Day 14 to 17 (updated)

Note: Updated with pictures!!!

No pictures for this album coz I’m now aboard the beautiful Norwegian Epic on my 7-days cruise, and the internet is super expensive =(
US$0.75 per minute. One minute! Isnt that crazy?
Maybe. Just maybe I’ll edit in the pictures if the next hotel has complimentary internet. Btw, in case you're wondering, it's now Day 27 :)

Day 14

I woke up at 830am today to check out coz today I’m going to Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklin, cheese steak and cream cheese.

The train ride would unfortunately be more than 5 hours =.= coz New York is in between Boston and Philly. The ride from Philly to Washington DC (my next destination) would be much shorter =)

Arriving at the beautiful Amtrak station in Philly, I decided to take a taxi coz the hotel (Windsor Suites) is near but there’s no direct public transport and not walk-able when dragging a luggage.

On the outside, the Windsor Suites is not as pretty as it looks on the website but I really don’t care. I only care bout my room and the location, both of which are awesome to the max. My “room” 1516, on the 15th floor, is actually a suite. It is as big as my basement in Calgary and it has a walk-in closet and a kitchen. The kitchen is fully equipped with pots and pans, utensils, coffee machine, etc. I love it! How I wish my mum was with me.

And the wired high-speed internet is seriously high-speed. I uploaded all my Boston pictures to FB, and then walked randomly. I was amazed by the sight of the gorgeous city hall. It looks like it belongs in Italy, not America.

The Masonic temple was next to it. It looks like a beautiful church on the outside, but I heard that the inside is completely different. I wish I have time to go in.

And then I walked to the LOVE park where they have the famous LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana, a pretty fountain and the beginning of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The O in LOVE is tilted because love is not perfect.

Whoever designed the Ben Franklin Parkway is brilliant. There are beautiful architectures, museums, library, statues, fountains. And my hotel is smack right in the middle of the parkway. Like I said, Philly wasn’t in my original plan so I didn’t know much about it and I didn’t do much research. I guess that is why I love it so much.

Day 15

I woke up at 930am today and decided to walk to the historical area, where the Independence Hall is, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. I walked past the city hall, on to market street for around 12 blocks. Yup, a long walk but I enjoyed the walk. I had McD sausage sandwich for breakfast. Yum!

There was a long line to see the Liberty Bell, so I walked to the visitor centre first, the best I’ve ever seen. The air-conditioner is a blessing. Hehe. I went in to get the free ticket into Independence Hall. Btw, the Independence Hall is the image at the back of US$100.

I have to wait for a couple of hours before I can go in. It's a timed guided tour. I walked pass the liberty bell building and seeing no line, I went in. The bell has a long history, a long scar and a long move (from the Independence Hall to its current new personal location).

 
After that, I still have about an hour to kill so I walked around the area and was attracted by some music about half a block away.

A guy is pretending to be a Private around the time America gained her independence, and he is recruiting new soldiers. It’s so funny! Watch the video on my FB!! The first 2 minutes are mainly music.

The guided tour in Independence hall was kinda boring, but that was where Ben, Riley and Abigail found the specs to see the clue behind the Declaration of Independence. And this is also where the Declaration of Independence was originally signed!

I then took the Trolley tour, which is one of the tickets on my Philadelphia Citypass. The guide is really informative and I totally enjoyed the tour. Highly recommended if you’re not travelling with a local and you want to see everything in a short time. Afterwards, you can choose where to go and where to skip.

Logan Square

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Free Library of Philadelphia

Please Touch Museum (for kids)

Joan of Arc (in gold)

Rodin Museum (with one of "The Thinker" statues and only Rodin works inside. Now you know why I love Philly. All those lovely history and arts. Sigh. If only I have more time)

My dinner was a Philly cheese steak. Yum! It’s a must in Philadelphia.

Day 16

I woke up at 9am and decided to walk to Franklin Institute, which is near my hotel. The Institute itself is a little boring. Good for kids though.

But they do have a Cleopatra exhibit that has to be paid separately so I did. Too bad no photography allowed in there, coz it’s a beautiful exhibit. The light effect and music are excellent, creating a romantic-ish atmosphere. Like we’re underwater. I now know more about Cleopatra than I wanted to.

I then took the Phlash (a trolley bus, $2 per ride, $5 per day) to the National Constitutional Centre, where they have the award-winning show, “Freedom Rising”, about the beginning of the United States. The guy is talented!! I’m not a citizen of the United States but I actually cried. It is that good. The founding fathers had a dream – “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for everyone. And a country where (I quote) “we, the people” had the power to choose our leader, to shape the nation, and to change the future. In theory anyway. Hehe. I know I’m a pessimist, but I like to think I’m more of a realist.

I then walked to the Terminal Reading Market, famous for their food and fresh vege/fruits. This is where a lady said to Abigail, “If you’re not a steak, you don’t belong here” when she hid from the bad guys. Told you I’m a superfan. I bought a shrimp pad thai. Isnt that crazy? Hehe. I’m buying thai food from a famous market in Philly!

Day 17

I woke up at 930am and took the Phlash to Philadelphia zoo, the first zoo in America. It was ok. The kind of place that’s not super interesting but it’s worth a go.

I like the primates section (as usual) and the rare animals section, but the rest is a bit boring. But the naked mole rats / glabers (the name of my class) are super cute!!

I then went to the Eastern state Penitentiary. The closest Phlash stop is 6 blocks away. 6 blocks are usually nothing. It’s the bright sunlight, the heat and the humidity that sucks. I was light-headed and my vision was going blurry by the time I reached the penitentiary.

But it’s worth it! The exterior looks like a very romantic pretty castle, but the inside was scary. In case you have no idea what a penitentiary is (like me), it’s a jail. They have the self-guided audio tour thing. It’s a handheld phone-like thing. You can press the number you see along the way and listen to the story.

I then took the Phlash to Chinatown for dinner. Like Jocy, I’m super asian. Haha. I love the occasional change of cuisine. Once or twice a week. But most of the time, I’ll revert back to Chinese food. I had roasted duck. Omg. Super super yummy.

For supper, I made use of the awesome kitchen in my suite to boil the string beans I bought yesterday from the Reading Market.

That ends my trip in Philly. I wish I can stay a few more days. There’s a few other places I wanna visit, but tomorrow I’m going to nation’s capital -Washington DC.

Inception

I've just watched "Inception". Hmm. Kinda late eh?

I like the trailer. I've heard that it's good. Better than good, actually. I knew I wanna watch it. But I'm more a book than movie person, so I'll watch it when I get to watch it. There's 10 other movies I wanna watch too, but they can all wait till I have the time and mood to go to the cinema.

But "Inception" is brilliant. 9/10 for me. Highly recommended if you have not watched it yet. It has been a while since I last enjoyed a movie so much! Leonardo and Cillian Murphy were awesome, but I'm not too sure about Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

After the ending, I felt like watching it again. It is that good. This is not the first movie about lucid dreams but it is the best one.

So now, go watch it.

A pause

Day 14 to 17 will take a day or two coz it's still in point forms :D

I usually type them up the night of, but the internet of these last 2 hotels is awesome, so I've been busy catching up my TVB drama online instead of typing up my trip journal and read my novel.

I'm still reading the third book of the millenium series (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest). I finished the first book in one and a half days, the second book in one and a half weeks, and I've been reading this third book since the beginning of my trip (today is Day 19 of my tour). Will it take one and a half month? Hehe. The first book was awesome to the max. The second and third book are not as awesome but still worth reading.

Anyway, pictures of my philadelphia trip (day 14 to 17) are on my FB, if you're interested.

The last few posts were meant as a sort of documentation, for me, to remember this trip, many years to come. Because I'll forget. I know I'll forget the small interesting details. That's why it can be a bit dry and TMI at times.

I'm now in Washington DC. I'm flying to Miami next week.

I know I'll love Washington DC because of all the national treasures. But Philadelphia is an absolute gem. If you remember my original trip (back in May), Philly was not included. It was a last minute addition in order to accommodate my cruise dates. But I love love love it!! This is the type of city I wanna live in.

But who knows. Like my cousin said, I love everything!! I've loved every single city from the first day of my trip. I hate the heat and I dislike eating alone, but otherwise, I love this fabulous trip.

I wonder if it is simply because I dont have to work. But everytime I see a hospital or an ambulance, I have this feeling. A fleeting flutter of excitement, mixed with the slightest touch of disappointment. Like I want to be in there. I hope this means that I love my medical degree beyond the title it gives me.

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.