Day 121

What a difference a year makes. From Champions to being dethroned.. surely I could not recall the last time Manchester United finished second behind another team. The team that has been largely unchanged from the same one which lifted the Champions League trophy were a shadow of themselves. Miracles do not happen all the time, and this was real proof that even Manchester United players are individuals who have their off-days. This is not the United that brushed aside the rest of England with ease, nor the same side that dispatched the likes of Inter Milan, Porto or Arsenal. It was a classic of sorts, but United were confined to the supporting role this time round.

Full credit to Barcelona, truly worthy of the Champions League title. I'm sure Man United will come back strongly, let's see if they will redeem themselves one year from now. Still, its Barcelona's night, and its been really a fantastic night, especially to be celebrating it (even though from a Manchester United fan's perspective) with Barcelona fans. They are the most passionate soccer fans you'll probably come across. For that, this has got to be the best soccer match to watch as far as I can remember.

Its another one of those 'Amsterdam moments' that I will definitely bring away with me. For the soccer, for the great company, for the fact that Man United are still not immortal, and that being second-best is never good enough.

Barcelona may be the European champions, but for me, MANCHESTER UNITED are still the best. We'll be back!!! Till next time!

Day 105 - 106

Yes, after 2 days of reading, preparation and mad rushing, the presentation for the course on history of economic thought is over and done with. It seemed to me like I've worried for nothing, since the fifteen minutes seemed like 3 minutes, considering how I spent 10 minutes on a quarter of my slides.

I don't know why, but it seemed like I've lost that flare for presentation or public speaking for that matter. It's been once again proven that when I faltered with 'the household allocation of time' by saying 'the household EDUCATION of time', not once, but two times! I refuse to think that the side effects of weed has taken a slightly longer period to wear off. The next presentation shall not see a repeat of this!

Anyway, the prime reason why I've decided to blog today is because of the special day 106 that I've been in Amsterdam. Well 106 has always been quite a special number, the previous house I stayed in was house 106, and my secondary one/two class in BPGHS was also 106! Was reminiscing about the times back in high school with the rest, and it occured to me that our best times were those spent in high school, regardless of whichever one we went to. Thinking back, its been 10 long years since secondary one, and I just learnt that a friend from the same batch (though in a different class) has just wed! Not trying to sound too old here, or rather, to get settled down at 23 seems like too young to me!

My secondary 3/4 classmate Dehua has also dropped by, since he's going to Stuggart for his summer exchange on sunday. Good to have a friend bring my already-depleted supply of Myojo instant noodles. My only regret was forgetting to tell my mum about the lor-bak ingredients which would surely sweep everyone here off their feet. Yes, I hate to admit it, but lor-bak is the pareto-superior equilibrium in a dual-food battle between it and curry chicken. Curry chicken always leaves you at a (0,0) when you compare it with lor-bak at (9,9). The Nash equilibrium is always at lor-bak for an infinite number of players in infinite periods. Okay, John Nash has successfully haunted me in my dreams for the past two nights I spent reading about him. Kindly ignore my last 2 lines, I'll leave it for the sake since I'm too lazy to backspace. Hahaha.

Well, am quite looking forward to the weekend, since there's a boat ride. Its kinda sad that we've been here for almost 4 months and we haven't been riding around the canals before! Its also Paris next week, and frankly speaking, I have less than one month before I need to move all my things out of the room, and leave Amsterdam for GH's European Exploration, and then make the painful (though I still do look forward it) trip back to Singapore. The thought of leaving this all-too-beautiful city is just too painful to bear, and I am not exaggerating.

I think I've said this before, and I'll say it again, living for the moment is the second best policy henceforth. (till July 14th that is)

The song of the day, I think I can't find a better song that best expresses this mixed bag of feelings I'm having now.



Till next time!

Day 97 - 104

It has been proven time and again that trying to update my experiences here in Amsterdam is as difficult as trying to read a dictionary from the first to the last page. So even if The Amsterdam Times cannot be published on a daily basis like any other leading newspaper, it will reinvent itself by trying to publish highlights on a weekly basis. The editor will also try to cover historic happenings worth reading in due time. Hahaha.

Anyway, after the highly enjoyable week which saw our other econs friends join us in the Netherlands, school this week has basically been about catching up with all the work that's to be due. And its ALOT! I've just spent almost 50 hours in Sebastian's room, yes we did not step out of his house for almost 50 hours, just to finish up 2 assignments. The weather was so fantastic, but yet we had to slog our asses off school work. Worse still, its not over yet, and I'll still have to clurn out a 10 page essay on 2 beloved Nobel prize winners, followed by another presentation, 6 essays and 1 other paper. Okay I should not rant on, since ranting will not aid in getting those things done as well. Still, it shall be and it will be done!

In other news, GH's European Exploration plan has more or less been fixed. Starting from 13th June and stretching all the way to 2nd July, he will attempt to cover as many cities, including those in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, and possibly a trip to Estonia to visit his friendly and beautiful friends. However, in not-so-good news, the Legoland trip may have to wait, till the next time, since there is really almost no time for it already! T_T.

I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to Ryanair for once again making this exploration possible, while helping me maintain whatever's left in the bank account of mine. If only the railway or bus companies would learn from Ryanair, wouldn't it be nice?

A look at how much I will spend on air tickets, and how many flights I will be taking!

Brussels to Bratislava €10
Berlin to Dusseldorf €2.10
Dusseldorf to Barcelona €2.50
Barcelona to Dusseldorf €2.50
Dusseldorf to Edinburgh €2.50
Edinburgh to Dublin £4
Dublin to London £4
London to Eindhoven €2.50

Oh yes, I will also be heading to Cambridge, where I will meet my senior Julia and her husband! Yes I think its only nice to visit that institution that has determined the lives of the average Singaporean ever since O and A levels were inducted into Singapore's education system.

All right, looks like that's all the time I can afford to update this page for now. I know, reading the Yellow pages may be even more exciting than whatever's on here, but when all this is over, I'll make the entries here look longer than a PHD thesis. Hahahaha. Till next time!

Day 87 - 96

Hello again my readers, due to the massive amounts of work plus fun that has been happening for the past week, trying to report the sequence of events this week has been anything but possible.

In no more than 5 points, these are what happened in Amsterdam this week.

1. Queen's Day
2. 10 friends from different exchange universities sleeping over at my place over 4-5 days.
3. Keukenhof, in my opinion 100000000000000 times better than Botanic Gardens.
4. Scheveningen beach, in my opinion 100000000000000 times better than Sentosa. I've been there once, and revisiting it made me feel that it was 100000000000000 (instead of 10000000000000) times better than Sentosa. Hahaha okay I've super-exergerated.
5. A trip to space, which was kinda bumpy but good.

Yeah, will elaborate again when I have the time.

It really sucks to be not able to share so many stories to all my dear friends when there's so much more other important things to be done. But I'll still try my best to blog about it when I have the time to!

*Updates*

Day 87-91

The weekend 2 weeks back saw us do alot of shopping to prepare the meals for our guests who would come visit us during the Queen's Day week. Our fellow Economists from NTU who are based in Denmark and Sweden respectively were coming to celebrate Queen's Day as well. I also spent the sunday trying to shop for my orange stuff (instead of doing my work), which ended on a not-so-fruitful note considering I failed to find my orange jeans. I did eventually find it in the Hague, but it was well past Queen's Day already. Since Queen's day is also pretty close to Liberation day (which Netherlands celebrate its liberation from German invasion during WWII), our RAs also oragnised this plantage tour, where we got to know alot more about what exactly happened during WWII in this very neighbour where we are spending 5 months of our lives here. Absolutely thought-invoking and the atrocities of war have never resonated so strongly before.

I also tried smoking weed the first time proper, thanks to Peter who taught me a whole deal more about the different types of weed and how to smoke them. (to my sisters who might be reading this, do not mention a word of this to the mum, or face my wraith when I get back. hahaha)


The different types of weed as seen here. The one in the joint is White Widow mixed with tobacco, while the other two are Jack Herrer and something else. These are some of the most popular weed among consumers here. In fact, every year in Amsterdam, the Cannabis Cup is being held. Smokers can sign up as judges by paying a sum of about S$300-400, they will be given this pass where they can flash it to all the participating coffeeshops in Amsterdam, and each coffeeshop will bring out their own competing product to let them have it for free. The coffeeshop that has got the most popular product will win this Cannabis Cup, and it also means a huge doze of advertising and revenue, since everyone will literally want to try this award-winning weed.


Smoking the weed from a pipe. There are many ways to consuming weed, of which this is one of them.

Comparing smoking weed, and eating weed disguised in a cake, smoking is definitely less enjoyable. This is given by the fact that it causes quite a fair bit of irritation to the throat (maybe less to people who smoke cigarettes) However, the advantage to smoking lies in that you feel the effects almost instantly. It took me just 2 puffs to feel the typical 'high' sensation, drifting between moments of sanity and hysterical laughing at anything that I set my eyes upon (including my watch). The other good thing is that effects come and go quickly, like 5 minutes to get high, but it will last like 40 minutes maximum. Before accusations of GH turning into a junkie surface, I would like to say that weed is by no way an addiction like heroin or hard drugs. The media that we have been exposed to for so long usually paints that picture of people getting wasted on anything labelled as drugs. It is an extremely false accusation on what is otherwise something as enjoyable as clubbing, swimming, or playing mahjong.



Day 92

Well, Wanteng arrived on tuesday to join us for the Queen's day potluck party thrown at Sebastian's place. Turnout was fairly good, and I cannot express the sheer delight of trying out a good spread of international food, of which all are unique and delicious.


My curry and tom-yum combo. Hurhur.


Daniela and her authentic Italian way of preparing pasta.


Marcial from Texas and his delicious wrap!


Richard, this friendly Dutch who made some really good stoompot the last time round!





Quite the kind of potluck I was expecting. This kind of thing is only possible when everyone brings a dish so that everyone else can get to try. An international one is all the more interesting and diverse! Surely this will be something I will miss when my exchange comes to its end.. and it ain't that far away =/

Day 48 - 54

Hello readers, its been another good week here in Amsterdam, its day 54 of my European adventure so far, and here are some highlights.

Day 48

The Internet at PHK (short for Prins Henrikkade aka my housing) was down for maintenance, couldn't serve the web for the day but it was all right anyway since there was a trip to the Zoo! Well before that, I managed to find another 2 chinese shops selling my fix of chinese food/ingredients/condiments at cheaper prices! Hurraf to market competition! But then again I was running out of time to visit the zoo so I didn't buy anything.

The Artis zoo is a nice place! Located just 3 minutes by bike from my place, it is also equidistant from the university and my house. I cycle past it everyday but it was the first time I was going in! Our RAs organised a trip there with a volunteer showing us around the zoo, and the best thing was the trip was free! Tourists would have to pay like S$38 to get in, while with a UvA student card each trip is only S$5! Haha I could go to the zoo as and when I want! Anyway some nice pictures.



My neighbours.












Heart-shape ass. haha
















I find this picture uniquely artistic. Don't ask me why.


The volunteer showing us the kitchen where they prepare the food for animals.


Elephant teeth that weighs 4 kilos.

Saw 2 kids playing under the sun also! Couldn't help but take a few photos of them having fun!








They spotted me taking photos of them, so they started posing! Adorable!

As much as I had liked to stay in the zoo for a while more, I had to head back to prepare dinner for the gang who was going to go Lulea and we ate early. I'll definitely be going back again since its cheap to go as a UvA student!

The night ended with me trying to prepare the speech for the presentation, but I seemed to spend more time looking at cheap air tickets and places to go to!



Day 49

Presentation was okay, much better than the one last week. It was over in 20 minutes, and thanks to it I had to miss the skiing trip! Well then again I think one week for me to study for my exams is also something good, instead of having fun and feeling the guilt of not studying for the paper (though I think I am still not studying as diligently as I ought to! hahaha)

Borrel at the Heffer was good, it was St. Patrick's day so there was a more canival-ish mood with quite a few individuals decked in green! I spotted a green striped long sleeve with my green adidas watch too so to join in the fun!



Day 50

Attended the last Marketing seminar which also marked the final lesson in this first 7 weeks at UvA. I have every reason to believe that there is such a thing called time warp, 7 weeks don't pass quicker than this! Wanted to go catch a Uefa game at the pub, but they didn't show the Ajax game, so well no go. A normal and boring day by the usual fun Amsterdam standards.



Day 51

Was disciplined enough to go to the library to study 3 chapters of my European Economics textbook. No way I'm going to spend S$100 to buy a textbook to read in the comforts of my hostel when I know I won't do it. The thing about studying in the library is you got to wake up early if not you won't get a seat, and the book might probably be taken by someone else.

Went to the market as well to get some stuff for dinner, and invited the friends I made at Sarphati over for dinner. Went on to drink and chill in the room till half past four in the morning, so ended up sleeping late on friday.



Day 52

My study plan day 2 ended in epic failure fashion, no way I was going to study in the library when I woke up at 2pm, and when it was going to close at 4pm. So went to the chinatown shop to get my sauces, and then to Lidl for some other cheap drinks and snacks. Spent the night trying to study my marketing, but as usual spent some much time looking for cheap air tickets to go places! (lego, lego, lego, lego, lego) Did one of the past year marketing paper, got half the questions right without reading the book yet, thus this false sense of security that I will pass the module without studying! BUT there should be no room for complacency! The questions they ask can come from ANYWHERE IN THE BOOK, even in the chapter introduction page! What the heck really.



Day 53

The Hague, house of the parliment and all those important government organisations, was a nice little city to visit. Approximately an hour from Amsterdam, it had this really nice stretch of trees along this classy, old town sand road which made a lovely walk! It was helped much by the beautiful weather and the old castle-like buildings were just awesome. However, my nice little SD card slipped off my mind again when I needed it in my camera. So yea the lack of those beautiful photos! Though I am certain that I will go again! Managed to get 2 group photos of the NTU NBS girls and other friends from Thailand off fb.


Notice the neat row of trees grown along the road.


In front of this beautiful castle-like structure (not too sure if it was a castle) that is surrounded by a huge body of water, didn't know if pond/river/lake would fit the description. The Prime Minister's office is around that corner too.

Visited the Escher museum too. Maurits Cornelis Escher was one of the earliest and probably most well known graphic artist to have come out with some of the most fancinating and mind-boogling art pieces! While I had earlier dismissed the museum tour when we went in, the tour got progressively interesting, and there were really many times that the vision he had when he made those paintings just amazed me!

You can check out his countless, amazing artpieces by googling the images. His webby is worthy of a click too! http://www.mcescher.com/
P.S. Jinping if you are reading this you should really look at his art works! I think you may like it! Interesting and inspiring! Haha














The most famous artwork of his I guess, since it was hung right outside the museum entrance, and I swear I felt the greatest dejavu looking at it for the first time. I just couldn't explain how, what, why I was feeling it, but yea I just had this strange sensation of seeing it and yet not knowing who painted it. Now I do.

After lunch (which was more like afternoon tea since it was a 200ml bottle of coke and a pure cheeseburger, yes cheese"without-beef-patty"burger),a guided city tour followed. The tour guide was this gentle, grandfatherly figure who spoke at a pace which was one of the slowest I've heard in a long time. I can't help to say this, but if he ever made it as a NTU lecturer, he'd probably take one semester to finish one chapter of the module given 2 hours. HAHAHA. But still, he's very knowledgable, as expected of a tour guide, with this cool book of pictures/photos in his pocket showing the different highlights in the city. And now I know why the Netherlands is sometimes called Holland. To give a summary of what the tour guide spent a good 10 minutes elaborating.. Holland was the most powerful, influential province of ancident Netherlands, and it is the area which emcompasses the modern day Netherlands of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Haarlem. This is why the Netherlands is sometimes conveniently called Holland, regardless of how incorrect it may actually sound geographically. Interesting, no?

The tour ended by 4, and some of the ISN organisers brought us to the beach. It's the first beach I stepped onto European soil. And boy its superb! Alicia realised she had brought along an extra card for me to take some photos!


Shopping mall that oversees the beach!


An extended structure with shops indoors, and a roof walkway which leads all the way out in the sea! (note these 2 photos show the same structure, its just too long to be taken in a single shot)




The brightest and warmest sun thus far. People love to come out to the beach, or just crowding outdoor coffeshops to get their share of such weather.


Note that everyone wears jeans and jackets to the beach. A heat stroke will ensue if you attempt such a thing in Sentosa.






I could send this photo for some advertising ad of 'pro-family' campaigns. Hahaha.


Too tired to attempt the long walk down the beach with no end in sight, the smartest thing to do was to nap! The sand wasn't too cold, the breeze felt like air-conditioning at 24 degrees, and my clothes felt no different from pyjamas! I'd probably spend 2-3 hours sleeping my fill if we didn't have to catch the bus back to Amsterdam!

Wonderful wonderful weather to go to the beach. I've heard much about beaches in Spain and Italy too, wonder how this matches up with the rest. But given the weather and everything, this one's a winner right now! Definitely coming back again soon!!



Day 54

Nothing much too constructive done today. Skyping, msning, eating, sleeping. Then dinner with the NBS girls and trying to read up on more marketing, though it has proved fairly unsuccessful. My resolution for day 55 (which is already into its first hour as I type this) will be to wake up, attempt french toast, study, study and study. I am hopeful that it will work out.




Yes and so that sums up Week 7 of my stay here in Europe. Like I mentioned, there is absolutely no slightest indication that its SEVEN weeks since we've been here. Life's certainly too enjoyable to be zooming past at this speed right now. I know week 8 and 9 will undermine this previous sentence, but I'm sure it will not turn out too badly! Expect another update in another week, take care meanwhile!!