Galloping Horse: USA Trip: I'm Going to Hollywood!

Have not been travelling for almost 4 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic (last being Hokkaido Trip in July 2019) and United States of America (USA) became the first country to resume my wanderlust. Nicknamed "The Land of Opportunity", USA is not a totally foreign land to anyone, be it due to its famous entertainment industry i.e. Hollywood, out-of-the-world technology advancement for the likes of NASA and Tesla or perhaps the controversial presidency of Donald Trump, who I get to know first from hit reality series show back then, The Apprentice. With 6 time zones, different parts of the country offer different experience and consciously knowing that I wouldn't be able to cover them all in a single visit, I picked the West for my maiden trip. For first half of this journey, I was joined by my high school friend of 20 years who is currently working in the States.

West Coast of America, I'm coming to you!

Malaysians need visa to enter USA for tourism purpose. The visa application was not as complicated as you think it is, though still relatively a bit more hassle compared to other countries like UK, China, Australia, India or Myanmar. This is purely because the need of having interview at the Embassy of the USA. Flight tickets are not mandatory prior to the application, however, you do need to have tentative travelling dates. In view of appointment limited availability, it is recommended to apply for your visa at least three months before. I applied mine in the end of October, with appointment set in early November (I would consider myself lucky as I believe someone cancelled their appointment at the last minute as the next available date was weeks, if not months away) and booked my flights after to fly in February of following year.

My travelling partner for first half of this getaway.

Prior to the appointment, there are two steps to complete: filling up DS-160 form online and paying Visa fee. DS-160 comes with specific application ID and need to be saved to retrieve your application in the future since you can keep it as draft before final submission. Do remember the security questions too. There are plenty of information required, from your education history to last countries visited in the past 5 year and list of questionnaires on security and background information. The page will refresh itself after a while, be it you left it idle or been actively filling it up so be sure to keep saving or keep your info aside so you won't need to retype them. B2 Visa cost 160 USD and the rate in MYR depends on current exchange rate. It cost me MYR 752 back then. Do note that the visa fee will take a while to process depending on payment method. The fastest way to get it processed is to have it paid over counter at Ambank. I did mine via online transfer and I needed to wait until next business day. Visa fee comes with MRV number which would be required to schedule appointment and should you run into an error, it could just mean your visa fee is still being processed. With that done and you are set to book your time at the embassy for interview!

Hold on, I thought I'm going to America?

The interview process was rather quick for me. I arrived at the embassy slightly earlier than my appointment time with all the required documents and I already saw there were people waiting in line. The guard would call you in based on your scheduled appointment and you need to leave your belongings at the guard house, including your handphone. The whole session was done in less than 15 minutes. I wouldn't call it as interview though. It was just a casual chat over the counter separated by transparent glass, like asking where I work, do I own property and the next thing I know, the lady said my visa is approved there and then. I received email on the next day that my passport is ready for collection. Initially I thought to have the visa/passport self pick up option in my application (because it's free) but eventually I sorted to parcel delivery with a fee by requesting change of delivery mode via email. My visa is approved for 10 years and it is for multiple entries. With this, next step is to book my flight tickets.

I booked Singapore Airlines and return trip from Kuala Lumpur via transit at Changi to Los Angeles, cost me MYR 3500, with checked luggage included, up to 2 bags, 23kg each. I believe the ticket was rather cheap due to the fact I would be going during winter/non peak season. However, this didn't mean the expenses in USA was any less cheaper; a bed at decent dormitory for 40 dollars per night, private room for 100 dollars (excluded taxes), 10 to 20 dollars for a decent meal. Tipping is a thing in the USA and the amount is usually minimum of 15% or 18% of your bill. You are more than welcome to give more should you like the service rendered. We utilized almost all modes of transport; we rented cars, we rode train, we boarded ferry, we flew, you name it. Need not to mention those intracity commute via bus/metro/e-hailing and lots, lots of walking. Petrol, or locally they called it gas, at this part of the USA, you could find average price hovering around 4.50 dollars/gallon and the highest being 5 dollars. I would say the best way to explore in the States is actually getting yourself a car to drive out the city and possibly for interstate travel/road trips. Public transport is recommended within the city area due to the traffic and finding parking is a pain. It ain't cheap either. Cheapest option is obviously to be on foot and cities in the States are all pedestrians-friendly.

View from plane, flying towards Nevada from Washington.

Spanning for 18 days, we, or at least me, covered five states: we travelled up north from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, crossed state border for quick stay at Portland before reaching at the state of Washington. Flying back down south to Nevada, I did 2 days 1 night tour to Arizona before concluding my trip at City of Angels. In the beginning of the trip, the time difference was 16 hours later than Malaysia and there was daylight saving time adjustment during my last week there in which they fast forwarded their clock by an hour. I'm still losing that one hour of my time now, at the time of this posting. It was mostly cloudy and drizzling/shower to the point that both me and my friend agreed the weather was considered good as long as it wasn't raining. I can say I only get to see the sun for less than 7 days, combined. At some point, we experienced snow, like it was literally snowing albeit for a brief moment. The temperature was never over 20 degree Celcius (68F) during daytime and it could get to as low as 0 degree (32F) as night fell. I was all good with the temperature until the wind decided to blow.