It all began with Deby and I waking up at 3’o clock in the morning. We drove one and a half hours from Los Angeles to Temecula to catch our balloon flight and to see sunrise. Driving at that time of the day in California wine country was like driving without my soul. There were nothing moving on the road. It was dead quiet, and my line of sight was purely restricted to where my headlights shone.
When we got there we were asked to wait in the car because the pilot had not arrived. Growing up in the city, I have never been to a place this dark. The stars were clearly visible, and there were a lot of them in the night sky. Above picture shows the sun is peeking over the horizon.
We were taken by a group of men, stuffed us into a white van. It was sketchy. I thought they were going to blind fold us and kill us in somewhere remote. We were dropped off at this open field, supposedly to be our launch site.
By the time those men were setting up the balloon, the sky was already well lit, and our competitors had already flown up in the sky.
I was [almost] able to pull them down, but it was a cold morning. I rather have my hands in my warm pocket.
This is my postcard shot of our competitor’s balloon in the sky. They can fly away from me but they can’t hide!
Here is how it’s done to setup a balloon. You lay the balloon and the basket on its side, and blow it. Don’t forget to put a big ass sheet on the ground to protect the grass.
No you don’t blow it with your mouth. You blow it with a big ass torch. Like how these guys are doing. They teach that at Hot Air Balloon school.
Climbing into the basket was a little challenging, for some. Luckily, my parents have given me long legs. I just leaped in. That giant laundry basket can fit all 9 of us! It was cold, but the torch kept me warm. I think the liquid fuel got into my pilot’s eye. Uh-oh.
Off we go! Up and up! Those are vineyards below us.
For those of you who think farmers are not rich, think again. At least grape farmers live larger than life. Their houses are built to house the Hulk, and his entire family.
This house has a pool, a basketball court, a tennis court, a guest house and a detached garage. I’m tempted to quit my job and become a grape farmer.
Once again I have spotted my competitor’s balloon.
This is Temecula, California. Beautiful, isn’t it?
This is our balloon coming back home. I jumped out the basket before the balloon fully touched down, that’s how I captured this shot.
Jan 14, 2012
Hot air balloon ride in Temecula California to see sunrise
Jan 3, 2012
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TRIP: Griffith observatory
If I were to pick a romantic make out place in the City of Angels, It’d be at the Griffith observatory. The Greater Los Angeles area is full of romantic and beautiful places; this beach or that beach, but no where as magical as the Griffith Observatory during sunset. To an astronomer, the Griffith observatory is built to look into space. To a normal citizen, it is built to experience a magical view.
No this is not Goku from Dragon Ball Z ready to shot energy blasts. This is me holding my fireball, otherwise known as the Sun.
Situated on top of Mount Hollywood, it over looks entire LA. The drive up to the mountain was an experience all by itself.
My panoramic shot of the Griffith observatory. Many popular movies and TV shows were shot here: The Terminator, The Hangover, Star Trek, etc.
In the middle of the lawn leading to the entrance, stands the Astronomers Monument. This pointy thing is surrounded by stone carvings of famous Astrophysicists such as Newton, Kepler etc. See, my time spent in my university astronomy class was not a complete waste.
To the west of the lawn I could clearly see the Hollywood sign. It appeared to be so close I could almost grab it. If you ever go there please don’t jump over the railing and try to grab it. You’ll fall to a horrible death off the cliff. Unless you have travel insurance...
To the east is Griffith park. Panoramic shot courtesy of Deby’s camera.
Inside the observatory it’s typical geeky astronomy stuff, but one thing that was in particular noticeable is this pendulum. What is this for? Instead of me remembering the explanation, I took a picture. 
With my X-ray camera and flying high above the observatory, here is a cutaway view of the observatory. Then I lost that picture so I replaced it with a normal shot of a cutaway model.
Here is another one of my panoramic creation. Looking south on top of the observatory. Hello Los Angeles!
My postcard shot of Los Angeles. Why pay 50 cents for a postcard if you can take a shot for free?
Just when we concluded the tour inside, I took this shot, when the sun was setting on Griffith.
Good night LA, good night Griffith.
Dec 31, 2011
Southern California trip: Hollywood and Beverly Hills in the City of Angels
What's going to California without enjoying the sunshine? For that reason, the moment our plane touched down in LAX, we rented a convertible! Even though it's around Christmas, the weather was suitable to go shirtless during the day. At least in my opinion it was warm enough to go shirtless. I mean c’mon, I’m from Canada, as long as it’s above freezing, it’s warm enough.
Top down all the way! In our Mustang Convertible!
We were the only ones with roof down. Apparently the locals thought it was too cold. Oh please.
On our way we passed by Beverly Hills. See that little sign? The famous Beverly Hills sign? You think they would make that sign a little bigger.
The neighbourhood was really clean unlike the poor area 5 minutes away. I was near Jennifer Aniston’s house and she didn’t even come out to greet me! It was christmas, show some love!
We also passed by UCLA. Now I understood why that white girl on Youtube made a video about Asians in UCLA, because that freaking place is full of Asians!
UCLA’s mascot is a bear. I took a picture with it. Asian + bear.
Walking towards Hollywood Blvd. Love the palm trees.
A true tourist must go to those tourist info booth. Even if you don’t think you’ll need one of those brochures, take one! Those brochures can come in handy to cover dirty seats.
Walking on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I accidentally stepped on Danny Devito’s star. Despite his sub-par face and height, the man is a true actor with amazing acting skills.
Looking at the Kodak Theater on Hollywood Blvd.
This is the famous Kodak Theater where the Academy Award is held, and this is how it looks like when they’re not holding the Oscar. Full of average people and missing the golden statues.
Deby and I took a picture at the door of the Kodak Theater. Nothing was happening inside. Nothing was happening outside either. I saw Iron Man walking by and that was it.
This is another famous theater. Grauman’s Chinese Theater. This is where Star Wars first premiered, and 3 Oscars were held here as well. Nothing beats a picture of a China man with a Chinese theater!
Deby with Tom Hanks’ hand and footprints. I have tremendous amount of respect for Tom Hanks. He’s one of my favourite actors.
Me with Steven Spielberg’s hand and footprints. One of my favourite directors.
Hollywood and Highlands. A large court yard full of stores, A.K.A opportunists who feed on tourists’ money. This is also a very good location to get a beautiful view of the Hollywood sign.
This is my postcard shot of the Hollywood sign.
This is a shot of the Hollywood sign that many postcards do not show.
From my experience of traveling these years, I always find that in tourist attraction places, there’s always a group of break dancers getting a lot of attention, whether it be Paris, Las Vegas or Hollywood.
Two hippy girls making all sorts of flowers using corn leaf. Really cool! They’re very nice too. I bought Deby one and I broke it. Those girls took it back, not only they fixed it, they added two more flowers!
Deby met her Alice in Wonderland friends.
I also met my good friend Shriek. Shrek:”Kevin why are you so skinny?” me:”I have high metabolism i can’t put on weight. Why are you so fat?”. Shrek:”Because I never poop I’m all rotten inside.”
Here is my other friend Bumble Bee all cool and shit. Way cooler than Shrek.
Ended my day at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s an outdoor concert hall. Just look at the back drop! This place is magical! The Beatles performed here.
