Los Angeles, California

[Missus O]

@jazzlawyer - hindi naman ganun kahaba. 3 na kasi ang locations ng Papillon bakery.  So far sila lang ang alam naming gumagawa ng armeninan or russian doughnuts. Their nutella ponchiki are the  best. Yun ang talaga g heaven in a box

[choco_loka]

Thank you @mooncake and leaves for the recommendation! Nakalista na! Hehe

[Bellerina]

Hello sissies. We will be travelling to LAX on April or June, not sure pa. Ako kasi mag aayos ng itinerary namin and ako lang naman for sure ang kukuhaan ng info sa aming 4 na magtatravel(mom, dad both 60 y.o., my 7 yr old nephew and I). Btw, Im 18 y.o., Im looking for affordable solutions to the problems below:

1. We will stay there for 2 wks max and ang places na gusto sana namin pntahan ay Disneyland, Santa Monica Pier, Rodeo Drive and Madame Tussauds. Pwede po ba pa suggest pa ng pupuntahan? Affordable and hindi sana kami masyadong mapapagod. Ive read that there are some places na free admission/entrance.
2. I heard taxis are waaaay expensive and the green/blue line are horrifying(why pala? Because of bums?) pano kaya kami magtatravel nyan? I dunno how to drive.
3. Where to stay na malapit sa lahat?
4. We wrote on our ds160 and said in our interview that we will stay in Knott Berry Farm's hotel when we go there, is it okay if we change it?
5. Please suggest good outlet malls
6. Possible weather on April/June and what to wear?
7. Best rates for airfare on the said dates?

Will think of more questions. Thank youuuuu! Kinakabahan talaga ko 😂😂 We are not much of a traveler since sa Japan palang ako nakakapunta but my dad has been to a lot of places kaso nga matanda na. Please help me 😂😇💗

[simang]

Hi bellerina try ko sumagot ah. Although i'm not very familiar with everything LA pero based lang to sa experience ko.

1. Warner Bros Studios, Universal Studios, hollywood bus tour
2. Natry ko magbus sa LA and my experience naman is okay, medyo mabagal lang yung byahe since ang daming stops. Sad to say, the most convenient way is to really drive. Maybe your dad can drive?
3. Medyo malayo yung mga attractions from each other, pero siguro okay sa Hollywood area. Although i believe mahal ang mga hotels doon relatively. You can check airbnb as well.
4. Okay lang if di kayo magsstay doon Di naman hinahanap ang ds160 sa immigration.
5. There are lots of outlet malls but most of them are outside LA, siguro pinakamalapit is around 30mins drive. Again, kelangan mag drive kasi malayo.
6. I was there July of last year and mainit sya, as in manila levels. Siguro nasa high 80s-low 90s on average pag tanghali. Yung summer weather doon is almost as hot as manila weather so normal clothes lang will do.
7. I'm not sure about airfare rates but you can check skycanner to compare. may makukuha ka ng 1000 usd na airfare RT (Korean Air, etc).

Wag ka kabahan. LA is almost like Makati lang. Hehe. First time ko din sa US nun and mag isa pa ako although i met a few friends who lives near the area.

[choco_loka]

^Thank you for this sis!

[mooncake and leaves]

^^ Disneyland is accessible by Metro bus from downtown (Metro 460 ata). The trip is about 2 hrs. But you would have to leave early & you won't be able to stay longer in the park than you'd like.

I'm afraid that if you guys are not driving, that limits your options when it comes to accommodation. Downtown is the best area since it's the main transportation hub but you can also look at Hollywood & Koreatown. Downtown's hotel prices can be steep. Most of the decent ones start at $200/night.

Agree with checking out Airbnb. You can also check hotels.com. I found an ok priced hotel in Hollywood for April, The Dixie Hotel, which should be close to a red line station.

Speaking of subways, I'm not too familiar with the green line but I still wouldn't recommend it. Blue line is terrible. Any line kasi, be it subway or bus, any line that travels thru south LA (and east LA to a certain extent) is scary. Plenty of bums & junkies and they are really dirty. Even downtown's local buses, may mga issues. I remember taking one before and i couldn't decide between sitting and holding on to the bars. Sobrang dumi. Ending, nakatayo lang ako lol. Tipong ok na malaglag/maaksidente, wag lang madikit sa dumi 😅

For airfare predictions, i use hopper. But i always go thru agencies. The cheapest I've seen it via PAL is around $900.

Weather- April should be better than June. But it's really hard to predict. Regardless, those months are not going to get very cold.

Outlets- the one that's most accessible for you would be the Citadel in Commerce. You can also take a bus there, just not sure about the schedule. I used to see it where I used to work. There's a stop in downtown (Figueroa & Olympic). Just google it.

For other places to visit- LACMA, La Brea Tar Pits, Pasadena, Little Tokyo, Huntington Library, Getty Center, Santa Monica, etc. If you're into food & architecture, nothing beats downtown.

If I may make a suggestion-Disneyland is the only one in your itinerary that's really out of the way. Do that first. If it's possible to book a hotel right by the park, do it. Sayang kasi ang $120/head for Disneyland if you won't be able to stay longer. 

[Bellerina]

Thank you for the recommendations!

Anyway I've tried a mock booking in booking.com hotels and pinapa fill up if ilan sa room ang gagamit so I punched in 3 adults and a child. Yung lalabas ba na rates, for example $89, ay per head? Or for 4 people na yun?

[Missus O]

^booking.com normally charges per room. If you check the table at the topmost part, it would say that its the maximum capacity per room.

Enjoy your holiday here.

[scents01]

1. Madame Tussauds is in Hollywood, you can do a day tour na rin
2. For me safe naman ang train nila, i also ride on bus (buy a tap card if you will use train/bus often), or uber, it's very safe and helpful din, mas mura pa sa taxi
3. I stayed in Koreatown for a month, accessible sa downtown, hollywood etc.
4. Yes
5. May free bus from downtown, downtown hotels going to Citadel Outlet, which is around 30-40mins drive. Check their website for pick-up points and schedule. For me, Ross stores are waaaay cheaper that outlets, matyaga lang maghanap, designer brands din naman
6. Im not sure, went last July, it was so hot in LA.
7. Check skyscanner.com.ph, may promo din SG air and Cathay Pacific now..

[choco_loka]

Just got back from LA and SF! Second time in LA, spent mostly on eating and bonding with family.

Many thanks for the food recos! Here's a short summary of the restaus I tried:

-Portos (went here for breakfast, had media noche sandwich and ordered a box of cheese rolls... super yum!)
-Guisados (tacos, never tasted tacos as good as these)
-Taco truck in South Pas
-Philippe's French Dip (sarap nito!!!)
-Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in South Pas. Lined up for about 15-20 minutes. Ang sarap, and great service! My aunt and I were too busy eating our meal hindi na kami nag usap hehe!
-Desserts at Bottega Louie
-I requested for a meal at Cheesecake Factory, their red velvet cheesecake is my favorite

[mooncake and leaves]

^ +1 for philippe & roscoe's. there are other places that serve decent chicken & waffles but i much prefer roscoe's. as for philippe, love the lamb and beef. samahan pa ng potato salad. 😋 

for tacos, try roast 2 go din sa grand central market. or pag nagawi kayong san diego, tacos el gordo is my recommendation.

[Missus O]

Been living here for a few months now. As somebody who loves to traveling and good food, here are some restaurants/stores I highly recommend. Some are just hole-in-the-wall restaurant but very good nevertheless. Just check Yelp for their address please.

Sanamluang (Hollywood Blvd)
 - hole-in-the-wall  Thai restaurant. There is always a wait so come prepared.  I was looking for the best Pad thai when we chanced upon this resto.  Service is so and so but the food. I wasn't able.to try their pad thai ( so far London still has the best pad thai in my heart),  but they've got the best shrimp cake and combination fried rice.

Papillon Bakery
- sells Armenian doughnuts. Their fried nutella ponchik doughnuts are pure heavenly bliss.. it is really heaven in a box.. they also have oreo churros

Porto's
-cheese rolls.. need I say more

Kickin Kasian
- best crabshack place in the San Fernando Valley. We don't mind at all  that we don't have Boiling Crab as long as we have Kickin Kasian.  Also recommended is Drunken Crab ((please check Yelp for address). 

Melisse (Fine Dine restaurant -for a VERY SPECIAL ocassion)
-expect to shell out big bucks here. But it is sooo worth it.  From someone who has been living in London for 6 years this time LA trumps London on this one- we've experienced quite an excellent service from Melisse without feeling intimidated.  Dining here is truly an experience.

Japanese / Korean
-too many to mention.. we love to peruse yelp and check it out ourselves

Hope you'll find this quite helpful.

[m_lim]

Aside from the usual- Disney/ Universal, outlets/ malls, Kodak-hollywood strip, ano pa ba makita sa LA?

last time i went, parang na bored ako and niyayaya ako ng sis ko sumama for a wedding this April.

[Bellerina]

Booked our tickets last night to Los Angeles. Please help with me with these questions:

1. We are going on May 5-19. What's the weather there? What should we wear? Can we wear trench coats or what?
2. We booked via China Southern Airlines. Says there that we can carry 2 hand carry baggage (20kgs). Is LAX strict with baggage rules? Planning to check in bags when we return nalang eh.
3. Anyone who had a layover in Shanghai? How was it? I am paranoid kasi I'm thinking baka walang English signs sa airport nila baka maligaw kami or whatever. Hehe.
4. We are going to rent a car. A friend of my dad who lives in US will meet us there. Any recommendations where we can rent one cheap van for a week?

Thank you!

[Missus O]

LA is in Southern California which has an 80% year round sunny weather.  Except for this rainy week, it has already started to warm up. Temp.'s  normally between 27 degrees celsius and above.  May would probably have hot days and cool nights.  I wouldn't really recommend a trench coat especially in May, but do check Accuweather to have an overall idea. Afterall, what might be hot to me, might be cold to you.

[byutijunkie]

Bellerina, on days that we didn't have a relative to drive us sa LA, Uber kami.  You can try that.  As for baggage, sa airlines yan not sa airport.  Also, dito palang sa Manila, your airline will know that you've a connecting flight so they'll be there to assist you sa airport.  That's what we experienced with Cathay, baka ganun din with China Airlines.

[jazzlawyer]

Booked our tickets last night to Los Angeles. Please help with me with these questions:

1. We are going on May 5-19. What's the weather there? What should we wear? Can we wear trench coats or what?
2. We booked via China Southern Airlines. Says there that we can carry 2 hand carry baggage (20kgs). Is LAX strict with baggage rules? Planning to check in bags when we return nalang eh.
3. Anyone who had a layover in Shanghai? How was it? I am paranoid kasi I'm thinking baka walang English signs sa airport nila baka maligaw kami or whatever. Hehe.
4. We are going to rent a car. A friend of my dad who lives in US will meet us there. Any recommendations where we can rent one cheap van for a week?

Thank you!

merong rental cars na booths sa airport. madami choices. just ask around saan sa airport. If we need to rent a car, pumupunta kami sa airport don kami naghahanap.

if possible, ask your dad if pwede niya ask friend niya if he has costco membership. then try costcotravel https://www.costcotravel.com/Rental-Cars

pero for members lang to. malaki natitipid e.

[aranses]

just got back from nyc, mexico and california trip! very tiring and we gained weight! yikes!


last stop namin LA, sakto kami holyweek so nag antay kami matapos easter sunday para sa chocolate sale nila. Sa lahat ng napuntahan namin dito ako natakot mag drive, mabibilis sila at bigla bigla pumepreno iba driver kaya dapat tutok ka talaga. We drove from SFO to LA using the scenic road then nag overnight kami sa San Luis Obispo sakto naman na may farmer's market sila kaya nag enjoy kami, nagpunta din kami sa Solvang (Danish Capital). Sa LA puro beach ang pinuntahan namin saka shopping. 4 days in LA is not enough hindi namin napuntahan mga theme parks and museums.

[[-c-h-a-]]

^thanks for the heads up about the driving

[aranses]

^thanks for the heads up about the driving

inside road nila 80 - 120km/hr while sa freeway 120 - 160km/hr kaya mabibilis talaga. kapag mabagal ka naku tutukan ka nila. kakawindang driver doon. saka parking etiquette nila papasok hindi paatras. ang hirap tuloy lumabas kapag paatras. Make sure kung hindi same ang pickup and dropoff ng car rental mo indicate mo sa booking kasi nagkamali avis sa akin muntik na ako macharge ng 150USD dahil nilagay ng AVis staff na sa oakland ko din ibabalik car eh sa LAX ko siya binalik.Buti na lang dala ko online reservation ko saka preferred avis id ko kaya na-waive.