Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Dam
28-AUG-2008:
Amsterdam is called Amsterdam because it really is a dam on the river Amstel. We boarded a cruise ship from Harwich International on Friday and spent a night on board the Stena Hollandica. We arrived at the Hook of Holland at 7:30am on Saturday and from there we had to take a train to Amsterdam.
Dominic and mummy slept on the double bed while daddy slept on the opposite side.
After about 15 minutes in the country we realized that the credit card is not a very popular or useful thing in Netherlands. Daddy spent about 10 minutes at the ticket machine which rejected both his credit and debit cards and there was not a single person around to help. What's worse, the machine accepts coins only and our tickets cost EUR29.xx. Fortunately, thanks to Maestro I was able to purchase the tickets using my debit card. Later when we tried to get breakfast, we noticed the "We do not accept credit cards" signs in restaurants and supermarkets. We were in danger of running out of cash but fortunately the more fancy restaurants in the city centre do accept credit cards. For contingency purposes, I withdrew some cash from "The World's Local Bank". You see, daddy wasn't able to do it with his Citibank because it's not the world's local bank. :-D
We walked around the city. We went for a boat ride on the canals - the kind which was powered by our legs. Extremely good exercise.
Amsterdam is famous for its museums but this time, we didn't visit any museums or art galleries at all. Firstly, we're not big fans of history. I personally have no interest at all in history. Secondly, we had to take into account Dominic's interest as well. So, with nothing much to do in Amsterdam, we decided to indulge in food! :-D
Fast food and snacks that you can buy from a vending machine:
One of the days, we had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. We ordered only starters because we thought we were not that hungry, but you know HRC is famous for its large portion - even for appetizers. The restaurant overlooks a canal - it was simply fabulous.
Who would have thought that Amsterdam is famous for Indonesian cuisine? It didn't even occur to me that Netherlands = Belanda = the country that "menjajah-ed" us (and Indonesia) during the 1510s. I suppose that was the reason for the Indonesian influence in Amsterdam. The Indonesian dinner we had was simply delicious. The flavour was a bit mild - suited for the ang moh's - but we were served extra sambal chilli by request. The man who served us was an Indonesian whose daughter is married to a Swedish.
We ordered room service one night and the food was "hotel standard", which translates to "not good".
When you are in Holland, you have to see at least one Windmill. As it turned out, it wasn't easy to find one in Amsterdam itself but you probably have to travel outside of Amsterdam. It was by luck that we saw this in a magazine and we tracked it down. It wasn't even listed in our travel guide book.
We took a tour inside the windmill and learnt the history and mechanics behind it. During the old days, windmills were used to pump water from one side of the dike to the other when the water level got too low or too high. Other than that, windmills were also used for logging - cutting timber - or any other uses you can think of that can make use of the wind energy. Today, they are used to generate electricity. (See photo album later for more information).
The Anne Frank House is another famous attraction but goodness me, the queue was soooo long - so we didn't get in. Besides, there are stairs and stuffs which are not buggy friendly - my excuse. I wish I could've gone in there to look at the little apartment hidden behind the bookcase. Instead we went shopping at the floating market.
What else is unique about Amsterdam? I would say the bicycles. Nicely pathed bicycle lanes are everywhere and it will be very safe and easy to cycle around the city - if you don't have a phobia for bicycles like me.
What else? Oh yeah ... sex toys are easily available and openly displayed in the windows. I would like to get a vibrator but was too embarrassed to do so. I told daddy that he should go in and get one for me but his response was "I'm not the one who's going to use it". Never mind - if I really want one, I can always order it from the Internet. :-)
We boarded the ship early on Monday evening and spent some time relaxing on board the Stena Britanica. Dominic said he had fun but both daddy and mummy think that going for a holiday is extremely tiring.
