I’ve had a busy past two weeks and I just got round to sorting out the photos from my last trip to the States. I spent just under a month there so I went back and forth between LA and San Diego a lot. I also made an unexpected visit to Miami before I headed back Kuwait, looking back at the photos makes me despise Kuwait’s dusty weather even more than I already do. I was there in the middle of spring which I think is the best time to visit because of the amazing weather. (Allow loading time if you have an average connection)

Miami:

San Diego:

Los Angeles:

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I haven’t been posting lately because I’ve been too busy hopping in/on different cars, boats, and planes. I was supposed to return to Kuwait 10 days ago, but the volcano incident grounded my plane which connects through Europe. The volcano predicament really worked in my favor, I ended up extending my stay and catching a flight out to Miami with the days I had to spare.

A few hours ago I rushed straight from South Beach to the airport in my swimming shorts and flip flops. Right now I’m making my way back to LA on my favorite domestic airline in the States, Virgin America. The experience is amazing from the check-in counter and all through the flight. As soon as you set foot on the plane it feels as if your making your way through a club because of the dim lavender lights and the transparent purple barriers. All the seats in the plane are comfortable and plush leather, but what I love most about Virgin America’s planes is their technology. Right now I’m charging my phone and laptop with the USB port and electrical plug under my seat while I’m online writing this post. Virgin’s inflight entertainment system ‘Red‘ is one of the most sophisticated I’ve used, it comes equipped with a seat to seat chat capability, and if your friends are scattered all over the plane you can use the chat room. Another thing I like is that fact that there won’t be any annoying flight attendants marching up and down the plane, if you want to drink or snack on something you can just order it through your touch screen and it will be delivered right to you. Also, if you need to make any purchases you can just swipe your card along slide the screen. I definitely recommend this airline for anyone flying through States. LA based Ali is picking me up from LAX and we’re getting some Chinese as soon as I touch down in the City of Angels. I’ll post some photos of my trips as soon as I get some time, ciao.

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Last weekend some friends and I took the ferry to Catalina Island which is off the coast of Southern California. The boat ride is just under an hour and the island is small and easy to get around. We rented a golf cart and weaved our way past the golf course and up the semi-mountainous terrain. The viewing points at the top show the bay in full and are amazing for taking pictures. I was surprised that there were houses scattered all over the island, both small and villa sized. Catalina is perfect for a whole day but if you’re considering doing activities like scuba diving, canoeing, and golfing you might want to spend the night at one of the resorts.

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I’ve had a busy last month so as soon as I found some spare time on my hands I took the next flight out to LAX. I’m spending my week in California so I’ll be updating you with my favorite spots and restaurants in and around Los Angeles and San Diego. Now that I’m here with both Alis, hopefully we can get the new blog design up and running very soon. The only thing I’ll reveal now is that the new layout will allow richer post viewing in terms of photo and video content. My past few days have been very hectic, trying to squeeze as many people as I can in one day and juggle everything around, I’ve been taking thousands of photos and I’ll post some as soon as I sort them.

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Unfortunately, Spring break is coming to an end. For the past week, I was in Acapulco, Mexico and I have to say that it was a blended experience of relaxation and enjoyment of nightlife. Acapulco is crowded in March and beginning of April for spring break. If you want to catch the spring break action and activities, that is the time to go. Because Acapulco is a city and not a resort town like Cancun or Playa Del Carmen, there is a lot to do at night next to the La Condesa area after you’re done from the beach. My recommendation is to stay at either Fairmont Pierre Marquez (older crowd) or the Princesses. From that area, downtown Acapulco is only 10-15 minutes away.

This morning, I had a problem with my US airways reservation because of Expedia.com. Now, I’m stuck in Phoenix, AZ’s Sky Harbor Airport. But other than that, I have to say that the trip was a blast. Here’s a list of the places I recommend:

- The Pierre Marquez beach, which has all the activities you can think about, even horseback riding

- For Dinner, Harry’s steakhouse in La Isla center

- For a good time at night, definitely stop by Palladium on either Thursday or Friday night.

- If you have time, you have to go see the La Quebrada Cliff divers. I saw a discovery channel documentary about them a long time ago and I had no clue they were only 15 minutes away from Acapulco. Here’s the video I saw about them:

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After our Mexican friend showed us around Mexico City, we knew all the places worthy of visiting. Right next to our hotel in Reforma was Mexico City’s historical square, that is surrounded by the most beautiful historical building I’ve ever seen in America. On our way back to the hotel, we got kicked out from a cab but we did not understand why at that moment. I thought about it later and I concluded that it was just a misunderstanding. Because the cab driver didn’t understand english and we couldn’t speak spanish, I think he thought we wanted him to drop us off for 3 pesos instead of 30 pesos which he was asking for. We eventually made it back walking.

Other than the city’s historical square, my favorite area was Condesa, which is a small businesses/residential quarter located in the south part of the city. The Condesa quarter is full of restaurants and cafes. While walking around that area, I really enjoyed how lively the streets were. I could see a lot of people sitting in cafes enjoying their afternoon and other sitting on their apartment balconies overlooking the street. We visited a lot of stores that sold unique clothes, mainly t-shirts. We didn’t have much time in that area because of the Coldplay concert we had to catch later that night.

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We entered Mexico at Cabo’s airport to transit to Mexico City this morning. As soon as I stepped out of the plane, I could feel the humidity and heat, which is nothing compared to California. The difference between US and Mexican customs is unbelievable! I can’t believe these two countries share a border. Knowing we arrived from the US, the Mexican customs looked at us as if we were jokes or something like that. You know how Kuwaiti customs make it so hard for foreigners when they arrive to Kuwait City? or how US customs make it such a huge deal when we Kuwaitis enter the US? This was exactly what the Mexican customs officers were doing to us when we arrived. For every 10 Mexicans that get their passport stamped, one foreigner manages to get in. Finally, after getting to an immigration officer, they made us wait because the Mexican embassy wrote our names wrong on our visas, but it wasn’t that bad.

Once we got out from Mexico City International Airport (this is the part I really wanted to talk about), all I was thinking was that this city is literally the shadiest place I’ve ever been to. The streets are extremely packed, you feel like you’re going to get robbed any second, and every person looks at you as if they are planning to get you into problems. I honestly don’t know how to describe the situation any further. We were at a traffic light, and there was this group of locals that walked by us, looked at us, pointed and started walking towards us quickly until the light turned green. A block down the same street, five guys wearing the same sleeveless white shirts, jeans, and bandanas (GANG!) gave us a solid look with no facial expressions, then they started talking amongst themselves while holding that look. My friends and I just sat there not knowing what to do! If we were not in a car it would have been a problem.

When we arrived at the Reforma area, where our hotel was, it was so much different. The area around our hotel is full of historic artifacts and culture. This is when I actually started to enjoy the trip and stopped feeling invaded. Unfortunately, I was not able to take any pictures as many people warned us not to take any valuables with us, but I’ll be trying to take some tomorrow. Apart from my first impression, I really like this city! If you like Cairo, Mexico City should be on your list, except for the district where the airport is located, which apparently is the ghetto. Here are my recommendations:

1) Be sure that you know someone or have a Mexican friend who is willing to take you around and show you the city. We don’t have anybody, so its kind of a gamble to travel around.

2) Don’t even think about bringing your family to this city. Visit with a group of friends and definitely not alone.

3) If there are no cops on the street, whom you’ll see almost every time you turn your head, know that you are somewhere you shouldn’t be.

4) Never think about carrying valuables. I personally don’t even carry my cell phone. Cash (not more than 2000 Pesos = $160 ) and ID

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London was a blast but I’m back in Kuwait now, here are the last of the pictures I took. I’ll be uploading most of them to my flickr very soon.

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I know the name sounds like it but no this is not a Star Wars sequel, it’s actually an Indian art exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery. I visited the gallery a few days ago but I’m afraid I only shot half of what the gallery had to offer, my camera died half way through and I was left with no battery for the rest of the day.

A short description of my favorite works:

Eruda – Jitish Kallat 2006 (1/35)
Eruda is a mammoth iconic sculpture of a young boy selling books on the traffic lights of Mumbai. The children (who could sometimes be illiterate) often sell these books authoritatively, playfully engaging in conversations about the book’s interest value; their rigor, audacity and endurance making them mascots for the resilience of a city such as Mumbai. Kallat’s sculpture has feet shaped like homes, forming the quintessential image of a nomad whose home is where he lays his feet. Treated in black-lead, Eruda ensures that you take back a black stain on your fingers if you choose to touch him; also black-lead is the softest form of carbon while diamond remains the hardest. |more…|

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Traveling to other countries is fun and full of new experiences, one of those main experiences for me is the food. Here’s a list of my recommended places to try.

Nobu (Japanese) 15 Berkeley Street, Mayfair

Mr. Chow (Chinese) 151 Knightsbridge, Knightsbridge

The Good Earth (Chinese) 233 Brompton Road, Knighstbridge

Ping Pong (Chinese) 29a James Street, Marylebone

Busaba (Thai) 106-110 Wardour Street, Soho

Mint Leaf (Indian) 4 Suffolk Place, Haymarket

Joe’s (Modern European) Joseph, 16 Sloane Street, Knightsbridge

Momo (Moroccan) 25-27 Heddon Street, Mayfair

Yellow Cafe (English) 400 Selfridges, Oxford Street, Marylebone

LaDurée (French) 87-135 Harrods, Brompton Road, Knightsbridge

Rouge Cafe (French) 46-48 James Street, Mayfair

Cafe Montpeliano (Italian) 144 Brompton Road, Knightsbrdige

Snog (Frozen Yogurt) 32 Thurloe Place, South Kensington

Chocolate Bar (Dessert) 87-135 Harrods, Brompton Road, Knightsbridge

The Humming Bird (Bakery) 47 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington

Ben’s Cookies (Bakery) 9 Pelham Street, South Kensington

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