Groeten, Amsterdam!

Today we woke up at 4AM because we had a 7AM flight to catch to Amsterdam. It was an hour’s drive from Fishguard Way to Gatwick Airport and there, we boarded a one-hour British Airways flight and arrived at Schiphol International Airport at around 10AM Amsterdam time.

I was pretty excited to arrive at Schiphol since it was an important setting in Aku Anak Timur, the Malay literature book we all had to study in Form One. Schiphol Airport was enormous and after collecting our luggage, we checked into Citizen M hotel, which was right next to the airport itself. Somewhere in between that, it just dawned on me that I was in the same city that Gus and Hazel had been in. Granted, they are fictional characters but STILL. Damn you, John Green.

After that we took a bus to Keukenhof, a destination I know thanks to Aku Anak Timur, again. It was basically a tulip garden/park and it was huge. Along the way, we passed by the more rural areas of Amsterdam and this city differed from London in the sense that there was a lot of bare land and scattered cottages with the most beautiful architectural designs I have ever laid my eyes upon. If there is one place I want to live after I retire, it’s the Netherlands just so I can own pretty houses like these.

Keukenhof was filled with people by the time we were there and there is nothing more to say to this other than there were too many tulips and flowers of every colour that exists in this world. The weather was also wonderful, as there was actually sunshine, much unlike gloomy London. Keukenhof was literally filled with people from all over the world, so far I’ve seen Koreans, Arabians, Spanish people, English people, Chinese people, Americans and probably a few Malaysians too. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I suspected as much. Many also brought their dogs along for walks and it was literally one of the highlights of the visit.

We spent half of the day there before returning to the hotel. And even the hotel was worth talking about because it was the weirdest yet coolest hotel I’ve been too. It reminded me of IKEA a little and it was, how do I say it, very interactive with its guests. A lot of the functions here are self-serviced and the overall design was retro and modern at the same time. Kind of reminded me of the Japanese a little.

And here’s a short video to prove how weird this hotel can be:

We had dinner at Schiphol Airport that night and after that we went shopping a little where I got myself some sweets because I can and also I am such a tourist.

I apologise for the lack of photos but it is late and I am so tired and maybe I’ll post some of them up when I’m free but meanwhile here’s the entire album of today’s photos on Facebook.