Tourist Sites

Sunday 14 Jan
Back at the house to be domestic. Watched a lot of Firefly! Nearly through the whole season now!

Monday 15 Jan
After so many days of not really doing anything, I decided to make the most of my remaining 5 days in DC. It didn’t get off to the greatest start with me sleeping in, but that was fine. I more than made up for that later.

My initial plan was to visit the White House and surrounds and visit the Compucat Washington office (my Dad’s work). Due to the aforementioned sleep-in, I had a quick whistle-stop visit to the White House (which was OK as you cannot enter it post-9/11). For lunch, Emily, Ellen and I had planned to meet and discuss Sydney. Ellen works with my Dad in DC and Emily, her daughter, is heading to Sydney on a study abroad program in February. So they both came armed with loads of questions on Sydney and Australia and University etc. etc.

It’s Emily’s first trip abroad on her own, so it’s a big move! She’ll have an awesome time, that’s a given. The only issue that was raised was her taking Health Sciences units. These, at USyd at least, are taken on a different campus. One that is quite far away from downtown. So I think she’s decided to scrap them, which luckily at USyd is a really easy process. We never have ‘full’ classes so changing preferences is easy. (Not that I would have ever considered it ‘easy’ before I traveled abroad!)

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café in DC. As far as I am aware, this was my first trip to a Hard Rock. It was surprisingly good actually! The portions were gigantic, of course, and the beer was poured horrifically badly, but the meal itself was tasty and SO filling.

After lunch I visited the National Archives. These house the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution), the US Constitution (with Hancock’s famously large signature), and a copy of the Magna Carta. It was a fascinating museum, although being a public holiday (for Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday), the main documentary wasn’t running. I’ve heard this place can be mega-busy in the summer, but right now it was dead quiet, which was nice. I can imagine 100 people all bustling to see the Bill of Rights wouldn’t be pleasant.

From there I walked back down the National Mall to the Freer Gallery of Art. I really didn’t expect to stop here at all, but once I was in, I was hooked. It’s a fantastic gallery of Asian artifacts and design. Being the egg that I am, I am always on the look-out for anything Asian and here it was, right in DC. I think I was the only person in some of those galleries at the time, but nonetheless the calligraphy and everything else was amazing.

It is little stops like that which make me happy to be traveling independently again. If I was in a tour group, there would have been little chance that we would have stopped at the Freer Gallery, let alone spent time there to see the whole museum. I really enjoy going at my own pace again!

Finally, on Saturday, Kristin and her friend Melissa came to pick me up and we went downtown. Kristin and I met in Singapore in 2005 when we were both studying on exchange at NUS. I haven’t seen her since May 2005, so we had a lot of catching up to do! Melissa is her ex-roommate from William & Mary.

We visited the National Mall (the central boulevard of Washington, DC – NOT a giant shopping centre!). Off the Mall are all the Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery, the monuments, the US Capitol Building and the White House. Many government offices also spread off the 2-mile long stretch of lawn and pedestrianised pathways. Today we visited the Korean, Vietnam and WW2 War Memorials, the Lincoln Monument, the US Postal Museum and Union Station.

We had intended to eat at the famed canteen of the National Museum of the American Indian, but due to a burst water main, both it and the National Air & Space Museum were closed for the day! Just our luck! We eventually found lunch in the Union Station food court. We ate dinner at an Iranian restaurant in McLean, VA. The place is called Shamshiry, and has the greatest menu I’ve ever seen. In fact, it was so good I took a copy for my collection of souvenirs!

An excerpt:

“ Shirin Polo – This is one of the most excitingly different, unusual and demanding of the Persian rice dishes. But it is also one of the most rewarding. The sweet rice is seasoned with spices, perfumed with sugared orange peel and made crunchy with pistachios and almonds. It tastes as if imaginative honeybees created it.”

“Baklava – Baklava is considered the grandest of all pastries … the taste of baklava will please you.”’

By the time I arrived in DC I was completely dead. Having said a teary farewell to Ange in JFK I headed back to the hotel to send some emails and finish off final packing. Because my second bag had yet to arrive (owing to the monumental cock-up at Charlotte), I had to fill my suitcase and hand luggage to the max to fit it all in. This meant that at the airport I had to pay a US$20 charge as my bag was over 50lbs (59lbs to be exact). Ah well, if that’s the only charge I pay the whole trip, that’s fine!

I overestimated the amount of time required to check in and pass security so I ended up with an hour spare at JFK airport to surf the net and relax.

I arrived into Dulles at 5pm and Jen (a friend of Claudia’s from Cambridge that I met when I visited Claudia) picked me up. For the next 10 days I’ll be staying at her place in Fairfax, VA. It’s a fair way out of DC, but it’s close to the Metro, and I’m eternally grateful to Jen for letting me stay for such a long time!

Within about 10 minutes we were chatting like old friends, sharing stories about traveling and the like. Ah, good times!

I spent the next two days bumming around the house. I think the furthest I ventured was the grocery store nearby, and even that was under semi-duress! I think I really needed it, because I was fine sleeping 12+ hours, which even I’m not so used to! I sorted through all my luggage and decided on what to keep and what to discard, and I answered all my emails. I even began blogging again – after a long long time!

Ciao for now!

Fri Jan 5
The trip from Caye Caulker to Flores was fairly uneventful aside from some bribing at the border (legitimate and less so) and some hilarious(ly creepy) conversations with drunk locals at bus stations. Apparently I still have milk in my teeth. Good to know!

There’s a huge military presence in Guatemala that makes itself known quite early on. It’s not in-your-face, it’s just, well, there. There are multiple military bases on the way from the border, and armed guards patrol most shops and tourist areas.

Flores island itself is really touristy but great. Along with Isla Mujeres it stands out as my highlight so far. There are some cool little cafes, some great shopping, bargaining and local carnivals to boot! Our hotel is really nice and perfectly located to catch the sunset. Look, alright, these things are important!!

Sat Jan 6
Today was one thing: Tikal.

Tikal, along with Tulum, is a set of Mayan ruins. Instead of being a city centre, Tikal is a set of pyramid-like structures designed as a means of worshiping the gods. Again, it’s not really something that I can do justice with words, so check out the photos! We went for sunrise, but it ended up being misty until about 10am, so all that early rising was for nothing! Actually, the mist added ambience to the whole event that made it quite special, but it wasn’t the amazing ‘sun rising over the back of the pyramid’ scenario that we expected.

After the four-hour tour with an excellent guide (highly recommended that you do get a guide if you go), we headed down the road to the Canopy tour (Q$200). For the Aussies reading this, it’s a series of flying foxes. For the others, it’s a ZipTrek. It was a great was to see the jungle from above and the view was oftentimes spectacular. The only downside is you can’t stop half-way along to take photos, so much of the time was spent talking about it all!

By the end of that we were hot, dirty and sweaty, but unfortunately we couldn’t have a shower as we had already checked out of our hotels. Instead we went down the road to another hotel’s pool and had dinner. I’ve never felt so clean before!

Sun Jan 7
Last night was the overnight bus to Antigua. It was quite a nice bus, with loads of leg room, but unfortunately the bus was too noisy (what with Spanish movies and some of the group getting drunk) that not many of us got a whole lot of sleep. Dan decided to dance in the aisles, and this morning Frankie hit the roof over her lack of sleep. Interesting times!

Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala, is a fantastic city, and already I want to spend more time here. The streets are all cobblestone, and there are loads of interesting alleys to get lost in. After an excellent breakfast at La Casa Contina on the square (such good eggs!), we collectively realized that most of the ATMs in Antigua wouldn’t accept our cards and therefore we didn’t have any money. This caused a minor catastrophe as people debated how to get money – c’mon guys there aren’t really any options – WE NEED MONEY!

In the end, our driver from the bus station came and took a group to a nearby ATM. Turns out the ‘there isn’t any money in Antigua’ story was just that – a story fabricated by stressed tourists.

That afternoon we visited the local markets and the jade museum and store. It was really interesting actually, despite all the many jade stores I’ve been to (China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and now Guatemala), I actually liked this one. I bought two pieces there – one for me, and one for Ange.

That night we had dinner at a place near the arch for one last time as a group. It was an excellent place (despite Rachael eating pork [she’s Veggie!]). Afterwards, Ange wasn’t feeling too well, so I took her back to the hotel before heading out to find the others. The group had split and so some of us went to Reds to have some drinks. We drank far too many cocktails, met “Chase of Base” who was apparently a ‘bartender’ there (and thought Lorali was perfect! Aw!), and ended up only paying for half of them! Then we headed to the Salsa club and met up with the others. There was no one there, being a Sunday, so it closed early (12:30). Ah well, still a good night in my books!

Monday Jan 8
Another long day today, visiting the coffee fields, a macadamia plantation, another old town and Pacaya, one of the local volcanoes.

It all began (as usual) with breakfast at La Casa Contina. We headed from there to the coffee plantation (where Starbucks imports some of its coffee), then to the macadamia place, which was designed to train local communities to create sustainable industries. From there, we spent some time in another old town nearby, with its communal washing area and hot springs.

After a quick lunch (after getting lost trying to find out laundry place), we headed to Pacaya for sunset. BAD idea. We weren’t properly warned of the temperature issues, or the fact that it had erupted THAT morning. Grr!! Regardless, we went, some of us with proper winter clothing, most of us without. It took 90mins to walk from the base to the peak and by the time we reached the top it was pitch black.

I have to admit it was awesome seeing all the lava (which was fresh, although we didn’t know that at the time), but it was dark and foggy and some in the group failed to realize the importance of keeping together. As Rachael put it, “this is how people die”.

Luckily no one was injured, or at all affected by the experience. For the most part we were just kinda shocked by the whole thing. Definitely not something I’d recommend you do at sunset. There’s a reason why most tours leave at 2pm and no later!

Our final dinner (which turned into a bit of a bitchfest unfortunately) was had on the square, and we all went to Reds for some drinks and tequila. How fitting that we ended our Central America tour with tequila!

Tuesday Jan 9
Another LONG day – this time from Guatemala to New York.

Ange and I went with Rachael and Lorali to visit a nearby hotel (whose name escapes me at the moment). It turned out to be the one that housed the magical ATM that accepted everyone’s cards, and was actually an old monastery. They have really done an amazing job with the restoration that just walking around the place gave you a sense of its history.

From there, we headed back to our hotel, grabbed our bags and Dan & Juliana and said farewell to everyone. It was quite sad saying bye to all these people, although given that most of them are from Sydney, Ange and I will no doubt see them again! Ange & I got a ride to the airport with Dan & Juliana and we all boarded our flights to New York.

At Charlotte airport, being our first stop in the US, Ange & I had to clear immigration. Once again I had issues, namely that I didn’t have my final ticket home to prove I wasn’t staying in the country. Our flight had already been delayed, so instead of the expected 2hr layover, I had 1hr. 70mins of that were spent in Immigration as they detained me (I even spent time in the room for suspected illegal immigrants!) so they could check my records. Now I look back at it and I understand their motives, but seriously – it’s an e-ticket anyway, it’s all on my passport. Just look it up and save everyone the hassle!!

So the short of the story is, I JUST made our flight. In fact, they brought it back from taxiing so I could board. Seriously. I got to the gate and the plane was making its way to be re-attached to the bridge. I am SO grateful to US Airlines for doing that for me – thanks!! Phew!

Ange and I spent that night in a taxi to Suk’s to pick up our luggage, and then onto the Holiday Inn Express JFK to repack and sleep. I think it would have been better to have had another night in New York to relax, but ah well, it all worked out in the end. Just.

Photos from Guatemala