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July 25 Holiday in Ireland #4 (the end)In one of the hotels in Ireland, we had a very luxorious room. I learned that you need to get trained for higher standards, for example the bath tub. In the hotel, the room had a very nice jacuzzi (bath with bubbles), with some interesting massage like functions. Of course this needed a try. So I filled the water into the bath and added the content of the small bath soap to the water for extra relaxation. Well, after a few minutes I turned on the engines for the bubbles (it really makes a lot of noice). It started fine, but after short time I saw the foam of the bath increasing. After 2 minutes I got worried, since the foam was getting more than 10 centimeters thick... and it kept growing
 . After the foam even further increased, action was needed because it was getting over the bath tub and there was no sink in the floor. I moved all the foam to the normal sink to get rid of it, which also became huge... almost the whole bath room was suddenly filled with foam . I showed the result to my friends, which were quite amused about all the mess. In the end, I think the hotel was happy, since I cleaned almost the complete bathroom for them...After Ireland, we went to Nothern Ireland. This is basically the top of Ireland, but belongs to Britain. Here we finished Londonderry and Belfast. Both cities are wellknown due to the religous conflicts between the protestants and catholics. In Belfast, there is still a big wall (like the Berlin wall) that separates the areas, although you can get to the other side via a big tour around the wall. Luckily the violance has stopped and Belfast and normal life is returning, but still does not feel completely normal. This were certainly not the nicest places, but it was interesting to see. Also we visited the coast, which has very impressive views. Luckily the sun was shining then, but it was still very cold (16 degrees).
After Nothern Ireland, we went by ferry to Scotland to travel further on by car to the Lake District in England. This is a top tourist destination because of the nice lakes and mountains. We decided to take a more advanturous route by taken a very steep pass with slopes of 30%! We noticed how advantorous it was... Before entering the pass, we were first driving through very small lanes (where only 1 car at a time can pass, but is dual lane...). If you have bad luck and a car is coming from the other side, you might need to drive backwards for several hundred meters. Luckily these roads are not busy and in the end we had not so much problems luckily.
However, then we needed to go over the pass with 30% increase. Until half way it went ok, but then a car came from the top to downhill and was driving straight on us. This time we drove on the left (the right sight), but instead that the car coming to us went left he kept on driving straigth on us and making strange moves with his hands as if we need to get out of the way. However, he was driving at the wrong side
 . We needed to stop the car on the 30% slope and another car was also stopped half a meter behind us. When we tried to drive further, the car could not manage the slope. The engine made a lot of noice and we noticed a burned smell. After 2 tries, we found out it was impossible to get forward! This was very scarry! I and Roger went out and tried to push the car. Luckily due to less weight in the car and stopping the car from moving backwards (as far it was possible, because due to the weight of the car and the steep slope you could never push the car forward), we managed to get the car moving forward again. Hans drove to the top and we walked to the top to get in again. Before that, we also needed to help the car behind us (a family), who also could not move forward with their car. The children in that car were very afraid. Luckily we found out there was no serious damage to the car and we could continue our journey. Just one more thing worth to mention. On the last day, suddenly the weather became nice and warm
. That was the end of the holiday...July 19 Holiday in Ireland #3I left Ireland now and am currently in Northern Ireland (UK). The holiday continues to be quite wet and cold wetter. However, you get some inspiration
to get warm. Today I went to a whiskey distillery Bushmills to see (and taste
 ) the brewery. Well, the smell was not always that pleasant at the plant, but luckily the whiskey tastes better.I also went to the coast of Northern Ireland (UK), where a miracle happened: the sun started to shine (but with hard and cold wind; it was not warmer than 15 degrees). Very nice cliffs and spectacular views from the cliffs and beaches. I was also able to make several walks on the cliffs, which was really nice. The photos look like postcard pictures. There was also a rope bridge over a cliff, where the water was about 50 meters below you while you were almost blown of the bridge. Well, it is not something to be done by people with a lot of feir of height.
Tomorrow I will have a day in Belfast before going by boat to the mainland by UK. The end of the holiday is approaching... just about 5 days left
 (although a warm office has its advantages I must admit).July 14 On holiday in Ireland #2Currently more than 1 week in Ireland. After Dublin (the capital), the next city was Waterford. The main reason to go there is the Waterford crystal factory, which you can visit. This was a very interesting, while they show the whole process of making glass inside the factory. This includes the blowing of the glass (vases, drinking glasses, etc.), the making of inscriptions/decorations and making it look nice. You can buy crystal yourself, but it is expensive stuff... prices basically starts above €50 for a drinking glass... better not brake it when you buy
 After Waterford we visited the oldest lighthouse in the world and went to Cork to stay over for the night. The next day, we went to Killarney, where we made a famous tour by car (ring of Kerry) around the coast. Here you find the spectacular landscapes along the coast with mountains. You need to be careful with the car... the roads after often so small that on several stretches only 1 car can pass at a time and you are always praying no one is coming from the other direction... luckily we had no major problems, but the tour of about 200 km was a long day sitting in the car.
The next day we made another tour, including a hike to the top of a mountain on the most westly point of Europe. Finally some exercise, while I do not like so much to sit for many hours in the car. Here we had spectacular views on the cliffs and rocks.
After that we went to Killarney, from which we made a trip to the cliffs of Moher, which are very famous. They are over 200 meters high and is therefore a very popular tourist destination. If you want to enjoy the view in silence, this is not the place to be
.Driving in Ireland is on the wrong side of the road (left), while I am normally drive on the right. Since we are with my car, the steering wheel is on the wrong side. It was me who made the first mistake by driving on the wrong side of the road. My friends were shouting: left, left! but I saw nowhere how to turn left. After a car was coming straight on me and start to make strange moves, I understood what they meant and that I was riding on the wrong side of the road.... Oops, small mistake
To be continued July 13 Op vakantie in Ierland #1Momenteel ben ik op vakantie in Ierland. Ik heb uitgevonden waarom het land zo groen is... het regent er erg veel
 ... en het is nog koud ook. De meeste dagen komt de temperatuur niet hoger dan 15-20 graden.De reis zelf loopt voorspoedig en hebben we geen problemen ondervonden, behalve dat de prijzen in Ierland erg hoog liggen. Een wijn die in Nederland €5 kost, kost in Ierland het dubbele. Hotelkamers zijn minimaal €80-€100 per nacht en ook lunch/dineren is enorm duur. Bijna alle prijzen zijn 50-100% duurder dan in Nederland.
Ierland is zelf wel een mooi land. Dublin is een leuke stad en de natuur is erg mooi. Vooral langs de kust, maar ook de bergen (die niet hoog, maar wel kompleet groen zijn) zijn spectaculair. Het links rijden ging tot vandaag zonder problemen... behalve vandaag. Toen ik wegreed, riepen mijn vrienden links, links... maar ik zag nergens waar ik links kon afslaan. Plotseling zag ik een auto opdoemen die recht op mij afreed... toen snapte ik dat ik aan de verkeerde kant van de weg reed. Gelukkig liep het goed af.
Halverwege de vakantie en nu opweg naar het noorden van Ierland.
July 06 On holiday in Ireland #1My holiday has started now! This time around the corner... in England and Ireland. I am travelling with two friends of mine around with my car. This time Hans and I took the train to England... I went trhough the tunnel from France to England, where you can put your car on the train. It takes 35 minutes... the only disadvantage is you cannot see much when you are below the water.
The same day we arrived at Roger's house. He is living in England and also joining the trip. The next day we were going into the direction of the ferry to Ireland, but stayed the night in England, while it is far driving. We visited the first built metal bridge in the world (not a bad design) and a 'chinese' pottery, where we got a demonstration how it was made. Quite interesting to see and interesting ovens (very huge).
The day after we took the ferry to Ireland. Luckily the sea was calm... so I did not need to test my sea legs. Our first destination in Ireland is the capital, Dublin. This is a nice city, but the inner city is completely jammed with cars. Very expensive city though and it seems even to be more expensive than London! It seems that the prices are about double what I am used to pay in the Netherlands. Just a pizza which costs normally €8 costs suddenly €16. Also the musea are expensive... Any donations for my holiday are welcome
. In Dublin we visited of course the Guinness beer factory, which is a very famous beer in Ireland. Unfortunately I do not like the taste...Today I left Dublin and are on my way to the southern part of the country. I visited several interesting places, like lakes (but most of them were not so nice because it was raining), a Japanese garden and breeding of racing horses. Looking at the prices of the horses (famous horses can earn many million dollar), I might consider to grow one horse in my (small) garden...
To be continued... hopefully with better weather, but the forecast does not look very good.
June 22 Buurtfeest 21 juni Afgelopen zaterdag was het weer zover. Het jaarlijkse buurtfeest met barbecue. Het weer was perfect; zonnig en 20 graden. Er kon niets misgaan op deze dag...  De dag begon met een puzzeltocht door de wijk, waarbij aan hand van foto´s een route gelopen moest worden. Een groep besloot tot een extra grote wijkinspectie (dat heet eigenlijk verdwaald)... Onderweg was er een post met drinken en chips. Na ruim een uur wandelen, bleek dat alle groepen uiteindelijk hun eigen straat weer teruggevonden hadden Na de puzzeltocht waren er verschillende spellen, zoals geblinddoekt ballonnen prikken, bekers water op een plank vervoeren waarbij de dobbelsteen het aantal bekers bepaalde, ladderrace en het dubieuze spel paardenpiesen. Deze spellen brachten een hoop hilariteit. Na de spellen was het tijd voor de barbecue. In totaal waren er 4 barbecueen opgetrommeld wat precies goed was voor de groep van ongeveer 50 mensen. Na de barbecue ging het mis... Er was een tv opgesteld voor de wedstrijd Nederland-Rusland. Na vragen vooraf aan de organisatie of dit toch wel goed geregeld was, bleek het toch mis te gaan. Er werd verloren .Na de wedstrijd bleven de meesten nog even zitten en werd het steeds gezelliger. Waarschijnlijk door de bier en wijn... Een speciale dank aan Tamara en Cobie voor het regelen van deze uiteindelijke fantastische dag! June 08 Football poolAs probably no one has missed, the European Championship football has started. It is very usual to join the football pools; almost every company, organization and who ever organizes one. Currently I am joining two pools: one of my own company and the company in Germany I am currently working for. Of course I expect to earn my money back, but some work needs to be done... After 4 matches, the following results: Own company: position: 5 (from 11) with 16 points (nr 1: 23 points , nr 2,3: 20 points) German company: position 15 (from 20) //will be improved; I had German match correct and was not processed yet Luckily it will take another 2.5 weeks... so still enough time to win April 20 Business trip BulgariaLast week I was on business trip in Bulgaria and this time I did not miss my flight. Not much time for fun this trip... too much work to do. In the end everything went ok, but I had many trouble with the internet because it was very slow at the company. Reading e.g. an email could take up to 30 minutes! Only after 18:00 when most people go home, suddenly the internet worked normal again. It meant that I had to continue to work late in the evenings to finish my work
The hotel I stayed is quite nice and has a very good gym. This is (at least for me) a good way to relax after long day of work. The Bulgarian beer afterwards improved the relaxing even further...
The most remarkable thing in Bulgaria are the taxi drivers... they hardly speak any English, often smoke in the car, wear no seatbelts (if available at all in the car), are often badly dressed... and every drive is always an adventure and you are glad you arrived at your destination. Well, at least taxi´s are not expensive... March 24 Spring in the NetherlandsIt is spring in the Netherlands! You can see it clearly from the pictures taken out of my house...
March 22 Meeting Jess in AmsterdamQuite unexpectedly, after my visit in Malaysia in February, I met Jess again after 1 month. On her business travel, she had a stop in Amsterdam so we could meet again. Together with her colleague Paul, I showed them around in Amsterdam.
Although formally spring has started, the weather was not aware of it. It snowed at least for 2 hours, lot of rain and it was really cold (4 degrees). It is the coldest Easter since the last 40 years.
In Malaysia, Jess was the tour guide, but now the roles changed. The tour guide part was not too bad, but it also meant I had to pay most of the things...
 , since Jess paid most things in Malaysia for me. The costs of 1 afternoon Amsterdam:Parking at Schiphol: € 27,00 (wow, so expensive)
Lunch: € 30,00
Dinner: € 20,00
Train: € 20,00
Tram: € 5.00
Presents: secret
In total more then €100 (~ 470 ringit). However, it was worth it. At least I got my Chinese course book part 2 for my Chinese study, which Jess brought from Malaysia (... you can see I am making some progress...).
The tour included the Amsterdam railway station, red light district, which we (of course) accidently passed on our way to the Dam (with the Queen´s palace), Kalverstraat (the most expensive street in the Dutch monopoly), flower market, canals, museum square (with the famous Rijksmuseum and van Gogh museum) and the PC Hooftstraat (Louis Vuitton shop), which is famous for the expensive shops.
This was already my 3rd time I was tour guide for Chinese people in Amsterdam... I should start a travel agency for Chinese tourists!
March 16 BulgariaLast week I went on business travel to the main capital Sofia in Bulgaria. The trip did not start smoothly. Although I thought I had plenty of time to reach the airport (I planned to arrive there 1:45 minutes before the plane would leave) early in the morning, I got stuck into serious traffic jams in Germany on the last 50 km. Already before 7:00, all the major highway roads had serious traffic jams. It
appeared that the train drivers were going to strike and it seems that a lot of
people decided to go by car and to prevent traffic jams, they went early... I
ended up in 4 traffic jams on 4 different roads, which caused that I arrived at
9:00 (after 3 hours driving instead of normally 1.5 hours) instead of 7:30 at
the airport. This was 15 minutes before my flight left, but the gate was
closed. The German company arranged a new ticket to Bulgaria from Frankfurt, which
was about 2.5 hours drive form Dusseldorf where I was. Again a long drive and
quite stressful, because the time was tight. Also Frankfurt is a very big
airport. When I arrived, I had to choose between terminal 1 and 2 and had no
clue which one to take. Of course I choose the wrong one... but I managed to get
at the check-in counter 30 minutes before closing... pffff. The work went very well. The most remarkable thing in Bulgaria are the taxi
drivers. They always seem to smoke, being dressed very badly and drive
dangerously. At one drive, my taxi driver almost got a fight with a person
crossing the road by foot who hit the roof of the taxi because the taxi driver
did not give him right away. After some serious threats between them, it ended
without any further damage. He claimed it was a stupid, drunk German... luckily
I am Dutch... I also played a football match when I was there. I also play football at the German company and in Bulgaria they do the same. They were really professional... much higher level than I am used to in Germany. They already played for several years every week, while we play only once a month. No goals by me this time... but they mentioned I was the first international player joining their team! Also no musle pain, so it seems my condition is finally improving for the football! February 15 Malaysia: Sightseeing KLOn Saturday evening I was invited again to play cards at one of Jess' family members. This time I lost... but it was just to keep the relationship with the family friendly
 . Jess told me there would supper after 0:00. There was always so much food, I fought see made a joke. However, on our way back suddenly the car stopped and we went for supper at around 0:30... She told me I should always believe her... now I will!The next day at around 10:30, I was invited again by the family for the big breakfast, this time in a Dim Sum restaurant. As usual, the food was plenty, but also very nice. In the afternoon we went with some family members to downtown KL to a quite new shopping mall. The most remarkable shop was the one to cure diseases where fish are trying to eat your feet (just put your feet in the water and the fish will start eating your feet...). Just new in KL; the place was quite full with people.
After that, Jess and I went to the KL towers by foot (not really normal for her) and she also felt like a tourist (she certainly looked as one, because she was most of the time wearing my backpack and my photo camera...). In the evening we had again dinner at Jess' house... not needed to say there was enough food... and went playing cards again. This time I was quite lucky... so hopefully they will invite me again in the future!
The next day, Jess needed to work again and I would go to Penang (a popular island) on my own.
February 14 Kuala Lumpur - meeting Yee Chin and LaureenOn Saturday 9 February I met Laureen and Yee Chin again. It was 10 years ago we met for the last (and first) time in KL, where they showed me and my friend around. We wanted to meet at Starbucks in the Curve shopping mall. I already saw there were 2 Starbucks there, so therefore I verified which one it was. I met Laureen there (with whom I verified), but we found out that Yee Chin was waiting for us at the other... haha. We had lunch in an Indonesian restaurant, where we had some interesting purple desserts... I forgot the name, but it was quite tasteful. However, with another colour than purple it might taste even better...
After lunch, Yee Chin showed me around in Putrajaya, the goverment area outside KL. This has been recently developed and looks very modern. Escpecially the big mosque and one of the main goverment building along the water are really interesting.
It was one of the first times I was sweating after so many days of more than 30 degrees because we were walking outside... all the time I have seen mainly celebrating Chinese New Year at Jess' family in AC houses, eating in AC restaurants, driving in AC cars and shopping in AC shopping malls. The brown tan must be coming when I am on holiday in Penang...
In the evening Yee Chin brought me back to the hotel for another family event with Jess. It was at least very nice to meet Laureen and Yee Chin again! February 12 Holiday in Malaysia - GentingAfter Chinese new year, I went with Jess to Genting. This is quite high casino and amusement park on a hill top with temperatures around 15-20 degrees... I brough a coat with me and it was pleasant to have it on. We went by bus and after that with the cable car to the top. It was very busy due to Chinese new year; we had to wait 1 hour for the cable car.
At the top, we saw the lion dance (again) performed by the Malaysian team that won the world championship. This looked quite spectecular and included jumping on poles, which is very complicated. It will be on the movie I will make.
After that we went to the amusement park. We first went into a ghost house which was funny to walk through... they tried to scare you by suddenly jumping at you in the dark, which seemed to work for Jess... haha. After that we went to a water attraction where we waited 1 hour. When we could almost enter, it suddenly started to rain and they closed it
. We went into several other attractions, but due to the bad weather we unfortunately missed the cork screw roller coaster. I also managed to get an Indian a bit angry, who tried to teach his son how to take pictures on a rope bridge. However, I tried to make a joke for Jess by jumping on the bridge, which complicated the photomaking quite a lot... it was accidently...After that we tried our luck in the casino, which was very crowded again. I tried my luck at one of the machines and won 10 ringit (2 euro)! However, we had no clue how to get the money out... we asked and got a membership card and after 15 minutes we had our money
In the evening we went playing cards like most of the other evenings. This was always a lot of fun.
February 09 Holiday in Malaysia: Gong xi fa cai!On Wednesday 6 February, I was invited for the Chinese New Year festivities. This evening was the last evening of the Chinese new year and was invited for 2 (two) diners on the same evening!
The first dinner was at Jess' house at 17:00. This was my first meeting with the family and there were more than 30 people joining! Luckily not too many mistakes, however I started to eat with the chopsticks upside down... which was immediately noticed. Normally that never happens...
After the meal (hotpot / steamboat), I was completely full.So at 19:00, the second dinner started at another family member's house, so it was again an opertunity to meet even more family members. Again there were more than 30 people. This dinner was harder work... since my previous dinner was not fully digested. And as guest, you are not forgotten and you get continuously more food... So at the end I was completely full...
At 0:00, the new Chinese new year started. For all my Chinese friends: Gong xi fa cai! (happy chinese new year). We watched the countdown on television. There was not so much fireworks, since the Malaysian goverment has forbidden to have your own fireworks.
At the first day of the new year, we had the traditional breakfast. Until 12:00, all food is vegetarian, so all food for the breakfast did not contain meat. It looked very interesting and was very tasteful. The only problem was that I was still completely full from the 2 diners the day before. However, I managed to eat still 2 dishes! Holiday can be hard work
In the afternoon, there was a lion dance at the house. The family hired a group, which performs the lion dance outside and inside the house. This is quite spectecular to see and makes a lot of noise (it includes musicians as well). This was really special for me to watch.
To be continued... February 07 Holiday in Malayia: Kuala Lumpur #1 On Monday evening (4 Feb), I took the train to Schiphol to go on holiday in Malaysia. It was a long time ago I took a train, since normally I go by car. The first problem already arises: a train was stranded near Deventer and I needed to take another route. At least it gave me the opertunity to travel with one of the Chinese girls I met at a Chinese dinner a few weeks ago (so many Chinese persons I meet lately...). She was also waiting at the Hengelo station. Due to the stranded train, I had to take the same train as her (until Delden, next station), and it was nice to talk with her again. Luckily I left on time, because the total delay was 1.5 hours... I only had 30 minutes left before final check-in...
but I made it. In the plane I met one woman (Chinese...), who goes back to the Netherlands on the same date as me and appeared to have booked the same hotel on Penang and in Kuala Lumpur. Quite amazing... The plan is to meet the woman again in Penang in the hotel for breakfast next week Wednesday, when she is there on holiday with her family. They call it a small world sometimes...
The flight was quite convieniant and I managed to sleep a bit.Arrival in KL went quite smoothly and on time, but only finding a taxi for the right price was not so easy. They were asking around 180 ringit (30 euro) to bring me to the hotel, but I heard before it should be around 15 euro. After 20 minutes I found the right place... every time when I told them which taxi company I wanted to take, they brought me to their own more expensive taxi stands... However, asking the information desk at the airport solved the problem and found the right desk. After 45 minutes by taxi for less than 15 euro, I arrived at 17:00 in the hotel.
Already on the same night, I had an appointment with Jess and her boyfriend Stone. I met Jess 9 months ago on my trip in China and we managed to stay in contact via MSN. She invited me to come over during Chinese new year, when she would have time for me. The Chinese dinner was very nice. Afterwards we went for a drink: a cool bear at 25 degrees... that is much better than the rain, wind and 5 degrees in the Netherlands
At night I had a 'little' jetlag problem. I fall immediately asleep at 11:30 and woke up after a deep sleep and completely awake.... at 1:30
. I managed to fall asleep again around 4:00 and when I woke up again due to my wakeup call at 8:30, I felt totally broken. So I asked for another wakeup call 1 hour later... it is a holidayIn the morning I went shopping in the airconditioned shopping mall, in which my hotel is located. So the temperature was about 24 degrees for me (instead of >30 degrees outside the shopping mall). I bought one Chinese course book to improve my Chinese. However, I have found out that all my time I investigated in Manderin Chinese was not so useful as I hoped... they are speaking some kind of dialect
.To be continued...
February 02 Carnaval in HengeloThis afternoon was the carnaval parade in Hengelo. At least one difference with the carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is the temperature... It was really chilly, around 5 degrees... I even saw a bit of snow today, but luckily just after the parade started, the sun started to shine.
Some more pictures in my photo album. January 12 Winter EftelingWe went on a surprise trip, where I did not tell Shangxia and Maggie where we could go, except they would regret it they would not join... The trip went to the Winter Efteling. The Efteling is one of the biggest and oldest amusement park in the Netherlands and can be seen as the Dutch version of Disney world.
I went there 2 years ago with my company for the first time and I read that the winter version has become more popular lately. I could notice that! The park was filled with many more people. We had a really good time there and the attractions were really nice. I can really recommend it to everyone to go there... January 01 A foggy start of 2008...The last evening of the year ended unexpectly. There was so much fog, you could see only 10 meters... Also due to all the fireworks, the view was really bad and the only thing I could see from my house was the street light 5 meters before my house! I planned to go away and pick-up a friend by car, but I did not find it responsible to drive... Several accidents happened on the roads and also some roads were closed due to the accidents. So I ended up lonely in my house... At 0:00 I went outside and found my neighbours also at home. They also planned to go away, but also stayed at home due to the fog. The fireworks were really a disaster... the sky was completely grey and you could only hear some bangs. Even fireworks from my neighbours 25 meters away were almost not visible at all. After 15 minutes, there was almost only silence. Everyone had stopped the fireworks, because you could not see it at all... So probably it will be fireworks again tonight, so people can still watch the fireworks. We decided to have a drink at my neighbour house, so it was still a pleasant start of 2008. After 2:00, I went home. For everyone, have a nice, healthy and a good visible 2008! |
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