Travel to Amsterdam

[Wd40]

You guys won't believe what happened. Went to the RLD and my wallet got pick pocketed . I didn't even realize it. A guy dashed me. He must have flicked it. It was in my front jeans pocket. Luckily didn't have my EP or anything. Had one credit card and just blocked it. Lost some 130 Euros

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[x9200]

Damn, sad to hear it. I should have though about it and warn you. It's not about Amsterdam in particular, but this sort of things may happen in Europe in any touristic or crowded area, vicinity of large railway stations for example. It is very easy to forget about this living in Singapore. I'm paranoid, so I always stay alerted but my wife, each time we are back, I have to remind her. Good you have your resources/documents distributed.

[MikeJones]

Yep can happen most busy places in Europe, I had about 50 euros lifted in Madrid a few years back, luckily my wallet with cards and more cash was in a different and fastened pocket. In Barcelona I had a teenage girl try to grab my passport from a pocket while on a subway escalator, luckily I felt her tug the pocket so turned and shouted at her. She gave me a dirty look, ignored my shouting and casually wandered off.

Mike

[nakatago]

Having Westmalle Dubbel Trappist beer right now. 7%. Alcohol. Tastes nice! There was a 9.5% also. Thanks Nak for suggesting. Got 2 330ml bottles from Aldi for 1.1 Euro each. There is also 10 C deposit for each bottle, lol.

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Westmalle also have a bockbier (IIRC) which is like having pie in beer form but that's seasonal. Have fun trying out different kinds of beer.

[Wd40]

Just came back from Zaanse Schans. Lovely weather and nice views.

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[Wd40]

Just got couple of La Trappe dubbels from Albert Heijn. This costs similar to Westmalle and tasted even better. There was Chimay as well. I will probably try it tomorrow. I have started liking this stuff. I will struggle when come back to SG.

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[x9200]

WD40, you seem to be going in the right direction, so there is another, whole family of to try. Leffe. Start with Leffe Blonde, light and with pleasant aroma. If you like it, explore some heavier kinds, like Leffe Brune or Leffe Trippel.

You should also try some witte (white, wheat) beers if you never tried them before. Hoegaarden I believe being the most popular.

Another one classic to try is Duvel. It is a alcohol strong beer but with exceptional lightness, good taste with some wheat beer overtones (IMHO) and sold in these easily recognisable bottles:

[earthfriendly]

Sorry to hear that WD40. I also got hit by pick pockets about 2.5 decades ago and ended up spending half a day filing police report at Amsterdam. In my case, the pick pocketers work in pair. One came to converse with me as part of distraction, while the other one swooped up one of my bag on the floor. It was outside the train station and I had my hands full with luggages and bags. I saw the thief the next day and tried to chase after him, with the help of another police officer, but he disappeared into the crowd. I was so ready to jump and pounce on him, apprehend and handcuff him myself . But he was too quick for me .

[ecureilx]

What the hell has that clown been up to?

That's classic

[JR8]

As you suggest I was thinking you'd be 'whattodoah?' when back in SG, as the stuff you're discovering ain't cheap over there. I looked at some prices now in SG to check, and it's not as hideous as I remember... https://redmart.com/alcohol/beer
330's of Hoegaarden @ S$3.75 [$2.66 if a case of 24]. Interesting, as I doubt it would cost less in the UK.
[I also see some other good beers there too, Brewdog, and the awesome JPnese Hitachino Nest]. Duvel @ $7.50, Leffe $5, Tripel Karmeliet $7.20 etc etc. Not cheap by any means, but possible as a session-starter.
Look out for the Trappistes Rochefort beers too. I've enjoyed those in SG, and they should be much cheaper over your way... http://www.craftbeer.sg/belgian-beers/

[Wd40]

Doing the waterland tour by bus and the bus has wifi, which is cool.

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[x9200]

Just had Leffe Blonde and Brune from CS. Mnm. fifefish for a 330ml bottle.

[JR8]

I've got 1/2 case of the local swill in the fridge, plus two 'appetisers' a Leffe Blond, and a Sam Adams Boston lager.
$5 for a Leffe in SG isn't bad, it's not a cheap beer anywhere...

[Wd40]

Got Hoegaarden wheat beer 6 bottles for 4.5 Euro

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[Wd40]

Back in SG and glad to be back. Out of 2 weeks that I was there most days were cloudy/rainy +Cold. Only 2 days were Sunny +Cold. Sunny+Cold is still okay but cloudy/rainy+Cold is terrible. Its kind of weird for someone like me who goes to cold climate. I always thought, sunny means hot. It was like bright sunlight and yet shivering cold for the 2 days. Also when it rains, the temperature, actually rises, it becomes like 7 degrees instead of 2 degrees when it is sunny, but still when it rains, it feels miserable.

If I live there alone, I will very soon become an alcoholic, work gets over at 5PM. What to do when its cold and rainy outside, other than just drink at home.

Other than the weather, I liked Amsterdam. The people, work culture and the professionalism all nice.
People start their day at 8 and end at 5. They need to work only 36 hrs a week. So most of them somehow squeeze 9 hr days and take 3 days off a week! But people are really good at what they do, I am talking about IT.

Dutch is the official language and everyone speaks dutch. Most people know how to speak English and they will speak with you in English when they find out that you dont know dutch. Basically you can survive there without learning dutch if you are there for a short period of time. But if you are there for any longer duration, I cant imagine how you can get away from learning dutch. You will have to learn it to integrate or you will be an outsider. The whites, Indonesians, blacks, chinese and Indians, everyone speaks dutch.

Priceswise I was pleasantly surprised. I was under the assumption that food will be expensive. You can easily have lunch for 5 Euros, including Asian food of generous portions. I was never able to finish the food, whether sandwiches, pizza, noodles or fried rice. The quantity was always atleast double of what I would normally have.

There was free wifi almost everywhere! My hotel room had it, my office had a free guest wifi and most restaurants/shopping areas have free wifi. Prepaid SIM card costs 20 Euros for 1GB data. Considering that I got free Wifi everywhere, I didnt bother to get a SIM card.