US Trip

After much delay, here is my (belated & abridged) trip report to the US with my friend, Dave. Unfortunately, there are no photos, as the camera was elsewhere :(

New York:

As I was still recovering from a chest infection, I wasn't feeling well, but was glad to be going away. We left on the Saturday, and by some miracle (called the International Date Line), arrived on the same Saturday, The United flights to NY were uneventful, with a lot of reading done. Customs & Immigration at San Francisco being unevnetful, and even being pleseant. However, I was still coughing quite a bit, which wasn't good.
After ~21hrs on planes, we were glad to be getting to the hotel. The trip to the hotel was pretty unevnetful, apart from the freeway being clogged, and a European couple chatting loudly, until a Justin Timberlake song played on the radio, whereupon the lady started singing.
The next day was a wipe out, as I was feeling really sick.
I was feeling a little bit better by the Monday, so we managed to walk around downtown, including walking past the NYSE (which was cordoned off with security guards etc, so there was no chance of getting in), Ground Zero (worth going to, IMHO), and the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. One thing that struck me at Ellis Island was that newly arrived immigrants were made to stand in line behind a booth, with the Immigration Officer being the sole determinant on whether you could stay or go. Behind the officer's desks was a large US flag. Plus le change...
On our way back to the hotel, we found a food cart which sold BBQ chicken (similar to what's in a chicken kebab) with chilli & white sauce, lettuce & rice for $3.99, which was a pretty good deal.
Tuesday was spent on a Yankee Stadium tour, where you could feel the mystique & aura, as well as the history of the team. After that, we went on a tour of the UN building, which was also worth going to.
Tuesday night was spent at the Theatre, watching a play called A Moon for the Misbegotten. it might have been the fact that I was sick, or that I could be fairly uncultured, but most of it went over my head. We went by Times Square on the way back to the hotel, and it was still packed at 11pm.

San Francisco

Wednesday was our flight to San Francisco, and we were dropped off at the airport redeculously early (~9:00 for an 11:00 flight), so there wasn't much to do after checking in. After exploring the terminal for a bit, I found that British Airways (which owned the terminal which United was operating out of) had a free internet area, which I used for the 90 min or so before boarding.
As US based airlines have undertaken massive cost cutting, food service on the plane is either buy on board, or bring your own, which is disappointing, as I prefer hot food to cold.
On arrival in San Francisco, it was an easy trip on the BART to Embarcadero, and our hotel for the next 5 nights (which I found for ~90US/night - bargain!).
The Wednesday night was spent at an Oakland A's game v Kansas City which coincidently was $1 hot dog night. The game was quiet until the 7th inning, when the A's rallied to take the lead in the 8th, only to lose it in the 9th. It was a fun night.
Thursday was a quiet day, and my uncle picked me up on Friday to visit my Grandmother, who had turned 90 and had a large party which all the relatives except me attended (as I was still studying at the the time). Additionally, I had ordered some books which I needed to pick up, as well as more domestic matters which needed attending to. I also managed to pick up some cheap clothes & shoes, which was a bonus ($15 for a Van Heusen shirt, $10 for a silk tie, $50 for a pair of Nike Shox - all good value).
Saturday was spent with the relatives, as well as shopping at what can only be described as a warehouse, albeit filled with food/consumer goods at cheap prices (as you buy in bulk). Needless to say, 1 suitcase was filled after shopping there.
Sunday was spent around Fisherman's Wharf, and included wandering around Ghirardelli Square, lunch at the best burger joint in the world, learning about sourdough bread, as well as Alcatraz, which was well worth the money to go to.

Road trip: San Francisco to Las Vegas

We left San Francisco early on Monday morning to drive to Las Vegas, via Yosemite & Death Valley. There isn't much to say for the first day's driving, except that the drive was a perfect opportunity to clear the backlog of Podcasts I had, and that the views of Yosemite were breathtaking, and the backgrounds looked exactly like those on movie sets for Westerns. We stopped in the inland town of Bishop on Monday night.
Tuesday was spent driving via Death Valley to Las Vegas. One amusing thing was that the first song on the radio as we pulled out was AC/DS's Back in Black. We arrived at Death Valley at lunchtime, and noticed that there were 2 options for food: bar food (hot dogs for ~$5.95 etc), or a buffet for $10.95. No surprises on which was more popular.
After lunch, we drove to the lowest point in the US (which was very salty), and to a lookout, then on to Vegas.
We arrived in Vegas in time for rush hour on the Strip, so it was a slow drive to the hotel which were going to spend the night in ($45/night+tax). After checking in, we went to dinner. No prizes for guessing where we went to. Tuesday happened to be steak night, and was popular.
Wednesday was spent visiting Hoover Dam, as well as a nature area a friend introduced me to on a past visit. By then, it was time to check in to the other hotel we were going to stay in ($49/night+tax, including a 2 for 1 voucher at the best buffet in Vegas (which I agree with), 2 free tickets to a high energy (& loud) show, and other things).
Dinner was at the buffet, utilising the voucher, and was even worth paying full price for ($24.99 for dinner). There was Mexican food, Chinese food, Prime Rib, Pizza & Pasta, Crab legs, Sushi, peeled prawns and many other items. After dinner, we had a wander along the Strip, seeing the Fountain Show, as well as other interesting sights.
That night, while flicking channels, I noticed that the TV had TVBJ, as well as CCTV4, which I found amusing.
We spent Thursday exploring different areas: Dave wanted to visit some factory outlets at Primm, so he went there, while I explored the South Strip area. I also saw Shrek the Third, which at the time was not due for release for another 2 weeks in Australia.
We saw the show on Thursday night, and apart from the banging being a bit loud (as they gave us 4th row seats), it was enjoyable.
We were flying out on Friday, and with Vegas being Vegas, we had one final buffet. The buffet, while flashy (Smoked Salmon and Bresaloa, followed by roast Kurobuta pork and pasta with proscutto & peas, wood fired pizza) and very good, was not, IMHO, worth the $19.95 for lunch.
After some last minute wandering around the local factory outlets (where I picked up a couple of pairs of novelty cufflinks for $10 each - I must wear them some day), it was time to say goodbye, and fly home.
Las Vegas had recently opened a central off-airport rental car facility which was very efficient, and we were checked in very quickly. Our flight to San Francisco was uneventful, and as we had a buffet for lunch, I wasn't hungry for dinner. This was to be important later.
On arrival in San Francisco at 9:20pm, we took the transfer bus from the Domestic Terminal to the International Terminal (bypassing a security check, if we were to go landside) and waited at the gate for boarding at 10:15pm. However, there was a problem with a seat in First Class which needed to be fixed before we could fly. Unfortunately, they couldn't fix it, so we were delayed for 2 hours while everything was moved to another plane. By the time we boarded at 12:15, it seemed that everyone was relieved to be flying.
We departed 2 hours late, and being the only flight to depart at that time was weird, as everything around the terminal is quiet. Needless to say, I was glad when supper came around, as it had been ~12 hours since lunch. The rest of the flight was uneventful (& I even managed a few hours of sleep) and we made up quite a bit of the time en route.