Backpacking U.S (Bozeman, Grand Canyon, Seattle, San Francisco, Hawaii )

On the day that I was leaving Yellowstone, the Yellowstone bus drops me and every other people leaving on that particular day to Bozeman. My initial plan was to stay in Bozeman for a night only but I bought the wrong flight ticket and was staying for 3 nights.

I only actually realised I was staying in Bozeman for 3 nights the day before I was supposed to get on the yellowstone bus. I went to airbnb and looked for a place to stay.

Yellowstone bus and that's my friends carrying my luggage and backpack for me. It's nice to have people watching over you the whole time! I love my family here.

Btw, I'm not the kind of person that plans my trip. I just decided to go to all these places two weeks before I was leaving Yellowstone. There are no particular reasons why I wanted to go all these places but it's just what I've been gathering from people around me.

Before I left, my friend had an extra U.S sim card and he gave it to me. I signed up for the plan online, USD65 (if i remember) for 5GB data. I know I'll be using Google Map a lot since I'm pretty direction blind.

Bozeman [4 days 3 nights]
Accommodation : USD 90 (USD 30 a night)
I ended up at this nice and quiet neighbourhood. And my host was really great. She borrowed brochures and travel books from the public library so that I can travel around in ease in Bozeman.

I was honestly a lot more fat, big and tanned from the vigorous hiking outdoors and also my diet that consist 95% of meat and carbs. The reason why I'm pulling this face is because I was carrying a lot of stuff and my 10 minutes walk to the house became a 30 minutes walk.

She was renting out this bed and the couch. I chose the couch because it was cheaper. LOL

The two cats are always terrorising my habitat!

Once i pulled the sofa out. It's a pretty comfortable couch that can fit 2.

I didn't do much in Bozeman except walk around town, visited the museum, watched a movie where I had the whole entire cinema to myself. 

That was also my first time trying Omakase. Omakase (お任せ o-makase^?) is a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it up to you" from Wikipedia.
The chef prepares the food for you and I love this because it's like a surprise! You never know what you're getting until it's placed in front of you.
If I remember correctly, this cost me USD40, plus a USD10 tip it's USD50. It was really good, and the sashimi they use is top quality so it was really worth what I paid.

Preparing to leave Bozeman to my  next destination. 

Bozeman is a nice, quiet town. It was really nice to explore on the first day, but it gets really boring on the next 2 days. The only thing I look forward to everyday is breakfast, lunch and dinner. LOL

Grand Canyon, Arizona [3 days 2 nights]

Accommodation : NIL

The first thing I thought of when I landed here is, "Am I already back in Malaysia??" The weather is so different from Yellowstone and Bozeman. It's hot as hell and the air is dry.

I met this guy, Phillip when my friends and I went hitchhiking. He was so sweet to offer to pick me up from the airport or wherever is convenient for me and take me to Grand Canyon. I was actually in a dilemma previously because I know I wanted to go Grand Canyon but I didn't know how to. Renting a car would be really expensive and  I didn't want to follow tour. 

He drove 3 hours from where he was to pick me up. I was grateful at how he would go to that extent to pick me up, someone he don't even know!

I know it was a big risk and my family was at a big shock. They don't believe that there's someone so nice that's willing to do all that for a complete stranger and they were reminding me of rape, kidnapping and all that. But, I guess I took the leap of faith and chose to trust him. (I stalked his Facebook previously and he really seems like a sincere, genuine guy and he is!!)

If there's one major thing about me, it's that I HATE planning. So when he asked me to plan, his job was just to drive me wherever I wanted, I dread it and till the day I met him, I still had no plan except to drive to Grand Canyon. I seriously thank God when he was really cool about it and said, we'll just plan as we go. 

Seriously, American portions are crazy huge.

This was our bed for two nights. When night time falls, we would just drive into the side of the road, into the forest and stop the car there, pull out our mattress and sleep.

I would often peek out because the night time view in Grand Canyon is amazing. The stars are so bright and they fill up the night sky.

I never showered for that entire 3 days and 2 nights.

The Monte Cristo and omelette in this place is to die for. If I were to come back to Arizona, I would revisit this place every single day. It's so, so so good T_T I think it's called The Breakfast Club.

That's Phillip and me before we look like shit. It was a tough 7 hours hike under the dry, hot sun. The worst thing about this is because the starting hike is just stairs going down so going back up to the starting point, you'd have to climb all that dreadful stairs back up. It didn't help that we both woke up late, and started to hike only at 10am.

We were soon hiking under the afternoon sun. I was hallucinating a lot on the way up. I thought I would faint at one point but I didn't. So thank God I didn't embarrass myself. LOL

My leftover breakfast as lunch.

My biggest regret here is that I didn't obtain the permit to do the Havasupai trail in Grand Canyon. I'd have to book it months in advance for that particular trail. One of the many downs when you suck at planning early.

This is the havasupai fall i got from google. I don't know if it would look like that in real life, but I bet it'll still be amazing.

Seattle [5 days 4 nights]

Accommodation : Green Tortoise Hostel , USD74.52 ( USD34 a night x2)

I actually stayed in the hostel for 2 nights and the remaining two nights in my 'foster' parents home. They're Marion and Joan. I met them while serving them lunch in Yellowstone. They were impressed with my English and we were just talking, they were asking me about my plans after Yellowstone, where I would be travelling. So when I told them I'd be in Seattle, they offered me a place to stay, and even offered to pick me up from the airport.

My original plan was to go Seattle, and from there, Mt. Rainier because people kept telling me it's gorgeous! When I told them about my plan, they agreed to take me there. They left me their email and number and a really sweet comment card.

I wanted to stay at the hostel first because they were living pretty far away from town so I didn't want to be troubling them having to send me to town. And, the reason I chose to stay in this hostel is because it's right smack in the middle of town, right opposite Pike Pier's Market.

If you look up this hostel online, there are mixed reviews. The bad reviews are probably it's really noisy at night since it's right smack in the middle of town. But if you're like me, and can sleep through anything, this is the place to be!

The kitchen. They provide eggs, toast and pancake batter in the morning. You can cook your own eggs and pancake. Great way to save money!

They have dinners on occasional days in a  week too. When I first arrived, they were having taco night.

I was living in a 6 bedroom dorm and I got the top bunk bed. I hate the top bunk bed!! I'm always dropping my pillow or phone. I hate climbing up too. There's a small space underneath the bed for people to lock their luggage or precious belongings in. You have to bring your own padlock. As I didn't own one, I took the risk and just left it unlock. I guess Lady Luck was on my side because I didn't lost anything.

The lobby. There's computer for people to use too and this is where people just hang out in general. They organise a lot of events. Like pub crawling night, movie night,etc. I spoke to a lot of backpackers here, and I always admire lone women backpacker because the women I met there are like 18 or 19 and they're already travelling by themselves!

I was glad I chose to stay in a backpacker hostel and not in a hotel because on my first night there, I went to roam the streets alone and got harrassed by an elderly homeless women.  I don't know if she was pretending to be mentally ill but it seemed like it.

She asked me for 10 dollars to buy tampon and she was holding both my arm strongly and wouldn't let go. Her face was really near my face too. In shock, I passed her 10 dollars and she proceeded to force hug me while forcing me to look her into the eyes. She asked me for another 10 dollars. I gave it to her again because I was scared as hell of what she would do if I didn't. She scrambled away quickly while still glancing backwards towards my direction.

I went back to the hostel straightaway and was shaking. I'm glad though, because I was surrounded by people and felt a lot safer in the lobby of the hostel. My 'foster' mom called to check up on me and I actually broke down and cried when I told her about my experience even though looking back, it's really minor. I guess I felt really scared because I know I was all alone in this foreign land.

This amazing woman that had to avoid the things i dropped. ( My phone almost hit her head. ) She was on the lower bunk bed. We shared a lot of stories and when she showed me pictures of her grandchildren, I actually felt her love and teared. I don't know, there's something about travelling by yourself and meeting strangers who you'll probably never meet again in your life , and you share a small, intimate moment with that stranger. It's amazing, that feeling.

She was also really pissed when she found out I gave 20 dollars to the homeless and lectured me for quite a bit.

Pike's Place Market is amazing. I love seafood and this is my paradise!!

The gorgeous public library that has a lot of floors and computers.

I stumble across this beautiful park! Free Wifi, corn holes, ping pong tables, chess, tables and chairs for people to just chill. I was throwing frisbee with this kid and a homeless for hours. It was good!

I bought raw salmon from the market and cooked it as my breakfast!

And OJ, pancakes, toast, egg! Yum.

Joan came and pick me up on the third day to Mt. Rainier. She lives 30 minutes from town and it took us 3 hours to get to Mt.Rainier. She even prepared gloves, jacket and scarves for me!

This is the beautiful Joan.

I was actually pointing to Mt. Rainier but it was really foggy that day.

They have a really lovely house in a  quiet town in Seattle. I love their house a lot!! It feels so cozy and I was excited as hell because I can experience how it's like to live with an American family.

Finally, a proper, comfy bed!

That;s the back of Marion. LOL

My first dinner with them. It was really plain and delicious! This was the first time I actually prayed before eating.

Joan took me to town the next day and wouldn't let me pay a single thing because she says I'm a guest. Really, can I be luckier? 

My last dinner before I leave. We had cioppino, salad, mussels, baked bread, homegrown beetroot and I bought unagi and sushi because they never tried it before!

I was shocked actually at the amount of homeless present in Seattle, they were literally at every corner of the street but if I were to be a homeless, I'd choose to stay in Seattle too LOL. There are a lot of free facilities around.

I really cannot emphasise on how grateful I am to Joan and Marion for housing, feeding and entertaining me for this 3 days, waking up at 5am to drop me off the airport and having to brave the jam on the way back. 

San Francisco [ 5 days 4 nights ]

Accommodation : Green Tortoise Hostel, USD163.88 (USD47 a night x 4)

Someone screamed my name while I was just sitting, waiting for my flight in Seattle Airport and it turns out to be Ollie, another Malaysian that worked with me in YNP!

Seriously, what are the odds. I thought I would be all alone in San Frans, but guess not, haha.

The Green Tortoise Hostel in San Frans is a lot bigger than the one in Seattle.

They have more choices for breakfast too!

 I was living right beside Chinatown in San Frans so the first meal I had, was Chinese.

It felt like I was back in Malaysia with the amount of chinese people there.

I got to know another backpacker from London and we went exploring around the place a bit at night because where we're staying, there're lots of bars and strip clubs around. We went in to this particular bar that looks happening. This 60+ woman was the bartender and she was scary as hell. Screaming at the customer. It was a busy night and she was impatient.

 Oh, one of the must-do things is to visit the Alcatraz Prison.

"The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary or United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island was a maximum high-security Federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA, which operated from 1934 to 1963."

 There are audio tours that guide you through the prison. It feels as if you're in the shoes of the prisoners with the audio tours.

One of the best cioppino I had for USD41. 

Fisherman's Wharf!

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The cab driver was really sweet. He told me he was taking the longer route and stopped here just to show me the pretty view of sunrise over the golden gate bridge. :)

Hawaii [4 days 3 nights ]

Accommodation : Hokondo Waikiki Beachside Hostel, USD102.96 (USD 39 a night x 3)

Hawaii, was the bomb. If I could replan my whole trip, I would have stayed in Hawaii longer. 

I love everything in Hawaii, from the food to the people and weather. 

I was actually working with this Singaporean, SiYing in YNP and she happens to have Hawaiian friends and it also, so happens that I was there when she was there. She introduced me to her friends and we were hanging out for the whole 4 days.

This was an 8 bedroom dorm.

This is genius!! That's my key to my hostel room. I surf with it and it never goes missing. I love Hawaii.

They introduced me to poke which is cube shaped sashimi on top of a bed of rice with sprinkles of seaweed.

They cost about USD10-USD15 per bowl depending on what you have.

Shaved Asai.

Look at the colour of glorious poke. Holy mother of God.

Even the carplates are cute! Rainbow themed.

They brought me to the orchestra in Hawaii, LOL.

Awesome Hawaiians that made me love Hawaii so much more! I became so chubby! America does do you wonders.

I guess at one point, I was really frustrated because I wanted to treat them to a meal, but they wouldn't let me. 

I was hiking, surfing, suntanning, eating poke a lot in Hawaii. I can honestly already see my future here. This is the place I would want to migrate to. 

When I was in YNP, telling people I would be going to Hawaii, most of the responses I got was be careful. 'Hawaiians don't like tourists, they're not friendly, everything is going to be expensive'. I guess that would be true if I was travelling alone. But because I met this awesome bunch, I got to avoid the tourist traps, hike great places and eat super good food!

Also, the hostel wouldn't let me borrow the shower after I checked out. So, on my last day, after checking out at 12pm, I went surfing and didn't shower until I reached back Malaysia. LOL.

The sea water is really clean!! Even though they say it's not, but comparing to Malaysian's beaches, it's very, very clean.

I guess this is why I manage to bring back some $$ after all this travelling. I met a lot of samaritans who sheltered and fed me along the way. My Hawaiian friends were picking me up from my place, dropping me off,  teaching me to surf. I only spent on food in Hawaii.

I was planning as I go, and I guess like one of my friend, Carmen says, let fate decide your experience. :)

I took all the pictures with just my iPhone and it still does no justice to the beauty of those places and also Yellowstone National Park.