"Merdeka"

Going back to Melaka tomorrow morning. A bit upset didn't get to go to Avril Lavigne's concert. Oh well... Returning to Penang on Tuesday. Signing off, cya!

"Malaysia Today"

I have fixed the Malaysia Today link on the right panel.. fyi, the old link has been blocked by all ISPs following orders from MCMC.

"Epic Adventure Day 5 ~ Yosemite National Park"

It was early in the morning, woke up, bid LeeYing and TeckSiong goodbye, and we're off again for Day 5, the last day of the Epic Adventure. Yosemite National Park is 4-5 hours drive from San Jose and according to TS, the road is pretty tricky, not many signboards and you don't know if you're going the right way!




The drive was interrupted by a *small* problem when we wanted to refuel gas. We had used up our cash resources!! Ok, that's not so small anymore :-S Stranded in the middle of nowhere, without cash or gas, and gas pumps don't accept credit card... not good! Desperately (frantically??) asked people if there were any banks around, and thank god there is one nearby! And they allow withdrawal from the credit card over the counter! Ok, wasted one hour there. Hurry, we got a plane to catch!

The road was through mountains. At times, the height was incredible and it felt like we're driving to the sky! After going through one particular tunner, we were greeted by....

The Valley Portal!

In the middle is the Merced River. Yosemite is at the far end (*gulp*)

The drive is scenic at every turn. We stopped occasionally to snap pics of the clear rivers, spectacular granite cliffs and giant trees.


El Capitan, vertical granite formation!




Waterfalls! The size of the waterfall depends on the season, when the snow on top of the cliffs melt...



A short drive away is the Visitor's Centre..

like the Grand Canyon, there is also a model of Yosemite inside. We left the Centre after a only 5 minutes because the real fun is outside!

We were asking directions for the perfect location to view the most prominent feature of Yosemite, the Half Dome. Took bus, walk around, ask around and finally....


The Half Dome and the Merced River...


Up close!



We walked around going for a short hike through the meadows. Can see a ranger activity going on...


There is a ramp boardwalk across the meadows.



Sitting in the middle of the meadows, feeling the warmth of the sun, the wind blowing....


Wallpapers :D

We spent about an hour plus here. The free shuttle bus takes you around...


And the compulsory signboard on our way out!

The road back was downhill and full of twists and turns! Gf say damn dizzy and felt like vomitting. Only the driver didn't feel it!

The long road back to LA...

Reached LAX at about 8PM, returned the Ford Escape and checked in. Met Fren2 at the Cathay Business Lounge, brought some drinks out for Gf (she took Economy Class, so have to wait outside). The flight got delayed for 1 hour. When the time to board came, went inside, wait for dinner, eat and straight away zzzzzzzz............. oh, and don't forget the champagne ;)

We had a very long stopover in Hong Kong, but was in no mood to go out and jalan2 some more. At that time, all we wanted to do was go home. Was mentally and physically drained. Reached Penang that night, had a hot shower... ahh, feels so good to be home!

That's it! The Epic Adventure finally came to a close. After weeks of reading and planning, did it go as planned? Well, the first day at LA was bad as we didn't manage to cover Downtown LA and Beverly Hills. Las Vegas was too huge to be covered in one night. We would need at least 2 days there.

And the place I liked the most?

Definitely Day 4, San Francisco! It was absolutely beautiful :)

"Epic Adventure Day 4 ~ San Francisco Part 2"

After Pier 39, we drove around...

Check out the superbly fancy houses they live in. Feels like I'm watching a movie!

Check out the lady with her super huge doggie in the background!

Opposite this place some more is an unobstructed (and much closer) view of Alcatraz



And the Golden Gate Bridge! We're getting closer and wiser... wear our sweaters when we go out ;)

Next place is the Palace of Fine Arts, an unreal building like something out of a Greek era!


Looks like under renovation

And a park to just have a stroll


More shots of their neighbourhood

How did we find our way around? Simple, just follow the signboard called "49 MILE SCENIC DRIVE"! It guides you around ALL of SF's attractions :D



Passing by some conservation area in search for the Golden Gate Bridge..

And here we are!



This side of the bridge, they have this wonderful garden displaying things like the construction material, the founder,



And of course, the glorious Golden Gate Bridge.......





The feeling of seeing it up close, is just magical. We've seen it on TV many times, movies also (in X-Men 3, Magneto lifted this bridge in the final scene), but being there is really one to remember.......


Skyline of SF

And time to drive across the bridge...


On the other side....

The Lone Sailor, the icon for sailors who sailed past the north end of the bridge out to the Pacific Ocean in service of their country...


You can actually walk the length of the bridge.

Oh, up till Day 4, only we took the first pic of our companion, the Ford Escape! So happen to be red as well :P Ok, time to bring Ford for our next destination:


Lombard street: The world's most crooked street!


People actually live in this place! Parking skill must be damn kau!

Ok, succesfully navigated Lombard without crashing into the walls :P And the view from below...


After Lombard Street, we drove around SF again (actually we got lost :P) ... here's one unique building..

And here's the Fisherman's Wharf.... a street market of sorts

The time was getting late and we had another appointment... Yeah, to meet up our old frens, LeeYing and TeckSiong who were also in US, San Jose specifically! It's a 45 minutes- 1hour drive from SF. Can't imagine.. it was so hard for us to meet in Melaka, but the timing and coincidence of it all, it's actually easier to meet in US!

Spent a night at their apartment, had some maggie mee (in all the excitement, we actually only had that one meal in Pier 39, really hardcore travelling!) and chatted away. By 1 AM, time to sleep becoz we have another long drive for...

Day 5: Yosemite National Park!

"Epic Adventure Day 4 ~ San Francisco Part 1"

The 4th day dawns and after a very well deserved rest, we're off again. This time is a 6 hour drive from LA to San Francisco!



Zoomed in map of San Francisco. From Point A to Point B, we will cross the Bay Bridge!

Drive, drive, drive...


Wow, wind-powered generators...

By noon, we had reached San Francisco. How can you tell? Look at the colour of this bridge!


And the unmistakeable design of the Bay Bridge!


We drove sooo slowly to enjoy the awesome view and experience of crossing the Bay Bridge. On the right hand side is the spectacular view of Downtown San Francisco, with all her massive skyscrapers!


Once you cross the bridge, the roads are surprisingly empty...

Apa lagi, quickly find a place along the roadside, parked the car and get off to take photos!


Many ways to take the Bay Bridge!


I couldn't figure out what the bow and arrow was representing, but it sure looked cool! Notice SF is also very clean compared to LA. Very pleasing on the eyes.

Our next destination is Pier 39, a massively crowded tourist attraction with even more massive car parking fees - USD7 per hour!!





Gosh, it was so hard to get a quiet place! People of all races are everywhere! There is noticably more Asian people found here. I see alot of Chinese especially.

When we walked to the end of the Pier, we can see why it is one of the most visited places in SF:


On the left is the Golden Gate Bridge! Woo-hoo! First glimpse of it, though quite far away...

And directly in the middle is the Alcatraz island a.k.a the Rock, former maximum security prison for the world's most notorious criminals like Al Capone.


And on the right is the Bay Bridge

Round the pier and you will hear some rough calling sound....

Sea lions! Hanging out here ;)



Actually, although it looks bright and sunny, the weather was freaking cold! Everytime the wind blows, it lashes and bites at our bones.. argghh.. that's why everyone wore their sweaters!! :-S

Oh, and while snapping pictures a cool ship ala Pirates of the Caribbean cruises past Alcatraz... wow....................



We got hungry and Yasz mentioned to me before, when we are at Pier 39, we MUST try the clam chowder soup!

And here it is: served in sourdough bread bowl. Man, in that cold freezing weather, the hot clam chowder was the perfect tonic; one taste of it and.... the whole world turns warm and fuzzy again.. ahh.... it tastes extremely good, similar to a Chinese seafood soup, but much thicker. There's huge chunks of clam inside and no doubt, this was probably the most superb meal in the entire adventure (or could it be becoz I eat McD everyday, anything else also tastes nice??).

Also ordered a fish and chips to get the rebate for the car park!

Posing outside the huge crab statue.

Not done yet: Wait for San Francisco Part 2!