night
In the last post, I mentioned going for a boat party down the River Thames. It seems to be like an Imperial College tradition (not too sure?), where the residents of halls dress up (semi-formal), pile onto a boat and sail down the Thames.
There were 3 decks on the boat with a dance floor (pretty much an empty space with music blasting) and a bar on the lower decks. I was hoping drinks would be free, but since we paid like £10 each for the party, it was no surprise that there wouldn't be free flow of drinks.
I had class from 9am-5pm that day, and was neither in the mood, nor had the money (£5 for a beer!) to party and get high. So I spent most of the boat ride on the upper deck admiring the London Skyline.
P.S. Sometimes I think i'm such a "boring" person by conventional societal standards. I never enjoyed drinking and partying the night away. Thought i'd be more "exciting" in London, well guess not. But thats ok. I don't have to conform!
London is absolutely beautiful at night. It was such a wonderful experience to have seen it while cruising down the river. The prominent landmarks of London like the Saint Paul's Cathedral, The Shard, The London Eye, Tower Bridge etc. all look amazing at night with the colourful lights.
This boat ride down River Thames was the 2nd time i've been on a boat ride at night.
My first experience was in Shanghai, down The Bund, 4 years ago. Till today, I still have a vivid memory of how gorgeous it was.
I must say, the boat ride down River Thames come in a close second, and i'll definitely remember this ride for a long time!
A Night in London, Down the River Thames
23 October 2014 River Thames, United Kingdom
It's my 2nd last day in Paris, feeling a little more than usual/than I expected (considering I'm coming back to Europe at the end of September). Flying in to Singapore 2 shades darker than when I first came to Paris, thanks to the wonderful weather in Nice.
Spent 4 days in Nice soaking up the sun and lazing on the ROCKY beach. This is the first time I have been on a rocky beach, and I must say, a sandy beach is a lot more enjoyable. Its almost impossible to walk barefoot on a rocky beach, well, unless you want to have some form of foot reflexology or be in pain the whole time haha!
Nevertheless, the beaches in Nice are GORGEOUS. Blue waters extending out to infinity and beyond accompanied by occasional strong waves. I had so much fun playing in the waters, picnicking and throwing stones with Jerald to see who could throw it further - I lost every time, damn.
It was enjoyable at anytime of the day, be it morning or night. It does get pretty chilly at night though, but watching the sun set and planes taking off at the far end of the beach was definitely a memorable sight.
The Beaches of Nice, France
14 September 2014 Nice, France
Finally edited the first set of photos for Amsterdam :) Shall split my Amsterdam blog post into 4 parts. 2 weeks ago, Jerald and I hopped on the Thalys Train to Amsterdam straight after my work. It was the first time I've taken an Intercity (Inter-country?) train and it was FUN! 3hrs of watching videos on the train ride, occasionally getting to see various suburban cities along the way. Pretty enjoyable indeed!
We alighted at Amsterdam around 8.45pm, and headed for our Airbnb. Below is the canal right outside our landlord's place. Amsterdam is BEAUTIFUL.
Stepping out of the train station, I was so in awe of the architecture of the station itself! People were really helpful too, a lady offered to take a photo for Jerald and I when she saw us hopelessly trying to take a selfie with this tower! Great first impression indeed!
Amsterdam is a lot less crowded compared to Paris, a lot cleaner, people speak FLUENT english, and the Dutch are really very genuine!
Morning along Magere Brug (otherwise known as Skinny Bridge)
There is just something so peaceful and serene about the winding canals. Very touristy, very cliché but not one bit disappointing. We did not get to go on a canal ride due to the schizophrenic weather, unfortunately.
Flavoured ciggarettes, Space cakes, Weed coffeeshops, condoms on display, lollipops with cannabis in 7-11, definitely only found in Amsterdam.
De Wallen - the infamous red light district.
Honeslty, it fell a little short of my expectations, nevertheless an interesting sight. I expected a little more.. honesty(?) in the environment, but it felt as if it was another tourist attraction like skits/a show put up to entertain tourist. Then again, it was filled with tourist, so no wonder.
Begijnhof - famous court where Beguines lived
We were eaves dropping to what a guide was explaining to a group of tourist on a walking tour, it's sad to hear about the discrimination the Catholics face because of the taking over of Protestants, and the Begijnhof being the only roman catholic institution existing.
Discrimination is just horrid under ANY circumstance, protestant to catholics, whites to blacks, europeans to asians (vice versa for all). Accompanied with the times i've been subtly discriminated during my time here, just makes me want to ask people, at which point in your life did somebody tell you that you were better than somebody else just because of your skin colour or the language that you speak? But more about this for another time.
Musicians playing on boats in the canals, definitely never boring! Even the guy living in the apartment above the canal stuck his head out to watch these 2 talented men.
Amsterdam by night is just as beautiful, and seemed really safe! Didn't have to constantly be on the look out for people who would randomly "knock" into be on the streets, partly because there weren't that many people to begin with!
On the last morning of our trip, we took a short walk and came across a quiet neighborhood with beautiful flowers along the roadside, and obviously, we had to stop and take photos. Nobody passes up photo opportunities with beautifully bloomed flowers.
Other tourist attraction we visited that we visited included Anne Frank's House (no pictures allowed unfortunately, but a very good musuem to visit), Alkmaar cheese market and Windmills in Zaanse Schans, the Heineken Experience, Vondelpark, Bloemenlarkt (flower market), Dam Square etc. Pictures in the upcoming posts :)
I'll be forever missing Amsterdam. It was such a refreshing change to see streets sans the multitude of cars, the old and young riding on bicycles carrying their luggage in one hand and navigating with another, people cycling along the canals on waterbikes, parties on a boat where everyone sings loudly to random songs as the boat cruises slowly. Amazing city with its own unique charm.
It was such an enjoyable long weekend! Really do hope to visit other cities in Netherlands one day!
Highlights of Amsterdam
27 August 2014 Amsterdam, Pays-Bas
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