Nowadays, I don't do many tours. I only go on them if I travel to a country where I know it won't be safe to be alone. I still do plenty of day tours, though. They are a great way to see a lot of places and learn a bit of history in a short amount of time.
I have nothing against doing big tours. My day job requires me to be super organised, and I spend a lot of time herding cats. (Project managers will know what I'm talking about). Doing a tour means I can switch off and not think about where to go next or what I need to plan. It's all done for me. Even when I'm solo travelling, I will book a place to stay and flights, and that's about it. I figure out the rest once I am there. Unless I know, I need to book something in advance.
But if you are starting out on your travel adventures, a tour is an easy way to ease into the exploration life. It's a safe way to learn the ropes of travelling and meet great people on the way.
Picking up where we left off from my last story, my friend and I discovered that the tour we had booked was, in fact, with a Chinese tour company for $800. While this surprised us, we were still looking forward to the trip.
The first day was a day trip to San Diego. The plan for the day was to drive to San Diego as a group, take a boat ride and then spend the rest of the day at SeaWorld. After breakfast, we went to the lobby and waited for our tour guide and bus. But before long, we wondered if they had forgotten about us. Aside from it only being us - no one else - waiting for the bus in the lobby, the bus didn't arrive when we were told.
We started running through various scenarios as to what may have happened. Like, did we get the time wrong? Or did we book a private tour? I can't remember how long we waited (I think it was at least 15-20 minutes), but eventually, we went to the front desk to ask them to call the company to find us. Just as they started to call, the driver walked in. (PHEW!). We walked outside, and to our surprise, it was a small minibus with people already in it.
And yes, everyone else on the bus was Chinese.
The tour guide explained that we were the only Westerners and that he would explain things in Chinese and then in English on this trip. Once we got on, we headed off to San Diego. The drive was uneventful, but from what I remember, the boat ride on San Diego Bay. It's a port for the Navy, and the reasons why and what they do was interesting. We then got back on the bus and headed to SeaWorld.
What struck me on this day trip was that the tour guide didn't mess about. You were taken somewhere, shown something, given a set amount of time for photos and exploration, and then moved to the next place. It was a well-run, oiled machine. When we got to Sea World, the driver showed us around, made sure we saw certain things and then say we had free time from the rest of the afternoon.
I don't remember too much about SeaWorld (it was in 2011, to be fair), but there are a couple of things that I do remember. I remember watching the killer whale show at the end of the day, riding the cable car and getting a photo of me and my travelling bear Sarah Junior (more on her later), wanting to buy ALL THE STUFFED TOYS (seriously, they were so cute), and scoring a free rare blue pearl.
The story of how I received a free rare blue pearl is one that I still find funny to this day. Whenever I think about it, I think about my friend's face and how upset he was about it. If he had read this, I'm sure he would have kicked off in some form about how unfair it was.
Here is the story of how I was given a free, rare blue pearl.
While wandering around the park, we saw this stall with oysters with genuine pearls. You could pay to pick a oyster and keep the pearl inside. If you wanted, you could pay extra and add it to a necklace, bracelet, or other jewellery.
My mate decided to do it and get one for his mum. So he paid and picked an oyster with a beautiful white pearl inside. I, on the other hand, wasn't interested in this. It looked cool, but my priorities were elsewhere, such as killer whale toys that I wanted but couldn't figure out how to fit in my suitcase. It was awesome to watch him get his pearl, though.
However, the staff unexpectedly offered - out of nowhere - if I wanted to pick an oyster for free. Well, this was free. And although I knew what they were hoping for me to pay to have it added to a piece of jewellery, I wasn't going to say no to the offer of a free genuine pearl.
I can't remember who picked it. I think it was me, and I went for one right on the bottom in the corner. The oysters right at the bottom never get a look in, and I wanted to reward this oyster for being so patient. I was rewarded for my choice. As soon as it was opened, the staff got excited. Of all the oysters I had picked, I had picked one with a blue pearl. I was told these blue pearls are rare.
My mate was livid. How could I get a free oyster and pick one with a rare pearl?
I, on the other hand, was thrilled.
At that moment, the only thing that my mate and I agreed on was being in complete disbelief.
Sure enough, they tried to sell me jewellery accessories, which I declined. I took my blue pearl and ran far, far away (metaphorically). We would both mention how we couldn't believe it for the rest of the afternoon. My mate's annoyance didn't subside, which amused me even more.
I still have that pearl. It's still in the bag they gave it to me, and whenever I find it in the drawer, I always have a little chuckle to myself. And no, I still haven't decided what to do with it.
Before we knew it, we were back on the bus and heading back to our hotel in LA. And yes, we were dropped off where the bus drove off with everyone else to take them to their hotels.
At least we now know we are the only ones for this tour at this hotel.
I think back a lot on how tours had been explained to me by others before this trip. And while I felt that I had a good handle on how this tour would work for the rest of the trip. It was all thrown out the window the next day.
