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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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“billboards, flashing signs, benches with "Fast Divorce, Bankrupcy, Rent a bench"” |
It is a bit like entering hell, I was right in my fears. Getting out of the airport isnt so bad, they push us through quickly as Matthew is screaming as he wants to push the trolley around (and into everyone and everything). We jump on the rental car pickup bus and try to take it all in. We have been to LA before so we know what it is like, but it is still a shock after Vomo.
A guy gets on the bus with us. It brings home how different it is here to Fiji. He avoids eye contact, even though he is sitting right in front of us, staring at us. He doesnt smile at the kids, Matthew stares back at him for ages, no smile on Matthew's face either. He is sweating profusely, fat, and with headphones on, in his little bubble. God help us I think. For the 2nd time in 2 weeks I think "what have I bought my kids into". Only this time the feeling doesnt go away.
We are struck by a few things as we set off in our hire car. Everybody looks fat, I mean really fat. The people on Fji are not all small, but that is their build. Here people are fat. The reasons for their greed can be seen by the massive amount of takeaway shops - they are everywhere. It is a bit of shock after New Zealand, it seems like the whole of New Zealand shopping malls are pushed into one street in LA! (Okay a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea). Maybe thats why we didnt see many people from the states in New Zealand - I doubt they could cope.
There are billboards, flashing signs, benches with "Fast Divorce, Bankrupcy, Rent a bench" painted on them. The roads are battered and pot-holed. 7 lanes of traffic, thats just on our side of the road, cars beeping, under-taking us, over-taking us. Shops, houses, more houses, graffiti, cars, restaurants. Its a lot to take in. And fat fat people.
The gps system we have doesnt take into account the traffic jams. Lloyd is screaming in the back, so I turn off before we get stuck in it. I spot a hotel and go in to ask the rate. I'm thinking at this point we need to stop and just rest, no matter where we are. The 2 women quote 184 dollars, then they drop it to 179 dollars. At this point I say I will take the room. But they dont hear me, and ask what rate I want to pay! I then say 150 dollars. But they have twigged what I just said and say no, only 179 dollars will do. They suggest some other place down the road, which sounds like a dive. I just stare at them, say forget it and walk out. Yes, we truly have arrived in America.
Me and Steve arent too happy at each other at this point. Understandably as we are both absolutely knackered, and have nowhere to stay. Both kids are crying also. We feed Lloyd and Matthew soon falls to sleep. Steve has to accept he needs to look at the map. After 20 minutes going round in circles Steve sorts out where we are and we find an alternative route. We stop listening to the gps telling us to "do a u-turn" and head towards Anaheim. It looks much further away than on the map. This is in contrast to New Zealand where everything seemed much closer together than on the map. We also realise that when we were in NZ we were only doing around 50 miles per hour most of the time. Travelling at 30 miles per hour in the car seems very fast at present, both of us comment on this. Think maybe our minds have slowed down, or we are tired, or both.
We make a pit-stop just before Anaheim, to pick up some water. We are very thirsty. Its hard as we know the kids will wake up, and they do. It was interesting in the petrol station where we stopped. There were 2 old women (must have been 65+) in the shop, and they were studying and commenting at great length on the lotto scratch cards under the glass at the till. They were talking about which ones were new, which ones were the best, and practically had they faces on the glass. Like 2 kids in a sweet shop. Very very strange. Not something you see in england, and certainly not something you see in New Zealand. Is this all their lives are about? Is this the highlight of their day?
We fall upon the hotel that we have a booking for from tomorrow. We decide to see if we can get a room, to save moving. They quote 225 dollars, which seems to turn into 304 dollars once I book it somehow. I cant be bothered to understand why, but there do seem a lot of taxes we have to pay. Rip off America, what a reality check we are having.
The staff are miserable, which is surprising since this is a Disney hotel. You would expect them to be over-friendly if anything. Matthew is saying Bula a lot, and Hello. "Bula" has taken on a whole new meaning to us. It is not just about saying hello, it is about greeting someone with warmth and love. It makes it hard when people ignore him, especially the staff. I think he finds it confusing aswell. In fiji they would say Bula a 100 times back to him, even if he was becoming annoying. Here they dont even say hello once, and there is no smile on their faces as they serve us.
The hotel room is adequate. At other times it would have been lovely, but it is poor in comparison to Fiji. Even the toilet seat is big, fat enough for all those fat bums!! Sorry, tmi I know. It did make me laugh though!
We have dinner in some restaurant that looks like a child-only area. The adults around us look like children though - they are dressed in some pretty crazy outfits, and are supping drinks with twirly straws. And this is just the other guests, the staff look really weird. The table seems too low, maybe everyone is short here. Fatness jumps out again, I mean I am not thin, not by any means, but this is just silly. They are obese to the point where they look like they may have a heart attack at the table. And their clothes are ill-fitting and just plain awful. Admittingly there are a few thin people who are nicely dressed, though not many.
The arrival of the food indicates the problem. There is enough food to feed an army. We ordered burger, pizza, and a salad. The salad is in a bowl measuring maybe 15 inches diameter. Its a big salad. And the pizza must have been a similiar size. We get our extra large drinks (standard here), complete with twirly straws. I cant bring myself to drink from the straw I am afraid. Steve is only too eager to once he returns from walking around with Lloyd. I think Steve likes this type of thing, it is like the tv. I am worried at what I have married! Steve is also happy with the portion size btw. On the plus side the salad (well the half I manage) is lovely, and they did put the dressing in a pot (might as well gave me the bottle given the size of the pot) on the side, so it wasnt so many calories without the dressing. Steve munches through the burger in no time, and we get a take-out on the pizza. I suspect the take-out box has been done for people that are too greedy (maybe like us) and mean to leave their food behind - and I have an image in my mind of these fat people waiting for their bellies to slightly empty so that they can continue to stuff food in their mouths in the middle of the night from the take-out box. Please dont let me get like that.
Finally we crawl into bed at about 10pm Pacific time (god knows what time that is in Fiji), and sleep.
Tuesday 1st May
Im in my bed writing up the blog entry from the past day. Its now 7.48am and everyone else is still asleep. They must all be tired out. The view from the hotel room is of Disneyland Park. It doesnt look great I have to say. Looks old and tired, small and artificial. I would rather be looking at fish jumping out of the water, or Moses arriving by boat. I still feel sad at leaving Fiji. I am trying to move on, but think it will take time. On the plus side there is a free internet connection. So not all bad.
The sky outside is typical LA. It is misty, cant see the sun or and blue sky. Just a mist. Looks like it is raining, but its not. Horrible.
Not sure what we are doing today. There is talk of hitting the shops to get Lloyd's car seat for the motorhome, and some decent food for Matthew. Thats if we can find any decent food. Steve was also talking to Matthew about seeing Mickey Mouse today, so Im not sure. Weird to think we are now behind england in time by a few hours. I quite liked being ahead....
It was funny last night as we had the tv on. Matthew has absolutely no interest in it, was more concerned with trying to close the doors around it. He played with the remote for a few minutes then moved on to the next object in the room. He had even less interest than when we were in the Sofitel in Fiji. Wonder if this is because of Vomo. Not sure, time will tell. Anyhow Matthew is okay. He said he was scared when we first entered the hotel room. And said "beach" when he spotted the lake in Disneyland. Not really the same Matthew, but close enough I suppose. Oh, he is in for a shock to his sensory system today!!!
On the plus side this place is probably better for Matthew in lots of ways. There are many many children about, so they are used to them making a noise. No honeymooners or old croneys to worry about bothering. And if the kids cry out early in the morning who cares. No-one talks to each other much anyhow, we are all in our own little bubble.
Two interesting tales on my interactions with Americans though. A woman comes over at our table last night and asks about Lloyd. I get talking as she has no kids (she is quite old), and she says she is here with her disabled brother and sister. She has her sister alongside (who is also old). The sister is obviously mentally handicapped. I turn to talk to the sister, as she seems friendly enough, but the woman quickly shunts her away. Its like she was embarrassed, or afraid we wouldnt be able to cope with her sister. I feel sorry for the woman, it must be very hard in a society like America having to cope with the 2 of them. An unforgiving society where success is everything it seems. Its a shame. Then we go outside and Matthew is having a screaming fit (tired) about ketchup (very worrying). A grandmother informs me that she just left her grandkids and gave them "candy cotton" which cheered them up, and maybe we should try it with Matthew! I'm in shock - is this some strange movie set I have entered, with all the evil of the world in it?? This woman should have known better. Good god, please someone help me, lift me from this terrible place!
My worry is that soon I will become like them - walking around in my bubble, relishing the thought of loads of fat food, and getting a cola top-up complete with twirly straw. I shall resist, I shall resist. No I dont think I will ever be like them. But I know I will be closer to them than the people of Fiji, which is very worrying.
Matthew has just woke up - is now 8.50am. He is pretty surprised by the view, but seems okay with it. Wants to go on the rides! No-one else seems awake in LA, obviously they all sleep in. Have a good day everyone, wherever you are. We shall try to make the most of it here, and I am sure we will have fun, I hope you do too.
Oh, and Matthew keeps saying "Bula". Lets hope he doesnt stop....
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
Travelling Family says:
Hi IslandHoppers, sorry if I have offended you, that is certainly not my intention. This blog was really just me writing down what I was seeing and how I was feeling at that point in time. It was a MASSIVE culture shock hitting america after the paradise and serenity of Fiji, my sensory system was hit very very hard, I had a tough time adjusting. On top of this I was tired after 3 months of travelling, and to be honest was quite homesick aswell. You are totally right in what you say, we did indeed meet lots of lovely americans. I have travelled to America many times (incl California) and it is a beautiful place with beautiful people. We enjoyed ourselves immensely in San Diego particularly. Saying all of that the world of Disney doesnt appeal to me, and I did find (as I have before) that there are issues with the amount of food that is served, the food type, and the general levels of acceptable obesity. I think this is a well known problem, I doubt Im the first or the last to raise it. The other thing about this blog is that I was not in France or England, or Greece, I was in America, so thats why I was talking about America. You are right, Londoners can be very rude, when I write a blog on London maybe I'll mention it. But also, maybe I wont, as I have fallen back into the "system" now, and what is acceptable to me now wasnt so acceptable after I had lived for a week on a remote island in Fiji. I wish you well, and thank you for your comments.
IslandHoppers says:
BULA! I am very sorry I was so blunt with my past comments. I should have taken into account the stress and homesickness that occurs when traveling. Especially when coming from the Garden of Eden that IS Fiji to the city of Anaheim. I am truly sorry that I did not think of that before and while I wrote my response. I completely agree with you about Disneyland. Personally, I think Disneyland is overpriced by far. And I would NOT recommend visiting Disneyland to any traveler. It is an amusement park and the cuisine (if one could call it that) is in a category all to itself. Fast food & junk food is about all there is at Disneyland and lots of it. I do understand that you were in America and that is why your comments were directed towards Americans. But the issue I had is that you seemed to throw all Americans in the same category. My experience in world travels has shown me that you find those negative aspects in EVERY country, but not in every person. And no matter what country you are in, the majority of it's people are kind, generous, and hospitable. I found this to be a fact. I hope that all your future travels flow with perfection, beauty, and peace. And if you ever find yourself in California again, you can save yourself some money on hotels by staying in my home. adamm020977@yahoo.com
IslandHoppers says:
I am so sorry that you had such a poor experience in America. I know that many Americans can be a terrible example of what and who Americans are. I have traveled to many countries as well. I have dealt with many rude people all over this beautiful world. I too feel your angst when dealing with rude people, but I think to throw EVERYBODY in with the same broad generalization is as equally rude. Do all the British men not offer their seat to a lady in the Tube like the one that swooped in as my mother was about to sit down? No. Do all the French pretend not to speak English? Like the Frenchman that I overheard speaking English, when I asked him a question in English he replied,"I do not speak English." When I asked him the question in French, he answered in English. Is every Greek a pick-pocket? Like the one I caught trying to take my wallet? No. Is EVERYONE as judgmental as you are where you are from? I sincerely doubt it. Just as not all Americans are; rude, fat, sweaty, greedy, or unfriendly. I am an American (5'8" 154lbs. / 70kg.) and more specifically I live in Southern California. I am so sorry you had an unpleasant experience. Well, perhaps unpleasant isn't the correct word... that you hated your trip to California, USA. But I assure you that we are not all rude, obese, sweaty, unfriendly individuals. At least not as rude as your blogs are. I do hope that the rest of your trip in America went well. I am so sorry that I could not read all of your blogs to find out. But I quickly grew tired of your insults and hypocrisy. They seemed to me just as rude as the people you came in contact with. I just wish your car would have broken down in front of my house. So I could show you that at least one American was kind, hospitable and (like all of my family and all of my friends) willing to talk to and help a stranger. We are not all demons in human flesh. We do not all live in the armpit of Hell. We DO NOT all bow before material goods and soda.