12-13 July 2009: Venice, Italy

Romanticism Dies Hard


A friend once told me that, when she got married, she would like to go honeymoon at Venice. Due to circumstances, she did not make it there with her husband. Due to circumstances as well, my husband and me had managed to arrive at this sinking city. The lavish palaces, the labyrinthine streets, the winding canals and the memory of the glorious past, any visit to Venice is a reminder of another.



Venice spans 118 bodies of land in a lagoon and is connected to the mainland by a thin causeway.
Venice is a veritable labyrinth. Ungluing the eyes from the map and going with the flow is surprisingly fun and make Venice spectacular.



The Canal Grande loops through Venice and the splendid facades of the palazzi that crowns its banks testify to the city's history of immense wealth.



I imagined Venice like Prague on an island. However, despite the crowds near Piazza San Marco, Venice is surprisingly pleasant and "real" to me.
While we weave our way through the city, from time to time, we saw signs of people living here: Socks, clothes, shoes ... hanging outside of the houses by the canals.
Well... but the 1.50 Euro per entry to the public toilet is definitely more 'real' than 'pleasant'.



Basilica Di San Marco, one of the main sights in Venice.
The nearer the shops or cafe to Piazza San Marco, the more inflated the price of the things.
eg. Standing/take away coffee is 1-3 Euro, but sitting in the restaurant, the price will become 4-8 Euro. Yes, a cup of coffee.





The gondola is at the rate of 20 minutes (or 40 minutes? don't remember) for two persons at 60-80 Euro. The price increases after sunset.
This is not a good price for us, not to mention after paying the most expensive accommodation for our Europe tour.
So we just sat by the canal, soaked our foot in the cooling water and watched the passing by gondola for hours.
This was effective to ease the sore foot and to cool down after walking around in the hot summer sun.
The legend said, a couple who kisses below the Bridge of Sighs would have a ever lasting love.
If the bridge was not under renovation, then i might have insist to take the gondola though! :P



The masks are the popular souvenirs and the prices are very similar for all stalls and shops.
Check out a few shops/stalls, sometimes some places do have some kind of better deals.



The Ponte Ricalto arches over the Canal Grande and symbolizes Venice's commercial past.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 7 July 2009

Freedom... Sex... Drugs... Canals

i always wanted to go to Amsterdam. So that i can buy hash or marijuana legally at the coffeeshops? No, no... That is not my cup of tea. i don't very much fancy the art scene, windmill, tulips or wooden shoes as well. What i wanted to see is just the red lights district. From my typical Asian upbringing, the sex scenes are very intriguing. i wanted to see and feel the kind of openess that people have over the sex and drugs, which are both taboos from where i come from...
We surprisingly found out also, The Netherlands is quite an environmentally conscious country. There are certain town which plastic begs are not allowed. So you have to either bring your own shopping begs or sometimes, you can pick up the packaging boxes of the supermarket to put your groceries. We think this is really a good idea, rather than dismantle the boxes and pill them up behind of the shops.
All Dutch who we talked to, such as asking for direction, speak very fluent English.



Amesterdam is a canal-lined city, which i did not know before.
The country is masterful feat of engineering, since most of it is below sea level, vigorous pumping and many dikes were used to create dry land.
If God created the rest of the world, the Dutch created The Netherlands.



War meomorial near to Damrak and red lights district.
We paid the most expensive hourly parking fees for our Europe trip here, 2 hours for 8 euros.
After this, we never really drove right into the city centre of any country again. The endless one way streets and hefty parking fees are just too much.



Damrak, the street when one comes out from the central station and where tourists buy inexpensive survenirs.



i personally feel that, the red light district is surprisingly liveable (especially if you compare with red lights Geylang in Singapore) and in many ways the area is less outrageous and seedy than i have expected.
Like Clichy and Pigale in Paris, the streets are full with pushers, porn shops and live sex theaters.
There are many kebab shops and Asian restaurant or take away, not to forget, fine cuisine restaurants and bars/ pubs.



i heard that before: The prostitutes displays themselves in the window. They pay tax like any tax payers as well.
Many tourists were attracted by the prostitutes dancing in the window. Some knocked at the door/ window and asked for the price, but we did not see anyone got inside and engaged the service of the prostitutes.



Besides from the aroma of marijuana and the city's infamous sex scene, it is romantic to stroll along endless cobblestoned streets and canals sparkling with lights.