On the road: 7 hours by coach (Friday and Sunday night)

Cost: 400FF = S$90 including Sat night in the hotel and breakfast Sunday morning

A very interesting visit which really lived up to the reputation of what Amsterdam is made up to be. A city of ancient buidings, charming canals (Rotterdam is just nearby) and the liberal atmosphere.

Turn one corner and you find yourself along the main street, in the red-light district or in front of a coffeeshop. No, the latter is not where you can order kopi-o (common name for coffee in singapore), kaya toast or chao mien (fried noodles). On the menu are items more interesting : hash, weed, drinks, and "special" cakes with soft drugs in them.

We entered several of these joints. To smoke, you need to have your own tobacco and paper or ready-rolled cigarettes. I can't remember the exact prices but a small sachet costs about 25 NLG ~= S$20. A slice of cake costs around S$6.00. Not much more than your ave coffeeshop in the hotels in Singapore.

Near our hotel (5 beds in our bedroom with bathroom attached), the Van Gogh museum is a must-see. Not too many paintings to wear thin the interest of a non-art connaisseur like me, I found the layout refreshing and meaningful. I particularly liked a complementary exhibition of the role of light in art. Did you know that a piece doesn't look the same under different light, or that Van Gogh was concerned by having the painting done in one light and having the piece viewed in another?

The sad part is, he became mad during the last years of his life (when he was most productive) and died after he shot himself.

The Sex Museum on the other hand, was very less subdued. Kinky instruments, lucid pictures adorn the museum walls. Kama Sutra is represented, as well as photos of some Chinese women. A museum that trys a bit too hard to leave an impression.

The food we tried was first-class! The first dinner was in a chic argentinian restaurant. 27florins for a free flow of spare ribs, a la Tony Romas, satisfied the ravenous guys. We ordered a economical red wine with giggles. Subdued light, nice background music, cheerful staff, I would give this resto 5 stars.

Sunday lunch was at a Chinese resto, with nice big portions. Asian food is often expensive and comes in small portions, given its "exotic" name. So I had a bowl of wanton soup (literally translated as soup with chinese ravioli (an italien pasta that resembles small meat dumplings) for S$12. My mum laughed when I told her.

Shopping: H&M offers some real good bargains. Dawn and I spent at least 3 hours in 2 outlets.

I have to admit that 1 weekend is definitely too short to discover Amsterdam and the rest of Netherlands. A good time to return would be in spring with the tulips in full bloom!

That's about it for now. The next trip to be organised is London for a weekend for 475FF in January

Sweet dreams, everyone!

Hsieng

Rentre chez moi / Go back home