My Thoughts Keyboarded

God must be happy when he created Holland. Everywhere I turned I saw trees, birds, canals, cows, and sheep. Most part of Holland is below the sea level, the highest point is just 323 meters above sea level. Disastrous floods are also part of Holland’s history. That's the reason we see canals and windmills everywhere. The cattle in the farms are protected not with fences but with smaller canals . These water bodies are connected to rivers and water is constantly pumped using windmills to the sea. Windmills are also used to keep the area dry, produce electricity, wood sawing, for processing grains etc. The Netherlands has more than 4,000 km of navigable rivers, lakes and canals. Miss smiley and I took a small nap on our way to The Hague, former capital of the Netherlands. One of the beautiful roads of Hague We went around Hague without alighting, but the bus slowed down or sometimes stopped near the attractions so we could take picture of it. The guide gave us plenty of info...

This isnt tulip season in Holland, they are made of wood They say a trip to Holland is not complete without spotting an old windmill from “Zaanse Schans” (the Dutch country side) and visiting the famous fishing villages Volendam and Marken, that's what we exactly did. The bus stopped at Volendam, where we were given one hour time to roam around, have lunch and board the ferry to go to Marken.Volendam harbour from 13th century is famous for old fishing boats, traditional houses and for people who still follow the Old Dutch customs. No wonder Picasso and Renoir cherished this place. Like me, miss smiley had problem understanding guide’s accent. So we double checked with him on the time and went around sightseeing. We had lunch at the same restaurant where he had his. When we finished our meal he wasn't there, but we had solid 10 minutes, and the port was just few meters away. We reached the port 2:35 but to our dismay they had left at 2:25. Voldendam from ferry We both st...

This morning found me in lost and low mood. I had a disturbing nightmare just before I woke up. The experience was powerful and as real as it can be. The only way to get it out of my mind is to write about it, For the stories of losing something/someone are told thousand times to dissipate the intensity and to come to terms with it. I can see my mom, and my cousin in a familiar neighborhood of India. I don't see my dad or brother but they seem to be somewhere nearby .The house resembles like my grandma’s place. There is some kind of disaster, like flood or something. There is no power, its middle of the day yet its dark and sky is cloudy. Someone is running in the road shouting about the danger of storm or some kind of poison from water. The tar road is broken in many places, and I see swift muddy water flowing through the craters. I wonder if I can prepare for the worst time, by storing snacks. I run to the store around the corner of the street but its not there. I run f...

  The next day I woke up early and got ready for a big tour of Holland. R helped me to book a one day guided tour to country side. R was quite busy with work so he couldn't accompany me, plus I had a professional guide for the day so I was fine. By then, It was already my third day in Amsterdam and I was quite comfortable going around by myself. People were very friendly and I was always greeted with smile and given directions when asked. A ductch house turned to souvnier shop From Central station the bus, loaded with handful of tourists started to the Old Dutch city-" Zaanse Schans". The guide spoke with thick accent and I had hard time understanding him sometimes. He was very funny guy though, once he commented on the smoke from passing by factory as “this is how we make clouds in Holland”. Cheese farm- Zaanse Schans, Old Dutch City First we visited the cheese farm of Old Dutch city. I got down from the bus to this fascinating and calming sight, away from hustle...

For almost two hours now, I thought whether I should put a viewer’s discretion for this post. I mean writing it is no big deal, as our Ramesh has written in his posts it would be something like forward statement =). However I don't think it’s really needed for two reasons. For one, any spoiled kid reading this would be more tempted to read further with that statement (“those” sites with age verification does nothing more than few more clicks, funny!). Plus I am not really going to write something better than what he/she see in Indian movies or Ftv. So with that note here I go. Canal near De wallen Writing or talking about sex ( from here onwards we address it as the big S as I don't want my site to be listed first in Google :P ) is always a taboo. Specially so in Indian customs, this explains why an Indian witnessing PDA (public display of affection) undergo such a cultural shock when in abroad. However the world looks up to us as pioneer ( owing to all the circus acts of ...

Morning came and I found myself looking over this wonderful sight from the window. R was very generous to accommodate me in his flat which he shares with his colleagues. My official guide was very busy plus I was yet to get my luggage so I couldn't go anywhere. I stood in the balcony with no jacket for a long time soaking in the surroundings. I enjoyed letting out smoke from my mouth. Amsterdam’s autumn winds cooled me to the bones. This canal passes right under his flat After 11 am, it became really boring in the huge flat. By compulsive behaviour I cooked sambar and rice for my lunch. I made enough sambar to last for all the flat mates for dinner. Then I took a long warm bath and slept all through the day. Late morning view By evening I strolled along the neighbourhood and went to the business area called Bijlmer arena where R worked (its half an hour – two bus ride from the house). Thankfully he had received a message from Air-France that my luggage would be delivered the...