Day 2 - Cheesecake

DAY 2

Where we see stars, get ripped off, question the ambiguity of the country’s tipping system, then wind up having cheesecake. 

Bright and early the next morning, we got up and headed downstairs for the hostel’s complimentary breakfast: a simple fare of milk and cereal, as well as toast with a variety of spreads.

Soon as we were done, we set out for our mission of the day: to walk all the way from Banana Bungalow to Hollywood Boulevard, a journey spanning roughly 4km. We set off equipped with jackets, bracing ourselves for the cold winds we had experienced the night before, expecting those same winds to assault us in the day.

We couldn't have been more misinformed.

The sun was an unrelenting orb of blistering heat that morning (and, as we soon would find out, every morning in LA). It was so hot and dry, you could feel it on your skin. True enough, by the time the day drew to a close, all of us were sporting sunburns and undesirable tan-lines. Regardless, we still managed to make our way to Hollywood Boulevard, spotting a Catholic church nestled at the edge of a residential area along the way.

Are you interested in the Catholic Church?

I made it a personal mission to locate more religious buildings and before long, managed to locate a Methodist church and a Jewish temple.

Somehow putting 'Hollywood' behind something makes it lose its sacredness.

After a lengthy walk, we finally made it to Hollywood Boulevard, and began hunting down the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame. There were entire streets lined with those gold-edged lavender-pink stars, but we only recognised a few choice ones. Naturally, this Marvel-buff of an author managed to hunt down the most important star of all.

The biggest star of all...

We hadn't gotten far when we were approached by a guy who offered us a discount on a Hollywood Tour. We paid $20 each and were told to come back in a bit, as the tour would start 45 minutes later. Ticket-in-hand, we wandered further down the boulevard, chancing upon a bunch of men in superhero costumes. One of them, a stout man dressed in a symbiote-Spider-Man outfit, approached us and began posing and taking pictures with us. Delighted at this sudden display of what we interpreted as American candidness, we happily obliged, only to learn his true motive later on. He held out his hand and began asking us for money.

Watch out for Spider-Scam.

We passed venom-Spidey a dollar, but he shook his head; that wasn't going to cut it. He wasn't going to back down until we each gave him a ten. So we did, young innocent fellas that we are, and skulked off feeling cheated and foolish.

Trying to take our minds off the fact that we just got scammed, we hopped on the Hollywood Tour van and rode around Hollywood. The driver/tour guide was a Spanish-speaking old man who switched between English and his native tongue in the midst of his explanations. He would burst occasionally into song (‘Pretty Woman’) and repeat certain points thrice. We went up a tall hill that gave us a nice overview of the city as well as the Hollywood sign.

You can see it if you squint hard enough.

The tour also brought us through Beverly Hills, where rich people bought houses they don’t intend to live in, and other places of interest such as clubs and bars owned/frequented/entertained by famous musicians and rock bands, the Michael Jackson Auditorium, and hotspots where celebrities were arrested for various scandals. Had it not been for the dastardly sun, the ride would have been really enjoyable.

90210 and MJ

Eventually the guide brought us back to the Walk of Fame. Stomachs growling and skins burning, we decided to have lunch at In-N-Out, a local burger joint which served up burgers made with fresh beef patties and obscenely-thick milkshakes. Everyone else ordered Double-Doubles—essentially cheeseburgers with two layers of meat—while I got a regular cheeseburger. It was money well-spent.

In-N-Out cheeseburger and milkshake

At Jieqi’s insistence, we made our way once more across Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard, chancing upon a footwear warehouse shop, Capitol Records building and Iron Man along the way. There was also an free exhibition on the horrors of psychiatric treatments set up by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. However, we were too hot and worn out to really soak in all the sights, so after almost two hours of trudging through the LA desert, we made our way back to Banana Bungalow—on foot.

Because Hollywood.

Back at the dorm, I slumped onto my bed and closed my eyes. When I opened them, it was already dinnertime. We made our way to what we initially thought was Walmart. It turned out instead to be World Market (we had misunderstood the cab driver), so rather than be bummed out about it (cuz we're positive that way), we decided to explore the local vicinity. It was one of the best decisions we made that day, because just behind the World Market was the Farmer’s Market, and behind that was a popular outdoor mall called the Grove.

  

The Grove.

We skipped merrily across the Grove and eventually stumbled upon yet another delicious discovery: a very posh-looking Cheesecake Factory. There we each ordered a different cheesecake (Tiramisu, Godiva, Smores, Key Lime and Strawberries) along with two appetisers—crispy Cuban rolls and fried mozzarella. The latter dish was to die for, while the cheesecakes were rich and dense and definitely worth all the hubbub.

Three words: yum yum yum!

Greatly satisfied with dinner, we continued to explore, and were rewarded with live-sized statues of Iron Man and the Hulk, as well as a pretty low-blow banner by Samsung.

We are all just kids at heart. Even Samsung.

Our explorations yielded a visit to a closing K-Mart, where we stocked up on sunblock (having learned our lesson from the day’s misadventures), and Ross, a warehouse specialising in clothes and other supplies. There you can get jeans for as little as USD20. I decided to wait a bit before going bitch-crazy with my spending.

Having survived a really long and satisfying Day 2, we finally retired to our dorm, having all grown a little wiser and a heck of lot poorer, but ready to take on Day 3. After a good night’s rest, of course.