Jet Lag Sucks

April 29, 2008 American time
This is gonna be the last day of that hectic American vacation and we're going back to Disneyland in Anaheim for California Adventure.

It's obviously smaller than Disneyland proper, but it has a few surprises that will make you come back. One of them is Soarin' Over California which is also the first attraction we went to and it was a favorite- or rather, my mom's favorite- because she clearly wanted to go back for a second ride on that flight simulator. Oh right, it was a flight simulator that realistically portrayed people- complete with the series of seats raised up a few feet from the floor- flying over the various cities of California, and the wind would also change according to the environment. For example, when we're floating over a beach, the air would simulate a sea breeze going on your face, or when we're soaring up to the air to avoid the surfers, we'd actually feel like it even when the seats don't go up. It's kinda like a goodly engineered 3D movie, sans the dorky glasses and more of that realism.

But anyway, we also went around the ferris wheel which was near the flagship California Screamin' roller coaster ride and the spinning chairs in an orange, and my brother and sister would ride the rotating chairs contained inside an orange while my father and mother lets an artist make a caricature of them. We didn't want to get wet this time around since we were gonna go to the airport the same day for a 1:00+ flight. We'd eat some ribs for lunch, some hotdogs and corndogs for snack time, and watch some 3D films like Muppet-Vision and the A Bug's Life inspired "It's tough to be a bug". The Bug's Life 3D movie was funny with stinging on your back and the "bugs" crawling on your butt, while the Muppet-Vision is...

When 5pm struck, we went to the entrance to wait for the shuttle home when I discovered that I left the DS in the hotdog stand. I ran, the thing wasn't there. I checked my bag again, and- false alarm- it was there. Just there. I ran back and we rode to LAX.

We were first in line (in the check-in line) and we had to wait for the line to actually open. However, when it was already open an hour later, we tried to check in our bags and showed our ticket and guess what? We missed the flight one day ago. And it wasn't long ago when I'd remember them (my dad, mom and sister) arguing over the time we were supposed to be in LAX. It wrote: April 28, 2008 1:45pm and one would say, if it was 1:45pm it should've been April 29 written on the thing, and the other would say, we'd still be home by April 30 Philippine time if we went to LAX on April 29 even though after 1:45, it would be April 30 in America. It was very confusing considering the time zones but it didn't have to be! It was very clear! But then, there was the itinerary the travel agent gave us. It was stated clear, especially in the expenses sheet, that we had to go to California Adventure on this day... This day.

We were now set for Stand-By and the person representing Cathay Pacific would say that we should wait till 10:20 so we can know whether we can ride the 11:45 flight. And wait (and eat) we did. In between, I bought a magazine because I was too lazy to read Neverwhere, and my brother got Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Of course, since it's my avatar in YM, I'd be happy, but something more important was the fact that we were in uncertainty as to whether we could actually ride the 11:45 plane. Fortunately, we got seats located in the back, and we were one of the first to board.

The 13 hours of flight would make the time out of control again, but after that time in the plane where I met merely 2-3 hours of sleep for some reason, we got to Hong Kong airport.

May 1, 2008 Hong Kong/Philippine time
It's Labor Day! But since we missed our flight the day before, we had to wait again and be on stand-by for the flight bound to Manila. My brothers played DS and we were just there on chairs at least, because at LAX, we had to stand up for hours (from 6-10:20)!

But unlike the delayed flight we had before we went to America from Hong Kong days ago, fortune once again chose us to be able to ride the 9am flight for Manila. It was another hour and 30 minutes at the plane and minutes at the grueling baggage check. We practically flew through the other processes and went home.

But surprisingly, jet lag was worse coming here than arriving there. Still, at least I get to not exercise tomorrow because of the nausea my body experienced. It was like my feet were walking on its own at some point and I just had to sleep. And at 8pm I did. The other people in the family watched the Idol elimination where the next day I'd find out, was Brooke White (finally). Still, I wanted Jason Castro to get out first, but whatever.

May 2, 2008
Now my body has sort of settled down, with mild nausea here and there, but the pissing thing is, I also experienced the infamous Wii Disc Error accompanied with the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii game, and I was like, after weeks of waiting, I get this?! Why'd Nintendo make a game that they probably know can't run on all Wii systems?! Why do high-rated games have to be so elusive to us in pirated shores?! And if it were pirated, why does Nintendo put bricking for that specific title?! Damn! The game we had was already original and yet it still can't be played! This is ultimate suckage, right? Especially since you have to send it to Nintendo America for that, and we bought Super Smash Bros. at the freaking airport at Los Angeles! You can call this one of the ultimate rip-offs of gaming history because it's so damn expensive (as usual) when it's original, and it's an AAA title to boot!

LA and Vegas

April 21, 2008 7:18AM Monday, Philippine time (April 20, 4:18PM Sunday, American time)

After almost 10 hours of delay, we finally got to board, and eventually depart, the HKIA. Well, the row we sat on still had no audio in its entertainment system, so we had to deal with the boredom by reading (I read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere) then watching a foreign film with English subtitles (Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- a great movie).

Anyway, when we finally got down to the Los Angeles Airport (LAX), we had to walk down a series of non-working walkalators and wait a line to go to the baggage claim (because we had to put fingerprints and take a picture as stated by US Aviation Law). We then had the chance to get out of the inspection stages and look for a ride to our hotel. After an hour in a car, we got to the Lincoln Plaza Hotel. It was already 2am American time by then.

Hours later, we woke up to eat a very, very light breakfast and go to our bus to go to Las Vegas.

Actually, I've just arrived in Vegas and we're gonna be waiting for 6:30pm American time so that we can tour the casinos. Unluckily, the Wi-fi here (4 Queens hotel) is not free unlike in Lincoln Plaza so this post, for most of the 3 days we're staying in Vegas, will be long and filled with the word "UPDATE". Photos will be added in 3 days.

UPDATE
The Casino Tour (April 20/21, 2008 American/Philippine time)
Ever watched the original CSI? How 'bout the crappy Nicholas Cage movie Next? Well, you'll probably notice backdrops of Las Vegas being shown, and we're going to the places found in the backdrops. We went to Treasure Island to see the show Sirens of TI but to no avail because of windy weather, we went to the Tropicana to shoot some pics, we drove through New York New York to see the replica of the Statue of Liberty, the Mafia-owned Flamingo and came in the Wynn and the Venetian (the same as the Venetian in Macau, only classier) with their multi-million real flower gardens and greenhouses and faux Victorian villages. Lastly, we went to the Belagio to look at the famous and beautiful water fountain show. We got back to the hotel at about 10:40pm American time, and watched TV then slept.

April 22, 2008 Tuesday, Philippine time (April 21, 2008 Monday, American time)
We had to wake up early and catch up with the bus for Grand Canyon, Arizona but we weren't gonna stay overnight there despite the long drive. However, we first went to see North America's largest man-made lake which has a name I forgot. This lake connects to the Colorado river (I think) which is located near the Hoover Dam which is also a sort of boundary between the state of Nevada and Arizona. We didn't stay in Hoover Dam for long, just 10 minutes so we can pee and take pictures. It is actually notable for being the shooting spot for 007: Goldeneye as well as last year's blockbuster Transformers. It may seem old because it is, but it's still enough to make a futuristic robot movie!

Anyway, after a long ride in the bus again, we got down in the desert full of Joshua trees to ride yet another kind of bus- an Indian bus. No, not the Indian living in India, but the Indians in Pocahontas. You see, the West Grand Canyon is also the home of the so-called Hualapai tribe and is powered by solar energy because of their lack of resources. But this isn't important now, is it?

There were 3 designated points in the area: Point A, the gift shop; Point B, the Eagle Point; and Point C, the I-Forgot-Point. We didn't do much in Point A, so after riding the bus to Point B, that was when amazement was evident in the big crowd. Why? It seems that Mother Nature's carving of the American eagle is just damn amazing and it took 9 million years, too. After that, we went to the Skywalk which is basically a transparent platform that enables people to see the view of the Grand Canyon below. Cameras, cellphones, backpacks, anything couldn't be brought because the staff at the Skywalk itself are the ones in charge of the pictures. It's a bit expensive, especially the 100 dollar USB disk package thingy, but what the hell, you only live once.

We did nothing in Point C as well except wait for my sister and mother to scan the jewelry being sold there. Afterwards, we ate in Point B adjacent to the dancing Indians.

"Time for the Friendship dance! Ouuwahwahkeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh!"

After eating, we went back to Point A, played DS 'till 2;00 and rode the bus back to Vegas. We got back at 5 and we instantly ate downstairs in our hotel, the Four Queens hotel, in a pizza place. The oil in that thing will just make you puke, though.

6:00 and we went out to wait for the bus to take us to Planet Hollywood so that we can watch Steve Wyzick's Real Magic. I guess watching magicians in the act live is different from that on TV, obviously, and it's great. It's definitely great for the kiddies (my little brother's still talking about it!) and it's entertainment for adults either for the mild sexual innuendo in the jokes or for the ladies wearing short, short skirts and barely concealing tops.

The show finished at 8:30 and we got back to the hotel by 9. But before that, we finally got to see the Fremont Street Experience which is basically a blatant ad for LG Electronics. But still, I gotta admit, who knew a ceiling with hidden lights could do that. It's not that much of a must-see, but if you're in Fremont Street, it's free. After that, we came in a gift shop nearby to find some jerky because my brother's godmother told us it was delicious, but we couldn't find that specific, so-called Las Vegas Jerky. It wasn't especially helpful when the Chinese tour guide simply laughed at our question though. Still, we tried some branded spicy jerky that was terrible.

We watched CSI: Miami, looked up what the time for American Idol would be the following day and watched the news. We slept afterwards.

APRIL 23, 2008 Wednesday 2:22AM, Philippine time (April 22, 2008 Tuesday 11:22AM)
I woke up at 6:30 and watched Good Morning America in ABC. After taking a shower, me, my dad and mom went out to walk and explore Fremont Street and buy breakfast in McDonald's. After eating, we went down to get in the bus and went to Tropicana Casino to pee. An hour later, we went back to the bus, and now we're riding towards LA. So yeah, we're going back to Lincoln Hotel Plaza to rest up for the big day tomorrow. But I'm getting way ahead of myself now because we're still in the bus, watching Live Free and Die Hard. So for now, I leave you... that is after I charge this thing.