Herndon, Virginia & Washington DC

We made our way to Raleigh-Durham Airport after the session at the second location ended. It was a good 3-hour drive but we were still early for our flight.

After checking-in, the team split up and we were to settle our own dinner. Great! I took the chance to walk around the airport.


I decided to try A&W, a historic fast food chain in Singapore. I was disappointed to learn that the burgers are all beef. Hence, I ordered a root beer float (oops, the calories!!!) and topped it up with a sandwich from the stall next to A&W. I chose "cheddar-jalapeno" which seemed pretty exotic to me as the bread and turkey as the filling.


Our flight was delayed for an hour and by the time we arrived in Washington Dulles Airport, collected the car and drove to the hotel in Herndon, it was 11.30 pm. It was drizzling and very cold.

The room was a 2 bed-room suite complete with kitchen and living room. It was too big for me and I felt a little scared as my room was tucked at a little corner at the back. The hotel is made up of blocks of "houses". There are about 4 rooms per house, 2 at ground level, 2 at level 2.

I could not find the control for the heater so I had to bear with the cold. I quickly washed up and zzzzz.

The Living Room area



My bedroom


The next morning, I was awaken by some noise and I felt quite scared. Luckily, the noice came from the radio alarm clock in the other room. Probably the previous occupant had forgotten to turn off the alarm.

The view in the morning was so much better. It's a nice place to stay in but on hindsight, it may not be very safe.

Outside my room


The main entrance



Around the hotel



We had many hours to spare after completing our work at the 3rd location, before catching the flight to Boston. One of the members needed to pick up something from his house so we went for a drive in Washington DC.

Snapshots of Washington DC (view from the car window)















This is Part 1 of my "sight-seeing". I wish I had the opportunity to walk on the streets of Washington DC. Next time? Hopefully it's for holidays.

Washington, North Carolina

We reached our second destination, Washington, NC, after driving for 5 hours.

The weather is now much colder, thanks to the rain. It may snow tonight or tomorrow morning according to the weather forecast. We'll see.

The restaurant where we had lunch along the way was quite an interesting one. It has a "country" feel. Managed to take some photos.

The dining area



A real fireplace in the restaurant.


Shop within the restaurant





This is a small town. Not really "ulu" to me but it certainly is to the rest of the team. We'll only be staying for a night and after the presentation tomorrow, we will move on to the next place. This time, we need to take the domestic flight. I hope the flight will not be delayed due to weather conditions. (*fingers-crossed*)

Yawn! I need to sleep now... Tomorrow is another long day!

PS: It really snowed in the night.

View from my room in the afternoon


View from my room the next day morning


Outside the hotel

Charlotte, North Carolina

It is 1 Mar, 1620 hrs now at Charlotte, NC. Temperature is 49 degrees farenhait. I have no idea what the equivalent temperature in degree celsius is. Freezing point is 32 degrees F though.

We are expecting a snow storm tomorrow as we drive to our next destination. We could miss the snow storm if we are lucky. I certainly hope so. Anyway, highest temperature will be in the mid 30s degrees F... Argh!

We have just completed what we need to do at the first location. 7 more to go...

On a happier note, we went shopping yesterday. I suspect this would be my one and only "tourist experience" for the entire trip. One of our colleagues stationed here was very kind to bring us shopping at one of the outlet malls and later at one of the "normal" shopping malls. I felt quite embarrassed as I was the only one buying after a while. I looked like a shopaholic and they asked if I needed another suitcase!!! To be honest, I didn't buy a lot. They bought too little! With 7 more locations to go, I had to exercise a great deal of self-control and believe me, I think I did well yesterday. Now that my suitcase is full (I brought too many winter clothings, not because I bought too many things), I can't buy anything BIG... small items maybe, if there's another chance to go shopping. Haha!

Some photos taken yesterday...

View from my room

The hotel I stayed in


Breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes)



Around the hotel

Far Away from Home

This is my second day in US, excluding the 1.5 days of travelling...

United States is really in a far away land, at the other corner of Planet Earth. If not for work duties, I don't think I will ever come here. The long flight hours is a real put-off. Not forgetting jet-lag.

I guess I am very much oriental at heart. Some will term it "chee-nah" but I'm ok with the sterotyping. Asia is still my top choice when it comes to personal travel.

We departed for New York on 26 Feb 2350 hrs, Singapore time and by the time I reached my hotel, it was 27 Feb 2100 hrs, US time, or 28 Feb 1000 hrs, Singapore time!

I managed to sleep quite a fair bit on the plane. When awake, it was usually meal time. Took some photos to remind myself what I have eaten. Or rather, I foresee I may not have the chance to take much photos so better take some while I can to remind myself of my first journey to the west.

Supper (Singapore - Frankfurt)


Light meals before touch down (Singapore - Frankfurt)


Breakfast (Frankfurt - New York)


Light meal before touch down (Frankfurt - New York)


As you can see, I ordered Chinese food like noodles and fried rice. This is ONLY the SECOND day and I am already sick of the food here... and western food is very very fattening! Die!

I miss running!!!

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