The last week has been a maelstrom of activity. Firstly I went 
with Marije to Amsterdam to see the canals, eat some Dutch food and take a small tour of the city which is infamous to people everywhere. To clear everything up right now, no we did not smoke pot, get arrested or try magic mushrooms. Not that I am into any of those things but as an American all I had heard about Amsterdam was that there were canals and pot. That's it, sad isn't it? Of course in the real Amsterdam there are canals quite comparable to Venice, at least 10 amazing museums and a great tram system. Ok, maybe mass transit isn't the most interesting thing but I for one appreciate it.
We took a canal tour around which stopped off at museums to pick up tourists. I had the opportunity to see a Botel 'Boat Hotel' and the largest floating Chinese restaurant in the whole of Europe. The voice-over in the boat spoke quite highly of its Cantonese cuisine. It practically screamed 'Hey, we sponsor this canal tour!'
After the canals we went to the area where Marije will be moving into her new apartment this
month. What I didn't know was that it is right next to a great open-air market. It doesn't get more European than this folks, there are stalls for clothes, shoes, cow hides (Yes!), anti pasta, cheese, and all types of things for locals. I had the chance to try the raw herring which I know, sounds a bit off but is really really good, comparable to raw tuna. I never thought I would ever compare raw herring to sashimi, but then again I never thought I would be referred to as 'short'; welcome to Amsterdam! We also had Vietnamese lumpia (some kind of spring roll) and a small waffle. All very good, all very Dutch. I even got Marije to try the raw herring since she had never tried it before.
Later we went to Dordrecht to visit her parents which, under normal circumstances, would be daunting endeavor to undertake in the States. However, after the train ride and finding their house my worries proved to be for nothing as her parents are extremely nice and made me feel right at home. Of course it was someone else's home and not my own so despite her father telling me to act as I did at home I didn't. It wouldn't do well to sprawl out on the couch, flip through the TV channels and raid the refrigerator. But even while on my best behavior (helping with dishes, offering to take my shoes of in the house, cooking Thai food for them) there are subtle cultural differences that became evident. Of course these differences may seem more pronounced since I haven't spent any considerable time in a real Western house in say oh, 4 years. The Pango house in Vila doesn't count, not because it was a very spartan Western house but because I say so and it makes the story more interesting. I also wasn't dating the volunteer I shared the house with. Like I said, the small things like closing the bathroom door when you leave may be American as well but I've forgotten those little things and never really paid much attention to them in the first place. It's possible that living in hostels and hotels for the past 4 months has made me a little more man-bush than before. And Dutch houses are clean, tidy and gezelligheid (don't even try to pronounce it). Luckily Marije got me a book explaining Dutch culture so I knew these things before hand, though it doesn't make it any easier.
Whatever, it's nothing I can't handle. Riding a bike into the city center of Dordrecht was harder. In Holland everyone rides their bicycles everywhere. And I can see why, they have their own lanes, not like bikes lanes in the States with a white line separating you from instant death but real lanes and their own traffic lights. I kid you not, traffic lights with little green and red bicycles on them for 'stop' and 'go'. It was great except I haven't ridden a bike since Ayuthaya and before that I hadn't ridden on in say, a decade. Marije had to ask if there was something wrong with the handlebars as I was wobbling all over the place, into the other bike lane, into buildings, etc. The seat was also a little high but couldn't go down any lower and something was wrong with the gear system. Regardless, we spent the day shopping (yes family, new clothes! And normal-people jeans!). I haven't bought new shoes just yet because even though mine are ugly and the seams are coming out in some places, they're still good. Later on I had the chance to drive her brother's car (manual, yes!) and her father's motor-scooter. It wasn't as hard as I imagined and make me want to ride a motorcycle when I get back to the States.
with Marije to Amsterdam to see the canals, eat some Dutch food and take a small tour of the city which is infamous to people everywhere. To clear everything up right now, no we did not smoke pot, get arrested or try magic mushrooms. Not that I am into any of those things but as an American all I had heard about Amsterdam was that there were canals and pot. That's it, sad isn't it? Of course in the real Amsterdam there are canals quite comparable to Venice, at least 10 amazing museums and a great tram system. Ok, maybe mass transit isn't the most interesting thing but I for one appreciate it.We took a canal tour around which stopped off at museums to pick up tourists. I had the opportunity to see a Botel 'Boat Hotel' and the largest floating Chinese restaurant in the whole of Europe. The voice-over in the boat spoke quite highly of its Cantonese cuisine. It practically screamed 'Hey, we sponsor this canal tour!'
After the canals we went to the area where Marije will be moving into her new apartment this
month. What I didn't know was that it is right next to a great open-air market. It doesn't get more European than this folks, there are stalls for clothes, shoes, cow hides (Yes!), anti pasta, cheese, and all types of things for locals. I had the chance to try the raw herring which I know, sounds a bit off but is really really good, comparable to raw tuna. I never thought I would ever compare raw herring to sashimi, but then again I never thought I would be referred to as 'short'; welcome to Amsterdam! We also had Vietnamese lumpia (some kind of spring roll) and a small waffle. All very good, all very Dutch. I even got Marije to try the raw herring since she had never tried it before.Later we went to Dordrecht to visit her parents which, under normal circumstances, would be daunting endeavor to undertake in the States. However, after the train ride and finding their house my worries proved to be for nothing as her parents are extremely nice and made me feel right at home. Of course it was someone else's home and not my own so despite her father telling me to act as I did at home I didn't. It wouldn't do well to sprawl out on the couch, flip through the TV channels and raid the refrigerator. But even while on my best behavior (helping with dishes, offering to take my shoes of in the house, cooking Thai food for them) there are subtle cultural differences that became evident. Of course these differences may seem more pronounced since I haven't spent any considerable time in a real Western house in say oh, 4 years. The Pango house in Vila doesn't count, not because it was a very spartan Western house but because I say so and it makes the story more interesting. I also wasn't dating the volunteer I shared the house with. Like I said, the small things like closing the bathroom door when you leave may be American as well but I've forgotten those little things and never really paid much attention to them in the first place. It's possible that living in hostels and hotels for the past 4 months has made me a little more man-bush than before. And Dutch houses are clean, tidy and gezelligheid (don't even try to pronounce it). Luckily Marije got me a book explaining Dutch culture so I knew these things before hand, though it doesn't make it any easier.
Whatever, it's nothing I can't handle. Riding a bike into the city center of Dordrecht was harder. In Holland everyone rides their bicycles everywhere. And I can see why, they have their own lanes, not like bikes lanes in the States with a white line separating you from instant death but real lanes and their own traffic lights. I kid you not, traffic lights with little green and red bicycles on them for 'stop' and 'go'. It was great except I haven't ridden a bike since Ayuthaya and before that I hadn't ridden on in say, a decade. Marije had to ask if there was something wrong with the handlebars as I was wobbling all over the place, into the other bike lane, into buildings, etc. The seat was also a little high but couldn't go down any lower and something was wrong with the gear system. Regardless, we spent the day shopping (yes family, new clothes! And normal-people jeans!). I haven't bought new shoes just yet because even though mine are ugly and the seams are coming out in some places, they're still good. Later on I had the chance to drive her brother's car (manual, yes!) and her father's motor-scooter. It wasn't as hard as I imagined and make me want to ride a motorcycle when I get back to the States.
And of course it wouldn't be a trip to Holland without windmills. We went to Kinderdyke and saw a lot of windmills. At first I thought that back in the day they must have milled a ton of flour but then I learned that the windmills were used to pump the water into the river to reclaim the wetland. The windmills aren't used anymore for pumping water as they have electric pumps for that. But some people live inside the windmills which I think is way cool.
Oh and before I forget, here's the pie Marije's Mom made me.
It's all gone now, and for good reason. There are raisins in there.
I haven't had pie like this in . . . ever!
Go on drool, you're allowed.
Oh and before I forget, here's the pie Marije's Mom made me.
It's all gone now, and for good reason. There are raisins in there.
I haven't had pie like this in . . . ever!
Go on drool, you're allowed.
