USA – Los Angeles (Part 1)
5:28:00 PM
What's up Los Angeles???
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As always, click on street address and they will open straight into google maps app - saving you some time to type + ensure the correct address.
Enter your 'Current Location' when in LA and it should take the shortest route for you, which may be different from mine, based on where you would be.
Do also look out for the gold stars ('★') for extras on how to save money! All prices are in USD unless otherwise stated.
Enter your 'Current Location' when in LA and it should take the shortest route for you, which may be different from mine, based on where you would be.
Do also look out for the gold stars ('★') for extras on how to save money! All prices are in USD unless otherwise stated.
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★ Go Los Angeles Card - save money on attraction tickets!
The GoLA Card gives you access to 30+ attractions all over Los Angeles at a flat rate. Depending on your duration of stay, you can select 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 day passes and unlimited use for the chosen number of days within 14 consecutive days from the time of first use. The only downside is that you have to scan the card for entry/enter the attractions BEFORE 5.30pm - you can stay for as long as you want after that.
The pass is valid for 1 year from date of purchase and is activated upon the first usage, within 14 consecutive days from the time of first use. End of one day = 23:59:59 and not 24hrs from first scanned time.
"For example, if you activate a 3-Day pass on a Monday evening, it is valid for the remainder of Monday (1st calendar day) and any 2 additional calendar days within two weeks of activation."
As we had only 5 days in LA, we purchased the 3-day pass. It includes admission to Universal Studios Hollywood (weekday ticket), OUE SkySpace (new attraction!), Warner Bros. Studio VIP tour, Six Flags Magic Mountain and more. Admission to the first 3 would have already been $105 + $25 + $62 = $192. At just $184.49 (price we paid per person after utilizing viator $10 coupon below), it would not make sense to pass on the card.
Furthermore, Pacific Park unlimited rides pass, bike rentals, visitor cruises and more are available on the 3-day pass for no extra cost, should we decide to go for it if we have spare time. So why not?
Usual price for the passes at the official website/basically everywhere else:
If you haven't heard, we bought our passes from Viator and saved $10 just by signing up on Viator here. After that, purchase the Go LA card here!
After completing the payment for your Go LA card, you will receive a confirmation email containing your mobile Go LA card that looks like the below... (Lol the QR code won't work anymore cos I've already used it.)
There is no need to collect a physical card as you would only need to flash the QR code at the ticketing booth to enter. We took a screenshot of our codes and saved it under 'Favorites' for quick and easy reference. Scan it upon admission as instructed, easy as that.
★ Still contemplating? I've uploaded the guidebook that came with my Go LA card, download it here for reference and compare/check against your itinerary.
Leave a comment below if the download link no longer works, or your email address (screened, comment will not be published) so I can send it to you.
★ Go Los Angeles Card - save money on attraction tickets!
The GoLA Card gives you access to 30+ attractions all over Los Angeles at a flat rate. Depending on your duration of stay, you can select 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 day passes and unlimited use for the chosen number of days within 14 consecutive days from the time of first use. The only downside is that you have to scan the card for entry/enter the attractions BEFORE 5.30pm - you can stay for as long as you want after that.
The pass is valid for 1 year from date of purchase and is activated upon the first usage, within 14 consecutive days from the time of first use. End of one day = 23:59:59 and not 24hrs from first scanned time.
"For example, if you activate a 3-Day pass on a Monday evening, it is valid for the remainder of Monday (1st calendar day) and any 2 additional calendar days within two weeks of activation."
As we had only 5 days in LA, we purchased the 3-day pass. It includes admission to Universal Studios Hollywood (weekday ticket), OUE SkySpace (new attraction!), Warner Bros. Studio VIP tour, Six Flags Magic Mountain and more. Admission to the first 3 would have already been $105 + $25 + $62 = $192. At just $184.49 (price we paid per person after utilizing viator $10 coupon below), it would not make sense to pass on the card.
Furthermore, Pacific Park unlimited rides pass, bike rentals, visitor cruises and more are available on the 3-day pass for no extra cost, should we decide to go for it if we have spare time. So why not?
Usual price for the passes at the official website/basically everywhere else:
If you haven't heard, we bought our passes from Viator and saved $10 just by signing up on Viator here. After that, purchase the Go LA card here!
**To ensure that you can apply the credit on your order, simply change the currency to USD on the top left hand corner as the system only allow usage of credit on orders of the same currency, i.e. your order in SGD (or other currencies) will not receive the USD10 discount.
★ Still contemplating? I've uploaded the guidebook that came with my Go LA card, download it here for reference and compare/check against your itinerary.
Leave a comment below if the download link no longer works, or your email address (screened, comment will not be published) so I can send it to you.
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Now! Overview of what we did in the city of angels...
(Click to enlarge)
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Day One – L.A.
After close to 8 hours in the plane... we finally landed in LA!!! The flight was delayed for about 2hrs so we had a pretty restful journey, haha.
The Line is located at 3515 Wilshire Blvd, Koreatown.
Felt like 대한민국 the moment we stepped into the restaurant – young servers greeting you in Korean (네, 안녕하세요), Korean on the menu, Koreans around you (서을에 또 가고십어요~!)... It's not hard to understand why, or is it?
The standard set menu comes with many sides (ban-chan) and rice. It also comes with a raw egg... No idea how to use it so I didn't. I got Cee to mix it into her stone pot rice but it seems like nobody does it there...?
We went for a set meal each (!!!!!) and for Asians with a moderate appetite I suggest you share it with a friend... Else you'll end up like us taking out 75% of the meal. Anyway, look at that massive mountain of meat at the side... With that tofu soup (already sufficient as a meal on its own)... How hungry must we be to finish it all... Haha.
The standard set menu comes with many sides (ban-chan) and rice. It also comes with a raw egg... No idea how to use it so I didn't. I got Cee to mix it into her stone pot rice but it seems like nobody does it there...?
We went for a set meal each (!!!!!) and for Asians with a moderate appetite I suggest you share it with a friend... Else you'll end up like us taking out 75% of the meal. Anyway, look at that massive mountain of meat at the side... With that tofu soup (already sufficient as a meal on its own)... How hungry must we be to finish it all... Haha.
See more here!
Cos we Asians don't waste food.
BCD Tofu House (Wilshire) is located at 3575 Wilshire Blvd.
Cos we Asians don't waste food.
BCD Tofu House (Wilshire) is located at 3575 Wilshire Blvd.
FIGat7th (yes, that's how it's stylized) is a retail space in Downtown LA, with anchor tenants like Target and fashion stores like H&M, Zara, Bath & Body Works and more. There are also dining options like Morton's, Sprinkles Cupcake and some others. It's not a must-visit mall (sorry!) but you can pop by if you're in the area.
Fig @ Seventh is located at 735 S Figueroa St.
The view from the window. There were still people working in the offices at 11pm...??
Tough shit right there.
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Day Two – L.A.
Pretty bummed about leaving this wonderful place but oh well! Made our way over to IHOP for brunch before heading over to our airbnb apartment in Melrose. Also Asians don't waste great sunlight so... This happened.
HAHAHA please try not to judge me.
Yum! So cheap and good - i think this only costed us $6.90. For both plates you see here. Unbelievable!
That Cholula Hot Sauce was pretty delicious too... Just not as spicy as I thought it would be. And good ol' Tabasco + Ketchup.
IHOP is a chain American diner that can be found in almost every state.
We went to the 3165 W 6th Street one, waiting time is approx 5-10 mins, open 24/7.
Arrived at our airbnb apartment at Melrose/Fairfax, right beside hip-hop apparel store Last Kings. This photo taken by me is exactly how it was shown on the airbnb site - haha! It's my second time staying in an apartment with shared toilets so I was a little hesitant but it was available every time we needed to use it, so all's well! The only downside is that there are no fans or air conditioning... I wonder how people deal in summer??? Or winter???
Getting around is super convenient too! Lyft is always available and buses run 24/7 at the bus stop (Fairfax & Melrose) runs 24/7.
Cozy corner to chill...
Because every beautiful toilet deserves a toilet selfie.
I've always wanted to take a 'disheveled location' pic but can never find somewhere disheveled enough. This is also where we wanted to hide our luggage before we could check in at 4pm... Thinking nobody would ever venture out this far to steal or loot right??? Then we remember that the most dangerous place is the safest place and we dragged it back out to the porch. HAHAHAHA.
After settling our stuff, we went out to explore Melrose Ave! This fabulous shopping street houses apparel brands like Assembly, Nasty Gal, Urban Outfitters, Revolve Clothing, Manic Panic Style Asylum (all that hair dye!!!) and much more.
There's also N Fairfax Ave for the street-stylin' dudes wanting to cop some fresh goods - think (the one and only outside NYC) Supreme, KAYO, DOPE and a few more.
This PALIHOTEL looks fancy from the outside, wonder what it is like on the inside??
And... Here we are! Paul Smith LA's iconic Pink Wall.
June happens to be Pride Month and National Pink Day was just round the corner, so it was great to be able to snap a shot here just in time.
What it looks like in real life. HAHAHA
Also this, be prepared to battle hoardssss of tourists and locals alike, striking a pose at the wall. After feeling really sad about my shitty OOTD (blame it on the color wheel!), we roamed around in search of a beautiful wall and LOOK!
Better than what I thought.
One more because #madeinLA
The vicious sun that left me with a killer tan that is still on my feet (even after 2 months).
Yay! Look at my NC35 face already!
LOL I guess I made Cee really pissed.
Dinner at Shake Shack! We didn't get to have it in NYC, so when we found out that there's ONE in Cali, off we scooted to the famed burger joint. It's an open concept restaurant in LA compared to the posh-y ones in NYC.
A quick peep at the menu from outside...
Here's what we had! Sharing one portion because we wanted to save some space in case we were gonna eat again at our next destination. Also that Pink Lemonade is as pink as Nicki Minaj's lipstick, really.
Shake Shack (L.A.) is located at 8520 Santa Monica Blvd, opens daily from 11am - 11.30pm.
Next up: The Grove!
Dashed out for a sunset pic but realise it was stupid as hell so we went back in. HAHA
Back to shopping and oh man, I love Anthropologie.
Also I was saying I really need this SALE scarf thing cos I almost always only buy things on sale. HAHAHA #mdmcheapskate
Beautiful fountain thingy at the parade square.
Bye!
The Grove is located at 189 The Grove Dr. It is a short 15 mins walk from Supreme (N Fairfax Ave) and 15 mins walk to LACMA.
Of course, as you would've guessed... We ended our night at Urban Lights, LACMA. Every self-respecting online person would know how beautiful this place both in the day and at night, and it's a fab place to take outfit shots and a been-here post. Just be prepared to photoshop people out from your photo because there are literally humans at every other section... Hahaha.
BOOM! Reality hits.
So nice!
LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Cee introduced me to Lemonade and there was no turning back. I would describe Lemonade as a cafeteria style pick-n-mix eatery chain that offers vegan options. I love the deliciously thick mashed potatoes with hints of truffle, Chow Mien with edamame, mandarin orange quinoa salad, Thai style chicken with coconut crisps and so, so much more. I could seriously have this for days.
Come to Singapore, please!
Lemonade is located at 4400 Riverside Dr, Burbank. A quick 15 mins walk from Warner Bro's Hollywood Studio tours.
Also we passed this Bob's Big Boy Burger and I thought this painting was pretty creepy.
Fancy mural along the sidewalk...
At first I thought this was an ice cream shop. Turns out it's a dry cleaner!
Almost there...
Tadah! What a lovely entrance towards the studios. Some buggy cars happened to pull over as we were entering the studios and the instructors are all so charming and energetic.
I forgot what these cars were called but yeah they were made to be destroyed.
Bamboo forest leading to a mini pool that transforms into an aqua blue lagoon when required. It can even pass off as turbulent dark waters in the sea!
I love these street facades – it just reminds me so much of USS and how I love taking pictures there like it's somewhere out of Singapore. Same for these facades, it looks just like Boulevard of what THE American Dream is made of (HAHAHA no such road though).
As you might have guessed, doors to these storefronts and porches may work but only lead to no more than a few metres beyond the entrance. Just enough to do a take of the cast walking in and CUT!
These studios are HUUUUUGE.
On set at The Ellen Show!
At DC Universe: The Exhibit. It recently opened in May 2016 so it's still pretty spanking new - featuring Suicide Squad that wasn't even airing in SG when I visited. Didn't take many pictures because I'm on #teamMARVEL hahahaha.
Harry Potter land on level 2! I'm not a HP fan but I managed to watch the first 2 movies so... I guess I know some characters...
Like their Hogwarts uniform and robes...
... and this giant spider thingy...
The Batmobile exhibit studio! All (or most) of the batmobiles used in the movies were actual, functional vehicles and were housed in this studio after production. So cool to think that it can be taken out for a spin (although illegal) - maybe for starbucks or something?
The last stop of the tour was at Stage 48: Script to Screen. It is an interactive studio where guests can participate in pre-production (conceptualizing, experience how it's like to cast actors, etc), production (riding Harry Potter's broom against a green screen), post-production (sound editing for film) and more!
My favourite corner of this studio would definitely have to be the mock up of the set... like the below. Recognise these from any movies?
That arctic fortress where THE final inception took place!!! The decadent palace-like house in The Great Gatsby!!!
(While waiting for the bus to the city...)
Obligatory panogram #because.
Downtown Los Angeles in the distance (where OUE Skyspace and the financial district is).
(damn that backlight)
Selfie time??
Just wow..........................................
So beautiful. Just look at the sun rays shining on the little people...
Went back down because it started getting a little crowded upstairs. This mini lavender fields smell so good, I wonder how the Hitchin Lavender Farm smells like?
That curve though.
Film vibes.
Oh hello, Hollywood sign! Beautiful sunset!
After sunset, we went into the observatory (lol finally) and here's how the ceiling looks like. Too dreamy I can't. Sets an unreal expectation of what observatories around the world should look like. (lol I'm kidding)
Darkness when we came out. Attempted the bokeh on film but I can't seem to upload it on the blog?
P.S. Saw this elderly couple while running around taking pictures of the surrounding. They're so cute.
The starving Asian kids stopped by Umami Burger for a quick bite before heading back to home in Melrose. Yum yum and so filling!
Off to find my soul mate. Good night, LA!
HAHAHA please try not to judge me.
Yum! So cheap and good - i think this only costed us $6.90. For both plates you see here. Unbelievable!
IHOP is a chain American diner that can be found in almost every state.
We went to the 3165 W 6th Street one, waiting time is approx 5-10 mins, open 24/7.
Getting around is super convenient too! Lyft is always available and buses run 24/7 at the bus stop (Fairfax & Melrose) runs 24/7.
There's also N Fairfax Ave for the street-stylin' dudes wanting to cop some fresh goods - think (the one and only outside NYC) Supreme, KAYO, DOPE and a few more.
Beauty section at Urban Outfitters... An organized chaos. Take my money!
June happens to be Pride Month and National Pink Day was just round the corner, so it was great to be able to snap a shot here just in time.
What a pity my outfit doesn't go with the lovely wall. :(
Also this, be prepared to battle hoardssss of tourists and locals alike, striking a pose at the wall. After feeling really sad about my shitty OOTD (blame it on the color wheel!), we roamed around in search of a beautiful wall and LOOK!
Dashed out for a sunset pic but realise it was stupid as hell so we went back in. HAHA
Back to shopping and oh man, I love Anthropologie.
Beautiful fountain thingy at the parade square.
The Grove is located at 189 The Grove Dr. It is a short 15 mins walk from Supreme (N Fairfax Ave) and 15 mins walk to LACMA.
Of course, as you would've guessed... We ended our night at Urban Lights, LACMA. Every self-respecting online person would know how beautiful this place both in the day and at night, and it's a fab place to take outfit shots and a been-here post. Just be prepared to photoshop people out from your photo because there are literally humans at every other section... Hahaha.
BOOM! Reality hits.
LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd.
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Day Three – L.A. (Used our Go LA card!)
In case you wonder what Last Kings' windows look like and what I happened to be wearing then... Also, we utilised our Go LA card for the first time and we only used it at Warner Bro's VIP Studio Tours for the day. Good enough, I guess!
In case you wonder what Last Kings' windows look like and what I happened to be wearing then... Also, we utilised our Go LA card for the first time and we only used it at Warner Bro's VIP Studio Tours for the day. Good enough, I guess!
Come to Singapore, please!
Lemonade is located at 4400 Riverside Dr, Burbank. A quick 15 mins walk from Warner Bro's Hollywood Studio tours.
Okay I got the memo.
We were allocated to group E and our guide for the day is Ellie (Elly?) whom I thought really resembles Jennifer Lawrence. With short hair.
After a round of simple introduction to your group mates – name, where you're from (optional) and your fave movie/sitcom/drama/whatever entertainment you choose. Of course I had to go with Inception, The Great Gatsby and Gravity. I love these films so much I could practically rewatch 'em every weekend. Especially Inception. Still the best movie I've watched in my entire life.
Ok back to the tour. We started out touring the outdoor sets where this whole plot of land is transformed into someone else's grand entrance to their villa homes, a lagoon (!!!), bamboo forest and so much more.
Rosewood Town Hall from Pretty Little Liars + Rosewood something again.
Did you know? These two buildings are actually built on the same spot – just a difference of front and back. It's almost empty when you walk through the door (Guess the crew tore the set down after filming was done) and it's a totally different setting when you exit from the other door. Strange and cool at the same time. :)
Harry Potter land on level 2! I'm not a HP fan but I managed to watch the first 2 movies so... I guess I know some characters...
... This ginseng buddy and our friend Dobby here. #itried
My favourite corner of this studio would definitely have to be the mock up of the set... like the below. Recognise these from any movies?
Overall, I had fun at the studio tour! Learnt a lot about what goes on behind the scenes of movie making and how films make something so flat come alive. Ahhh, what a passion-igniting moment!
The studio tour lasts for about 3-4 hours (depending on content tailored according to different tour groups) and reservations are required. If you're using the Go LA card, remember to quote it upon booking.
Warner Bro's Hollywood Studio Tours is located at 3400 West Riverside Drive,Burbank.
We made a dash for Griffith's Observatory since the free shuttle (courtesy of LADOT) operates only on weekends. It was the perfect timing – sun was setting, sun rays aplenty, cool breeze atop the hills.
★ The shuttle bus stops at most touristy metro stations/landmarks so it's pretty easy to navigate. Read more here! We boarded at the Hollywood/Vine station after taking the train from Hollywood/Universal station on the red line. Exit the station, turn right. The journey from this stop is approximately 45mins to an hour, given the crowd on weekends in summer.
Live updates on the shuttle bus here.
And we're here!
Live updates on the shuttle bus here.
So beautiful! On a clear day, you can even see the Hollywood sign right across the mountain.
(damn that backlight)
P.P.S There's practically nothing to eat at the observatory (other than a small cafe) so pack sandwiches or some snacks up – remember to take your trash with you.
Our server (hello fellow Asian but idk where you're really from) was kinda cute so we tipped quite a bit. HAHAHAHA TAKE MY MONEY TAKE IT ALL. I think we had the special burger for the month... Negroni Burger features a part wild mushrooms, part juicy beef patty with a generous serving of Gouda cheese, cola bbq sauce and kale slaw.
Had a stroll back home. Possibly the dumbest thing to do at 11pm where many homeless people lurk on the streets.......... But:
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Part 2 on Santa Monica beach + USH coming right up!
Part 2 on Santa Monica beach + USH coming right up!
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