It's (Mostly) All About Celebrities in Los Angeles

One of the stops of our recent trip to the US was Los Angeles, known as the "City of Angels" but more popular for being the home of Hollywood, a neighborhood that is regarded as the center of the film industry of the United States.

When you hear about "Los Angeles", the first things that would most likely come to mind are the gigantic Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame, sunny weather, picturesque boulevards lined with tall palm trees, the world-famous amusement parks such as Disneyland and Universal Studios, and the occasional sight of annoying paparazzi snapping photos of celebrities as they go about their daily business around the city. 

However, there is more to Los Angeles than that--as you explore Los Angeles you will discover that Los Angeles is one large, culturally diverse city (home to over a million immigrants from nearby Mexico as well as Asia), with several neighborhoods representing each of the major immigrant groups who have come to call Los Angeles their home. Los Angeles has quite a colorful history, too, made more colorful by the various immigrants who have settled in Los Angeles over the years. This city has also witnessed some of the more significant moments in US History--such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, brother of the late President John F. Kennedy who was also assassinated a few years prior in Texas. 

While people may say that Los Angeles, compared to its rival city San Francisco, is quite dull and that the only thing that attracts people to Los Angeles is Hollywood and the possibility of running into a celebrity somewhere, I would say that Los Angeles is still worth a visit. Read on and see for yourself.

Our ride from the Los Angeles International Airport to our hotel. Wow.

For this leg of our trip, we stayed at the Best Western Plus Dragon Gate Inn, at the heart of Chinatown. Unlike San Francisco's Chinatown, however, the Chinatown in Los Angeles isn't really much of a tourist attraction. I would even say that the neighborhood is quite dull, though I will still give you a reason to come here (I'll explain later on). Anyway, the hotel was fairly decent; we had a pretty large room (the largest out of all the hotels we stayed in while in the US) with free WiFi, and breakfast was a bit better than the one provided at our hotel in San Francisco. The breakfast selection consisted of cereal (Froot Loops and Cheerios), bread, yogurt, some fruits, hardboiled eggs, etc. and was served on cardboard trays and paper plates and plastic cutlery. The "buffet" too, was located at this Chinese-run convenience store towards the entrance of the hotel, and the chairs and tables were outside, at the hotel's "courtyard". As I found out later on, this was only temporary as the hotel's dining room located near the lobby was being renovated. The hotel, unfortunately, seems quite understaffed at night--it seems the only employee available during the late hours would be the receptionist. We tried to get the remote control of the TV fixed one night and the receptionist didn't know how to fix it, so she told us (quite apologetically) to wait until the next morning. 

Our room at the hotel was the largest out of all the hotels we stayed in while in the US.

We didn't stay at a relative's house in Los Angeles, so we had quite a problem with mobility. In New York, you could pretty much walk to almost anywhere (especially in Midtown Manhattan, where we stayed); Los Angeles, however, isn't really a "walking city" and people prefer to drive to get to anywhere. Cabs, too, aren't as widely available compared to New York and San Francisco. We did take the subway (known in this city as "The Metro") on some occasions, though the nearest station was several blocks (about a 15-20 minute walk) from our hotel. To be quite honest, it didn't really feel safe walking around the area at night, so we made it a point to be back in our hotel before sunset, around 8-8:30 pm. We also bought tickets for a hop-on, hop-off bus tour with Starline Tours, and the nearest pick-up point was a bit closer to our hotel but still a few blocks away. Here's a tip: when in Los Angeles, I think it would be best to rent a car with a GPS Navigation System.

The Central Plaza at Chinatown is home to several Chinese shops. We purchased our tickets for the bus tour at one of the shops here.

A monument honoring Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China.

Off we go!

The gateway to Chinatown.

The Union Station, where we would walk to if we wanted to take The Metro. Passengers taking the long-distance trains to other cities or states also go here.

The Japanese American National Museum, located in Japantown.

Japantown, as the name suggests, is home to LA's Japanese community.

The Caltrans District 7 Headquarters at the Civic Center neighborhood of Downtown LA, home of the California Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles Deaprtment of Transportation. 

In Washington DC and San Francisco, the bus driver also served as the tour guide; in Los Angeles, however, the tour guide's voice was already pre-recorded (strangely, the  "tour guide" has a British accent). Around 80% of the time, the tour guide's explanations where about how a certain movie was filmed in this location or how a certain celebrity was discovered while he or she was working at a certain restaurant, or how celebrities would often be spotted shopping here. I found this weird at first, but then again, we were in Los Angeles, and I guess that is their city's main selling point.

LA's "Sister Cities". Spot anything familiar?

The headquarters of the Los Angeles Times.

Hmm. Interesting.

One of the many old, historic buildings in the downtown area.

Passing through more historic buildings.

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, built in the 1920s, was where the Academy Awards was held during its early days in the 1930s and 1940s.  

The Los Angeles City Hall. They previously didn't allow other buildings to be built taller  than the City Hall, but that rule has since been relaxed. The City Hall is now surrounded by taller, more modern buildings.

This building is a clear example.

The downtown area is home to a number of old movie theatres. The Los Angeles Theatre is one of them--it opened in  1931 for the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights.

The Palace Theater.

The Tower Theater, with a seating capacity of 1,000, was built in 1927.

The Orpheum Theater. Interestingly, we saw an announcement at the entrance about a concert by Sarah Geronimo scheduled for June 2.

A row of small shops at the Fashion District.

The Staples Center, famous for being the home of the Los Angeles Lakers. Michael Jackson's televised memorial service was also held here.

Los Angeles' very own Filipinotown. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit this place.

Welcome to Hollywood!

The Ripley's Believe It or Not Odditorium along Hollywood Boulevard, famous for the Walk of Fame.

These are just one of the many stars you'll find along Hollywood Boulevard.

Look--Gwyneth Paltrow!

The Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum along Hollywood Boulevard. Since we booked a tour with Starline Tours, we got discounted (or was it free?) tickets for this museum.

It's Rihanna!

Posing with the most famous Hollywood couple. Yes, these statues are life-sized.

Lady Gaga is actually much smaller than I thought.

My mom posing with Audrey Hepburn.

With Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone from The Godfather.

My brother with the King of Pop.

The Chinese Theater. If you watched Iron Man 3, this was the site of the huge explosion at the start of the movie.

You can have your photos taken with these guys--but expect to leave a tip afterwards.

The numerous people in costume along Hollywood Boulevard can be quite pushy and aggressive. If they offer you to have a photo with them, just politely say no and walk away.

Hollywood Boulevard is one of the few places in Los Angeles where the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians. Most of the time, Angelenos prefer to drive to get to anywhere.

The Dolby Theatre, previously known as the Kodak Theatre, is the current home of the Academy Awards.

The El Capitan Theatre.

Even the Walk of Fame is not spared from the marketing efforts of some companies.

The talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! is filmed here.

A shield welcoming people to the glamorous neighborhood of Beverly Hills--with a homeless beggar sitting next to it. Oh, the irony.

Streets lined with palm trees is a common sight in Beverly Hills. 

Beverly Hills has its own City Hall.

A beggar somewhere in Los Angeles. Sadly, this is a common sight throughout the city. 

The famous water tank of the Paramount Pictures studios.

The gateway to Paramount Pictures along Wilshire Boulevard.

A row of shops in what is known as Koreatown. Los Angeles has the biggest population of South Korean immigrants, more than any other city in the world.

This building stands at the site of what was the Ambassador Hotel, where Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot in 1968.

The beautiful MacArthur Park. A lot of homeless people have managed to settle here, though.

Motorists getting through rush hour traffic along the Pasadena Freeway, one of the many busy freeways in the Los Angeles area.

Compared to New York, LA's financial district is a bit more...tame.

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel is quite an iconic structure.

The 2nd Street tunnel in Los Angeles has been featured in a number of films.

The iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall.

After a long day, it was time to head back to our hotel.

Even the residents of Chinatown are pretty much into the Hollywood Culture.

While you're in Chinatown, one restaurant I highly suggest you should try is the Master Chef Restaurant along North Hill Street. Among the restaurants we spotted in Chinatown, this seems to be the only one that has so many customers--and a lot of them actually drive all the way from outside Chinatown (you'll always see a lot of cars parked outside). They have very good food at very reasonable prices, plus the waiters were attentive. We loved the food here so much that we actually ate here almost every single day while we were in Los Angeles, usually for dinner (plus it was a way for my dad and brother to satisfy their cravings for rice). I highly recommend their Deep Fried Porkchops with Spicy Salt--I just couldn't get enough of it!

Outside the Master Chef Restaurant.

The Deep Fried Porkchops with Spicy Salt is something you should definitely try!

We continued our tour of Los Angeles on board StarLine Tour's double-decker buses the next day, and we managed to explore a lot of more:

The famous Hollywood Sign, as viewed from the Hollywood & Highland Center, a large shopping mall  along Hollywood Boulevard.

This shopping mall is huge, and tends to get hounded by different tour groups.

A Hollywood "success story". 

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where Marilyn Monroe lived for two years early on in her career.

You might be able to spot celebrities buying milkshakes or occasionally serving customers behind the counter at this Millions of Milkshakes store.

Supercars such as this one are a common sight in Beverly Hills. This photo was taken along Rodeo Drive, a famous shopping street.

This is just one of the several luxury boutiques along Rodeo Drive.

The Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Whitney Houston passed away last year.

These buildings occupy a mini-financial district called Century City, named as such because it was once part of the backlot of 20th Century Fox.

The Creative Artists Agency building. The CAA is a prominent talent agency in Los Angeles.

The entrance to the Intercontinental Los Angeles.

We passed by this cemetery on the way to Santa Monica, a beachfront city in the Los Angeles county.

The entrance to the famous Santa Monica Pier.

That's the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Monica is a bustling community.

The Brentwood neighborhood is home to numerous celebrities. Marilyn Monroe lived here up until she died in 1962.

One of the mansions in Brentwood.

We made our way back to Rodeo Drive after touring Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Westwood (I got terribly sunburned during the tour).

Protesters outside the Saint Laurent store along Rodeo Drive.

The Grove at Farmers Market is an upscale shopping center. It is right next to the historical Farmers Market of Los Angeles.

The clocktower at Farmers Market, where you can buy fresh produce.

The CBS Studios isn't too far away from the Farmers Market.

If you're not after the big brand names, you can shop for clothes at one of the several small clothing stores along Beverly Boulevard.

The Nickelodeon Studios.