Backpacking to Europe – Part 13: Iamsterdam and Rijksmuseum

Previously

When we reached Amsterdam Centraal station, we walked to the tram area opposite the main entrance and I looked for tram no. 5 as it will go to Rijksmuseum. I have never been on a tram before, so I was so excited to ride on one. Amira? Well, she was still sulking and mad at me, so her face was expressionless and emotionless.

Bila kami sampai ke stesen Amsterdam Centraal, kami berjalan menuju ke tempat tram di kawasan luar stesen, berhadapan pintu masuk utama. Aku cari tram No. 5 sebab setahu aku, tram tu akan ke Rijksmuseum. Aku tak pernah naik tram jadi memang teruja sangat. Tapi, Amira muka toya je sebab dia masih marahkan aku. Muka dia tak ada emosi atau ekspresi langsung!

We tapped our Amsterdam travel card (it is compulsory to tap in and tap out in Amsterdam) as we entered through the door and I stood up, offering the empty sit to my wife. The journey on tram no. 5 took us along the busy road full with shopping areas and eateries. The tram moved fast and as it moved further and further away from the Centraal station, I started to wonder, “Am I on the right tram? Am I on the right direction?”

Kami tap Amsterdam travel card kami (di sini kena tap in dan tap out) dan bila masuk je ke dalam tram, aku berdiri dan tunjuk kerusi kosong pada Amira untuk dia duduk. Perjalanan di dalam tram No. 5 membawa kami melalui jalan raya yang sibuk dan penuh dengan kedai membeli belah dan ke dai makan. Tram bergerak laju dan semakin jauh tram tu meninggalkan kawasan Centraal, semakin tinggi keraguan aku sama ada aku ni di jalan yang lurus ataupun tidak.

A few stops later, I looked at the LED sign and noticed that the next stop is Rijksmuseum. Still, I was reluctant to go out, fearing that it might not be the correct place. After all, I peeked out of the window along the journey and up until that moment, I could not see the Iamsterdam sign.

Lepas beberapa hentian, aku tengok skrin LED kata hentian lepas ni hentian Rijksmuseum. Tapi, aku intai-intai, tak nampak pula papan tanda Iamsterdam tu. Rasa tak yakin untuk turun di hentian lepas ni.

Iamsterdam sign is very near to Rijksmuseum.

Just before the door closes, I decided to disembark from the tram and I told Amira that we were going down onto the road. We walked a bit further, saw the huge Rijksmuseum building and voila! The Iamsterdam sign is situated just opposite the museum. The place was swarming with people and I was pretty sure that we would not get a photo of us – only us – at that sign.

Elok je sebelum pintu tutup, aku buat keputusan, ah turun ajelah. Kami turun dari tram, berjalan sikit ke depan dan tengok di kiri kami, nampak bangunan Rijksmuseum yang gah. Kami jalan ke depan sikit, haaaa nampak terus papan tanda Iamsterdam yang terkenal tu. Ramai sangat orang di sana dan aku tahu, memang harapan untuk kami ambil gambar cuma kami berdua di situ.

I glanced at Amira and I saw she was smiling. Who would not smile when the world-famous icon of Amsterdam is in front of their own eyes? I hugged her, apologized to her and we took our photo there…

Aku toleh tengok Amira dan nampak dia senyum. Mau tak senyum, siapa tak nak bergambar di sini kan? Aku peluk dia, minta maaf pada dia dan kami pun bergambar di situ…

…when we saw what seemed like a Malaysian family taking photo at the sign too. I was excited and happy because if indeed they are Malaysians, they would be the first Malaysians that we have ever met throughout this two days.

…sampailah kami nampak macam, eh ni orang Malaysia ni. Aku memang suka dan perasaan aku sangat gembira sebab sepanjang dua hari ni, kami tak pernah jumpa orang Malaysia lagi.

I happily greeted them but what I had for a reply was an annoyed face and an unfriendly tones. I wrote about this incident in my Instagram account:

Dengan penuh kemesraan dan ramah tamah, aku pun tegur dan teguran salam aku disambut dengan muka yang menyampah dan nada suara yang tak ikhlas. Ada aku tulis pasal insiden ni dalam akaun Instagram (link di atas) aku:

View this post on Instagram

The usual touristy post in front of iamsterdam . No, I was not with that girl . Yes, the place was swarming and not like what you and I imagined . We saw a Malaysian family here . "Hi!" I greeted, excitedly . "Eh?!" the lady of the group smiled awkwerdly without trying to say anything . "From Malaysia?", I asked her kid . "Yes, from Selangor", the kid answered . The lady looked ar her kid like this – 😳 . "Selangor? From KL lah!" correcting her kid . She then did not continue the conversation . What is wrong admitting you are from Selangor if you are one? . And that unfriendly character of yours? Well, it is proven many Malaysians are arrogant when travelling . Dutch are much better than you . Thank you . #truestory #kakijalans2europe2017 #eurotrip #backpackingeurope #iphoneography #iphoneasia #iphoneonly #followforfollow #likeforlike #malaysiantravelblogger #igersmy

A post shared by Kaki Jalans (@kakijalans) on Feb 11, 2017 at 9:29am PST

Anyway, forget about the Malaysian family. After we have done taking photo at the sign and sightseeing around the area, a problem arose. Both Amira and I needed to pee but we could not find any public toilet there.

Takpelah, lupakan pasal keluarga Malaysia tu. Apapun, lepas selesai bergambar dan jalan-jalan di sekitar kawasan tu, aku dan Amira rasa nak terbuang air kecil. Tapi, tak ada tandas awam di kawasan sekitar.

We went to one shop but apparently, the toilet is inside the restaurant and we would feel bad using the toilet without ordering anything from the restaurant. So, I suggested to her that we went inside Rijksmuseum.

Kami pergi satu kedai ni tapi tandas dia dalam kedai makan dan tak sedap pula kalau tak pesan makanan tapi guna tandas aja. Aku pun cadangkan pada Amira untuk kami masuk ke Rijksmuseum.

We entered into the museum and for a moment, I forgot that I was in an emergency situation. The museum is large, with a restaurant fully patronized just opposite the entrance. We walked further and whilst I really wanted to explore more, I was made to understand that it has closed for the day. I walked around the lobby area, trying to figure out where the toilet is when I saw the signage. Quickly, I ran to my wife and showed her where the toilet is.

Kami masuk ke dalam muzium dan buat seketika, aku terlupa yang kami ni tengah dalam keadaan kecemasan. Ya lah, muziumnya besar, ada restoran cantik yang nampak elegan. Aku nak masuk ke dalam lagi tapi nampak macam kaunter tiket dan tak jual tiket. Jadi, aku dok perhati dan mata melilau mencari di mana tandas dalam ni. Tengah melilau, aku nampak papan tanda tandas, maka aku terus lari cari Amira dan bawa dia ke tandas.

Both of us went out of the toilet smiling. It was the best moment of our life. Then, we continued walking along the road, looking at other people , looking at the canal when we decided we had enough for day 2. We took a tram back to Amsterdam Centraal station, saw The Doner Company (the best doner shop!) and queued patiently before ordering one each for our dinner and took the Metro back to our BnB. End of day 2.

Kami berdua keluar dari tandas dalam keadaan tersenyum yang melebar sampai ke telinga. Nikmat dunia. Seusai ke tandas, kami jalan-jalan di kawasan luar muzium, tengok-tengok orang, jalan di sekitar kawasan terusan dan akhirnya, kami buat keputusan, cukuplah untuk hari kedua ni. Kami pun ambil tram kembali ke stesen Centraal. Dalam stesen, kami nampak kedai makan The Donor Company (kedai terbaik pada aku!), lalu kami pun beratur, pesan 2 kebab doner dan lepas habis makan, kami naik Metro kembali ke BnB kami. Tamat hari kedua.

More photos:

Next: Part 14

+++++

To go to Iamsterdam and Rijksmuseum from Amsterdam Centraal, there are a few trams passing by that route. We took Tram No. 5. The same goes to the journey back. Just check at the real time board available at the bus stops for the final destination and the ETA.