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~2005~ Perth - January 2005 Washington D.C. - February 2005 Stockholm - February 2005 Chiang Mai - December 2005 My Reflection My Overseas Travel My Local Travel |
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| America's capital is a heady mix of politics, history, culture and entertainment. Visit the White House, the Capitol, the Smithsonian and the Lincoln Memorial, then unwind in Georgetown. Lodging ranges from five-star hotels to historic inns. |
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| 19 February 2005 Day 1 - KL � Stockholm - Newark Our flight was delayed for an hour but we reached Stockholm on time. Although the journey took almost 11 hours, traveling on business class was comfortable especially with the new seats of the 777. Thanks to our frequent flyer points, his ticket was upgraded to business class too. We transit in Stockholm for 1� hour. The whether was cold and it was snowing in Stockholm. We could see workers clearing the snow from the runway and pavement. Temperature was �3 C. We reached Newark International Airport quite late at night. Next connecting flight to Washington D.C. is tomorrow morning. We stayed the night at Wyndham Hotel, a cozy transit hotel, 5 minutes drive from the airport. |
| 20 February 2005 Day 2 - Newark - Washington D.C. We had a hearty breakfast at the hotel. Our flight to Washington D.C. was at 10 a.m. We reached Washington Dulles Airport almost noon. We rushed to take the shuttle bus to Capital Hilton Hotel. I need to be at the hotel before 2 p.m. as I wouldn�t want to miss the keynote address by John F. Moore, the COO of the US Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. I hurried with the registration and managed to get my name tag processed. Without the tag, the Secret Service in-charge would not allow me to enter the Conference Hall. They even made us register our thumbprints to track our attendance! At the end of the day�s session, we adjourned into the Exhibition Hall for cocktail reception. I met a few colleagues from other institutions and exchange latest news. We were still having jet lag and spent half the night sleeping. The whether was chilly outside for us to go for a walk so we decided to order room service of seafood tempura and onion soup. Tonight, trying to catch-up with some sleep we stretched our tired muscles and soothed our aching bones. |
| 21 February 2005 Day 3 � Banknote Seminar, Washington D.C. The panel discussions were thought provoking and a timely insights into the latest developments in the industry. Today I had Lunch with G&D delegates from China and through our discussions, we compared notes on the latest processing and sorting machines. I met up with Dr. Marco of Crane, Dr. Gesteiger of G&D and Gary of PolyteQ after the last session. I skipped cocktail reception and we took a cab to a Pakistani Restaurant for Nasi Bryani and Tandoori dinner. Later we watched a play �The Graduate� at Warners Theatre. The leading role was lead played by Morgan Fairchild. Although inspired by the film and original novel, the play was definitely its own entity, and added new dimensions to the story of Benjamin's seduction by Mrs Robinson and his later love for her daughter, Elaine. The inevitable Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack brought back sweet memories of the 70�s� |
| 22 February 2005 Day 4 - Banknote Seminar, Washington D.C. - Richmond The seminar ended with closing remarks by the organizer thanking delegates for their active participations and sponsors for their exhibits of latest products and technologies. Later we took a 45 minutes bus ride to FRB Baltimore for lunch, tour and presentation. Over there they organized a lucky draw and I won a watercolor painting for a prize. We traveled back to Washington and reached the hotel at 5.30 p.m. He checked out at noon and was already waiting for me at the lobby when we arrived. We stored our luggage at the Capital Hilton Hotel and brought with us one overnight bag enough to pack our clothing for 2 days. Took the subway to Union Station and bought tickets for the 7 o�clock train to Richmond. The train ride took almost 2 hours, enough time for us to nap. From the train station took a cab to central Richmond and checked in Omni Hotel. |
| 23 February 2005 Day 5 - Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond We had a leisure breakfast at the Barlowe'sTerrace restaurant. Took the hotel shuttle bus to FRB Richmond. The whether was very cold. It was snowing and raining at the same time. I was subjected to tight and thorough security check. Andrew was already waiting for me at the lobby. Met with Roland at the 23rd floor meeting room and we had serious discussion till noon. Lunch was at the Executive Dining room with Marvin, an interesting young man with lots of ideas, who is also the economic adviser to Greenspan. The vegetarian lunch was delicious and filling. We continued discussion at Roland�s office and had the opportunity to visit the processing room and their workshop where the engineers were in the middle of upgrading the BPS machines. My attachment program ended with a visit to their money museum. They should come and visit our money museum in KL, which, I think is bigger and more interesting. The shuttle bus fetched me after 5 p.m. and later we took a cab to Chesterfield Town to window-shop and later to Sam Miller Restaurant for a lobster dinner, which cost us a fortune. Only tonight, after 5 days of my official duties, we started to plan what we want to do for our holiday and felt so excited about it. |
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| 24 February 2005 Day 6 - Richmond � Washington D.C. We checked out of Omni Hotel right after breakfast and took a cab to the train station. The train was delayed for an hour and it was late noon when we reached Washington D.C. After checking in at Capital Hilton Hotel again, we took the Old Town Trolley city tour. As it was the last bus for the day we didn�t have time to hop on and off. At least he had the opportunity to visit a few museums including the Air & Space Museum when I was busy with my seminar. During the tour we passed by Washington and Jefferson's monuments and Lincoln Memorial and also the Library of the Congress and Federal Supreme Court and the US Capitol where elected Senators and representatives meet. We ended the tour by viewing from far the world famous White House, home to the American Presidents. We had Japanese dinner at the Union Station and later watched Cursed, a B-grade movie about werewolves, starring Christina Ricci. |
| 25 Feruary 2005 Day 7 - Washington D.C. � Newark - Stockholm We had breakfast in the hotel before we checked out. The snow was still heavy outside but the sun was shining brightly. We took a cab to Washington Dulles Airport. Out flight was delayed. Our plane was made to wait at the runway for almost an hour. But we had ample time to spare at Newark International Airport before our flight to Stockholm. We spent time in the lounge and had light meal. The flight to Stockholm was also delayed but the journey was pleasant as we had the opportunity to taste Malaysian food again on MAS. It was the beginning of our winter holiday. And we were all excited about it. We watched a few in-flight movies and listened to music and catnapped in between meals. |
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| Time of Truth The time is now Let change begin, Blend heaven and earth In an endless spin, Wherever you're going, Wherever you've been Now change your direction And travel within; The time is now To take a good look Examine your life And the roads that you took, From cover to cover You've written your book Did you swim in the river Or sleep by the brook? The time is now Get your head on straight No more indecision To love or to hate, Since you are the author Don't blame it on Fate, Take control of your future Before it's too late. (Linda Ori) |