another life blog

During the short intersession break of 2nd to 3rd year of dental school, my parents and I went on L&L Bus Tour around US East Coast & Canada for 8 days and 7 nights. It’s not all inclusive ~ for the price of $1200, the three of us got a bus ride, hotel stay, and a tour guide that can talk in 3 languages with ease. It sounded like a great deal ~ but I would recommend to those interested NOT to do it. It’s NOT worth your time, your ass, your mental state, and your health! It’s rough, and not fun 80% of the time!

The trip begins in Boston ~ where we waited for the bus at Chinatown Gate. The ticket says to arrive at 10, the bus didn’t get there until 11 ~ yes, we weren’t happy. However, upon entering the bus, we got clued in to how the whole operation runs. It’s basically non-stop with a fleet of buses picking up new passenger and dropping off those that have went through the grueling 8 days. Soon as we got on, the tour guide started yapping away about the traffic and some historical facts about Boston in 3 languages. We first stopped at Quincy Market to get some lunch, and then went off toward NYC.

NYC (went to see Ground 0, Rockafeller Plaza, Empire state building *went to the top*, UN, Water Taxi to Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, and… some other Chinatown). That night, we ate at a place called Nam Son. The pho was super nasty and made me sick for two days. I was cramping up the 2nd day in Empire State Building and turning pale with cold sweats coming out of me… we almost stopped the tour right there!

From NYC, we went to Philly & DC. In Philadelphia, went to see liberty bell, and walked about the old congress house and senate building. Historical, but nothing special really. After, in DC, went to see all the different monument and memorials ~ Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, Capitol Hill, etc… we stopped at each place for about an hour to take pictures. Nothing special really.

From DC, we went out to Corning NY, with a short stop at Hershey Chocolate World… both locations weren’t all that great. The glass place at Corning was sorta neat tho… the Chocolate world was okay too I guess, if you love chocolate. No need to make it a theme park tho.

From corning NY, we went to Niagara where we had the best time out of all 8 days. In fact, I’d recommend just going to Niagara Falls ~ do the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Wind and then you can go home. We also crossed over to Canada side and went up the Skylon tower. The salmon dish there is delicious =)

From Niagara, we went to Toronto where I went up the CN Tower and jumped on the glass floor! After Toronto, we went to Ottawa I think, then Montreal and finally Quebec City. Nothing special in each of these cities. I mean, we would go to the city hall, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, and the Citadel of Quebec City – but they weren’t that WONDERFUL… natural sights are still the best. Man constructed architecture could only impress so much I think. After, we are back in Boston, thus ending the tour!

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 2:49 am and is filed under my life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.