Saturday, June 14, 2008

Short Trip to Holland (Day 1)

Am back again!!!!, this time with frequent update...betapa susah skang ni nak adakan masa even to type a blog..ok,this time nak update skit trip masa bln February aritu...bkn nak show off ke ape just want to share some of the nice places and experiences masa kat Holland for a week.It was a short trip but I had a great time there..On 4th February 2008 yang lepas, I flew to The Netherlands. Actually, it was a short trip for me and a business trip for my hubby.He was assigned there for a week for buy-off machine with the vendor called BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.("BESI" formerly known as FICO). What I can say was, I had a nice experience and something to remember since it was a first experience overseas...the flight to The Netherlands took me 13 hours (non-stop) to reach destination..My flight was scheduled at 11:45 pm, but was delayed for 1 hr 35 mins due to error in calculation...hehe...can't imagine if we fly on the wrong altitude & magnitude...I scheduled to arrive Amsterdam Schipol airport at 5:45 am but turned to be at 7:10 am due to the delayed earlier.As for my hubby, he flew to Holland on Saturday night (2nd Feb 2008) . He called me from Holland a day before to remind me on the email that he sent containing a direction of the Schipol Airport and how to get to the train station to Arnhem.Very detail rupanya my hubby ni...as for me, I dont mind to travel alone as I enjoy travelling so much...takut?not really as I already get used to do everything alone and on my own...

In the flight, my seat was supposed to be at the window (3 seater) but a dutch couple occupied my seat and I had to seat at the end of the row..It bothered me a lot as there were always people passed by the walk way, but the advantage, easy for me to move out.13 hrs of travelling?erm,never imagine that...I travelled by road all the time and the longest travelling hours in my life, to Kelantan by road which took me more or less 8 hrs...I cant have a decent & comfort sleep during my travelling hrs...what I did was watching movies, listen to music & playing games..the rest I did some readings..actually I could not really focus on the readings..to many distraction, back pain, noise,etc...

At 7:15 am, upon arrival in Schipol, Amsterdam, the pilot announced that the weather outside is 6 degree celcius..OMG!!I not used with that kind of weather...sejuk giler!...I was born in a country that lowest the weather can go is 20 degree. (more or less la)...6 degree?grrrr...grrrr....

Once arrived at the Schipol airport, I took the Sprinter train to Arnhem...the distance of Amsterdam Central to Arnhem is around 1.5 hrs..The station is similar to others, there were many platforms...In The Netherlands they called it Spoor..My train sheduled to be at 9:15 am but it arrived at 9:13 am....2 minutes earlier..I was amazed with the train system...so punctual,unlike Malaysian train...In Holland, and I believe other progress countries in Europe as well, are very systematic in regards to their transportation system...In Malaysia, if you are late to work, you can have a strong reason of being late..but if you working in Holland, you can't give such excuses as they have a very sistematic transportation..maybe need to figure out other reason to tell the boss..hehe..

Schipol Airport, Amsterdam

In the train, I met someone by the name Ella..she's from Poland...very sweet & friendly...She was assigned by her Superior to Holland for 3 days but I did not exactly know her job, from the conversation it got something to do with the procurement kind of stuff...She told me that she did not have enough sleep, she travelled from US (Washington) to Holland on 8 hrs non-stop flight...and all she can think of was sleeping..we share our travelling experience, life,etc...while enjoying the view of the scenery including the PwC Amsterdam building from the train...we had a chit chat before she stepped down at Utrecht Central...before she left, we exchanged email address...I think that was the best medium for us to keep in touch...

PwC Amsterdam (view from tren, not that clear coz the tren were so fast)

In the tren

Then, I continued my journey alone to Arnhem...along the way, the scenery were so beautiful, I had seen a farm with the sheep, the windmill, the hydrochannel (used for agriculture)-it's mini water channel but quite long (cam parit la!tp dorang called it channel),but they made it purposely for agriculture and to generate clean hydro supplies..this country really make use of the nature resources....everything so clean, beautiful and fresh...

Once I arrived at Arnhem, I already feel the cold and put on my winter jacket with a fur at the collar..hehe...baru comel skit kan ada bulu2 tu!..once I stepped down from the train, OMG!!I can feel the cold..when I looked at the screen, the weather at Arnhem is 5 degree celcius..betapa sejuknya sampai berwap mulut..selama ni tgk kat TV mulut org berwap, skang ni I experienced it myself,mmg sejuk sangat!

In the email that my hubby sent to me a day before I departed,he will wait for me at the Arnhem station at 7 am..but unfortunately, because of the flight delay I arrived there at later time...around 10:30 am... nak buat mcm maner kan?not my fault...it was the pilot!...hehe..dah nak jadi delay kan...what to do....my hubby need to go to the supplier's office at 8 am....If I were late, I had to check in on my own...I still remember my hubby told me that the Haarhuis Hotel is just opposite Arnhem train station...Then,I walked a bit to the lift..I can't use neither staircase nor the escalator coz I was carrying my luggage...soo heavy...11 kilos...normal la kan,all girls stuff...

Haarhuis Hotel, Arnhem (opposite the Arnhem tren station)

Once I arrived at the hotel, I checked in and the lady at the reception told me to have breakfast at the cafe'.All have been prepared for me. At the time, I was the only one in the cafe' as the breakfast time was already over...it was almost 11-ish that time and the breakfast period was at 7 am-10 am..I had bread, some cereals and yogurt with fruits...a quick one...just to fill my empty stomach until evening..after that, I headed to my room at 102..the lift was sooo unique for 4 star hotel..hehe...tak canggih as in Malaysia's hotel la...once I entered the room, I threw my luggage and jumped on the bed..tak boleh tahan dah...soooo tired & sooo sleepy..I had a good sleep until I heard a door opened and surprised...my hubby was standing at the door and greeted me...It was almost 7 pm...he just came back from supplier's office ("BESI") in Duiven..I went to him and hugged...I missed him sooo much...2 days without him in Malaysia,I felt such a great loss..hehe...mcm org hilang arah though but that's the fact..a man that I shared my life with for 4 years this coming July..I was so happy to see him again... we had chit chat and later, I had my shower and we went for a dinner outside..together with supplier's Mr Geert Sommers (Senior Project Manager) and Mr Frank Boerma.The weather was getting colder at nite..it was 3 degree celcius..something normal la kan...like in the freezer....mmg TERAMAT sejuk!!I can't imagine if it's snowy..I would prefer to stay in the hotel rather than going out..but I had a great time...At nite,around 7p,Mr Geert and Mr Frank brought us for bowling.I striked once..hehe...I was the only female there ok..then,we had dinner at the SalaThai restaurant nearby. We ordered Tom Yam and other dishes.The food was great..Later, we went for a walk around the port,streets and hotel area....I was amazed with the ancient buildings...the buildings were old and unique but have hidden stories lies with them..I wish I could flash back the era when they built the buildings..hehe...at least I can learn the rite way to build a building...so that tak lah jambatan retak (cam MRR2 tu), rumah retak hehe..something that I always think of,why in today's world,with all the advanced technology yet we can still hear condo collapsed la, dam pecah la,bangunan collapsed?unlike before our era,as we learned from history in school that ancient people do not have a proper technology yet they managed to build a strong and proper buildings..for example,pyramid in Egypt,great wall in China...can stand for thousands of years..I wonder maybe the ancient people had more advanced technology that we would never know of...that's something question me until now...I believe all written in Quran..

our room - room no. 102

Actually it was fun to spend time together with hubby...bkn senang nak adakan masa dengan hubby, he's a workaholic person...all about keje...tp,dengan adanya masa mcm ni, rasa seronok sangat...hopefully after this we can go to other places just for vacation..no business/work involved.

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