When we reached “Amsterdam Centraal” we put our luggage in the locker and looked forward to a good breakfast. After that we had time til 3 p.m. we decided to have a good look around in Amsterdam, which lead us through various places like book shops, shoe shops, British food stuff, but at first to a huge impressive flower market with lots of blooming, fragrant flowers;
after that we reached the Hard Rock Café Amsterdam , a special place to get some T-shirts for the kids at home. Since it was lunch time we made a U-turn to little China Town to spoil ourselves with roasted duck and other tasty specialities.
Soon it was time to collect our luggage and head for the next train to den Haag. Even though we have read the time table carefully we noticed (luckily we asked the conductor) that this train was going to Den Haag but not to the Central Station. So we had to hop off and on to two other trains until we reached our Hotel in Voorburg. After a short break for refreshments and unpacking we left to meet Maggie, a Singaporean from Holland, who had organized the tickets for the upcoming event. So we took the next train for a short outing. But instead of meeting Maggie we were picked up by Mandy, a Singaporean from Belgium, who lead us downtown, a nearly 1 hour walk. Uff that wasn’t just what we had in our mind after strolling around in Amsterdam the whole day long. Nevertheless we managed to get to the shopping Center where Maggie met us and brought us to an Italian restaurant famous for food and service. The food was o.k. and luckily it was a warm day so that we could sit outside the first hour of waiting. When we returned home to our hotel we met the French connection of Singaporeans, who were just leaving for the disco, but we were already too tired to join them. Next morning, right after breakfast we went to visit the Pasar Malam Besar which was supposed to start at 9 a.m. and which was supposed to become very crowded . Since the train-rails from Voorburg until Den Haag were under construction we had to use a shuttle bus that was free of charge (what a service!). We had bought our tickets already in advance so that we didn’t have to queue up. Surprisingly there was no queue until later and the bazaar opened at 11 a.m. We all decided that since the whole place was like a huge tent-town everybody should look around on their own and that we would meet at a certain time or bump into each other anyway, which is what we did.  I
myself first got a good refreshment with fresh coconut juice and
everybody else got themselves Indonesian snacks and titbits offered for
prices between 1-3€ each. For lunch we all met in one of the various
restaurants. Nevertheless we still enjoyed the food and the various
Indonesian specialities and I was happily eating Durian. Something I
missed since our last trip to Malaysia. After four hours some of us
left to have a nap in the hotel before we had to leave in the evening
for an arranged buffet in Den Haag. (Josephene couldn’t join us in the
evening since she had an upset stomach). At the bus station
The Dinner should start at 8.30 p.m. but none of us had an idea how far the place was. We finally left at 8 the hotel since the French group wasn’t ready yet. We reached the restaurant by 9p.m. We were joined by the French Singaporeans shortly after. The restaurant had prepared a nice buffet and we all enjoyed our meal and had a nice evening together. For the last bus at 11 p.m. we had to hurry to catch it. At Central station some of the French group left for another disco night. Next morning after a good breakfast we left for Amsterdam. On arrival we brought our luggage again to the locker and spent the day downtown. Shirlyn, Josephene, Jeya mand I left to visit the Reijkmuseum to see some of the famous Dutch old paintings, Irene and Amy preferred to go shopping and to spend some time in the Casino. The day itself was a bit rainy and windy, so we were happy to be in the museum.
Afterwards we went again to Chinatown and enjoyed roasted Duck so much that we even bought two to take home. After strolling around a bit longer in Chinatown we wanted to visit the “Old Church” which was right in the Centre of the red light district, some ladies were already waiting for customers in their negligees in front of their windows. Since the flower market was closed we walked around a bit and saw some nice old buildings and visited a very good “Kaasladen” with a huge variety of cheese. A small lunch in a fast food restaurant was the last meal we had in Amsterdam before we all met on the platform at 8.pm. to ride home on the night train. Shortly past 8 a.m. we all arrived well in Munich and had a nice breakfast before we all left to our homes. It was a great time and we are planning to make another trip next year to Rome? Paris? Or who knows where?--- Contributed by: Hans G. and Jeya Borchart
AnnouncementsBirths Congratulations to Alfred and Shirley Molon on the birth of their second baby daughter, Natasha Jie Si. Natasha was born on the 2nd of March 2008 with a healthy weight of 4010 gr and measures 56 cm in length. |
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This year’s Chinese
New
Year dinner was held at Fuh-Guei Restaurant in Obersendling. It
was an eat-all-you-can buffet dinner with a wide variety of foods to
accommodate all our different food preferences. Towards the end
of the dinner, Shirlyn, our club president gave a short and sweet
speech followed by the distribution of Ang Pows (red packets) from the
club to the children.
The Party Keller of
the Eine Welt Haus was the location of this year’s annual general
meeting. There was a nice turn-out of people on this
occasion. As usual, there was an array of finger foods and a
selection of different beverages (e.g.: Milo, Ipoh White Coffee,
Cuppucino, jasmine tea, ginger tea…) brought by members for sharing
with fellow members. The activities for the whole year were
suggested and discussed and agreed and/or disagreed upon.
The club was invited
by the Newcomer’s Festival once again to perform a dance. We had
a tough time deciding whether to do it or not as 2 out of the 6 dancers
have babies to care for. In the end, we decided to go for
it. It took some sacrifice, careful time-management as well as
flexibility not to mention, a lot of nerves to get the dance
ready. Meanwhile, we had Josephene to help take care of the two
little ones through-out the whole practice sessions. Many thanks
to Josephene. 
Gegen 4 Uhr fanden
wir uns wieder zu Kaffee und Käsekuchen und Eis
für die Kinder im Schlosscafe im Palmengarten auf drei Tische
verteilt zusammen. Ein guter Tip für jemand der gerne mal 15 Euro
für eine Tasse Kaffee mit Kuchen ausgeben möchte. Egal, was
soll der Geiz! Dennoch jemand von uns war tief enttäuscht, denn
die Prinzregenten Torte war ausverkauft.
