The United States of America (US/USA) is geographically the fourth largest country on the planet Earth. Obviously, there is a huge potential for tourism in the US, and it remains a top travel destination. I was travelling to the USA in October, 2016. It was such a memorable trip. In this post I will be sharing my memories from USA trip. I will also briefly touch the issues regarding a safe travel in USA. Here are some general key points from my USA trip.
My trip
I flew from Singapore to Seattle with Korean Air. I had to transit in South Korea, and it was another memorable part of my trip. In the USA, I mainly visited the West Coast.
The trip started from Seattle, and then I flew to Los Angeles, took overnight bus to San Francisco, and then flew out of the country. I flew in, and out of the USA with Korean Air. It was a memorable trip, and I would recommend travelling to the USA to everyone.
Tourism in the US is expensive
I feel that if you are in the USA, you must have to have two things- a Car (rent one if you can’t own one), and start cooking. Eating out is crazily expensive. In the cities I listed, it’s quite common to pay US$10 for a normal meal at McDonald’s that contains a burger, French fries, and a drink. Subway was equally expensive. Having seen a good number of countries, I can confirm that travelling to the USA or the tourism in the US is the most expensive.
If you are travelling to the USA, make sure you have a good financial health.
GPS Navigation
You have to be an expert in using GPS in the USA. If you are not an expert already, I believe that you are going to be one within a few days. The country and the cities are so big that if you are not good at directions, you might end up walking a few kilometres out of nowhere. Get street smart before you land in the USA.
Only one time immigration
The queues at immigration are really long, and it keeps increasing. The immigration is really fast though. However, there was no immigration check while flying out of the USA. I just got the boarding pass, got into the flight, and got out of the country – pretty much straightforward.
Airport Security
There were very heavy securities deployed at the Airports. You have to go through the X-ray scan before you board a flight. The members of airport staff were very professional and friendly.
The Energetic English
I always felt a high amount of energy in the usage of English when I communicated with the locals. When they speak, the tone seems to be carrying a lot of weight. The pronunciations are usually very clear and understandable. As such, I had no language issues during travelling to the USA.
Backpacking during travelling to the USA
I did backpacking in San Francisco; I paid around US $50/night. There were 6 beds in the room. I was the only guy, the rest were girls from 5 different countries. We were all chatting in the room. Sometime it was a bit crazy as well. I remember, once I asked them “Hey, I am the minority here, do you all think that I am safe with you all here”, and we all laughed together.
Population Diversity
The USA is a very diverse country. As such, I had never seen such a diverse country. You will find people of all races, religion in the USA. There are lots of the Asian crowed as well. Lots of Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Mexicans. There were lots of Taiwanese students in USA under something called “Work and travel” program.
You will feel the diversity of the population in USA everywhere. People are generally very helpful. Girls have a great sense of fashion.
Public transport
I didn’t hire a taxi or rent a car as well anywhere in the USA. I only used public transport and heavily relied on the GPS. Overall, I think in cities the public transports are quite nice. To save money, you can buy tourist passes, daily passes. Otherwise, even the public transport can be quite expensive. For example, in Seattle, the minimum bus fare is US $2.5. In China, the minimum bus fare is CNY 1. Not to mention, 1 USD =CNY 7.
You can definitely rent a car. Although, the rent varies, for a price of USD 100 per day, you should be able to rent a good car.
The BoltBus Ride
My overnight journey from the Los Angeles to San Francisco was by BoltBus. I had booked bus ticket online (US $34.00) from Los Angeles (Union Station) to San Francisco (200 Folsom) Greyhound Slip 1. The bus departed at 10:00 PM local time. There were only 7-8 people in the bus. The bus took around 8 hours to reach from LA to SF (around 05:45 AM to be more precise). There was free WI-FI in the bus. There were mobile charging points attached to each of the seats. We did stop at a local restaurant midway for around half an hour. The USA highways are so awesome. You can try long drive in the USA if you have time. My bus journey was really nice, and I would recommend the BoltBus. I was a solo traveller, and didn’t see any safety issues with BoltBus.
Safe Travel in USA?
Well, I didn’t have any problem, anywhere. I had a safe travel in USA. I think the tourism in the US is pretty much safe if you have done your homework. For example, I had listed certain dangerous areas, and avoided visiting them (e.g. Skid Row in Los Angeles). In fact, I remember walking around the Seattle Great Wheel, and there were two people sitting and smoking something over there. They invited me to join them for smoking, that I politely refused, and there was no issue beyond that.
Buying a prepaid mobile SIM Card
I bought a T-Mobile SIM Card in Seattle. It was for US$ 32, with around 5GB data valid for a month. I used it across all the aforementioned cities, and I would recommend T-Mobile.
USA climate
The climate varies from city to city. October is the best time to visit Seattle as the autumn is in full swing. Los Angeles was a bit hot. San Francisco was cooler than LA. October is really a nice time to visit the West Coast. No issues with the USA climate.
USA Food
I am not sure if there is something called “the USA cuisine”. You can definitely find food from the entire world in the USA. The concept of “24 hour breakfast” seems to be very popular.
Visiting Bars
Well, visiting bars in the USA was another memorable experience. I just met a girl in a street in Seattle, and we went to the Subway for a normal chit-chat. Later we decided to go a bar, and we went to a nearby bar. I was not carrying my passport. She had one though. So we were not allowed entry in a very first bar that we tried. In one of the bars, we managed to enter, but were asked to leave.
We manage to enter hang out in a bar finally. However, as we ordered drinks, we were asked to show the identity card. Since I didn’t carry one, and couldn’t buy an alcoholic drink (I didn’t want as well). So I had a normal meal with soft drinks. The girl got crazy drinks though, which I was perfectly fine with.
Wi-Fi CONNECTIVITY IN USA
There is Wi-Fi virtually everywhere in the USA. The surprising part was the availability of the Wi-Fi inside the flights. It was free for T-Mobile user; you just need to sign in inside the flight (after taking off). I remember setting up a meet up with a girl in Singapore when I was in the air, flying from Seattle to Los Angeles. 🙂
Saying “hello” to unknown persons
I was travelling in the Los Angeles Subway, and there was an unfamiliar old guy sitting in front of me. He suddenly asked me in very cracked tone -are you having a good day? Imagine asking this question to an Indian dude (it’s going to be funnier if you are in India). I replied him positively. But for a moment I thought – why would I have a bad day. Even if I am having a bad day, why I need to tell you? 🙂
I was lost
I was going to the Getty villa Museum in Los Angeles by a public bus (bus number 534). The museum is located quite far from the city. There were way too many hot Mexican girls in the bus. I was having a very nice conversation with some of them – and forgot to check my GPS. By the time I checked my GPS, I was 5 km north of the museum. I immediately got out of the bus at the very next bus stop – didn’t even exchange contact with the beauties. 🙂
The next bus in the reverse direction came after 20 minutes, and didn’t stop. After next 20 minutes, another bus came and it did stop. The driver asked me – what you doing here? Very dangerous!!! I managed to revert back. The point is – do check your GPS regularly if you are on a bus. Don’t always get stuck with the beauties, O man!
Walk around the riverfront
In the evening you must walk around the riverfront. There are lots of evening events happening in the riverfront. I remember attending one such street performance in San Francisco. There were two black guys playing drums. They played drums really well. After every couple of minutes they would stop and say loudly, “Say, O yeah” – very loudly in fact. Then everybody would repeat loudly “O Yeah”. Then there were lots of people, including couples, singles, kids, all dancing without giving the world a damn. It was really, really very funny.
I think the USA is a country where you can test your travelling skills. The country is big, and the public transport always leaves something desired in your mind. I must say that the tourism in the US is just great.
I would love to come back as soon as possible.
That’s all for this post on tourism in the US. If you find the write-ups useful, buy me a beer! 🙂
Wish you a safe travel in USA.
With love 🙂 Last updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2017
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