd)

Photo: At the Ice Hockey game

Went to the Getty Museum, and out with her friends on Hermosa Beach, in Downtown LA and we even went to Disneyland! When Scott and Chris arrived we went to an ice-hockey game between LA and Vancouver Canucks, and then we drove to Vegas and met Jake there.

I found driving through the desert so inspiring. I'd never been in a desert like this before. There were fantastic signs like 'Ghost Town Road' and 'Peggy Sues 50s Diner' and biblical quotes. And listening to Edward Sharpe just made it perfect.

View from our hotel window

Vegas was so strange. Mostly because so many movies are set here, it's weird seeing the places in real life. I couldn't get Ocean's 11, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and The Hangover out of my head. The Bellagio fountains. Dollar margaritas. Neon lights and stripper cards. Roller coasters on the roof of casinos. This stuff actually exists! Through Nadeane's friend Robbie we got free accomodation at The Orleans which was amazing after one night in a creepy "hostel" motel.
Photo: In front of the Bellagio

Photo: NYNY Casino in the background

Then back to LA for a couple of days while we planned Mexico!