girl, adventure and misadventure
I grew up eating rice with every meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.. rice is always on the menu. Well, what else can I say? Rice is life! That is why I never felt so much rice deprived until my trip to the Netherlands. I thought I was going to lose myself. There was already a little voice inside my head saying “Rice is life! Rice is life!”. I guess I just can’t stop being Asian.
Dear Diary, I was 6,587 miles away from home. I almost couldn’t believe the announcement from my manager. At first, I laughed. I couldn’t believe what I heard because it was quite unusual. Most of us will be sent to the United States but not in Netherlands. It took me a few minutes to finally sink in what he just said. I concealed my excitement and went back to my cube. I thought, “If everything goes well, it’ll be my first international and solo travel”.
Ug bisan kita na ko aning salidaha
Kung diin ako ra gihapon ang nagtanga-tangang bida
Gapadayun gihapon kog “fangirling” ani atong
Lovestory nga sa akong damgo ra gipasalida
It was one hell of a magical night when we decided to visit ‘s-Hertogenbosch. I know it’s a bit difficult to remember– it’s something like “heterogeneous” and sounds like “heshcdsrfjsdskkj”. (Yes! Emphasis on the “g” + “sch” sound in Dutch which really hurts my throat by the way). Later on, I found out that it is colloquially known as Den Bosch which is not that difficult to remember for me. Thank goodness!
Setting that aside, I was really mesmerized by its beauty. If you want to know what I am talking about, here’s a sneak peek and my list of 4 (+1) things to see while at Den Bosch.
Revisiting Mt. Kan-Irag was not as easy as how it went the first time and I’m glad that I did not come empty handed.
Do not misunderstand. I am not an expert here so I cannot give a detailed guide in trekking Mt. Kan-Irag as I am not a “certified” trekker myself. But what I will leave you today is an inexperienced’s first-hand experience in surviving a five to six hours of trekking in the precious Mt. Kan-Irag– hailed as “the mountain within the city”. So if you are a beginner and you want to explore Mt. Kan-Irag (or your trekker friends blackmailed you to do so), this post might be helpful.
I grew up eating rice with every meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.. rice is always on the menu. Well, what else can I say? Rice is life! That is why I never felt so much rice deprived until my trip to the Netherlands. I thought I was going to lose myself. There was already a little voice inside my head saying “Rice is life! Rice is life!”. I guess I just can’t stop being Asian.
Happy and excited– I was kicking my feet as I was looking at my itinerary for the day. I’m going to visit the Anne Frank House.. finally! I was even more ecstatic when I saw that the line was just short. I heard that the queue is usually very long so what a wonderful day to be bright and optimistic, right? But not too long— my vibrant mood quickly shifted to a shade darker the moment I entered the museum.
Who doesn’t want to get up close with an iconic person? I’m not sure about you but I do! Just with the scent of their perfume, it already sends chills to my spine and ignites my fangirl side. This is the reason why I picked Madame Tussauds as one of my destinations during my short Amsterdam tour.
Have you admired someone, got close with him, made memories together.. then all of a sudden you’re left hanging.. by your “friend”?
Europe is one of the most expensive places to visit. For someone like me, it’s already difficult to afford that plane ticket so how much more the hotel accommodation during my stay? Not to mention, the hassle of applying for a Schengen visa and the fees that come along with it. My trip to The Netherlands was a short notice and I honestly don’t have enough money to enjoy a luxurious trip. So here’s how I was able to save my ass from the expenses while still enjoying my trip..
Castle Muiderslot.. the name does not ring a bell at first. But when I saw this in the list of attractions that are included in my Holland Pass, I got interested. It’s a castle! So why not get a dose of my “princess-y and fairytale” deams?
Before I came to The Netherlands, I already had plans how to make my short stay worthwhile. My schedule the day after I arrived was to visit one of the castles in Netherlands since it was the only time I had where I could fit this agenda. In all honestly, I really didn’t have an idea that you could find a lot of castles across the country. I know that it is famous for its windmills and that’s it! So when I knew about its castles, I thought that I really have to visit one of them. With that, I went to the famous Muiderslot Castle in Muiden.
But first thing’s first, how can I go to this castle from my hotel in Zaltbommel?
Dear Diary, I was 6,587 miles away from home. I almost couldn’t believe the announcement from my manager. At first, I laughed. I couldn’t believe what I heard because it was quite unusual. Most of us will be sent to the United States but not in Netherlands. It took me a few minutes to finally sink in what he just said. I concealed my excitement and went back to my cube. I thought, “If everything goes well, it’ll be my first international and solo travel”.
Before I came to The Netherlands, I already had plans how to make my short stay worthwhile. My schedule the day after I arrived was to visit one of the castles in Netherlands since it was the only time I had where I could fit this agenda. In all honestly, I really didn’t have an idea that you could find a lot of castles across the country. I know that it is famous for its windmills and that’s it! So when I knew about its castles, I thought that I really have to visit one of them. With that, I went to the famous Muiderslot Castle in Muiden.
But first thing’s first, how can I go to this castle from my hotel in Zaltbommel? Unfortunately, it’s like a 2-hour ride from my place and I have no idea how the transportation system works in The Netherlands.
One of the top things that I admire in Netherlands is the transportation system. I admit.. It was really intimidating at first because of the following reasons:
Yes, SCHEDULES! Buses, trains and trams have timetables here. So if you don’t want to waste your time waiting for the next ride or waste your energy catching your ride, it pays to check the timetable first.
Going back.. I’m really glad that Dimitar, my friend in the Netherlands, helped me figure out everything that I need to know. Even though it was also a challenge because he was not around to help me personally.. but with a mobile data and a cellphone, we were able to video call and pull things together. After that, I realized that it’s not that difficult at all as long as you have internet connection and a mobile device where you could check the schedule. If you’re not really familiar which platform to take (for the train) or which station to wait (for the bus), the timetable could also help.
A piece of advice: Make sure that you’re on the correct platform so you won’t hop on the wrong train. YIKES! Or better yet, ASK. It wouldn’t hurt. On my way back to the hotel, I couldn’t find my train on any of the screens so I started to worry that maybe I was on the wrong platform. I asked a random guy which platform we were in and he was very kind to answer my questions. 🙂
Waiting for the train at Zaltbommel train station
Cheers to my first train ride. This deserves a selfie!
So from Zaltbommel, it took 2 train rides, a couple of walks and a bus ride to get to Muiden. I got off the bus at Muiden, Brandweerkazerne and had to walk for a couple of minutes to get to the castle. I actually don’t have an idea where to go but again, Dimitar was a great help because he was sending me directions through Facebook Messenger.
I really enjoyed this beautiful scenery despite getting lost
I had no clue where to go but these street signs were very helpful
There were also signs in every corner so it also made me feel at ease. I couldn’t believe I went out all by myself. Plus, it was a Sunday and most of the establishments were closed. I thought finding the castle would be a walk in the park but since I was born with a broken compass– no sense of direction — I got a bit lost along the way. Anyhow, I just enjoyed the moment, took pictures and admired the peaceful morning and the wonderful city. It’s not everyday that I get to experience such beauty.
Muiderslot from the entrance gate
Alas! I found my way! I noticed that there were some people– mostly families — that are heading to a certain direction so I thought they’re also going to Muiderslot and followed them. Honestly, I was expecting a long queue by the gates (where you have to purchase tickets) but there wasn’t. If you have any of their valid gate pass or cards, you can walk straight through the sensors where you just have to tap your card to open the gates. In my case, I had to exchange my Holland Pass “silver” coupon for an entrance ticket and a free guide (a map and some interesting information about the castle). I also took the guided group tour. I initially told the staff that I’m fine all by myself but she insisted that I should take it so I could see the exclusive parts of the castle. Since it also comes free with my silver coupon, so why not?
The tour was not okay. It would have been really better if it was in English. Like in some parts of the tour, everyone was laughing on something I don’t understand and I had to pretend and laugh with them too! Talk about blending in, eh? HA HA HA! I lost track of time but I think the tour lasted for an hour. After that, we were free to roam around the castle.
This is the assembly area for the guided group tour
On my way back to the hotel, I had to ask Dimitar for directions again but this time, I tried to do things on my own. As expected, things didn’t turn out very well:
I took the same route going to the bus stop at Brandweerkazerne. From afar, I saw my bus pass by and I had to run fast to catch it. That was really close!!! But at the train station, I think all my luck drained out because I missed my train. I was stuck at the entrance because I couldn’t find the gate for my ticket. There were like a row of gates for the chip cards — or I don’t know what they call them but my ticket was different because it comes with a QR code and the gates won’t accept it. I spent 20 minutes at the entrance trying to figure out how to make things work and asking people for help. Fast forward, the gate was just hidden around the corner and I had to wait for the next train.
Utrecht train station
It was a really cold evening and I had to endure the cold temperature and the light rain as I walked from the train station to my hotel.
By the end of the day, I still couldn’t believe I went that far. I had a lot of first times and I felt really proud of myself. My first solo trip is far from home and I made it safe and sound.
