Rotterdam

After two extremely low-energy weekends, we finally got our treat this weekend.

A Really Nice Surinamese Guy (RNSG) at office invited us to his home town for the weekend. His hometown is called Spijkenisse (yes, an incredibly hard-to-remember name)pronounced as ‘spek-en-iss-uh’ and is very close to Rotterdam. So, RNSG also offered to show us around Rotterdam. Yes, and that’s why he is a 'RN’ SG. (However, you will find out that the ‘N’ ness doesn’t stop here!)

First, a little insight into the Surinamese people in Holland:

I didn’t know before meeting NSG that a whole lot of people from our very own Uttar Pradesh had migrated to Surinam in early 1900’s unknowingly. The bad old bloody brits told ‘em that they were going to ‘Surya-naam’, a land of sun, where they will work for some time and can come back whenever they wanted. So, some poor innocent people with dreams of money in their eyes left for Surinam and realized that they were really far and can no way come back. Out of the fire and into the frying pan, the thousands of Indians who had migrated to escape from the Raj were now ruled by the Dutch. Just like in India some of us then left for ‘vilayat’ in a hope to become ‘saheb and memsaheb’, the Indians in Surinam too moved to Holland. Since then, at least two generation old Surinamese stay in Holland. I feel a little sad for the poor things in fact, they are Indians but don’t know the language or much about the culture and they are certainly not accepted as Dutch because of the distinct Indian looks. They will be foreigners in every country they go. After knowing all this, it suddenly made me feel so nice to belong to a country, if not to a particular town or region. I realized I am lucky to have a little bit of all the cities and states and therefore a whole lot of India in me.

So, off we went like excited children going to meet their grandparents.

We reached much later than planned (which is not really surprising seeing the past 'adherence to our other plans').
The sun was out with us too and it made the start good already. RNSG had come to pick us up at Rotterdam Central station and the plan was to show us around Rotterdam and then drive us back to his place for dinner and then will drop us back to Amstelveen in his car. (You see what I mean! RNSG?)

He was more excited than us to show us around. (Here I must also digress a little and tell you that Rotterdam and Amsterdam are as big rivals to each other as our own Mumbai and Delhi are. Just like the Delhiites can point out a thousand anti-mumbai things in a single breath, and vice-versa, the Rotterdam’ites (??) can instantly make Amsterdam look bad and vice-versa. Rotterdam was completely bombed during the second world war and has only two or three old structures to boast about in the name of history, whereas Amsterdam has lots more to offer and therefore considered to be of more ‘character’. Well, whatever!)


Rotterdam was different from Amsterdam for sure, as it had pretty wide roads and looked much neater and organized. But again, for me it was hard to tell what was really the big difference. It was like another beautiful organized city of Holland which was filled with more colored people than others.

Maybe RNSG came with a perception in his head about meeting two women from India who will swoon over shopping, so he started to point out at all the shopping places, in between, also showing us the few famous buildings here and there. Little did he know, at least one of them would rather sit by a canal and look at ducks all day than go into a shopping mall (and especially the ones that make you feel like a bloody hobo!)

So, we politely kept saying NO to the shopping area trip, looking at each other like ‘uh, what if THIS was his idea of showing is around Rotterdam?’ Just then he casually asked ‘or would you like to go on a boat trip to see the port of Rotterdam?’ And both of almost too quickly and eagerly said ‘Yes, yes, a boat trip would be nice’.

Before the boat trip we had a quick grub at a surinamese joint run by Chinese. Rotterdam has a whole china-town and India-town sort of where a whole lot of Indians and Chinese immigrants have shops…from chinese herbs to Indian Saree shops to an Ambala sweet shop!

At the port, we had some time while away and we roamed about here and there and went to a stand on a bridge above the river De Maas. It was a lovely view of the river shimmering like gold. That’s the best part about this place, even on a busy day, its never too chaotic or too noisy. You can stand in the middle of a busy day on a busy bridge and enjoy a conversation. We did just that and it was time to board the boat, which turned out to be rather big and ‘ship’ looking (in my head I imagined something like the boats for the canal cruise).

The enclosed area has chairs and tables and like a guided tour of the port (y’know the like the one which has a voice saying ‘on your right is this and Rotterdam’s mayor is balh) and the deck of the boat has just some seats and chairs and tables where you can eat, drink and chat and just look at the sea. So, without any second thoughts, we chose ‘the deck’! Surprise, surprise! Well, RNSG really was surprised, as he later told us that most of the people he has brought from India on this boat preferred to be seated in the enclosed area. Well, I guess he meant ‘the geeks’. Phbtt!

He really tried that on us too, telling us about the numbers, how long in kilometers was the river from this point to that and how many containers can this ship carry and that one. I was quite distracted to I just nodded along politely. He completely hijacked the camera from CK and he kept offering to ‘make pictures’ of both of us with this and that in the background. Then, switched back to spewing more information. I swear to god, I don’t remember a single thing he told me. Mind goes blank on such technical information in a beautiful place like that surrounded by water. I guess, along with being Really Nice, he is smart too, as left both of us for a while to stare at the river and enjoy and came back with some soft drink and apple-pie. Before we could tell him ‘uh-oh, why did you bother?’….he gingerly said ‘that’s on us!’. (RNSG – proof number 3)

The one hour boat ride seemed to be over rather quickly and we then left for Spijkinesse in his car listening to kishore kumar and mohd. Rafi on his CD payer, while he showed us some other famous landmarks and kept saying ‘make a picture, quick!’ Quite surreal it was, in a Really Nice way.

More in part 2.

It’s late and I am sleepy.