LAX: The first stop

Having survived the subcontinent for the "reset" phase of my gardening, it's time to head to the Americas for the "fun" part of my gardening. The dynamics of supply and demand have resulted in astronomical flight prices for direct flights to the US . As a result, we've had to fly indirectly to Los Angeles. First stop, Taipei. Second, stop Los Angeles, California. 

I've been looking forward to this trip, as it's been over 3 years since this group of people have been together. People living in Puerto Rico, London, Singapore, Los Angeles, Toronto and Hong Kong. Really good first stop in LA, Comedy store (saw Craig Robinson), some Mexican food, walked around West Hollywood, Farmers Markets at the Grove, lamb at Mother Wolf, Musso and Frank.

NYC

The world's longest commercial passenger flight (for now), 19 hours; that wasn't so bad. It also helps that the airline is setup to be mostly Business Class, although I was back in Premium. I often wonder how people travel before entertainment units. I have also started the Harry Potter series, I know right. Quite excited to be back in New York City. It's been a while, it's also been a while since I've been here for a reason other than work.

Reached out to an old friend who know lives over at Murray Hill. It really has been an amazing trip. The city is growing on me, if only it weren't so far from Australia. Thoroughly enjoyed the time exploring the city, caught up with most friends, spent a little time in the office and came to support a friend - which ended fairly positively. Good trip, summertime in the big apple with some good conversations, a bit of soul searching, good food, and a bit of tourist stuff.

Was supposed to fly back on the Saturday evening, but after a nightmare experience with United. Read, original flight to SFO was canceled, changed to later flight, that flight was also canceled. Moved flight to Sunday evening via LAX. My pestering won me an upgrade, but still. Looking forward to getting back to Sydney to see everybody.

 

36 hours in LA

Feeling light and refreshed; what an amazing trip!

Bar the 40°C heatwave, there's something very comfortable about LA, maybe because it reminds me of Sydney.

Highlights include: Catching up with with Danny, Grand Central Market, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Trevor Noah and strolling around Little Tokyo. It's the first time I've been to LA where I have not felt like a tourist. Reality awaits ...

First Stop: Aguas Calientes

"You're crazy, you will be flying for two days, just to spend a week in Peru" - was the reaction from most people after I told them I had decided to go to Peru for a week. For the record, it would be five days of annual leave, three days of flying/transiting, six days in Peru and 36 hours in Los Angeles. I couldn't think of a better way to spend ten days away from work.

Friday 29th - 12:55 pm: I board the flight in Hong Kong and start the 14 hour leg to LAX. Here. We. Go.

Friday 29th - 10:50 am: Arrive in LA, I didn't really sleep on the flight. Mental note, do not order the Oriental Vegetarian meal again. I check the clock, it's currently 4:50 am in Hong Kong, I've been awake for 21 hours. Is my timezone math even correct? I retrieve my luggage, grab a burrito and wait for my flight to Lima.

Friday 29th - 14:00 pm: I have been awake for 24 hours, I board the LATAM flight in LAX and start the 8 hour and 30 min flight to Lima. Drats. Middle seat, I finally dooze off.

Saturday 30th - 00:45 am: Arrive in Lima, retrieve my luggage and check into the connecting flight, charge my phone, waiting for the last leg.

Saturday 30th - 05:00 am: Board the flight to Cusco

Saturday 30th - 06:10 am: Cusco. I can't believe I'm here.

Touchdown! I retrieve my luggage (for the last time) and find myself exiting the arrival area only to be met by a sea of tour operators waving signs in my face.I scan the ocean of signs looking for my name. "Derek?" I see a Peruvian lady motion towards me. I wonder how she knows that it's me. Oh right, I'm the only Asian guy in the arrivals area.

We hop into a car and she gives me a run down of the next 48 hours. She leaves me with the driver and I start my adventure from Cusco, through to Urubamba, finally at Ollantaytambo. There's a lot of awkward Spanish/English conversation. Immediately I'm floored by the beauty of the country side, as we stop along the way for the odd commentary and photo opportunity. The driver bids farewell and I wait for the train to Aquas Calientes. Not being able to communicate with the driver makes you feel, this big. Next time I do this, I need to make sure I take a one month crash course in Spanish.

I think I've been sitting down for too long - my lower back hurts. Actually, now that I think about it, in the last 48 hours I've probably been sitting down for at least 45 of those hours. Meanwhile, the train ride is absolutely stunning, snow capped peaks, lush greenery, I am really growing found of trains. Choo Choo!

Saturday 30th - 5 pm: First destination. Aguas Calientes, I have an early dinner followed by a much needed massage.

Saturday 30th - 7 pm: I sleep. My hotel room has a Jacuzzi.

Unlikely Bucket list item: Coachella

In December, Phoebe suggests to Brian "We should go to Coachella". Brian says "Yes, let's do it". Brian relays the following to Derek "Hey, we're going to Coachella, you should come". Derek replies "Let me think about it". In January, Phoebe tells Derek "Hey, we're going to Coachella, and we have space in the apartment, you should come". Derek responds "Oh yeah, Brian mentioned this. Let me think about it". In February, it's 3 am in the morning and Robert adds Derek to a WhatsApp group chat called "Coachello 2027 first week". The name of the event is wrong, so is the year. Derek is intrigued and immediately books flights to Los Angeles.

Coachella, the music festival associated with faux Bohemian, dessert palms trees and the Ferris wheel has not been on my radar of things to do. However, the performance line up, the minimal time off work and the group of people traveling was enough to convince me that this would be the best way to spend my Easter. The only problem was, I didn't have Coachella tickets, which was the least of my concerns, these things usually work themselves out.

I had exhausted all options on the secondary market (Gumtree, Craigslist, etc) and was resigned to the last resort of Viagogo; with an expected premium of 2x the retail price. That was until, I found a third use for dating apps, e-Commerce. A dormant match roused into a non-sequitur, non-contiguous thread that folded between broccoli sprouts and apple cider vinegar and eventually availability of Coachella tickets. We exchanged details and through friends the transaction was finalised. All the while, I wondered if this was an elaborate ploy to scam unsuspecting victims out of their hard earned cash in exchange for the promise of hard-to-acquire goods and services. My fears were allayed when the wristbands beeped with confirmation as I passed through the gates of Coachella 2017. Aside from actually finding a life partner, and/or getting laid this was the next best use for swiping right.

So how was it? Well, mixed feelings. The performances were excellent, Kendrick, Gaga, The Fugees, Drake, Empire of the Sun all amazing. The downside was the crowds and inter-stage navigation. It was an absolute nightmare getting in, out and around the venue especially when there's another 90,000 people trying to do the same. From vehicle drop off to the main stage, it took around 40 minutes, including a long walk, multiple security checks and an ID check. The glaring smear on the event was the 3 hour UBER line on the first night. We ended up rushing the car park as the new "UBER ID" system had failed and reduced us to a Hunger Games situation where there was no longer any rules.

I think what really made me sour was the fact that I lost my phone on the first evening. Which kind of put me in a bad mood, particularly because I was planning to meet up with friends who were also at the festival from Sydney and Hong Kong. Anyway, I'm over it!

It was not all doom and gloom - It was so good being at a legitimate music festival. For me, most of the fun happened outside, with the road trip from LAX to Palm Springs. Eating our way through the classics: Inn-and-Out, McDonalds, Burger King, IHOP. Foraging for groceries at Stater Bros, trying to find medical marijuana and spending hours trying to cultivate the perfect Coachella outfit. Would I go again? Maybe, if the right line-up presented itself.

Currently reading: "The Magic of Thinking Big"

Still awake...

It's official, my body clock is out of whack! The trip so far has been plagued with afternoon siestas and varying bedtimes. It's no wonder that I'm finding myself fatigued at strange hours of the day. I haven't had a consistent sleep since leaving Australian shores. 9/4/08 was no different, got out of bed around 2 pm local time and headed down to the Fashionist Shopping centre for a light wander through local retail. From what a can tell there's a large discrepancy with Customer Service, either you get somebody who is downright willing to bend over backwards to help you or somebody who would rather be anywhere else.

After watching Circque Du Soleil at Treasure Island we headed off the strip to the Hard Rock Hotel. Had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas there's a checklist of "must eat" American foods: Buffet, donuts, apple pie, buffet, pizza, hot dog, hamburger to name a few. One thing that we have learnt about Vegas clubbing is to search for VIP passes for clubs. Most outlets, bars will have some pass that grants free entry to the clubs, this will go a long way in saving you 20-30 bucks per venue.

Turns out we weren't swindled the night before by the bum handing out club passes. The passes entitled us to front of the line VIP entry and soon enough we were in Body English at the Hard Rock Hotel. Ferry Corsten was performing tonight at Gods Kitchen and for the first hour of the night the bar was giving away free Vodka. It got messy. We met a top bloke from Los Angeles who was out in Vegas for the week as well and headed over to LAX for a little hip hop. Checked out the Vegas sign at the beginning of the strip at sunrise, eventually got to sleep at 8:30 am.


10/4/08: Last few days in Vegas have been a blur. You can feel the atmosphere building up slowly for the weekend madness, pity we won't be around to see Vegas during the weekends. Woke up at 4:30 this morning, everybody headed off to see the Beach at Tao, I opted to sleep in and rest up for what would be my last night in town. Headed to the Venetian to watch Wayne Brady - Making *#!t up, it was an absolute riot. Top class entertainer lots of impromptu singing and stand up which is definitely worth the price of the ticket. Last night out was spent at Tao nightclub. It was quite simply one of the best clubs I've ever been to, elaborate decor, plenty of people and the best music. Songs that stood out were "You shook me all night long" (AC/DC), "Smells like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana) and "One More Time" (Daft Punk). I'm loving life right now.

Vegas is definitely a black hole, sucking you in and erasing all concept of time and finances. It then spits you back out on the other side returning you to reality tired and with many fond memories.I would definitely love to come back here with the rest of the gang! Raced back to the hotel at 4:30 had a quick shower and threw my clothes into the suitcase. Still ha vent slept from the night before, currently at Vegas airport waiting for my American Airlines flight to New York, I can't wait to sleep on the plane...