My MH Trip to Los Angeles

MH World's Best Cabin Crew

KLIA Satellite Building

Golden Lounge

My flight to KLAX on MH First Class

Life with the Luxuries of First Class..

Part 1: Information…

Destination: Los Angeles (KLAX/LAX)
Departure via: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (WMKK/KUL)
Est Flight Time: 18 hours
Stops: 1 (Taipei)

Estimated Arrival (LAX): 12.10PM (US Time)

Transportation in Los Angeles: Avis Car Rent-a-Car
Vehicle Type: 4×4 Jeep Cherokee

Average cost per day: $ 38.00

Destinations: Los Angeles City, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Shopping Outlets, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles International Airport

Part 2: Details ..

My trip to Los Angeles started out with much anticipation as my last trip to LAX was approximately 10 years ago.
So from the preparations to the actual travel day was pretty much exciting and with much anticipation.

I left home at about 7.30am, I left early not so much of anything but because I love airports and aircrafts so I usually have ample time for myself to snap photos and walk around KLIA.

It was time to board the aircraft and I was super duper anxious (sounds like my first trip!!) but I am typically anxious for any trip on board Malaysia Airlines. It’s my preferred airline! So as I walk through boarding gate and through the aero bridge, the sounds of the APU running and the air conditioning units running on the external side of the Aero bridge was making it all the more impossible for me to withstand anymore of it .. alas I got on board and was welcomed by the cabin crews and had the privilege of enjoying the New First Class seats on board my favorite airline…

Me seating on-board the first class seats

It was a totally different sensation and experience all together. The seats has a full 180 degrees flat bed for me to sleep in comfortably. The Entertainment was great with the huge screen like seating on your computer desk but with total comfort. Nothing better than a excellent glass of Dom Perignon Champagne and watching your favorite movies or listening to your favorite tunes.

First Class LCD

After take off, I had a sumptuous  meal with a great desert to end it, it’s none other than Haagen Dazs

First Class Cuisine

The Ice cream ..

After food, I took a nap on the spacious and very comfortable seat beds. After having a good nap, our flight arrived moments later in Taipei, Taiwan. Seen below (Aircraft Docking with the Aero Bridge)

Taipei International Airport

Gate B9, Taipei Int'l Airport

After having to walk around for about an hour plus, I was on my way back on board and this time I managed to get a seat by the window and was surprised to actually found out that the aircraft windows were different, there was no manual sliding of the windows and everything was electrically operated via push buttons which were easily accessible from the seats.

Seat controls

Sliding Shades

After take off, I had another round of meals and this time the food is Taiwanese and they served really good meals.

Appetizers

I’m always fond of the bread served on board MAS First Class. They are FRESH, WARM, SOFT and Delicious till the last bite and I’m always asking for more. Favorite pastries (Soft-roll, Garlic Bread & Croissant). absolutely the best!

However the crew that took over this flight was horrible. they actually made the flight extremely uneasy .. they were everything they aren’t suppose to do or treat the passengers.

First Class cabin

After a good meal and a couple of glasses of champagne .. I slept through and not very long after i woken up, we were about to land in Los Angeles Int’l Airport. Our approach to KLAX (LAX) took us approximately 20 minutes

Approach to LAX

After approach, we landed into LAX and were towed in by the airport tow trucks into the gates. Reason being is because, due to security they require all aircrafts to switch off their engines and allow the airport authorities to tow the aircraft into the gate avoiding any unforeseen circumstances

Towed into Gate 120

Security here was pretty much stricter than in KLIA itself or even Taipei airport. We had to unfasten our belts, remove our shoes, socks, jackets, metal objects (keys, coins etc), literally everything and worst of all .. they have separate x-ray machines for laptops which I consider extremely inconvenient as I had to remove my laptop and place it into a separate container.

Part 3 … In Los Angeles

After sorting out the customs and luggage, we proceeded to Thrifty where we rented our 4×4 Jeep Cherokee. It was supposed to be a sedan but they ran out of it and forgotten to keep one for us, for that they gave us a SUV for the same price tag.

Jeep SUV

After getting our ride, we then proceeded to check in at the local hotel which is nothing much but a pretty neat place to sleep in for 2 people. Later that night, we drove to Farmers Market in Los Angeles where we had dinner, drinks, chill out and walk around the place. Manager to get my iPod check out and changed to a brand new one as I had problems with my previous iPod and had trouble getting it replaced in M’sia.

Farmers Market

Food at Farmers Market

The beef was excellent and it was really worth eating it cause it only cost $7 per plate

Coffee Bean at Farmers Market

Apple Retail

Got my iPod changed here (pic above), best thing was no cost plus I got my new iPod on the spot!

Live Singing at Farmers Market

There were many families and couples enjoying a good time here… and behind the band, there’s a place called the Cheesecake Factory. All in all .. it was an enjoyable night.

We then proceeded back to our hotel for a good night rest. The next morning, we woke up pretty early as we haven’t really adjusted fully to the time difference. We got some breakfast (eggs, ham, sausages, toast, cereals and fresh milk). then we packed and off we went to Nevada. We drove to Las Vegas .. the drive took us 5 hours instead of 3 1/2 hours as we stopped for Gas, Food, drinks, some needed rest, shopping at the factory outlets.

Las Vegas here I come .. oh yea before that I need Gas. So we stopped for our first gas stop at Shell. It was totally different kind of experience there for me.

Shell Gas Station - Self Served

The gas station was practically pump and pay later with all new LCD advertisement screens to entertain you while you pump away. It was a single pump, but gives you the option to choose the type of gasoline you want to pump into your ride. They had what we have here (Unleaded, V-Power, Diesel and of course Regular)

We drove as far as we could .. we were hungry and practically starving so we hit the next stop and got into McDonalds as fast as we could and grab ourselves a bite. I had a Double Quarter Pounder (a lil something extra then what I can get here) It was big, yummy, cheesy and tasty!)

My McD set meal ... everything Larger than Normal

Double Quarter Pounder

After lunch .. we went to the Polo Factory Outlet where we did some shopping for our family members. The EDT’s and EDP’s here were cheaper than usual.

Polo Ralph Lauren (Factory Outlet)

It was one after another outlet we went to .. man we’re gonna be late to LV. Check out these photos

Factory Outlets outside California

Ghost Town

We continue driving and guess what, we saw a local town called Ghost Town…creepy as it maybe, it’s nothing more than a cryptic name for a ghost-less town.

As we continued driving, we came onto a stretch of heavy traffic and that stretch extended out for more than 15 miles. the longest traffic jam I’ve ever seen.

Heavy Traffic on Route 15

on-route to Las Vegas

As we were on our way to Vegas we came across another town where there was a signage indicating a concert of Lance Burton in Vegas City. So we continued driving with further anticipation… before that I got myself another drink .. it was a huge 64 oz  drink

my drink

just continue driving we saw another factory outlet .. we were thinking whether to proceed to vegas or not but I couldn’t resist shopping so I stopped. Man was I in for another surprise, GAP was super cheap!

GAP

after a brief shopping … we drove on to Vegas and oh yeah! Vegas here I am .. What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

Bally's Hotel

we drove on Vegas Strip and came across many hotels that we have not seen in 10 years.

New York New York Hotel

For our trip to Vegas, we stayed at the Excalibur Hotel see inset image

Excalibur Hotel

Vegas City

Got myself a Tee while shopping – an NYPD Shirt.

a H3 Hummer

The same day we went to Excalibur Hotel for dinner and we had a sumptuous meal.

a good meal

After a nice meal .. we set out to see the Pyramid known as Luxor. a Glass Pyramid filled with Ancient Civilizations and Statues…

an Ancient Statue

More pics of Las Vegas City…

Excalibur

Tropicana Hotel

MGM Hotel - City of Entertainment

MGM

Harley Davidson

Mirage Hotel

Venetian Hotel

Venetian and Bellagio

an interview with The American Idol Judge

Phantom of The Opera

Secret Garden - Dolphin Habitat

Dolphins

Smile =)

Dolphins in action..

Do I look good?

Swimming with Ease

This Z4 could be yours ... for a quarter =)

Pancakes

after all the walking and sightseeing, i was hungry and this Pancake Stall (above pic) made me hungry .. I ordered one to share with my family.

Yum Yum ..

The above made me even hungrier just seeing all that delicious food….

G.G Santi Venezia

Our Pancake

We went on our way back to our hotel .. another night to enjoy before we depart back to Los Angeles

Eiffel Tower

In Vegas you can find almost anything on Earth there’s to find. Even the Eiffel Tower.

The Magical Fountain of Bellagio

Nike Factory Outlet

Nike Factory Outlet

We went shopping here and we got ourselves 4 pairs of shoes which were cheap (as compared to KL)I got 2 Jordan Shoes for 170 USD and my family got 2 other pairs for $ 70 bucks .. dead cheap!

Ok shopping’s done .. now back to LAX. Before that .. the usuals .. Gas Station first.

Chevron Gas Station

Chevron GS

But before we head back to Los Angeles, we were gonna visit Hoover Dam, NV

State of Arizona

Hoover Dam Lake

Hoover Dam Water Intake Towers

Map of Hoover Dam

Arriving in Los Angeles

The above picture show’s the new Toyota Camry before it was launched in Malaysia.

Our Jeep has digital compass built into our speedometer

Our car was good .. even though we were not sure where we were headed, our car knows which direction we were facing.

Self Served Gas Station

You can practically get anything in a Gas station from Gasoline to Water, Air and even Self Serviced Vacuums by paying only a dollar.

We even saw CNN Headquarters in Los Angles…

CNN HQ

We put up a few nights in Comfort Inn where it was cheap and comfortable…

Comfort Inn

On our way to Universal Studios

Today we’re gonna going to Universal Studios, Hollywood where all dreams comes together in one place.

Universal Studios

Adams Family Member

Entrance to Van Helsing

The Van Helsing Theme Center was way too scary .. it was practically creeping us every step of our way into the theme center. there were snakes, rats, terrible smell … slimy stuff everywhere .. skeletons and everything that we never expected to see

Too Fast Too Furious Cars

Here I saw what I never thought I would see .. Too Fast Too Furious Cars at my reach .. haha
You can’t imagine what it is like seeing a car you only see on TV. I mean this is not your average Cars its the cars of Fast and Furious Series

Drift Car from the Movie The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift - R34 Nissan Skyline GTR

Dong..Key... It's Shrek's Shack!

Shrek’s Shack … funny why it was closed. Probably he’s Shreking in the woods. LOLX

Jaws!!! HELP!

I could go into acting … this was fun .. screaming for my life while being half-way into Jaws Mouth

Studio Tour at Universal Studios

The Fast and The Furious Extreme Close Up

Me and Dad

This is a good photo .. by the road side to Hollywood (Imitation Photo Set)

Studio Cars from the Set of Back to The Future

Studio Cars from the Set of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Simulated Action Cars from Tokyo Drift

Simulated Explosion

Dino boy ... Down boy Down!

The Infamous Flood of Universal Studios

a scene from The Infamous King Kong

Mr Fusion - The Power Core of The DeLorean (Car from Back to The Future II)

Jurassic Park - Entrance to Isla Island

This was a fun-filled walk into Jurassic Park. It was a dream come true…

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park - The Ride

Jurassic Park - The Ride

The Jurassic Park Ride – gives riders a chance to ride into Isla Island, featuring the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. The ride will then go down-stream for the final phase of the ride and splash down into a giant water pool. The ride is wet-less but fun!

Mummy - The Ride (Multi direction Roller-coaster ride)

The Mummy – The Ride, enable users to ride a roller coaster in a series of ups and down hills featuring all the Mummy Characters shown in the movie. Also the ride comes to complete stop half way and goes into reverse direction with the riders seating forward while the ride goes back-way/reverse direction and then stops back at the starting point.

Backdraft Fire Replicator Studio

In the Backdraft Studio, you can witness the actual Fire Creation in which we’ve seen in the movie.

This is a Show Dog

The dog above is a show dog … one of the smartest in the families of Show Dogs. This Dog practically stood there while his cat-pals walk pass by. LOLX

Huge dogs and Funny Animals

The dog above is huge when he jump up on the owner. The dogs are all cute and so are the rest of the animals…

Waterworld Studio

The Water World Studio featuring all the action from the Movie Water World minus the real actors

Water World Studio

Water World Studio - Action on the move

Terminator 2 - Cyberdine (3D Terminator Action)

After a great day at Universal Studios, we decided to have dinner at Panda Express .. a local Chinese Take Out and Dine-in Restaurant. Probably one of the best around in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It’s cheap and tasty.

Panda Express, CA

Have a look at the Menu,

Panda Express Menu

** For the sake of being a sensitive human being. I’m not going to post any non-halal items here as it may offend certain racial groups.

But for what’s worth, the food at Panda Express was good and it felt like I was in some local hawker stall back in KL (felt that way..for the most part)

after dinner, we proceeded back to our hotel where we had our showers and then drove up to Hollywood BLVD

Hollywood BLVD

The Cast of Star Trek - The Original Series

Grauman's Chinese

Well it was good night and because we were leaving for Kuala Lumpur the next day, we decided to call it a night .. we needed to pack our stuff and get ready for a big and long day ahead as our flight was in the evening thus we needed to check out by noon and I needed to return the car by 8.30PM (US time).

After checking out, we decided to check out the local shopping scene .. we drove to Foxhills.

Westfield Shopping Town - JCPenney & macy's

Westfield Shopping Town

The shopping center was nothing like any shopping centers I’ve known in Malaysia. The layout is pretty good and the walk-about is pretty easy. You can practically find just about anything you want easily without much hassle, atleast not like KL Malls which has too many floors and the structure design is just too complicated.

US Malls are usually either single floor or 2-3 at most, at 2-3 floors it is still comparatively easier to navigate yourself to any of the retail outlets as there not many walls .. its just one super big open space building and finding anything is super easy.

after getting what we needed, we decided to have our last meal at a local fast food chain – In and Out Restaurant just outside of LAX beside the Runway (RWY)

IN-N-OUT

The burgers were good .. I mean its not your average run of the mill McDonalds or even Burger King burger. It was nice, fresh beef, fresh cheese and everything about the meal was simply awesome and the taste stayed on till we check in to the airport…

So after having spent like a couple of hours at In-N-Out .. we decided it was time to return the car and check in to LAX

Thrifty Car Rental LAX

Ok .. car’s returned .. now we hav to take the Thrifty Shuttle Back to LAX

Thrifty Car Rental Shuttle (FOC)

The ride in one of these shuttles was amazing .. it wasn’t brand new or anything but it was definitely comfortable, smell great and the driver was helpful and friendly!

LAX Pylons

Above LAX Pylon- photo copyright Jay Berkowitz, CA

Ok ok .. check it out .. we checked in and guess what? we had the First Class Invitation to MAS Golden Lounge

(note that after our trip .. LAX no longer has a dedicated MAS Lounge for First Class and Business Class Passengers instead it is now shared with other airlines like KLM etc)

MH Dedicated Golden Lounge (Not available anymore..)

Malaysia Airlines - Golden Lounge

So we hanged out here for like an hour to two .. cause there’s practically no shopping in LAX Airport during the night. If it wasn’t for the passengers arriving and departing. The airport would practically be like a dead town with aircrafts parking outside the gate.

Now that we have boarded and have taken off from LAX – Taipei. We had our meal and our Champagne .. check it out

First Class Supper

First Class Foods

Photo of me and Ai Lee

I met Ai Lee on-board our flight from Los Angeles. She was the best Stewardess I have ever came across in all my flights. At that time she was a Senior Flight Stewardess and now she’s a Inflight Supervisor. I haven’t seen her for sometime now, but I do keep in touch with her regularly. The guy beside me is from Bangsar and he’s also one good customer service guy.

Time passed .. and we soon landed in Taipei. The good thing about having stops during your flight is that you get to stand up and walk-about during your stop overs. bad thing is that you waste more time .. but comparing Pro and Cons, I’d say stop overs are better .. you get to see more stuff and rest those tired butts. When we landed in Taipei, the showers just ended and since it was early in the morning, you could say it was cooling in the airport cause at that time .. it was during Winter season.

9M-MPP - MH95 LAX-KUL

Soon it was time to Board our flight MH 95 to Kuala Lumpur and our flight would take us approximately 6 1/2 hours.
We will be landing around 2.30pm approximately (Local Time).

Taipei Airport - Boarding Area

Off we went on-board, got a new set of crew .. got to be on-board the Flight deck (unfortunately couldn’t take photographs).

Malaysian 95 was taxing to the RWY and needed to join the long Que, as there were many flights departing off. After a long wait at the taxi-way. control tower gave the word “Malaysian 95 clear for take-off RWY XX winds 8 knots…..” and the Commander of our flight acknowledge the approval and increase the thrust levers for take off speeds. approaching 165 knots, the commander pull back on the yoke and soon the nose begin to rise .. after clearing the RWY, the commander gave the order “Positive Rate of Climb … Gear Up” Soon after the gear was locked and stowed into the landing gear bays, the pilots adjust the flaps according to the indicated air-speed. as we climb to FL 150, the captain switch off the Seat-Belt signs…and I went back to my seats for the rest of my journey.

After returning back to my seat, I had a nice lunch

First Class - my seat

before lunch .. a glass of champagne – Dom Perignon 1996 Vintage

Dom Perignon

The DP was exceptionally good this time around ..

Brunch after take off from Taipei on-board First Class

Cherries and Coffee for after meal...

Now you’ll be wondering .. Does MH First Class Serve each passengers a box of cherries? hmm?

No of course not! I got a few boxes of cherries from Los Angeles the same day I went to the airport. I got these from Santa Monica Beach where they had a flee market. a typical box of this cherries cost only 5 USD as compared to M’sia which would cost you approximately MYR 30

Ok .. so after a good meal and a box of cherries .. we’re set to Land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sepang

Satellite Building KLIA

It was sure a pleasant flight! Thanks MH for giving me the opportunity to not only travel to where I wanted to go but giving me the opportunity to experience the best flight on board MH Flight from KUL-LAX-KUL!

Thanks!

Luxury is Definitely in the Air on MH!

The above Picture is definitely true!! A must try for every passengers both Malaysians and Foreigners alike!

Cheers

William Ching