Washington DC Trip Summary

Well, my first impression of Washington DC is: it is surprisingly tourist friendly. Will edit this entry again with more photos. My camera broken down, though got a new one, but I have yet tried to salvage those that were taken with that broken camera. So, read on and come back for photos if you want.

May be I am visiting near the holiday season, but nonetheless, it is easy to walk around, without a map.

I got lost the first day, but wasn't lost enough that I didn't know where I was. There was a police lady who pointed me to the nearest Metro station, and from then onwards until today, I have not gotten lost at all. And since I am travelling alone, I don't like to pull out maps in the middle of the street, it kinda puts out a message that I am a vulnerable tourist.




Throughout the entire stay in Washington DC, I only walked around during the day time. Mainly because the hotel is 30 mins walk away from the last Metro station. The complimentary shuttle service ends at 8pm. So I tried to get back to the hotel before 7pm.

Washington DC has a lot of buildings that mimic the Roman architectures, some mimic the Renaissance architectures, Victorian etc. I find that the Washington DC National Mall and its surrounding area ressemble Arcimboldo's composite portraits.

Duplication of Winter by Arcimboldo, on display in Washington DC National Art Gallery East Wing.

Even with all these ancient architectures around, I don't feel the same as in Europe. Things are too organised and well-kept, that it lacks the touch of time.

All and all, I enjoyed spending time in the National Mall, 2.5 days. I wasted the final day in National Mall again, because I want to re-take those photos I took with my mobile phone, when my camera broken down the day before. Yes, I bought a new camera. Though I could have waited for a few more days, for the Black Friday sale, but I went ahead to buy it now. That is because, my trip was about to end by then, I think my memories for the next few days worth me spending $20 more to get that camera now.

My favourite places, without any particular priority:

1. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, though it was geared towards the younger visitors, the exhibitions were pretty good. I guess I like it, mainly because I find it easier to associate with technologies and engineering stuff.

Concern about your weight, measure it on moon.

Astrolabe, helps to count the dates and years, in ancient time.

Gyroscope, real ones. I have always amazed by the use of it.

Explorer to Mars.

My favourite aircraft.


2. The National Gallery of Art (East and West Wing). The west wing features mainly those 15-19 centuries arts from European countries. I like it, but I guess the London National Gallery is better. The east wing's were more contemporary, and I thought the design of the building represented American culture better. I saw some Monet's drawing here, the one that caught my eyes was the London Waterloo Bridge at dusk, in 1904. The reason I liked it is because I know how the bridge looks like these days. It thrills me when I thought that I was seeing the same thing as Monet more than a century ago, it made me feel as if I am connecting to him, as if the history were alive when I looked at it.

Looking at the painting is different than looking at photographs. Painting tells stories through the painters' eye, while photograph tells the truth at that exact moment of time.

That reminded me of seeing a few photographs with this guy, when I was at the National Geographic Gallery today. He broke the ice, when we saw a picture from the Presidents' photo gallery. It was about George Bush, panicking over some Iraq war picture. We stood there for a long while, I was counting the alphabets on the carpet which Bush stood on it. He said, "Man, it looks like he is going to fall sick." Trying to sound funny.

I didn't really get what he meant, but I said, "Yeah, he does look like that..." with a coarse voice, as a result of not speaking over the past 3 days. He then walked away.

A lady at the museum, duplicating an art piece.

3. Lincoln Memorial. I like it because it feels like a pilgrimage -- when you walked along the pond of reflection, climbed all the stairs, just to see Lincoln's statue sitting high, looking down to you at the entrance.












I thought a lot when I walk towards the memorial, and walk away from the memorial. It has the solitary disposition, even with the hustle bustle of the tourists. And when you are up there, you share that disposition for a short while, and it helps you to clear your head.

4. Library of Congress. The only bad thing is that, I can't enter to the reading hall to borrow book and read. Bought a few postcards, sent it out in the Cannon building next door.











5. The public toilets in all the museums, the drinking fountains and the parks. These were the main things that tourists need, and the people took good care of it. I don't need to worry about dirty toilets, de-hydration, and felt free to find a clean bench to sit down to have lunch. You won't appreciate the clean bench, unless you have been to London. The benches were often decorated by the pigeon's poo.



The trash bins in Washington DC are always near the benches, so it is easy for people to dispose stuff. I sincerely appreciate the efforts they put in to keep the city clean.