The Sights, the Shops and (of course) the Bars

Highlights for me has to be the cheesiest sight of them all - Hollywood. You know it's all hype, engineered to grab your money, but it's still fun. We've all seen Hollywood a million times in movies and photos, but to actaully be there is still a thrill. And the sleaze and general dodginess give it a bit more of an edge. For anyone who loves movies this is the place to come. Just brace yourself for the fakeness of it all - but hey, that's Hollywood.

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Everyone tells you it's impossible to get around in LA without a car. Not true. It all depends where you want to go. LA is vastly spread out, but most of the touristy places are fairly easy to reach by bus or metro. Anywhere else, though, car is a good idea for the safety factor as well.

Literally just a couple of minutes away from Hollywood Boulevard and close to all the main sights. Dorm rooms have about 6 beds in them, ensuite bathroom and are kept pretty clean. There''s also free pancakes and tea and coffee - you do have to cook the pancakes yourself, and decent cooked meals most evenings for about $5. The hostel advertises itself as having a Bar, TV room, and Reading Room. The bar is great - cheap drinks, late nights and lots of activities. The TV room is actually a huge TV in the bar that gets turned on once a week for Movie night, and the Reading Room is a chair and a bookcase in the corridor.

Apart from these things I would reccommend this hostel - it''s friendly, in a great location, has lots of activities and tours.

Toi is a Thai American restaurant on Sunset - La Brea. The food is cheap and decent but don't expect authentic Thai; it's a very Americanized version of it. It is a fun place to eat though - the decor is all 60s/70s rock memorabilia with accompanying music and video (the Yellow Submarine was playing when I went there). The restaurant has good service, with a mostly young crowd.

Sunset Boulevard is lined with bars and clubs; the decision is where to go. I went on a bar crawl organised by the hostel to get a bit of a taste of the Strip.

Our first destination was The Saddle Ranch - a cowboy theme bar complete with a bucking bronco ride for the stupidly drunk. (If you're a girl and want a go you certainly get your money's worth as the (male) staff turn the machine way down low. Strange ....) Its a pretty big place and had no sense of atmosphere.

I was looking forward to the Red Rock, allegedly a rock club. I didn't notice it being particularly red and, sadly, it played no rock music. The dance floor is upstairs and played mostly R n B. I have to reccommend the big comfy sofas though.

We went to Miyagis next, a bizarre combination of sushi, bar and club. The club has several floors for its different functions with lots of mirrors. Definately more a place to show off than have a good time. Miyagis does have lots of cocktails though which are always good.

Our last stop was Dublins. As an Irish theme pub it has everything you expect - the Old Country decor, the drinks and the very, very drunk people. And at the end of the night that's exactly what we needed.

Sunset Strip was a fun night but if you're expecting LA glamour, you will be disappointed.

The museum is in the lower level of the shopping mall and look out for discount vouchers in the tourist brochures. There are not actually many displays to look at by yourself. When I visited there was a 'Smoking in the Movies' exhibition and the 'Greta Garbo' display.

The musuem is worth visiting for the guided tours. The main tour and the best one takes you behind the scenes, showing you familiar props, costumes, and designs from a number of famous movies.

The highlights of the museum are the Star Trek and the Cheers set. Its cheesey but still a bit of a thrill to sit in the Captain's chair or around the bar at Cheers. And if you're in town on a Monday night, you can go catch a game and have a pint at the original Cheers bar.

The musuem also does an interactive special effects tour. You get to see how some of the special effects in movies are created and also have a go at providing some sound effects.

I wasn't actually expecting much of Universal Studios. I'd heard it was really stagey and more of a theme park than a real look behind the scenes. And it is. Buts it's also great fun. Be prepared to just enter into the fantasy world of movies and enjoy it.

There are several different rides and shows, all based on various movies. The ones I particularly recommend are Jurassic Park (log flume ride), the Mummy (ghost house ride or rather walk), and Terminator 2 (a lovely combination of live action and 3D effects). The studio tour is also pretty cool. You get loaded into these little cars and taken to the backlots of the studio. The drive takes you through sets you've seen in a hundred different movies and there are also a few special effects along the way - King Kong, Jaws etc. you know they're coming but they're still great.

Universal Studios is such a fun day out. I loved the blurring of reality and movie fantasy. Tips. There's not a lot of shade and the heat can get really punishing. Take a lot of water - everything is expensive in the Studios. If you have a time and aren't too wrecked, spend the evening at Universal complex. There's lots of shops, a huge cinema (no surprise) and lots of cafes, nice restaurants and cool bars. You should be able to get a few dollars discount off the ticket and off some of the food places with the promotional flyers given out along Hollywood Blvd. The Studios are easily reachable by the metro and there's a free shuttle to the gates. But you may have to wait a long time for the shuttle back to the Metro the later you leave.

Along Hollywood Boulevard. It's actually a shop with the museum consisting of a few rooms at the back. You can see various bits of underwear as worn by Madonna and mostly old time movie stars - lots of long white cotton petticoats. If you happen to be in the shop take a look around at the musuem. Otherwise, unless you've got a serious lingerie fetish, it's probably not worth it.

LA is the place to come for the latest styles from high fashion to street bargains. And where you go depends on what you want. If you've got plenty of cash check out Macys, Downtown. Or alternatively venture on to the Fashion District to hunt for a bargain.

The shopping mall on Hollywood has a range of shops, from mainstream clothes stores to cult horror souvenirs to alternative fashion. Along the main stretch of Hollywood Boulevard itself, there are few places worth checking out. If you've ever wanted an alternative persona try Hollywood Costumes and Wigs. There's also a specialist Movie poster store and a Film bookshop amongst all the souvenir shops. Closeby on Sunset Boulevard is Amoeba, a huge music and movie shop with a large secondhand section. Be prepared to be seriously tempted.

Further afield is Melrose in west LA. Trendy boutiques line either side of the street interspersed with the occasional alternative rock/goth clothes shop. And the clothes will likely be a little cheaper than the same brands in the shopping malls.

Venice Beach is a great place to get a suntan, not mention a henna tattoo, get a workout, go shopping and generally watch the freaks go by. The boardwalk stretches all the way along to Santa Monica and is for the most part edged by alternative shops, tattoo parlours, artists and street performers. It's fun to just wander along and check out the sights - mostly human. And you can hire rollerblades, bikes or surfboards at either end if you fancy being a bit more active.

The beach itself is great, miles of golden sand and crashing waves. Don't necessarily expect to be left in peace though. When I was there, we were entertained by this big black guy balancing little rocks on big rocks. He took exception to people watching him though and demanded money. He was even more insulting to a random tv crew that happened to be there - this is LA after all. People watching is the best sport at Venice Beach - it's a genuinely alternative area, with its share of old hippies and free thinkers rejecting the usual LA ideology. Look out for the poster man who's clearly aching for an argument, a few examples of his posters read 'Jesus was Gay' and 'Hitler was right.' Most of the shops are of the alternative kind - candles, ethnic knick knacks. There are a few cheap clothes shops and it's a good place to get cheap sunglasses.

Another great spot for people or rather body watching is Muscle Beach. Here you can watch guys pumping iron in the midday sun, mad but impressive. There's also a basketball court if you fancy a game.

Venice Beach is a definite experience and you don't need to take a book along to be entertained. One thing though, it is a safe area - during the day, but if you're a lone female, be prepared for all the comments especially down Muscle Beach end.

I have to admit I expected good things of this club - famous Rock club, owned by Johnny Depp, and in the end it was a classic LA experience - lots of hype, and the reality of it not that great.

The club has two floors - live band on the top floor and downstairs is a small chill-out room with comfy sofas and laid back music. Usual black and red decor of a rock club.

To be fair I'd say it all depends on what band is playing there. On the night I went the band was just a poor imitation of Tool with some crappy mixes in between sets. So I'd recommend checking out who's playing at the Viper Room before going.

Downtown is a weird mixture of buildings and people. It ranges from skyscrapers and expensive department stores to the bargains of the Fashion District and the severely dodgy area of Skid Row.

Downtown is easy to reach via the Metro. 7th Street Station is near Macy's for a bit of high fashion shopping. Or if you're looking for some cheap clothes, it's about a 15 minute walk from here to the Fashion District. It's mostly full of lots of little shops so be prepared to spend some time hunting for a bargain. Apparently the Cooper Building has several floors of clothes shops but when I visited only the mezzanine and first floor were open to the public.

Pershing Square is the next stop along and the park is a good place to stop and stare at the skyscrapers. Sometimes there'll be a free band playing in the square, producing an interesting audience mix of business types and the homeless. Pershing Square is also close to the Library, the outside of the art deco building is lovely but probably not worth going in.

The last station is Union Square, worth visiting just for the art deco decor inside. It's also close to Olvera Street, a touristy Mexican market. Most of the shops sell tourist junk but a few towards the end of the street have some interesting items. I visited the market close to Halloween and was fascinated by the Day of the Dead items. Olvera Street is also a good place for Mexican food, from little cafes to some nice restaurants. But if you're looking for some slightly more authentic Mexican atmosphere, there is a huge food market (Grand Central Market) inbetween Pershing and Union Stations.

You can also walk to LA's civic buildings if you really want to. Downtown is made up of a number of different districts and they are worth wandering through. I walked from 7th Station to Union taking in most of the sites. Its easily doable in a day but is a long walk, especially on a hot day, which is most of the time in LA. I was walking around by myself and didn't have any problems apart from the usual requests for money and random guys trying to talk to me. It's probably a good idea to know where you're going though and don't wander off into the dodgy areas by accident.

Where to start. Well the main attractions are grouped together along several blocks. The sights range from (Hollywood) historic to cheesey, with lots of souvenir stands and sleazy shops in between.

There are 3 old time Movie Theaters on Hollywood - the Egyptian, El Capitan and the Chinese theater. All of them still show films and are worth going to visit, although the Chinese theater seemed to be the only one showing mainstream films. I really recommend wandering up and down Hollywood, looking like a tourist and putting yourself in the way of people with clipboards. If you're lucky you'll get offered free movie tickets to the above. I got to see several free films. There's also a booth outside the mall offering free TV show tickets if you're looking for freebies. If you look down at your feet as you wander along Hollywood, you'll discover the Walk of Fame, follow it up to the Chinese theater and you find the hands and footprints of movie stars, not just their names on the ground. And if you're more interested in Rock Stars' handprints, walk down to the Rock Shop on Sunset Boulevard instead.

Several of the tourist shops also offer the opportunity to have your photo taken with a cardboard cutout of your favourite star to fake out your friends and waste your money. A lot of shops will also sell tickets for tours of the stars' homes where you get to see the security gates of the rich and famous.

Despite the tawdriness of modern day Hollywood, it is still part of the entertainment industry. In the week I was there I stood and watched the stars line up for the Latin Grammys at the Kodak theatre, was very confused by the sudden appearance of a herd of goths next to my hostel - extras for a shoot apparently, and wandered down the end of the street to watch a car stunt for a new Harrison Ford film.