Solo travel experience in Amsterdam

Assalamualaikum semua,

Tadi masa dok survey ticket untuk balik next year sambil-sambil google tempat yang menarik untuk pegi  ehem.. honeymoon (amboi tak sabaq-sabaq nampak hahaha), I bumped into an article about travelling adventure. And it takes me down the memory lane where I had the adventure to travel on my own. Yes, I once had chance to become a solo traveller. And I survived. *Proud*

Kisahnya sebab I cari cheapest ticket for my London trip, and bila dah murah, haruslah kena transit kan? For my case, I kena transit di Amsterdam selama hampir 24 jam. So, dalam tempoh 24 jam tu, I merayau sorang-sorang di tempat yang sangat asing bagi I. If you know me well, I'm the type of person yang sangat cepat panic kalau ada masalah. hihi. :p

So, the moment when I arrived at their airport , I said to myself, I have to be confident, brave and don't get panic very easily. I am all alone, I really need to survive on my own. Masa tu dah pukul 10 malam, berbekalkan duit 40euro je dalam purse, tu pun yang tunang I bagi lebihan duit dia masa dekat London, I have no other choice but to take their public transport to go to the hotel that I have booked in earlier.

Mula-mula I nak naik taxi tapi takut pulak kalau kena charge mahal, and I tak sempat nak withdraw duit lagi time tu. I just knew that I have to catch a train from the airport, and then pegi central station at the city, and from there I kena tukar naik tram pulak untuk sampai ke hotel. And that was not easy especially when you are at a strange city, during midnight.

Masa dekat airport okay lagi sebab semua orang cakap English, announcement pun ada dalam English, sekali bila dah naik train, the announcements were in Dutch. Danggg!! I started to get panic. Serious masa tu I taktau nak stop dekat mana sebab tak paham apa dia cakap. Lepas bertawakkal, I beranikan untuk approach a complete stranger, asking for direction. 

Bila dah sampai dekat central station, it is almost 11pm and there were not so many people around. Sunyi gila weh dekat situ. With only a piece of floor map in my hand, I kena cari tram station pulak. Aduii, nak tanya orang I tak berani sebab dah malam, takut orang ingat I sesat sorang-sorang lagi bahaya. Kaunter pertanyaan pulak dah tutup. 

So I explored the new place where I don't read or understand any single Dutch word. Bila dah jumpa je tram yang betol, driver tu bagitau yang tu tram terakhir beroperasi untuk malam tu. Phewww. Bayangkan kalau terlepas yang tu? Huwaaa tak sanggup bayang. Mau aku menangis kat situ jugak. 

I bagitau dia yang I tak faham Dutch and I need him to let me know bila dah sampai hotel. Dia siap bagitau yang I kena jalan kaki agak jauh dari tram station ke hotel. Hoii mencabar gila dah la aku tengah letih heret beg dua bijik. huhu. Lepas setengah jam perjalanan, I pun sampai dekat station berdekatan dengan hotel. I got down the tram and I stood there for a couple of minutes, not knowing which direction to go. 

Masa tu dah almost midnight, and there I was, standing alone at a completely strange place. I took a deep breath and started walking following my trusted instinct until I saw a young couple. I asked them for direction and I was lucky because they were also heading to the same place. Masa tu I bersyukur sangat, I silently thanked Allah for helping me when I was about to feel lost.

After about 10 minutes of walking, finally, I arrived safely at the hotel. Fyi, Amsterdam is a place where drugs is allowed to be taken everywhere. The moment I stepped into the hotel, bau weed (ganja) memenuhi segenap ruang. Tak busuk tapi tak wangi. Ha, taktau cemana nak describe. Mula-mula pening jugak, but I got used to it after a while. 

Lepas dah selesai urusan check in apa semua, I masuk bilik, feeling extremely exhausted but at the same time I felt relieve because I survived that night. I sleep shortly after that, knowing that I have to go through another challenge exploring the city on my own the next day.

Keesokan harinya, things were a little bit easier because the surroundings are a lot more safer during the day compared to at night. I had fun strolling down the street along Amsterdam city. Lepak makan sandwich dekat tepi canals yang sangat tenang, jalan dari satu kedai ke satu kedai, explore kedai makan yang best-best, tengok orang busking dekat dataran yang penuh dengan burung merpati dan macam-macam lagi.

Deretan kedai cenderahati yang sangat panjang.
Kat sini boleh dapat segala macam barang yang murah-murah. :)

Clock tower. In the middle of the city.

Salah satu daripada berbelas-belas canals di bandar Amsterdam.
Sangat tenang.

Ha, binatang ni bersepah-sepah dekat sini.
No lah. tu replica je. They look real, don't they?

Ada couple tua dari Hungary yang baik hati tolong ambik gambar.
Dah kata jalan sorang-sorang. Haruslah tak banyak gambar sendiri. hehe.

Binaan bangunan yang cantik. Very Europian.
Jauh dari pengaruh binaan British.

Antara bangunan yang cantik lagi

Orang naik basikal di mana-mana.
Kecik, besar, tua, muda, lelaki, perempuan. Semua naik basikal. Comel gila!!

Lagi deretan bangunan yang cantik.

The museum. Tapi I tak sempat masuk pun.
tertarik dengan bentuk bangunan yang indah.

Seriously, Amsterdam is a really beautiful place that everybody will never get bored exploring the city treasure. I promise myself that I will get there again with my beloved ones. Cuma mungkin tak sesuai bawak budak-budak. Why? You find it why. hehe. :p Last but not least, remember about this ENTRY, I mentioned about wanting to go to this one place. After a long tiring walk, I made it there!!

Look at me, dah macam pokok krismas dah beg depan, belakang, kat tangan lagi. hahaha.
Borong sourvenirs je sikit-sikit. :p