Friday, March 15, 2013

A Trip of a Lifetime - to the US and the UK (Part 3) – a visit to the Embassy, dinner & sightseeing

When it was time to get up at 6.00am, I could hardly open up my eyes, having only slept hardly more than 4 hours the night before.

I finally got up and 6.30am and quickly took my bath and got ready for my first breakfast in the US on the trip.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, baked potatoes and tomatoes and French toast.


The scrambled eggs was cooked by a very nice Muslim chef who told us that the next day we would have to eat other food other than scrambled eggs as the next day was his off day.

Having breakfast with YBhg Dato' Noraini, Director General of Jab. Kebajikan Masyarakat.


The first agenda for the day was a visit to the Embassy of Malaysia.


After the visit to the Embassy, which lasted till noon, we had a few hours to kill before we had to get ready for the dinner with the Ambassador and his wife.

YBhg Dato’ Harjeet, our Head of Delegation, suggested that we go sightseeing to see the famous landmarks of the city.

First stop, a souvenire shop!


Across from the souvenire shop was a Hard Rock Cafe shop, but I did not pay it a visit, knowing how expensive things there are sold.


I am always intrigue by these newspaper stand where you just put in coins to get the newspapers.


I wonder if this would work in Malaysia, or whether it will be vandalized within a few months of being installed.

Just next to the souvenir, we chanced upon this house where the signboard read “House Where Lincoln Died”.


Naturally, as a tourist, everyone took turns to snap a photo in front of the house! LOL!

Our next sightseeing stop was in front of the Capitol Building, before we proceeded to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Park.


Notice the similarities in my pose in front of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s statue? LOL!

Next, we made a stop at Lincoln Memorial, and from there, we could see all the way to the Washington Monument.


This sight kind of reminds me of the set up of Putrajaya where the Prime Minister’s Office has a direct line of sight of the Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC), before the Architect that designed the new office of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development or whoever was responsible to position the building, decided to block 1/3rd of the view when it positioned the building too much to the right of the site. Now the PM’s office no longer has a direct line of sight. Such a pity!

Our next and last stop for the day before we had to go back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner was to the White House. You cannot not go to the White House when you are in Washington D.C. It is a must visit! LOL!


However, we were a little bit disappointed when we could not get a better view of the White House to get a good photo. So, we took whatever photos we took and left. It was also starting to get very cold.


We left for the hotel with about 45 minutes left for us to get ready for the dinner at the Ambassador’s house. I had less than 10 minutes when I decided to go looking for a local phone card so that I may call my brother in New Jersey, and also so that I can go online.

I was looking for a phone card that can call international, so that I can call home, but the price was kind of steep for a one week use. The sales assistant suggested that I call international using Skype instead.

So, I contacted my brother and asked him to buy me some credit for my Skype account. Thanks, NikAi!

With hardly 10 minutes left, I quickly got to my room and changed into something smart casual for the dinner.

I felt a little under-dressed though, if you can call that, when the rest of the delegation wore Baju Kurung instead.


Err..the card did say Smart Casual, and I wore a long skirt and blouse, so I was dressed according to the dress code, but when someone else or the rest of the delegation wore Baju Kurung, I was left to feel out of place even though they were the ones not dressed according to the dress code! LOL! Oh well! I still looked presentable though! LOL! *wink*

It was a lovely dinner. The host and hostess were nice people. The food was nice too.


But the best part was that I was seated at the same table as the Ambassador and his wife with my name written on a card and placed at the main table! Wow! I am really honoured!


We said thank you to the host and hostess for the lovely dinner and presented them with some souvenirs we brought from Malaysia.


End of Day 3 - 4th February 2013

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