CutiCuti: Amsterdam Day 1 - Dam Square & Torture Museum

 Assalamualaikum. Annyeong.

Akhirnya berjaya cari semangat untuk continue cerita pasal trip tu hari. Ndak taulah bila ni habis. Ernie went to Paris sometime in April...and only recently she has the time to update. Tu pun sebab risau berlanggar entry since she's going back to that City of Love before heading home for good this Oct. The very reason why am I so eager to finish scribbling about the trip is because of the promise I made to my girlfriends. Janji perlu ditunai, alkisahnyalah kan.

Baru jak berjalan for 2 weeks kot, tu pun macam berkurun mau update kunun. Belum jadi heavy traveler lagi. Ngek! Bah jom jamu mata lah terus. 

Thalys Train bound for Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ni train yang aku naik untuk sampai Amsterdam, Netherlands. At first plan mau singgah Brussels, Belgium tapi lepas berfikiran...aku cancel. Ndak rasa rugi sebab ada niat untuk injak tempat tu one day, insya Allah. *banyak betul angan² kau kan Bie*

Happiness upon seeing the seats' color

Macam yang dirungkai in my previous post, aku silap tengok the departure time to Amsterdam. Dari lenggang kangkung jalan menikmati keindahan Paris...aku terus berlari ala marathon to the nearest Metro station. Tukar train 2 kali untuk sampai Gare du Nord. Pastu seat aku dalam train adalah super jauh. Nun di antara coach terakhir ok. But all exhaustion disappeared upon entering the coach. Gila warna menarik jiwa oii. Super comfy seat! Sejuk jak hati. It took nearly 3 hours to reach Amst & I slept all the way.

Tiba di destinasi, alhamdulillah

Vending machine for map

Kan best kalau Malaysia ada marketing strategy macam ni....ka memang sudah ada tapi aku yang bingai ndak tau.

The tram

As planned, I was ready with all the information needed. I have the map to the hostel which I got from their website. Since I just woke up from the long journey...still in mamai mode, I decided to take the tram. GVB tickets office is still open when I reached the city. Selamat gue!

My 24hour Ticket

Dapat tips from a website, better beli ticket secara pukal. Since aku akan balik London the next day hence I bought the 24 hours ticket. Once in the tram baru aku perasan ada pula kaunter jual ticket. So in case ticket office tutup, boleh jak beli direct di tram. 

Lunch + Dinner

After checked in di hostel yang seriously standard hotel kalau di Malaysia, perut pun start bergendang lapar. Cuci muka, wangi²...aku pun naik tram & headed to the Dam area. Kalau tanya aku, kira macam pekan untuk Ams lah tempat tu. Lucky enough, memang berhambur makan place with halal sign di sana. Tinggal pilih mau yang mana jak. Sebab aku lapar, laju aku masuk the first cafe I saw with halal sign. Rata² memang jual kebab or pizza, ada kali nasi tapi aku malas sudah mencari. So yeah, kebab itu adalah dinner gue! 

Adalah sungguh kasihan, berterabur ah segala isi bila aku try makan ikut style dorang di sana. Maka, aku telah diberi paper plate. And aku pun surrendered lah bertrip. Demi menikmati kebab sedap aku gunalah piring itu.

Side dishes boleh suka hati jiwa raga pilih; semua pun ndak apa. Harga tetap sama ya'll!!

Sudah isi tangki, baru ada energy tawaf Dam Square. 

Super comel tahap maksimum ni traffic light!!! Di sana aku perlu hati² BUKAN sama pemandu kereta ah. Because mostly orang sana including tourists tunggang basikal or naik tram therefore 2 benda ni lah patut ambil perhatian. Dorang pun ramai enjoyed guna servis superwalkertapaki; like moi! 

Since aku sampai pun dekat 7p, museums semua sudah tutup except for the Torture Museum. Mau window shopping pun memang ke laut sebab kedai tutup at 8p. Ndak pa bukan selalu dapat masuk muzium macam ni kan. 

Scary gila masuk dalam muzium ni. Bukan sebab seram takut ah. Learning about all the tortures used in the ancient time is something really horrible. Cold-blooded! Sangat kejam! Nasib lah zaman kita sekarang ndak da punishment begitu. Tapi kalau pun implemented, bagus juga kali. Ndak lah orang berani buat salah.

Offenders were forced to wear that mask...pusing² banyak kali sampai kepala terpisah dari badan. What is more ruthless than that? Right, stop cerita geli. 

This is the Flowers Market situated right in front of the museum entrance. Angan jak lah mau melawat sebab pasar ni tutup at 5p! 

Amsterdam memang kaya with museums. Yang ni kalau aku masuk gerenti terkencing dalam seluar, teriak macam orang gila dalam tu & keluar dengan rupa lebih kurang orang baru meroyan. Terus orang pun confuse, adakah aku salah satu watak hantu dalam tu. Erk!

View I love. Bebas asap kereta. Sana sini orang jalan kaki. Even with all the shops closed, jam pun sudah lewat...I felt safe, still. Ndak da rasa suspicious sama strangers. 

Pulley block. Kebanyakan buildings sana ada benda alah tu. Maybe sebab bangunan kecil², mau angkut barang like furniture senang sikit kalau ada pulley. 

From my point of view, summer adalah season paling ngam untuk visit Europe. Jam 9p aku masih boleh jalan sana sini sebab masih terang benderang. Bliss! 

I did make my visit to the Red District area. But due to so many reminders & warnings from friends who have been there, I put aside my camera for my own safety. Ya, aku ndak berani buat weng di tempat orang. I took their advices seriously! If u wanna know more about the place, sila lah google. Cuci mata sendiri². 

Erm ok, this entry ends here. Insya Allah, Part II akan menyusul kemudian. Hope u enjoy reading this! 

eryantierdabdulkarim