Washington DC

Road to DC
The best way to travel USA is by road. The roads are sexy and you don�t have to ask no one if you got your maps ready. The roadsigns are user-friendly and the road design itself allows for recovery from mistakes. The highways are peppered with rest areas that have the rest rooms, eating joints and phones. Well, we reached Washington DC around 2300 hours, and we were searching for our hotel for three hours. And we had a busy day ahead of us.



City of DC


�When Pierre Charles L'Enfant gazed northward along the banks of the Potomac River in 1791, he envisioned a “pedestal waiting for a monument.” Since that day, Washington, DC has evolved into a fascinating, lively city combining grand, neoclassical government buildings, monuments, memorials, museums and the National Mall with colorful neighborhoods, art, theater, music and culture.� -From Washington.org





�From its celebrated symbols of patriotism to its undiscovered neighborhoods, the sites and sounds of the nation's capital inspire millions of visitors every year. Packed with famous sights, free attractions, and an endless calendar of special events, Washington, DC offers year-round inspiring experiences.� -From Washington.org





What left me breathless were the roads and the buildings. Every official building is an architectural marvel. Simply breath taking. When you can, take a stroll down its wide roads. Listen to the hustle and bustle of it. And tell yourself �I am in the capital of the world�s most powerful country�, and take a deep breath. Consult a doc if you don�t feel good after that.


So we set out to visit the Smithsonian museums. The hotel shuttle dropped us at the Rosyln Metro (underground rail) station. My first ride in these trains and I have no words to describe it. You get my point don�t you? What I liked is the fact that you don�t have to stand in a counter where a bored clerk would issue tickets. Here it is all machines baby. Automation rules. So we got on the train and we reached the Smithsonian station. We enter the campus and were greeted by a few men selling maps. �They are yet to find the people who got lost last Christmas!� they were yelling. Well, it is not true. It was only a cheap sales pitch for their maps. You can�t get lost in the Smithsonian museums. If you are reading this that is. Not even if you are suman, trust me. (Well, ok, greatness is ALSO about not taking yourself too seriously) Just follow the maps and signs and you�ll find your way around.


The Smithsonian museums





Smithsonian Museums


Imagine. All you had to do to see and experience a piece of history is to walk down 7th and Independence Ave, SW. This one road has museums on both sides and is situated between the Capitol building and the Washington memorial. I had the opportunity to visit only the Air & Space; and Natural history museums. I was awestruck, knocked off my feet by the sheer grandeur, efficiency, and technology of the place. We watched �Space station � 3d� at the Lockheed Martin IMAX theater. Picture this: a 65ft by 65ft (approx.) screen and world�s best sound system. I was not watching the movie but I was in it! I mean the 3d effect is so natural and real� a wonderful experience for young and old alike. And I had to eat after the movie as I hadn�t eaten since morning and Rajaram and I set out looking for a veggie restaurant. No such luck for us. We had to settle for French fries and milk shakes. My sincere advice is: if you are a veggie USA is gonna be tough on you. So convert now! To non-veggie.





After lunch we went to the museum of natural history. Dinosaurs, people, insects, plants� you name it, the history is there. And to top it all they got IMAX here too. We watched a dino docu: “T-REX: Back to the Cretaceous slices through the mysteries and the millenia to bring dinosaurs to life with the awesome size and thrilling feel of IMAX 3D.” Need I say more?


Most informative is the way they display different cultures like red Indians or Africans. I had good fun experiencing and reliving it all. A must for your kid (you don�t have one now? So what! You are gonna make one someday. Somehow!)
For more information: http://www.si.edu/

It was a tiring and a hectic day; and by the time we wound up and headed to the hotel, darkness had DC in a hug. Only after I reached the hotel I realized I had to forego dinner or eat non-veg food or live on chocolates from the vending machines. I was lucky. I found a Chinese takeaway place bang opposite to the hotel�s parking lot and I got some spiced up veg fried rice. So, if you are a veggie, you know what to look for now, don�t you?





1600 Pennsylvania Avenue


The next day we were visiting the residence of the most powerful man on earth. For the uninitiated (duh!) that�s the Whitehouse. Well, what can I say! I saw kids playing in front of the white house gate. People were taking pictures. I mean it looked too innocuous for being the home for the president of USA. I recollected my working days in Chennai: how I had to wait in the traffic signal for 45 minutes so that the CM�s convoy could pass through. You know chief minister? As against the world�s powerful man! I heard they used to have whitehouse tours, but they stopped it post 9/11.
And hey nothing�s perfect. Ask Bill Clinton about it. So don�t feel bad yet. People are people. America or Somalia.

Capitol and Washington memorial
From Whitehouse it was a long walk to the Capitol building. I�d advise you walk if you wanna experience DC. I forgot the walk and the pain in my knees as soon as I was standing on the edge of the pond in front of the Capitol building.
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for almost two centuries. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored; today, it stands as a monument not only to its builders but also to the American people and their government. The Capitol is located in Washington, D.C., at the eastern end of the National Mall on a plateau 88 feet above the level of the Potomac River, commanding a westward view across the Capitol Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument 1.4 miles away and the Lincoln Memorial 2.2 miles away. the Capitol covers a ground area of 175,170 square feet, or about 4 acres, and has a floor area of approximately 16-1/2 acres. Its length, from north to south, is 751 feet 4 inches; its greatest width, including approaches, is 350 feet. Its height above the base line on the east front to the top of the Statue of Freedom is 288 feet; from the basement floor to the top of the dome is an ascent of 365 steps. The building contains approximately 540 rooms and has 658 windows (108 in the dome alone) and approximately 850 doorways. � More info on http://www.aoc.gov
The sea gulls that live around the Capitol are friendly and at times intrusive. I caught a bunch of Japanese tourists feeding a gull and within no time there were dozens scrambling for the tourists� attention.
There are quite a few memorials but I managed to catch a glimpse of only the Washington memorial. The phallic monument majestically stood there. How many movies have shown this? How many magazines have printed its pictures? But to see it live from a distance, standing in the lawns of the capitol, is an experience that you�d cherish forever. The most captivating site is the air-planes that land-in against the memorial�s back drop. The two faculties that stand as symbols of human achievement -architecture and aviation- seemed to greet each other.

We left the capitol and headed to Caf� Delhi in Arlington for lunch. The food was great. Especially the samosas; they were too good. And it was time to go to the mother of all cities. You guessed it baby. It is NY. The most visited city in the world. (I think!)

NewYork

Our hotel (daysinn) was close to the Newark international airport, New Jersey (NJ). We checked in somewhere around nine in the evening. Next morning we headed for the statue of liberty. Let me pause here to tell you something about New York. It is a big mean city, I mean the biggest there is. So getting around was gonna be a big headache. Or so I thought.
We had to take the �mono rail� or the �air train� (it goes on a flyover brother) from the airport station to the rail-link station in NJ. From NJ we had to go to NY penn station. It appeared as a truly daunting endeavor. It was not to be. My apprehensions were quelled by the magic of the metro. Yet again. Coming back to the mono-rail; it is a marvel. It is unmanned and it serves as a link shuttle between the airport and rail link station. If Atlanta amazed me, mono rail had my jaw open through the journey. Hey come on, I could have acted like �mono rail? Yea man it is nothing, it is computer driven�� You know? And act as if nothing can amaze me because I am the cool dude. But hey, as Albert said �you can live life two ways. One: as if nothing is a miracle. Two: As if everything is a miracle.� I chose the latter. Thanks Albert! [Albert is Albert Einstein].

Now as my jaw was coming back to its normal position, we reached the NY penn. It took us some 20 minutes to make it from NJ airport station. And we had to find a train to go to the liberty statue. After much apprehension I stopped a cop and asked him to guide us and he gave us the directions. So, do not hesitate to ask a policeman for directions. They are there to help you and they will not ask you unnecessary questions or your passport. It is a myth. But please carry your passport just in case; it acts as your identification. And I had to show it to use my card a coupla times.

The NY Penn station was swarming with people. Holiday crowd I guess. We had to buy this metro pass that allows you to use the metro rail all day, anywhere to anywhere, any number of times. All this for $4. Don't go stand in the queue; you can buy this card from the newspaper stalls too.
The rail took us to the liberty statue station.
“Located in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.
Only the grounds of Liberty Island are open for visitation. The Monument, museum, crown, and all outdoor observation decks are closed indefinitely to visitation for security reasons.”
We emerged out of the station and headed for the ferry infront of the clinton castle (you have to get your ferry tickets from here; $10 for a round trip). If you're visiting during winter make sure you are clad in winter clothes and mind you, gloves are essential. I couldn't keep my hands out without gloves. You get nice gloves for $8 at Walmart. The statue is a high-security area and you have to wait in a long queue for about an hour to get on the ferry. You have to undergo security checks before that. Do not carry pocket knives or any such objects. The cops'd not fancy it.
While I was waiting in the queue something fascinating happened. There are quite a few people who make a living out of entertaining the people in the crowd; well it's become some kinda tradition I guess. First to entertain was a guitar player. He was strumming away and singing some holiday songs and once in a while he'd strike up a conversation with someone and sing a song on them!
“Hey beautiful, what's your name?” he asked a lady in the queue. “Susan.” She replied. “Looking for a good husband susan?” He went. She blushed and told him her husband was standing right infront of her. And our guitar man did an impromptu song on susan. And then came 'Sugar Daddy', the best performer of them all. He is an acrobat I think, a short, well built man without a shirt (did I tell you the wind made it cold like hell?), he had the entire queue responding to him, applauding him before and after a performance... he jumped over some 5 people he had selected from the audience. He walked on his hands and climbed a flight of stairs. All this in the open! And then he came asking for money, well, it is not mandatory, but I gave him a dollar. I think in America you needn't be a software guy to make money ;-) We were approaching the security check tents when my attention was drawn to this old man playing fiddle. The minute he saw some Indians, he started playing 'jana gana mana'! Now, how does the American national anthem go any of you recollect? I think it is 'God bless america' but I dont know the tune. The security check was done and I was on the boat.
In a few minutes the ferry left for the island. And couple of minutes later the lady liberty came into view. It was breathtaking; the sea gulls shrieking across the gray sky and the statue stood tall, telling the world, that this was the land where the spirit of independence was considered more than one's life; this was the land that threw its arms open to all the people of the world: Irish, Italian, German, Chinese, south-american, and if you will, Indian (the migration took place in the 20th century and is still continuing). We got on the island and I was lost in the beauty of the statue. It was awfully cold, with the windchill, bone-munching cold! but it didn't deter me from taking a walk around. Somehow I liked looking at lady liberty from a distance. She seemed to be more graceful, and peaceful from a distance. I walked into the gift store... and I had it on my mind to buy something there as a token of my visit. But can you believe it, I forgot. I will regret it for the rest of my life. So you don't make the same mistake. You get good gifts like a statuette or a t-shirt but the prices are higher, but what the heck it is worth it.
The next stop was the times square. The world famous street that hosts the world famous new year party. Well, it was grand. The neon lights and shops and the people... took a walk down the times square and told myself 'you're walking on the world's most famous road.' FYI: Times square is a road and not a square or something.
We headed to the hotel after times square. Next day I went to Jakson heights with Rajaram. He wanted to shop. The place was a complete incongruity. With litter strewn all over and pan stains and what not. Yea, I think it is the Indian-paki-bangladeshi settlement. My sincere advice. DO NOT SHOP there. They are disrespectful. They cheat you. And the shopkeeper at the electronics shop-and indian- said 'you want to pay with a card? that'd be 10% extra. There's an ATM round the corner why dont you get cash?' That sounded familiar to me. You know?
I was hoping that it would snow. I had never seen snow in my life. But it looked like it wont. I was sad as we were leaving New york, that I couldn't stay for x-mas. Santa heard it i guess and he sent some snow along. Later, I was thrilled to find DC (we stopped over) carpeted in snow. Oaklahoma snowed after 2 decades! The weather man on TV was gushing about how America was having a 'white' x-mas. We checked in to the hotel in DC as we were staying the night and leaving next morning to Columbia. As I slid into sleep a voice in my head kept saying 'today is an important day in your life and you'll see the world in a different light when you wake up tomorrow.' And I did.

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