Los Angeles in California is definitely one of the busiest cities in the world. In the United States, it is famous for at least two things: Hollywood and for being the political capital of Democrats in terms of its ability to marshal donations for the party. It is also a famous tourist destination owing to its various natural and man-made attractions.

Los Angeles is a beautiful and progressive city. If you are visiting from East Africa, there are different ways to get here. But the most common will be flying from Nairobi through London and then to Los Angeles Airport. London to Los Angeles is a 10-hour flight and the route is a busy one.

Los Angeles is both a county and a city in the state of California. Within Los Angeles county, is the Los Angeles city. This article is about Los Angeles county.

Los Angeles is centrally located in the state, which allows visitors to sample different offerings without having to travel too much. Hyper-consumerism drives Los Angeles where shopping opportunities are endless and unrivalled. The LA fashion district has some of the latest trends in fashion.

For those given to buying resale goods, Santeel is the place to be. It is the biggest flea market — more like Gikomba in Nairobi, Kariakor in Dar es Salaam or Owino open air market in Kampala.

I visited the market on a weekend and the place was teeming with buyers and seller and most of them were Africans.

When in LA, those not inclined to shop will definitely take to swimming and strolling on the famed beaches. A few kilometres from the city is the world famous Venice Beach. In the hotter months of July, you cannot walk along the Venice Beach without seeing virtually naked women.

Bordering Los Angeles to the south is Long Beach, which extends along the San Pedro Bay. One of the most exciting marvels about Long Beach is the Queen Mary, the famous cruise ship that was used as a troop ship during the Second World War, and now lies anchored off the beach in the ocean and has been converted into a hotel and museum.

The iconic Hollywood sign on Mountain Lee on the Hollywood Hills is one of the easily identifiable landmarks of Los Angeles. It is a must see.

LA is also home to Beverly Hills, famous for being the home of Hollywood celebrities.

The food in Los Angeles is varied. Since California borders Mexico to the south, the food has a lot of Mexican influence.

Mexicans have the same tastes in food as East Africans. This is an advantage because visiting East Africans will find the same delicacies as back home. The most common, which Mexico introduced to the rest of the world, is maize, called corn, in all its forms.

Snacks made from corn flour are the staple. The kale (collared greens) and spinach are as good as those in East Africa. I was surprised to see green vegetables I thought could only be found in western Kenya where they are considered traditional greens. You can get both white corn and yellow corn.

Los Angeles is also home to sporting teams that are adored the world over, such as Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers in basketball; the Los Angeles Kings in ice hockey and the Dodgers in baseball among other iconic teams. The Staples Centre, which is also home to the basketball and ice hockey teams, is also famous for hosting the Grammy Awards while the LA Convention centre has hosted world class conferences and meetings.

Being the centre of the world’s film industry, almost all major studios and production houses for both films and music such as Universal Studios, Capital Records to name a few are based in LA. The city is also home to the world’s biggest amusement park, Disneyland.

For a city that works hard, it also parties hard and downtown Los Angeles is the place to be for every form of entertainment under the sky. The people in California are generally very friendly and outgoing.

As an education destination, the universities in Los Angeles are highly regarded. The rivalry between University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is legendary, and both universities strive to dominate and outdo each other in academics and extra curricular activity.