Amsterdam with Thomas!

After 3 years... I finally meet Thomas again! I was truly excited about meeting Thomas and Micha after all this years. We were all pretty close friends when they were in Malaysia for their traineeship. Thomas looked great! =) He hosted our stay and I had such a good time. Thomas and his roomates (Bauke and Yves) are a great example of warm and friendly Dutch hospitality... particularly Thomas! He cooked a delicious Dutch meal on our first night: Slavinke with potatoes, broccoli with cheese and lots of mayonnaise... yummy!!

We visited the famous Anne Frank House, flowermarket and walked along the canals. The houses along the canals have interesting architecture. The houses are usually narrow along the canals because the houses used to be taxed according to the width of the house... so they are typically narrow but long. The visit to the Anne Frank House confirmed this.

It rained during our entire stay in Amsterdam. What a bummer, but Thomas saved the day! He drove us to The Hague where it was sunny!! =D We stopped by his mother's house and had tea. Beautiful Dutch house, good tea, and more Dutch hospitality!! We had a good time talking to Mrs Wolters and his sister, Helen. We looked at pictures of Thomas in Malaysia and reminense about those days... =) We had a nice stroll in The Hague... and Thomas asked us to try herring (type of fish eaten raw). I had quite a culture shock when I saw 2 ladies holding the fish by its tail above their head, and ate the fish. Its a typical Dutch snack and it actually tasted quite good. It was just the way of eating that shocked me initially... but good experience!!

Before I end this entry... I have to add my unforgettable experience at the Amsterdam red light district and the coffeeshops. ;o) Walking along the red light districts, I was initially shocked with the open way the prostitutes display themselves at the window, scantilly dressed. I am of the rare female species on the other side of the windows, mostly men. The atmosphere is safe though, and women visitors are left alone. I actually witnessed a transaction... a men paid €30 to a young and beautiful prostitute for a session... closed curtains. At the coffeeshops... we had our first experience smoking joint. I didn't particularly enjoyed it as I did not know how to smoke in the first place... but one person in our group threw up and the other one zoned out for 4 hours during the first time. Wonder who.... ? Hehehehe....