Day 2 began before the crack of dawn. We were out when the sky was still dark and the streets rather empty. There were homeless people walking around, carrying their big bags over their shoulders seated at the bus stop right in front of our lodge.
Inside the Metro was filled with less than five people (excluding us) who I assumed were on their way to work. No one on the train was dressed in suits or dress suits. They looked rugged in their jeans and t-shirt. Their hands looked rough like they fit doing jobs for the tough people.
Z and I got off the Metro and began our walk along an extremely dark street. I was terrified of being mugged what with almost a thousand US dollars in my pocket and DLSR. If we get mugged, all those will surely be taken. Unless Z can fight them off.
See, I'VE NOT GONE SHOPPING YET! Can you imagine the how scary that is.
God protected us all and alhamdullilah, we got to the bus station safe with all our belongings with us. In fact, god protected us all throughout the holiday because today, we went to a third world country. When someone say third world country you always think THIEF, RAPIST, MURDERER.
We took a Greyhound bus to San Diego. It wasn't the best and cleanest bus but Greyhound is known all over U.S of A. We felt safe in it, at least I was. That safe feeling didn't last long. My heart began pounding like mad I was afraid to close my eyes and sleep.
I almost shat in my pants when Z told me a young 20-something year old man was murdered on board a Greyhound bus. A Chinese China boy went berserk, took a knife out and stabbed that poor young man...IN THE CHEST!
I was afraid to sleep but waking up at 4 am with little sleep the night before didn't take me too long to doze into a deeeeeeep sleep. Even if someone were to stab me, I wouldn't have noticed. Heck, even if a bomb goes off, I would only know of my death after dying.
Two hours of sleep later, we arrived to San Diego. The name itself, like Los Angeles, San Francisco goes to show these places were all once Mexico's. Now, it belongs to United States.
WELCOME TO SAN DIEGO!
We we both starving upon reaching San Diego and the only shop we saw open was Wendy's across the street from the bus station. So, Wendy's it was. We ordered, what else if not fish burger. That was what we had for the whole week we were there. Seafood.
The first day we arrived, Z bought pad thai from a Thai restaurant two shops away from our lodge. He came back telling me, it was either seafood, beef, chicken or pork pad thai. Instantly, I loss my appetite.
THEY WOULD HAVE USED THE SAME WOK TO MAKE PORK PAD THAI. How to tak hilang selera. Ew. Threw everything away.
For the rest of the week, I didn't go to any places that sold pork.
Z was like, "Even if they use the same wok to cook pork. What about their other meat? It's not Halal."
Well honey, it's not halal but at least I still consume them back home. It not appetizing seeing someone else eat pork what more eating something that's been cooked on the same wok that pork was once cooked.
I wonder if one day everything cease to exist and only pork is left, would I take it? Gosh, I think I'd rather eat the fats off my bum and be a cannibal. Or eat grass.
After brunch at San Diego, we made our way to Mexicoach bus station that was to take us to Mexico! *shakes maracas* Are maracas a Mexican thing? Lol. *ariba ariba andre andre*
We drove to San Ysidro and within minutes we were in MEXICO baby!
I wanted to bring my jacket along to Mexico then decided to leave it behind. I said to Z, "People say Mexico is hot." Then Z was, "Mexico is right next to California and it's cold in L.A., you sure it's going to be hot there?" So I was like, "Oh ya." Yet, I still left the jacket behind.
So when we reached Mexico, we were both like, omg it's next to California where it's so cold and it's warm in Mexico. It wasn't Singapore hot. Mexico was like being in a shopping mall with the aircon running nicely you don't need jackets, except with sun shining on us.
Before we began shopping, we dropped by Burger King to use the washroom because someone did NUMBER TWO. Their restrooms were meant for customers ONLY so, I order their Hershey's ice-cream cake, same one sold at BK here.
The lady behind the counter spoke Spanish only so we had to point out to her what we wanted. She pointed towards the item and Z nodded, "yes, yes!" he said. A few minutes of waiting, the lady came out with DOUBLE SCOOPS of Vanilla Ice-Cream.
Over there they've Single ice-cream or Double ice-cream. Like the ones at McDonalds where they'll use the machine. Instead of the norm, they double the amount.
I WANTED CAKE! THEY CAME OUT WITH ICE-CREAM. I was a little annoyed, but still enjoyed my creamy ice-cream nonetheless.
Streets of Mexico
We went to one shop after another. Bought a lot of those typical Mexican dresses for the little ones. Of coz not for me. It'll look hideous on myself. No one but only young children can carry off their dresses without looking buang tebiat.
Z did some serious bargaining there. He bargained on the dresses from 30 USD to 7 USD. One was 20 USD to 4 USD. Another was a necklace that wasn't worth paying for 10 USD. So I told him, I will get two for 10 USD.
So, he said to this two Mexicans who were attending to us, "You know, in India where we come from, these things are cheap." Now, it has got me thinking, "Then why are we buying it in Mexico? Buy in India la!" Aren't I right?
Anyway, after the whole we-come-from-India story, the lady boss agreed to sell us two of the necklaces for 10 USD. One will be given to Ili, my best friend from Primary School, the other was given to MIL.
Don't worry my THREE MUSKETEERS, I got something for you guys too.
Some of the things they sell there
Police car in Mexico. Someone said their police officers are like Malaysian police officers. Mintak rasuah (did I spell this right? Wait, it that even the right word? I think it is).
Extremely dirty donkeys they kept asking us to take a picture with. One, they are EXTREMELY dirty. Two, donkeys are nothing special for us. We see them all the time at the zoo. Three, THEY ARE SERIOUSLY EXTREMELY FILTHY.
Why anyone would want to take a picture with those animals would be beyond me. They could at least wash those poor animals and groom them nicely. Some of the donkey have even been painted black and white stripes on them to pretend to be zebras.
TALK ABOUT IDENTITY CRISIS.
Z was like, "Eh! They painted the donkeys." So I was like, "Ya, zebras got longer mouth." Zebras are bigger in size too. At first I thought they were simply very dirty zebras who haven't been showered for months thus making it look 'hairy'.
Zebras are not THAT hairy, like a donkey's hairy self.
Sorry I look so dark, I'm really not that terribly dark. Tan, but not that dark you can't see my face. I edited the pictures coz I wanted that FEEL, that LOOK to my pictures. So I edited them to look like a not-so-extreme lomo picture.
Me along the streets of Mexico
N and Papa by the streets of Mexico
Hi, it's me again!
Picture I snapped while on the bus, on the way back from Mexico to enter United States back again.
Speaking of ON the bus. A girl in school once corrected me saying that I used the wrong word and it should be IN the bus and not ON the bus. I was sure on the bus was right but I never thought of checking it. I checked it out, I was right and so was that girl.
Another random shot while on the moving bus
Last picture I took before we got down on the bus and went through customs
I didn't take many pictures in Mexico because I'd give away the obvious that I am a tourist. Z was like, "Keep it quick. People are watching. You know over here the people you see aren't the thieves. They're the informer. They inform the actual thief who their targets are."
So, in my bag the camera stayed most of the time. The pictures above are those taken at the shopping district where it's filled with tourist, so it felt safer over there.
By the way, throughout the entire time we were there, everyone spoke to Z in Spanish. I warned him everyone was going to speak to him in Spanish. My husband can pass off as being one of them!
Shop owners would approach him and start speaking in Spanish, not that they don't know English because when they found out that Z doesn't know Spanish, they'd speak to us in English.
To confirm it, someone at the Metro approached him and began asking him something in Spanish. Haha! It was hilarious. One Mexican lady said even I can pass off as a Mexican.
Z though, 100% Mexican. My hijab gives off the obvious. The Mexicans are Christians (or I think Catholics coz they've crosses with Jesus on it). One person even asked him, "So you married a Muslim?"
It was entertaining.
We didn't spend much time in Mexico but at least I can say I have been there. We got back to San Diego with a couple of hours to spare before we have to catch to bus back to Los Angeles. Z read online about San Diego Old Town that was only a few trolley (theirs aren't trains, they're trolley like the ones seen in San Francisco except they don't go up hill like SF) stations away.
Old Town San Diego
Nice looking fences
Nice? A picture of a flower I took, with a picture of a large tree in the shadows. I think it looks rather neat.
Boot and Shoe shop
Looks old and cool. Something you can't find in Singapore.
Saloon & Cigars
At Old Town San Diego
See, I am not that dark. I'm more...erm, yellow. Ok lah, yellow is my elder sister. She's 100% like my Chinese grandmother. Skin tone, flat face...flat butt.
Mexican lady selling Tortilla
We say Tortilla as Tor-Till-La. They say Tortilla as Tor-Tee-Yah. The right way? Of coz the way the Mexican lady had said it. It's HER language. Like the Chinese people saying TERBALIK as TOMBALIK. I get so annoyed when they say it that way.
If you wanna use someone else's language at least try to say it right. We don't say tortilla right because we pronounce it literally as how it's spelled. Like do you say Scarlett Johansson as Scarlett YO-hansson coz that's how you pronounce it. We don't coz it's a J-O.
TOM and TER are so different.
Nothing special about this shop except the story that goes with this shot.
I had my DSLR in my hand looking through the view finder to snap a picture of that place. Cars passed by making it look real ugly with a car smacked in the middle of the picture, covering up the entrance of the shop and also my plans of taking the place as a whole.
From the side of the road I was at, a car that was moving STOPPED FOR ME WHEN HE SAW I WAS TAKING A PICTURE. Things that will only happen in places like this. A lot of people would stop for us in the middle of a road so that we could cross.
Then I saw, there was actually a stop sign. Lol. Still, that guy waited till I put my DSLR down. He did stop for me. He stopped a distance of at least one car behind the stop line because if he moved, I can't take a nice picture. As he drove past, I smiled to show my appreciation.
Looked small on the picture, but came out as big as my fist. My fist, it's huge I tell you! (coz I got a big heart. Chet! Tak malu.) Bought Cookie Crumb Yum and yes yes, it was YUM! Mildly soft cookie with vanilla and cookie ice cream with oreo along the sides.
Newspaper company
Above was the last picture I took before we ran to catch the trolley that would take us to the bus station. We weren't sure if we'd make it on time, and we did. We made it half an hour before we boarded the bus back to Los Angeles.
Another 2 hours bus ride back home, we reached Los Angeles at 9pm. Too tired to go anywhere else, we headed back to the lodge.
Things you learn to learn as a frequent traveller. There was a microwave provided in our room at the lodge but microwave would dry up our tortillas, (we bought strawberry, chocolate and cinnamon tortilla) so Z taught me the trick to heat up food.
I tell you, it worked! The tortillas were pipping hot! I chugged down both cinnamon tortilla because my husband's sweet like that. The strawberry and chocolate didn't taste good so he sacrificed the cinnamon for me and ate the not-so-fantastic ones. [N took strawberry, he took Chocolate. Both taste equally awful.]
Actually, it's his fault. I ordered cinnamon for myself, he decided on chocolate instead. The one time my choice of food is better than his.
Well, he would still have done what I said he did if I had ordered chocolate instead. Marrying an old man who feels, every day, like it's a miracle to get a girl (so young, I assume) like me (so better treat her like a princess), sure has its perks.
That was it for Day #2. Till tomorrow, I'll bring you LIVE to Disneyland. The original one that was set up by Walt Disney himself.
Walt...always found it an interesting name.
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