| Dear Jian Shuo,
This is my first time writing, but I have been following your blog ever since I moved from New York to Shanghai 2 years ago. Yours is definitely the best blog I have encountered on the Web. I am not sure if you already know about this or not, but there is a "Chinese" bus system between NYC, Boston, Philadelphia and D.C. I am not sure where the D.C. terminal is, but the ones in NYC, Philly, and Boston are in their Chinatowns (all very conveniently located). There are several companies (eg, Fung Wah) whose schedules are online (try googling "chinatown bus schedule"). This is definitely the cheapest way to travel between these cities. There is fierce competition among the companies, so the fares are really low (used to be $10 one-way from NYC to Philly). It is much cheaper and just about as comfortable as Greyhound, and a fraction of the cost of Amtrak. There was some gang-related violence involving some of the companies, but in general it is safe and even a lot of non-Chinese use the system. You may want to try it just for the experience of living like a huaqiao. If you go to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC (pay as you wish), don't forget to check out the replica of the Master of Nets garden (it is nothing like the original in Suzhou). Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip! |
I am in Washington, D.C