Rotterdam with new friends from SNA!

Hihi..

Wow...Rotterdam is really very different from the Hague! The city is bustling with activity once u get out of the train station. I was supposed to be meeting Millie, from SNA, who was picking me up at the station, at 630pm. I reached there at 4pm plus. So, I had about 2 hours to walk around. No maps and no prior reading up on the city, I decided to just walk to my own instincts....

Here is some background information about the city:

West of the city is Europe's busiest port. Rotterdam's history as a shipping nexus dates back to the 16th Century. In 1572, Spaniads being pursed by the rebel Sea Beggars were given shelter in the harbour. They rewarded this generosity by pillaging the town. Needless to say, Rotterdam soon joined the revolution, becoming a major port during the conflict.

Almost 400 years later, Rotterdam found itself, literally, in the wars again. On 14 May 1940, the invading Germans issued an ultimatum to the Dutch: surrender or Rotterdam (among other cities) would be destroyed. The government capitulated, but the raid was carried out anyway. The historic centre was razed.

Today Rotterdam has a crackling energy that seems to feed off the "anything goes" attitude for reconstruction. The nightlife is fantastic, a large immigrant community feed the diversity and there's a cluster of excellent museums - including one of the nation's best - the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Here is a photo of the Den Haag Holland Spoor station.



Wow it only costs me about 4 euros for the train ride to Rotterdam



My first photo in Rotterdam!



In the middle of the city



A Chinese street! I realised that there seems to be lots of Hong Kong people around here



An African selling Chinese stuffs? Unique cross/mix/marriage? Well...up to your own imagination...:)



REALLY nice lake by the Indonesian restaurant that we were eating!



This is Minang Kabau, the Indonesian Restaurant. Well, looks good on the outside yeah...hehe, but food not so fantastic...lucky the company was great!



Ronnie and Millie - SNA secretary (Ex-SIA Girl). Nice couple. Haha, I referred her as AuntyBeautiful when I was emailing to her as oyster....haha



Some of the 18 people having dinner. Many of them are couples, Singapore girls marrying Dutch guys.....hmm



Tony and (oops..i forgot his name)....they are both gays and each of them have their own boyfriends! Both of them are hairstylist and they have their salon in Amsterdam! Yay! My next haircut will be at their salon...:) REALLY nice people...I was siting beside them during dinner so we talked alot and they gave me tips on living in the Netherlands! hehe...



KC and Siu Ling. KC stays in the Hague too, she has been here for 18 months. Siuling is very nice as well, she was telling me that there is a factory outlet in littlestraat...i think...lots of over season apparel from Nike, Adidas...Polo and a few other brands. Cool, going to find out where is that place! Its about 30 mins from Amsterdam, so I guess about 1hr for me.



Group photo! Well not the whole group...

In this group, we have 3 ex-SIA girls (1 of them married a Dutch guy and 2 others with Singaporean guys), 2 gays, 2 guys who are born in Holland but their parents are Singaporeans (one of them is quite cool, he works at the broadcasting station here - somebody is suspecting they are gay too...oh well...hehe), one other couple, KC and Siuling, another girl who moved over after her secondary school because her mum remarried a Dutch, and a dutch guy (hmm, maybe he is attached to one of the girls but I am not sure) and one more other couple. I think I got everyone...hehe...though vaguely described..:)

Well, it is an unique feeling to be among familar Singaporean culture and language here....Each of them, including me I guess, have an unique story of why we are here as "immigrants?"....well, it is nice to talk to new people u meet here and learn about their life here and their perspectives on life. We all agreed that the Number 1 thing we miss from Singapore is THE FOOD!!! I really enjoyed meeting them and well, I think this will open up new experiences for me in the Netherlands!!

They say in holland, all the eligble guys are all taken, if not, they are gay...haha

Now, I am looking foward to going Amsterdam next! hehe....