Washington DC

After New York, we had the option of taking the train or renting a car to proceed to DC (taking a flight was very expensive). We chose to drive simply because it meant no restrictions on luggage and no rushing about for inflexible train schedules.

Our road trip which should have taken 3 hours ended up being 5.5 hour journey. Adapting to unfamiliar driving conditions i.e. driving on the other (wrong!) side of the road (IK), trying to understand the less *ahem* sophisticated Hertz satellite navigation system (me), missing a few junctions along the way (me) and heavy traffic in DC were the main reasons for the extra 'joy ride' hours.

Big Boo Boo: Driving out of NYC to get to the motorway - the time my heart skipped a beat when IK turned into the opposite carriageway. Funny it was not.

We made it anyways and kudos to IK for getting us there in one piece.

Highlights of DC:

• Lots of spacious, open areas


• Big boulevards + ample car park


• Large, comfortable + unbelievably clean subway trains


• Our fantastic hotel room


• Magnificent monuments + memorials


• Outstanding Smithsonian museums


• Remarkable and beautiful Library of Congress

One piece of advice. Although the cost of the train tix was no different to the car rental, we discovered that it was more expensive to drive resulting from unforeseen incidental costs such as fuel, additional parking charges at the hotel and lots of tolls along the way. In conclusion, travelling by train would be the cheaper option, although you won't have the luxury of time and will be bound to rigid train time tables.

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Gong Xi Fa Chai to all celebrating the Lunar New Year!