Salam/ Peace be upon you,
This part here kicks off rather sadly. I left Wildwood together with Christy, Soon Kiat and Mimi on a gloomy Tuesday morning. Thanks to their landlord, we didn’t have to drag our bags all the way to the bus station. They were really really heavy. Once we were in the bus, I started to feel horribly sad. God, feels like I’m in a movie, with this sort of mood and scenes. Sobs. It took us about one hour to reach Atlantic City Bus Terminal and from there, it’s another 2 hours before we reach Port Authority of New York. It started raining in Atlantic City, making the journey all the more sadder.
Wonderful landlord and his wife, Herman and Christine. Bid goodbye to them the night before.
Kemas katil dan bilik before keluar. Sedih tau time ni.
Goodbye, Wildwood!
Started raining at Atlantic City Bus Terminal
1. New York City, New York
We reached New York at noon. Still raining while we were searching for the hotel that Soon Kiat has booked. They were planning to spend a night in the city since their flight is the next day. Me? I have to leave earlier since my flight is at 8pm, from JFK International. After we found the hotel, dropped our things, we went out for lunch. Dammit it’s expensive. Converting to Ringgit, about RM30 – 40. I’ll definitely loose my weight if I live there. Then I went to Hard Rock Cafe with Soon Kiat, went back to the hotel to repack my luggage (afraid that it would exceed the allowed limit, I threw away some clothes and things. 
) and after saying goodbye to them, I left for JFK at about 5pm.
It was still raining and the traffic in New York was bad. Really bad. Almost thought that I might not make it to JFK despite starting my journey 3 hours earlier. But Alhamdulillah (Thank God!) I did. Reach the airport at about 6.30pm and from there, I flew to Los Angeles International Airport to join my brother, Abdul. 5 hours later, the plane landed. Hello, Los Angeles! The City of Angels.
Arrived at Port Authority safely. Me, Christy, Mimi and Soon Kiat
New York City in the rain.
I hope everything went well for this bride. Kinda cute though...
Lunch time!
On the way to John F. Kennedy International (still raining)
Even dah naik plane pun hujan lagi, bayangkan, gloomy tak gloomy..uhuk!
2. Los Angeles, California
After Abdul and his friend picked me up at the airport, we went for supper and then spend the night at his other friend’s house, a Malaysian working in the States. Her name is Shafinez and yes, she’s absolutely gorgeous, warm and nice. I can’t thank her enough for letting my brother and I to stay at her place for the night. We were actually planning to go to either Disneyland or Universal Studios the next day but since I’m still tired due to the 5 hour flight, I overslept. Unfortunately, Abdul did too! Since it is already too late for that, we changed our plan and went shopping instead. haha. Then, we went to Hollywood! by bus. 
Los Angeles International Airport
Senibina rumah dia agak lain compared to wildwood. lawa.
Shafinez's place.
3. Hollywood, California
There is nothing much in Hollywood, really! But sajalah, nak pergi ingat glamour sangat haw3. Biasa je. We went to Kodak Theater and some other places (not interesting enough to be mentioned.. ok I admit, I forgot). Took pictures with unmaintained stars on the walk of fame and I have to admit that there are a lot of street performers in Hollywood. Some are playing music, doing magic tricks and there are a lot of them walking around wearing popular costumes; from Spongebob to Ironman. You do have to tip them otherwise it is just rude and they will bother you until you do. I didn’t know that at first. Sorry, Spongebob! (I didn’t tip him after all, since I didn’t have small changes. Oppss) After buying some souvenirs, we went back to Shafinez’s place and packed our things to catch the train to San Francisco at midnight. Took a cab to Union Station, L.A. It was exhausting but as Najwa Muhyiddin would have say it, you “Got To Go”. The journey took about 8 hours but we’re lucky it was a nice one.
I took the wrong one. haha.. it's Audrey, the famous one. Not this.
Poor Spongebob~..
Abdul posing in front of Hard Rock Cafe.
In front of Kodak Theater
Mall apa tah ni.. lawa la tapi.
Ripley's
Union Station. It looked like a church, I just notice that..
Waiting area
Not this train though.. =p
Travel itinerary.
Scenery dalam train, dah nak sampai SanFran dah ni.
Lively conductor and oh! lupa nak mention, keretapi tu 2 tingkat.. memang duduk tingkat atasla kitorang.. teehee!
4. San Francisco, California
Throughout the journey, the train conductor was really lively and fun! As if we’re listening to a radio DJ. We arrived at about 11 a.m. and although we spent less than a day in this wonderful city, I fell in love with this place already. The first thing that we did once we were there is finding a place to keep our heavy luggage and a place to pray. After we’ve settled that, it’s jalan-jalan time! San Francisco is a really hilly city but thanks to that, it is blessed with beautiful scenery anywhere you turn you head to. Abdul and I went to the tourist information center near Union Square to get a map and bought our “1-day passport” there. With that, we can ride every public transport in the city for the day for only US$ 14! Pretty cheap considering the fare for one way cable car alone is US$6! (yeah. we took that on our way to the center. sigh)
The map that I took was really2 helpful. We went to a lot of places pretty easily by ourselves without being lost. We took a bus to a fort overlooking Alcatraz Prison. It was really windy there, and chilly! While on the fort, I can’t help but to notice that there are fog surrounding the city. Although the sky is still clear further away, all over San Francisco, it is rather gloomy. From the fort too, we saw the Golden Gates Bridge, partly hidden behind heavy fog. After that, we took a bus to the Fisherman’s Wharf and had our lunch there. We then continued our journey to Pier 39. Abdul did a research earlier and mentioned that the place is a must-see, although, he forgot why. It is actually a haven for sea lions. They live happily and undisturbed, protected strictly by the law.
After we’re done watching the sea lions we rushed to Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world! The scenery was worth the climbing since there is no bus/cable car/tram that passes through the road nearby. Even tour buses are not allowed to stop there. The scenery was heavenly. Not even pictures could do justice to what we’ve seen there. You really got to see it your self. We then shop for souvenirs, managed to get discount (mungkin sebab dapat sembang sikit2 dalam Mandarin dengan makcik jaga kedai tu kot, dia kasi discount) and went straight to the airport (San Francisco International Airport). Our next flight, to Hawaii is early in the morning so we plan to spend the night at the airport (plus, it is free) .
At the Union Square
We found a Palestinian market while on our way to the mosque at Sutter Street
Masjid Al-Tawheed
Background: Alcatraz Prison
Background: Golden Gates Bridge
I really thought that it is plastic.
Alligator bread and others (background), from Boudin Sourdough
Sea lions relaxing on the dock
Just to show how obvious the fog is.
Lombart Street!! some said that it is more beautiful in spring but for me, this is already awesome!!
We're going doooownnnn!! Arghhhh
San Francisco: Land of cable cars. :p
And this ain't the steepest yet, you know
Larkin bukan kat Johor je taw.. hehe..
What a name.. haha..
Abdul tido dah.. exhausted gile. Dalam train to San Francisco International
The next morning: flight to Hawaii!!
5. Oahu Island, Hawaii
First of all, I didn’t know that Hawaii is not just an island. It is a group of islands where “Hawaii” is the biggest. We landed at Honolulu International Airport in Oahu Island around 3 or 4 pm. The weather was totally different than the one in San Francisco. It feels more like home, hot and humid. Once arrived, we searched for a hostel that Abdul has booked online earlier. It’s at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. We spend 2 nights there, until Sunday. After everything is settled, we searched for food. Found a really good Thailand restaurant nearby, “Sabaidee” something. Then jalan-jalan at the famous Waikiki Beach at night. When we get back to the hostel, there’s a new roommate from Brazil. He is a musician aspiring to be a teacher and his name is Thales. Such a nice guy he is. He suggested us to take a bus to explore the island since we have very limited time left.
The next morning, we took a bus that goes around the island. Stopped several times to walk and see how the locals live. We also did try some local dishes (I’d still prefer Malaysian foods though, no offense). The scenery however, was breathtaking. no doubt about that. It was very very beautiful. On our way back to the hostel, we were planning to go to Pearl Harbour but sadly, the bus didn’t go there. Hence, we changed the plan. Watching sunset at Waikiki Beach is definitely not a bad idea. After that, we shop for souvenirs, went to the International Market Place to have our dinner then head back to the hostel to pack our things for one last time since we are leaving for Japan the next day.
Sunday morning, me and my brother left Hawaii for Japan. This gonna be the last chapter of journey to the west (for now), got to concentrate for my final year now. It has been unbelievably amazing and awesome (and tiring, of course).
Aloha! Hawaii!
At the hostel..
Seriously sedap. Tak tahulah maybe sebab dah rindu nak makan masakan mama kat rumah kot.. hehe@waikiki beach, 1st night.
Nice quote from Amyr Klink
Beautiful scenery somewhere around the island
Watching sunset by the beach..
A street performer..
Thales and Abdul
Bye2 Hawaii!!
On the way to Narita International Airport, Japan
Meal, otw to japan
Narita..
Spend the night at rainforest lounge once again, Changi International Airport
Jalan-jalan pusing Changi
Lagi Changi
Atas bawah awan.. on the flight balik Malaysia! hoyeah! home at last!
Anyway, this adventure has taught me many things. It was hectic and the schedule was actually too tight! Imagine, all of the stated above happened in less than a week! I left Wildwood for New York on Tuesday morning and left Hawaii for Malaysia (via Japan and Singapore) on Sunday morning. Me and my brother arrived Malaysia somewhere around 7 a.m., Monday and I went to class the very next day. haha. hope nobody heard my snoring. :p
seronoknya anda berjalan serata dunia….
=)
Bukan berjalan je taw, awal2 tu bekerja juga jap kat sana.. ^__^