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Published: June 11th 2008
Well we left LA after one night as we were keen to get to Mexico.
Also, accommodation in the US is pretty pricey - US$20-$40 each per night depending on whether we get a private room or a dorm, and sometimes the dorms weren't much cheaper.
At the hostel in LA we realised that it's true what they say about LA - nearly everyone is there trying to make it big in show business. It's kind of sad really. There was one guy out on the veranda with his laptop- fine-tuning a pitch to some producers for a game show idea. He'd come all the way from Brazil for the appointment. Then I got to talking to a French guy who ended up kind of freaking me out. He apparently "found himself" at a Placebo concert and decided the punker rocker life was for him, so he flew to LA and is supposed to start recording music with his band. He said he had a record label/manager. Only the more he talked the more I realised he had no band, he was it. He also had no record label. He was carrying a picture of Paris Hilton around (I kid
you not) and has absolutely convinced that she and he are meant to be together and that deep down she knows it too. He even turned up at some event she was at in London. He believes she is meant to be with a French guy due to her name and that she will produce his music and be his girlfriend. Totally, totally deluded.
So on to San Diego where we got, joy of joy, a private room with a SINK. Still very expensive though. San Diego is a pretty cool city. Very well organised public transport and nice architecture. Lots of interesting stuff by the waterfront including a massive navy ship (the sort that planes fly out of, I forget what Rob called it) that's now a museum, a submarine, the oldest steam ferry in the region and a couple of Star & Stripes America's cup boats.
You should see the display of military might along the coatline, it's insane . Rob was practically frothing at the mouth. Pretty crazy compared with our 2 frigates at Devonport.
The following morning we left for Tijuana via trolley (like a tram), which is just over the Mexican border. Getting
over the border was really easy, no queues and no passport stamps although we could see from the queue of cars that it's a whole different story getting out again. Tijuana's not as bad as they make out, in fact it's quite cool. We decided to spend a night (Arlene, we've booked into the Catalina Hotel, pretty decent, $25 in total for us to have a private room and bathroom). The beauty of it is that they don't seem to do hostels here, just cheap hotels, so no dorm rooms!
They're very friendly here although constantly trying to sell you stuff being a very touristy border town. But they take "no, gracias" with a smile. We had a fantastic, friendly lunch which came to $15 US including a couple of beers. Katja, I had ceviche. Here they serve it on crackers, pretty nice!
So now we'll look around a bit more, get some dinner and try and get a good night's sleep. I'm still struggling to sleep properly due to the time difference and my disgusting snotty nose, although I'm on the mend now.
We went and met some of the local Tijuana police and Rob gave them a NZD
police badge from one of his shirts. They were a bit amazed that our cops don't carry guns. The sergeant was also pretty concerned about the length of Rob's hair. For those of you who heard about all his workmates and even John Banks hassling him about his hair you'll know why we found this so funny.
Tomorrow we're heading down South along the Baja peninsula. Those 90210 fans might remember that's where Dylan used to go surfing. He even tried to smuggle coke in Kelly's bag once.
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Bex
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yay, you made it!
Woohoo - so glad you made it to Mexico - your blog is hilarious (especially the part about Dylan, you're crazy for remembering that...but speaking of - did you know they've done a new 90210? HAH, Jenny Garth is supposed to be a counsellor or some shit). Anyhoo - keep it real.....travel safely xxx