Day 10 to 13

Day 10

I woke up at 845am to check out coz today I’m going to Boston!!! The home of Harvard U, MIT, clam chowder, lobster and Boston cream.

I took a taxi to Penn station, coz I’m taking the Amtrak (train) to Boston. Actually, the Amtrak is better than flight. The tickets are cheaper and the seats are bigger and more comfortable.

I arrived at the Back Bay Station in Boston at around 4pm (yeah, long ride), but it’s a short 5 minutes walk (yes, I timed myself) to the hostel.

Hotel in Boston is so scandalously expensive, so I booked a more affordable hostels called Berkeley Hostel near to the train station.

Unfortunately, this hostel is the worst I’ve ever been in. My room 202 is not really very clean. The room is bigger than the NY pink hostel, with a table and chair, even a closet. But there’s no air cond and no sink in the room. Sigh. The water in the shower is sooo weak that I might as well shower with the sink.

I’m not sure what kind of hostel this is coz there are quite a number of old people wondering around. They look like they live in the building. And the wi-fi is only available in the lobby and it’s so slow and so unreliable that I have a hard time uploading my NYC pictures.

I took the subway to chinatown. A classic.

Day 11

I woke up at 930am today and missed the free breakfast. Hmm. My destination was the New England Aquarium, so I took the T (which is the name of their subway).

Actually, it’s kinda disappointingly small but the 80 penguins of 3 different species were worth the trip. I love penguins.

And the surrounding view was to die for; the loveliest harbour with blue waters and sailboats. The sun was shining but the air was cool. To be honest, I’m quite enchanted by Boston. It’s cleaner than NYC.

I also watched an IMAX documentary - Under the Sea – narrated by Jim Carrey. It’s supposedly the biggest IMAX screen in the world. Lovely!

After that, it was still early so I went to the Museum of Fine Arts. It’s much smaller than New York Metropolitan Museum of Arts but it also has a lovely collection of Monet and Van Gogh. They also have Picasso, Rembrandt and Matisse here.

That ends my Day 11.

Day 12

I woke up at 9am, and had the free breakfast, which consisted of scrambled egg, sausage and hash brown. And I had coffee too. I think my body is now used to having its daily caffeine – an after-effect of medical school. All those nights of being on call and insufficient sleeps. I’m usually sleepy by 2pm without the caffeine.

Today my destination is Harvard Museum of Natural Science. I took the subway to Harvard Square, passing by the station to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital). MIT is memorable to me because one of my cousins was thinking of coming here before the Imperial College in London took him away!

The Museum is not a big or grand museum but it has a certain charm. It’s like any university museum with lots of specimens (for educational purposes, not entertainment), except that this is Harvard and so it has become a tourist destination with a slight touch of “popular science” meant for the general public.

But nevertheless I enjoyed it. It’s the only time you can look so closely at a real (dead) tiger without getting eaten.

I then walked around the area, which is called Cambridge. And I saw something that made me chuckled.

Lizzy + cow + ice cream = perfect for me!

I also went into a Harvard bookstore, and it’s a beautiful 3 storeys with a charming English atmosphere. Open centre and even a spiralling staircase!! I was in love. I bought 3 books – an USMLE exam review (I’m planning to take that exam to open up my residency options), a doctor’s memoir of his internship years and a collection of doctor-patient story in different specialties. I would have bought more but I have to think about my luggage =.=

I came back to the hostel early, around 4pm

Day 13

I woke up at 830am today and had the breakfast again. Today I had French toast, scrambled eggs and sausage. I love breakfast sausage (which is not the same as hotdogs).

Today is my last night in Boston, and I still have 2 more tickets in my Citypass, so I have to go to both today. The first is the Museum of Science. It is designed more for kids. But I did spend an hour in the Mathematics exhibit, which is only about the size of my living room in Brunei. Small but interesting. I’ve always had an interest in Maths and Physics, but it is beyond my capabilities. I’ll never be smart enough to be a Mathematician. I know that. Anyway, I spent more than half my time in that exhibit reading the history of Maths, not the Maths.

They also have  lovely butterfly garden!

I also read a few funny posts that I wanna share with you guys.

 I like the stab at the theologian. Classic.

 And Charles obviously has not studied Statistics.

After the museum, I went to the Quincy market, definitely a tourist destination. They have hundreds of shops selling food, souvenirs, and many other random stuff. I had a bowl of clam chowder and lobster roll. Seriously, no one can come to Boston without trying the lobsters and clams.

My second ticket for the day is for the Prudential skyway. Like every city, they have a tall building or tower to show the view on top. The skyway was only on the 50th floor but already more than enough. Boston doesn’t have many skyscrapers. The view in Manhattan was so much more exciting.

That night I called my mum coz it’s her birthday, and also to find out if they are really coming for my graduation. I need to book my own tickets to Brunei too. Sounds like they will be coming for a week and a half. I’m not sure where else I should bring them this time. NYC? Las Vegas? Hawaii? It’s so hard to choose one, coz to be honest, after spending 4 years in Canada, I no longer know them that well anymore.

I did my laundry, coz Berkeley will be my second and last hostel for this trip.