Friday, January 20, 2006
Amsterdam Trip Report:
This report is cross posted on the flyertalk forum. Click here.
I've just decided to post what I have, otherwise, I'll take forever to post my trip report. I'll be posting this same report on Flyertalk. This is a very long report. Some parts may be less interesting for some people. Each section and subsuction is in bold face so you can easily skip to a more interesting section. I describe my trip mostly in chronological order. I start with the "F" experience. Next, I write about a near theft on the train. On Sunday, I described walking through the Red Light District, a tram accident, and my visit to the Anne Frank House. On Monday, I write about my visit to the Rembrandt house. After that, I make a few observations about Amsterdam in general.
Introduction:
I might as well give a brief introduction for those that
haven't been following the Sidegames saga. My friend Sidegames had me book a trip to EZE last week. On Monday, we booked a Tuesday evening departure. I dropped him off to the airport and about forty minutes before his flight was to depart, he called me and told me he canceled the trip. I believe he can reschedule the trip within a year for $100, so the $800 fare isn't a total waste. Sidegames said his reasons for cancelling were that he didn't feel like sitting in E- for 12 hours and he was afraid he'd end up getting himself into trouble there. On Thursday, he was fed up with work and life again, so he asked me to book a trip to Amsterdam. He wanted to do a "last dance" of smoking weed and banging prostitutes. I was able to find him a $606 Swiss Air fare that left Friday. I was tempted to go with, but I didn't feel like spending the money on the hotel, plus I'd get 0 EQM's from UA. I'd get redeemable miles, but I figured I'd rather spend the money on a run that would get me EQM's.
I read Trip Advisor and found that The Grand Amsterdam Sofitel would suits his needs perfectly. One of the reviews there said that it was only two blocks from the Red Light District (RLD). Another report said that there were coffee shops nearby as well. I found a good internet rate that involved prepayment. As Sidegames had cancelled his other trip, I asked him several times if he was sure he wanted me to book the ticket and the nonrefundable hotel. He said he really wanted to go on this trip and wasn't going to cancel. I then made the booking as he requested.
I dropped him off at the airport on Friday two hours before his flight. Again, about 40 minutes before his flight was scheduled to leave, Sidegames called me up. He said he had decided not to go again. I thought he was joking at first, but he said he was serious. He said he was so embarrassed that he almost just took a cab home even though his car was parked at my place. I told him that the first time was funny, but this was really messed up. He said that he realized he had a problem.
Why waste it?
I told him that it was shame that he was wasting 200 Euros a night on that hotel. He asked if he could get it refunded but they said it was nonrefundable. I then joked that he should call them and tell him that his "assistant" (me) was going to fly ahead of him. I told him to check if he could have the hotel transfered to me. They said they could. I then decided to fly out the next day. The best airfare I could find out of ORD was a $994 ORD-PHL-AMS flight. I then checked MKE and found a $630 Continental flight. That was obviously a better deal, even though it involved a 1.5 hour drive to Milwaukee. I didn't like how I wouldn't get UA miles, though. I could add it to the 500 miles I have on NW but it seemed like a waste. I need UA EQM's, but paying $300 more for the US fare seemed like a bad deal too.
Just for the heck of it, I decided to check award tickets on UA come. The economy saver fares were gone so they wanted 80,000 miles for Economy. I checked C and found that I could redeem 80,000 miles for a C seat. Finally, I checked F and found availability for a 100,000 miles F seat. I decided if I were going to burn the miles, I might as well fly F. I had never flown international F before and have always wanted to have the experience. I knew Singapore Airlines' F was far better, but if I were going to try UA F, this would be the time to do it. I knew I would like it and I could still look forward to SQ F in the future. It would be worse to trip SQ F first and then try the lesser UA prodcut afterwards. After about thirty minutes of debate, I booked the trip.
I could get used to First Class:
I’m writing the beginning of this entry on Thursday, January 19, 2006, as I’m waiting for my ORD-IAD flight that is the first leg of my trip to Gainesville. I think I’m going to appreciate my First Class experience to Amsterdam even more today considering I’m back in E+. I’ll also be experiencing US’s E class which is like E- on UA. I have to say that my First class experience was fabulous. Flyertalk people would say that UA’s F doesn’t measure up to the competitors, but as I said in another entry, this is best time for me to experience UA F. I plan on make next award ticket a full experience on SQ & Thai Airways F. I was impressed by UA’s F and I’ll be even more impressed with the crazy service in those two Asian carriers.
I started my trip in the UA C concourse Red Carpet Club. Immediately upon entering, I could see why some people find it so appealing. When I was there, there weren’t that many people. I could also enjoy free fruits and some nonalcoholic beverages. I could have probably had two comped alcoholic drinks but I didn’t bother to try to get drink chits at the front desk. I remember grabbing some oranges and some drinks and camping out a table and chair need the food area. Another nice benefit is that you don’t have to go gate to gate searching for a power outlet. There are power outlets all over the place.
After trip report comment while waiting at ORD: As I think back on my RCC experience, I keep debating whether I should join it today for $400. I was very tempted as I know it would make flying 4 segments today less unpleasant and possibly even pleasant. Still, I think talking to Seamas helped me convince myself that it wasn’t worth it at this point in time. I might not use it enough if I don’t keep up my frantic flying pace for the rest of the year. The amenities are nice, but how hard is it really to find a laptop outlet. I found one in less than five minutes today in the gate across the hallway from my departure gate.
ORD-IAD on a 767.
I was lucky to have F on a 3 class plane ORD-IAD. The experience wouldn’t have been as nice on this Airbus 320 that I’m scheduled to fly in 40 minutes. I knew that I would get predeparture drink service but I ended up only ordering a Diet Coke b/c I didn’t really feel like drinking alcohol. There were two rows of F seats. The configuration was 2-1-2. The seats weren’t lie-flats like I had on the 777, but they were more than adequate for this less than 2 hour flight. My favorite features are include the like 3 feet of leg room and the extra seat width, of course, but I liked the movable foot rest best.
Food:
I finally got to try the warm nuts that people rave about on Flyertalk. They were quite tasty and went well with the red wine that I ordered. There were two choices for my meal. I don’t remember what the other choice was, but I ended up getting the Grilled Chicken Salad. I wasn’t used to eating on such short flights. Since I always fly E+, I’m used to having no meals even for a long OGG-KOA-ORD flight.
IAD Lounge:
I got off the plane and went into the first Red Carpet Club that I saw. Luckily, the lady told me I should go to the other location as it was closer to my gate. As I got nearer to the other RCC location, I found out that there was an International First Class Lounge near my gate. That was definately better than the RCC club. It had some fruits and other stuff for a buffet. (On my return trip, I saw they had some cut of meat in the buffet.) Most impressive was the free liquor available. I didn’t drink any but I did have a few sodas while watching the beginning of the Redskins-Seahawks game.
IAD-AMS 777
The seat was impressive on the 777. The seat configuration was 1-2-1 and there were three rows of seats. I had 3J which was the solo seat on the right side of the plane. The seat was a lie flat seat and I had a little work area in front of me. For the pre-departure drink, I decided to have a mimosa.
Food:
There were several appetizers that I could choose from. I don’t remember exactly what they were. For the main course, I had a filet, which was decent, but nothing special. For dessert, I was offered selections from a cheese and fruit plate. The best part of the meal, though, was the chocolate sundae dessert. Great stuff for airline food.
Return trip: IAD-ORD
On the way back home, I got a 777 for the short IAD-ORD leg, which was a pleasant surprise. I was tired, but I didn't even bother using the "bed" feature for such a short flight. The entree choice was between a chicken fajita wrap and a teriyaki salad. I chose the later.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2006
Attempted theft on the train:
In keeping with my adventurous spirit, I decided to take public transportation to The Grand Amsterdam Sofitel. A cab ride would have cost about 50 euros and I felt that was a waste considering I could take the train for just under 4 Euros. After arriving at the airport, I went down to the train area. I took me a few tries to actually buy a ticket as I couldn’t get it to accept my credit or debit card and then I was short 10 cents. It ending coughing up the ticket somehow. I don’t remember if I had put in the 10 cents and it took like 10 seconds to figure it out or whether it just comped me the 10 cents. I’m guessing that they might have it set to forgive a shortage like that b/c it’s in the airport.
I went down to platform 3 to wait for the train to Central Station. As I was waiting, I saw a hot looking blonde who was in her 40's. Even though she was 10+ years older than me, I couldn’t stop looking at her. Later, there were three girls, and one of them was wearing a short skirt with black panty hose. What is interesting here is not my wandering eye, but that these women ended up playing roles in this story.
I got on the train and chatted with some black guy. He said Central Station was 20 minutes away. I wasn’t sure if I’d figure it out so when we came to the first stop, I asked some guy standing next to me if it was Central Station. (The black guy had been on the phone.) He said that Central Station was the end of the line so I couldn’t miss it. Fast forward to about 10 minutes later. This scruffy looking guy walked by twice and I thought he looked suspicious. I guess I really can read people better (or I’m just learning to trust my reads) because he came by a third time, this time with a guy with a stripped red jacket. I was standing near the door and there were four benches to my left. On my right was a stairway that lead up to a larger seating area. The 40 year old blonde was up there chatting to some companion. I saw the two guys walk up upstairs. I was thinking about the mini skirt girl who is seated to my left when suddenly I heard the blonde yell, “My laptop!”
One guy came rushing by and I saw the woman grab her laptop case on the third step from the top. I was still confused about what had happened, but I later found out that the stripped jacket guy had dropped the laptop on the stairs when the woman noticed it was missing The scruffy looking guy, though, was just hanging out near me. Suddenly, the black guy says, “Hey man. You tried to steal that woman’s laptop.” The scruffy guy became all defensive and started to accuse the black guy of being crazy. The black guy then asked me if I had seen it. I really didn’t want to get involved as I had no idea if this scruffy guy would start stabbing people or something, but I did say that I had seen the woman retrieve her laptop. As the argument proceeded, the three other guys standing around started to question the scruffy guy. At one point, the black guy said, “Some one call the police. That guy tried to steal her laptop.”
During the exchange, I saw the mini-skirt girl and her friend move to the adjoining car. I remember thinking, “That’s a good idea. Who knows what might go down here?” I then decided to go sit down where the girls had been. That way, I wouldn’t be in the middle if a fight broke out and I had room to through my suitcase in front of a guy if he tried to attack me. I guess the girls had complained to someone as some woman walked in. At first, I thought she might be a cop, but then I realized she was just the conductor. The black guy said that someone in a red stripped jacket had tried to steal the laptop. The scruffy guy walked away after this. Before she left, the woman commented in frustration, “This type of thing is becoming more common here. There’s nothing we can dol.”
After the scruffy guy and the conductor left, I heard someone talking to the black guy. The black guy said that the scruffy guy was an accomplice or something b/c he was acting defensive and scared. I later saw the 40 year old blonde as we exited the train at Central Station. I asked her, “Did someone really try to steal your laptop?” She replied, “Yeah, isn’t that crazy.” Then she called out to her friend. Even though I’m on vacation, I do feel like I should be sarging, but obviously this wasn’t a good time to do it here.
Bad Directions/Bellboy:
This two guys from the train tried to help me out with directions. I had told them I where I was staying and one guy thought I had said The Grand Karasomething (it’s in Dam Square.) I told them that I knew the directions from Dam Square, but I head read that I should take a tram. The guys said that it was walking distance. The one guy told me to walk, “This way.” He seemed to be pointing straight but I got confused.. I should have realized that I should follow the tram tracks, but when I crossed the street, I ended up taking a left instead. I walked for like 15 minutes before I asked for directions and found out I had been walking the wrong way. Three guys who were doing construction told me to walk back to Central Station and take a left. They didn’t recognize my hotel when I named it but they did know the street when I showed them the name on phone. It was great that I had saved the street names as I can’t pronounce these Dutch names, much less memorize them.
I later found the hotel after asking five other tourists who had no clue, and a police man. It turns out the guy on the train had pointed in the right way. I guess I messed up b/c he hadn’t given me specific directions and I was tired. I remember that he had pointed at two towers as the location of Dam Square, and I realized he had pointed the right way when I finally got there.
The hotel is about 2 and a half blocks from Dam Square. It’s an easy walk to Central Station. When I got to the hotel, I checked in and I didn’t run into any problems. I kept imagining scenarios where they wouldn’t let me have the room Sidegames had paid for but none of my planning was necessary. After I checked in, I was asked if I need help with my bags. I said, “No.” I think that few people carry their own bags, especially in an good hotel. There was no way I was going to have a bellboy carry my bags and have to tip him after walking at least 3 miles with my bags on the way to the hotel.
The Grand Amsterdam, Sofitel:
This hotel is in a great location as it’s on a quiet canal street and it’s very close to Dam Square. All the tourist attractions are in walking distance. The room is big when you judge it by European standards. My room in Maui had been bigger, but that had two beds, and it was in the US. Seasoned travelers know that rooms can be small in Europe unless you pay big bucks. The room was very clean. It was so clean that I was willing to walk around in my bare feet which I usually don’t like doing. I didn't have to do that, though, as they provided comp slippers. The bathtub was huge and clean. The hallways were quiet and I even slept from 5PM Sunday to 1:30am and never was awakened by noise outside.
The hotel is also a great location for those looking to enjoy trees and the Red Light District. There is a coffee house right next to the hotel. For those that don’t know, marijuana and mushrooms are freely sold in coffee shops here in Amsterdam. At the time, I thought that it was great that there was one so close b/c if I decided to eat some brownies, I’ll be close to the hotel.
Red light District Walk Through:
After trip report: I guess I wasn’t as adventurous as I wanted to be. I didn’t end up seeing any prostitutes nor did I even set foot in a coffee shop. I think if Sidegames had come, I probably would have eaten some tree brownies. Since I was by myself, I felt it easy to just keep walking. I was afraid that I would get sick or just ruin the trip if I ate too much weed.
As I said in my previous blog, I was interested in the RLD so I spent the first hour or two walking around and checking it out. Anyone who goes to Amsterdam should at least walk through the area as it is quiet an experience. Anyway, what follows is my report and observations about the RLD:
Prostitution was tolerated here for a long time. When I came when I was around 14, the tour guide walked us through the RLD. Maybe that experience and watching adult movies along with biology are the reasons I have such a high sex drive even in my late 20's. Amsterdam was the last city on a 14 or 15 day tour of Europe my mother and I had taken through Trafalgar Tours. All that I remember of the RLD was that there were a bunch of porno shops, and I remember seeing these hot girls standing scantily clad in shop windows. As a virgin, I remember thinking how great it was that these beautiful women were on display.
My understanding is that prostitution was made officially legal in 2003. Legalization meant that the trade was now regulated and the girls pay taxes on their earnings. If my information is correct there are three RLD’s and this one near me is the main one. There used to be an area that catered to car clients. You could drive in that are and pick up licenses street hookers, but I read they did away with that recently.
Since I’ve lived in the US my whole life, I find the RLD to be a surreal experience. There are a few small “streets” (they are more like alleys or walkways b/c cars can’t fit there) where there are only street windows for girls. In contrast, on bigger streets, like the canal and street where The Grand Amsterdam is, there is a strange mixture of shops. You’ll see a normal bar with your normal looking crowd. Next to it might be a few windows of girls. After that might be a coffee shop or a restaurant. Later, you’d see a porno shop. One interesting thing that I saw happened when I turned this corner. On my left was a bar. A mixed four-set sitting there and one of them was an attractive blonde. She was looking out the window. On my right were three kamers (window fronts). One was closed. The other two had working girls standing inside. One was okay looking and another was a hot, petite blonde. I remember being tempted to go in, but just as the thought entered my head, I saw a guy look at her. As soon as his eyes came upon her, his body turned in amazement and he walked hurriedly to her door. She let him in and we can guess, with accuracy, what happened. The whole situation just seems unbelievable. You have a blonde hanging out with her friends and she sees the girls in the kamers across the street. Then she sees a john walk right in and she’ll see him walk out 10-20 minutes later and everyone knows he just finished having sex with the prostitute.
An even stranger sight was when I walked out of this one RLD street and I could see children playing not too far away. Two blocks from these kids are the RLD kamers and you know there are mostly johns walking around. I just wonder what parents say to the kids. In the USA, the parents would be uptight and would probably not know how to handle the issue. Here, I bet they just explain that the women in the shop windows are prostitutes. They have sex for money.
If you walk around the RLD, you’ll see mostly men, but you’ll also see some women. Usually, they are with a guy and the couple is just checking out the scene. The women also could be going to the normal bars. Also, they might be going to work. I find that intriguing b/c when you pass a woman, you’re not sure if she’ll soon be available for hire or not. I happened to see one girl going to work. She was walking, and I remember wondering if she was a prostitute. Next thing I know, she goes into one of those kamers and starts working.
I suppose all this seems crazy because I live in America. Americans are so uptight about sex in general. When people think about prostitution in the US, they probably think about johns picking up nasty street hookers in Cicero, IL or they think about high priced escorts that you can dial up from the phone bookl. I’ll minimize my libertarian rambling, but I will say that we handle prostitution in the wrong way. The sex trade is alive and well in Chicago but the government is almost completely cut out of it. The only place that is close to having things down right is Nevada. Prostiution is legal in almost all the counties except Clarke County, which contains Las Vegas, and the county that includes Reno. In the legal counties, you find prostitution in legalized brothels. The girls are licensed by the county and have health checks every week. They are segregated from the general public when they are working. The eat and sleep in the brothel for the one or two weeks that they work and then they usually take a week off. This is so that girls don’t go having unprotected sex when their off duty. The idea is that they might catch diseases from boyfriends or something which could mean they are infected with something even though they were just tested.
Learning to appreciate living: Tram crash & Anne Frank house:
Since I’m not depressed anymore and have been in a great mood like 95% of the time lately, I usually don’t need a reminder to appreciate life. Today, I learned to appreciate even more than I already do. After got sick of walking around the RLD district, I decided to go to see some real attractions. There are a ton of museums to see but many of them have to do with art. I’m not a big art fan. My ex would have loved it her as she loves art. Out of all the main attractions to see, the two that I am most interested in are the Rembrandt house and the Anne Frank house. I discovered to today that I wanted to see tour take a Heiniken tour (I’m not sure if it’s the brewery or what but it looks interesting.) Unfortunately, it’s closed Monday so I guess I’m going there on my next trip.
Tram:
Just west of Dam Square I saw a roped off area in an intersection. There were police cars and ambulances there. I felt compelled to look as it’s human nature to be intrigued by accidents. Maybe it’s because an accident is something out of the ordinary, but I think it might be because it reminds people (maybe just on an unconscious level) that our seemingly messed up lives can end or become even more messed up randomly like this. As I approached the police line, I could see two cops or accident investigators moving this little bicycle in front of the tram. I knew that they were trying to recreate the accident, but I didn’t know how long ago the accident actually happened. I decided to get closer as I had to walk past the accident anyway, and I was morbidly curious. I saw some scuff marks and then this pink pool of body fluids. I had seen blood before but this seemed like it was more than blood as it was pinkish. I kept wondering if it was brain or flesh or something. I have to ask Richa (my good friend’s wife, who is about to graduate from med school) what she thinks it might have been. Whatever it was, it was disgusting, and I kept thinking about brains. To my right was the ambulance. A technician kept opening and closing the door so I couldn’t get a good look. I could see a body and a big neck brace but I couldn’t tell anything more. At first I thought it might be a child b/c the bicycle was small, but who knows?
The ambulance didn’t seem like it was in a rush to get out of there. At the beginning, I thought the person had to be dead as they were just sitting there while they investigated the accident. I figured if the guy was alive they would get him out of there as soon as possible. I thought about what I figured would be a probable chain of evens. The accident happens. The emergency services then arrive. After that, I imagine the focus would be on helping the victim. Then, I think they would rush the victim away and then do an investigation. After about 3-4 minutes, though, the ambulance did race away so maybe the guy was alive. I don’t know.
During this, I asked a few people what had happened but the three people I talked to were not eyewitnesses. After the ambulance speed off, I told this older man who had also been observing the scene, “Well, I guess I’ll appreciate life a little better today. Take care.” I then walked away and I genuinely do appreciate my life a little more after this.
Scene of the crime:
After I finished the Anne Frank house tour, I walked back to the hotel. When I got to the site of the accident, I saw that it had been cleaned up and everything had returned to normal. I wanted to get closer to see where the pool of fluids had been. I was easily able to locate the spot as the scuff marks were still in the road. Where the fluids had been was now a wet spot. The crew had cleaned it up well so the spot just looked like a puddle of water. People were walking on it and they had no clue that someone’s brains or something had been there. I felt a need to walk around the spot even though it was clean and I had to push through people to do it. It just felt weird to step on that spot so soon after the accident.
Anne Frank House:
I probably should have written this after my visit there instead of the next day at 16:17. I had read an excerpt from the Anne Frank diary in grade school. If you had asked me about her before my visit, the only info I could have given was that I knew she was a Jew who had been hiding out in a house and she wrote a diary about the experience. Until I started reading about Amsterdam, I didn’t even know that the house was here. Now that I’ve visited the house, I think I’ll make an effort to read the diary as I can better picture the events she described. I can also imagine her sitting in her room writing this stuff. Both of those combined give me a better appreciation for the work. As I mention in my Rembrandt report, I felt similar after my visit to his house.
Since it’s been a day, I don’t feel like I can give as detailed a description of my visit here as I do with my Rembrandt entry that I made an hour ago. I will say that I think it was smart for the exhibit to have excerpts of the diary in each room you walk in. I felt like I could get a better feeling of the atmosphere of the room by reading an entry about it. Here are some memories I’ll have from the exhibit:
-I was struck by how big the hiding area was. Since I hadn’t read any part of the diary in probably 15 years or more, I pictured that they had been hiding in a little closet or something. I’m surprised that such a large secret area existed hidden in the building. Anne Frank’s room is about the size of my friend Jim’s room when he was growing up. The literature says she shared it with Frank Pfeffer. What makes the experience so miserable is not the space, but the circumstances of their hiding. They had to live in constant fear that they were going to be discovered. They couldn’t use the bathroom during business hours because the pipes ran directly downstairs to warehouse area. The food was scarce and they had to wear the same clothes for months. On top of that was guilt. One of the diary entries describes Anne feeling guilty that she can see other Jews walking outside and knowing that many Jews who couldn’t hide were being rounded up.
-On one wall, there were horizontal marks on the wall. The description said that these lines marked how much the children had grown during the time they were hiding. It’s a good reminder that they hadn’t been hiding for a few months, but for years. In one entry, Anne describes how her shirt barely fits, and exposes her belly because she had grown so much.
-Another thing that I’ll remember from the exhibit is the end of the exhibit. There are pictures of the eight people that were hiding and it explains what happened to them. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only one to survive after they were rounded up. I found out that Anne had died in a camp about a month before the Allies rescued the camp. In this same room, there is a video of an old woman who had been friends with Anne. She was in a camp next to Anne’s. This woman was a Jew that had been granted citizen ship in Paraguay. The video said that Paraguayan Jews were giving special treatment because Hitler had made a pact with Paraguay. It would have looked bad to treat allied Jews in the same way as other Jews. Near the end of the war, the Paraguayan Jews were rounded up, but they were put in a special camp. The people in that camp were treated better and were even given supplies by the Red Cross. This woman’s camp was next to Anne. One day she was looking over at the other camp and was surprised to see Anne through the barbed wire. The woman said that Anne felt she had nothing to live for and that helped her illness finish her. The woman speculated that Anne might have lived if she had known her father had been alive.
Behind the portrait of Anne in that same room, there’s a video playing from one of the concentration camps. Of course, I know what happened in these camps, but I found it moving to see actual videos from the camps. You see emaciated bodies crouching next to dead bodies. In one scene, you see a mass grave filled with hundreds of bodies. It’s one thing to read that people that were exterminated, it’s another to see the bodies. I know that each of those people had their own story. The exhibit evens says that thanks to Anne Frank’s writings, we know her story and the stories of the seven other people living with her. We also know a little bit about the people who helped smuggle food to those that were hiding. We don’t know the stories of all those other people that died in the camps, but I know they had interesting lives. It’s incredible that so many people were just exterminated like rats for the sole reason of them being Jews.
As I said earlier, visiting the Anne Frank house helped me appreciate my life a little better. Even though I sometimes feel depressed about my life, I have to always remember that I’ve been lucky compared to the people in this house, the Jews in Nazi controlled Europe, and the poor person who got hit by the tram today. I need to draw on these memories in the future when I’m feeling down about something or another. I believe this stuff helps my inner game by forcing me to view everything that happens to me in a new frame.
MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2006
Hotel Window:
I’m resting in my room for a few minutes. I’m probably going to check out the Amsterdam Historical Museum next. I’m currently fascinated by the window in my room. Yesterday, the room was really hot and in an attempt to cool it down, I think I made it even hotter by turning the fan on. I had tried to open a window yesterday, but the left windows don’t open. I had assumed that I couldn’t open any windows, but today I noticed that the right one opens. It really does open too: the window is about 4 feetX2 feet and it opens completely with no screen. I haven’t seen this in any of the hotels in the States. I guess that they have done away with these windows back home because of potential lawsuits. I could just picture some dumb ass falling out the window while drunk, or some kid playing around and falling to his doom. Somehow both incidents would be blamed on the hotel.
Bitch at the supermarket:
I went to buy a Coca-Cola Light at the store. On a side note, I’ve always been amused by the fact that they call it Coca-Cola Light here instead of Diet Coke. Anyway, the bill was 1 Euro and 15 cents. I had bills which I could have used to pay right away, but I wanted to get rid of these coins. The lady started to get pissed b/c I was taking too long. I guess the only reason this bothers me is b/c I didn’t say anything back. I remembered that she repeated the total 3 times while I was counting the coins. By the third time, I wanted to say that I understood what the total was, but I was trying to find the right coins with which to pay.
The correct way to handle a tourist like me is to do what the guy did for me at the Rembrandt House. The entrance fee was 7 Euros and 50 cents. I had pulled out a bunch of change b/c I wanted to get rid of it. The man could tell I wasn’t familiar with the coins b/c I had to study each one closely. He said, “Do you mind if I help you count those?” He then separated the right amount and then double checked his count by counting it off for me. That’s how you handle tourists. I don’t know what the wages are here, but perhaps that is the difference. The guy at the museum was an old man who probably was happy working there. This woman probably hated working at this supermarket. F her, anyway. .
Rembrandt House:
I wanted to see this house because Rembrandt actually lived there. My appreciation for art, in a general, is only a passing one. I wouldn’t have gone to see a Rembrandt museum, but I was drawn to his house. I took the Myers-Briggs test back in December. I don’t remember what my actual personality is from the test, but I do remember that it says I like to empathize with people. I believe I’m attracted to historical places because of that aspect of my personality. As I went through each room, I tried to picture what it was like to be there back in the day. As I stood in the living room, I imagined horses or carriages passing on the street. There was chair on an elevated platform near the window. The description said that visitors sitting there could watch the action on the street. I pictured myself sitting there and doing just that.
After you walk in to the house, (from the original entrance), there is a room to your left. In this room is where Rembrandt negotiated his sales. To the right of the room was a bed. The beds on display here are very different than the beds we have today. If the doors had been closed, the bed could have passed for a cabinet.. In fact, I think part of the bed actually was a cabinet, but I’m not certain. I remember being struck by how short the bed was. I’m slightly below average height and I think I would have found the bed uncomfortable. In another room, I commented to the guard how small the bed was. (On a side note, this is one of the benefits of my new personality. Since I’m more social, I made this comment, and I learned more about the bed. In the past, I might have been too shy to talk to the guy and I would have remained clueless.) The guard explained to me that people were shorter back in those days. This made sense as the people of 1600's didn’t understand proper nutrition and people who weren’t rich did get to eat all they could, unlike people of today. Another reason for the bed being so short is that the people didn’t sleep lying down like we do today. The guard said that due to some superstition about lying down while sleeping, people slept sititing up.
In between this back room, and the entrance room was a small hallway area with stairs leading to the second floor. Opposite the stairs was a workshop area. When I first got to the second floor, it was roped off, but later I found it open. Inside was Rembrandt etching studio. The man inside explained that there would be a presentation later. During the presentation, we learned about the different etching techniques. For those that don’t know (and I had never heard of etching until I saw a Rembrandt exhibit at the Art Institute with my ex last year), I will give a brief explanation of the technique. The artist creates a design on a copper plate. There are three techniques. I don’t remember the exact names, but one involves using charcoal or something to coat the plate. The artist then makes his design in the material but doesn’t scratch the surface of the plate. The surface is then treated with acid and that imprints the design into the plate. The two other techniques involve actually scratching the plate with tools. If I recall correctly, one technique involves heaving groves and another is lighter, and possibly involves just makes designs using small pricks.
After the artist makes his design, he runs it through a press. Our guide said that Rembrandt liked to run the press himself. Running the press is a multi-step process. I don’t remember all the steps. When I first heard about etchings, I imagined that you just put ink on the plate and run it through the machine. Of course, it’s not that simple. The ink has to be prepared by coming 3 ingredients or so (I don’t remember exactly). The final pressed image also can be modified by how the ink is left on or removed in certain areas of the plate.
On the next floor is Rembrandt’s studio. He painted many of his works here. As I stood there, I again let my imagination run wild and tried to picture myself watching Rembrandt and his assistance. Having visited his house, I think I’ll appreciate his work more when I see it.
Blogging:
My feet were tired from having walked over two hours in the morning. I am now going to miss seeing the Amsterdam Historical Museum. I could still walk over there, but it closes at 5Pm. I’d have like 50-55 minutes to see it. I don’t know how big it is but I’d rather not do a speed tour of the museum. I guess I’ll put that and the Heineken tour for my to-do list next time.
On Writing:
I’ve been sitting here for almost two hours writing my trip reports. I find myself writing about stuff that I didn’t even plan on writing about when I started. I seem to get some sort of pleasure in writing these entries. I guess it’s because it gives me a chance to reflect on my thoughts and feelings during the trip. I’d think these thoughts anyway, but it’s rewarding to actually formulate them into a coherent blog and to preserve the thoughts in writing.
Monday night:
It’s almost 6pm and my time is running out here. I think I won’t be doing brownies after all. The time to do them would be now, but I think I’d rather just try to take a nap.
Tuesday:
In my comments about bicycles, I said that I wondered what the bicyclists do when it rains. Be careful for what your wish for... On Tuesday, it rained all morning. I had to drag my suitcases in the rain. Also, my eyes had been red from keeping my contact lenses in too long on the flight over so I wore my glasses most of the trip. I had to put my contacts on my sore eyes to walk to the train station b/c it was raining too much.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Bicycles:
I had read in my brief research that bicycles are a popular form of transportation here. When I read that, I figured, “So what? I’ll see a few bicycles more than I’d see in Chicago.” I was surprised by what I did end up seeing. I imagine that the reason the bicycle is so popular here is because gas is so expensive here and the roads don’t really allow for a lot of traffic. I haven’t seen the entire city, but I’ve walked by some of the busier areas and you don’t see any wide streets like Michigan Ave back home. Instead of cars, you see tons of bicycles. You see more bicycles than cars at least on the majority of roads, where there isn’t heavy traffic. Contrast this picture with Chicago. There, you hardly see any bicycles except for under bike messengers and on the Lake Shore Drive trail. It’s winter here and back home, I wouldn’t even think about riding here. (Sidenote: I wonder if it snows here. I guess I’ll ask one of the hotel workers when I go out later.) Here, people ride all year round. I wish it would rain while I’m here so I could see the people riding in the rain. I’m sure they do, but I think it would be an experience to see a bunch of bicycles riding in the rain. They probably do it so often that it barely registers as out of the ordinary.
Urinals:
I thought it was odd in the Philippines that there were these urinals in the middle of the sidewalk. Well, it wasn’t as surprising there as there are signs all over the place that say, “Bawal umigi dito.” That might be spelled incorrectly but it’s Tagalog for “Don’t piss here” or “It’s forbidden to urinate here.” I remember being so surprised to see so many signs that say that because you would think that would be a given. Just like you would assume that bathing in the Makati Peninsula Hotel fountain is prohibited, but there’s a sign telling you not to do just that. Here in Amsterdam, I haven’t seen any signs warning you not to piss in the street, but I have seen signs that direct you to the nearest urinal. The urinal is basically a hole in the sidewalk that’s surrounded by a circular fence. The fence starts at about two feet off the ground and it ends just above my head. When you walk by one, you can see the guy’s piss hitting the ground. Also, you can’t miss the smell of the urine when you go by one of these things. I’m curious about the history of these urinals. I’m guessing that the city probably had a big problem with public urination so they decided they needed these quaint urinals to eliminate the problem.
Sidenote: Yesterday, next to one of these urinals, I saw a mound of feces. It didn’t look like dog feces, so I imagine it was human waste. I guess some guy decided he couldn’t hold it and just decided to take a crap near the urinal. I bet it must have happened between 2-5am as the area there was fairly busy, even at 1am because it’s in the RLD.
Bilingual Bums:
I’ve been asked for money three times since I’ve been here. Sidegames said he got approached by four bums every morning when he used to walk a mile to work in Chicago. He lived near Division and Sate and he walked about a mile south on Dearborne to get to work. Homeless people seem to be less of a problem here compared to Chicago and compared to Honolulu. At least that’s visible homeless people. I don’t know if there are other areas that have more bums or what the public housing and aid is like here in The Netherlands. One bum was pretty aggressive yesterday. It was tall black guy that began by speaking to me in Dutch. I was flattered that I could pass for a local. Even though I couldn’t understand him, I knew he was begging me for money. His outstretched hand gave away his intentions. I told him that I don’t speak Dutch, and he responded by asking me for change in English. Then he showed me some ashtray from the Bulldog hotel that he no doubt stole. He wanted me to either give him free money or give him money for the stolen ashtray. I kept walking without making eye contact. That’s what I do to bums in Chicago and they usually leave you alone. This guy kept following me, so I started to walk forward and to the left so I was moving away from him. I then looked him in the eye and said firmly, “I’m not giving you any money. Leave me alone.” To that, he finally did leave me alone.
I was a little surprised that he spoke English. He might just know how to beg for change, but I think he probably speaks English very well. This is an example of how Europeans usually know at least two languages. Back home, almost all the homeless people are uneducated. Even educated people can barely speak another language. In contrast, here, even a beggar can speak Dutch and English and for all I know, he even knows a third language.
Note after trip: When I walked around between 9 & 10PM on Monday, I saw a few more beggars. They seemed to appear more during prime time, which made sense. I remember this woman asking everyone she could, in an English accent, “Excuse me, can you spare one Euro?”
“Hard” drugs:
Sidegames was probably right to be wary about coming here. I think he’d enjoy himself if he limited himself to indulging in prostitutes and even trees. He’s probably right that he’d end up doing heroin or harder drugs. It’s not that hard to find. The tourist info that I read before the street says that you’ll get bothered by offers to buy it. I’ve been offered drugs at least four times since I’ve been here and I’ve passed guys that I’m pretty sure were in the same trade even though they didn’t verbally offer me stuff. The guys usually say, “Cocaina?” If hadn’t been brainwashed by the program, Sidegames would be fine here. He could practice moderation and just do trees or even mushrooms. As I’ve said before, he’s convinced he’s totally messing up his life when he can’t avoid doing marijuana, so he’d definitely ask for heroin. He’d figure that he’s messing up big with the so called moderation, so he might as well go all out and do heroin too.
Reuse your plate:
I ate at this crappy Chinese buffet today (Monday). After I had finished my first plate, I went to the buffet to get more food. I grabbed a new plate. The guy suddenly exclaimed, “Excuse me sir. You have to use the same plate.” He then came up to me and took this plate that I had already touched out of my hands. Fortunately, I had just put a shrimp chip on the plate. He said I’d have to pay again if I used another plate. If I had put real food on the plate and they tried to charge me again, I swear I would have just run out of there. Screw them anyway. I understand that I’m not back in the US, but I think it’s BS that they are so cheap like that. How much extra labor and supplies are they really using when you use two or three plates? Back in the States, you can’t even reuse your plate at most buffets because it’s against health regulations. Heck, even in the Philippines, I believe you can get a new plate when you return to the buffet area.
Traveling out of the country:
I do have a new appreciation for traveling outside the US. I haven’t been out of the country much in the last few years. The only place I went was the Philippines. Back when I was younger, things were the opposite. My mother and I hardly ever went anywhere in the US. Instead we went on tours. These tours were to places across the Atlantic ocean. The first trip was this European Whirl tour from Trafalgar. That is the trip that brought me to Amsterdam many years ago. Another year we went to Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. Another year, we hit Egypt. I believe we went to Egypt a year or two before the German tourists were killed by terrorists shooting up a tour bus. Our last tour was a land tour of Greece and a cruise of several Greek Islands, and Istanbul. On this Amsterdam tour, I foundnd that I really enjoy seeing the contrasts to life in US, specifically Chicago. I also enjoy hearing other languages and trying to figure out what they are speaking. I now think I can spot Dutch if I hear it in the future.
Traveling in the USA:
I think it was Sidegames who made a great point about what he liked about traveling in the US. When you travel in the US, even to somewhere as exotic as Hawaii, you know that you are still in the US. You have the same rights as you do back home and you have the familiarity of your own language. The traffic laws might have some slight variations but you know everything it almost the same in that department. Being here in Amsterdam, I now realize that another I like about traveling in the US is that I can still use my cell phone like I do at home. In the US, I’d be posting these blogs right after I finished them as I’d have internet wherever I have a cell phone signal. I didn’t realize how much I miss being connected until now because in the Philippines I had both services. I had dialup internet and I had use of a cell phone. I got a cheap sim card for the equivalent of about $3. I had a ton of free text messages. When you buy phone cards, you get X # of minutes or credits (for international calls) and you get 25 free messages. Since I was using my phone to call my ex, I had over 150 free text messages. When my unlocked tri-band GSM N-gage, I was able to keep in touch almost like I do back home. I suppose I could probably do the same here, for slightly more money, but I don’t have any local people who would tell me where to get the sim cards, and I don’t have the desire to take the time to figure it out.
This report is cross posted on the flyertalk forum. Click here.
I've just decided to post what I have, otherwise, I'll take forever to post my trip report. I'll be posting this same report on Flyertalk. This is a very long report. Some parts may be less interesting for some people. Each section and subsuction is in bold face so you can easily skip to a more interesting section. I describe my trip mostly in chronological order. I start with the "F" experience. Next, I write about a near theft on the train. On Sunday, I described walking through the Red Light District, a tram accident, and my visit to the Anne Frank House. On Monday, I write about my visit to the Rembrandt house. After that, I make a few observations about Amsterdam in general.
Introduction:
I might as well give a brief introduction for those that
haven't been following the Sidegames saga. My friend Sidegames had me book a trip to EZE last week. On Monday, we booked a Tuesday evening departure. I dropped him off to the airport and about forty minutes before his flight was to depart, he called me and told me he canceled the trip. I believe he can reschedule the trip within a year for $100, so the $800 fare isn't a total waste. Sidegames said his reasons for cancelling were that he didn't feel like sitting in E- for 12 hours and he was afraid he'd end up getting himself into trouble there. On Thursday, he was fed up with work and life again, so he asked me to book a trip to Amsterdam. He wanted to do a "last dance" of smoking weed and banging prostitutes. I was able to find him a $606 Swiss Air fare that left Friday. I was tempted to go with, but I didn't feel like spending the money on the hotel, plus I'd get 0 EQM's from UA. I'd get redeemable miles, but I figured I'd rather spend the money on a run that would get me EQM's.
I read Trip Advisor and found that The Grand Amsterdam Sofitel would suits his needs perfectly. One of the reviews there said that it was only two blocks from the Red Light District (RLD). Another report said that there were coffee shops nearby as well. I found a good internet rate that involved prepayment. As Sidegames had cancelled his other trip, I asked him several times if he was sure he wanted me to book the ticket and the nonrefundable hotel. He said he really wanted to go on this trip and wasn't going to cancel. I then made the booking as he requested.
I dropped him off at the airport on Friday two hours before his flight. Again, about 40 minutes before his flight was scheduled to leave, Sidegames called me up. He said he had decided not to go again. I thought he was joking at first, but he said he was serious. He said he was so embarrassed that he almost just took a cab home even though his car was parked at my place. I told him that the first time was funny, but this was really messed up. He said that he realized he had a problem.
Why waste it?
I told him that it was shame that he was wasting 200 Euros a night on that hotel. He asked if he could get it refunded but they said it was nonrefundable. I then joked that he should call them and tell him that his "assistant" (me) was going to fly ahead of him. I told him to check if he could have the hotel transfered to me. They said they could. I then decided to fly out the next day. The best airfare I could find out of ORD was a $994 ORD-PHL-AMS flight. I then checked MKE and found a $630 Continental flight. That was obviously a better deal, even though it involved a 1.5 hour drive to Milwaukee. I didn't like how I wouldn't get UA miles, though. I could add it to the 500 miles I have on NW but it seemed like a waste. I need UA EQM's, but paying $300 more for the US fare seemed like a bad deal too.
Just for the heck of it, I decided to check award tickets on UA come. The economy saver fares were gone so they wanted 80,000 miles for Economy. I checked C and found that I could redeem 80,000 miles for a C seat. Finally, I checked F and found availability for a 100,000 miles F seat. I decided if I were going to burn the miles, I might as well fly F. I had never flown international F before and have always wanted to have the experience. I knew Singapore Airlines' F was far better, but if I were going to try UA F, this would be the time to do it. I knew I would like it and I could still look forward to SQ F in the future. It would be worse to trip SQ F first and then try the lesser UA prodcut afterwards. After about thirty minutes of debate, I booked the trip.
I could get used to First Class:
I’m writing the beginning of this entry on Thursday, January 19, 2006, as I’m waiting for my ORD-IAD flight that is the first leg of my trip to Gainesville. I think I’m going to appreciate my First Class experience to Amsterdam even more today considering I’m back in E+. I’ll also be experiencing US’s E class which is like E- on UA. I have to say that my First class experience was fabulous. Flyertalk people would say that UA’s F doesn’t measure up to the competitors, but as I said in another entry, this is best time for me to experience UA F. I plan on make next award ticket a full experience on SQ & Thai Airways F. I was impressed by UA’s F and I’ll be even more impressed with the crazy service in those two Asian carriers.
I started my trip in the UA C concourse Red Carpet Club. Immediately upon entering, I could see why some people find it so appealing. When I was there, there weren’t that many people. I could also enjoy free fruits and some nonalcoholic beverages. I could have probably had two comped alcoholic drinks but I didn’t bother to try to get drink chits at the front desk. I remember grabbing some oranges and some drinks and camping out a table and chair need the food area. Another nice benefit is that you don’t have to go gate to gate searching for a power outlet. There are power outlets all over the place.
After trip report comment while waiting at ORD: As I think back on my RCC experience, I keep debating whether I should join it today for $400. I was very tempted as I know it would make flying 4 segments today less unpleasant and possibly even pleasant. Still, I think talking to Seamas helped me convince myself that it wasn’t worth it at this point in time. I might not use it enough if I don’t keep up my frantic flying pace for the rest of the year. The amenities are nice, but how hard is it really to find a laptop outlet. I found one in less than five minutes today in the gate across the hallway from my departure gate.
ORD-IAD on a 767.
I was lucky to have F on a 3 class plane ORD-IAD. The experience wouldn’t have been as nice on this Airbus 320 that I’m scheduled to fly in 40 minutes. I knew that I would get predeparture drink service but I ended up only ordering a Diet Coke b/c I didn’t really feel like drinking alcohol. There were two rows of F seats. The configuration was 2-1-2. The seats weren’t lie-flats like I had on the 777, but they were more than adequate for this less than 2 hour flight. My favorite features are include the like 3 feet of leg room and the extra seat width, of course, but I liked the movable foot rest best.
Food:
I finally got to try the warm nuts that people rave about on Flyertalk. They were quite tasty and went well with the red wine that I ordered. There were two choices for my meal. I don’t remember what the other choice was, but I ended up getting the Grilled Chicken Salad. I wasn’t used to eating on such short flights. Since I always fly E+, I’m used to having no meals even for a long OGG-KOA-ORD flight.
IAD Lounge:
I got off the plane and went into the first Red Carpet Club that I saw. Luckily, the lady told me I should go to the other location as it was closer to my gate. As I got nearer to the other RCC location, I found out that there was an International First Class Lounge near my gate. That was definately better than the RCC club. It had some fruits and other stuff for a buffet. (On my return trip, I saw they had some cut of meat in the buffet.) Most impressive was the free liquor available. I didn’t drink any but I did have a few sodas while watching the beginning of the Redskins-Seahawks game.
IAD-AMS 777
The seat was impressive on the 777. The seat configuration was 1-2-1 and there were three rows of seats. I had 3J which was the solo seat on the right side of the plane. The seat was a lie flat seat and I had a little work area in front of me. For the pre-departure drink, I decided to have a mimosa.
Food:
There were several appetizers that I could choose from. I don’t remember exactly what they were. For the main course, I had a filet, which was decent, but nothing special. For dessert, I was offered selections from a cheese and fruit plate. The best part of the meal, though, was the chocolate sundae dessert. Great stuff for airline food.
Return trip: IAD-ORD
On the way back home, I got a 777 for the short IAD-ORD leg, which was a pleasant surprise. I was tired, but I didn't even bother using the "bed" feature for such a short flight. The entree choice was between a chicken fajita wrap and a teriyaki salad. I chose the later.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2006
Attempted theft on the train:
In keeping with my adventurous spirit, I decided to take public transportation to The Grand Amsterdam Sofitel. A cab ride would have cost about 50 euros and I felt that was a waste considering I could take the train for just under 4 Euros. After arriving at the airport, I went down to the train area. I took me a few tries to actually buy a ticket as I couldn’t get it to accept my credit or debit card and then I was short 10 cents. It ending coughing up the ticket somehow. I don’t remember if I had put in the 10 cents and it took like 10 seconds to figure it out or whether it just comped me the 10 cents. I’m guessing that they might have it set to forgive a shortage like that b/c it’s in the airport.
I went down to platform 3 to wait for the train to Central Station. As I was waiting, I saw a hot looking blonde who was in her 40's. Even though she was 10+ years older than me, I couldn’t stop looking at her. Later, there were three girls, and one of them was wearing a short skirt with black panty hose. What is interesting here is not my wandering eye, but that these women ended up playing roles in this story.
I got on the train and chatted with some black guy. He said Central Station was 20 minutes away. I wasn’t sure if I’d figure it out so when we came to the first stop, I asked some guy standing next to me if it was Central Station. (The black guy had been on the phone.) He said that Central Station was the end of the line so I couldn’t miss it. Fast forward to about 10 minutes later. This scruffy looking guy walked by twice and I thought he looked suspicious. I guess I really can read people better (or I’m just learning to trust my reads) because he came by a third time, this time with a guy with a stripped red jacket. I was standing near the door and there were four benches to my left. On my right was a stairway that lead up to a larger seating area. The 40 year old blonde was up there chatting to some companion. I saw the two guys walk up upstairs. I was thinking about the mini skirt girl who is seated to my left when suddenly I heard the blonde yell, “My laptop!”
One guy came rushing by and I saw the woman grab her laptop case on the third step from the top. I was still confused about what had happened, but I later found out that the stripped jacket guy had dropped the laptop on the stairs when the woman noticed it was missing The scruffy looking guy, though, was just hanging out near me. Suddenly, the black guy says, “Hey man. You tried to steal that woman’s laptop.” The scruffy guy became all defensive and started to accuse the black guy of being crazy. The black guy then asked me if I had seen it. I really didn’t want to get involved as I had no idea if this scruffy guy would start stabbing people or something, but I did say that I had seen the woman retrieve her laptop. As the argument proceeded, the three other guys standing around started to question the scruffy guy. At one point, the black guy said, “Some one call the police. That guy tried to steal her laptop.”
During the exchange, I saw the mini-skirt girl and her friend move to the adjoining car. I remember thinking, “That’s a good idea. Who knows what might go down here?” I then decided to go sit down where the girls had been. That way, I wouldn’t be in the middle if a fight broke out and I had room to through my suitcase in front of a guy if he tried to attack me. I guess the girls had complained to someone as some woman walked in. At first, I thought she might be a cop, but then I realized she was just the conductor. The black guy said that someone in a red stripped jacket had tried to steal the laptop. The scruffy guy walked away after this. Before she left, the woman commented in frustration, “This type of thing is becoming more common here. There’s nothing we can dol.”
After the scruffy guy and the conductor left, I heard someone talking to the black guy. The black guy said that the scruffy guy was an accomplice or something b/c he was acting defensive and scared. I later saw the 40 year old blonde as we exited the train at Central Station. I asked her, “Did someone really try to steal your laptop?” She replied, “Yeah, isn’t that crazy.” Then she called out to her friend. Even though I’m on vacation, I do feel like I should be sarging, but obviously this wasn’t a good time to do it here.
Bad Directions/Bellboy:
This two guys from the train tried to help me out with directions. I had told them I where I was staying and one guy thought I had said The Grand Karasomething (it’s in Dam Square.) I told them that I knew the directions from Dam Square, but I head read that I should take a tram. The guys said that it was walking distance. The one guy told me to walk, “This way.” He seemed to be pointing straight but I got confused.. I should have realized that I should follow the tram tracks, but when I crossed the street, I ended up taking a left instead. I walked for like 15 minutes before I asked for directions and found out I had been walking the wrong way. Three guys who were doing construction told me to walk back to Central Station and take a left. They didn’t recognize my hotel when I named it but they did know the street when I showed them the name on phone. It was great that I had saved the street names as I can’t pronounce these Dutch names, much less memorize them.
I later found the hotel after asking five other tourists who had no clue, and a police man. It turns out the guy on the train had pointed in the right way. I guess I messed up b/c he hadn’t given me specific directions and I was tired. I remember that he had pointed at two towers as the location of Dam Square, and I realized he had pointed the right way when I finally got there.
The hotel is about 2 and a half blocks from Dam Square. It’s an easy walk to Central Station. When I got to the hotel, I checked in and I didn’t run into any problems. I kept imagining scenarios where they wouldn’t let me have the room Sidegames had paid for but none of my planning was necessary. After I checked in, I was asked if I need help with my bags. I said, “No.” I think that few people carry their own bags, especially in an good hotel. There was no way I was going to have a bellboy carry my bags and have to tip him after walking at least 3 miles with my bags on the way to the hotel.
The Grand Amsterdam, Sofitel:
This hotel is in a great location as it’s on a quiet canal street and it’s very close to Dam Square. All the tourist attractions are in walking distance. The room is big when you judge it by European standards. My room in Maui had been bigger, but that had two beds, and it was in the US. Seasoned travelers know that rooms can be small in Europe unless you pay big bucks. The room was very clean. It was so clean that I was willing to walk around in my bare feet which I usually don’t like doing. I didn't have to do that, though, as they provided comp slippers. The bathtub was huge and clean. The hallways were quiet and I even slept from 5PM Sunday to 1:30am and never was awakened by noise outside.
The hotel is also a great location for those looking to enjoy trees and the Red Light District. There is a coffee house right next to the hotel. For those that don’t know, marijuana and mushrooms are freely sold in coffee shops here in Amsterdam. At the time, I thought that it was great that there was one so close b/c if I decided to eat some brownies, I’ll be close to the hotel.
Red light District Walk Through:
After trip report: I guess I wasn’t as adventurous as I wanted to be. I didn’t end up seeing any prostitutes nor did I even set foot in a coffee shop. I think if Sidegames had come, I probably would have eaten some tree brownies. Since I was by myself, I felt it easy to just keep walking. I was afraid that I would get sick or just ruin the trip if I ate too much weed.
As I said in my previous blog, I was interested in the RLD so I spent the first hour or two walking around and checking it out. Anyone who goes to Amsterdam should at least walk through the area as it is quiet an experience. Anyway, what follows is my report and observations about the RLD:
Prostitution was tolerated here for a long time. When I came when I was around 14, the tour guide walked us through the RLD. Maybe that experience and watching adult movies along with biology are the reasons I have such a high sex drive even in my late 20's. Amsterdam was the last city on a 14 or 15 day tour of Europe my mother and I had taken through Trafalgar Tours. All that I remember of the RLD was that there were a bunch of porno shops, and I remember seeing these hot girls standing scantily clad in shop windows. As a virgin, I remember thinking how great it was that these beautiful women were on display.
My understanding is that prostitution was made officially legal in 2003. Legalization meant that the trade was now regulated and the girls pay taxes on their earnings. If my information is correct there are three RLD’s and this one near me is the main one. There used to be an area that catered to car clients. You could drive in that are and pick up licenses street hookers, but I read they did away with that recently.
Since I’ve lived in the US my whole life, I find the RLD to be a surreal experience. There are a few small “streets” (they are more like alleys or walkways b/c cars can’t fit there) where there are only street windows for girls. In contrast, on bigger streets, like the canal and street where The Grand Amsterdam is, there is a strange mixture of shops. You’ll see a normal bar with your normal looking crowd. Next to it might be a few windows of girls. After that might be a coffee shop or a restaurant. Later, you’d see a porno shop. One interesting thing that I saw happened when I turned this corner. On my left was a bar. A mixed four-set sitting there and one of them was an attractive blonde. She was looking out the window. On my right were three kamers (window fronts). One was closed. The other two had working girls standing inside. One was okay looking and another was a hot, petite blonde. I remember being tempted to go in, but just as the thought entered my head, I saw a guy look at her. As soon as his eyes came upon her, his body turned in amazement and he walked hurriedly to her door. She let him in and we can guess, with accuracy, what happened. The whole situation just seems unbelievable. You have a blonde hanging out with her friends and she sees the girls in the kamers across the street. Then she sees a john walk right in and she’ll see him walk out 10-20 minutes later and everyone knows he just finished having sex with the prostitute.
An even stranger sight was when I walked out of this one RLD street and I could see children playing not too far away. Two blocks from these kids are the RLD kamers and you know there are mostly johns walking around. I just wonder what parents say to the kids. In the USA, the parents would be uptight and would probably not know how to handle the issue. Here, I bet they just explain that the women in the shop windows are prostitutes. They have sex for money.
If you walk around the RLD, you’ll see mostly men, but you’ll also see some women. Usually, they are with a guy and the couple is just checking out the scene. The women also could be going to the normal bars. Also, they might be going to work. I find that intriguing b/c when you pass a woman, you’re not sure if she’ll soon be available for hire or not. I happened to see one girl going to work. She was walking, and I remember wondering if she was a prostitute. Next thing I know, she goes into one of those kamers and starts working.
I suppose all this seems crazy because I live in America. Americans are so uptight about sex in general. When people think about prostitution in the US, they probably think about johns picking up nasty street hookers in Cicero, IL or they think about high priced escorts that you can dial up from the phone bookl. I’ll minimize my libertarian rambling, but I will say that we handle prostitution in the wrong way. The sex trade is alive and well in Chicago but the government is almost completely cut out of it. The only place that is close to having things down right is Nevada. Prostiution is legal in almost all the counties except Clarke County, which contains Las Vegas, and the county that includes Reno. In the legal counties, you find prostitution in legalized brothels. The girls are licensed by the county and have health checks every week. They are segregated from the general public when they are working. The eat and sleep in the brothel for the one or two weeks that they work and then they usually take a week off. This is so that girls don’t go having unprotected sex when their off duty. The idea is that they might catch diseases from boyfriends or something which could mean they are infected with something even though they were just tested.
Learning to appreciate living: Tram crash & Anne Frank house:
Since I’m not depressed anymore and have been in a great mood like 95% of the time lately, I usually don’t need a reminder to appreciate life. Today, I learned to appreciate even more than I already do. After got sick of walking around the RLD district, I decided to go to see some real attractions. There are a ton of museums to see but many of them have to do with art. I’m not a big art fan. My ex would have loved it her as she loves art. Out of all the main attractions to see, the two that I am most interested in are the Rembrandt house and the Anne Frank house. I discovered to today that I wanted to see tour take a Heiniken tour (I’m not sure if it’s the brewery or what but it looks interesting.) Unfortunately, it’s closed Monday so I guess I’m going there on my next trip.
Tram:
Just west of Dam Square I saw a roped off area in an intersection. There were police cars and ambulances there. I felt compelled to look as it’s human nature to be intrigued by accidents. Maybe it’s because an accident is something out of the ordinary, but I think it might be because it reminds people (maybe just on an unconscious level) that our seemingly messed up lives can end or become even more messed up randomly like this. As I approached the police line, I could see two cops or accident investigators moving this little bicycle in front of the tram. I knew that they were trying to recreate the accident, but I didn’t know how long ago the accident actually happened. I decided to get closer as I had to walk past the accident anyway, and I was morbidly curious. I saw some scuff marks and then this pink pool of body fluids. I had seen blood before but this seemed like it was more than blood as it was pinkish. I kept wondering if it was brain or flesh or something. I have to ask Richa (my good friend’s wife, who is about to graduate from med school) what she thinks it might have been. Whatever it was, it was disgusting, and I kept thinking about brains. To my right was the ambulance. A technician kept opening and closing the door so I couldn’t get a good look. I could see a body and a big neck brace but I couldn’t tell anything more. At first I thought it might be a child b/c the bicycle was small, but who knows?
The ambulance didn’t seem like it was in a rush to get out of there. At the beginning, I thought the person had to be dead as they were just sitting there while they investigated the accident. I figured if the guy was alive they would get him out of there as soon as possible. I thought about what I figured would be a probable chain of evens. The accident happens. The emergency services then arrive. After that, I imagine the focus would be on helping the victim. Then, I think they would rush the victim away and then do an investigation. After about 3-4 minutes, though, the ambulance did race away so maybe the guy was alive. I don’t know.
During this, I asked a few people what had happened but the three people I talked to were not eyewitnesses. After the ambulance speed off, I told this older man who had also been observing the scene, “Well, I guess I’ll appreciate life a little better today. Take care.” I then walked away and I genuinely do appreciate my life a little more after this.
Scene of the crime:
After I finished the Anne Frank house tour, I walked back to the hotel. When I got to the site of the accident, I saw that it had been cleaned up and everything had returned to normal. I wanted to get closer to see where the pool of fluids had been. I was easily able to locate the spot as the scuff marks were still in the road. Where the fluids had been was now a wet spot. The crew had cleaned it up well so the spot just looked like a puddle of water. People were walking on it and they had no clue that someone’s brains or something had been there. I felt a need to walk around the spot even though it was clean and I had to push through people to do it. It just felt weird to step on that spot so soon after the accident.
Anne Frank House:
I probably should have written this after my visit there instead of the next day at 16:17. I had read an excerpt from the Anne Frank diary in grade school. If you had asked me about her before my visit, the only info I could have given was that I knew she was a Jew who had been hiding out in a house and she wrote a diary about the experience. Until I started reading about Amsterdam, I didn’t even know that the house was here. Now that I’ve visited the house, I think I’ll make an effort to read the diary as I can better picture the events she described. I can also imagine her sitting in her room writing this stuff. Both of those combined give me a better appreciation for the work. As I mention in my Rembrandt report, I felt similar after my visit to his house.
Since it’s been a day, I don’t feel like I can give as detailed a description of my visit here as I do with my Rembrandt entry that I made an hour ago. I will say that I think it was smart for the exhibit to have excerpts of the diary in each room you walk in. I felt like I could get a better feeling of the atmosphere of the room by reading an entry about it. Here are some memories I’ll have from the exhibit:
-I was struck by how big the hiding area was. Since I hadn’t read any part of the diary in probably 15 years or more, I pictured that they had been hiding in a little closet or something. I’m surprised that such a large secret area existed hidden in the building. Anne Frank’s room is about the size of my friend Jim’s room when he was growing up. The literature says she shared it with Frank Pfeffer. What makes the experience so miserable is not the space, but the circumstances of their hiding. They had to live in constant fear that they were going to be discovered. They couldn’t use the bathroom during business hours because the pipes ran directly downstairs to warehouse area. The food was scarce and they had to wear the same clothes for months. On top of that was guilt. One of the diary entries describes Anne feeling guilty that she can see other Jews walking outside and knowing that many Jews who couldn’t hide were being rounded up.
-On one wall, there were horizontal marks on the wall. The description said that these lines marked how much the children had grown during the time they were hiding. It’s a good reminder that they hadn’t been hiding for a few months, but for years. In one entry, Anne describes how her shirt barely fits, and exposes her belly because she had grown so much.
-Another thing that I’ll remember from the exhibit is the end of the exhibit. There are pictures of the eight people that were hiding and it explains what happened to them. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only one to survive after they were rounded up. I found out that Anne had died in a camp about a month before the Allies rescued the camp. In this same room, there is a video of an old woman who had been friends with Anne. She was in a camp next to Anne’s. This woman was a Jew that had been granted citizen ship in Paraguay. The video said that Paraguayan Jews were giving special treatment because Hitler had made a pact with Paraguay. It would have looked bad to treat allied Jews in the same way as other Jews. Near the end of the war, the Paraguayan Jews were rounded up, but they were put in a special camp. The people in that camp were treated better and were even given supplies by the Red Cross. This woman’s camp was next to Anne. One day she was looking over at the other camp and was surprised to see Anne through the barbed wire. The woman said that Anne felt she had nothing to live for and that helped her illness finish her. The woman speculated that Anne might have lived if she had known her father had been alive.
Behind the portrait of Anne in that same room, there’s a video playing from one of the concentration camps. Of course, I know what happened in these camps, but I found it moving to see actual videos from the camps. You see emaciated bodies crouching next to dead bodies. In one scene, you see a mass grave filled with hundreds of bodies. It’s one thing to read that people that were exterminated, it’s another to see the bodies. I know that each of those people had their own story. The exhibit evens says that thanks to Anne Frank’s writings, we know her story and the stories of the seven other people living with her. We also know a little bit about the people who helped smuggle food to those that were hiding. We don’t know the stories of all those other people that died in the camps, but I know they had interesting lives. It’s incredible that so many people were just exterminated like rats for the sole reason of them being Jews.
As I said earlier, visiting the Anne Frank house helped me appreciate my life a little better. Even though I sometimes feel depressed about my life, I have to always remember that I’ve been lucky compared to the people in this house, the Jews in Nazi controlled Europe, and the poor person who got hit by the tram today. I need to draw on these memories in the future when I’m feeling down about something or another. I believe this stuff helps my inner game by forcing me to view everything that happens to me in a new frame.
MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2006
Hotel Window:
I’m resting in my room for a few minutes. I’m probably going to check out the Amsterdam Historical Museum next. I’m currently fascinated by the window in my room. Yesterday, the room was really hot and in an attempt to cool it down, I think I made it even hotter by turning the fan on. I had tried to open a window yesterday, but the left windows don’t open. I had assumed that I couldn’t open any windows, but today I noticed that the right one opens. It really does open too: the window is about 4 feetX2 feet and it opens completely with no screen. I haven’t seen this in any of the hotels in the States. I guess that they have done away with these windows back home because of potential lawsuits. I could just picture some dumb ass falling out the window while drunk, or some kid playing around and falling to his doom. Somehow both incidents would be blamed on the hotel.
Bitch at the supermarket:
I went to buy a Coca-Cola Light at the store. On a side note, I’ve always been amused by the fact that they call it Coca-Cola Light here instead of Diet Coke. Anyway, the bill was 1 Euro and 15 cents. I had bills which I could have used to pay right away, but I wanted to get rid of these coins. The lady started to get pissed b/c I was taking too long. I guess the only reason this bothers me is b/c I didn’t say anything back. I remembered that she repeated the total 3 times while I was counting the coins. By the third time, I wanted to say that I understood what the total was, but I was trying to find the right coins with which to pay.
The correct way to handle a tourist like me is to do what the guy did for me at the Rembrandt House. The entrance fee was 7 Euros and 50 cents. I had pulled out a bunch of change b/c I wanted to get rid of it. The man could tell I wasn’t familiar with the coins b/c I had to study each one closely. He said, “Do you mind if I help you count those?” He then separated the right amount and then double checked his count by counting it off for me. That’s how you handle tourists. I don’t know what the wages are here, but perhaps that is the difference. The guy at the museum was an old man who probably was happy working there. This woman probably hated working at this supermarket. F her, anyway. .
Rembrandt House:
I wanted to see this house because Rembrandt actually lived there. My appreciation for art, in a general, is only a passing one. I wouldn’t have gone to see a Rembrandt museum, but I was drawn to his house. I took the Myers-Briggs test back in December. I don’t remember what my actual personality is from the test, but I do remember that it says I like to empathize with people. I believe I’m attracted to historical places because of that aspect of my personality. As I went through each room, I tried to picture what it was like to be there back in the day. As I stood in the living room, I imagined horses or carriages passing on the street. There was chair on an elevated platform near the window. The description said that visitors sitting there could watch the action on the street. I pictured myself sitting there and doing just that.
After you walk in to the house, (from the original entrance), there is a room to your left. In this room is where Rembrandt negotiated his sales. To the right of the room was a bed. The beds on display here are very different than the beds we have today. If the doors had been closed, the bed could have passed for a cabinet.. In fact, I think part of the bed actually was a cabinet, but I’m not certain. I remember being struck by how short the bed was. I’m slightly below average height and I think I would have found the bed uncomfortable. In another room, I commented to the guard how small the bed was. (On a side note, this is one of the benefits of my new personality. Since I’m more social, I made this comment, and I learned more about the bed. In the past, I might have been too shy to talk to the guy and I would have remained clueless.) The guard explained to me that people were shorter back in those days. This made sense as the people of 1600's didn’t understand proper nutrition and people who weren’t rich did get to eat all they could, unlike people of today. Another reason for the bed being so short is that the people didn’t sleep lying down like we do today. The guard said that due to some superstition about lying down while sleeping, people slept sititing up.
In between this back room, and the entrance room was a small hallway area with stairs leading to the second floor. Opposite the stairs was a workshop area. When I first got to the second floor, it was roped off, but later I found it open. Inside was Rembrandt etching studio. The man inside explained that there would be a presentation later. During the presentation, we learned about the different etching techniques. For those that don’t know (and I had never heard of etching until I saw a Rembrandt exhibit at the Art Institute with my ex last year), I will give a brief explanation of the technique. The artist creates a design on a copper plate. There are three techniques. I don’t remember the exact names, but one involves using charcoal or something to coat the plate. The artist then makes his design in the material but doesn’t scratch the surface of the plate. The surface is then treated with acid and that imprints the design into the plate. The two other techniques involve actually scratching the plate with tools. If I recall correctly, one technique involves heaving groves and another is lighter, and possibly involves just makes designs using small pricks.
After the artist makes his design, he runs it through a press. Our guide said that Rembrandt liked to run the press himself. Running the press is a multi-step process. I don’t remember all the steps. When I first heard about etchings, I imagined that you just put ink on the plate and run it through the machine. Of course, it’s not that simple. The ink has to be prepared by coming 3 ingredients or so (I don’t remember exactly). The final pressed image also can be modified by how the ink is left on or removed in certain areas of the plate.
On the next floor is Rembrandt’s studio. He painted many of his works here. As I stood there, I again let my imagination run wild and tried to picture myself watching Rembrandt and his assistance. Having visited his house, I think I’ll appreciate his work more when I see it.
Blogging:
My feet were tired from having walked over two hours in the morning. I am now going to miss seeing the Amsterdam Historical Museum. I could still walk over there, but it closes at 5Pm. I’d have like 50-55 minutes to see it. I don’t know how big it is but I’d rather not do a speed tour of the museum. I guess I’ll put that and the Heineken tour for my to-do list next time.
On Writing:
I’ve been sitting here for almost two hours writing my trip reports. I find myself writing about stuff that I didn’t even plan on writing about when I started. I seem to get some sort of pleasure in writing these entries. I guess it’s because it gives me a chance to reflect on my thoughts and feelings during the trip. I’d think these thoughts anyway, but it’s rewarding to actually formulate them into a coherent blog and to preserve the thoughts in writing.
Monday night:
It’s almost 6pm and my time is running out here. I think I won’t be doing brownies after all. The time to do them would be now, but I think I’d rather just try to take a nap.
Tuesday:
In my comments about bicycles, I said that I wondered what the bicyclists do when it rains. Be careful for what your wish for... On Tuesday, it rained all morning. I had to drag my suitcases in the rain. Also, my eyes had been red from keeping my contact lenses in too long on the flight over so I wore my glasses most of the trip. I had to put my contacts on my sore eyes to walk to the train station b/c it was raining too much.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Bicycles:
I had read in my brief research that bicycles are a popular form of transportation here. When I read that, I figured, “So what? I’ll see a few bicycles more than I’d see in Chicago.” I was surprised by what I did end up seeing. I imagine that the reason the bicycle is so popular here is because gas is so expensive here and the roads don’t really allow for a lot of traffic. I haven’t seen the entire city, but I’ve walked by some of the busier areas and you don’t see any wide streets like Michigan Ave back home. Instead of cars, you see tons of bicycles. You see more bicycles than cars at least on the majority of roads, where there isn’t heavy traffic. Contrast this picture with Chicago. There, you hardly see any bicycles except for under bike messengers and on the Lake Shore Drive trail. It’s winter here and back home, I wouldn’t even think about riding here. (Sidenote: I wonder if it snows here. I guess I’ll ask one of the hotel workers when I go out later.) Here, people ride all year round. I wish it would rain while I’m here so I could see the people riding in the rain. I’m sure they do, but I think it would be an experience to see a bunch of bicycles riding in the rain. They probably do it so often that it barely registers as out of the ordinary.
Urinals:
I thought it was odd in the Philippines that there were these urinals in the middle of the sidewalk. Well, it wasn’t as surprising there as there are signs all over the place that say, “Bawal umigi dito.” That might be spelled incorrectly but it’s Tagalog for “Don’t piss here” or “It’s forbidden to urinate here.” I remember being so surprised to see so many signs that say that because you would think that would be a given. Just like you would assume that bathing in the Makati Peninsula Hotel fountain is prohibited, but there’s a sign telling you not to do just that. Here in Amsterdam, I haven’t seen any signs warning you not to piss in the street, but I have seen signs that direct you to the nearest urinal. The urinal is basically a hole in the sidewalk that’s surrounded by a circular fence. The fence starts at about two feet off the ground and it ends just above my head. When you walk by one, you can see the guy’s piss hitting the ground. Also, you can’t miss the smell of the urine when you go by one of these things. I’m curious about the history of these urinals. I’m guessing that the city probably had a big problem with public urination so they decided they needed these quaint urinals to eliminate the problem.
Sidenote: Yesterday, next to one of these urinals, I saw a mound of feces. It didn’t look like dog feces, so I imagine it was human waste. I guess some guy decided he couldn’t hold it and just decided to take a crap near the urinal. I bet it must have happened between 2-5am as the area there was fairly busy, even at 1am because it’s in the RLD.
Bilingual Bums:
I’ve been asked for money three times since I’ve been here. Sidegames said he got approached by four bums every morning when he used to walk a mile to work in Chicago. He lived near Division and Sate and he walked about a mile south on Dearborne to get to work. Homeless people seem to be less of a problem here compared to Chicago and compared to Honolulu. At least that’s visible homeless people. I don’t know if there are other areas that have more bums or what the public housing and aid is like here in The Netherlands. One bum was pretty aggressive yesterday. It was tall black guy that began by speaking to me in Dutch. I was flattered that I could pass for a local. Even though I couldn’t understand him, I knew he was begging me for money. His outstretched hand gave away his intentions. I told him that I don’t speak Dutch, and he responded by asking me for change in English. Then he showed me some ashtray from the Bulldog hotel that he no doubt stole. He wanted me to either give him free money or give him money for the stolen ashtray. I kept walking without making eye contact. That’s what I do to bums in Chicago and they usually leave you alone. This guy kept following me, so I started to walk forward and to the left so I was moving away from him. I then looked him in the eye and said firmly, “I’m not giving you any money. Leave me alone.” To that, he finally did leave me alone.
I was a little surprised that he spoke English. He might just know how to beg for change, but I think he probably speaks English very well. This is an example of how Europeans usually know at least two languages. Back home, almost all the homeless people are uneducated. Even educated people can barely speak another language. In contrast, here, even a beggar can speak Dutch and English and for all I know, he even knows a third language.
Note after trip: When I walked around between 9 & 10PM on Monday, I saw a few more beggars. They seemed to appear more during prime time, which made sense. I remember this woman asking everyone she could, in an English accent, “Excuse me, can you spare one Euro?”
“Hard” drugs:
Sidegames was probably right to be wary about coming here. I think he’d enjoy himself if he limited himself to indulging in prostitutes and even trees. He’s probably right that he’d end up doing heroin or harder drugs. It’s not that hard to find. The tourist info that I read before the street says that you’ll get bothered by offers to buy it. I’ve been offered drugs at least four times since I’ve been here and I’ve passed guys that I’m pretty sure were in the same trade even though they didn’t verbally offer me stuff. The guys usually say, “Cocaina?” If hadn’t been brainwashed by the program, Sidegames would be fine here. He could practice moderation and just do trees or even mushrooms. As I’ve said before, he’s convinced he’s totally messing up his life when he can’t avoid doing marijuana, so he’d definitely ask for heroin. He’d figure that he’s messing up big with the so called moderation, so he might as well go all out and do heroin too.
Reuse your plate:
I ate at this crappy Chinese buffet today (Monday). After I had finished my first plate, I went to the buffet to get more food. I grabbed a new plate. The guy suddenly exclaimed, “Excuse me sir. You have to use the same plate.” He then came up to me and took this plate that I had already touched out of my hands. Fortunately, I had just put a shrimp chip on the plate. He said I’d have to pay again if I used another plate. If I had put real food on the plate and they tried to charge me again, I swear I would have just run out of there. Screw them anyway. I understand that I’m not back in the US, but I think it’s BS that they are so cheap like that. How much extra labor and supplies are they really using when you use two or three plates? Back in the States, you can’t even reuse your plate at most buffets because it’s against health regulations. Heck, even in the Philippines, I believe you can get a new plate when you return to the buffet area.
Traveling out of the country:
I do have a new appreciation for traveling outside the US. I haven’t been out of the country much in the last few years. The only place I went was the Philippines. Back when I was younger, things were the opposite. My mother and I hardly ever went anywhere in the US. Instead we went on tours. These tours were to places across the Atlantic ocean. The first trip was this European Whirl tour from Trafalgar. That is the trip that brought me to Amsterdam many years ago. Another year we went to Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. Another year, we hit Egypt. I believe we went to Egypt a year or two before the German tourists were killed by terrorists shooting up a tour bus. Our last tour was a land tour of Greece and a cruise of several Greek Islands, and Istanbul. On this Amsterdam tour, I foundnd that I really enjoy seeing the contrasts to life in US, specifically Chicago. I also enjoy hearing other languages and trying to figure out what they are speaking. I now think I can spot Dutch if I hear it in the future.
Traveling in the USA:
I think it was Sidegames who made a great point about what he liked about traveling in the US. When you travel in the US, even to somewhere as exotic as Hawaii, you know that you are still in the US. You have the same rights as you do back home and you have the familiarity of your own language. The traffic laws might have some slight variations but you know everything it almost the same in that department. Being here in Amsterdam, I now realize that another I like about traveling in the US is that I can still use my cell phone like I do at home. In the US, I’d be posting these blogs right after I finished them as I’d have internet wherever I have a cell phone signal. I didn’t realize how much I miss being connected until now because in the Philippines I had both services. I had dialup internet and I had use of a cell phone. I got a cheap sim card for the equivalent of about $3. I had a ton of free text messages. When you buy phone cards, you get X # of minutes or credits (for international calls) and you get 25 free messages. Since I was using my phone to call my ex, I had over 150 free text messages. When my unlocked tri-band GSM N-gage, I was able to keep in touch almost like I do back home. I suppose I could probably do the same here, for slightly more money, but I don’t have any local people who would tell me where to get the sim cards, and I don’t have the desire to take the time to figure it out.
