A feeder bus took us to join a local tour group for Day 2 city tour to Hollywood - also known as the entertainment capital of the world! Driving along Mulholland drive, we manage to catch a glimpse of the famous huge magnificent sign of HOLLYWOOD. As time was pretty tight, we could only see the the mansions of some famous stars living along Brentwood and Beverly Hills area. I can't exactly remember who lived there, but the houses you see, didn't look an inch bit like houses. The smallest one was as huge as a palace! They all have similar commonalities -
1)extremely spacious
2)private area with not many neighbors around
3)a nice view of the city or sea
And imagine, just to rent a 1-room apartment in BeverlyHills costs USD 3,000 per month! (@.@)
First stop was at Disney Concert Hall and L.A music center. As it was too early in the morning and there wasn't any event then, it was a quick 15 minutes stop for photo-taking at the water fountain outside this philharmonic concert hall.
Next off was at the adults themed park - Universal Studios!
Universal studios is a fun-fun place! The mock-up streets were of all colors and sizes, built based on different eras and century. Our first two rides were "House of horror" and "Terminator 2D-3D motion thriller". House of horror was scary, they had real life-like cast in ghastly costumes (some headless too!), the entire place filled with cobwebs and corpses, eerie music and really dark tunnels to pass before getting out of it! I really hated it, but the adrenaline rush makes u feel all hyped up and ready for more action to come.
Terminator is like a life play that takes place in a theater, with actors on set re-enacting shooting scenes. Adding to the suspense, they've also included 3D screens that takes you to another dimension, as if we were all in a huge spaceship, witnessing 'man vs machine' war that's happening outside of the spaceship.
The Simpsons - Krustyland was the most talked about ride in Universals. It was recently built, a very popular ride that takes at L E A S T 45-mins to queue. We were strapped in a mini-car, lying almost horizontal facing the 180 degree semi-circle screen (similar to those of omni-theatre) and takes you into realms of the fantasy world! It feels like you're on a moving vehicle (or roller coaster), and there were also splashes of water, tingling sensation on your feet and even smell the scent of flowers or baby milk (because Maggie's in the show too, rem?). Incredible!
We also watched a live stage show called Animal actors, to see behind the scenes of how animals were trained in movies such as "Babe" and "Evan Almighty". There was also Special effects stage performance, showing the magic behind all the flying, fire, combustions, larger than life effects on tv.
Mummy Returns was also another short indoor psychological thrill ride, with not only forward but also backwards movements! (The backwards thing was awesome - because we had a mammoth size rock that is rolling at top speed coming from the front as we were 'reversing'!)
Then there was Jurassic Park ride that got us both wet! In Jurassic Park, they had dinosaurs that are about 50 feet tall, they actually have movements and roars that made it so real. The highlight of the ride was the steep vertical drop from a 84-foot plunge - the one that got everyone drenched!
The world famous studio tour - an eye opener to explore the backlot of the big screen studio, and behind the scenes of many popular big hit movies and dramas! Which includes JAWS, War of the Worlds, The Fast and the Furious and TV series, Desperate Housewives Wysteria lane! More pictures will be posted in the photoblog. :)
Finally, a must-go live performance show called WATERWORLD. A hit motion performance in series of spectacular tidal waves and death-defying stunts with gunshots and explosions! We had a ball of fun there, as the actors had alot of interaction with the audience. They splashed water and got everyone wet, they got us jumping out of our seats when they jumped off 30 metres and into fuming fire, they also left our jaws dropped when a mini-jet plane crashed from the sky and into the water, causing huge oceanic wave in the huge water stage! It ended all with fireworks and a happy ending when the hero saves the day, it was also an exciting end to the thrills.
To pace down all that incitement, we took a stroll down the chromatic neon lit City Walk. We settled dinner at Hard Rock cafe, with true-blue rockerfellas as waiters and
waitresses. They either had piercings or tattos (or even both!), with arty-farty pink hairdo and huge chains and leather boots or jackets. But they were all really cool people, who really put their heart and soul into providing good service.
End of the Universal tour, the next destination would be to Hollywood Boulevard where the Mann's chinese theatre is located. That is where the legendary stars like Marilyn monroe placed their footprints on. Next to it is also the home of the Oscars, also familiar to the recent American Idols - the Kodak theatre!
Also not forgetting the Walk of Fame, with more than 2,000 world's greatest artiste had their names imprinted in stars along the boulevard stretch.
Before we end the night off, we dropped off Rodeo Drive - an exclusive shopping paradise for the stars to shop after usual hours. You get to see extravagant boutiques of Dior, Gucci, Prada and many other designer brands as well! Look at the buildings itself, even they look lavish and exquisite!
On the way back to our hotel, we also drove by Sunset Strip, where popular nightspots, restaurants and clubs where hollywood stars often visit. In the past, there used to be over 70 nightclubs and nude bars along the strip. Today, however, there are only 6 left. :S
A long entry to end Day 2, more pictures in the photoblog. :)
Day 3 is coming its way!
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