So this year I got lucky enough to have a chance to visit Holland, Belgium and Switzerland. Lucky enough to eat waffle in Brussels, get lost in Zurich and be intimidated by how skinny these girls are in Amsterdam.
We arrived first in Holland. A country old enough, wise enough to have everything runs by the system, accompanied by excellent (and continuously constructed) infrastructures. This is the country, not bigger than 1/3 of Java Island alone, which managed to make colony out of almost all part of Indonesia. Even made a colony out of United States when they first arrived on the east coast, taking New Amsterdam (now, New York) as their new home before the British took over.
Amsterdam itself is a city with eight hundred thousand people. A quite romantic place with canals and cafes near the river and adult shops. Amsterdam, for better or for worst, is also famous for its red light district. A legalized prostitution area called Walletjes or Rosse Buurt. In almost every souvenir shop, if you see a snow globe with red penis and naked woman in it, that represents the particular district.
I didn't visit the red light district. I know. I'm boring.
We stayed at a hotel in the middle of the Dam Square, a tourists’ center as I call it. A department store built in 1870 called De Bijenkorf is only steps away. And the central station is right across the street. It is a busy street, with people walking and biking and driving and traming. But surprisingly, there's no traffic. Only few cars and less than few motorcycles in this area. Trams are everywhere, come and gone with ridiculous punctuality. And the bikes... I seriously suspect there are more bikes than the actual people who ride them in this country.
I spent a whole day just walking around the square, visiting Madame Tussaud’s and watching locals with their boots and bikes. It was a windy October that you had to buy some beret to keep your hair off your eyes. The beret which I lost somewhere in Zurich.
Anyhow, aside from the first impression of mine about the wise ol' Amsterdam, I notice this. Netherlands is an old country, founded perhaps more than a millenia ago, though they declared independency just around 16th century. They had had their wars and golden age. Had endured the phase of Dutch Republic, domination by the French, the whole affair of Kingdom of Netherlands, the Nazi and more recently, of course, the domination of the United States.
What I'm trying to say is, brothers and sisters, Indonesia still has a loooong way to go. Netherlands has settled and the system is working with high efficiency. But it doesn't come over night. There are histories and stories written by red tints. Starting up a country takes hundreds of years, especially if the plant is as big as Indonesia with materials as diverse and many as Indonesian people.
So as Gandhi said: Be the change you want to see. *running to buy bike*eh*
Bah. padahal daku mau liat foto red light districtnya. hahaha