Party Animals

Here's a final retrospective post about the first round-the-world ticket I ever bought. This time we're off to the USA, that is, Los Angeles and Honolulu, the final two stops on my three-week global-trotting circuit. 

I visited Los Angeles for the first time as a 17-year-old exchange student in July 1983. It was my first time overseas. Along with more than a hundred students from Australia and New Zealand, I spent a week undergoing an orientation program while housed in student accommodation at UCLA. AFS, the organisation responsible for our exchange program, typically conducted this program to help non-native English-speaking students adapt to American life. However, for us Antipodeans, brought up on American films and television, the week was a bit of a joke.

Much to our frustration, we never got to explore the city. As a result, when I finally returned in 1996, I was determined to see as many of the city’s iconic sights as possible. As was my habit, I collected a fistful of brochures at the airport and mapped out my sightseeing schedule. I flew in from Frankfurt on October 22 and was scheduled to fly out again two days later to Hawaii. I’d just spent seven days attending my brother’s wedding in Austria and travelling through Prague and Berlin with my parents. With less than 48 hours on the ground, I had plenty of bucket-list sights to tick off in a relatively short timeframe.

I decided to book a full-day LA highlights bus tour. The tour initially took us to the city’s historic Spanish quarter for a walking tour (that's the LA Town Hall in the opening image of this post), then to the original Farmer’s Market in Melrose for another wander. With Halloween barely a week away, the market was filled with pumpkins and appropriately themed displays. It was the ideal location for a classic taste of America’s enduring obsession with Halloween.

Our next stop was West Hollywood, where we visited Mann’s Chinese Theatre to walk the pavement littered with the footprints and handprints of hundreds of celebrities. There's something special about spotting the handprints of Hollywood stars from a bygone era like Humphrey Bogart and Will Rogers. Like all first-time tourists, I was also delighted to finally see the giant Hollywood sign in the nearby foothills. Although it was much smaller than it appears on television!

The tour then ventured up into the hills to the Hollywood Bowl lookout for an iconic view of the city's smoggy skyline stretching south along the Pacific Coast. The tour then concluded with a drive-by tour of celebrity homes in Beverly Hills. To be honest, most of the time all we could see were high walls, security gates and hedges. We finished our tour of Beverly Hills with a final stop at Rodeo Drive, where I was in awe of the exclusive designer labels and their equally eye-watering price tags. That's me on Rodeo Drive above. 

I also recall spotting the equally famous Beverly Hills Hotel from our bus. Back in the days when celebrity was worn with the elegance and grace of diamonds and mink, this hotel was where the stars played. W.C. Fields, Humphrey Bogart and the Rat Pack tippled at the bar; Katharine Hepburn did a backflip into the pool in her tennis clothes, and Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned six times in the bungalows out back. Howard Hughes famously kept one bungalow permanently available for himself.

The following day, October 24, I boarded another flight, this time bound for Hawaii. Once again, I was off to explore a destination I’d visited in transit in 1983. Back then, Air New Zealand’s Boeing 747-200 couldn’t reach the USA in a single leg. As a result, our flight stopped in Honolulu for a couple of hours to refuel in the middle of the night. However, passengers had to disembark and congregate in a secure, nondescript transit lounge before reboarding and continuing to Los Angeles.

For this return trip, with four days on the ground, I was keen to finally see Oahu. However, I ultimately saw very little of the island. A few hours after landing, a good friend flew in from Sydney to join me. Richard took one look at the pile of brochures I’d collected at the airport and laughed. They went straight in the bin. He was in town to celebrate his birthday (October 27) – and what a celebration it was.

We booked ourselves into the Hotel Honolulu, an LGBTQI friendly venue. Back then it was promoted as Hawaii’s only gay hotel, and was renowned for its somewhat camp and kitsch decor. The hotel had a sundeck on the roof. It also assisted travellers in the pre-internet age by sharing gay information. Each room featured a thick guestbook where visitors could add their comments about friendly restaurants, cheap clothing outlets, gay bars, rip-off merchants, and gay-friendly everything worldwide. They were compulsive reading. 

We were allocated a Japanese-themed room on the top floor directly below the sundeck. It was called the Samurai Room, which we accessed via a small faux-Japanese arch bridge. The walls were also decorated with appropriately illustrated panels. Within hours, Richard had turned our room into party central, and for the next four days, that’s all we did.

We hit the local LGBTQI-friendly bars at night, continued the party back in our room after they closed, and eventually ventured out to bask in the sun along Waikiki Beach before repeating the cycle. I took the photo of the beach posted above to prove we actually made it to the beach at least once. By the time we were done, we’d collected a gang of three new American friends who did their best to keep up with us. 

This included a guy called Ken, who kept pace for four days straight. That's him above. We christened him Kenisha in honour of our room. Richard's nickname was Doodle (He was a Graphic Artist), and mine? The Mad Kiwi. The other two lads simply gave up after two days.  Hand on my heart, it was the most decadent overseas experience I've ever had.

I recall one night Richard and I went out to the infamous Hula's s, a bar built around an enormous banyan tree in the Kūhiō District. At one point we got separated. I went off to party with a group of American flight attendants, while Richard disappeared with a newfound friend.  Hours later, I found myself wandering the streets of Honolulu. I was completely lost and couldn't find our hotel. At 2:00 a.m., I rounded a corner, and who do you think I bumped into? Richard, coming home from his own adventures. Fortunately, he knew how to get back to the hotel.

After partying nonstop for four days, I caught a late-evening flight back to Sydney on 27 October, while Richard stayed a few more days. It was another eight years before I returned to Honolulu and finally ventured out to explore Oahu. This time with Garry in tow. Let’s just say our return visit in 2004 was a more civilised affair! Sadly, Garry never got to experience Hula's in all its glory. Developers bought the land a few years after my decadent holiday. It reopened at the opposite end of Waihiki Beach, but the new location lacked the quirky character of the original venue.

I finally landed back in Australia early on 29 October 1996, having completed my first-ever round-the-world ticket. What an adventure it had been. Aside from relentless partying in Hawaii, I’d also gone on safari in Africa, flown a microlight over Victoria Falls, walked the cobblestone streets of Kitzbühel and Salzburg, explored the medieval heart of Prague and shown my parents where I’d once chipped off my own piece of the Berlin Wall.

An LA bonus

Our USA road trip is over. We’ve travelled an extraordinary 3,800km in 16 days, visiting a total of six states (although we spent less than five hours driving through Idaho). Thanks Garry!  We also unintentionally extended our vacation by extra day after missing our flight home.

We arrived at the airport on Saturday evening in time to hear a final boarding announcement. We were naturally stunned and couldn't understand how we'd got the departure time so wrong.  However, Qantas was very accommodating. It promptly shifted our ticket to the same flight number; departing the following day.  As fate would have it the delay ultimately proved a blessing in disguise.

Garry had originally tried without success to secure us a First Class upgrade using points.  He tried again using our new flight details. This time he was successful and, as a result, we flew home in total luxury.  I'll happily spend an extra day in LA to secure a lie-flat bed topped with sheepskin-lined mattress.

The unscheduled delay also gave us time to do a little extra sightseeing in Los Angeles. Up to this point we'd simply spent two mad days scouring city stores for shopping bargains. We began our day with a trip to the California Science Museum. It's currently hosting a exhibition of artifacts from the infamous Pompeii eruption, and is one of only four locations displaying an original space shuttle.

We spent an hour viewing exquisite Roman antiquities in the Pompeii exhibition.  The experience concluded with a room filled with plaster casts of bodies encased in volcanic ash. In the 18th Century, archeologists discovered that life-like cavities had formed around the entombed bodies as their organic matter decayed. They filled these spaces with plaster to recreate the original human form. Some of the resulting “statues”  poignantly capture the final moments of death.  It's rather incredible to see.

Those who know me well will appreciate that the highlight of our museum visit was a chance to see the Endeavour Space Shuttle close up. It was the last shuttle built for NASA. All five of the space agency's shuttle were actually built in factory on the outskirts of LA. In acknowledgment of its origins, the Endeavour was shipped to LA after its retirement and put on display.

The shuttle is currently housed in temporary display “shed” behind the museum. It’s been left much it was after its final mission into space. As a result, scorch marks from its fiery re-entry still streak the fuselage and protective tiles on its underbelly. Endeavour looks well used. I spent more than half an hour marveling at its bulk, walking underneath it wings and viewing it from every angle.

The museum itself is located next to the LA Coliseum. This stadium hosted opening ceremonies for the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Its iconic arch gateway and Olympic torch were instantly recognizable as we drove into the adjacent carpark. Despite many trips to LA I’d never actually seen it in person.  Neither had Garry.  We took a few minutes to walk up to its main gate and marvel at this piece of Olympic history.

Garry and I then drove past the soaring skyscrapers that make up Downtown LA. Another first for both of us. It’s hard to believe that these towers really will survive a major earthquake. I suspect my skepticism reflects the influence of the 1974 disaster movie, Earthquake. I saw it as an eight year old child and for weeks afterward every tall structure filled me with fear.

Shinjuku in Tokyo has similar high-rise office towers straddling another of the Pacific Rim's earthquake zones. However, for some irrational reason, LA’s structures feel more vulnerable than those in Japan.  I guess time will tell if LA's architects have been wise or foolish.

From Downtown we made our way up into the LA hills.  We were hoping to enjoy the panoramic view from Griffith Observatory. However, as we approached, we discovered traffic diversions in place and cars parked along the approach road for hundreds of metres. We decided to give this location a miss and continued west towards the equally scenic Mulholland Drive.

This purpose-built touring road has a number of scenic outlooks, including one that offers a grand view of the Hollywood sign and LA’s sprawling urban expanse. Our detour proved to be a smart 

choice.  Within minutes of arriving at the Hollywood Bowl outlook we had the scenic spot to ourselves. As the afternoon sun warmed us, we soaked in the view, and expressed just a hint of envy for nearby residents enjoying their hillside infinity pool.  It was the perfect way to finish our extended vacation. 

UPDATE: March 2026

That stunning property with the infinity pool is currently for sale online. The three bedroom property was designed in 1958, by noted architect Thornton Ladd. It’s all yours for a mere USD11.45 million. You’ll find here on Google Maps: 2402 Carman Crest Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068.

Hooray for Hollywood

We finished our Southwest USA road trip with a three-day stopover in Los Angeles. While I’ve stopped in LA many times over the years, this was Garry’s first proper visit. Of course it wouldn’t be a California vacation without a hire car to get around. To make things as authentic as possible I splashed out and booked a convertible. However, we saved a fortune on our hotel by cashing in some credit card loyalty points. It ultimately cost us US$30/day and was located next to a large Westfield shopping mall. This pleased Garry no end as he was keen to make the most of end-of-Summer clothing sales.

Our first evening in LA was taken up by a visit to a local coin-operated launderette. After two weeks on the road we were both running short of clean clothes. It made for a novel evening as we hung out with dozens of the other people doing their laundry. At times it felt like a scene from a movie which was rather apt considering Hollywood was a few short miles away.

The following morning we drove down the freeway and through palm fringed streets to the La Brea tar pits. I’d visited the area back in December 2009. However this time the water table was much lower making the naturally seeping tar and petro-chemical fumes far more prominent. I was also delighted to find the main fossil excavation pit open for viewing. It’s fascinating to peer into the excavated pit’s gloomy depth and spot fossils still sitting in the black ooze.

Our next step was Hollywood Boulevard. This allowed us to see the famous Hollywood sign, admire memorial stars embedded on the sidewalk and go searching for the footprints of famous actors outside Grumman’s Chinese Theatre. The recognizable names are everywhere from Frank Sinatra to the Marilyn Munro. Even Kermit the Frog has his own memorial star.

Our second full day in town was devoted to shopping. I took Garry to the best shopping mall in town, the Beverly Centre, where we both shopped until our arms groaned under the weight. Our final day in town was then spent visiting Santa Monica beach to see its famous amusement pier, stand at the west terminus of Route 66 (you may recall we visited a popular section of the highway in Winslow, Arizona) and enjoy a leisurely lunch in the sun.

All too soon it was time to tackle the rush hour traffic, collect our luggage and make our way to the airport. Garry ensured our vacation ended on a high note by securing an points upgrade to First Class on Qantas’ uber-comfortable Airbus A380. Hooray for Hollywood.

Where to next?

This wouldn't be The Swiss Cottage blog without a few travel adventures on the calendar. Never fear; we have quite a few adventures in the works.  Next month Garry and I will be off for a two week road trip through New Mexico and Arizona. We fly into Dallas, non-stop from Sydney, where we then catch a commuter flight to Roswell, New Mexico.  From here we collect a rental car and spend ten days exploring a plethora of space, astronomy and science fiction destinations.  Of course, Roswell kicks off the road trip with its infamous UFO research museum. However, the town was also home to Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocket science. Many of his early experimental rockets are on display in the town's museum.

We then drive west to Alamagordo, home of the New Mexico Museum of Space History and on to White Sands, where the White Sands Missile Range Museum. This part of our journey will take at least two days. We'll then turn north and drive past Spaceport America, a new private space tourism complex that will become home to Virgin Galactic some time next year. Our next stop will be the Very Large Array, an impressive complex of radio telescopes stretching miles across the desert. The site featured in the opening credits of the 1997 science fiction movie, Contact, starring Jodie Foster.

Our itinerary will then focus on a host of natural phenonmeon in central Arizona including the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest and Meteor Crater, one the world's most widely recognised meteorite impact sites.  From here we'll head south to Tucson where more space and science sights await.  Our first stop in Tucson is the Titan Missile Museum where a former Cold War nuclear weapon remains on display in deep, blast protected silo.  We'll also be visiting the city's famous airplane graveyard where thousands of decommissioned US airforce aircraft are stored at the end of their useful life.  I'm also keen to visit Biosphere 2 where an unsuccessful experiment in closed-cycle ecosystem ran for several years.

We'll then head south again to the wild west town of Tombstone.  This is your classic frontier town of the Western movie genre. Here we'll celebrate my birthday with a visit to the world renown OK Corral, once home to outlaw, Billy the Kid. The final stop on our tour is Los Angeles.  I've been here several times before (see the photos above taken from Griffith Observatory in December 2009).  However, Garry's barely left the airport and so he's keen to experience the city's famous sights and sounds.  I've mapped out a three-day itinerary that will take us to Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills among other attractions.

Then, barely a week after we return to Australia, I'll be off again for a business trip that takes in Hong Kong, London and Madrid.  While in the UK I'm hoping to take a weekend excursion up to Northern Wales.  Several years ago I mapped out a road trip for Garry and I to Telford and Llangollen.  Why here?  Telford is the gateway to Ironbridge, home of the world's first metal bridge; while Llangollen is famous for the magnificant  Pontcysyllte Aqueduct built by Thomas Telford between 1795 and 1805.  This waterway, rising 38 metres above the valley floor, carries canal boats across the Dee River in Wales. The town also has a wonderful steam railway that follows the Dee upstream for several scenic miles.

Finally, there's the Christmas/New Year period.  We've had numerous debates about what we should do.  We've already debated taking a road trips to Tasmania or through the southern half of New Zealand's North Island.  However, we've yet to finalise our plans.  Of course we may simply stay home as we'll be off to port Douglas in early-April next year for a family wedding.  Garry's already talking about hiring a four-wheel drive and making our way to Cape York.  It seems there are no end of holiday destinations still to be experienced.

It’s a small world after all

A recent conversation about Disneyland brought back memories of my first (and only) visit to the original Anaheim theme park in California. Growing up my family watched the Wonderful World of Disney on television every Sunday night. As a child, I was always captivated by scenes of Disneyland in the show’s opening credits, while my brothers and I fervently envied anyone who’d actually been there.

Years later I was lucky enough to visit Disney World in Orlando while on a business trip in the USA. At the time, I'd been flown to Atlanta for a week of meetings and product demonstrations by a company called Scientific Atlanta. I then took a week off and flew to Florida to explore Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Key West. I recall two fun-filled days were spent at Epcot and Disney World. However, as kids, Disney World was never considered the real thing - so it really didn't count.

Therefore, at the ripe old age of 39, I was delighted to finally experience the "real" Disneyland. At the time, I was in Los Angeles on business. Garry had also tagged along for the ride. Together, we visited the park after I’d finished my last business meeting for the day. Chris Tang, the country manager for my company’s China network, had also spent the day with me. She accepted an invitation to join in the fun. 

We arrived at the park’s hallowed gates shortly before dusk. As a result, we got to experience Disneyland by day and by night. I was determined to try every theme ride I’d seen on television’s opening credits no matter how naff. This included the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party ride in spinning cups, the Dumbo Flying Elephant ride, Space Mountain, the Tomorrowland monorail, and the incredibly kitsch Small World boat ride.

Garry kindly yielded and joined me for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. However, he steadfastly refused to join me on the Small World ride. Foolish man. He missed Australia’s starry pink kangaroo and joey (why pink?), and the quirky, quizzical kiwis on Aotearoa’s tiny podium. As payback, I tormented him with multiple renditions of the ride’s theme song for the rest of the evening. 

Another tick in the box for all those childhood dreams.