Why you might ask, did Sang get into the world of self-publishing? Partly boredom, but mostly because I want to share. My writings, photography, and point-of-view are not necessarily the stuff worth of the Times but I do feel the need to give friends in my social graph a place to “learn” about me. We’ll see how this effort evolves over time, but like all things in life, they get better with time.

As the first destination on my European tour of domination (aka. EuroSang 2009 Tour), I felt compelled to live it up — hostel style :-). To be serious, the place I stayed at indeed a hostel, not a 4 or 5 star resort, but it was located in a very nice part of London — near Hyde Park/Kensington High Street. Dave’s characterization of the neighborhood, “It’s like the Marina.” was a ringing endorsement, I couldn’t help but book the place. Generally speaking, the hostels throughout Europe are nicer than those over in Central America (my first experience with this type of accommodation).

Gloucester Road - Nice posh neighborhood in the Hyde Park/Kensington area. Our hostel is located just a few minutes from this street. Gloucester Road - Nice posh neighborhood in the Hyde Park/Kensington area. Our hostel is located just a few minutes from this street.

The first 2 days were filled with the typical tourist stuff, namely visiting museums, places of interest, and the mandatory local fish and chips boutique. Well, not exactly. In keeping with the English tradition of doing everything slight different (the pound, the 3 prong gi-normous plug that doesn’t work anywhere else), the first place we ate fish and chips at was an Italian restaurant.

Fish & Chips - The first fish and chips meal in London, but we got them at an Italian Restaurant...go Americans!

Some of my most memorable sights in London include Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square; both places just light up at night like Times Square in NYC. A beautiful sight to see. Elsewhere in the city are ornate, Victorian styled flats and buildings that bring shame to many other copies around the world.

Trafalgar Square by night.

Westminster Abbey - Gorgeous.

The best part of this destination was definitely the nightlife with a few good friends. Dave, Lauren, Tom, and Lan – thanks for coming out to visit and showing me around. Night number 1 and 2 would have been drab without you guys. While we’re on the topic of nightlife, let me just say that night number 2 between the hours of 130am and 530am was very memorable in that it resulted in one of the biggest hangover’s I’ve had in the past 6 months. Gary and Bien, you guys are animals…I hope Sarah is safe. Nhon, it was great seeing you too, hope you make it big and give your brother a few million pounds.

Well, I’ve got to be heading off now. Cheerio! (until I gather my thoughts on Amsterdam – and there are a few).

Sunset on the streets of Amsterdam - Wacky colors at sunset. There's light all the way until 930 or 10pm during the Spring and Summer months.

Red light district, by day.

The City as a whole is filled with deep history and lots of great culture. The Dutch are very serious about biking, so serious that they will run you over to prove a point — watch out for bicyclists. It flips my entire riding model upside down since in the states, it’s every man for himself against a man in a caged box. Anyway, the best part about a City with such intense riding culture is that when you get behind the handlebars, you are afforded the same privileges and so we decided to take a bike tour — some of the pictures are below, with a bit of commentary.

Windmill!

Cheesemaking tour

Clog making tour

You fill big shoes!

The Red Light District: It really is a scene to see. Weed is legal. Prostitution is legal. Drinking in the street is allowed. Pissing in public is okay. Almost anything goes. All that being said, it was just something you see and move along. Nothing too much more fantastic about it than the shock value. A few interesting tidbits about the area — ladies are self-employed, you can’t buy weed and alcohol together at the same bar/place, lots of weird folk ALL over the streets. Why is prostitution legal? The Dutch government don’t want pimps trafficking girls for the sole purpose of prostitution, so they legalized it in 2000 to prevent the pimpin’ lifestyle. Why are the Dutch so liberal? They actually aren’t that liberal — they’re tolerant and that means accepting different forms of professions, leisure, etc. No pictures of the dirtay stuff because I have Facebook friends who are kids.

Well, that’s all I have to say about Amsterdam. I’ll add more as I recall it…oh and those who know me know that I’m definitely not a coffee lover, but since Amsterdam, I’ve been having a nice cappuccino nearly every day. When I get back to the states, I guess I’ll help contribute to Starbucks’ bottom line.

Cappucino - Never been much of a coffee lover, but had a few nice cappucinos in Amsterdam.

My next note will be about Berlin, Germany and all it’s bratwurst glory.