Tourists or Travellers

Getting there is common to both tourists and travellers. Arrangements have to be made and flights booked. From here on the itinerary of the traveller are freer and the objectives are broader. I began to figure this out more clearly in the short time that we spent in LA and concluded that our trips to the 'upside down peoples on the islands near to Australia' came more in the category of travels than tours. Not that it really matters.

Our flight through the night started on Tuesday evening in Auckland and ended on Tuesday afternoon in LA. When we left it was Autumn. When we arrived it was Spring. We travelled with the New Zealand cycle team, whose coach took our window seat and rooted himself in it for the 12 hour flight. They were a quiet and pleasant bunch, unlike the Argentinian rugby squad that we had shared the airport with.

We had our evening meal in a grill which served meat with unlimited salads. My starter was the clam chowder, which is really delicious and I washed the meal down with root beer. A big guy armed to the teeth entered the restaurant. His badge said that he was a probation officer. Imagine that in the UK. In the morning we had our pancakes and American coffee in a diner. Was more a uniformed, armed officer came in for his meal. I can't imagine uniformed officers sitting down for food in the UK, let alone carrying guns. There presence in UK restaurants might make the staff and the diners feel more comfortable, but I can't help wondering if a high public display of weaponry is in some ways counter-productive.


We had made a decision that in LA we would avoid the booked tourist journeys into 'Unreal Land' and travel into the real city. To do this we took public transport in the form of the 'Metro'. We needed a little help with this from the hotel staff. But, from then it became a piece of cake. The nearest Metro station was ten minutes walk away at Maripossa and Nash.

The LA Metro is generally above ground, using unmanned stations, with a day fare of £2.50. The layout around the city is easy with lines denoted by colour. I made a mistake of getting on to a carriage whose only occupant was a 'hoody', but soon more people got on. (The guide books tell you not to travel alone or at night). For most of the journey we were the only white people on the train and all announcements and signs were in English and Mexican.

The rail journey took us down the middle of eight lane carriageways, sometimes above ground and sometime along streets which were sometimes depressed and sometimes pleasant suburbia. One of our intersections was Union Station. This was built in the 30's in the Art Deco style and was the arrival point of many 'Stars'. We took an opportunity to look out and see the station. It is impressive. Some unused areas are cathedral like and the main concourse more like a grand hotel.

From here we took the Metro to its furthest point. This being Sierra Madre, near the 'Foothills', with our objective being to reach them. The Metro bridge took us over an eight lane motorway. The noise was appalling, but once over we set off out of town. The road was wide, there were less cars and no pedestrians. The heat beat us and after finding no refreshments, having glimpsed the 'Foothills' we turned back to civilisation. To be honest we did not really want to pay golf club prices. We knew that the bars near the station would be cheaper.

Mum had wanted to go into a park and so we got off at a stop called 'Memorial Park'. All of this journeying had actually been in Pasadena.


Having paid homage to a 'Yanky' soldier we set off back to the station and spotted a magnificent building. This turned out to be Pasadena Town Hall.

We had noticed that each station somehow reflected the area. We happened to be in a arty area and I decided to photograph the platform. It was here that we met the real America. That very morning the US government were talking about a $9,000,000,000,000 bail out. But here we met a man whose needs were more pressing. He was a black man and he engaged me in a conversation about my photograph. He had a large holdall. He explained that he was bag-at-a-time moving his belonging from what was his Pasadena home to a 'Project' (council) home in a more affordable part of LA. He seemed to be neither begging, boasting or complaining, but telling it as it is. He was not the only one we met on two continents for whom the recession is a reality.

Next we went to China Town. It is a real home to the Chinese people of the city and they go about their lives and play Mahjong on street corners.

I must do something about the pose.

Our final stop was to be in Downtown LA itself where we purchased 'Smoothies' and sat on a wall amongst the people in the busy city.

A view from the Smoothies.

The return was through busy rush hour. It is a bit scary to be challenged by a fully armed 'Sheriff' ticket collector.

We had a morning before flying home. The bright sun of the previous day was LA smog. We did the half hour walk to the beach the El Segundo town. The beach has beautiful sand, but is delightfully adorned by the petroleum plant and the LA water works.

Some final photos.

The Beach at El Segundo


Grand Avenue, El Segundo (Note the smogged out buildings)

California Poppies (The pretty bits)

Conclusion
After the 28 hour journey back from LA I would conclude that we return as travellers. We had

1. Suffered some deprivations
2. Experienced some risks
3. Had close personal encounters
4. We hope that we are somewhat different because of our experiences.

We had experienced the friendliness of other peoples and shared in some of their the difficulties that this current recession is bringing. We have seen people apparently unaffected by the problems confronting us all, but we have also felt the spirit of resilience and determination that seems to be common to everyone that we met in both NZ and US societies.

Our travels abroad end for the time being, but we are determined to continue to be travellers wherever are journey now takes us.

Note
There was some sadness in our homecoming. Our friend Arthur died in his sleep on the day before we got home. We have been welcomed by all his family and feel that we almost belong with them, especially at this time.
Arthur has left me his railway stuff.