5th August at 9.20am, I boarded the Singapore Airlines A380 bound for LAX via Narita Airport with hopes that I will have better exposure and opportunities in a foreign land. Letting go of your friends and family being independent and striking it out on your own is what I’ll need to do eventually. So why not start now? Plus, I want the whole college experience with a football team, sorority, fraternities with a college campus (sorry NYU), huge campus and all that jazz. So now, I embark on a new journey, I have no idea where it leads me to but I’ll find my path and direction indefinitely. Somehow I feel that arts/films is just a part of me that will never die down.

 
Krisflyer Entertainment System on Airbus A380. I felt that the movie choices were limited even though they had new movies. Emirates still has the best entertainment system ever. The A380 entertainment systems are also equipped with eternet input which I think will be implemented really soon. Now I can start using internet while miling 30,000 miles above sea level.

I was really impressed by Singapore Airlines service. I wasn’t feeling too well on the flight as I felt sick and could only drink hot/warm water. The steward noticed it and never fails to bring me hot/warm water to ease my throat. He would look in my direction and ask “hot water?” when they were doing their rounds for drink service. For the first half of the trip to Tokyo, I sat beside this woman who munched her nuts while watching a movie and drinking her wine. I think she got a total of approximately 10 wines within the 7 hour flight.

Looked out my window, the sun rays hitting down the metal plates of the wings and a rainbow emerged. How pretty.

Japan is known for their high technology and sophisticated bathrooms so I decided to take a picture of one.

Taxi at Narita Airport, getting ready to take off.

For those of you that do not know what Tokyo Banana is, Tokyo Banana is a chiffon cake with banana filling inside and it expires in a week which is why there are barely any exports. So.. here’s a summary. I bought my Tokyo Banana, all excited to leave Japan for LAX. Closed my eyes to rest and one and a half hours later, I woke up to the sound of an announcement saying that there has been an engine malfunction and they are required to fly back to Narita Airport as there isn’t anywhere else to land (unless I want to die in the ocean, that is). They also had to let the fuel leak out because the plane was getting too heavy. It took us another 1.5 hours to get back to Narita and it was around 9.30pm. The cabin crew had to request for clearance to serve dinner on board the plane. We were then told that we had to stay in Tokyo for the night and the plane could only be fixed tomorrow as the airport is already closed. I had no clue that Narita Airport had a closing time.  About 2 hours later, we left the plane and proceeded to check out with our hotel tags and luggage(s). It was definitely a fun experience. Staying in a city for a night that was unintentional.

In the shuttle bus that took us to the hotel. It took us 1 hour 30 minutes to get to Tokyo. It is insane. I was already dead tired because I can’t sleep on planes.

Checked into a sweet, spacious hotel. I called my parents to reassure them that I’m fine. My eyes look weary and I look like a zombie.

The bed was amazing. Comfy. Catched up on my sleep for about 2-4 hours.

I enjoyed my stay at Crown Prince Hotel. Spacious with eternet ports (thank god I brought my eternet cable) and I love their amenities. Shiseido <3

The view from my room.

Breakfast was served at 6.30. I was up by 6am.

Wide variety of selection for breakfast. I wasn’t feeling well and I had barely any appetite.

What I got for breakfast.

Huge hotel lobby. Biggest hotel I’ve ever been to. Theres like 4 different wings/hotel in a cluster? I’m not very sure.

As a photographer, I couldn’t help but snap pictures of my surroundings because I know I’ll be using them in this very blog post.

A shuttle took us back to the airport and boy, was I glad to be back on the plane. Rice noodles tastes pretty decent for airplane food. I lost my appetite and couldn’t finish half of my food and the steward attending to my section asked if I wanted something else instead. Singapore Airlines, you deserve the best service for this trip. Hopefully on my return flight I will be well enough to drink my Singapore Sling and have like 6 Haagen Daaz Ice-cream.

I love it when the sky is filled with a tint of orange gradient.

First day in LA, my kind friends picked me up and we headed to Mr. Pizza in Koreatown for a SoCal meet-up. A very unique pizza with lots of cheese and crust filled with sweet potatoes. Of course, what can a SoCal meet up do without our girls?

What extent would you go to to get the perfect picture at the perfect moment?

The billboard was blocked by 2 ridiculously large black boxes. We were cussing about it. Koreatown baby.

You’ve never been to koreatown if you have not been to a AYCE Korean BBQ dinner.

You can’t compare the quality of meat with a $20 per plate Kalbi beef back in Singapore since we’re only paying $18.99 for it.

The Korean BBQ place we went was extremely popular.

Day 3 started with lunch at In-N-Out.Double Double and animal style fries. I regretted ordering animal style fries. As soon as I finished my burger, I couldn’t eat further. Why do portions have to be so huge here?!

Kodak Theater! And my favorite Star on the Walk of Fame. I wish I could be a VS Angel. PINK SHALL TAKE OVER THE WORLD.

Pictures with my lovely friends.

Amoeba Music. The biggest CD shop in LA. You can find almost everything there. I found a couple of familiar films. Old Boy, Godfather, and films by Ingmar Bergman. I miss watching films in school. Bluray movies here are also way cheaper than Singapore.

Making my 2nd last day memorable by visiting a very touristy attraction – to view the Hollywood sign. It was a bitch trying to navigate our way into the hills.

This is not just any ihop… This is… THE ihop.

International House of Pancakes

Next interesting thing to view: Homeless people. It still amazes me how many homeless people there are in LA. I’ve never seen one back in Singapore and I’m pretty sure being homeless is illegal in Singapore too.

Outlet Shopping! I think I spent most of my money in Banana Replublic and getting my leather jackets.

Best memory in LA? The epic photoshoot I had with my friends.

I wish I could take this place back with me.

 Camera: Check. Tripod: Check. Models: Check. Timer: Check.

Cloud view from my seat, and Las Vegas at night. View was pretty. Too bad I can’t enter the casino when I’m not 21. I miss the weather in LA. I miss the people in LA. I miss LA. There are so many places I’ve yet to visit, so much food I’ve yet to try. I’ll be back eventually. Thank god my connecting flight back to SG would be via LAX. Greek food, pinks, beaches and Hollywood… Wait for me.

With Love,
Eumi