After my trip in San Francisco, my next destination was the sunny and glittery Los Angeles. The plan was to meet my other Dubai Friends who were traveling as well in the US and we will stay together in a motel (that one of my friend’s aunt booked for us). While I was in SF, I got a message from them that they arrived early in the city and they will be staying their first night in a town hours away from LA (and apparently, if you don’t have a car, you cannot follow). The only thing left to do is to book a place to stay at least for a night.
Being a budget traveler, I immediately went to my trusty www.hostelworld.com and looked for a good hostel. There were several choices but because most of them were in the almost same price range ($50/night), I based my selection on the reviews instead. I chose The USA Hostel Hollywood and I must say I was pretty excited. —-The hostel is located at the heart of Hollywood, walking distance to almost every tourist sites in the city (awesome right?!).
I haven’t been in a hostel since my trip in the US started. We had a hotel in NY, a hotel again in Florida, I lived at a friend’s house in SF and this time I think staying in a hostel will be interesting. I love hostels!!!
I mentioned that I will be staying in this hostel to a friend who is based in California and he decided to stay there as well——yahoooo. This will be fun!
As I arrived in LAX, my head kept on turning,looking for any sign of a Hollywood celebrity…sadly I was not that fortunate.
The sun in LA was refreshing. Coming from a very cold and foggy San Francisco, I was surprised that I missed the sun. Seeing the sunset on my way to Hollywood, it felt like a Coldplay song was playing on the background and I was on a TV show opening credit or something.
Riding the subway and walking to my hostel I must say was a bit scary. In the US, like in NY and even in San Fran, there were a lot of times that I felt I was not secure. I felt the same thing (even more) in LA. In the train I was scared that it will be my last train ride ever.
Walking along the Hollywood hall of fame made me feel sad seeing a lot of homeless people camping along the side walk. But I guess, not every city is perfect and let’s just hope that the government (and neighborhood) will do something about this.
I finally arrived at the Hostel, it was not really hard to find. The direction from their website was pretty accurate. The Hostel looks nice. A bunch of travelers already occupied the outdoor lounge area and I must say, I was a bit intimated. It felt as if they knew each another already for a long time. Well, that is the beauty of being in a hostel, but this time (at least for the first night) I was the outcast.
