Day 227 (16 Aug 2023) - Amsterdam, Netherlands
DAY 227 (16 AUG 2023) – I spent the day exploring Amsterdam, the capital city of Netherlands. I had been here before 17 years ago with my wife.
This time, I explored the city together with my hostel mate, Ben. Ben (36) is from China but he is now a US citizen, and works as a chartered accountant in the US.
We visited many interesting tourist attractions in this beautiful city by the Amstel river. There were many biking paths and lanes available since cycling is a key mode of transportation in the city. I also came across a Malaysian Restaurant called “Wau” (a type of Malaysia kite).
Amsterdam is also referred to as the “Venice of North”, it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its large number of canals.
Amsterdam became a major world port, and a leading centre for finance and trade during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse.
In fact, there is a historical connection between the Dutch and my hometown Malacca! The Dutch ruled Malacca for a period of 183 years (1641 – 1825) after succeeding in overtaking Malacca from the Portuguese. There are many historical buildings from the Dutch era that are well preserved and are currently a tourist attraction in Malacca.
In the evening, I rode my motorbike to the Dutch city of Zaandam, located on the river Zaan.
This is one of the famous tourist attractions with colourful buildings and unique architecture. The Intel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam stands out with its unique façade consisting of 70 Zaan houses in different colours!
Zaandam served as a large milling centre during the Dutch Golden Age. Thousands of windmills powered saws that processed Scandinavian wood for the shipbuilding and paper industries.
At Zaandam, I also visited the “Zaanse Schans”, a residential area recreated to look like the 18th and 19th century village, with historic windmills and green wooden houses surrounded by nature and located on the river Zaan.
This village is a nice getaway from the city and is a famous tourist attraction in Netherlands. I saw a bakery museum, cheese factory, pewter foundary, as well as many shops and restaurants for visitors. There were also several workshops and interactive exhibits on chocolate making, wooden clog carving, barrel making and pewter casting.
Netherlands was an interesting place to visit. I stayed 2 nights at a hostel in Amsterdam for a price of 38 euros (RM192) per night.
MY NETHERLANDS JOURNEY MAP
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INSTA 360 CAMERA RIDING VIDEOS
COMING SOON.
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