Amsterdam

11 May 2008

Squeezed out of Duinrell slightly after 0800. Drove to the Olympisch Stadion .. had to tawaf the stadium one round before we found the Febo car park.

Then I met one heck of a rich Dutch guy by the name of Net. Never have I met somebody so unassuming, friendly (mind you I’ve never met him before), so giving and expecting so little. I say he’s rich coz he seemed to gain so much satisfaction in giving - amwal & amfus. Damn ! Now I feel so kayap. Remind me of John Wesley's (theologian) words: "Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can."

Anyway, hopped on the tram and hopped off at the Museum Square. Here you see Van Gogh Museum (pronounced Funkowh) – didn’t go in, if I did it’d probably be one whole day coz here there are collections of his finest pieces including early and lesser known works, Rijksmuseum – the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to arts, crafts and history, Stedeliljk Museum – the Municipal Museum with a sweeping view of Amsterdam from its top floor.

Passed by Vondelpark & dropped by Hard Rock Café and bought shot glass & classic t-shirts (did’t I have one from Amsterdam before? Was it Onne who gave it to me?) Had breakfast again at Farok’s at Prinsengracht .. Cool siot! Apartment facing one of the most famous canals in Amsterdam.

Then we toured Amsterdam, by foot. And tell you what, siap ada running commentary lagi from our host. Check out the pics:

De Wallen pun lalu juge - hmmm Merahnya Mak Ngah kawasan ni. Told the kids the working ladies are modelling undergarments for sale. Check out one of the arts on the ground in this area .. sesuai kan?

Central Station is huge .. didnt go in, save some time. Bicycles - in the thousands! There's a 4-storey bike park here.
Went for a Canal boat ride – courtesy of Farok! Tak mau duit pulak tu! Isk. Damage is something like €11.00 per adult, €7.50 per kid (different operator different price)OK, there are 165 canals here, crossed by about 1,200 brugs. Banyak nyeee. This is a must if you visit Amsterdam. Coz its such a beautiful day, there are lots of people bersantai along the canals, with books, probably biscuits & some drinks. Heaven on earth gitu.



Had a drink around Dam area, next to AEX (Dutch Bourse - I made a lot of money from this bourse last year .. heh hee) and before we left for Farok's, singgah one halal KFC .. the wait was so long coz originals were being fried (too much demand). A lot of Turks in the KFC too. Wanted to tapau, but decided to have it there while it was still hot. And yes, it was superb!! The kids loved it. I wonder if London has any halal outlet. BTW, the Prophet s.a.w was very open in halal food. There was one incident when a clan who just reverted to Islam asked him: “Sesungguhnya satu kaum membawa kepada kami daging yang kami tidak tahu mereka menyebut nama Allah atau tidak? Adakah kami boleh memakannya atau tidak? Sabda Nabi s.a.w.: “Kamu sebutlah nama Allah dan makanlah” (Riwayat al-Bukhari). In other words, if you are unsure - berbasmalah lah and eat.

Kira tak habis lah kalau nak cerita. Memang best lah, tapi Ganole kata best kalau datang kejap2. Farok pun kata kampung je Amsterdam ni. However, for me .. kena datang lagi. Tak habisss tengok.