The US Trip: Las Vegas And The Way Home

Ghost and two episodes of Friends—that's what it takes for me to get through the flight from Chicago to Las Vegas. The last destination of our US trip had the most extreme weather. If breezy San Francisco was the coldest, the wind in Vegas felt like a heat wave. The moment I exited the airport, I could feel the burning air every time I took a breath. 

The weather was unusually hot for me, but I was too excited to care. With its incredibly bright neon lights, ridiculously over-the-top buildings, and the wild party atmosphere, I suddenly understood why Vegas's nickname is Sin City. You just couldn't ignore its magnetic charm and electric presence—the first sight of Vegas at night was unlike anything I'd seen before. I was so much in awe that I couldn't help looking around, taking it all in the moment I began my walk from the Flamingo to the Hard Rock Cafe. 

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas.

Susana Any had left the US the night before. Endrico, Taty, and Surianto, who began their bus ride in the morning, had arrived in Vegas earlier than I had. We were supposed to meet for dinner at Panda Express near Walgreens. However, it turned out that there are multiple Walgreens locations in Vegas, and from where I stood, I couldn't see a Panda Express anywhere—so I had my dinner at Hard Rock Cafe instead. We eventually met up there, and after dinner, of course, I had to pick up a t-shirt or two.

The proper holiday in Las Vegas began the next morning at McDonald's. I missed McGriddles, and since the menu in Singapore didn't have bacon, I absolutely had to order one. We went to the Venetian after breakfast and, true to its name, it had the look and feel of its counterpart in Macau. We returned to Flamingo as we made our way to the Sphere, only to be told by the hotel staff we had to go back the way we came. And in a typical reaction that could only come from Endrico, our Captain America, he said, "but it looked like it was this way from our hotel room window!"

Endrico and Surianto, looking excited at the Sphere.

The Sphere was really an iconic building—it looked like a massive, glowing orb from afar. I didn't have any idea what to expect, and from where I sat, I thought I was going to be watching a live performance of the Wizard of Oz. It turned out to be a gigantic, high-definition screening of the Judy Garland movie in all its 4D glory. Oh yes, we had apples and leaves raining down on us, but the most impressive part was definitely the tornado! The wind was blowing furiously right in my face! 

Next stop was Fremont Street Experience. It was a walking street with a canopy and since this was in Vegas, the canopy was actually an LED screen stretched all the way along the street. But in essence, it was still just a roof covering the street. I told Endrico that if we shared this to our group chat, the naysayers would simply dismiss it as something that looked just like the walking street in Pasar Baroe, Jakarta. Any comparison would do for them, as long as it allowed them to say something to tip the scale!

Early dinner with Kelly.

We hadn't eaten lunch and therefore went for early dinner at the Fremont Food Hall inside the casino. We ordered together and we needed to give a name so that the Tomo Noodles attendant could call us once the food was ready. I went by Anthony, and Endrico used his surname, Richard, but much to our surprise, Taty became Kelly. We could only grin upon hearing that. Didn't see that coming!

After the meal, we had a bit of a trek to our last attraction. The longer we walked, the less it looked like Vegas, until it eventually turned into a dingy outskirt. And the Neon Museum only opened at 8 PM, so we had to sit outside until sunset (yes, the US had a longer daylight hours in the summer) and breathe in the hot air. No mucus or wet boogers while we were in Vegas, I could tell you this much! The museum itself was like a boneyard of neon lights, so after the old Hard Rock cafe guitar sign and doing one round of sightseeing, we were pretty much done here.

At the Neon Museum. 

The real adventure began the next day. We walked to Paris Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, boarded our Max Tour van, left Nevada, passed through Utah before reaching Arizona about four hours later. Prior to visiting Antelope Canyon, we stopped to see the Glen Canyon Dam. It was my first-ever US dam, and it was so massive that I found it to be an engineering marvel! And the craziest thing about the desert area in Arizona was that it was so spacious that the sky would meet the ground everywhere I looked!

Now, about Antelope Canyon. When cornered about visiting a certain place abroad, my friend Jimmy often said that Indonesia also had something similar, or that just watching it on YouTube would do. But, this Antelope Canyon—it was so surreal and unique that you couldn't find anything like it in Indonesia, and you had to be there to truly appreciate it. When I checked, AI told me the closest match in Indonesia was Arosbaya, but based on my visit to Madura back in 2019, the experience was totally different. To make it more interesting, because it was raining while we were inside, we were surprised by the sandy raindrops!

Exploring the Antelope Canyon.

Horseshoe Bend was next, and it was an amazing landscape to behold. The absolute magnitude of it! Even a city person like me who dislikes nature had to stop and admire it for a while. The last bit, not very far from there, was Lake Powell. The lake itself wasn't much of a view, but it was mind-blowing to be in the middle of such a vast, barren land. It was a desert as far as the eye could see! And for the umpteenth time, Endrico came up and said to me again that it was no wonder stranded people hitched a ride. It would be impossible to walk to the nearest town!

It was already late at night when we were dropped off at Paris Las Vegas again, so our next adventure began the next morning: exploring Chinatown. It was quiet, nothing like a bustling Chinese district in San Francisco. After our breakfast at Taiwan Deli and morning coffee at Lee's Sandwiches, we took an Uber to the famous Las Vegas sign. Yes, we finally had our proper welcome on the penultimate day of our visit. We took our pictures and walked towards Mandalay Bay under the hot sun. If we didn't understand the concept of dry heat and humidity before, we surely learnt our lesson now.

Welcome to Las Vegas. Finally!

Mandalay Bay was the first out of three connected buildings we visited. We took the tram to Excalibur and walked back to Luxor, where we tried our luck on the slot machines. While the machine showed us winning, apparently what we won wasn't enough to cover our bet, not to mention our losses. By the time I cashed out, I left with a grand total of 38 cents.

It was also there at Luxor that I saw an email saying that our show tickets had been canceled. We headed to the box office at Mandalay Bay to sort out the tickets for Michael Jackson ONE. Soon after that, Endrico returned to the Flamingo, partially because he needed to repurchase the tickets for our second show of the night. On top of that, since he wasn't joining us for Cirque du Soleil, he could sit at a blackjack table peacefully.

While waiting for Michael Jackson ONE to begin.

I'd love to go to Cirque's The Beatles LOVE, but the show had ended quite some time ago, so Michael Jackson ONE would have to do. But the performance certainly didn't disappoint. It was brilliant to see the modern interpretation of MJ's songs. My favorite part was Billie Jean—a classic Motown 25 performance segued with neon lights that created a flashing optic illusion. Now that was funky!

The next show we had for the night was X Burlesque, championed by Endrico. He was already there in line, queueing for general admission. It was a topless show featuring plenty of stripping and pole dancing. There was a bit of stand-up comedy by Nancy Ryan during the opening and intermission, too. She was quite funny, especially the part where she understood the Nepalese audience member's English better than her fellow Americans from St. Louis! But of course since this was a topless show, by the time it ended, we were busy swapping stories about who had the nicest pair of boobs.

The photo at Denny's.

We stayed late in our hotel room on the following day because we were supposed to check out by 11 AM at the latest. We dropped our luggage at the concierge and went for brunch, this time at Denny's. It was truly an American breakfast. As far as I'm concerned, it was the only time we ever ordered a T-bone steak for breakfast. After that we went to the casino for me to say goodbye to USD 40 on the blackjack and roulette machines.

It was kind of hard to sustain my interest in gambling since I kept losing, so I decided that perhaps we should watch the newly released Supergirl movie instead. We hopped on our ride at Caesars Palace and headed to Cinemark. Tickets were cheaper than the AMC in San Francisco but the seats were equally comfortable, so true to my track record, I fell asleep again! But Taty was prepared this time and she nudged me so I didn't miss the entire movie.

At Harry Reid International Airport.

We returned to Flamingo, and I ordered a margarita at the Purple Zebra. Endrico joined us there and lost his USD 5 real quick one last time to a blackjack machine embedded in the tabletop. That was it for gambling, and we left for the airport. But it would be another two hours of waiting before we could finally check in. And the lounge on the airside, it was packed like sardines!

Eventually we boarded the 13-hour flight to South Korea. The longest ever for me to date, but it wasn't that bad because I could actually sleep. Unlike the time we crossed the International Date Line to San Francisco and experienced the longest Saturday, we flew out on Friday and arrived on Sunday this time. For the first time in my life, I literally time-jumped and skipped a Saturday!

At Unseo Station.

We landed and were in the immigration queue again around the same time as the previous transit, so it almost felt like déjà vu. But instead of Seoul, we visited Unseo this time. It was a small town just three stops away from Terminal 2. We began our day with the delicious pork bone soup at Chamdeul Bone Haejangguk, followed by coffee and donuts at Cupnut after exploring the town. We did some quick shopping at Olive Young, and returned to the airport for our flight back to Singapore. And I could feel it. The moment the airplane's wheels touched Changi's runway, the US Trip was finally over.

Epilogue: How about the jet lag? Well, it was San Francisco all over again—I just suddenly woke up at 4 AM! So here you go, the last two paragraphs of this blog post, written on my BlackBerry Classic before sunrise!

Liburan Ke AS: Las Vegas Dan Kembali Ke Asia

Ghost dan dua episode Friends—itulah yang saya butuhkan untuk melewati penerbangan dari Chicago ke Las Vegas. Destinasi terakhir dari perjalanan kami di AS ini memiliki cuaca yang paling ekstrim. Jika San Francisco yang berangin adalah yang terdingin, angin di Vegas terasa seperti gelombang panas. Begitu keluar dari bandara, saya bisa merasakan udara yang membakar setiap kali menarik napas.

Cuacanya luar biasa panas bagi saya, tetapi saya terlalu bersemangat untuk peduli. Dengan lampu-lampu neonnya yang luar biasa terang, gedung-gedungnya yang sangat megah dan berlebihan, serta atmosfer pesta yang liar, saya tiba-tiba paham mengapa Vegas dijuluki Sin City. Anda tidak bisa mengabaikan pesonanya yang magnetis dan suasananya yang elektrik—pemandangan pertama Vegas di malam hari sungguh berbeda dari apa pun yang pernah saya lihat sebelumnya. Saya begitu kagum sampai tidak bisa berhenti menoleh ke sana kemari, menikmati semuanya begitu saya mulai berjalan kaki dari Flamingo menuju Hard Rock Cafe.

Makan malam Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas.

Susana Any sudah meninggalkan AS malam sebelumnya. Endrico, Taty, dan Surianto, yang memulai perjalanan bus mereka di pagi hari, tiba di Vegas lebih awal daripada saya. Kami seharusnya bertemu untuk makan malam di Panda Express dekat Walgreens. Namun, ternyata ada banyak lokasi Walgreens di Vegas, dan dari tempat saya berdiri, saya tidak melihat Panda Express di mana pun—jadi akhirnya saya makan malam di Hard Rock Cafe saja. Kami akhirnya bertemu di sana, dan setelah makan malam, tentu saja, saya harus membeli satu atau dua baju kaus.

Liburan yang sebenarnya di Las Vegas dimulai keesokan paginya di McDonald's. Saya rindu McGriddles, dan karena menu di Singapore tidak ada bacon, saya harus mencobanya di sini. Kami pergi ke Venetian setelah sarapan dan, sesuai namanya, tempat ini memiliki tampilan dan nuansa yang persis seperti kembarannya di Macau. Kami kembali ke Flamingo untuk menuju ke Sphere, namun lantas diberitahukan oleh staf hotel bahwa kami harus kembali lewat jalan saat kami datang tadi. Dan dalam reaksi khas yang hanya bisa dicetuskan oleh Endrico, sang Captain America kami, dia berkata, "Tapi dari jendela kamar hotel kita kelihatannya seperti lewat sini!"

Endrico dan Surianto terlihat girang di Sphere.

The Sphere benar-benar bangunan yang ikonik dan terlihat seperti bola raksasa yang menyala dari kejauhan. Saya sama sekali tidak tahu apa yang saya nantikan, dan dari tempat saya duduk, saya mengira akan menonton pertunjukan langsung The Wizard of Oz di atas panggung. Ternyata itu adalah penayangan film Judy Garland dalam definisi tinggi yang luar biasa besar dalam kejayaan 4D. Oh ya, ada apel dan daun-daun berjatuhan di atas kami, tetapi bagian yang paling mengesankan pastinya adalah angin puting beliungnya! Angin bertiup kencang menerpa wajah saya!

Perhentian berikutnya adalah Fremont Street Experience. Ini adalah jalan layang khusus pejalan kaki dengan kanopi, dan karena ini di Vegas, kanopinya sebenarnya adalah layar LED yang membentang di sepanjang jalan. Namun pada intinya, itu tetap saja sebuah atap yang menutupi jalan. Teringat dengan grup SMA, saya lantas berujar pada Endrico, kalau kita membagikan ini ke grup, pasti akan akan muncul komentar kalau suasananya mirip sekali dengan jalan pejalan kaki di Pasar Baroe, Jakarta. Perbandingan apa saja akan mereka pakai, pokoknya asal ada!

Makan bersama Kelly.

Karena belum sempat makan siang, kami memutuskan untuk bersantap malam lebih awal di Fremont Food Hall di dalam kasino. Kami memesan bersama dan harus memberikan nama agar pelayan Tomo Noodles bisa memanggil kami setelah makanannya siap. Saya memakai nama Anthony, dan Endrico menggunakan nama belakangnya, Richard, tetapi yang membuat kami sangat terkejut, Taty berubah menjadi Kelly. Kami hanya bisa tersenyum lebar mendengar hal itu. Taty bisa jadi Kelly!

Setelah makan, kami harus berjalan agak jauh ke atraksi terakhir kami. Semakin jauh kami berjalan, suasananya semakin tidak terlihat seperti Vegas, dan akhirnya berubah menjadi kawasan pinggiran yang agak kumuh. Dan Neon Museum baru buka jam delapan malam, jadi kami harus duduk di luar sampai matahari terbenam (ya, AS memiliki waktu siang hari yang lebih panjang di musim panas) dan menghirup udara panas. Tidak ada ingus atau kotoran hidung yang basah selama kami di Vegas, saya bisa memastikan hal ini kepada Anda! Museum itu sendiri seperti tempat pembuangan lampu-lampu neon tua, jadi setelah melihat papan gitar Hard Rock Cafe yang lama dan melakukan satu putaran melihat-lihat, kami pun selesai di sini.

Di Museum Neon. 

Petualangan yang sesungguhnya dimulai keesokan harinya. Kami berjalan ke Paris Las Vegas di Las Vegas Strip, naik mobil van Max Tour kami, meninggalkan Nevada, melewati Utah sebelum mencapai Arizona sekitar empat jam kemudian. Sebelum mengunjungi Antelope Canyon, kami berhenti untuk melihat Bendungan Glen Canyon. Itu adalah bendungan AS pertama saya, dan ukurannya sangat besar sehingga saya menganggapnya sebagai keajaiban teknik! Dan hal paling gila tentang area gurun di Arizona adalah tempatnya sangat luas sampai-sampai langit terlihat menyatu dengan tanah ke mana pun saya memandang!

Nah, sekarang tentang Antelope Canyon. Ketika disudutkan tentang mengunjungi suatu tempat di luar negeri, teman saya Jimmy biasanya membalas dengan jawaban kalau Indonesia juga punya yang mirip, atau cukup menontonnya di YouTube saja sudah cukup. Tapi, Antelope Canyon ini sangat surealis dan unik sehingga Anda tidak akan bisa menemukan yang seperti ini di Indonesia, dan Anda harus berada di sana untuk benar-benar mengapresiasinya. Ketika saya bertanya pada AI, saya mendapatkan jawaban bahwa yang paling mirip di Indonesia adalah Arosbaya. Akan tetapi berdasarkan kunjungan saya ke Madura pada tahun 2019 lalu, pengalamannya sama sekali berbeda. Untuk membuatnya lebih menarik, karena saat itu hujan ketika kami berada di dalam Antelope Canyon, kami dikejutkan oleh butiran air hujan yang berpasir!

Menjelajahi Antelope Canyon.

Horseshoe Bend adalah destinasi berikutnya, dan pemandangan alamnya luar biasa untuk dilihat. Ukurannya benar-benar dahsyat! Bahkan orang kota seperti saya yang tidak menyukai alam pun harus berhenti dan mengaguminya sejenak. Bagian terakhir, tidak jauh dari sana, adalah Danau Powell. Danaunya sendiri tidak terlalu menyajikan banyak pemandangan, tetapi sungguh menakjubkan bisa berada di tengah-tengah tanah yang begitu luas dan tandus. Itu adalah gurun sejauh mata memandang! Dan untuk kesekian kalinya, Endrico menghampiri saya dan berkata lagi bahwa tidak heran orang yang terdampar suka menumpang mobil. Mustahil untuk berjalan kaki ke kota terdekat!

Hari sudah larut malam ketika kami diturunkan di Paris Las Vegas lagi, jadi petualangan kami berikutnya dimulai keesokan paginya: menjelajahi Chinatown. Suasananya sepi, sama sekali tidak seperti distrik Tionghoa yang ramai di San Francisco. Setelah sarapan di Taiwan Deli dan kopi pagi di Lee's Sandwiches, kami naik Uber ke papan nama Las Vegas yang terkenal itu. Ya, kami akhirnya mendapatkan sambutan yang semestinya pada hari kedua terakhir kunjungan kami. Setelah berfoto, kami berjalan menuju Mandalay Bay di bawah terik matahari. Jika kami tidak memahami konsep panas kering (dry heat) dan kelembapan (humidity) sebelumnya, kami benar-benar mendapat pelajarannya sekarang.

Welcome to Las Vegas. Akhirnya!

Mandalay Bay adalah gedung pertama dari tiga bangunan terhubung yang kami kunjungi. Kami naik trem ke Excalibur dan berjalan kembali ke Luxor, di mana kami mengadu peruntungan di mesin slot. Meskipun mesin menunjukkan kami menang, tampaknya apa yang kami menangkan tidak cukup untuk menutup taruhan kami, belum lagi kerugian kami. Pada saat saya mencairkan uang, saya pergi dengan total 38 sen.

Di Luxor itu juga saya melihat email yang mengatakan bahwa tiket pertunjukan kami telah dibatalkan. Kami menuju ke loket tiket di Mandalay Bay untuk mengurus tiket Michael Jackson ONE. Segera setelah itu, Endrico kembali ke Flaming karena dia perlu membeli kembali tiket untuk pertunjukan kedua kami malam itu. Di samping itu, karena dia tidak ikut menonton Cirque du Soleil bersama kami, dia kini bisa duduk di meja blackjack dengan tenang.

Menanti mulainya pertunjukan Michael Jackson ONE to begin

Saya sebenarnya sangat ingin pergi menonton karya Cirque yang berjudul The Beatles LOVE, tetapi pertunjukan itu sudah berakhir beberapa waktu yang lalu, jadi Michael Jackson ONE bolehlah sebagai gantinya. Namun penampilannya tentu saja tidak mengecewakan. Sungguh brilian melihat interpretasi modern dari lagu-lagu MJ. Bagian favorit saya adalah Billie Jean—penampilan klasik ala Motown 25 yang dipadukan dengan lampu neon sehingga menciptakan ilusi optik yang berkedip-kedip. Nah, itu baru funky!

Pertunjukan berikutnya yang kami tonton malam itu adalah X Burlesque, yang direkomendasikan oleh Endrico. Dia sudah berada di sana dalam antrian, mengantri untuk tiket masuk umum. X Burlesque adalah pertunjukan topless dengan banyak tarian telanjang dan pole dancing. Ada sedikit stand-up comedy oleh Nancy Ryan selama pembukaan dan jeda acara juga. Dia cukup lucu, terutama bagian di mana dia memahami bahasa Inggris orang Nepal dengan lebih baik daripada sesama orang Amerika dari St. Louis! Tapi tentu saja karena ini adalah pertunjukan telanjang dada, pada saat acara berakhir, kami sibuk saling bertukar cerita tentang siapa yang memiliki payudara paling indah.

Foto di Denny's.

Keesokan harinya, kami tinggal lama di kamar hotel karena kami seharusnya keluar paling lambat jam 11 siang. Kami menitipkan bagasi kami di penitipan koper dan pergi untuk makan brunch, kali ini di Denny's. Itu benar-benar sarapan ala Amerika. Sepanjang yang saya tahu, itu adalah satu-satunya momen kami pernah memesan steak T-bone untuk sarapan. Setelah itu kami pergi ke kasino agar saya bisa mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada uang sebesar USD 40 di mesin blackjack dan roulette.

Agak sulit untuk mempertahankan minat saya dalam berjudi karena saya kalah terus, jadi saya memutuskan bahwa mungkin kami sebaiknya menonton film Supergirl yang baru dirilis saja sebagai gantinya. Kami naik Uber di Caesars Palace dan lekas menuju ke Cinemark. Tiketnya lebih murah daripada AMC di San Francisco tetapi kursinya sama-sama nyaman, jadi sesuai dengan rekam jejak saya, saya tertidur lagi! Tapi Taty sudah bersiap-siap kali ini dan dia menyenggol saya sehingga saya tidak melewatkan seluruh film.

Di Bandara Internasional Harry Reid.

Kami kembali ke Flamingo, dan saya memesan margarita di Purple Zebra. Endrico bergabung dengan kami di sana dan kehilangan USD 5 miliknya dengan sangat cepat untuk terakhir kalinya di mesin blackjack yang tertanam di atas meja bar. Selesai sudah urusan perjudian dan kami pun berangkat ke bandara. Namun kami masih harus menunggu dua jam lagi sebelum akhirnya bisa check-in. Dan ruang tunggu lounge di sisi airside, suasananya padat seperti ikan sarden yang berjejer!

Akhirnya kami naik penerbangan 13 jam ke Korea Selatan. Penerbangan terlama bagi saya hingga saat ini, tetapi tidak terlalu buruk karena saya bisa tidur. Berbeda dengan saat kami melewati Batas Penanggalan Internasional ke San Francisco dan mengalami hari Sabtu terpanjang, kami terbang pada hari Jumat dan tiba pada hari Minggu kali ini. Untuk pertama kalinya dalam hidup saya, saya benar-benar melompati waktu (time-jump) dan melewatkan hari Sabtu!

Di Stasiun Unseo.

Kami mendarat dan berada di antrean imigrasi lagi sekitar waktu yang sama dengan transit sebelumnya, jadi rasanya hampir seperti déjà vu. Namun alih-alih Seoul, kami mengunjungi Unseo kali ini. Itu adalah sebuah kota kecil yang berjarak hanya tiga pemberhentian dari Terminal 2. Kami memulai hari kami dengan sup tulang babi yang lezat di Chamdeul Bone Haejangguk, diikuti dengan kopi plus donat di Cupnut setelah menjelajahi kota. Kami melakukan belanja cepat di Olive Young, dan kembali ke bandara untuk penerbangan pulang ke Singapura. Dan saya bisa merasakannya. Saat roda pesawat menyentuh landasan pacu Changi, Perjalanan AS akhirnya benar-benar berakhir.

Epilog: Tapi bagaimana dengan jet lag-nya? Yah, rasanya seperti di San Francisco lagi—saya tiba-tiba terbangun jam 4 pagi! Alhasil dua paragraf terakhir dari postingan blog ini, ditulis di BlackBerry Classic saya sebelum matahari terbit!

The US Trip: Los Angeles and Chicago

First things first, LAX is huge! We even needed to take a shuttle bus just to get to the pickup spot for Uber and Lyft. It was quite a long ride from the airport to Koreatown, and it wouldn't be an Airbnb experience if we didn't spend time looking for the place with a funky name like Glamorous KTown Boutique Residences with Rooftop View. Our unit was quite nice, though. Most importantly, it provided a washing machine and a dryer because I surely needed those!

At LAX-it.

We went for a late lunch at Ocha Classic, which served us the brilliant Thai/Chinese cuisine. The food was so good that we returned to the restaurant again for dinner the following night. The fried rice and eggplant were great! After lunch, we went to El Super, the Hispanic supermarket across the street. That's where I saw Coors Banquet—the iconic beer drunk by Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai. Of course, I had to get a six-pack of those tubby bottles!

We returned to our Airbnb so I could wash my clothes, and we eventually went to MaDang Courtyard for dinner. Since many shops in LA close at 8 PM, MaDang Courtyard was a great exception. Because we were in Koreatown, we tried the Korean boneless fried chicken at Pelicana Chicken. It was quite tasty. 

The quiet train platform.

After that, since Endrico is our Captain America, he decided we should try the metro. It turned out to be a rather spooky experience. Two people tailgated right behind Endrico and me when we tapped our cards to enter the fare gate. Then, the waiting time for the train was a staggering 15 minutes, exactly as shown on the screen. It was hard to believe; it wouldn't take that long in other countries. Officers were seen on the train, and one of them informed us that the door in front of me wouldn't open. To top it off, the Wilshire/Vermont Station, where we alighted, was rundown, and the exit fare gates didn't even work when we tapped out!

The walk back to our Airbnb offered a glimpse of LA at night. One thing that was similar to San Francisco was that we could see homeless people on almost every street corner. The sight somehow reminded me of Perth, where I saw a large homeless Australian who stood his ground when he was confronted by two uniformed officers. Interestingly, I didn't notice any homeless people in Chicago, and the city was very clean, too. But more on that later. 

The Hollywood sign!

The next morning, all of us except Endrico went to Lake Hollywood Park. Endrico had another appointment with his cousin or something, so he couldn't join us that morning. Now, I might have mistaken 'park' for 'garden', hence the mismatched expectation. Lake Hollywood Park was just a tiny patch of grassy land with a vantage point to see the Hollywood sign on the hill. So when I first arrived, I was surprised because I was expecting something bigger, like a botanical garden. It didn't take long for us to look around. We just took some pictures, and off we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame looked less fancy in real life. It was just stars embedded in a rather narrow, crowded pavement. We shopped quickly at the Hard Rock Cafe, reading the names before stepping on the stars we wanted and taking pictures. After that, we headed to La Popular at Ovation Hollywood for Mexican food. It was different, but delicious. I told Endrico later that night about how we seemed to struggle through our Mexican meal, but ate incredibly fast when it came to Chinese food. 

Having coffee at Ovation Hollywood.

Endrico rejoined us at Ovation Hollywood while Surianto and I were having our lunchtime coffee. He went into Victoria's Secret with Susana and shopped, and afterwards, they headed back to the Airbnb since they had quite a few shopping bags in tow. As for the rest of us, we headed to the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. It was fascinating—my first time seeing a museum dedicated entirely to megafauna. The Columbian Mammoth was absolutely huge!

When I was at Ovation Hollywood, my friend Vivi suggested that I check out Urban Light. The tourist attraction is located near the La Brea Tar Pits. We saw it when we walked towards the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The best part of our second museum of the day? Marilyn Monroe. Her expression, even when she wasn't smiling, was so genuine—an everlasting beauty.

Passing Beverly Hills, heading to Sunset Strip.

Now, the thing with LA was that it wasn't what I expected it to be. Rodeo Drive was another hit-or-miss experience; I was expecting something like Orchard Road, but it fell short. Then Beverly Hills—which we vaguely knew from the TV series 90210—turned out to be a residential area. The last place, Sunset Strip, wasn't exactly a bustling point of interest either. That was the moment I realized I wasn't sure how to feel about LA anymore.

Luckily for me, I was visiting Chicago the next day, so it was bye-bye LA. After a four-hour flight, I arrived in a sunny city. The weather was nice, and the hosts were even nicer. Kenji and Vivi picked me up. First stop, the newly opened Barack Obama Presidential Center. Yes, it had just opened on June 18, exactly one day before my arrival. We didn't get tickets to go inside, but it was still great to be there. Kenji pointed out that this is the South Side of Chicago, hence the demographics looked different and were predominantly Black. 

At Barack Obama Presidential Center.

From there, we headed to the Original Triple Crown in Chinatown for an early dinner. I surely didn't mind this, since I didn't manage to eat lunch, haha. Much to my surprise, Vivi ordered eggplant, too. Now, I have to let you know that back when I was living with my auntie in Pontianak, I didn't like eggplant because it was always too gooey. But I started to appreciate it after frequenting Dong Fang Mei Shi Fan Dian in Singapore. After this trip, eggplant is surely a dish I will be ordering myself from now on!

Before they dropped me off at the hotel, we explored the Chicago Riverwalk. It somehow reminded me of Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, though naturally, there were more White people here. I really liked how elegant everyone looked, even when dressed casually. The vibe of the Chicago Riverwalk was brilliant, too; it revealed the full glory of the city. It felt like an American metropolis with towering high-rises, including the Trump Tower. Standing there, I could almost visualize New York City and Spider-Man swinging between the buildings!

Trump Tower!

The proper tour started the following day. It began with a dim sum breakfast at MingHin Cuisine. The portions were unbelievable; I jokingly told Vivi that they could have fed 5,000 people. The fried rice was good, too—it simply can't go wrong when fried with salted fish. 

After brunch, we went to Navy Pier for a walk. It is a beautiful place where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan, and it was incredibly windy. From that point onwards, being the wonderful host that she is, Vivi kept telling me to take pictures here and there because the backdrops were so iconic. It was probably the only time I have posed and had my picture taken so frequently in a single day! 

At Starbucks.

From Navy Pier, we went to the Harry Potter Shop Chicago. I just found it weird to buy anything there because Harry is supposed to be from the UK. Instead, we walked to a building she proudly introduced as the biggest Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the world. I certainly could use a cup of Americano, so we stayed there for a while.

Then we went to Coach for a quick shopping trip before taking the yellow water taxi that cruised along the Chicago River. The view was splendid; it revealed Chicago in its full glory, looking so beautiful on that bright, sunny day. We alighted at Chinatown, and then continued our journey by car. Our next stop was the Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana. I thought it was cool, but you know what was cooler? A last-minute destination: Michael Jackson's Boyhood Home.

At Michael's house. 

It was pretty surreal. The neighborhood was... unkempt, to say the least, with many overgrown lawns. Michael's house was right at the end of the road and gated, unlike the other houses. Still, it was impressive to see it with my own eyes. You couldn't help but feel that even the King of Pop had a humble beginning. At the same time, I was enamored by how he made it from this tiny house to the world stage. Life isn't about where you are born, but what you do with the talents you have. 

And that concluded our tour for the day, but the journey still continued. We walked a bit to Millennium Park to see the Bean, also known as Cloud Gate. It was beautiful, as you could see a clear reflection of the Chicago skyline in the evening. There was a fast-food restaurant called Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers across the street and we had our dinner there. The iced tea was almost as good as Sosro Tea, hehe. Once we finished dining, we wrapped up our tour at the Chicago Theatre. Why did we go there? Because the neon lights, according to my host, are iconic, haha.

The Chicago Theatre.

The following day it rained the whole time, but it suited me just fine. Kenji drove me all the way to Rockford and blasted music from his playlist. Since we are from the same generation, the ride was pretty much a nonstop sing-along, featuring the Scorpions, Culture Club, and many more.  

Rockford was quite far, actually. We spent about four hours on the road, and it was close to evening when we returned to the city, so Kenji brought me to Garuda Restaurant. The menu looked good, but of course I had to try the fried rice! Even though it was priced in USD, it still tasted like authentic Indonesian food! 

With Kenji, probably the best host in Chicago!

And that was the first and last proper meal of the day. On our way back to my hotel, Kenji showed me the Gold Coast, the elite area of Chicago. But because it was raining, there wasn't much we could do, so that was it for the two-day Chicago tour. Both Vivi and Kenji were brilliant. A big shout-out to them for their incredible hospitality!

My last day in Chicago started slow, which gave me time to write this—again on my trusted BlackBerry Classic. We had brunch at Qiao Lin Hotpot and then headed to O'Hare International Airport. Just like LAX, it was functional but not impressive. I'm seriously thinking of writing about all the airports I have been to, but for now, it's time to rejoin the team in Las Vegas!

Team SG. They reached Las Vegas earlier than me.

Liburan ke AS: Los Angeles dan Chicago 

Pertama-tama, perlu diketahui bahwa LAX itu sangat besar dan luas! Kami bahkan harus naik bus shuttle cuma untuk sampai ke tempat penjemputan Uber dan Lyft. Perjalanan dari bandara ke Koreatown lumayan jauh, dan rasanya belum jadi pengalaman Airbnb sejati kalau kami tidak menghabiskan waktu mencari tempat dengan nama unik seperti Glamorous KTown Boutique Residences with Rooftop View. Tapi, unit kami lumayan bagus. Yang paling penting, di sana disediakan mesin cuci dan pengering baju karena saya benar-benar membutuhkannya!

Di LAX-it.

​Kami pergi makan siang yang agak kesorean di Ocha Classic, yang menyajikan hidangan Thai/Chinese yang luar biasa. Makanannya enak sekali, sampai-sampai kami kembali lagi ke restoran itu untuk makan malam keesokan harinya. Nasi goreng dan terongnya mantap! Setelah makan siang, kami pergi ke El Super, supermarket Hispanik di seberang jalan. Di sanalah saya melihat Coors Banquet—bir ikonik yang diminum oleh Johnny Lawrence di Cobra Kai. Tentu saja, saya harus beli satu pak isi enam dari botol-botol pendek-gemuk (tubby bottles) itu!

​Kami kembali ke Airbnb supaya saya bisa mencuci baju, dan akhirnya kami pergi ke MaDang Courtyard untuk makan malam. Karena banyak toko di LA tutup jam 8 malam, MaDang Courtyard menjadi pengecualian yang bagus. Selagi berada di Koreatown, kami pun mencoba ayam goreng Korea tanpa tulang di Pelicana Chicken. Rasanya lumayan enak.

Platform kereta yang sepi.

​Setelah itu, karena Endrico adalah "Captain America" kami, dia memutuskan agar kami mencoba naik metro. Ternyata pengalamannya agak menyeramkan. Dua orang membuntuti tepat di belakang saya dan Endrico saat kami menempelkan kartu (tap) untuk masuk gerbang tarif. Lalu, waktu tunggu keretanya luar biasa lama, sampai 15 menit, persis seperti yang tertera di layar. Sulit dipercaya; di negara lain rasanya tidak bakal selama itu. Ada beberapa petugas berdiri di dalam kereta, dan salah satu dari mereka memberi tahu kami bahwa pintu di depan saya tidak bisa terbuka. Parahnya lagi, Stasiun Wilshire/Vermont tempat kami turun kondisinya kumuh, dan gerbang keluar bahkan tidak berfungsi saat kami menempelkan kartu untuk keluar!

​Perjalanan jalan kaki kembali ke Airbnb memberikan sedikit gambaran tentang LA di malam hari. Satu hal yang mirip dengan San Francisco adalah kami bisa melihat tuna wisma (gelandangan) di hampir setiap sudut jalan. Pemandangan itu entah bagaimana mengingatkan saya pada Perth, di mana saya melihat seorang gelandangan Australia berbadan besar yang tetap bergeming saat dikonfrontasi oleh dua petugas berseragam. Menariknya, saya tidak melihat ada tuna wisma di Chicago, dan kotanya juga sangat bersih. Tapi, nanti kita bahas lagi soal itu.

Logo Hollywood di bukit!

​Keesokan paginya, kami semua kecuali Endrico pergi ke Lake Hollywood Park. Endrico ada janji lain dengan sepupunya, jadi dia tidak bisa ikut pagi itu. Nah, saya mungkin salah mengira 'park' (taman kota) sebagai 'garden' (kebun/taman bunga), makanya ekspektasi saya agak meleset. Lake Hollywood Park ternyata cuma sebidang kecil tanah rerumputan dengan titik strategis untuk melihat tulisan Hollywood di atas bukit. Jadi saat pertama kali tiba, saya kaget karena mengira tempatnya bakal lebih besar, seperti kebun raya (botanical garden). Tidak butuh waktu lama bagi kami untuk melihat-lihat sekeliling. Kami cuma mengambil beberapa foto, lalu langsung pergi ke Hollywood Walk of Fame.

​Hollywood Walk of Fame terlihat biasa di kehidupan nyata. Isinya cuma bintang-bintang yang tertanam di trotoar yang agak sempit dan dipadati pengunjung. Kami berbelanja sebentar di Hard Rock Cafe, lantas mulai membaca nama-nama sebelum menginjak bintang yang kami mau dan berfoto. Setelah itu, kami menuju ke La Popular di Ovation Hollywood untuk menyantap makanan Meksiko. Rasanya unik, tapi enak. Malam harinya saya bercerita kepada Endrico tentang bagaimana kami seperti kesulitan menghabiskan makanan Meksiko kami, tapi makan dengan sangat cepat kalau menunya makanan Chinese.

Menikmati kopi di Ovation Hollywood.

​Endrico bergabung kembali dengan kami di Ovation Hollywood saat saya dan Surianto sedang minum kopi siang. Dia masuk ke Victoria's Secret bersama Susana dan berbelanja, dan setelah itu, mereka kembali ke Airbnb karena membawa lumayan banyak kantong belanjaan. Sementara itu, kami bertiga menuju ke La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Tempat itu sangat menarik—ini pertama kalinya saya melihat museum yang didedikasikan sepenuhnya untuk megafauna. Mammoth Kolombia di sana benar-benar besar banget!

​Waktu saya di Ovation Hollywood, teman saya Vivi menyarankan agar saya melihat Urban Light. Tempat wisata ini lokasinya dekat dengan La Brea Tar Pits. Kami melihatnya saat berjalan menuju Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Bagian terbaik dari museum kedua kami hari itu? Marilyn Monroe. Ekspresinya, bahkan saat tidak tersenyum, terasa begitu tulus—sebuah kecantikan yang abadi.

Melewati Beverly Hills saat menuju Sunset Strip.

​Nah, masalah dengan LA adalah kota ini tidak sesuai dengan ekspektasi saya. Rodeo Drive adalah pengalaman yang biasa saja (hit-or-miss); saya mengharapkan sesuatu seperti Orchard Road, tapi ternyata tidak sebanding. Lalu Beverly Hills—yang samar-samar kami ketahui dari serial TV 90210—ternyata cuma kawasan pemukiman. Tempat terakhir, Sunset Strip, juga tidak bisa dibilang sebagai tempat wisata yang ramai. Pada momen itulah saya menyadari bahwa saya tidak tahu lagi harus merasakan apa tentang LA.

​Beruntung bagi saya, Chicago akan menjadi destinasi keesokan harinya, jadi selamat tinggal LA! Setelah penerbangan selama empat jam, saya tiba di kota yang cerah. Cuacanya menyenangkan, dan para tuan rumahnya bahkan lebih menyenangkan lagi. Kenji dan Vivi menjemput saya. Perhentian pertama, Barack Obama Presidential Center yang baru dibuka. Ya, tempat itu baru saja dibuka pada tanggal 18 Juni, tepat satu hari sebelum kedatangan saya. Kami tidak mendapatkan tiket untuk masuk ke dalam, tapi tetap menyenangkan bisa berada di sana. Kenji menunjukkan bahwa ini adalah area South Side di Chicago, makanya demografinya terlihat berbeda dan didominasi oleh warga kulit hitam.

Di Barack Obama Presidential Center.

​Dari sana, kami menuju ke Original Triple Crown di Chinatown untuk makan malam lebih awal. Tentu saja saya tidak keberatan, karena saya tidak sempat makan siang, haha. Yang mengejutkan, Vivi juga memesan terong. Nah, perlu kalian tahu, dulu waktu saya tinggal bersama tante saya di Pontianak, saya tidak suka terong karena teksturnya yang terlalu lembek. Tapi saya mulai bisa menikmatinya setelah sering berkunjung ke Dong Fang Mei Shi Fan Dian di Singapura. Setelah perjalanan ini, terong pastinya menjadi hidangan yang akan selalu saya pesan sendiri mulai sekarang!

​Sebelum mereka mengantarkan saya ke hotel, kami menjelajahi Chicago Riverwalk. Tempat ini entah bagaimana mengingatkan saya pada Boat Quay dan Clarke Quay, meskipun tentu saja, di sini ada lebih banyak orang kulit putih. Saya suka melihat betapa anggunnya penampilan semua orang, bahkan saat berpakaian kasual. Suasana (vibe) di Chicago Riverwalk juga luar biasa; tempat ini memperlihatkan keindahan kota sepenuhnya. Rasanya seperti kota metropolis Amerika dengan gedung-gedung pencakar langit yang menjulang tinggi, termasuk Trump Tower. Berdiri di sana, saya hampir bisa membayangkan Kota New York dan Spider-Man yang sedang berayun di antara gedung-gedung!

Trump Tower!

​Tur yang sebenarnya dimulai keesokan harinya. Diawali dengan sarapan dim sum di MingHin Cuisine. Porsinya luar biasa banyak; saya bercanda kepada Vivi kalau porsi itu bisa memberi makan 5.000 orang. Nasi gorengnya juga enak—pokoknya tidak pernah salah kalau digoreng pakai ikan asin.

​Setelah brunch, kami pergi ke Navy Pier untuk jalan-jalan. Tempatnya indah sekali, di mana Sungai Chicago bertemu dengan Danau Michigan, dan anginnya kencang luar biasa. Sejak saat itu, sebagai tuan rumah yang sangat baik, Vivi terus menyuruh saya mengambil foto di sana-sini karena latar belakangnya yang sangat ikonik. Ini mungkin satu-satunya momen di mana saya berpose dan difoto begitu sering dalam satu hari!

Di Starbucks.

​Dari Navy Pier, kami pergi ke Harry Potter Shop Chicago. Saya cuma merasa aneh kalau beli apa pun di sana karena Harry kan aslinya dari Inggris. Sebagai gantinya, kami berjalan ke sebuah gedung yang dengan bangga dia perkenalkan sebagai Starbucks Reserve Roastery terbesar di dunia. Kebetulan saya memang butuh secangkir Americano, jadi kami tinggal di sana sebentar.

​Kemudian kami pergi ke Coach untuk belanja sebentar sebelum naik taksi air kuning yang menyusuri Sungai Chicago. Pemandangannya luar biasa; memperlihatkan Chicago dalam segala keindahannya, terlihat sangat cantik di hari yang cerah itu. Kami turun di Chinatown, lalu melanjutkan perjalanan dengan mobil. Perhentian kami berikutnya adalah Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana. Menurut saya itu keren, tapi tahu tidak apa yang lebih keren? Destinasi menit-menit terakhir: Rumah Masa Kecil Michael Jackson.

Di rumah Michael. 

​Rasanya cukup sureal. Lingkungannya... bisa dibilang tidak terawat, dengan banyak rumput liar yang tumbuh tinggi. Rumah Michael berada tepat di ujung jalan dan berpagar, tidak seperti rumah-rumah lainnya. Tetap saja, rasanya mengesankan bisa melihatnya dengan mata kepala saya sendiri. Kita tidak bisa tidak berpikir bahwa sang King of Pop pun memiliki awal yang sederhana. Di saat yang sama, saya kagum dengan bagaimana dia bisa berhasil melangkah dari rumah sekecil ini ke panggung dunia. Hidup ini bukan tentang di mana kamu dilahirkan, melainkan apa yang kamu lakukan dengan bakat yang kamu miliki.

​Dan itu mengakhiri tur kami hari itu, tapi perjalanan masih berlanjut. Kami berjalan sedikit ke Millennium Park untuk melihat the Bean, yang juga dikenal sebagai Cloud Gate. Indah sekali, karena kita bisa melihat pantulan jelas dari cakrawala (skyline) kota Chicago di sore hari. Ada restoran cepat saji bernama Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers di seberang jalan dan kami makan malam di sana. Es tehnya hampir seenak Teh Botol Sosro, hehe. Begitu selesai makan, kami menutup tur kami di Chicago Theatre. Kenapa kami ke sana? Karena lampu neonnya, kata tuan rumah saya, sangat ikonik, haha.

The Chicago Theatre.

​Keesokan harinya hujan turun sepanjang waktu, tapi tidak masalah bagi saya. Kenji menyetir mengantar saya sepanjang jalan menuju Rockford sambil menyetel musik keras-keras dari playlist-nya. Karena kami dari generasi yang sama, sepanjang perjalanan isinya hampir selalu bernyanyi bersama tanpa henti, menyanyikan lagu-lagu Scorpions, Culture Club, dan banyak lagi.

​Rockford sebenarnya lumayan jauh. Kami menghabiskan sekitar empat jam di jalan, dan hari sudah hampir malam ketika kami kembali ke kota, jadi Kenji membawa saya ke Restoran Garuda. Menunya terlihat enak, tapi tentu saja saya harus mencoba nasi gorengnya! Meskipun harganya dalam USD, rasanya tetap seperti makanan asli Indonesia!

Bersama Kenji, pemandu terbaik di Chicago!

​Dan itu adalah makanan berat pertama dan terakhir hari itu. Dalam perjalanan kembali ke hotel saya, Kenji menunjukkan Gold Coast, kawasan elit di Chicago. Tapi karena hujan, tidak banyak yang bisa kami lakukan, jadi begitulah akhir dari tur hai dua hari di Chicago. Vivi dan Kenji sama-sama luar biasa. Terima kasih banyak untuk mereka atas keramahan mereka yang luar biasa!

​Hari terakhir saya di Chicago dimulai dengan santai, yang memberi saya waktu untuk menulis ini—lagi-lagi di BlackBerry Classic andalan saya. Kami makan brunch di Qiao Lin Hotpot lalu menuju ke Bandara Internasional O'Hare. Sama seperti LAX, bandara ini fungsional tapi tidak mengesankan. Saya benar-benar berpikir untuk menulis tentang semua bandara yang pernah saya kunjungi, tapi untuk saat ini, waktunya bergabung kembali dengan tim SG di Las Vegas!

Tim SG yang sudah sampai duluan di Las Vegas.