Hebitch in the US of A: DC.

So I left the boys in Boston to go down to Washington DC alone. I was nervous travelling by myself especially when I found out have to transit in New York first. And that I would arrive in DC at 3 in the morning.

I am paranoid, I know that. I was more worried about travelling into a bustling city by myself than climbing a mountain solo. People are unpredictable, more than nature herself. Ever since the robbery in Malaysia, it never hurts to be safe... extra safe. Especially in a country where owning a gun is legal.

So there I was on a greyhound bus from Boston (left at 4.30pm) to New York. And I will never forget my first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline from New Jersey 5 hours later. I was spellbound. The glimpse of the red lights atop the Empire State, the bustle at Madison Square gardens and the blue shimmer of the Chrysler crown dazzled me.

I looked in awe at the sight, slightly regretting that I had tucked my camera all the way to the bottom of my backpack.

New York, New York. Now I know why they call it twice. (Cause its New York City, State of New York).

So anyway, the bus passed by quite a few blocks of shady neighbourhoods in New Jersey. And again my imagination was running wild. So the bus stopped at the bus terminal and I had to change buses. I almost missed the bus cause I was waiting at the wrong stand. Something was definitely wrong when I realised I was the only one queueing in that stand...

So I left New York around 10.30pm and made my way to Baltimore then to Washington DC. Got there at 3am and again the bus passed by a few shady neighbourhoods. (According to Leo, the terminal my bus stopped at was in a quite notorious neighbourhood...)

Thank you Leo for picking me up, buddy! Sorry about the ungodly hour. And thanks again for letting me bunk in your place.

So this is Leo a.k.a Gong Li-ou. My secondary school buddy. He is working in DC as a consultant and he lives in Virginia:

His nice neighbourhood:

This is somewhere near his neighbourhood, the Airforce War Memorial.

And this my friend, is not a picture of just any carpark. Its THE carpark of THE Pentagon. See it? I know its hardly noticeable; even Leo who has been driving past the building never realised it was the Pentagon until that day.

Dunno how to pose infront of the Pentagon... Awkward...:

We took a subway from the Pentagon to where Washington DC is Washington DC. We decided to venture to the east side of the Washington Monument first and the first stop was the U.S. Capitol Building:

Washington Monument and the entire stretch of green fields you see is called the Mall (Singapore has a soccer field too.. we call it the Padang). So all the important buildings are directly perpendicular to the Washington Monument. Like how the State Capitol is directly east.

YAY!:

It was a hot sunny day:

My tour guide Leo is an exceptionally good guide. When asked what building this or anything for that matter was, he would say, "Some important building."

So this is... some important building:

And another important building:

And this is the east elevation of the Capitol Building:

Pretty, no?:

And this is the Thomas Jefferson Building a.k.a. Library of Congress; it is just opposite from the Capitol Building:

The interior of the south wing:

Trying to look dignified... trying...:

Interior of the main lobby:

The ceiling of the main hall:

Simply gorgeous:

This is the dome of the Library itself, snucked a shot...:

What was actually painted on the dome:

Beside the library was the U.S. Supreme Court:

Silent protestors standing outside:

Its like everywhere I go, they had some kind of contruction going on... the Capitol Building, Supreme Court, Lincoln memorial, Empire State building in NYC to name a few...

Interior:

Leo and I with the bust of some important guy:

Leo with a potrait of an alumni of his school, Dartmouth:

Then we walked west towards the Washington Monument. According to Leo, my tour guide, this was some important monument:

And so was this:

Ahh... this was some important building:

Another monument:

And this was some important building too... If you can see the words beneath the pediment, it says 'National Archives':

View from the Navy Memorial:

Why do I even bother trying to anotate this...:

I know this building!!! Its the FBI building!:

I thought this was a church but I think I am mistaken. Lets just call it some important building:

Views of Washington DC (looks a lot like Boston's brick architecture):

Don't ask...:

No clue...:

Some important building exactly north of the Washington Monument...:

Duh... Its the White House!:

I wonder if Bush was looking at us from the inside:

I think this is the Eisenhower Executive Office building:

This is to the east of the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial:

Popsicle?:

Behind the Memorial (further west of the Washington Monument) is the reflecting pool and there you see at the end is the Lincoln Memorial:

Before visiting the Lincoln Memorial, I visited the Vietnam War Memorial.

The Three Servicemen:

The Vietnam War Memorial was designed by Maya Lin:

So the pathway sinks into the ground as you walk from either ends of the V-shaped landscape. And the names of those who perished are engraved onto the reflective black marble wall: