Amsterdam, Netherlands I: The city of canals

I arrived at Amsterdam and suddenly, NO MORE ENGLISH. I was just growing used to having English all around me in London.. Amsterdam is beautiful and tranquil. But a place where you could easily get lost, because all the canals look roughly the same! It's a maze I tell you. Go take a look at the map of Amsterdam, it looks like the seating arrangement in a theatre.

The journey to Amsterdam was pretty fun. I was next to a 19 year old English boy who said he was going to Amsterdam just for weed.. oh dear. We made friends with an American and a Taiwanese sitting near us. The four of us hanged out together when we had to leave the coach and get on the ferry to cross the English Channel. It felt as if we were on a day trip on a cruise! There were arcades, restaurants, etc etc. We went up to the deck and admired the night view which almost blew me away, figuratively and literally. It was fantastic, if not absolutely freezing because of the strong wind.





We arrived at the coach station and then needed a way to get to Amsterdam central. So I went up to someone to ask and he asked 'Parlez-vous français?' I'm like 'Un peu..' then all I remembered hearing was 'la la la.. à droite.. la la la..' but with his gestures and insertion of English here and there, I figured out what I was supposed to do. We bought the 1 hour ticket for 2.80 euros which allowed us to take the train to Amsterdam Central (where we bid each other goodbye) and then the tram to our individual hostels.







Amsterdam library has a very modern, simple and open design. Even though I prefer old Victorian libraries, this library looks really comfortable and conducive for group meetings and doing work. The art installation is really creative too. It's made up of socks which have lost their partners. And look! there's a cute baby sock in the midst.







Climb to the top of the library and enjoy a free view of Amsterdam! The top level is a buffet restaurant and they serve the most delicious smelling food!!





Red light district is a place where most people would visit when in Amsterdam and it's not like hidden away in a secluded area. It's right in the middle of the city center! Beside this lane is Chinatown. Photography is not allowed. The guide told us that if you take a photo of the girls, they might step outside and grab your camera. Furthermore, because they had to pay for the rent of each window on a per hour basis, they would sometimes pee into a cup so as to save time running to the toilet. So if you offend them, they might throw that cup of piss at you.. You've been warned!

I met a Couchsurfer here and we had Thai food. In Amsterdam. Expensive Thai food, mind you. The Dutch restaurants were mostly closed when we were hunting for a dinner place apparently. But oh well, I missed rice so it was still a good meal, albeit the high price.