Solitary Sanctuary: San Diego

I need to get this done before the calendar changes and the stories will be of yesteryear! Let's start with the first impression of San Diego... Bright and sunny! Yes, that's definitely a PLUS :)

At such a place, work seems irrelevant and even the joggers/cyclists look better!

I had a free morning, so I took a stroll around and had this really good coffee at 'It's a Grind'. Had a bagel with ham and egg and cheese, the first of many bagels after! Visited the local supermarket and wished to buy almost everything...hehe...just to taste ;p

Love the trolley! I must say public transport was pretty convenient. Get a 3-day-pass for $12 and it brings you almost everywhere on the bus and trolley!

To prove the point, the 3-day-pass brought me to:

1. San Diego Zoo I love zoos! Singapore Zoo, London Zoo, now San Diego Zoo! Heard that it's one of the best (not the cheapest...) in the world, so why not??

Imaginary Safari ;p

Lunch while watching the elephants :)

Cutest lil boy with the most charming seal!

Giraffes-my all time favourite!

Flamingos! (just like the giraffes, I never get tired looking at these marvellously coloured birds! I must say these at SD Zoo were the pinkest I remember seeing)

Watcha' lookin' at?? nom nom nom

I still cant believe the first panda I saw was in the US and not China!

2. The Old Town One of those places that every tourist guide tells you to visit and you make sure you do!

My beef jerky and a good ol' rootbeer!

A movie set! (a hotel actually ;p)

3. Shelter Island

Not really an island, but a neighbourhood near the sea where you see yachts and marinas and you get the idea? Definitely my kinda place, which reminds me a bit of home :)

The start of a very grey (and wet) weekend!

Downtown San Diego in the background

4. Cabrillo National Monument and Point Loma Lighthouse

The journey took longer than the stay, but the scenery from the cliff made it all worthwhile!

This is where the first European set foot on the West Coast

The Lighthouse est. 1855

and the next destination is...*drum rollssssss*

5. MEXICO!!!

Yes, MEXICO! okay...just the border city, Tijuana, but still, MEXICO!!!

It's more than a month since the trip but I could remember every bit of it! Not that the rest of San Diego is less exciting but this is...out of the world! Okay, here goes...

I was planning to cross the border before I started the trip...but after a week of chaotic travelling and conference, I decided not to. I thought there wouldn't be enough time, and I was told to go visit the Sea World instead. So yup, killer whales and dolphins sounded like a great idea! BUT plans just couldnt keep up to changes...such as the weather! San Diego's around 11 days of rain in a year (as I was told) and guess what?? I was so lucky to witness one of them =( It rained and rained and rained...non stop for a night...and I thought it'd stop in the morning and I'd have time for Sea World...no it didnt stop! So what was there to do on a rainy day, which just happened to be my last day in SD?? Take the trolley and go to the furthest it took me! I wasn't sure if I'd really make it over to Tijuana during the 45 min journey...I was contemplating...I was slightly worried...I was not prepared!

(this is me trying to recall on the experience after 3 months...)

So where were we?...

Right crossing the border...basically the sign MEXICO at the border was just TOO huge to ignore! I knew at that very moment that if I didnt cross the line, I'll regret! So I did!

First thing I saw was a decent tourist information centre--so I went in...just in search for a map or at least some directions (yes I was that NOT prepared!). There was only one guy working (ahuh...) and he told me not to worry, it's a SAFE place to be (I doubted every bit of it since the lady in the bus AND the old man at the bus stop told me the complete opposite!). Anyway, I still went ahead (not like I could turn back, since the gate back to the US is on the other side of town!)

Okay, I really dont have much to tell besides how nervous I was! The place was just very....different? Maybe it's just me and my wild imagination, and the fact that I was alone. I didnt feel the same when I was in Spain alone...that sorta tells how different it is! All I remember was dashing through town, ignoring every person who tried to sell me something, head down and wished I looked less Asian! However, it was an out of the world experience nonetheless! and would I do it again?? YES! (but hopefully not on my own ;p)

Here are the very few pics to prove that I'm not making things up ;p