12/13 Sept 2009 Netherland
Today was the first day of our 14-day Europe trip. The first stop would be Netherland. Here, we were going to visit Amsterdam including a glass domed canal cruise seeing Amsterdam, wooden clog and cheese farm, Gassan Diamond Factory, Red Light District and Dam Square.
Glass Domed Canal Cruise Seeing Amsterdam
This was a cruise along the widest river in Netherland. There was audio description telling you some attraction at both sides of the river. One unique thing we saw was the houses' design, which was usually tall and skinny, with a small door and big windows.
This is due to the fact that in older days, their government charged door taxes based on the door size. So the people make their house with small doors, just enough for a regular person to get through to save their taxes. Also, since land is expensive, they build their houses taller and skinny.
You must be surprised how the furniture get in with such a small door. Well, there is a hook on the top used to transport their large furniture from ground to the upper floor through their big window.
Below are some pictures captured during the cruise:
Today was the first day of our 14-day Europe trip. The first stop would be Netherland. Here, we were going to visit Amsterdam including a glass domed canal cruise seeing Amsterdam, wooden clog and cheese farm, Gassan Diamond Factory, Red Light District and Dam Square.
Glass Domed Canal Cruise Seeing Amsterdam
This was a cruise along the widest river in Netherland. There was audio description telling you some attraction at both sides of the river. One unique thing we saw was the houses' design, which was usually tall and skinny, with a small door and big windows.
This is due to the fact that in older days, their government charged door taxes based on the door size. So the people make their house with small doors, just enough for a regular person to get through to save their taxes. Also, since land is expensive, they build their houses taller and skinny.
You must be surprised how the furniture get in with such a small door. Well, there is a hook on the top used to transport their large furniture from ground to the upper floor through their big window.
Below are some pictures captured during the cruise:
Pic: Build their home on a boat 
Gassan Diamond FactoryRight after the boat ride, we were in front of Gassan Diamond Factory. Finally, we had the chance to look at real diamonds. The lady in the office showed us different grades of diamond, with different size, cutting, and color.
pic: some of the items sold in Gassan:
Red Light District
It is a neighborhood where businesses connected to the sex industry (sex shope, strip clubs, adult theaters etc.) exist. In some red light districts prostitution may legally take place. The origin of "red light" term is considered to be the red paper lanterns hung outside brothels in ancient China to identify them and attract customers. Cameras are not allowed in this area or your camera will be trashed.
There are shop lots, where the "ladies" are posing inside a glass compartment. Most of them just wear lingeries, some even have glowing undergarments. Right behind them is a bed and a basin for basic washing purposes. Guys look through these "aquariums" and find a girl they like. Then knock on the glass door and negotiate the price with the "lady". When the curtain is pulled, you will know there is something going on inside the glass room. The entire process may just take 30 minutes. I heard that each transaction costs about 50 euro.
Please note, the mission is "making guys to reach their highest excitement". It is up to the "ladies" to decide how to achieve that. Of course, it can be negotiated. But the customers cannot force them. There is an alarm button just beside the bed. The ladies can always press on the button and the corps nearby will rush in ASAP.
Wooden Clog and Cheese Farm
We also went to a wooden clog and cheese farm. One of the staff (could be the boss) can speak little Mandarin and Malays. He is a funny guy and he made his demonstration interesting.
Pic: Cheese
Pic: workplace to make wooden clog
The staff told us that plain wooden clogs are used during gardening, yellow during working and red during dancing.
Kinderdijk
Windmills are originally from Arab. But they are now become one of the landmark in Netherland. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands.
The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Child's Dike". In 1421 during the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded but the Alblasserwaard polder stayed unflooded. It is said the when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas, to see what could be saved. He saw in the distance a wooden cradle floating. There was no hope that anything would be living in it, but when it approached, movement was seen. When the cradle came near the dike, someone fished the cradle out and saw that in it a baby slept quiet and dry.
Elephant paradeThe elephant parade is visiting Amsterdam from September onwards. A hundred full size art elephants swarm the streets of Amsterdam: together, they form a remarkable open-air exhibition, the Elephant Parade, that is dedicated to the Asian elephant. After the successful editions in Rotterdam and Antwerp, the exhibition in Amsterdam will be the largest so far. The aim of this project is to raise attention for the Asian elephant that is threatened with extinction.
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