4th October 2018
Happy Birthday Tessa Maylene, 22 years old! Simon hosted yet another wonderful dinner with fab seafood etc.
5th October 2018
Yesterday was laundry day, and also for organising logistics of our luggage storage with Simon. We are going on the 3-day tour of Philadelphia and Washington DC today and didn't want to take the entire wardrobe.
Rhys and Barnaby were leaving for Boston today by train, so we left them at the AirBnB, while we made an early start to connect with the tour group.
A shuttle took all the Flushing tourists to Manhattan Chinatown where we joined our respective tour groups. This was at 7am; we had breakfast while waiting for our actual DC tour bus. Finally, we departed at 8.45. Enroute, we picked up other members of the group in New Jersey and Brunswick.
The tour costs around USD$170 each for double rooms. Mum and I shared a room, and Maylene and WT the other.
The "optional" part of the tour was going to cost another $180 each. I took a look at the attractions, and calling them attractions was a stretch.
DC has some of the greatest museums in the world under the Smithsonian brand and all free. Why on earth would I pay $10-$20 per "attraction" to go to:
1. Observatory to look at Philadelphia from a high place
2. Cruise the Potomac from a ferry boat
3. Spy museum near the FBI building
4. Neuseum made up to show how various countries achieve "freedom"
5. Madame Tussauds to look at wax presidents.
Instead we visited:
1. Philadelphia City Hall and did some shopping in Liberty Mall
2. Market Square seafood market
3. Tried to visit the National Portrait Gallery which opens from 11.30 am. Too late for us.
4. Visited Air and Space, Natural History and National Gallery of Art
5. Walked around DC town centre including Chinatown
So I declined the whole optional attractions and paying the total $720, to dirty looks from the tour guide, who obviously got a kick-back. Unfortunately, meals were included in the tour fees, so we had to DIY dining apart from the tour group. It wasn't a hassle, there were plenty of choices around.
After the last group was picked up, we soon arrived at Princeton University still in NJ.
While the rest paid $10 plus tips for a guided tour of the University campus, we did a self-guided tour, found restrooms and bought a T-shirt for Marcus from the University Clothing Store.
The township is very pretty.
The tour is conducted in English and Mandarin.
I dunno about the Mandarin part, but the English narration was pretty lame in content, and the bloopers were amusing. Instead of saying there are many Chinese in Chinatown, they said there are too many Chinese in Chinatown.
Next stop was Philadelphia where the group went to the observation deck in the Liberty Tower. We went shopping at Bloomingdales in the mall inside, to get a sweater for Tessa who took my advice and didn't pack any jacket. Then we lunched at the food court.
After lunch, we walked down to the town square and looked at Town Hall. The bus then took us to the Liberty Bell in the old town. There was a queue for the bell, which is now all enclosed in a building.
We looked at it thru a side window, and checked out the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
It was now getting to dusk as we arrived in DC. The final attraction was the Air Force memorial across the motorway from the Pentagon.
It is a structure looking like chem trails from jets doing the blooming manoeuvre.
We had 5 Guys burgers and hotdog for dinner, and checked into Days Inn somewhere in Virginia.
6 October 2018
Congress and Capitol Hill was the first stop this morning.
There were free public tours of Congress, so we were told to line up for security scans. Once inside the visitor centre, the Congress lady guide gave us headsets and took us thru the various halls and the Dome.
There was a beautiful fresco of G. Washington playing god on the ceiling of the dome.
All around us were busts and statues of people each of the states are most proud of. To qualify to be exhibited here, you must be dead.
While the Mandarin translation was going on, I asked the guide what DCians were doing about their inability to vote. She had a lot to say. Our number plates says "Taxation without representation". I agreed that DC should be a full blown state represented in Senate and Congress. I added the two Dakotas should be combined to make room for this new state.
She said yes, and who needs Wyoming. Sadly, the view is DC should be a neutral zone.
Here's Maylene with Rosa Parks, the only woman to be buried with state honours and parked (haha) in the Dome.
After this very nice and free tour, we walked across the hill back to the bus.
Photo ops were taken in front of the Supreme Court where the Kavanaugh protests were going on, and also in front of the Library of Congress.
The next official tour attraction was the Neuseum, which was about the First Amendment and its variations around the world.
While they did that, we hopped across Constitution Ave to the National Gallery of Art which houses some of US's best public art works.
Maylene wanted to go to Air and Space, so we found the mall exit and only saw exhibits on this route.
Being the weekend, and the second best Smithsonian, it was crowded. The usual stuff was there, and I was pleased to see Curiosity (the one that remained on earth) was there.
A quick lunch, and we went thru Arts Sculpture Garden on the way to Natural History.
This house looks 3D whichever angle you view it from.
Natural History was also crowded and full of kids, as you would expect.
The two kids on our tour were instead sent to Neuseum, go figure. This is the best of the Smithsonians.
Tessasaurus and Triceratops.
Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.
We checked out the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Memorial.
There were plenty of red-shirted volunteers around to help push wheel chairs and ask questions of.
At the Korean War memorial, I was asked by one of the veteran volunteers if I was Korean.
Nope, I am Malaysian, we don't fight, we eat.
It was then time for the others to do their DC Cruise on the Potomac. The cruise started next to District Wharf, so we wandered to the District Square which was full of fresh seafood shops, cafes and retail shops.
WT bought some seafood chowder. And we joined the crowds strolling the marina.
The tour returned from their cruise and we went to the World War 2 memorial which is on the other end of the reflecting pool from Lincoln.
We crossed the street for a close-up of Washington Monument.
Then we were bused to Jefferson's Memorial.
WT went down a very slow elevator at Jeffersons to the toilet and gift shop.
By this time, our memory of memorials was getting jaded, and it was time for the group's Chinese buffet dinner.
We had Thai ala carte dinner next door which served a very nice IPA.
7th September 2018
The White House visit was a waste of time.
We were miles away and it was a tick in the box thing for the tour company. Then I remembered I didn't pack my bottle of Conundrum red wine and can of peanuts from the hotel room fridge.
We then went to the Spy Museum. I thought this was a pretty cheesy museum last time I was here. We wanted to go to the National Portrait Gallery where all past presidents and other stately Americans had their portraits exhibited, like Obama's with the floral background.
Sadly it wasn't open till 11.30 and we depart at 10.30. So we had coffee in Chinatown and walked around downtown DC.
Maylene saw this Wok and Roll restaurant in Chinatown.
I tried to find the Hard Wok Cafe but failed.
The last item on the tour was Embassy Row. This was in the suburbs which no one in their right mind would locate to provide consulate services. But it must be convenient for the Secret Service to have everyone in one place.
The tour company guided everyone to the Chinese Embassy to the delight of the Chinese contingent. This is as interesting as the morning White House visit. And the last sightseeing on this 3-day itinerary.
I am glad I declined the paid attractions, as DC's best attractions are free. It was a long drive to lunch, and thru New Jersey traffic back to NY. We returned thru the Holland tunnel again.
We were dropped off in Manhattan Chinatown around 6 pm, and had to find our own way back or wait till 9 pm for the tour Flushing shuttle. We took the chicken bus back to Flushing.
Simon picked us up for dinner, and we checked into the new AirBnB after.
Happy Birthday Tessa Maylene, 22 years old! Simon hosted yet another wonderful dinner with fab seafood etc.
5th October 2018
Yesterday was laundry day, and also for organising logistics of our luggage storage with Simon. We are going on the 3-day tour of Philadelphia and Washington DC today and didn't want to take the entire wardrobe.
Rhys and Barnaby were leaving for Boston today by train, so we left them at the AirBnB, while we made an early start to connect with the tour group.
A shuttle took all the Flushing tourists to Manhattan Chinatown where we joined our respective tour groups. This was at 7am; we had breakfast while waiting for our actual DC tour bus. Finally, we departed at 8.45. Enroute, we picked up other members of the group in New Jersey and Brunswick.
The tour costs around USD$170 each for double rooms. Mum and I shared a room, and Maylene and WT the other.
The "optional" part of the tour was going to cost another $180 each. I took a look at the attractions, and calling them attractions was a stretch.
DC has some of the greatest museums in the world under the Smithsonian brand and all free. Why on earth would I pay $10-$20 per "attraction" to go to:
1. Observatory to look at Philadelphia from a high place
2. Cruise the Potomac from a ferry boat
3. Spy museum near the FBI building
4. Neuseum made up to show how various countries achieve "freedom"
5. Madame Tussauds to look at wax presidents.
Instead we visited:
1. Philadelphia City Hall and did some shopping in Liberty Mall
2. Market Square seafood market
3. Tried to visit the National Portrait Gallery which opens from 11.30 am. Too late for us.
4. Visited Air and Space, Natural History and National Gallery of Art
5. Walked around DC town centre including Chinatown
So I declined the whole optional attractions and paying the total $720, to dirty looks from the tour guide, who obviously got a kick-back. Unfortunately, meals were included in the tour fees, so we had to DIY dining apart from the tour group. It wasn't a hassle, there were plenty of choices around.
While the rest paid $10 plus tips for a guided tour of the University campus, we did a self-guided tour, found restrooms and bought a T-shirt for Marcus from the University Clothing Store.
The township is very pretty.
After lunch, we walked down to the town square and looked at Town Hall. The bus then took us to the Liberty Bell in the old town. There was a queue for the bell, which is now all enclosed in a building.
We had 5 Guys burgers and hotdog for dinner, and checked into Days Inn somewhere in Virginia.
6 October 2018
Congress and Capitol Hill was the first stop this morning.
There was a beautiful fresco of G. Washington playing god on the ceiling of the dome.
While the Mandarin translation was going on, I asked the guide what DCians were doing about their inability to vote. She had a lot to say. Our number plates says "Taxation without representation". I agreed that DC should be a full blown state represented in Senate and Congress. I added the two Dakotas should be combined to make room for this new state.
Here's Maylene with Rosa Parks, the only woman to be buried with state honours and parked (haha) in the Dome.
After this very nice and free tour, we walked across the hill back to the bus.
The next official tour attraction was the Neuseum, which was about the First Amendment and its variations around the world.
While they did that, we hopped across Constitution Ave to the National Gallery of Art which houses some of US's best public art works.
Maylene wanted to go to Air and Space, so we found the mall exit and only saw exhibits on this route.
A quick lunch, and we went thru Arts Sculpture Garden on the way to Natural History.
Natural History was also crowded and full of kids, as you would expect.
Tessasaurus and Triceratops.
Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.
There were plenty of red-shirted volunteers around to help push wheel chairs and ask questions of.
At the Korean War memorial, I was asked by one of the veteran volunteers if I was Korean.
Nope, I am Malaysian, we don't fight, we eat.
The tour returned from their cruise and we went to the World War 2 memorial which is on the other end of the reflecting pool from Lincoln.
We crossed the street for a close-up of Washington Monument.
Then we were bused to Jefferson's Memorial.
By this time, our memory of memorials was getting jaded, and it was time for the group's Chinese buffet dinner.
We had Thai ala carte dinner next door which served a very nice IPA.
7th September 2018
The White House visit was a waste of time.
We then went to the Spy Museum. I thought this was a pretty cheesy museum last time I was here. We wanted to go to the National Portrait Gallery where all past presidents and other stately Americans had their portraits exhibited, like Obama's with the floral background.
Sadly it wasn't open till 11.30 and we depart at 10.30. So we had coffee in Chinatown and walked around downtown DC.
I tried to find the Hard Wok Cafe but failed.
The last item on the tour was Embassy Row. This was in the suburbs which no one in their right mind would locate to provide consulate services. But it must be convenient for the Secret Service to have everyone in one place.
The tour company guided everyone to the Chinese Embassy to the delight of the Chinese contingent. This is as interesting as the morning White House visit. And the last sightseeing on this 3-day itinerary.
I am glad I declined the paid attractions, as DC's best attractions are free. It was a long drive to lunch, and thru New Jersey traffic back to NY. We returned thru the Holland tunnel again.
We were dropped off in Manhattan Chinatown around 6 pm, and had to find our own way back or wait till 9 pm for the tour Flushing shuttle. We took the chicken bus back to Flushing.
Simon picked us up for dinner, and we checked into the new AirBnB after.
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