There have been years when I visited more than twenty waterfalls, but that is over for various reasons. In 2023 I visited one waterfall only, during Chinese New Year, the Lata Juang.
As an octogenarian I have decided to visit only waterfalls with easy access “grandfather falls haha), so I was interested when my friend Edwin recently updated me about Lata Khong. When Khong and I “discovered” this waterfall, almost 20 years ago, access was already quite easy. Now the local Orang Asli community has made a cemented footpath for the last 100 meter to the fall , making access even easier. It makes sense they charge a small fee for parking and entry.
When we arrived in the kampung , we were shocked that access to the fall was impossible. An OA boy explained that a few days earlier the police had inspected the access road and decided that it was damaged/dangerous. Not really clear what kind of damage. Closure until January!. Read the hand-written notice.
That was disappointing, we had been driving from KL for about one hour, so what to do? The solution was to visit the Chamang waterfall near Bentong, another grandfather fall in the same region. I first visited this popular fall in 2004. The recent heavy rainfall made it even more impressive now.
Also here “development” has taken place, it is now called Taman Eko Rimba (Ecological Jungle Park) Chamang, with opening times and an entrance fee (RM 10 for me, a bit steep). There were a few tourists only, they stayed for a while at the huge signboard, then left.
Workers were constructing something new, we could not go down to the waterfall.
Which photo would you prefer?
Even with all the development the Chamang waterfall is still a very attractive one, but you must look for a suitable view point.
On our way back we had lunch at the Fantasy Valley restaurant in Kampung Bukit Tinggi. Very scenic location along the Tanglir river.
Aric ordered Claypot Prawn Glass Noodles and veggies. Big Udang Gala (Freshwater Prawns), not cheap, but so delicious!
Although we couldn’t visit Lata Khong, it was a very pleasant outing.
In the 1991 edition of the Guinness Book of Records the Mandelbrot Fractal is mentioned as Most complex object in mathematics? , with as explanation: A mathematical description of the shape’s outline would require an infinity of information and yet the pattern can be generated from a few lines of computer code.
Here is the Mandelbrot Fractal.
When you zoom in on the outline of the fractal, you will see more and more details.
And you will notice that there are smaller copies of the Mandelbrot.
Connected to the main shape in a complicated way.
Same shape, but often a bit distorted.
Infinite detail.
I learned about the Mandelbrot fractal around 1985 and got hooked right away ;-). On my PC I wrote programs to generate the Mandelbrot Fractal myself. In 1988 I attended a symposium organised by the Delft University, Fractals and Computed Art. I submitted one of my fractal images to a contest but didn’t win a prize :-(. I gave talks about the topic to my students and in 1990 to a group of senior citizens..
More than ten years later I built my own website and of course part of it was about fractals.One page, Fractals, describes in more detail than above my experiences with the Mandelbrot fractal. The page has many broken links. but is still worth reading . I also wrote a tutorial, (in Dutch). aimed at high school students, It became quite popular, because I had written a number of interactive Java applets, where you could play around with the various aspects of the Mandelbrot Fractal.
However, in the years that followed, it became more and more difficult (and now even impossible) to run Java applets, because of the security risks involved.
A few months ago, after talking with friends, I decided to translate the tutorial into English and look for a replacement of my applets. There are many interactive applications on the internet related to the Mandelbrot Fractal, but it took me time to find the ones that fit well with my tutorial.
I am very pleased with the final result. Click on the screenshot below to enter the tutorial.
My blog post headings tend to be descriptive rather than imaginative. Here is a blog post I wrote two years ago: Penang & Taiping, 2022 😉 . Very similar, first two nights in Penang, then one night in Taiping. But also different, in 2022 we went with friends, this time it was a trip of Aric and me, like the trips we made earlier to Teluk Intan, Seremban and Melaka.
On our way to Penang we stopped at the Sungai Perak R&R for coffee and Cekodok Pisang (fried banana balls).
We had lunch in Bukit Mertajam with Assam Laksa. Aric is an assam laksa fan and on our trips he is always looking for new laksa stalls. He has a website, Assam Laksa Review, which contains at the moment 28 Assam Laksa shops. This one was very good, Aric gave it a rating of 9 out of 10.
Crossing the (old) bridge to Penang island.
In Georgetown we usually stay in heritage hotels, but this time Aric had booked a very modern one, the OZO hotel in Argyll road. Interesting car parking, you drive the car in a lift, and then it is transported to its place. When you need it again, the car comes out of the lift, nicely rotated 180 degrees!
Another interesting detail, the lobby is at the 20th floor. We had a comfortable room on the 18th floor.
A room with a view !
Recently Aric had bought a new camera for time-lapse photography and that was the main reason he had booked this hotel. Here he installs the camera to take pictures every ten seconds.
After a short rest we went out again, to visit an art exhibition, the Galeri Khazanah. A temporary exhibition of Malaysian artists, from 19 July until 17 August, in the beautiful UAB building, the headquarters of Khazanah Nasional Berhad , the sovereign wealth fund of Malaysia.
Free access, after registration. An interesting collection with 46 diverse artworks by 31 modern and contemporary Malaysian artists.
A variety of styles, abstract, realistic etc.
Left the exhibition poster. The other two pictures show augmented reality artworks. The white base is empty, but after scanning a QR code , a 3D artwork appears for a while in your smartphone camera, positioned on the base. Amazing,
Our dinner plan was to go to a lok-lok restautant. In 2022 we visited with friends the Peng Hwa Lok Lok in Pulau Tikus (No 2 in the link above). But it was closed this time, so we went to another one, the Ah Beng Lok Lok at Padang Brown (No 1 in the link). Also closed! Then we realisded that probably the night before there had been a Hungry Ghost event. So we gave up and found another simple stall, where I had prawn mee (also known as Penang Hokkien mee).
Back in our hotel, we enjoyed the night view. This is a “normal” picture taken with my iPhone.
And here is the artwork made by Aric with his new camera. It is a collage of 150 time-lapse pictures, with a diagonal slice of each picture.
As we had a very early dinner (around 6 pm), we got a bit hungry and went out around 10:30 pm for supper. Within walking distance from our hotel, there is a popular restaurant for prawn mee and loh mee, the Green House. We had to queue! It received a Michelin Bib gourmand, never heard about it, it is a bit similar to what my friends here call VFM (Value for money). My second prawn mee this day, better than the first one 😉 .
Walking back to our hotel, I was as usual impressed by the beauty of Georgetown.
The next morning we had breakfast with fried carrot cake, pau and coffee, in a cafe near our hotel. Befiore checking out, we had a look at the infinity pool on the 22nd floor. OZO is a bit like a little brother of the iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore ;-).
One reason to visit Penang was to meet our friend Lim Chong Keat (LCK). He is the owner of the Bellevue Hotel on Penang Hill, we had booked to stay overnight there and had arranged to meet him in the afternoon. So we had a few hours to spend.
We drove to Bayan Lepas, near the airport. Aric knew about another laksa stall there, but first we visited a small waterfall, the Air Terjun Sg Ara. Never heard about it!
Unfortunately the laksa stall was closed, but nearby was a “famous” stall where they sold prawn crackers. We bought two and then went looking for another stall where we could have lunch.
We found another stall nearby where they sold Mee Siam, Mee Siam is a bit similar to Assam Laksa, it originated from Penang but can now be found all over Malaysia and in Singapore. Very tasty and the prawn crackers were the best I ever had.
After lunch, Aric suggested to visit the Wat Chayamangkalaram, a Thai Temple, famous for its large gold plated Reclining Buddha. The temple was founded in 1845 and is the oldest Siamese temple in the state of Penang.
The main hall , with the Reclining Buddha inside, is well guarded
The Reclining Buddha is one of the world’s longest (about 32 m from end to end). Very impressive.
The main hall also has a columbary.
You can spend hours here, but it was a very hot day and the bright sunlight was almost painful to the eyes.
Opposite the Siamese temple. there is a Burmese temple, the Dhammikarama temple. which is even older, founded in 1803. Both are Theravada temples. Because of the hot weather, we didn’t stay long.
Just a few more pictures. The pots in the pond are slowly rotating. The idea is to throw a coin into a pot, when you manage to do that , it will bring you good luck. Not easy.
When you are interested in Buddhism, you can just take a free book, but only when you are not a Muslim.
The two guys are happily carrying the temple bell.
At 4 pm we arrived at the family house of the Lim family. LCK was still talking with a group of botanists from the University of Malaya (UM).
With him we drove to the Bellevue hotel.
The Bellevue Hotel was originally the residence of William Halliburton, the first Sheriff of Prince of Wales Island, as Penang was called in those days. We have stayed a few times in the hotel , I love its old world charm. . The view from the veranda is fabulous.
We had a chat and a drink with LCK. He is an interesting personality, architect of the Komtar tower, now a botanist of international renown, with a wide interest in classical music, a “universalist” like his role model Buckminster Fuller.
A view of the hotel from the garden. And a view of Georgetown. In the garden a geodesic dome. There are many memories of Buckminster Fuller in the hotel.
We had local dishes for our dinner, prawns, veggie and tom yam soup.
Here is another creation by Aric, made with his new toy. This time it contains 30 time-lapse slices.
Rain during the night, still cloudy in the morning. Nice temperature.
The walls of the corridor have informative posters. We had a local breakfast, nasi lemak.
The hotel has an aviary, with several peacocks and other birds.
Around 11am we got transport down to our car. We drove back to the mainland where we found another laksa stall for our lunch. This time in Butterworth, not really special, Aric’s rating: 5-6 out of 10.
On our way to Taiping heavy rain. As usual I had booked “my” room in hotel Furama.
My friend George was also staying in Taiping, we are both friends of Suet Fun, so we invited Goerge & Jenny and Suet Fun & Peter for a dinner in Soon Lee. We thought no booking was needed, as it was the Hungry Ghost month, but that was a mistake, the restaurant was fully booked. So instead George suggested Restoran Kampoung Wan, a good alternative. Delicious food and a pleasant atmosphere.
The next morning we had breakfast in the Rainy Corner, around the corner from Furama. Very good coffee.
It is always a pleasure to be back in my adopted hometown. Here is the famous Dobi Line.
A few weeks ago I had received photos of the Lake Gardens, almost completely dried out after a long dry spell, unusual for rain town Taiping. Now the water level was back to normal.
This time I had a special reason to visit Taiping, I wanted to see how the reconstruction of the two pasar buildings was going on. To be honest, I was impressed by the progress. Left the former chicken, beef and mutton market in April, right how it looks now.
A few more pictures. I will not discuss the issue whether this kind of rebuilding contributes to heritage preservation, but at least they are rebuilding. I hope the original stall holders will return, a bit worried that it might become like Pasar Seni in KL.
A visit to Taiping is not complete without having a look at what I call the Shame of Taiping. The Rest House and the building next to it. The illegal entrance to the Perak Railway /PWD building is still there, but it was now in a makeshift way closed with iron wire. Good that I didn’t enter, because actually the inhabitant was sleeping.
The two heritage buildings have been neglected for many years. In 2019 I wrote a blog with the sarcastic title Taiping Bandar Warisan (Taiping heritage town) about them.
In my blogTaiping, April 2024 I mentioned that in March an ambitious project was launched . Quotes from that blog:
The ambitious plan is to restore/rebuild the two ruins and transform them in a 4-star boutique hotel! Many VIP’s were present. and The “Taiping Boutique Hotel” is expected to be completed in two years.
The glamorous posters are still there. But nothing else happened, as far as I know. Completed in two years ?
We took the old road to Kuala Kangsar and passed the tombs of Long Jaafar. Very well kept.
We stopped for a while in Kuala Kangsar, because I wanted to visit the grave of Major Hawkins. He died on 4 January 1876 during the Battle of Kota Lama , speared by a Malay warrior. Read my blog The Battle of Kota Lama for more info about this battle.
At Bukit Chandan, next to the former Government Rest House (now Casuarina Hotel) lies a small Christian cemetery. Part of it is a war cemetery, Only 16 graves from the Perak War (1875-1876). There is a memorial with information about this (minor) war. Sabri Zain who pointed out a mistake in my blog (right <-> left), told me about this grave. It was easy to find.
Our trip had a nice, unexpected ending. On our way back, Aric mentioned a Cave Temple that was clearly visible from the North-South highway, but where exactly he was not sure. Using Google we managed to find it, it is the Kong Fook Ngam temple.
The temple is just one of the many cave temples around Ipoh. Officially it is closed on a Monday.
But a friendly caretaker let us enter and told us that there was a “Crystal Cave” behind the actual temple. We were allowed to explore. What a spectacular surprise.
Here is a collection of pictures taken in the huge cave complex. Really amazing.
Back in the temple, I bought a candle and placed it at the Reclining Buddha.
What a trip! Full of variety. And yes, with a lot of food.
One year ago I joined Paul and Fahmi on a trip to Kota Bharu. This year they invited me again, a 3D2N trip to Muar. I had visited Muar more than 10 years ago, see my report Penarikan Recce. Here are two maps of Muar, one from ~1940, the other one a Google Earth screenshot. I have marked a few POI’s and the location of our homestay. A bridge across the Muar river has replaced the ferry.
When we arrived in Muar it was still too early to check in, therefore we first drove to Tanjung Emas, a public park near the mouth of the Muar River. It was a bit too hot to explore, we decided to come back in the evening.
Driving back to the town, we passed the impressive Sultan Ibrahim Jamek Mosque, constructed bewteen 1925 and 1930. This royal mosque looks more like a palace.
We passed the former High Court Buildings.
Before we had lunch, we visited some of the murals of Muar. In recent years there has been a proliferation of mural paintings in Malaysia, starting with the iconic ones of Zacharevic in Penang. Sometimes (often?) of mediocre quality. Muar is teeming with murals, and although there are enough of the simple ones, often depicting cartoon characters, there are also many that have artistic value. Commissioned by the town council? They show aspects of traditional culture, heritage and nature. Here are a few.
This huge one shows, in the form of a a mural, many of the heritage buildings of Muar.
For reasons unknown to me, Muar has been officially named (since 2012 only!) the RoyalTown of Johor (that should be Johor Bahru, right?). Muar, the town of Murals, would be more appropriate. Murals are really everywhere.
Time for lunch. We went to a famous Mee Bandung restaurant in the town center.
The food was nice. There was a photo collage of illustrious visitors on the wall, for example the Sultan of Johor 😉 .
Of course we had also our pictures taken. Maybe we will end up on the wall as well?
After our lunch we continued looking for more murals. I was surprised to find this collection of art works in one of the lorongs (back alleys). Not graffiti-based, but almost like in an art museum, complete with description tags!
I was pleasantly surprised by the general atmosphere of Muar. There are lots of nice facades, often painted in bright colors. Looking at the dates on several gables, the city must have had its heyday in the 1920s .
It is a very clean city, some lorongs are decorated with ornamental plants, the five-foot ways are well-kept, and everywhere you find rubbish bins.
Our homestay was modern and comfortable, three bedrooms with aircon and fans. In a nearby supermarket we bought some groceries and we took a rest.
In the evening we went out again to an open-air food court in the center of town, near the Muar river. Muar is the fourth-largest town of Johor, but it still has aspects of a fishing village. The food court had a very relaxed atmosphere. We had otak-otak, sata(r) and satay.
After our dinner we drove back to Tanjung Emas, where we walked around and took pictures. There were more people now, but not as many as I expected.
The next morning we went for breakfast to the cafe of Pak Inchik. I had Roti Pool, one of their specialities.
Starting our walk, we first had a look at the Muar High School. The building dates back to 1915.
We continued visiting more murals.
Of course there is more than only murals. Left the Old Dutch Houses, right the Nattukkottai Chettiars Temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan.
And I found one ruined colonial building. As my followers know, I have a fascination for those remains of past glory. I would have liked to explore inside (like I did and do in Taiping), but the building was thoroughly fenced.
We had coffee in a famous Muar cafe, named Kopi 434.
Finally a last round of murals. I always like the 3D-ones. The last one is also a bit 3D, a relief created against the wall. Beautiful
Asam Pedas (Sour and Spicy Fish) is a speciality of the region, there are many eateries serving it, but not for dinner. We found one for lunch, Pak Ndak, again beside the Muar river. They also served fresh oysters and we could not resist the temptation 😉 .
We had seen enough murals. Fahmi and Paul had found on Google that Muar had an Art Gallery. We decided to have a look and found that it was not an art gallery but, according to their FB, a “new community concept”, There was a cafe and a shop where they sold objects made of rubber tree wood. I was intrigued by a wooden phone holder, shaped as a resonator, to amplify the sound of the phone. I bought one 😉
Back to our homestay for a rest. Dinner later at a Malay restaurant, not far from our homestay, as we were lazy to drive again into town. We had nasi goreng, fried squid and Thai salad.
The next morning we checked out and went to Pak Inchik again for breakfast. This time I had Lontong, delicious.
One last POI during this trip, outside Muar, the Beca Gergasi Muar, a giant tricycle. You may wonder who decided to create this object here, in the middle of nowhere.
Halfway on our way back, we stopped for lunch in Tampin (Negeri Sembilan). The Lomak Salai restaurant is really an experience, a kind of Malay style IKEA restaurant.
You just take a trolley, and collect the dishes you want. A place to keep in mind for a next visit.
It was an interesting trip, well organised by Fahmi and Paul. Fahmi is a vlogger with his own YouTube Channel . He created a vlog about this trip, have a look.
Usually I celebrate my birthday privately, at home with a birthday cake or in a restaurant with a nice dinner. The exception was my 60th birthday, which I celebrated with a small group of friends at Maxwell Hill, here is the report: My 60th Birthday 17-4-2004 . In Chinese astrology there are 12 zodiac signs and 5 elements, after 5×12 year your life cycle is full and a new one starts. That’s why that birthday is an important one for Chinese. By the way, I am a Wood Monkey.
Of course, reaching eighty and becoming an octogenarian is considered a milestone by many. But statistically it is the last milestone I will pass and that gives me mixed feelings.
Therefore I wasn’t planning to have a special celebration this year. Aric and I had booked an overnight stay in Colmar Tropicale on 16 April. But Aric’s relatives consider me part of the family and insisted that I should at least have a birthday dinner with them.
We had this dinner in Sg Besar, not far fromParit Baru, Aric’s hometown. One week earlier, on 10 April. Interesting cultural difference, in many Western countries it is considered bad luck to celebrate a birthday BEFORE the actual date, but ih Chinese culture it is taboo to celebrate it AFTER the actual date ! So we followed the Chinese tradition 😉 .
Aric and I arrived early in Parit Baru and had enough time to relax and walk around a bit.
The family had booked a private room in a seafood restaurant in Sg Besar. Two tables, 18 pax.
Left the senior table, of course I was by far the oldest. Right the table with Aric’s nephews and nieces.
Aric had gone to the restaurant in the afternoon to discuss the menu. As he knows my food , preferences, it was a very delicious dinner, here are the dishes.
From left to right, top row: Seafood Noodles,Steamed Chicken (a restaurant speciality), Prawn Curry. Middle row: Deep Fried Cuttlefish, Steamed Pomfret. Vegetables with special Sauce. Bottom row: Tofu Soup with crabmeat, Fresh Clam Soup, Steamed Yam with Pumpkin and Ginkgo .
After the dinner there was the traditional birthday cake. Not just an odrinary cake, but a durian cake for Uncle Jan ;-). A real beauty.
Blowing out the candles (while doing a wish) and cutting the cake.
The traditional group photo.
One week later, on the eve of my birthday, we drove to Colmar Tropicale. When we checked in at the reception, they told us that we got an upgrade to a suite. Almost an apartment, with a separate livingroom.
We had a nice view of the surrounding forest and even got company from a family of Dusky Leaf Monkeys.
Colmar Tropicale is a kind of extravagant “folly”, based on the French town of Colmar in the Alsace. It is basically a hotel, where the rooms are located in the various French houses. There are a few restaurants but there is not much else to do. We walked around and took pictures.
We had dinner in one of the restaurants and walked a bit more. Romantic atmosphere.
This photo was taken 5 minutes after midnight. I am an octogenarian now
Breakfast was included in the room rate. They had made an attempt to make it Western/French, even with a variety of cheese. But hahal, no pork or bacon.
After breakfast we enjoyed the cool fresh atmosphere. It had rained during the night and was still foggy, very scenic.
Before driving back to KL, we visited the Japanese Garden. A popular tourist attaction, with many flowers, even an (artificial) waterfall. Visitors can rent Japanese clothes.
Our plan was to have lunch in the Wonderland Valley restaurant, but they had their weekly closing day. So instead we went home and in the evening had a sumptuous Korean BBQ dinner.
I had told my friends that I was not going to have a gathering for my birthday. However, a few of my waterfall friends called me that they wanted to drop by for a short while and give me a present. How could I refuse that 😉 ? Here is the present they gave, a waterfall puzzle. For me a symbolic gift, as I had decided some time ago that I would no longer take part in “real” waterfall exploration.
I may write another blog post later about getting old.
This is the last part of my journal about my Dutch trip 2024. Here are part1, part 2 and part 3. The last week of my stay was more relaxed than the hectic first month.
Wednesday 29 May
A (rainy) rest day. In one week time I will fly back to Malaysia. Enjoying another raw herring for lunch.
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Thursday 30 May
In the morning I took my bicycle to visit the Amstel park. It has a famous rhododendron valley and I was hoping to see it in full bloom. But I was too late, only a few bushes were still in bloom. The weather was nice and the park is beautiful.
In the afternoon I visited my friend Lambert again in the care home. I had bought some cake to cheer him up.
Friday 31 May
My friend Yolanda celebrated her 75th birthday and organised a party. Here she is, radiant as ever, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
It was a pleasant meeting, followed by a nice Japanese style dinner. In the left photo I am making a toast with Angela, one of Yolanda’s oldest friends.
Saturday 1 June
In part 2 of my journal I wrote that my waterfall gang had presented me with a jigsaw puzzle for my 80th birthday. And that the puzzle was a VERY difficult one, without much structure. Actually it was TOO difficult for me, I hardly made any progress. I asked my siblings if any of them was interested and my brother Ruud wanted to give it a try. As I had sorted the puzzle pieces according to color, I put them back in separate plastic bags. I wish him good luck.
Sunday 2 June
A visit to Alphen aan den Rijn, my hometown. My youngest brother is living now in the ancestral home with his family. I arrived by train, he was waiting for me. In the right picture I am standing in the garden. The top window was in my room, when I was a teenager. The family has been living in this house for 75 years!
The front garden is often admired by passers-by. In the backyard I had a chat with Nina, my sister-in -law.
As usual we visited my parents’ grave and planted some new shrubs.
When we were kids, my mother got help from a young girl, Janny, who soon became a friend of the family. When my brother told me that she was still alive, now 88 year old, I said that I would love to meet her. It was a remarkable meeting, she told us many details about her and our past. She started helping my mother in 1949, when she was only 13 year old. A few years later she went to the Martha Stichting in Alphen , a home for uncared for children. I always thought she was there as a pupil, but she explained that she worked there as a group leader. A very nice meeting.
After bringing her back home, Otto brought me to the Martha Stichting, now no longer a home, but a beautiful park. The right photo show the main building, now an Arts Center, called Park Villa.
A beautiful park surrounds the buildings. When I was a kid, it was out of bounds and the Martha Stichting had a rather negative reputation.
I used my visit to Alphen to cast my vote for the European elections, held in the Netherlands on 6 June. As I don’t have my domicile anymore in the Netherlands, I am a postal voter, so I needed stamps to send my vote. Otto provided the stamps 😉
Before I left Alphen, I had dinner with Otto and my two nephews, prepared by Nina, wo had to work that evening. Xander and Aswin are identical twins, when they were kids I could not tell them apart, but they have developed differently and now I can 😉
Monday 3 June
n the morning Annelies, a former colleague, came to visit me in Backershagen. We had coffee and cake and had a lot to talk about, because we hadn’t seen each other in years.
The last few days before my departure, I always am busy preparing the apartment, washing bedsheets, vacuuming the floor etc. I have to empty and clean the fridge, so I try to get myself invited for dinner 😉 Usually Inez does that the last night, but she was not free that day. Instead I visited her one day earlier, she had prepared a nice Dutch meal, melon with smoked ham as a starter, meatballs and spinach as main.
Tuesday 4 June
The last evening for departure I visited my friends Johan and Edmund in Vinkeveen. We had a drink in their nice garden and enjoyed Surinam food, prepared by Edmund.
A view from their garden and Edmund’s meal, BBR (brown beans and rice), a popular Surinam dish.
Wednesday 5 June
My brother Pim picked me up at 6pm, we were early at Schiphol airport, time enough after check in to enjoy a coffee and a snack.
Schiphol can be overcrowded with long queues for the security check, but this time it was a breeze. The flight was full, but I managed to sleep a few hours.
Back in Malaysia now and trying to overcome my jet lag
This is part 3 of my Dutch trip report after part 1 and part 2. Mostly meetings with friends, a busy program.
Thursday 16 May
I met Mike and Marjan in Malaysia through the Dutch Expat Society, almost 20 years ago. We became friends and after they returned to the Netherlands we kept in touch. This time I visited them in Huizen, where they liveow and where Marjan had prepared a nice pasta dinner.
Friday 17 May
I had planned a visit to my former principal Carel Poeder and his wife Joanne, but I felt exhausted after meeting family and friends almost every day, so I needed a rest day. Pity.
Saturday 18 May
A meeting with my nephew Aswin. We had a beer in the Blue Tea House in the Vondelpark. It was beautiful weather,
And we enjoyed a beer from the local Amsterdam brewery ‘t IJ (try to pronounce it when you are not Dutch).
Sunday 19 May
I went by train to Gouda where Nellisa and Ed were waiting for me at the station. We share an interest in naturism. In Malaysia it is frowned upon, but in Europe it gets more and more common. Ed and Nellisa have a house in Gouda, but in the summer season they stay on the naturist campsite De Bessenhof in Reeuwijk. A very pleasant visit. More pictures on request haha.
Monday 20 May
Lunch with Roald, once my student, now a friend, we know each other more than forty years. We met at a very interesting restaurant, A Beautiful Mess , run by people with a refugee background. Delicious food from various cuisines. I also met Stefan, Roald’s husband.
Tuesday 21 May
Meeting ex-colleague Rene and his wife Caroline in Nieuwegein. Has become a tradition, either my place or theirs. Always a pleasure.
Wednesday 22 May
Dinner with another ex-colleague, Dick, in restaurant Elements, another tradition. It is a training restaurant of a vocational school. Students have to show their skills, both in the kitchen and in the restaurant. Very good service, creative dishes and not expensive.
I had Tataki (Japanese) , Coquille (French) , Sea Bass (?) and Kheer (Indian). All delicious , and including wine only 42 Euro pp.
Another beautiful day. Sunset at 9:37 pm as seen from my apartment. In a few weeks time it will be the Summer Solstice.
Thursday 23 May
During my stay in the Netherlands, my soulmate Inez and I always try to organise an outing. This time we went to Den Bosch on a day trip. I took so many pictures that I decided to write a separate blog about the day: Dat gaat naar Den Bosch toe. Highlight of the trip was a canal cruise on the Binnendieze.
We came back in Amsterdam quite early and I was so excited about A Beautiful Mess, that I invited Inez for dinner there. She was enthusiastic too.
Friday 24 May
Our UK friend Rodney arrived by plane in the afternoon, I had to prepare my room as a guestroom for him. In the evening we went out for some shopping. He liked the green environment of my apartment.
Saturday 25 May
A full walking day in town. As I have only one bike, we had to walk to the nearest public transport, about 10-15 minutes away. I live in a suburb of Amsterdam, with lots of green.
We started at the Leidseplein, from where we walked to the town center. Rodney had visited Amsterdam about forty years ago, so everything was more or less new to him. The FEBO is an iconic automat fast-food restaurant, an Amsterdam icon. We also had a look at the flower market.
We visited the Begijnhof, a courtyard with almshouses, dating back to the 14th century.
|And of course the Royal Palace and the National Monument on the Dam Square.
Walking to the Pancake Bakery for lunch, we had a look at the Westerkerk and passed the Anne Frank House.
The Leliegracht, one of the lesser canals, very picturesque
In the Pancake Bakery we had the traditional Dutch bacon pancake with syrup.
We finished the day with a quiet dinner at home. We walked more than 12.000 steps, not bad for two octogenarians.
Sunday 26 May
Rodney had shown interest in the Van Gogh museum, so I had booked tickets for it. We had a time slot, but still there was a big crowd.
Here are a few pictures of Van Gogh’s paintings. The Potato Eaters (1885) and Tree Roots (1890), the year he ended his life.
One of his famous sunflower paintings and one of his Irises paintings
It was the first time in decades that I visited the Van Gogh museum. Not being a fan, I found it more interesting than I expected. But what made my visit special, was the temporary exhibition of Matthew Wong, a Chinese-Canadian artist , who was inspired by van Gogh.
Here are two of his fascinating paintings. More about him in my museum blog (hopefully to be published soon).
Monday 27 May
After two busy days, we took it easy, as Rodney was flying back in the afternoon. I found that there was another FEBO in the shopping mall near my apartment. We had a light lunch there. Rodney is holding in his hand the famous Dutch kroket.
Tuesday 28 May
Then it was time for me to transform the guestroom back into my office. My first rest day after a long time.
When I am back in the Netherlands, it has become a tradition to have an outing with my “soul mate” Inez. This time our destination was ‘s Hertogenbosc, the capital city of the North Brabant province. The name of the town is usually shortened to Den Bosch. Dat gaat naar den Bosch toe (That goes to Den Bosch) is the title of a Dutch folk song. Click here to listen.
It is less than one hour by train from Amsterdam. We arrived around 11 am and first went for coffee with a Bossche Bol.
We were lucky that we could get tickets for the Binnendieze cruise, because it is a popular tourist attraction and tickets for that day were almost sold out.. The Binnendieze is a river/canal system within the city walls of Den Bosch, very different from the Amsterdam canals, because a large part is vaulted.
The boats are electric “whisper” boats and as most of the canals are at the back of houses, you don’t hear the din of the city life. Amazing. Our experienced guide told many interesting details about the history of these waterways.
Here are a few more photos. The canals are so narrow that you have to keep your hands inboard and sometimes duck your head. Does the last photo remind you of Gaudi? The architect who restored this vault, was clearly inspired by him 😉
The cruise took about one hour and was the highlight of our outing. But Den Bosch has much more to offer. We walked to the market with the statue of Hieronymus Bosch, who lived here
And we visited the St. John’s Cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, with a complicated building history (1220–1530).
Many artworks inside
Visiting a church I always like to light a candle (and make a wish). The organ of the cathedral is one of the most important ones in the Netherlands.
The Noordbrabants Museum was next on our to-do list, but Inez suggested that we should visit first the Slager museum, dedicated to the many painters in the Slager family. I had never heard of them, apparently they were well known in Den Bosch.
Left an interesting painting by Piet Slager sr, depicting the veterans of the Battle of Waterloo. Right the world-famous painting of the Marskramer (the Wayfarer) by Hieronymus Bosch. But wait a minute, something must be wrong, that painting is in the Boymans museum in Rotterdam!
Actually the paining is a reconstruction of the original. The museum shows reconstructions of many masterworks in a temporary exhibition Het Geheim van de Meester (The Secret of the Master). Click here for an explanation (in Dutch).
After our lunch we visited the Noordbrabants museum for a short while, as we had to board the train to Amsterdam before 4 pm (our tickets not being valid during rush hours). The museum has a good collection of paintings by Jan Sluyters.
Click here for a report about the first part of my trip. The last journal entry was about Remembrance Day on Saturday 4 May.
Sunday 5 May
Using bicycle, tram and bus I went to Ouderkerk, where I met Henk and Marian. Henk is a former colleague from the university. We had lunch and I admired their beautiful “wild” garden.
On the fifth of May 1945, Germany capitulated in the Netherlands and each year this is celebrated as Liberation Day. In the same location as on Remembrance Day, one day earlier, a Big Band played a medley of old songs for a (mainly) senior audience. Nice weather.
Monday 6 May.
A rest day. My waterfall “gang” had given me a jigsaw puzzle as a present for my 80th birthday., With a waterfall of course ;-). They didn’t know that in my family we like to do jigsaw puzzles, so I brought it with me to Amsterdam, planning to “solve” it first myself and then share it with my siblings. Soon I discovered that this is a VERY difficult puzzle, without much structure. I may not be able to finish it before I fly back to Malaysia.
Tuesday 7 May
In the afternoon I visited again my friend Lambert, who is at the moment staying in a care home. It was a beautiful day and after having a cup of tea with him, I decided to visit the museum Het Schip, a 20 minute walk away.
I had to cross the Westerpark. In the past there was a gas factory here, heavily polluted, after a lot of cleaning it is now an attractive park. Left the monumental villa of the chief engineer. No tulips anymore, it is now the rhododendron season
Het Schip (The Ship) is a masterpiece of the Amsterdam School architecture. designed in 1919 as a housing complex for the working classes. I had visited the museum several times, click here for a visit in 2017.
This iconic image you will find in any article about the Amsterdam School. Right a detail.
This time I joined a guided tour, where you visit parts of the complex that are not open to the public. We first visited the former post office.
The living conditions for the poor were atrocious in those days and a basement slum has been reconstructed. Up to seven people lived here in one room. The other picture shows the living room of an apartment in the housing complex.
I am planning to write a separate blog about the museums I visited during this trip, with more details and photos.
Wednesday 8 May
A lunch with friends from my school past. It has become a yearly tradition. This time Atie, the wife of my former vice-principal had invited us and prepared a nice lunch. Of course we had enough to chat about. Another occasion where I was the youngest in the company 😉
Thursday 9 May
The start of my “expedition”. With my siblings we had planned on 11 May a reunion in Franeker, where Nanda is living, the partner of my brother Pim. I decided to combine it with visits to my sister Lous in North-Holland and my brother Ruud in Groningen.
I took a train to Schagen where my sister was already waiting for me. We had a relaxing afternoon in their bungalow. They have a big garden and use a “robot mower” to keep the grass trimmed short. Interesting variation on the robot vacuum cleaner that we use in Malaysia.
For dinner Lous and Arend took me to Warmenhuizen, a small village near Schagen. What a surprise to find there the Globe Streetfood Restaurant , where food from all over the world is served in a friendly atmosphere.
Here are a few of the dishes we ordered. From left to right Crunchy tacos salmon, Duck Gyoza and Flammkuchen. Here is the menu. Worth coming back.
Back home I took a picture of the sunset. A few weeks earlier Lous had taken a photo of the same view (compare the trees). Spectacular, could win a prize in a photo contest.
Friday 10 May
We visited the Huis van Hilde (Hilde’s House), the archeology museum of the province of North-Holland. Again only a few pictures in this journal, more in a separate museum blog.
The museum exhibits many objects, found during excavations. Also skeletons. Some of these skeletons have been used to “recreate” the people and dress then in the clothes that were in use during their lifetime. Fascinating, here are a few pictures.
And three more. From left to right Cees (Stone Age), HIlde (4th century) and Jan (still alive). A very interesting museum.
We had lunch in Hargen aan Zee in a beach restaurant, Here is the North Sea and the beach.
Saturday 11 May
The next morning we drove over the Afsluitdijk to Franeker, where we met the rest of my family. Pity that Lous and Nina could not join. We had coffee and sandwiches in Nanda’s garden, beautiful weather.
Franeker is a small town with a rich historical past, It had the second-oldest university of the Netherlands, after Leiden. It is famous for its Planetarium, the oldest working orrery in the world and since 2023 a UNESCO World Heritage site. Now so popular that you have to book a timeslot for your visit. Pim and Nanda had done that for us. It’s only a short walk from Nanda’s house. Here we are waiting at the Planetarium for our turn.
The planetarium (orrery) was built from 1774 to 1781 by Eise Eisinga, a rich wool merchant and amateur astronomer. The planets move in real time, so you can not see them move.
The orrery is located at the ceiling of the living room. One floor up is the complicated mechanism to keep everything moving. I had visited it decades ago and forgotten the details. Impressive.
There was time enough to visit the Martena Museum. Built in 1506 as a city castle in Franeker. Now a museum about the history of Franeker.
The Martinikerk was built in the 14th century. Although I am not a believer, I always burn a candle and do a wish 😉 .
Before walking to a restaurant, we had a drink.
We had our dinner in de Stadsherberg. I had apergetartaar as starter and kalfssukade as main. Click here for the menu (in Dutch).
After this nice reunion dinner, I joined Ruud and Jur to Groningen.
Sunday 12 May
We decided to have a lazy Sunday and enjoy the nice weather in the garden. A big garden needs maintenance, here Jur is watering the plants.
We went out for dinner to restaurant Garnwerd aan Zee. Actually it is not located “on sea”, but far inland.
Another nice meal, although we had to wait very long for our main dish. However they apologised and offered us a drink “on the house”. I had blinis with smoked salmon as starter and a lamb skewer on tzatziki as main. It looks like global cuisine is getting popular in the Netherlands 😉 .
On our way back to Groningen. Can it be more Dutch?
Monday 13 May
On my way back to Amsterdam I decided to have a short stopover in Leeuwarden to meet my friend Nellie. We met as freshmen at the university in 1961, became friends and try to meet each other when I am back in the Netherlands. Behind me the Court of Justice and behind Nellie the Fries museum.
We had coffee and lunch, I had the traditional uitsmijter, two eggs with ham and cheese on bread.
That was the end of my expedition. Nice but a bit tiring for a senior 😉 .
Tuesday 14 May
Lunch with two friends who I had met on Kingsday (see 27 April) . Tulip time was over, I bought roses.
A selfie with Wout and Han.
Wednesday 15 May
Coffee with my former colleague Hans (see 8 May) and dinner with Nico, Paul’s brother in the Entrepot restaurant in Amsterdam. Popular, good reviews, a bit too expensive.
From left to right Raw Sea Bass (nice), Gnocchi (a bit too cheesy) and Lamb (delicious). With wine etc 90 Euro pp.
This time I will report about my trip to the Netherlands in the form of a Journal. Here is part 1. I booked a KLM trip this time, because they have now a direct flight from KLIA to Schiphol. I will stay almost 7 weeks, hoping Aric could join me for 1-2 weeks, but he couldn’t take leave from his laundry business.
Monday 22 April
We decided to go to KLIA early, and have “dinner” there after check-in. There were still nice Hari Raya decorations at the airport.
After taking leave from Aric, he watched me passing passport control.
As I expected, it was a full flight (starting from Jakarta)
Departure was at about midnight, supper was served. Not bad.
Here is the flight route we took, a bit longer than usual because of adverse weather conditions. I can never sleep well in a plane, but I was still reasonably fit on arrival. The pilot announced that ground temperature was 0 degrees! I decided not to take a taxi, but the train to the Amsterdam Zuid station. Here I am in the train.
Tuesday 23 April
It’s a 20 minutes walk from the station to my apartment. Cold, but a beautiful blue sky.
View from my apartment. Of course I had to switch on the central heating 😉 .
After a few hours sleep I went to the nearby AH supermarket to buy food. Herring, Dutch cheese, strawberries. buttermilk. And flowers. I bought two bunches of tulips, later my friend Yolanda came to say hello and brought another bunch. Tulip country!
Wednesday 24 April
Still very cold. My apartment is on the 13th floor, with a good view of the surroundings.
A recovery day, although I had no jetlag problem. But I had a problem with my local network. Aric helped me (from Malaysia!) to solve it. Shopping again. for dinner, traditional Dutch fare. Wine and whisky are much cheaper than in Malaysia.
Thursday 25 April
Start of my “social” agenda. I try to avoid two “dates” on the same day, but that is not always possible. My soul mate Inez came to my apartment for lunch and I went to my brother Pim for dinner. He had prepared asparagus with smoked salmon. Strawberries with cream as dessert. Delicious.
Friday 26 April
Another double date. My former student Wim visited me in Backershagen for lunch. Later I had dinner with Yolanda, It has become a tradition that we have a “luxury” dinner during my Dutch trips. She selects a restaurant, this time it was De Plantage next to Artis, the Amsterdam Zoo. A popular venue, you have to book a time slot! Very relaxed atmosphere.
An unusual starter, octopus. Delicious. Main course was “diamanthaas” (Google translates it as chuck tender)And the dessert was “Heavenly Mud” With aperitive, wine and coffee we paid 135 Euro. Really a place to visit again.
As we had a lot to talk about, our time slot expired, but no problem, we had our dessert and coffee in the adjoining cafe.
Saturday 27 April
King’s Day, when the birthday of the King is celebrated is the most popular holiday in the Netherlands. . An estimated 1 million (!) people visit Amsterdam that day, making the city center too overcrowded for me. But I always like to visit the Vondelpark, where kids sell their toys and collect some coins by playing music. Also crowded but still acceptable.
Many people are wearing orange, or the colors of the Dutch flag. I have some decorations at home, but I am too shy to wear them in public. Actually I am against the monarchy, although I like the festivities.
Kids playing music.
Friends of mine are living next to the park and always sell objects they don’t need anymore in their household. I had coffee there, before I walked back through the park to the place where I had parked my bicycle.
There was some rain in the morning, but in the afternoon it became pleasant weather.
Everything is well organised by the town council. Extra large rubbish bins are placed everywhere, and there is medical post. just in case.
One last impression. I was lucky to find back my bicycle (the left one with the red cable lock).
Sunday 28 April
A well-deserved rest day
Monday 29 April
Visiting Lambert, an old friend. Slowly the weather is getting better. Tulips everywhere and a real sunset.
Tuesday 30 April
By train to Utrecht where I met another Yolanda, a former student, for lunch. Utrecht is one of my favourite towns, with its terraces along the canals. Suddenly this day it was almost summer, we had lunch outside.
For lunch we had a very typical Dutch speciality, kroketten (croquettes) on bread.
We walked back to the station, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
Wednesday 1 May
Labour Day! The Netherlands must be one of the few countries where it is not a holiday. I had invited former student Raoul and his Thai husband Aunn for dinner at my apartment.
Time for a selfie, taken by Raoul.
I had prepared my “famous” meatballs. Unfortunately we had so many things to chat, that I forgot to check the roast potatoes. Rather overburnt 🙁
Thursday 2 May
Another rest day
Friday 3 May
Inez had booked two tickets for the Frans Hals exhibition in the Rijksmuseum and asked me if I would like to join her. When we arrived at the museum we were shocked by the crowd and then realised that it was school holidays. There was such a long queue for the cloakroom, that I decided to skip it. I had to carry my backpack on the front 😉
Even with time slots it was still crowed in the exhibition rooms. Not easy to take pictures.
Sometimes I had to wait quite some time until no people were blocking my view.
I liked the portraits. Here are a few. Many show people enjoying a drink.
Frans Hals was famous for his schutterstukken (group portraits of civilian militias). Here is a beautiful one.
I will probably visit more museums during this trip and may write a separate blog about them. After our visit we had lunch with a traditional “broodje halfom”, a sandwich topped with slices of liver and pickled meat.
Saturday 4 May
The 4th of May is Remembrance Day in the Netherlands. At 8 pm there are two minutes of silence all over the country. When I was a student, I always went to the Dam Square where the Queen laid a wreath at the national monument. Nowadays I prefer the smaller, more intimate ceremony near my apartment. A pity that it had started raining. There were a few speeches.
Then the Last Post is played, while everyone is standing.
After the Last Post the street lights turn on, to signal the two minutes of silence. Then the National Anthem is sung. Wreaths are placed at the small monument. I am not a nationalist, but I always find this ceremony moving.
