Diaries from my LA Trip - July '23
I visited Los Angeles for three weeks in July 2023. This is a diary recounting my experiences. They are in no particular order so I will be jumping across dates & events.
I visited Los Angeles in July 2023, spending three weeks in L.A.. A short summary of the things I did, experienced, and felt during my time in El Pueblo (in no particular order).
Please try Public Transit
For two of the three weeks that I was in LA, I relied on public transit. I lived at a relative's house in Orange county. Everyday of the week, they'd drop me & pick me from the nearest Metrolink station. I'd take the earliest train into Union station in downtown LA, explore the city via a combination of walking + bus + train, take the last metrolink train back from union station.
Trust me, it's possible to explore LA without a car. You're saving yourself a ton of money in forms of parking fees, rental charges, gas refuelling, etc. Not to mention the overall mental burden of having to take the car out and drive everywhere without having the ability to take in the sights of the city. I'd rather take the bus and look out the window. I always felt safe while taking the train/bus during my time there.
My third week in LA coincided with a friend's business trip to his employers' office in LA. They gave him a free car rental for his trip. So we decided to make use of it to explore areas that are further away from LA (Solvang, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Huntington Beach).
Parking Garages/Lots are a great business idea in LA!
Lesson: If you get a car while staying in a hotel here, it's better to look for street parking.
I knew LA is a "car city". And when I stayed for a week at a hotel in Venice with my friend on his business trip, I assumed that we could park his rental car at the hotel's garage. They are an expensive hotel in an expensive area, surely they must allow guests to get their cars.
This is how it works in most hotels in India, guests can park a single car for free.
I had the shock of my life when I realized we had to pay $55 per day to use the hotel's parking! We parked the car for a day at the public lot next door which was a bit cheaper at $46 per night! Every other lot in the area was asking for at least $20/day that too without overnight parking!
One late night, we found street parking that allowed us to park overnight for free. We had to pay $1.5 per hour starting 8am. This is the cheapest parking option available, & hence is difficult to find. We got lucky since we arrived after ~10PM so the streets were empty. At any other hour in the day you will find no such luck. This of course depends on the neighborhood you're in.
So my advice is to arrive either early morning or late in the evening to be able to find street parking that will charge much lower.
Paramount Studios Tour
If you're a film fan - either just a casual fan or someone who loves to follow films in-depth - , a couple of film studio tours is a must if you're in LA for at least 3 days. Paramount was the only major film studio that's closer to the Downtown LA area. I relied on LA's public transit. I managed to arrive just in time thanks to route #210.
The tour was 2hrs long, a family from Switzerland and a mother-son duo from Bakersfield, California were my tour mates. The guide was a friendly & handsome looking man. He could easily star in a film himself. He told me he's working on a screenplay and a novel when he's not guiding tourists. I hope to see him receive the best screenplay award at the Oscars soon :-)
They have ~32 "sound stages". These are huuuge studios inside where filming takes place. They can even build sets of airports. Most late night studio shows also take place inside such such sound stages.
The Hollywood sign at the back
Fun fact: The beach patio scene from Top Gun was actually filmed at a small in-studio backyard, and not at the actual oceanside patio!
Point Fermin
When it comes to scenic beauty, this was the acme. These pictures don't do justice, you should actually visit the spot.
It's better to drive here if you're a tourist. They have free parking. I took the J-series bus from Union Station. It takes ~2hrs to get there by bus! Most of the bus journey is boring as well as it goes through the freeway. There's nothing nice to look at throughout the journey. So if you're a tourist, just get a car for Point Fermin.
Fun Fact: There's a place called Sunken City just east of Point Ferin. This place is cordoned off and no one's allowed to visit it (although I saw a guy illegally get through it and jump across the fence to come back!).
It was a small town that suffered a landslide and sunk down. It's dangerous to go there now as you can easily slip & fall into the ocean.
But it's still fun to walk around the area.
Oh, and don't forget to visit the Korean Friendship Bell a small hike up the road from Point Fermin. It's on a hill overlooking Point Fermin so you get awesome views of the ocean and the sky.
Farmer's Market and Parking Lot Views (hidden gem)
Griffith Observatory
Union Station
Central Market
Eat Upma amongst all the restaurants!
Did not know that every part of a pig is used in food!
Lack of options for vegetarians.
Metrolink Beauty
Venice
Liberal, carefree vibe, beautiful weather.
Bike-friendly, walk-friendly.
Bike-friendly, walk-friendly.
Huntington Beach
Ethiopian Food
All the restaurants are concentrated in a single area.
Lack of car parking (good thing!)
Little Bangladesh
Felt like India.
Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore, and Bengali scripts.
"Desi" aunties boarding the bus in this area.
Explored a few Bangladeshi groceries.
Earle's HotDogs
City Hall
Angels Stadium Baseball Game
Parking Lot is bigger than the ballpark!
Return by Train from LA to San Jose
Ocean on one side, Mountains on the other
James Dean Memorial spot
Comments
Post a Comment