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Visited Zandvoort today to check out apartments to rent and  thier annual Horse Race thru the city was held today too.

A really nice town near the beach with an array of restaurants everywhere . Shopping is pretty cheap compared to amsterdam , well … from what I’ve seen anyways.

I loved the apartment I saw today but its a bit expensive to rent . Can’t really decide what I wanna do anyways until I settle all the issues at work .

Here’s some pics of the cool street horse race

Took a really BIG risk of having a BBQ at my poolside when I was back in Malaysia.

It was good to put behind the troubles of the week and just take a day off from thinking about it.

Mother nature this time decided not to make a fool out of me cos the last few BBQ’s we were practically singing in the rain whilst keeping the fire going with an umbrella over our head.

My fellow neighbours must have tot I was nuts , hee… 

Took some really lousy pics this time … sigh … but a very nice BBQ and most of the food was actually finished for a change cos no one FFK this time.

Made teriyaki chic & beef kebabs. Yummy

Mummy cat was happily posing for the camera at the poolside

The grill chefs taking thier break from the heat of the pit.

My niece Nadia and erm.. my adopted niece trying thier hand on the art of making burnt black chicken .. kidding .. hee.

The professionals back to thier duty .. what shall I do without them

Visited St Nicholas Church near Central Station . Built in the 19th century and recently restored , its a really beautiful church and the choral singing by the priests are soooo good. Couldnt take much pictures but an interesting short trip to this church is worthwhile

Founded in 1838 , Artis Zoo would be a charm for 1st time visitors. Complete with butterfly pavillion , greenhouse , a planetarium , insectarium and running along side a canal , its really a nice place to take pics and spend a day .

Visited The Hague for the Pasar Malam Event and had the chance to meet up with Pim , a dutch attached with the Netherlands Malaysia Association. Had a pleasant walk along the city and Pim went on about the history of the royal family and the buildings surrounding the area. I was happy to had the chance to embrace the rich history from his explanations. The building with red doors is the oldest city hall buidling and next to it is the parliment building with a beautiful lakeside. The square within parliment which used to be a castle belonging to the Count of Holland. Hee.. see , its good to have a tour guide with sound historical knowlegde.

The Pasar Malam Besar is an annual event held in The Hague. There are about 1million Eurasian living in Holland belonging to the era of the VOC during the dutch occupation of Indonesia and Malaysia.

The scenery on the train rides back to my hotel from The Hague / Den Haag

Visited my cousin Andrea and her husband in Deventer. Took about an hour by train from Schipol. Was treated to a very delicious BBQ and enjoying freezing in the great outdoors. My uncle and aunt was here too from thier trip to Lourdes so it was a nice family get together

Some flowers from her garden.    

Hot air balloons passing by while we had our bbq

Went to the city centre called Amsterdam Centraal.

Beautiful city with its really embracing architechure .

Walking along the endless road labyrinth is probably the best way to see the city but there are canal rides and trams to calm the aching feet

I missed my malaysian food .. stopped at this restaurant which was rather cosy and paid my most expensive nasi lemak meal ever… close to RM75.00 .. haha.

Here I am … Europe for the first time and in the beautiful country called Netherlands.

Its my 3rd day here and stil adjusting to the time difference. Its about 6 hours behind Malaysia , however I think my tummy is still following Malaysia time .. haha. 

Here I am in Ibis Schiphol hotelroom , back from visiting Amsterdam Centraal and with frozen feet and hands.. ( some other parts mentioned have been censored ) … haha

Having a dutch surname does bring a smile to people I meet here and the often curious look that I in no matter look like them. Its interesting to read my emails nowadays from my dutch contacts who spell it the dutch way .. spijkerman .. even though I write spykerman at the end of the mails.

I will be headed to the Pasar Malam Besar this Sunday at The Hague as its Malaysia Day here during the festival. Perhaps I will be lucky enough to meet some long lost relatives

Here’s the hotel area and its surrounding

Couldn’t resist buying these shoes.. haha.. damn feet kept freezing when I take my shoes off

Wild rabbits roaming around the hotel area. Can see them from my hotel window everyday hard to take a close up cos they keep running away

  Cameron HIghlands

Rose Valley

Hundreds of varieties of roses can be found here. Takes about 45 minutes to walk and entrance fees are pretty cheap. Lots of stall outline the entrance serving sweet corn and steam potatoes and fresh vegetables but do be careful not to get slaughtered with the pricing.

Cameron Bharat Plantations

Smaller than the other popular plantations like Boh but you get to walk thru the tea plantation and a cafe serving tea and scones gives you a pleasant overview of the plantation.

Honey Bee Farm

Pure honey is cultivated here. Its on a hill slope lined with flowers for the honey bee’s to collect the honey. Bee statues line the slopes and you can buy honey from here as well. 

Cactus Point

Smaller than Cactus Valley but you don’t need to pay an entrance fee and its mostly to buy plants and cactus.

Blue Valley

Lots of vege farms line the area and we stopped here to pluck strawberries and cherry tomatoes. 

Located near the butterfly farm and KL Bird Park.. photography enthusiast and orchid lovers will feel right at home. One of the better projects handled by DBKL I can safely say but sadly under utilized and lacks the necessary publicity.

Gardens are beautifully landscaped and orchids are in constant bloom unlike my not so very green thumbs .. haha.

Hibiscus garden is along the pathway , not as many blooms as before and varieties seems less but some of the more beautiful ones are blooming well.

There’s shops selling orchids and souviniers and some local handicraft. A bit pricey and mostly have shops in sungai buloh which should be much cheaper.

A resident of the gardens basking in the sun and his own …erm handicraft bed…