Travel Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a city of dreams, fashion, and Hollywood. It is the quintessential 21st century American city with attractions and activities that can only be found in Los Angeles. Los Angeles restaurants, Los Angeles hotels, and all Los Angeles activities are in a class all their own. The city embraces and absorbs everything in its path - from culture to food to people – and makes it its own. It reflects and (to some) warps it back in a manner that is uniquely Los Angeles

Flip through the pages of just any popular Los Angeles travel guide and the word "dream" will be appear over and over and over again. Yes, Los Angeles is America's Dream Factory and the creating of that fantasy rubs off on the citizens who actually live here. Take the base of the American spirit that anything is possible, add in the belief that life is like a movie, and add lots of sunshine – you can reinvent yourself and anything really is possible. No matter your nationality, you too can travel halfway around the world to win an Oscar, live in Beverly Hills, or come penniless from a small Austrian village and become governor of the state.

The city has everything, whether you're jet setting, roughing it, or anything in between. Los Angeles is cosmopolitan, quaint, crazy, quiet, sophisticated, down-home, and everything in between. There is wealth as well as poverty, sometimes only blocks away. You can have and see it all.

Geographically, Los Angeles County really encompasses hundreds of suburbs and other cities. The city of Los Angeles itself encompasses the "downtown" area, much of the urban vicinity to the west and northwest, and a narrow corridor extending south of the center. However, many famous locations such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are actually independent cities on their own and not legally part of L.A. But of course, outside of city politics, no one really makes that distinction. So, while we’re really crossing legal boundaries, we just call most of it all Los Angeles.

Los Angeles is all about the neighborhoods (some, as mentioned, are technically cities) – many are world famous – BEVERLY HILLS, HOLLYWOOD, UNIVERSAL CITY, MALIBU, SANTA MONICA, VENICE, BURBANK, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, PASADENA, CENTURY CITY, SOUTH CENTRAL (now SOUTH LOS ANGELES), as well as MARINA DEL REY, SOUTH BAY, WESTCHESTER, & EL SEGUNDO. Also included are the equally famous streets, such as SUNSET BLVD, MELROSE AVE, OLVERA ST, RODEO DRIVE, SANTA MONICA BLVD, and MULHOLLAND DRIVE. And these are just the well known ones – there are literally hundreds of other cities, places, and streets equally interesting.

The question is where to begin?

BURBANK/SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

The obvious place to start is with the entertainment related locales. Popular Los Angeles activities for tourists such as tapings and studio tours are plentiful in these areas. Let’s begin in the northeast and work our way south. 10 miles north of downtown is GLENDALE & BURBANK. Not as well know but that’s where the inside work of entertainment is. Glendale is home to DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon Animation studios (no tours) and hundreds of small production studios, special effects and prop houses. As we move to Burbank, NBC’s West Coast HQ’s & Disney’s main HQ’s are there (both on Olive St.). A block away is Disney Animation and Disney Channel’s building. The Disney HQ features the 7 dwarves “holding up” the roof – the lot also houses a small studio. It is closed to the public but you can photograph from the street. The Tonight Show is taped at the NBC studios. There is a queue out front on taping days starting by early afternoon.

If you look up to the mountain range, you'll see the back part of Griffith Park, where the Griffith Observatory and the Gibson Amphitheater (an outdoor event venue) are located. A few blocks further west is the WARNER BROS. STUDIO – you can’t miss the mammoth advertising – it is also a working studio and there are tours. I believe you have to call ahead to reserve (unlike Universal Studios). As you continue along Ventura Blvd., there are other studios (mostly TV) that are discreet in appearance such as the CBS STUDIO CENTER where there are always dozens of sitcoms being taped there (Seinfeld was there). You can get free tickets – sitcoms usually tape Friday nights. At that point, you can swing south and no more than a few miles away is UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. No great detail needed here, as it’s internationally known

CENTURY CITY

About 10 miles west is Century City. It used to all belong to Fox but they had to sell it – allegedly to pay off debts from the production of Cleopatra. You can see glimpses of the Fox lot (no tour) and on the AVENUE of THE STARS is the famous “Nakatomi” building from DIE HARD (now known as the Fox Plaza). AVENUE of the STARS is also the west coast headquarters for most cable companies and ABC (no tours). Nearby in Culver City is Sony & MGM (no tours and not much of a back lot).

Now, you can overlay the next-level tourist destinations while you’re visiting some of the entertainment related sites.

Source and more info: http://www.world66.com; http://www.wikitravel.org

Travel to Singapore

A city-state in Southeast Asia, Singapore is one of the most successful areas in the world. Singapore was founded in 1819 and currently has an average population of 4.5 million people and is the second most densely populated area in the world. Singapore combines the big-city elements of skyscrapers, subways and bustling streets with traditional Chinese, Indian and Malay food, culture and goods. An all-inclusive city, Singapore is diverse enough to please anyone of any age and background.

Districts

Singapore is broken up into multiple districts that all have specific meaning and purpose. The Orchard District is the best for shopping with miles of shopping malls where the Riverside (also known as Civic) District is the historic district of Singapore. This spot is where you want to come to view historic architecture and statues, tour museums and theaters. Chinatown and Little India are 2 districts that are heavily influenced by China and India, providing even more ethnic diversity on this island.

Language

English is the main language spoken throughout so you won't have to worry about not being able to get around. The major religions in Singapore are Muslim, Hindu, Taoism and Roman Catholic. There are places of worship all over the city. A visit to one of these culturally enlightening locations is not one you will want to miss.

The biggest attractions in Singapore are the museums in the Orchard District, the Singapore Zoo, beaches on the East Coast or Sentosa as well as a hike through the lush, tropical rain forests. The Esplanade Theater is another huge tourist attraction. Located in the Riverside District, the theater is home to the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and is visited regularly by local bands and touring artists.

Prices

When budgeting your stay in Singapore, it is important to know the currency and what your money is worth. Compared to 1 Singapore dollar, the U.S. dollar is worth about $1.40 and the euro is worth about $2.01. It is definitely cheaper to travel to Singapore than to other Asian or European countries. Being that this is the case, shopping is easily the most popular pastime in Singapore. Accommodations vary in price so it will be easy to book a hotel based on what your budget will allow. Food is priced based on where you go. There are high-end restaurants as well as street markets--which are always the best places to get your fill of ethnic cuisine.

Note: Brunei peg their dollar to Singapore. Our currency is independent. Roman Catholic and Christians are the majority religion in Singapore.

People

Singapore prides itself on being a multi-racial country, and has a diverse culture despite its small size. The largest group are the Chinese, who form about 75% of the population. Amongst the Chinese, Hokkien speakers form the majority, while Teochew and Cantonese speakers round out the top three. Other notable "dialect" groups among the Chinese include the Hakkas, Hainanese and Foochows. The Malays, who are comprised of Singapore's original inhabitants as well as migrants from present day Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, form about 14% of the population, while Indians form about 9% of the population. Among the Indians, Tamils form the largest group by far, though there are also a significant numbers of speakers of other Indian languages such as Hindi, Malayalam and Punjabi. The remainder are a mix of many other cultures, most notably the Eurasians who are of mixed European and Asian descent, and also a handful of Filipinos, Burmese, Japanese, Thais and many others. Slighty over one-third of Singapore's residents are not citizens.

Get Around

Getting around Singapore is effortless: the public transportation system is among the best in the world and taxis are reasonably priced. Very few visitors rent cars. Gothere.sg [40] does a pretty good job of figuring out the fastest route by MRT and bus and even estimating taxi fares between any two points.

If you are staying in Singapore for some time, the ez-link [41] farecard might be a worthwhile purchase. You can store value on it and use it on the MRT trains as well as all city buses at a 15% discount. The card costs $12, including $7 stored value, and the card can be "topped up" in increments of at least $10 at the farecard vending machines or 7-Eleven stores. You can use the same card for 5 years. The card technology was changed in 2009, but if you have any old cards lying around, they can be exchanged for free with value intact at TransitLink offices in all MRT stations.

Alternatively, the Singapore Tourist Pass [42] available at selected major MRT stations (including Changi Airport and Orchard) also includes ez-link card functionality and a variety of discounts for attractions. Prices start at $8 a day for unlimited travel on MRT and buses, but you need to a travel a lot to make this alone pay off.

Single tickets can be purchased for both MRT and buses, but it's a hassle, and in the case of buses it delays everyone else because the driver has to count fare stages to tell you how much you need to pay.

Source and more info: http://www.world66.com; http://www.wikitravel.org