Netherlands: Day 4 - 8

22 - 26 May 2013

Day 4: Doing SFA
This was a lazy day and my achievement for the day was sewing some patches on my bag. I also went for a walk around Haarlem just so I didn't feel like I was wasting away by sitting inside all day.

Day 5: De 9 Straatjes
Freshly recovered from a day off, I decided to head back into Amsterdam. I had the Anne Frank House recommended to me so I headed that way but first I had a wander through an area called De 9 Straatjes or The 9 Streets. It's another area of shops that I thought would have something different but it's really just more of the same.

Anne Frank House
I walked up to the line for the Anne Frank House, saw that it was about 200 people long and not really moving so I kept moving.

Rijks Museum
Next stop, Rijks Museum! The line situation wasn't much better here but at least it was moving. It was bloody freezing, so much so that I got hailed on at one point, but after 45 minutes I finally got in. One wanker I heard in there said, rather loudly, "I didn't come here to read" when his girlfriend told him he had to read the information blurb thingy to know what things were.

The museum is split into separate eras and I started in one of the older ones that was mostly painting of (ugly) 15th century people, statues and other religious stuff. I was having second thoughts about coming because it was kind of boring (I don't appreciate art, so hate me) but then I came across the weapons and boat section, a much more enjoyable area. There were a lot of pistols and rifles from different ages, models of boats and lots of other important inventions that you would've found on these boats, basically all the stuff I love. Diaphanormas were another cool thing I found. They're a framed picture that's made from 3 pieces of painted glass with a back light so the picture has a depth to it. In the end, I'm glad I went because there were a lot of interesting things and I did spend just over 3 hours there so I must've enjoyed it.

Boat Ride
As part of the Heineken Experience, you get a free boat ride from the brewery but I missed out on the day I did the Hieneken thing. So why not be lazy and get my free ride back across the city now, plus I get my "free gift" from the Heineken Merchandise store. The cruise took about 15 minutes and went past the Amstel Hotel (super ritzy one) and a bunch of house boats (apparently worth 400k each) plus they served cheap beer. Turns out my free gift was a smiling 'e' (from the Heineken logo) bottle opener; useful seeing as all European beers seem to be flip tops.

Dam Square (main town square)
I watched a busker doing his magic show where he picked a girl from the audience and had her throw a flaming torch, a sword and an apple to (at) him as he started to juggle them all.

Day 6: Being Pov
Embracing the povo, backpacker attitude I decided to go op-shopping for a new(ish) jacket because it's freezing here and I'm not really prepared. I walked most of the way around Haarlem and eventually found something for the bargain of 10 euros.

Day 7: Amsterdam by Bike
Everyone rides bikes in this place and I'm antsy that I can't so I hired a bike for 4 hours and did hot laps of the city. It's as much fun as riding scooters in Bali,except that you have to pedal, because you can ride down all the alley ways, on the foot paths, the wrong way down streets but on a lot of roads you get dedicated bike lanes so it's easily the fastest way around town. I rode past the Anne Frank House two more times and I reckon the line was getting longer each time, guess I'm not gonna see that one.

The Pub
Saturday night in Amsterdam is crazy, I lost count of how many bucks and hens nights I saw and it seems like most of Europe comes here because the city is absolutely packed. I met a bunch of English chicks who were in town for a friend's birthday and joined them for a few (or a lot of) beers and finally found some restaurant to get late night pizza.

Day 8: Geocaching
Well, it wasn't actually geo-caching because I was only going with Adam to check his cache and make sure it was ok. It wasn't, the last spaz didn't put the lid back on. The national park that it was in was really nice, it felt a lot like the Adelaide hills... actually most of Holland does with everything being so green and slightly covered in moss.

I'm getting a better idea of the sorts of things I want to see and do when I'm in a place; basically, things that are unique to the city I'm in. Shopping centres are one thing I'm avoiding because they're the same everywhere plus I can't fit any more crap in my bag. I'm also feeling pretty lucky living in Australia because it seems you can have food from pretty much any culture you like. Still, I'm trying to sample the local food whenever I can.

Thoughts on Amsterdam/Netherlands
-Amsterdam has lots of tiny casinos, which is a bit of a change from the Melbourne Casino or even the Adelaide one
-no one wear sunnies, I swear I'm the only one in the country that even owns a pair. It's fair enough though because there isn't really a sun
-all cars are manual (economy win)
-driving in town is a super dumb move. Most roads are only one car wide and I've seen so many trucks unloading or people who just stop their car and there's nothing the people behind can do except wait (bikes ftw).
-most of the cars are crap. Initially I was going to say all but I've seen the occasional one that isn't but it's definitely not a place for someone who likes quick cars
-obviously there's lots of pushies
-the weather is crazy; definitely a four seasons in one day place.
-safety isn't a big concern; no one wears helmets (bikes or scooters), no one indicates and the trams almost run everyone over all the time because there's no barriers
-the highways are the absolute minimum width; no breakdown lanes
-no one has curtains, which wouldn't be so much of a problem if they had front yards but they don't, the houses front onto the footpath. Some people have frosted stickers but you can still look right into people's houses (although it's rude to do so)
-they still have seagulls and flies

What's Next
-I'm going to Paris on Tues 28th for 6 nights (via the high speed Thalys train)
-I come back to Netherlands after Paris to help the guys move to London (we're taking the ferry from Rotterdam)
-I'm considering doing a 2 week Contiki tour just after getting to London
-I'm hoping to get to the 24hr Le Mans. I should probably organise that, eh?

Pictures:
-decorating my bag with patches
-the local national park
-some thingy that the Dutch love; it's mash potato base with cheese, carrots and an egg on top. It was very rich
-Krul or Krullen: street side urinals. They stink of piss but it beats paying 50 cents for the toilet
-a vagina couch in the Rijks Museum (seriously)
-a pair of portable canons
-one of the diaphanoramas of a village under siege
-a bad ass, old school minigun
-the Netherlands does actually have a sun!
-an example of a crap car; pretty sure they run farm quad running gear (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waaijenberg)
-a 3 metre rifle for goose hunting
-the first submarine prototype
-sexy old school lobster backs
-me trying to look cool on a cruiser bike

Netherlands Day 2 + 3

20 - 21 May 2013

Day 2: Visiting Family
Breakfast was a traditional English fry up; baked beans, toast, sausages, black pudding and eggs. Justin took me for a drive to northern Netherlands to see some family and the first stop was in Emmen to see uncle Will and aunty Ria where we had tea and cake then ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch (a fairly standard Dutch thing I'm told). Will and Ria don't speak English but it really makes you realise how much people communicate using the tone of their voice and body language. The next stop was in Meeden to see uncle Robert where we had beer/coffee; he does speak English.

The Dijk
On the way back we drove back across the Afsluitdijk so now I can say I've been on a dijk (pronounced dyke). It just looks like a highway with a grassy hill on the side but knowing that the whole thing is man made and seeing how long it is makes the mind boggle at how much effort was involved in creating it. Time for dinner now so we stopped at a road side restaurant and had, wait for it, chips and krokets again; they're too nice to pass up.

Countryside
As in Haarlem, everything is very green. I also saw my first old style windmill as well as a lot of new style windmills or wind farms. We travelled about 230km in each direction, which sounds like a trip to the ends of the Earth for the Dutch (maybe most Europeans) but for an Aussie, pfft, that's nothing.

Day 3: Amsterdam
After a lazy morning I walked over to the train station and managed to end up on the right train to go to Amsterdam. The Dutch might all speak English but none of the signs are in English so there's been lots of guessing. The trains are double deckers and quite comfortable and quiet.

Sex Museum
Just outside the train station in Amsterdam is the Sex Museum. The place is full of historical bits and pieces relating to sex including a sailor who squirts jizz onto a window that you peak through, a ogre-ish looking hooker that jumps out and tries to grab you, giant dick shaped chairs and a bum that farts on you as you walk past it. A good place to go if you like 70s porn, 1870s that is!

Red Light District
I managed to find the red light district where there were some girls in the windows although apparently there's a lot more at night. This area is full of girls in windows, sex shops and "movie" theatres and they don't hide them either.

Space Cake
As soon as you tell someone that you're going to Amsterdam, they assume two things; hookers and weed. There's coffee shops (you don't actually get coffee from these, that's what cafes are for) everywhere so I figured I might as well try some space cake. I ate half a slice then kept wandering around, did the Heineken Experience, and after 2 hours nothing had happened so I ate the other half. It hit me while I was on the train on the way home and I'm sure the guys could tell even before I told them. Good times.

Heineken Experience
This is a bit of a museum type thing where you see the history of Heineken but you also do a beer tasting, have a 4D ride through the brewing process and get two free (well included in the ticket price) beers at the end. It was good fun, I'd recommend it.

Pictures:
-big ass brewing kettles in the Heineken Experience
-a canal in Amsterdam
-the Sex Museum
-an old style windmill
-a massive new style wind turbine
-the skinny country roads, not wide enough to let two cars pass without dropping wheels off the edge
-Robert and myself
-Will, Ria and myself
-Robert's country cottage

Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam

19 May 2013

Early start
The flight was at 8:25 and you have to be there 3 hours before plus I was staying an hour away from the airport so I was up at 3am. The hotel was nice enough to pack me brekky because I'd be leaving before the restaurant opened. I didn't get searched at this checkpoint, I only set the beepers of which was apparently my shoes.

The Flight
Simply put, A380s are pretty big. The peasant class seats have a bit more room than a 777, which when your knees just touch the seat in front, is a great thing. I watched some more Dexter as well as Last Stand (wouldn't recommend it), Fire with Fire and Deadfall.

Immigration
The guy at the checkin desk in Adelaide warned me that I might have trouble getting into Europe if I don't have a return ticket booked or at least proof that I won't be a total sponge on society. I had a bank statement printed but it wasn't needed because the questions were pretty easy: what are you here for, where are you going and how long will you be here. They let me through no worries.

Haarlem
Adam and Justin were kind enough to let me stay with them and as an added bonus, they picked me up from the airport too. We drove back to Haarlem where we found a park in the tiny alley ways they call streets (and I thought my street was skinny). We went for a walk around Haarlem, took a drive down to the beach and went food shopping at the local supermarket. For dinner we tried the chip shop round the corner but it was closed, as was most stuff because of the public holiday, so we decided to try the next closest one. In true Dutch style we took the bike this time with Justin riding and me sitting on the carry rack on the back; definitely beats walking. Dinner was chips (with mayonnaise) and various krokets with mustard.

Initial thoughts about Haarlem
-everything is very green
-it has a village feel about it with the tightly packed houses and small, winding lane ways
-bikes are definitely the best way to get around and the dedicated bike lanes are a great idea
-it's cold! A maximum of 13 degrees is a bit of a shock after a week of 40 degrees

Picture: the view from my room

Abu Dhabi Day 2,3: Ferrari World and Big Bus Tour

17 - 18 May 2013

Ferrari World
This is the world's biggest indoor theme park and it's also home to the world's fastest rollercoaster (0-240km/h in 5 seconds). Sensing a "world's biggest" theme with the UAE yet? The rollercoaster definitely felt great during acceleration but the rest of it was pretty tame. The benefit of being a loner at a theme park is that I don't have to line up because on most rides they try to fill all spots so they'll call out for a single person; I am that loner. This happened to me a few times :D

Another good ride that's there is the Viaggio in Italia which is a video fly over of parts of Italy. The cool bit is they have the seats arranged in three rows but as the ride starts all the seats lift up and stack on top of each other. The 4D Speed of Magic ride just made me sick (crappy 3D video) and the Ride with the Champion, an in-car video of a formula 1 car, had fake and out of sync sound, which killed it for me. The park was ok but not the best I've been to.

Abu Dhabi: Big Bus Co Tour
Apparently this Big Bus Co group runs in lots of cities around the world but they offer a good deal: hop on/hop off buses to a bunch of tourist spots with recorded commentary and free entry to some paid stuff. It was a great way to see the city and it even took me back to my hotel which saved me a taxi ride.

Zayed Grand Mosque
This is the largest mosque in the UAE and it's very awe inspiring when you drive up/walk up to it with it's 3 large domes and 4 huge towers (minarets). I rocked up in time for a guided tour where the guide showed us through the whole place and did a cool trick where he remembered every person's name and what country they were from. Inside the mosque they have a massive chandelier (24 tonnes) and two slightly less massive chandeliers as well as a carpet, that covers the entire 7000 person prayer hall, that was handmade and weighs 40 tonnes.

Thoughts on Yas Island
It's a fairly luxurous place but it was eerily quiet and it kind of sucks that there isn't anything close by so you're stuck with hotel food (that taste good but costs a bit). The plus is that it's right next to the race track and there's a free shuttle into Abu Dhabi.

Pictures:
-A building shaped like a giant pill
-A view of Abu Dhabi
-Giant cannon in the Abu Dhabi city square
-Some Ferraris hung on the wall, comparing weights of steel, alloy and carbon fibre construction materials
-A panorama of the view from the observation deck in the Marina Mall
-A view of the Zayed Grand Mosque as we drove up
-Me in front of the Zayed Grand Mosque
-The bus I was cruising around on
-The giant chandelier (front) and a slightly smaller one (background) in the main prayer hall
-A steel road worker because they can't be stuffed paying someone to stand there with a flag
-Sand storm covering the highway

Abu Dhabi: Formula 3000

16 May 2013

Off to Abu Dhabi
Dubai to Abu Dhabi is about 140kms and my options were taxi or bus. The bus was cheaper but took considerably longer and they only go to Abu Dhabi city so I'd still need to catch a taxi back out to Yas Island so I might as well catch a taxi all the way then. To embrace the thrifty backpacker spirit I caught the free shuttle from my hotel to WAFI city (an Egyptian themed mall of day spas) and then jumped on the metro (monorail) to get as close to the Abu Dhabi end of Dubai as possible. The metro didn't cost me anything because I scored a card with some credit from a mate at my old work, thanks James :D The metro itself is really good (suck it Adelaide trains); it's clean, fast and fully automated. I didn't really know which stop to get off at because the last one is obviously closest to Abu Dhabi but I didn't know if there'd be taxis there. I jumped off at the fourth to last station because I could see taxis there and it's lucky I did (or maybe it was skill) because I didn't see taxis at any of the other stations as we drove by. We did 140km/h (the speed limit for cars) all the way there and most of the way the meter way ding-donging with intermittent messages of "you are speeding" and "you have been fined/fired (not sure which)". The trip was 100kms and it cost me 176AED or about $55 AUD; petrol is bloody cheap here.

The Hotel
The Centro hotel was really nice and all the staff was extra nice; it was almost too much having to say hello to everyone as you walked past. The best thing about it was that I could walk to the race circuit in about 20mins, well the entrance to the circuit anyway, it took me another 15 minutes to walk through it all to the driving school.

Yas Marina Circuit
Like a kid on Christmas morning, I was super excited and I got to the track 2.5hrs early. There's a Jonnie Rocket's there (some American burger joint) so to kill some time I ordered some food and a chocolate and peanut butter thickshake; it was as great as it sounded :D I still had 2hrs to kill after lunch and there was no way I was going to walk back to the hotel and then pretty much straight back again in the 38 degree afternoon sun so I managed to catch a tour of the circuit. The tour went to the northern grandstand (apparently the best seats because you can see 30% more of the track than any other grandstand), the du arena (concert area) behind Ferrari World, the villas for the race teams, the main garages, pit straight, the main control room and the podium. In the garage we also saw the top fueler that you can drive for the bargain price of $25000 USD per run.

Formula 3000 Drive
Back at the racing school, we all got changed into OMP race suits and race boots (both are on my Christmas list now). We had a short briefing session then went out to the track where we jumped in Renault Clios for some practice laps of the track. We didn't actually use the whole track, only the northern section but there was still a good mix of high speed and tight turns. The Clios were left hand drive, as it everything in the UAE, so that was a bit weird but I made it work. I still prefer RHD. After the Clios we kitted up and jumped into the Formula 3000s. The air temp was high 30s and the track temp was low 60s so when you're wearing a full race suit and helmet, you're pretty keen to get moving. They didn't just let us loose on the track, we were split into two groups and had to drive in a train behind an instructor with no overtaking. The cars are 3L V6 engines with sequential 6 speed paddle shift gearboxes. The cockpit is fairly tight getting in but there's enough room to do what you need to do once you're in. You sit with your feet higher than your bum and you can barely see over the nose cone, but you don't need to so it's no big deal. Fly by wire throttle makes it fairly doughy down low but they go alright once you're moving. We did about 6 laps over 20 minutes and IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME! I WANT ONE! They have a very linear engine (I suspect it was toned down for us) but they handle fantastically and sound incredible with about 20cm of exhaust and clutchless paddle shifts (no lift off either).

Other Cars
While we were waiting around we got to see a Yas Supersport SSV, Aston Martin GT4 and an SLR Merc go for hot laps. Hearing all these cars flying round a race track almost makes we want to stay here longer so I can try them all.

Karting
Outside the driving school there's a go kart track that's 800m long with 20-something turns that was designed by Schumacher. It was $40 for 15 minutes still feeling the buzz from the previous drive, it was too good to pass up. It was the best karting I've ever done; the karts were quick and the track was is great condition. The challenge was trying to get around all the unpredictable teenagers that really couldn't drive. They also make you create an account before racing so they can track your times and I came third (yes, there were more than 3 karts on the track).

Drag Racing
Thursday night is drag night at Yas Marina Circuit... Tonight is Thursday night!!! Why no go see some "money knows no bounds" drag racing. The drag strip is 1.4kms long (longest in the world apparently) but the whole set up was really relaxed/unofficial; you could stand along the wall or right behind the cars as they launched. Some of the cars I saw were:
-BMW X5s (some turbo)
-turbo M5
-Merc SLS
-turbo AE92 Corolla (definitely the odd one out)
-hot V8 Jeep something-or-rather
-twin turbo Camaro (didn't actually see this run, just heard it light it up all the way down the track and explode at the end)
-supercharged new V8 Patrol (didn't actually run but it did fly through the car park a few times)
-Merc CLS
Most of the cars were running low 11s @ ~190km/h. The CLS was the fastest that I saw doing 11.1 @ 201km/h.
There is a shuttle that goes between the track and the hotel but I'm pretty sure I missed it so I just walked the 30mins back to the hotel, feeling pretty bloody good.

Me, again, in the car with my gear still on (yes my eyes look like piss holes in the snow)

Me in the Formula 3000 after the drive

The kart track

WAFI City entrance (the Egyptian thing)

Scoreboard from karting

The drags

Race control (wall of monitors)

View from the northern grandstand

The Formula 3000 (on the Christmas list)

The Clios doing a run to get familiar with the track

Track stats during the tour but I drove in the same conditions

Turbo M5 about to run

The top fueler

A few toys in the garage

Photo op on the podium (part of the tour so I hadn't even driven yet)