June 14, 2010

Hoi Nederlands!

I came back to Netherlands in total relief from the intense dramatic atmosphere back there. People are just crazy! I would safely conclude that it’s a cultural thing where simple things tends to be complicated by human beings ourselves. Anyway, I stepped off the train 7am early in the morning, and bogged down by my 17KG backpack and 8KG hand luggage. The chilly breeze at 16 degrees and beautiful sun were there welcoming me with such grace. The whole city was also invaded by orange flags that I had no clue what it was about.

“ It probably is one of the many carnivals they have again…” I thought of that naturally since the Dutch know how to party so well.

Then as I was heading on the tram back home, again, I saw concert props being set up close to my place with ferris wheel operating in the distance by the harbor.

“Apa ni…concerts again? That’s why I love this country sooo much.”

A month ago, the harbor played host to North Sea Regata Concert, a tribute to a sailing competition kicking off that weekend. I wasn’t there, but I didn’t have to be there anyway. The music was so loud that I could hear it from my apartment located 5 minutes walk away from the concert. On the other hand, I was in fact busy hosting dinner for friends, as usual.

Bah. Back to the story. There’s no story. I just want to ramble.

After crashing a stranger’s party, I headed on my bicycle that Saturday night through the eerie woods. I kept my eyes straight not straying my gaze into the darkness. What a habit I have after growing up in a bedroom facing a graveyard with mysterious oil lamps. It was so cold, as opposed to the pleasant weather during the day, that it drove me cycling like a robot going haywire to get home as soon as possible. Then I had a flashback of my day.

- Woke up at 5am and had my 4 hours exam in Utrecht
- Came home in the afternoon to clean my apartment
- Had friends over after their afternoon by the beach
- Crashed a party by accident – the place was so far away and the people were uptight. I brought in spices!

- Dropped by my friend’s new apartment to wait for them getting ready for Gay Parade after-party. I was not in the VIP list due to my friend having only few free tickets...How is this possible? Joss, you need to reflect :p
- I bailed and turned in for the day and headed home.
- Then, this flashback happened.

As a result, I love Netherlands even more because things I did up there are usually what I would do over a weekend back in Malaysia. The transportation system and distance between places were not as flexible as it is over here for me to go to so many places in a day. Also, how could I have crashed people’s parties? Gay Parade party? I probably had to sneak through some Fridae dudes so that I can join some orgy parties somewhere. Even if I got a Fridae dude friend, I might be stopped by police for summons or bribes due to drinking and driving, whichever come first.

At that moment, all I had to do was cycling slowly, passing by the greenery, enjoying the breeze and my beautiful ride home.



Then, my friends told me, it’s world cup season, thus the orange flags and hyper fans everywhere. Also, it’s vlaggetjesdag, thus the concerts! I’ll write about that separately because it’s quite a unique festival that I want to go next year!!

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