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.

A Fun Day Out at The Entertainment Capital of LA: Universal Studios Hollywood

Less than a year ago, I blogged about my experience at Universal Studios Singapore, when I visited Singapore with my classmates to attend an international advertising conference. I had such a great time, and I felt bad that my family wasn't there to experience it with me. I'd never thought that they would finally get a chance to see Universal Studios, this time at Hollywood, for the Los Angeles leg of our US trip. 

As you may know, Los Angeles is home to world-renowned theme parks, with Universal Studios and Disneyland being the most popular. A trip to Los Angeles wouldn't be complete without dropping by any of these theme parks. We were initially deciding between Disneyland and Universal Studios, but settled on Universal Studios instead since we've already seen Hong Kong Disneyland twice anyway, and we figured there wouldn't be much of a difference (but we know the one in the US is much larger). Disneyland, too, is a bit too, well, kiddie, and my now 12 year-old brother was no longer as excited about Disneyland, unlike in  April 2006 when we first visited Hong Kong Disneyland (he hasn't turned six yet at the time). After these considerations, we thought: "Universal Studios it is!"

From our hotel in Chinatown (not really a good location--I'll probably explain some other time), we walked to the Union Station several blocks away. We then took the Red Line Metro to the Universal City station, where we crossed the street to the trolley pick-up point. From there, it was a 10-15 minute trolley ride up the hill to the Universal CityWalk (a shopping and dining area outside the theme park) and the Universal Studios theme park itself.