Los Angeles

If an alien landed and started casually strolling down the street in Los Angeles, I don’t think Angelenos would even look twice.

Los Angeles is vast, if LA County were to be a state, it would be the eight biggest state in the USA and the area is home to around 10 million people.

Within these 10 million people there are people with roots from all over the globe, a short bus trip will pass restaurants serving food from as far away as Armenia and Korea.

LA is also a people watching hotspot with no shortage of interesting characters from all walks of life, nobody can possibly look out of place in the city.

I arrived having heard mixed reviews about the place. ‘It’s too big’, ‘there’s no real centre’ and it’s not a good looking city’. All these accusations are true to a certain extent but it hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for the place.

The hostel that I’m currently calling home lies just metres away from Hollywood Boulevard and the street, much like the strip in Vegas, really comes alive at night.

Street performers, shows, restaurants and glitzy clubs all do their best to tempt in passers-by as they stroll along the walk of fame.

A twenty minute bus ride away from Hollywood lies the Santa Monica and Venice beaches and Santa Monica in particular portrays California perfectly. Golden sands stretch for miles as skaters whizz down the palm tree littered promenade. The Santa Monica pier even features a theme park and many of the residents in the area simply ooze wealth. The only thing that didn’t match the postcards was the sea mist that drifted in throughout the afternoon I had put aside for sunbathing.

Everywhere I have visited in LA so far seems so glamorous and pristine, but in a city of such contrasts, only miles away lies areas of extreme poverty and a dangerously high crime rate, needless to say I won’t be venturing into those areas.

Coming from the countryside I always enjoy the buzz and amount of stuff to do in big cities. I think LA has enough to keep my busy for a couple of days yet.