Time to ditch those sneakers and put on some party shoes.. whee! I am SO going somewhere. So this is what it feels like to have NO MORE MAD DEADLINES!! For the next couple of days that is..
July 2005
Belvedere vodka is in town - we went for the launch at Frangipani last night and it was awesome. The set up was really nice, although I don’t have any pictures. I’ve fallen into the habit of not bringing my camera out everywhere these days. Straight vodka with caviar and oysters and fresh fruit martinis on an empty stomach wasn’t the greatest idea though (we went straight after work). However it was nice to see many familiar faces who are still partying.. KL is such a small place some times. I haven’t been out much at all so I’ve been out of the loop for a while.. ah.
Back to work.. it’s total chaos in here.
It is funny how things go back to normal so quickly and how fast you accustom yourself to your daily routines again after a break. It’s almost like it never happened.. I want my money back (so I can go again). Ha!
Speaking of money, I just blew a grand on shopping over the weekend. After seeing prices in Euros for 9 days everything in Malaysia is suddenly so much cheaper. Looks like I need to get my fingers off eBay for a while.. do I sound like a repressed, frustrated shopaholic to you? I really am not.
Some of the 600+ pictures we took. Mainly Nik’s pictures, because he had the 1gig card. :)
We came by the Arcam Building (Architectuurcentrum) while walking from Central Station to the hotel. At 6am. Woo. But it wasn’t open, of course.
Cool graff on the streets, couldn’t resist taking a pic or ten.
Day 2: We got hold of a pair of tickets for JAMES BROWN LIVE at the Heineken Music Hall, which was the highlight of the trip really.. I mean, what could be better than the GODFATHER OF SOUL himself!
Check out the lineup.. Garbage would’ve been fun too.
These are apartment blocks. Sure beats the cookie cutter concrete monsters here.
Oo er, another apartment block. Lofts are quite affordable if you work there. They are building some really cool hi-techy ones near the hotel with penthouses starting from 600k. I want one!
At the Sex Museum, which we walked past on the way to Dam Square and decided to go in. Big penis (no kidding..)
One of the hotel rooms affectionately called ‘the classical room’ which is right next to a massive, floating sound-proof room where you are encouraged to bring your decks and throw parties. The bed sleeps 8-10 people and stretches all the way across the room. Hugh Hefner style!
Reitlandpark station, which we were quite taken with during our stay there.. also because it’s right behind the hotel.
At the Van Gogh Museum. We were lucky to be there on the 2nd day they opened the new exhibition.
Rienke Enghart, who is an artist and one of the initiators of the NDSM arts and cultural centre project, took us to the NDSM pre-launch to show us around. Here is the entrance to an old ship yard.
Inside. A big dance party happened here a week before this, and apparently it was massive and packed out.
Nik took this picture of me from one level up on a mesh metal stairway. My fave shot!
An old train yard outside the NDSM, which is now a graffiti showcase of sorts. They are slowly moving the trains out, according to Rienke, to make way for the new developments.
With Rienke and Renate at Rienke’s temporary office at the NDSM. Hope Box is one of her on-going projects. She’s been to Kuala Lumpur before about 10 years ago and next month the both of them are headed to Sarajevo! Fun!
Madame Tussards and Dam Square.
Just parked near the NDSM is this sub which you can rent for 800 Euros a night to throw parties in. DJ not included.
Inside de Ould Kerk (old church) where Rembrant’s first wife Saskia is buried.. along with thousands of others. The entire floor are made up of tombstones (kinda spooky innit..?)
At Amsterdam’s most happening club.. which is so well hidden that only this logo was visible on the exterior, with a 2 inch word on a plaque near the door that says “Jimmy Woo” - the door bitch can apparently be a real bitch.
Dealer with a personal touch!
Jetlag’s no fun when you know you have to wake up for work tomorrow.
I’m back from my trip. Haven’t unpacked much yet and my room is a mess from all the stuff I’d collected - magazines, flyers, stickers.. you name it, I picked it up. Surprisingly, for the first time in a very long time my luggage was under the weight limit and I have about 300+ Euros left. And I only bought two pairs of shoes.
Am in love with Amsterdam and the quiet calm of the city even at its busiest hours. Am even more in love with the buildings that sit, the new and the old, happily next to each other amidst the flat landscape and the canals. Lloyd Hotel, where we stayed, is one such place — a playful, imaginative space nestled within the shell of and old immigrant house. The weather was gorgeous, the heat wave that struck France seemed to have missed us completely. I miss it all already.
Next stop, Cairns in September!
