DC - NYC (Sep 2023)
We were the last to disembark the SQ plane, as mum was on wheel chair assistance service. The gentleman was able to push the wheelchair of mum and another elderly lady all by himself to the immigration hall. My brother was impressed by his strength. We breezed through the immigration, thanks to the preferential treatment mum received. The wheelchair assistant actually asked me to get my rental car, and he will push mum to the arrival curb so that she can get into the car easier, a kind gesture that we declined. He then suggested that we transfer mum to another wheelchair since we need to travel by airtrain to the car rental office in another location, and he can then used the wheelchair that mum sat on for another passenger. We thanked him for his kindness, and pushed mum to another building using another wheelchair.
The lady at the airtrain station was super helpful. Once the airtrain arrived, she ensured we know which stop to get down, and ensured mum's wheelchair could get into the train, as the train door was quite narrow. One stop and we were at the car rental office. We could pick and choose any mid-size car that were available, as the keys were already inside the car. We didn't know and stood there for 10 minutes before I went back to the counter to enquire.
My brother set the Google map route to non-toll route, as some tolls in between were accepting electronic pass only. I nearly got into trouble by driving off before sliding out the EZPass transponder card. If I continue to drive off with the EZpass transponder slotted in and I happened to use EZpass tolls for payment, the card reader will deduct toll fees from it, and the car rental company will charge me for the toll charge and admin fee for each toll, since I did not opt for EZpass daily pass offered by the car rental company when they asked me at the counter. Thanks to the gentleman at the Hertz security booth at the car park exit, I was advised to slide the transponder card out just in case. He also advised me to turn on my headlights as it was drizzling, and it would be an offense by driving without headlight on. After all these minor hiccups, we were finally on the road.
The drive through some of the town roads were interesting. We stopped at a diner for brunch, as we were famished after our last pizza on SQ. We also took the chance to use the bathrooms. (They didn't understand when we said washrooms) The ladies at the diner was annoyed when we sat on a a table near the window, instead of the table that she put the menus and cutleries on. My brother was intrigued why would they got upset over small thing like this, and I explained that this is USA with its unique culture. Food portions were not as big as I would have imagined, it could be due to post-covid infralation, or the war, presumably. I would imagine the diner served out portions at much bigger size had it been in 2017.
The drive to Washington DC was smooth, until we got to DC itself, where the rain got slightly heavier and there was coastal flood warning. The hotel that we were supposed to stay in near Mount Vernon did not have a driveway or porch. They had valet parking for hotel guests, and the parking lots were at the car park of the next building, cost $8/entry. The parking lot was linked to the hotel via internal corridor. Since i was about to return the car, I thought i could just park the car at the roadside and let everyone off, but in the drizzle it was tough, especially with all parkings at the roadside near the hotel fully occupied. Not helping that there were police cars around as they were standing by for coastal flood emergencies due to the rain, which alternate between drizzle and slightly heavier rain. After I turned around for 2 rounds, i spotted an empty lot directly in front of the hotel, guarded by the hotel valet parking staff. The staff kindly let me parked my car there for 10 minutes so that we could unload passengers and luggage and did the hotel check in. We quickly went to the second floor to the lobby. Our room was at the 8th floor, it could accommodate 6 people. Just when we were about to move out to return the car, the hotel staff came to our room and told us that the previous tenant might have left something in the room, and requested him to do a room check to see if the item was still there. He politely requested us to step out of the room, so that he could do a search.
After the search was over, I went to return the car with my brother. I first had to pump petrol to the car. There was a homeless man on the bicycle at the petrol kiosk asking us for money, a scene that I was all too familiar with. After we drove to the Washington Union Station to return our car, we went to the subway station to get our metro cards. I had been handed one complimentary card by the hotel staff, so i just need to get cards for my parents and my brother. The subway station tunnel was lit up with romantic yellow light, the tunnel concrete stones casted out lines with architentural beauty. Three stops and we were at the Convention Hall. From there we walked about 10 minutes to reach the hotel, by then there was no more rain.
Next stop: Giant supermarket shopping. The supermarket is opened till 6pm on a Saturday, and it was just round the corner. My parents and my brother quickly searched for food and fruits in the huge sprawling space. We managed to get some hot meals for tonight as well as microwavable food for next morning. The cashier was very friendly towards us, asking us where we came from, told us that she wished it was better weather for us, and told us she would never able to imagine the long arduous flight that we had to endure.
A bit of history and fun facts about Washington DC: Click HERE.
It was tight to manage to get our breakfasts and washing up done in a room of 6 people but we managed. It was still a cloudy day, but at least no more rain. My cousin rose early to had a walk on his own in the neighbourhood. He had a very pleasant surprise encounter. As he was looking at a coffee joint that has yet to open, someone drove by in a car and asked him - you are waiting for the shop to open too? The two of them started to chat, and before long, that gentlemen bought a cup of coffee for my cousin and started sharing the various sights and places in the DC, essentially providing him a quick run though of the city. My cousin was so overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people in DC. He offered to send my cousin back to the hotel, such a nice gentleman.
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There was a hotdog kiosk outside the American Museum of Natural History, so we queued for our hotdogs there. It was amusing to see the squirrels battling the pigeons for food remnants near the thrash bin.
Next stop was the Washington Monument. We saw many joggers while walking along National Mall towards the monument. There were National Park rangers there, and they told us we would queue for free tickets to take the lifts up the monument the next day. I asked him what time should I queue tomorrow, and he said the ticket window will open by 845am, so it will be safe to start joining the queue at 815am.
After I got my stamps on my National Park passport, we walked to the White House. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., that was the address. There were many ice creams and pizza vans parked near the streets between the Washington Monument and White House. The price was like, $5 for hot dogs and $8 for ice cream cones. We could admire the beauty of the white house from outside the gate. There were people pleading for donations for their petition cause outside the gate as well. There were also musicians who perform songs for whoever that pay them. Not forgetting the hop-on-hop-off tour promotion staff in red, eager to scout for potential customers.
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My cousin had another interesting encounter with the locals as he was asking the local what happened to the Walmart in the city. The local was explaining to him that the Walmart closed down amidst covid. As the two of them were chatting, much to the amusement of my cousin, someone took a good long look at my cousin and blurted out - Anthony, is that you? he refused to believe when my cousin said he was not Anthony. He kept asking, are you sure you are not Anthony, and my cousin just shrugged and said no, I am not Anthony. From that point on, we called our cousin Anthony.
Once we reached the subway station near the Walmart and walked towards it, we sensed that the vibes were totally different from the city centre. The neighbourhood seemed a bit seedy, and there were some guys sitting at a table outside Walmart, just like what one saw in the video games. There was a notice displayed on the Walmart glass panel - Kindly refrain from openly carrying a firearm. My brother noticed that the merchadises in here were cheaper compared to Giant's, but many of the cheaper microwavable foods were gone, fully snatched up by the earlier shoppers.
We took a Uber back to the hotel. There was an option to select Uber XL fit for 6 people. Once back to the hotel, i went to the top floor (called the penthouse) to admire the scenery from the top. We could see the shows played on the TV screen in condo units next to our hotel. There was a gym at the top floor, unfortunately the indoor pool was closed since covid.
The next day, my cousin and I went to the National Park office to queue for the free tickets. The walk was very pleasant, as the temperature was not cold, and the sky was clue with some clouds. We brisked walked and saw the locals walking to their work places. As that was Monday, many people could still work from home, the traffic was not as bad. By the time we reached the place to join the queue, the human queue was already making a semi circular arc round the building. We were admiring the sunshine on the monument itself, and the planes taking off from the nearby smaller DC Reagen Airport. The locals were jogging and walking their dogs. Once the window opened, the queue started to move forward. We managed to get the tickets for 930am morning. My brother and parents got our text message and took a Uber down from the hotel, and was surpised to land on a Tesla. The driver told them that the charging in town was very expensive, so he could only charge the car at home. Once charged, the car can travel for 300km, probably enough for a day. The car looked very basic, with only an ipad inside.
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We peered though the window that the spidey kicked in to do his rescue, to admire the views of DC. We saw the Capitol Hill, the National Mall, the White House, Reagen Airport, Pentagon, the Potomac River and the state of Virginia across the river, Lincoln Memorial from the windows at four sides of the building. The views were marvellous, especially since the weather was glorious.
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After my brother recovered his spray from under the bench, we walked to the WWII Memorial Fountain. Each stone has the name of the states of USA engraved on it, and the two arches represent the Pacific and the Atlantic, the two major oceans where the many battles took place during WWII era. The reflection pool has ducks swimming in it. Many joggers and baby walkers were there enjoying their jogs and strolls. The reflection of Monument Valley appeared slowly as we walked towards Lincoln Memorial.
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We took the Circulator bus near Lincoln Memorial, by right the fare should be $1/adult and $0.50/senior citizen, but because the card reader was spoilt, the driver let us rode for free, which again pleasantly surprised us. We took the bus to a stop near Washington Monument, We crossed the road and took the same bus in the opposite direction to get to Thomas Jefferson Monument. Sadly the monument was in renovation as well, so we could still visit, but the part of the monument was hoarded. My cousins went off to George Town to venture on their own.
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We queued outside the side gate for security clearance check, passport in hand for scanning. The information have been keyed in months earlier when i received an email from the intern of a congressman that I have written to for tickets. The personal particulars that I keyed in must match the ones in our passports in order to be allowed a visit. We went in through the East Wing. There were theatrette, library, china room in the ground floor. When we went up to the second floor, we saw Blue and Red Rooms, as well as the State Dining Room. Once we were out to the Entrance Hall, people will take turn to take pictures before we went out to the lawn, where the fountain was. We saw visitors peering at us outside the gate, just like what we once did a day ago, just that now we were in the compound.
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In the evening, we walked to Time Square. The smell of vape / maruhuana kept wafting through the sidewalks, and we were suffocated. We walked to Bryant Park to wave at the webcam, and saw ourselves in the Youtube webcam of Bryant Park.
The next day, New York city was in glorious sunshine. We went to the Grand Central Terminal to take pictures, before going up Empire State Building for the panoramic view of the whole city. The views were magnificant to say the least. Even though there were many people, we were able to take pictures that we wanted as people made space for each other and queued in orderly manner. After that we took the subway to Brooklyn Bridge and had our usual hotdog lunch. The walk across Brookly Bridge was a pleasant affair. There were people setting up booths to help take photos of tourists using New York skyline as backdrop. The funny thing is, all of them were using Empire State Of Mind (a song by Jay-Z) as jingle to attract tourists.
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After our simple hotdog lunch, we walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, to reach Brooklyn:
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Once we crossed to Brooklyn, we had a coffee break near the bridge. The coffee place has a bathroom that we could use, and the coffees were quite good. We forgot to clear our trays when we left, and the counter staff reminded us that we had to clear our trays - lesson learnt. P180.
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Dinner was at China Town. Since it was near Mid-autumn Festival, lanterns were hang across the streets. The restaurant that we went to had good reviews on Google, and has two dining halls, one cater to the locals, one cater to tourists that really appreciate authentic chinese cuisine. At first we didn't know and went to the one that the local patronised, and were asked to walk to the dining room next door, as the dining room next door would cater to Chinese tourists, with more authentic food. We were all surprised by the huge portions served in the chinese restaurant. In the end, we had to tapao food back as we could not finish them. We also chatted with an owner of a restaurant that served Malaysian food, he was from Ipoh. There was a decent crowd in the restaurant as well.
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There was a Korean supermarket at the Korean Way, so we went there to buy snacks as well as ingredients to cook dinner tonight. There was also a Target supermarket near where we stay where we could do our grocery shopping. What made up for the small size of the apartment was the convenience of being surrounded by the attractions and amenities. Subway was literally just outside our block.
Friday was a rainny day, subway was not running until 3pm that day. Our phone received coastal flood warning repeatedly. We only got to know how bad the flood at some parts of New York from the news. My parents and I were just hiding inside our apartment and watch movies on TV. My cousins went to queue at Supreme to do their shopping. I did go to Target Supermarket to buy food. When my mum commented to the supermarket staff that she was not sure whether the apples in the bag were crunchy or not, the staff handed me a bigger apple of the ones we were thinking of buying, and asked me to try it, it will be free, and no obligation of purchase if it is not crunchy. We were again bowled over by the generosity of the staff. He just left us along to finish up the apple and decide if we would like to buy the smaller cousins.
P228. The unit with pottery opposite our apartment.
1. SQ flew from Singapore to Newark via Japan and Canada, but flew from Newark to Singapore via Europe. This way, the journey would be 18 hours each way. The flight to JFK was also direct, and was slightly longer, though the ticket price was more or less the same. One can land in JFK and went back by Newark or vice versa. These Singapore - New York direct flights used to be all Business only, and only converted to partly Premium Economy recently. Before direct flight was possible, the flight to JFK will stopover at Frankfurt, while the flight to Newark will stopover at Amsterdam. Premium Economy allowed seat selection and Book-the-Cook options. You can also email SQ in advance to request for birthday cakes if any of the passengers have birthdays near the travelling dates. Flying out of KL via Singapore using SQ is cheaper than flying out of Singapore using SQ. SQ served two meals during the flight, followed by a hot pizza as snack before landing.
2. While the museums and attractions in Washington were mostly free, those in New York do have hefty entrance fees.
3. You can pay for subway and bus tickets using farecard, or using credit cards. The problem with farecard is, you need to purchase a farecard, and unused cash values in the stored cards will not be refunded. If using credit cards, the banks might charge foreign transaction fees. Going forward, it is likely that the farecards will be phased out. Buses in DC tend to be far and between, especially during weekends. The locals either take subway, ride uber, ride PMD, cycle, or walk.
4. The same for cash tolls. Over time, cash tolls will get phased out, and only EZpass will be used. You will need to rent a EZPass from the car rental company at a daily cost, in order to use tolled roads.
5. if you happened to buy souvenirs from museums/attractions, do pay with credit card/exact change/near exact change as sometimes the cashier might not pay you back the change, they will treat the change as donations to the museums.
6. No guarantee that petrol kiosks would have usable bathrooms, so it is better to sound out to the driver way ahead before you have reached the stage of emergency, before asking for toilet breaks. Take note of the cold weather.
7. When subway is not operational due to flooding, uber ride prices will shoot up, and the buses will be crowded. Do take note of these announcements on the subway app.
8. If you want to bring a water bottle, please bring metal bottle as opposed to bottle with glass or plastic, as they can get broken.
9. We were very pleasantly surprised by how friendly and nice were the folks in DC and New York City. We expected worse.
10. Prices in New York city in general tend to be more expensive than in DC. Uber rides were a good example. Within New York city, prices in Brooklyn tend to be cheaper than in Manhattan.
11. Tipping is mandatory and had been built into the app. When you use Uber app, or went online to purchase time for paddle boat, there will be a tipping option that you could not run away from. The most you could do was to select custom tipping, and insert the amount. If you prefer not to tip, stick to public transport and supermarket meals/fastfood options.
12. If the airline counter staff in USA asked you if you packed the bags yourself, and if the bags had ever left your eyesight after you have packed them, the expected answer is: I packed my own bags, and these bags had always been with me, always within my eyesight.
13. If you want to ride the metro across Manhattan Bridge and enjoy the view from the subway, do note that only certain lines ply that route. The frequencies of the trains were less regular to reduce vibrations to the bridge.
14. Flixbus is a cheaper version of transport between cities. You can pay for the ticket purchase online in Euro or USA, it tend to be cheaper in Euro, as Flixbus started in Europe. The more expensive options will be riding the Amtrak trains, buy tickets early to enjoy cheaper prices.
15. You can reserve tickets for Washington Monument in advance on the website, though you would not know the weather on the day of your intended visit. It is indoor, but the views from the windows will not be fabulous if the weather is not clear.
16. The prices in supermarket were displayed as retail price, and price per pound. Just focus on the retail price.
17. The apartment we rented in New York city was booked through Booking.com. We learnt from someone in the building that they were 5 agencies that do such rentals in the building, and their offices were in the offices at lobby. There was a pay-per-use laundry room near the end of the lobby. The one that managed our apartment was a latino lady. Some apartments have double decker beds, thank god ours are all single deck beds.
18. There are other buildings that offered panoramic viewing beside the Empire State Building, each has its own pros and cons.
19. There was a unit that did pottery opposite to our apartment unit in New York city.
20. The hotel staff in DC passed me a complimentary metro fare card left by a previous tenant. I returned him the card during check out.
21. When i was walking back from Mount vernon metro station in DC to my hotel, one kind lady came forward and asked me keep my camera in the bag, as this is not a neighbourhood that you should flash your camera.
Thank you for reading, please feel free to visit my other travel blogs by clicking HERE.
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