The Neva Endin Journey

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Any Resemblance to Actual Events or Persons Living or Dead is Purely NOT Coincidental ;) Please Click on the photos to see it clearly! It is amazing ! :)



Some Members of Gang: Poojith, Myself, Mac and bro in law Shaokat !

First things first :
1) The girl i hate the most in life is getting engaged, so she is moving out of India! So me and a couple of my friends are so happy she's out of everyone's life for good!
2) I have cleared my first subject in this course and it sure does feel like heaven. Clearing even a single paper is so so so difficult! I was so happy that i went shopping! :) Now back to the post ....


Dam Square at 5 pm when they were checking for lighting and effects.

Introduction
Gone were the days when i used to be on time! Back in the college days, since i had an amazing friend's circle who never used to come on time, i have become just like them. I just cannot come on time even if i want too! We were supposed to leave at 6:45, but thanks to Me n my last minute packing, we ended up leaving at 8 in the night for the trip to amsterdam! Why So late ?? Oh yes, night life is rocking, so better late than never! I am sure you guys are already aware of it! We finally boarded a train after missing one by 5 seconds. This is exactly when the " I am out for another crazy adventure " feeling came back! The excitement grew with every mile that we crossed by train. Me and Ernest had two new accomplices for the trip : Mac and Poojith! The main reason i went to celebrate new year in Amsterdam was because my sister and her husband were already there. We got down from the station and first things first: IT was FUCKING COLD !! Well i had worn 2 shirts and a thermal jacket and gloves! Duh i wore jeans 2 and other accessories but nothing helped! ;) We started to shiver and it became even worse with every passing second! You dont believe me ? Check the pictures! I was with the hope that i would beat the unimaginable temperature! We stepped out and it was even more cold! It was approx about -9 Degrees that day!


Amazing lights and a beautiful palace in the background.

Re-trip to Red Light Area: As neither Mac or Poojith had not seen the Red Light Area or district, we had to go again and we were more than glad to show the way to that place! Nothing had changed! The lights were still red,the girls were still hot but the crowd multiplied! ;) I got a small video of how the street looks like but it is not very clear and it is not legal to take videos also! Cant put it here because its not good enough ad way too short! Hopefully next time, we will get a better video! Its a little risky with the number of security camera's present. We started to walk around and discovered a lot more of this area which we had no idea it even existed. The entire area is Red Light and it is massive!! We also saw a guy piss into the canal! ;) You cant help it when your drunk or when u cross the threshold that you need to do it. But it is okay as the canal is just for the boats and not to swim! As to why i am explaining talking about this incident so much. You need to wait a little as its coming later in the post.


The Christmas Spirit was still on ! :) Beautiful ...

Our Stay : We climbed a bus to a nearby town in Amsterdam. Hotels costs for that Night was more than 400 Euros per night but luckily my bro in law and sis found a good deal where you pay by room and not by the number of people out of the city. It was called the Golf Course hotel. We could not afford to waste 400 Euros in the city for a night, so decided to stay in the same room as them! :) Yeah, yeah! Cant help it ! Amsterdam is freaking expensive! On the way to the hotel, we crossed a canal and it was frozen! Can u imagine a canal Frozen? Reached the room and it was spacious and we had extra beds got in for us and i like an sadistic jackass had got my laptop to work as i had an assignment to complete (which came to no use as i did not do anything eventually) ;)! The next day we got up, freshened up and the feel of being just 14 hours away from entering the next year was exciting! I wore 3 Shirts, a normal hood and a jacket with a hood. Trust me when i say it was freaking cold. The temperature currently as i am writing this post is -17 degrees. You have no idea how cold it is. This is the reason we all make up for not attending classes. For a guy who is from Manipal, where the temperature has never gone less than 24 degrees, this kind of temperature was not supposed to be in my life's dictionary! THE CANAL WAS TOTALLY FROZEN And Poojith and Me decided to try if we could walk on it and yes we did. So Its true that i have finally walked over water! It had frozen and was so thick that that the children were skating on it. We caught the bus again and reached the amsterdam central and started checking out the city! and this is where we landed ..

Partners in Crime : Ernest , Marcin( Right ) and his friend from England!


The china Town : Another place in Amsterdam where they have amazing fireworks at 12! Could only see the fireworks from far! :(

The Chinese Hotel: As Amsterdam has people from about 190 countries, it is very easy to spot different cuisines everywhere as you walk by. For a different experience we entered this crazy hotel. We started off with non-veg soups and it tasted real good, so as the start was good we decided to move on with the main course. We had also ordered Tomato Soup! And believe this or not! It was Non Veg! How the fuck can anyone serve tomato soup Non veg! The Chinese waiter was so rude that he did not allow us to drink the water we got! There was chicken and other items but we decided to try Duck ! AND I WILL NEVER EVER TRY AGAIN. It looked very tasty and it was also very sweet but it was not tasty but not for long. Its true when they say " Looks can be deceiving". I happened to eat something in that duck which was fried and it tasted so fuckin disguting! I still have no idea what part of the duck was that and i do not want to think about it again.

The Duck Tasted very good till i had some horrible part of it i still have no clue about ! New year Resolution : Stick to Chicken or Veg ! Never eat any another parts of any other bird or animal ! lol ! ;)

Condom Shop: We entered this crazy shop selling condoms and with different kinds of them. Its very common to see shops like this everywhere! You will see the most weirdest things here that will come as an cultural shock to you. Well this condom shop was different. It showcased the different kinds of condoms used example, Olympic torch, giraffe, elephant, Eiffel tower, statue of liberty and different animals and etc. Dont believe Me ? Check out the photos! There were some crazy stuff in the shop but photography was not allowed inside so we could only get the snap from outside the shop. I wonder from where they get all this stuff.


Special kind of condoms : Football , Giraffe !!! God ! Amsterdam ! Phew ...

More special Condoms : Devil , Baby Elephant , Statue of Liberty ! ;) LOL !!!


GPS Fault: We were looking for a place called " Xtra Cold Ice cafe " and the gps pointed elsewhere to some other cafe which never existed. We eventually walked for about 3 kilometers looking for that place. This place is actually a lounge / bar made out of ice. You have couches / seats in Ice and food and drinks are served in ice plates and glasses. The temperature is maintained at about -10 degrees. It sounded very interesting but could never make it there.


Gandhi Resturant Re-Visited: After touring the endless streets in Amsterdam, the main motto of the trip was coming very close! To eat in an Indian Resturant!! Heaven ! ;) Kidding! It was gettin very cold and we had to get inside some hotel or shop, so we decided to enter the same hotel we went last time, the Gandhi Hotel. We started having our dinner at 6:45 in the evening. Well this is approx the time when people have their dinner normally in Netherlands or probably everywhere abroad. We saw the same waiters and they welcomed us in a nice way. I wonder how they have the heart to work on new year's eve's! Sometimes you have to give up on things you want to do, to even live a life. Indian Food is always the best. We had two dishes of paneer, rice, curds, nan, chicken tikka masala n etc. The drinks ordered were
Kingfisher ( wohooo ), Vodka, Wine n etc! The waiter's started suggesting us the places we could probably hang out with to check the fireworks. Couple of my other friends were also in Amsterdam so we decided to head out quick to give them company.

One of the crazy shops we dared to enter. This is shop where they sell ... It will only get u higher! Fill the rest!


Fight With Sister: As usual we can never stop arguing. When small, she used to hit me, pinch me and i used to pull her hair n choke her n all! But now things have changed. It's all about arguing now. I was irriating her about the role in Ghajini she acted in and she was bugging me about the other extra activities of mine and also irritated me with one of the posts i put up and i gave back with some solid dialogues. But anyway its k ! :) You have to fight with your sister/brother once in a while! :) She eventually did shop for me but just a little ( Finally ).



The future of salt and Pepper ! One of the shops was selling this :)

The pub we could never enter : The show at the dam square was meant to start at 10:30, so we were jobless till then! We decided to go and enter any pub nearby! But sadly everything was full .. we walked for about 1 km. But then tragedy struck! It was -9 degrees and i had to go the loo so urgently that i could not walk anymore!!! As fate takes you, Every pub i entered had a queue to use the toilets and it was so fucking urgent! Well the entry fee for the toilet was 35rs lol ! Even taking a leak in Amsterdam on special days is also expensive!! N i could not wait any longer! Even my friend was in the same condition and we ended up giving it in Amsterdam's canal Eventually ! ;) sad but true .. could not control!


Dam Square Going Wild ! Champagne , Vodka , People dancing !


Dam Square: The Time had come! It was 10:30 ! It was a massive crowd. Some Local Dutch singers came and sang, and side by side played a DJ! It was great ... The fireworks were amazing! We danced in the streets and it was amazing! The lighting effects were wonderful and so was the music. And then the countdown began and a new year started! :) For the first time i spent it with my friends and family at the same time! I wish i could explain to you how the fireworks were! A lot of money was wasted on fireworks but i think its worth it for all the travellers who come there with great expectations. It is a wonderful sight to look up and see fireworks from every direction going on continuosly. After 12, the crowd went wild, with people throwing bottle's on the ground, climbing traffic lights, pushing one another trying to get out of the place, fights, wishing everyone who passed by! It was a fantastic night. Easily one of the best new year's.


Amsterdam at its very Best !!!! 2009 , Here We come!


But it is sad that i could not go back home like everytime and wish my parents and my grandma and other relatives. Had to do it through phone which is sad! The problem with going abroad is, you miss home! Because everything you have done before is related to something or someone back from India. Yes i do miss home and i wish i could go back to India for one minute, tell hi to everyone and come back! Its only distance that makes u realize how much you care about people and vice-versa! True friends are those who keep in touch! But one thing is true, Family never leaves you! Every time i have ever called up home, mom has told " I miss you "! Every single time! and my grandma says " Do well in life, i pray for you everyday " ! :( Thats why i just wish i could see them for a minute!


How can i possibly not miss India when everything here in Netherlands reminds me of the best place in the world - India!! :) This is a coffee shop with the name " Goa " !!! You wouldnt wanna know what all they sell here ;)

You make new friends, some temporary, some for life! You make decisions, some temporary, some for life! This is a journey and this is just the beginning!


One of the rare snaps ! Me along with my sister in a single snap ! :)
Hope you guys had a nice time reading!

Adios,
Mehaal


Please Note : I have exams coming up, so there wont be any updates til the end of this month i guess!! Just pray, i need to pass somehow .... ! :) and get rid of this misconception that i am good at studies! For the last time ,i am not good at studies, Its just pure luck that has got me here and continues to stick with me always!