Eterno Dia PhotographyFrom Sea to Stars: A Weekend In The City of Angels
Posted on May 10, 2020
Back in September, we spent a whirlwind three days in California. Shawn turned 40 and as part of his gift I got him tickets to a double bill concert of Ben Folds and Cake, two of his favorite artists, playing at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I wanted him to have a very special memory of his 40th year, so I booked the Los Angeles part of be bands’ tour. We took a long weekend and flew down to Southern California, a favorite destination of mine, despite the smog, traffic and general discord happening in America at the time.
Our concert didn’t start until the evening on our first full day, so we had the morning and afternoon free. As a landlocked Canadian, my priority was to get to a beach and Santa Monica seemed like a good option, if a bit touristy. I’d never been there but of course I knew of the iconic pier and carnival located there. We headed out from Glendale with our rented Kia Soul and her trusty GPS with WiFi. With traffic, it took about an hour to drive and we found parking just off the pacific coast highway. The famous Santa Monica pier was fairly far off in the distance from our parking spot, but we found bathrooms and water stations right away, which was great. As we made our way to the pier, we admired the cute beach houses and pretty landscaping and watched the bikers and joggers passing us by. The pier was busy; we’d passed some kind of street festival up on Ocean Avenue on our way down to the beach, so lots of people were filtering down over the pedestrian bridge. The day was so smoggy that for a while it was hard to tell if it was just overcast, but the smog did keep the heat down a bit and there was a nice ocean breeze to keep us comfortable.
At the start of the pier, there’s a small aquarium that we didn’t go into just due to time constraints. It’s dedicated to education about the bay and how to conserve and protect it. I sort of wish I’d stopped in, as it was a very reasonable entrance fee as well, so if you have time, stop to check it out. We made our way along the pier, looking at potential spots for lunch, checked out the amusement park and some of the souvenir shops.
A smoggy morning at Santa Monica Pier
There were lots of musicians and painters busking along the pier and a number of people were fishing off the side. Below us, beach goers splashed in the waves. We found some historical markers, artifacts and information about the pier and Route 66, which I was unaware we were on, at the far end of the pier. We found a cute, three-story restaurant with a rooftop patio for lunch and people watched and just took in being by the ocean. After lunch, we headed over the pedestrian bridge up to Ocean Avenue to check out what the festival was and have a quick look around. We checked out some of the cool architecture along the ave and made our way back to the car once we’d had our fill.
With time on our side, I was itching to check out the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and Hollywood, where my husband had never been before. We headed from Santa Monica to Hollywood. We parked and just started walking Hollywood Blvd down the Walk of Fame. 
We passed all of the hundreds of tour operators, the Hollywood Church of Scientology, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and we investigated the stars on the sidewalks. We kept our sightseeing efficient as we got to the TCL Chinese theatre to look at all the hand and footprints of celebrities. If we’d had more time, we could have entertained ourselves for the entire day. There are private tours, group tours and self directed tours, if you enjoy ogling celebrities homes. I’m not sure how many of the tour groups are legit though, and a lot of the information we saw advertised was for celebrities that were big 20 years ago – maybe more fun for mom and dad than the kids….
After a whirlwind tour of Hollywood, we saved enough time to make it to Griffith Observatory. I hadn’t really done any research on it- I only knew that it had great views, and a telescope, which unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to look through, as we had the concert to go to that evening. We drove back to LA and navigated our route to the observatory. Parking was a bit nightmarish; the only parking left was parallel parking up along the winding, desert hillsides headed up to the observatory. It is metered pay parking for $10/hr. We decided two hours was about all the time we had to look before heading back to Glendale to get ready for the concert.
We hurried hiked from the car up to the observatory. It looked a hundred miles away but was probably about a kilometre from where we parked, which I definitely felt, hiking uphill in the afternoon California heat. The smog from the morning was dissipating, so it was starting to get warm (keep your sunscreen handy and bring some bottled water).
We explored Griffith Observatory (admission is free!), which was quite remarkable with numerous space exhibits, huge planetary displays, and of course a theatre named in Leonard Nimoy’s honor. We could have spent hours learning about the Tesla Coil, tides, moon phases, seasons, spectroscopy and looking through the camera obscura that peers over the city, but we only had time for a brief walk through.
We headed outside to the garden and outdoor area to take in some stunning landscapes of the city before leaving to head to the concert. This is a place I could have spent a full day (and evening) at. There is so much to learn here; they have star parties, theatre presentations and educational events and the outdoor views are stunning. I can only imagine they’re also stunning at night. Griffith Observatory is a must see when in LA and I was sad to have not had enough time to take it all in.
The Greek Theatre. I’d seen it in movies and I knew it had been designed in the style of an ancient Greek theatre. This was one of the most magical nights. The sun began to set as we got to our seats but the air was still pleasant and warm. As it got darker and the opening band was playing, I was actually pretty overcome with how gorgeous the venue was; crickets were chirping, the forest and hills around us were lit beautifully. Off in the distance where the moon was rising, the city lights were twinkling in the dusk and planes were landing and taking off at the distant airport. The whole atmosphere was just beautiful and I had a few moments of being taken aback at how perfect everything was in that moment. The bands were phenomenal and only added to how great the experience was. At the end of the concert, we did have to walk a ways down from the venue to find a taxi (I know, I know, but we don’t UBER) to get back to our little motel in Glendale…
Ben Folds at The Greek Theatre
On our final morning, we went for breakfast at Foxy’s in Glendale, which had a lot of greasy breakfasts to choose from (so much cheese) but a super gorgeous little patio. After breakfast we walked across the street to find The Americana at Brand, a shopping complex we’d heard was nearby, but hadn’t seen yet. We walked down a little alleyway, and a bit like walking through Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, we emerged in a gorgeous shopping plaza with stunning garden areas, cobblestone streets and adorable boutique shops. Only a few coffee places were open this early, but there were gardeners and maintenance workers cleaning the streets, stringing up lights and busying themselves with tasks. It was so quiet, peaceful and fresh.
Breakfast at Foxy’s
We’d scheduled in just enough time to head to Playa del Rey on the way to the airport before flying home. We parked and found a little lagoon, and then made our way to the beach. While we were headed through the burning sand to get to the ocean, I head distinct “borking”. I looked towards a rough concrete pier in the water where the “bork” had come from and watched a sea lion dive under the water! I was thrilled, as was my husband. He’d read that sea lions could often be spotted here, which I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me in advance, as he was afraid I’d be disappointed if I didn’t see one, so he was happy that I’d been surprised by the treat of seeing a sea lion in the wild. We continued to hear them bark as we made our way to a cute cafe, Playa Provisions, for lunch. We had a nice, healthy meal here before finally having to make our way to the airport and head home.
Three days wasn’t nearly enough time to spend in Cali, but we certainly did make the most of our time. At the time, we couldn’t have foreseen the coming pandemic events and this was our last trip, at least internationally for the time being. Even though LA is crowded and has issues with homelessness, poverty and pollution, there’s just something about it that I love. We made great memories in the City of Angels for Shawn’s milestone birthday and California will always have my heart. TTFN. ‘Til we meet again.
– L
The Breathtaking Beauty of Phi Phi
Posted on June 25, 2019
The last stop on our “Island Hopper” group tour to finish off our first week in Thailand would be Phi Phi Island. Phi Phi, pronounced “pee-pee”, (yes, have a giggle) is part of a small chain of islands just south of and administratively belonging to Krabi province. Koh Phi Phi Don (the main inhabited island) and Koh Phi Phi Lee are the most well known. You may have heard of Phi Phi only because it made the news when in 2004 a deadly tsunami hit the island and took as many as 4000 lives, though the exact number to this day is unclear. I didn’t remember this information and when we arrived into the bay at Phi Phi Don, and I was enamored. Koh Phi Phi’s beauty is simply unparalleled; stunning craggy, limestone cliffs, covered in emerald green jungle and surrounded by sparkling turquoise waters. This place is exactly what you imagine when you think of paradise.
Ferry ride from Krabi mainland to Koh Phi Phi
I love being on the ocean and watching the sea
First glimpses of Koh Phi Phi Lee
Main Pier in Phi Phi
The crowded “main street” upon arrival in Phi Phi
After a two hour voyage from Ao Nang in Krabi province across the deep indigo waters of the Andaman sea, on a big, modern ferry, we disembarked onto a very large and exceptionally crowded pier. We waited with the group under the blazing sun awaiting our tour guide to confirm passage to our hotel. We were given 30 minutes to explore Phi Phi Don’s main port while our baggage was transferred and boats were readied. The main pier was completely overwhelming. There was a giant McDonald’s next to a 7-Eleven at the main entrance and the crowds were reminiscent of being at an outdoor music festival. There were so many people, mostly backpackers, searching for lunch, getting tattoos, bartering for souvenirs, booking tours, and just hanging out. My relaxed vibe gained in Krabi was suddenly depleting and I didn’t want a repeat of the overwhelmed feeling I had in Phuket. We waited in a long lineup to get water and beer in the 7-Eleven (the tour guide warned us that things would be pricier in Phi Phi due to it’s remote location and suggested the liquor might be cheaper to buy here than at the hotel) and headed back to the pier. We were all a bit shocked, suddenly recalling that we’d been told Phi Phi has no cars, as we saw our luggage all piled into two traditional Thai wooden long tail boats. Our group was then ushered into two more boats to get to our hotel. A short boat ride down the coast, we arrived at our hotel to check in – on the beach. This was a first for me. The boat crew literally unloaded our luggage onto the hotel beach. We took off our shoes, rolled up our pants and held our camera bags above our heads as we disembarked the boat and waded to shore to collect our luggage.
The long tail boats waiting to take ferry passengers to their hotels.
Our “taxi” to the hotel
definitely a first
Check-in is literally beside the beach…
After checking into a unique hotel built up into the hillside, we went to the beach-side hotel restaurant for lunch and took in the stunning views of the bay and adjacent Koh Phi Phi Lee. The sand was soft and white, the beach was fairly clean and quiet and the water was still and shallow. After lunch, we joined the group for an afternoon swim at one of the hotels three stunning private beaches. We floated in the warm, shallow bay, had some drinks from the beach snack shack and watched an entertaining resident dog play fetch with some backpackers. On the way back to the room to clean up to go for dinner I had a bit of time to get some sunset photos from our view of the bay. I also discovered the MASSIVE millipedes that hang around here. I’m not sure if they’re harmless, but they’re slow. I’d rather hang out with one of these guys than the giant Asian wasps I’d heard about while doing bug research before the trip. Just be sure to have your phone’s flashlight handy for your nighttime walk back to your room, if you don’t want to step on a sausage sized centipede….
the long climb up and down from the beach to our room and back
the breathtaking views from the lookout at the hotel
Lunch view
paradise
This pad thai tho….
Private beach after lunch
This beach tho…
“Girl on Swing”
Headed back to the room to get ready for dinner, the bay below is gorgeous at sunset
Sunset is stunning.
For dinner, we met up with the group again and headed up at a rooftop bar in town. The walk to the main tourist area from the hotel was about 15 minutes. The evening was busy with lots of shops and restaurants to chose from, but not as bad as I’d feared from the pier earlier in the day. There was a definite party vibe in the area, and it was more crowded that Krabi, but still had a more relaxed, island vibe that Phuket. The lack of cars and traffic keeps the noise down and the general feeling less frenetic. The majority of the tour group planned to go to the “beach party” that night after dinner. Shawn and I decided to at least check it out just to say we’d been but we’d heard enough stories about the spiked drinks, druggings and just plain insane partying that we knew that wasn’t the kind of fun we were seeking. After walking along the beach and checking out the beginnings of what would be a long, debaucherous night for some, we left and strolled through town to see what there was to see.
We eventually found ourselves at a bar hosting Muay Thai boxing. They had tourists volunteer to spar with each other for one round and then actual Muay Thai professionals would have a match in between. They protected the volunteer tourists well with padded head wear and safety gear and the minute it became apparent that a fight was ill matched, they’d call it and reward both the participants with a medal and a beer; it was all in good fun. Shawn was so excited about the Muay Thai, he put his hand up while they were calling for volunteers. For a moment I considered putting my wifely foot down, but we had three travel health insurance plans (two employer provided and a third required as part of the tour package), Phi Phi has a small hospital, and this was Shawn’s epic vacation too- if he wanted to walk around with a black eye or a busted nose, who was I to stop him? Luckily for me (and probably for him) with him being a bit smaller than most the the other guys there that night, the bar didn’t have anyone in his weight class to match him up with. As consolation, one of the boxers posed for photos with him. We enjoyed the matches, some cold Thai beer to ease the heat of the night and had a great time with tourists from New York who we shared our table with.
took me a minute to figure out the red bowl is to scoop water into the toilet to flush…
Shawn posing for photos after being declined a Muay Thai fight
After a few more drinks and exploring, we walked back to our hotel along the gorgeous moonlight sand, climbed way up to our hotel room atop the hill, avoiding stepping on giant millipedes as we walked, and had a great sleep with the islands resident monkeys calling out to each other in the night. Little did I know, we’d meet the monkeys in the morning.
Have you been to the stunning island of Phi Phi? What did you think of it? Plans to travel to Thailand and wondering where to visit? Feel free to ask questions or comment! Thanks as always for coming by and stay tuned for more Thailand rambles. Until next time, safe and happy travels!
-L
Navigating The Packed Streets Of Phuket
Posted on March 8, 2019
The Thailand adventure continues. I left you last as were were checking into our hotel in Phuket after a long, exhausting journey from Edmonton, Alberta to Phuket, Thailand.
An amazing Pad Thai
After a brief rest, water and some rifling through suitcases to find shorts and tank tops, the next priority was food. We didn’t waste a lot of time in deciding that literally the closest option was going to be just fine. We walked across the street from the hotel to a “sports bar”. Nearly empty in the late afternoon heat, we were ushered in and given the royal treatment. I ordered a Pad See Ew. I had no idea what it was and I was so hungry I didn’t really care at that point, but luckily it was an amazing stir fry with extra thick rice noodles that I’ll never stop thinking about. The beer was the coldest, most delicious I’d ever tasted. We ate, had a few drinks, took in the beautiful tropical surroundings and reveled in the first few moments of our most adventurous vacation before moving on.
We followed the signs directing us to the beach and walked about 8 blocks from our hotel down a few well traveled back alleys. We arrived at a the busy and very touristy Patong beach near sunset. There were food vendors everywhere; meat on a stick, to-go Pad Thai, ice cream, fresh coconut drinks and fruit smoothies were just the beginning of the choices available. We walked along the beach, took in the sights and enjoyed the sunset before heading back for an early night. Despite my exhaustion, sleep was a challenge. Jet lag is the worst. We went to bed early but by 3:00 am Phuket time, I was awake and ready to go. This ended up being fine, as on our first full day in Thailand, we were booked for a two dive Scuba excursion.
Patong Beach at sunset
Yes, it sounded crazy to me too. Early in the planning of our trip we had decided to book a tour for our first week in Thailand. We knew that this trip would be a whole new level for us and thought a tour would be a great way to learn about the country, food and customs with someone experienced assist us for the first leg of our trip. With the help of a travel agent, we booked an “Island Hopper” tour that would start in Phuket, go to Krabi and Phi Phi Island before heading back to Phuket. I knew early on that if we were going to Thailand, I had to do a dive. I’d only been once before in Antigua and was assured by many that Thailand diving was not to be missed. Once we had our itinerary for the tour, I realized how tight our schedule was going to be and wasn’t sure we’d get the chance to dive during the tour or right after when we were booked to fly to Bangkok. I talked it over with Shawn and we decided to book the dive early in the trip so we wouldn’t be disappointed if we missed our window later. So, in what seemed like lunacy, we booked our dive from home for our first day in Thailand. I’ll give you all of the dive details in an upcoming post, but rest assured, it was simply amazing.
A sign posted in the lobby of our hotel that ended up being in nearly every hotel
We arrived back from our dive trip with enough time to shower and clean up before beginning the tour. We met with the group and tour leader for dinner at the hotel and we were admittedly out of our element. We were definitely the oldest in the group; older than the group leader as well. There were about 40 of us in total. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the group, but being that most of them were in their late teens and early twenties, there was a definite party vibe.
Sights walking through the streets of Patong
After dinner, we joined the group who had voted to go to a bar or club in the area. We felt awkward and out of place amongst the young people in our group, and the jet lag and exhaustion from our dive was sinking in. We meandered through the bustling streets of Patong with our group leader guiding the way; shop keepers and restaurant staff strongly urging us to come into their establishments. The sales pressure wasn’t any worse than anything I’ve experienced in Cancun or Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, or in Jamaica, but the huge crowds of people and jet lag made me feel overwhelmed.
The heat, even at night was oppressive. The roads and sidewalks were noisy and crowded and the smells ranged from delightful barbecued street food on one corner to sewer on another. We kept our wallets and purses tucked away and closely monitored on the advice of our tour leader, as pick-pocketing is common here. The streets were dirty; there was a lot of garbage on the road. The sidewalks were cracked and a definite tripping hazard. Many were wet in places, and I tried not to think about what the liquids might be as I stepped in a few puddles I couldn’t avoid in my sandals. Cockroaches scuttled about narrowly missing being squashed by throngs of tourist feet. We walked past large plastic totes and buckets on the sidewalks outside of restaurants that contained fish and all manner of sea life available to pick for one’s supper. While I enjoy seafood, the displays were a bit off-putting based on my own cultural and ethical lens. There were fruit and vegetable stands on every corner with food I didn’t even recognize and there were 7-Elevens on every other corner.
Fresh fruit stand
Our tour group ended up at Bangla Road, the epicenter of party life in Patong. It made Las Vegas seem cute. On each side of the wide road where tourists mingled and bar staff shouted offers of cheap drinks and discount cover fees, there were pubs, clubs, Go Go bars, ping pong shows (offering far more outrageous entertainment than anything available back home), cabaret shows (aka Ladyboy shows) and every form of fun or debauchery one could ever find. We went with the group to a bar where a Thai cover band was doing live versions of western top 40 songs; they were surprisingly good and were fun to watch. The bar had a two drink minimum and even after the tour leader negotiated with bar staff to get our whole group in, the drink prices were insanely inflated. But hey, when in Thailand…
Thai cover band
A popular nasal inhaler sold in local shops, used for congestion or to feel refreshed
After a long day of diving and meeting the group, we were exhausted and excused ourselves at an unreasonably early hour and began navigating our way back through the crowded, dirty streets and pushy vendors back to the hotel. The next day, we decided to take it easy. In the morning we lounged at the hotel’s surprisingly beautiful and quiet pool and found amazing Thai food and drinks throughout the day.
Poolside lounging
Ixora aka West Indian Jasmine
Pineapple Cashew stir fry. Delicious!
Fresh Coconut!
We joined the tour group that evening for discount shopping and some welcome air conditioning at Junceylon Shopping Center and dinner at Baan Saan market. Our guide taught us about some of the food court style areas here where you pay for a pre-loaded food card to use at any establishment in the area and then get a refund on whatever you don’t spend, after your meal. This experience came in handy, as this is a common way of getting food in malls or large markets around Thailand. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to re-pack and get some rest before starting the next part of our tour; heading to Krabi in the morning!
Food court at Baan Saan Market
As always, thank you for stopping by to read. Stay tuned for the next part of the adventure. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments. Until next time, safe and happy travels.
Dance of Fire: Bungo at Jolly Beach, Antigua
Posted on March 25, 2018
When we visited the island of Antigua, which I keep recommending you do, we were treated to an amazing show hosted by the resort down on the beach. Normally when at all-inclusive resorts, we skip the shows (I’ve mentioned this in previous blogs). If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. I find them to be a bit cheesy. While the performers are usually very well trained in their local dances, there’s seems to be a bit of fluff as well. This performance at the Starfish Jolly Beach Resort was the exception. Staff and other tourists kept asking if we were going to the show and insisting we should, and we were very glad we did.
The performers told us this dance is called the “Bungo” or “Bongo” and it originated in West Africa. There is very little I could find about it besides that. What I did learn upon further research is that it’s a dance accompanied by “qua-quas” which are large sticks of wood beaten together rhythmically. Dancers hop and jump between them in a way similar to when we used to double dutch while skipping rope.
They dance to and from the circle of spectators and other qua-qua players wait on the sidelines until it’s time to swap out. Dancers make particular steps that other dancers then try to imitate. The dance is performed to the sounds of “Kwa-kwa”; hand clapping, singing and chanting and a bongo drum. The little research I did find mentioned islands like Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago where it’s noted that this is a dance often done by men for wakes before funerals.
Our show featured plenty of very talented women and men. I’m not sure if they all include fire shows as well, but ours did and it was fantastic. The dancing was rhythmic, extremely athletic and mesmerizing. Being out on the sand on the beach in the dark gave it a really primal feel. We are certainly glad that we went to the show. Even though these photos are from way back in 2015, it seems the resort is still doing the shows, as there are fairly recent videos on YouTube, should you want to check out some live action. Enjoy, feel free to comment or ask questions and, as usual, happy traveling!
Eterno Dia Photography 