Chinatown

It is a beautiful day, sunny and the sky is filled with big puffy white clouds. The air feels fresh and cool. The heatwave is over and the sun is out. I'm just enjoying my apartment, listening to music and liking the feeling of "living" in Amsterdam, rather than being a tourist trying to see everything.

I got up early, feeling a little stuffy headed. I made the mistake last night of falling asleep with the fan blowing right at my head. I thought I had it set to blow above my head, but it was blowing right on me. I never believed it, but now I am pretty sure that sleeping with a fan blowing on you can give you a cold.

I was planning on going and renting a bike today and exploring a little. But it was early and it seemed like a nice morning, and it was too early to get a bike, so I went out to take some photos.

The streets were filled with litter and garbage from last night's party that seems to be every night in the streets of the old town here. It looked like a frat house after a party. Clean up crews were on duty, picking up the garbage, washing down the streets, sweeping. They were the only people out at that time. It was relatively quiet other than the sound of hoses washing down the street or the occassional truck or car.

There were a few drunks on the street and even fewer pedestrians.

It was very special to be out on this beautiful morning and feel like I had the entire city to myself. I strolled along the canal and took photos - of the canal, of the ducks and swans sleeping in it, of buildings.

Eventually I was ready to return home but I stumbled across Albert Heijn. No, Albert Heijn is not a Dutch person I met, it is a supermarket. Machiel, the Dutch guy who rented me my apartment told me I could find a supermarket in the Nieumarket area or near Dam plaza. He never told me exactly for either location, so I had no idea where they were. I eventually found the Nieumarket location and this morning, walking behind the big palace on Dam Plaza, I found the other one.

This one seemed bigger and because it was in a less touristy spot, I guessed maybe better. Well, who knows if this spot is less touristy, it was so early, no one was out.

I decided to go in and see if I could find something for the mosquitos, either one of those plug in things or coils or something. I eventually found this little container of citronella, which I know is a mosquito repellant and actually smells kind of nice. I assumed I just open it and it's like an air freshener.

I came home and decided I had indeed caught a cold. I wasn't sure about riding around on a bicycle today, so I took a nap.

After my nap, I ate a little cheese and an apple and drank some tea. I looked at the box that I got the little bottle of citronella in and saw that actually what I got was the replacement vial for a little device that you plug in and it somehow releases the oil, maybe with a little fan. So, I had the oil, but I didn't have the little plug in thing.

I decided to go to the other Albert Heijn in Nieumarket to see if I could get the little plug in thing.

Walking over was very different from my experience this morning. There were lots of people, bikes and some cars. Everyone was weaving all over the place. I was on a mission and not in the mood to window shop, so I was kind of agitated walking over and trying to get around people who were just taking their good old time.

When I did get there, I didn't find what I was looking for. They didn't even have the little vials of citronella oil that the other Alber Heijn had.

I walked out and decided to continue heading in the same direction instead of walking home. There was a street ahead that had some shops and was not too crowded. I was in the mood for a little walk and also hoped I would find this little device I had convinced myself I needed.

To my surprise, I had stumbled upon Chinatown!

I love Chinatowns. It is funny, but when I have traveled recently, Chinatown has become my familiar touchstone. It is a place, that no matter what country I am in, I feel comfortable, because everything is usually pretty much the same. They had the little shops with ducks and roast pork hanging in the window, bakeries, supermarkets, and acupunture/herb shops. There were other stores and restaurants mixed in - Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese, so it was more like an Asia Town than Chinatown, but still Chinese stuff dominated.

I went into several Chinese markets and shops hoping to find that little device for even less than I would pay at Albert Heijn, but no luck. Instead I started craving a bowl of steaming pho to help with my cold.

The one Vietnamese restaurant I found that did have pho was closed, so instead I went to the little duck/roast pork place. They had wonton noodle soup, but I also wanted roast pork. It seemed that it would be too much to get pork and soup and I wanted the pork more than the soup at that point, so I ordered cha siu fan.

Good thing I said it in Chinese because the roast pork with rice I was pointing to on the menu was not what I wanted. When I said, "cha siu fan", the waitress pointed a few items down on the menu. Kind of trippy being able to communicate what I want in Chinese while in Amsterdam with a menu written in Dutch and English with Chinese names romanized.

The pork was good, and they had my favorite kind of hot pepper sauce, similar to the one I make to use on pasta.

Filled up and really happy to have found this little asia town, I walked around a bit and took more photos. For some reason, this part of town was not crowded and there were very few bikes. It was very pleasant to walk around. I wonder if it is like that at night. I think I will not find out.

And now I am enjoying my apartment with a nice breeze blowing, drinking more tea. I don't feel like I need to do anything else today.