Netherlands - Part 5

Hey everyone! What up?

I know, I know ... its been a while since my last post. But that just means I have a lot of stories and pictures to share :) 

This year, I, sayantani and some friends from Wageningen went to Delft to celebrate Holi festival. Amarjeet invited us and we just couldn't say no. And i am glad we went there. Holi to a European is like a techno music festival with colours. But for an indian, its so much more. The colours, the bollywood beats, the bhang, the carefree vibe, the memories from so many previous holi festivals ... its an emotional and moving experience. And by far, its my favourite festival.

Me and Amarjeet in Delft @ Holi 2014

Shan in her Goddess Kali avatar :P

We painted Delft with colours :)

Kodak moment :D

It was a day to remember! I will be in Delft next year for the celebrations, and you should join me this time! 

In the beginning of May, Aakash and Amrita came to visit me for few days. I was meeting them after 5 years! I made a small plan to give them a real dutch experience! We went to Giethoorn and stayed there overnight in a farmhouse De Opkikker (www.deopkikker.com). Its a beautiful farm with chickens and goats and 6 km by bike to the touristic village of giethoorn. Amrita didn't knew how to bike so we rented one tandem and one normal bike. It was so much fun. I think they really enjoyed the biking experience with beautiful scenery and sheeps everywhere :)  

One of the canals in Giethoorn village

Aakash enjoying the view :)

Playing with the chickens ... the one on the left was a very aggressive rooster :P

Biking Selfie and Ye dosti hum nahi tode ge moment! :)

Aakash and amrita on tandem ... it was a very scenic biking route from the farm to giethoorn

Aakash and amrita in Wageningen on a rainy day :P

After coming back from Giethoorn, we went to Amsterdam for one day. Sayantani joined us there. We did the Sandman's free walking tour and walked around in the Red light district. 

The one at Amsterdam Centraal ;)

Shan feeding the pigeons at Dam Square ... sooo happy she is!

Next day after coming back from Amsterdam, they left for Germany to meet another friend. I had a great time with them!!

In between all this, i got chance to go sailing with the Rotterdam Pilots. They are the people responsible for guiding the ships in and out of the Port of Rotterdam. It was a fantastic opportunity and i was very impressed by their work. To have an overall idea of what i did, see this video.

Ahoy Captain! :D ... enroute North Sea

Onboard the fancy Pilot Station Vessel 'Polaris'

Well, now the most important thing that happened to me recently ... i met Sayantani's parents :P

With Sayantani and her family @ durga pooja celebrations in Voorschoten

One thing that i find really interesting is the history of Indian community in Holland. There is a large bengali population here for some reason. And offcourse there are large number of Surinamese people who have ancestral connections to India. Here is a nice report on this topic. And here is a nice website for all the indians living in The Netherlands.

So thats it for the moment. But i promise you, there are exciting times ahead :) I will be in touch shortly!

Love,

Karan