Belgium - Antwerp

Belgium is the 10th country i had ever been. At first we didnt plan to go Belgium, but since Amsterdam was so bored and it only took 1 day trip there, so we decided to pay Euro 53 for the trip. The first stop of Belgium is Antwerp. On the way to Antwerp, we saw a very nice Amsterdam village scenery. Me especially like the below wind turbine. In fact i though it is very fascinating and romantic when i saw it from the plane for the first time.Upon reaching Antwerp, suddenly i had a deja-vu. It seem like i had dream this place before. Especially when i saw those building on the hill after the flyover...I would like to take a photo but the bus passby very fast.Well, either dream of it or not, at least i am here la.

The first thing i remember of Belgium is the people here were drinker. Unlike other country, they start to drink since lunch time.So dont you beat them on the drinking the beer. When there is a supply, there will also be a demand. In belgium, they had more than 200 brands of beer.
First, we went to the market square of Antwerp. This square was surrounded by town hall or guilds house (sound like some name in pc game). on top of each guilds house, there is a symbol telling you what is the business of this guilds horse. Ie, if it is a house, then this guilds house is deal with horse.
Also there are some monument in the square.
Hilton hotel in the square. I only know now that Antwerp is the Diamond Center of the World! Oh really? i can't see even a diamond here?!
This is how they move house. No wonder staircase is so small in the building. Rupa-rupanya they like to use window instead of staircase. I think Ikea can get a good business here.
Street of Antwerp. We have our lunch here. Actually the most famous food in belgium is mussel. However we didnt try it as we afraid not enough time. (i think we only left about half an hour) and most of the cafe was full of people. So we took McDonald instead, and guess what, it cost E7 per pax! Some more i need to pay E0.40 for the toilet!! what the fxxk! So what the moral behind this story?? Eat mussel when you are in Belgium, dont eat McD!
Yummy nice cake in a cake shop.
View of Antwerp old city. The Cathedral was really huge and the architecture is damm nice. However with my lousy compact camera, i cant event shooting a full view of its door.
Another monument beside Antwerp river.
Antwerp river. I saw an old building along the river when the bus drive through. Actually i plan to walk to that building and took photo. But again, you know is this following a trip, not enough time. Sienz...........

Total spending in Amsterdam

As usual, a backpacker was most concern on the cost. I divided it into necessary cost and unnecessary cost. Necessary cost mean the money that must be spend. Such as hotel, food, entrance ticket, transportation. Unnecessary cost mean the money spend for buying souvenir and etc.

Transportation from airport to hotel = E4.30

Hotdog for lunch = E2.50

Volendam-Marken half day excursion = E32

Ann Frank house entrance ticket = E8.50

Van Gogh museum entrance ticket = E12

Nadia hotel 2 nights = E105

Manneken pis fries = E2

Dinner = E1.50

Waffle Biscuit 2 packs = E4.50

Sex museum entrance ticket = E3

Hardrock T shirt = E25.45

Boot = E29.95

Lunch at Volendam = E6

Bread for dinner = E1.18

Hot Chocolate = E1.70

Tram ticket = E2.60

Tipping for excursion = E0.50 - never though we need to pay the tips too

Toilet entrance fees =E0.50 - you need to pay for most of the toilet.

Postcard = E1

Total spending = Euro 243.18 (RM1240) = for 2 days and 2 nights

(necessary spending = Euro 186.78, unnecessary spending =Euro 56.40)

Actually we can save more on the hotel, if we get cheaper hotel, then can save another E30 - 40. However i had a very good experience with Nadia hotel so i think is worth to pay for it. No cost for breakfast cause the hotel provide us breakfast)

There is a reason why Amsterdam had so many canal. It is act to control the water level in the city. After the dam had build, Holland successfully claims back a lot of land from the sea. Huh, a war between human and natural. However with the global warming become so serious nowadays, i do not know how long can everything last. What will happen to dutch when the sea reclaims the land. The buildings behind me are classified as dangerous building due to the soft land. We can see very clearly that it is sinking, and it will continues to sink.

Some other things in Amasterdam

On 19 Sept, is the Dam to Dam run event in amsterdam. The street was full with people. However, they are walking rather than running.On 20th Sept, is another Dam run, but this time is cycling. Road was closed for car.The whole city is jam pack with tourist, bicycles...
Perhaps this is the smallest car i ever seen.
Some interesting candy! Think of buying but once again there is no room in my luggage. Furthermore it is not cheap too. 1 cost about E4.
The famous fries! Manneken pis on the street.
Yummy, this is the medium size and both of us cannot finish it. But it is much more tasty than MacDonald one for sure.

Marken

Marken is another lovely small fishing village. From Volendam, we took a boat ride to Marken. The whole journey took about 15 min.Port of Volendam.
Port of Marken. Look like some exclusive holiday villa with private boat.
The houses here look very alike with the houses in Volendam. We were taking a walking tour. We came out from another end of village after 15min.
The most lovely house in Marken. It is so colorful, well maintain and small! From the clothes hanging, i think it is belong to a male. Another interesting is people here hang the clothes without using clip. They just slot the clothes into the string. It is because wind is too strong over here,clip cannot stand the wind.On the way back to Amsterdam, i fully understand what does the sea level higher than the ground mean, however it look quite safe for me.