Rather than doing my usual day-by-day itinerary, I’m going to summarize the highlights of my latest trip to LA, Arizona, New Mexico and Vegas during the holidays. I wanted to head west to visit my relatives for Christmas in Los Angeles. It also gave me a chance to explore Arizona and New Mexico for a few days.

Eating in Los Angeles

I love good eats… And LA has some great eats! I got to enjoy Unami Burger for the first time. It lives up to the hype unlike In and Out. I tried Hoy Ka Thai noodles which was so flavourful and amazing! I also had the chance to try the tsukemen ramen at Tsujita which was rich and delicious (Yes, it beats Daikyoya which was once my favourite!). I also had amazing Bánh patê sô pastries and Bánh bò —which my aunt special ordered it for us and drove across town to get it. Oh and who could forget D’lush’s blended Thai Ice Tea which I’ve been in love with since 2008!

Griffin Park, Los Angeles

On New Years, we went for a hike at Griffin Park. We explore the observatory and then climbed the hill. Rather than taking the long winding flat path to the top, we took a short cut which involves climbing the steeper terrain. Loved this and the view was simply amazing.

Universal Studios, Los Angeles

This was probably the funniest day with my all cousins. We went on all the rides and spend some quality time together. Man, I love these guys. My favourite ride was the 3D Transformers ride (we went on it twice!) I’m a fan of the transformer movies and this ride just BLEW my mind. The minion ride was another fun cute ride!

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

The White Sands National Monument is a natural highlight of New Mexico. The area was beautiful but I did expected the dunes to be larger. There isn’t much to do at these dunes except tobogganing but I didn’t have enough time.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Wow! This place was surprisingly impressive. I’ve seen caverns before but the main cavern room was massive. There were so many interesting formations and the best part was the hike from the surface. Rather than hiking down, we hiked up 750 ft. It was more challenging but good exercise. I wish I had more time here.

Saguaro National Park & Desert Museum, Arizona

I’ve never seen so many large cacti before! They were all massive and it was quite the sight to see. I’d love to have seen a sunrise or sunset here. The museum was also a fun surprise! There was so much to see including fascinating cacti types and desert animals.

Las Vegas

I thought I would be bored coming back but I was quickly reminded how exciting the liveliness of the city is. My cousins (who just YOLO-d coming with us last minute), Karry and I just wandered the night people watching and hotel “hopping”. I got to enjoy frozen custard for the first time at Luv-it custard and ate at the new Shake Shake on the strip.

Of course, just seeing my family and spending Christmas with them was one of my favourite memories. They are all so welcoming, fun and sweet. You cannot help but feel warm when your with this family.