The Netherlands - Keukenhoff Tulip Garden, Lisse

*WARNING: Heavily loaded with pictures*

I had been waiting since last year to visit Keukenhoff, but I was in Paris and Lund in April and May. I saw pictures of my friends in the Netherlands, and I told myself I have to go there no matter what. I wish my mom were there, too - she really loves flowers.

If you'd like to see the rows of colored tulips, you can visit the farms just outside Keukenhoff (around 10-20 minutes walk). Nevertheless, Keukenhoff is also beautiful. The temperature was around 15C when we went there in mid April. It kind of fluctuated, but it's never too cold. But since most things are outdoors, it's better to dress warmly enough.

If you take the train to Leiden or Amsterdam Centraal, you can buy the combi ticket from the tourist centres for 23 Euros. It includes the ticket to visit the park and a return ticket for an express bus to and from Keukenhoff. The entrance ticket itself is 15 Euros, and the bus ticket would cost you 4 Euros per trip. There is no discount if you buy the combi ticket, but at least it saves you from queuing at the Keukenhoff entrance for the entrance ticket. 

We went on a Saturday in mid April, and it was crowded at the entrance. It wasn't that bad inside, though. The park was big enough to give everyone some space :)

There were many tulip variants you can ever imagine, all arranged neatly and beautifully.

This is also a tulip!

This is also a tulip! It reminds me of a lettuce :)

This is also... a tulip?

I think this is by far the most classy tulips I've ever seen!!

The colour reminded me of glow-in-the-dark ornaments. I love the shades!

Shades of red

Some of the tulips are pretty large!

Red and white!

This is also a tulip!!

The special themed-arrangement this year. Supposed to look like traditional Dutch houses :)

We stopped by to play a chess game next to the Oranje Nassau.
 

And saw a bridal photo shoot! How nice!

 There is also a French-styled garden close to where we played the chess.

At the back of this French garden, you could also see tulips from different continents. And if you notice, the ground was not covered by pebbles, but by sea shells!

You can also buy Amsterdam cheese at this garden. Many tourists come to this place. Cheese is definitely a good souvenir to bring home, if you like cheese.

Say cheese! :)

There are some small exhibits around the garden. I suggest taking a look at them as well; sometimes you'll find interesting flowers or plants, like this Bleeding Heart.

The bleeding heart

I've been in the Netherlands for 7 consecutive months, but I still feel like a tourist :)

There was also a talk about flowers, but in Dutch. I could only understand a little part of it. I think it was about selecting the right varieties for breeding.

After walking around for 2 hours, we finally felt hungry. There were food stalls close to Willem-Alexander, but don't expect anything too fancy. I remember seeing hotdogs, waffles and poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes drizzled in powdered sugar), but my favourite is this warme beenham (warm ham in bread). It just smelled so good from meters away!

We sat on the grass while enjoying the flowers right above our heads. The experience reminded me of hanami (flower viewing) experience in Tokyo, Japan, 2 years ago.

Speaking of a Japanese experience... hey, there's actually a Japanese garden just next to where we had our lunch!

The maple leaves were very beautiful!

If you visit the Beatrix on the north-east side of the garden, you'd be greeted in various orchids. It's really pretty inside. Although Singapore's national flower is orchid and I've been in Singapore for 6 years, there are still some orchids I have not seen before. Or maybe I just didn't spend that much time to observe flowers when I was in Singapore.

I highly recommend visiting Willem-Alexander and Oranje Nassau. Aside from tulips, you will be greeted with various gorgeous flowers.

You can also find a small market selling flower bulbs and crafts. There is a Bulb Information centre very close to the main entrance of the garden.

I also love the special flower arrangements in Oranje Nassau. Some of them are extravagantly beautiful!

We also visited the maze, close to the border between the garden and the tulip farms.

As I mentioned before, you can visit the tulip farms outside the garden, but you can't access them from inside the garden. Make sure to have some energy left to visit the farm after checking out the garden!

Such a wonderful experience. Very relaxing and pleasant. I love Keukenhoff!

P.S. Don't forget to smell the flowers; some of them smell really good!

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The Netherlands - Tiki Bad Waterpark, Wassenaar

It's been 6 years since the last time I went to a water park. I finally got the chance to visit Tiki Bad in Wassenaar, close to The Hague. And 'bad' means "bath" in Dutch. It's not the good and bad "bad" :)

The theme of this water park is tropical, and it's actually indoors. I heard from my friend that the opening hours are typically longer during winter just because there are normally not that many things you can do in winter, and the water in the pool is actually warm.

The entrance fee varies by time:

• 3-hour entrance: 14 Euros
• 4-hour entrance: 15 Euros
• Full day entrance: 17 Euros
• 30 minute extension: 1 Euro

I think 3 hours is enough to try every single attraction, including the waiting time. But if you want to have a more relaxing day by resting once in a while, then I'd recommend the 4-hour. The full day package sounds more profitable, but only if you're willing to spend that much time in the water park. There is a cafetaria on the second floor of the park, selling French fries, frikandel and other snacks. They also sell hamburgers and broodje Unox (bread with sausage; it's like hot dog with tough bread instead of buns). The price is of course a bit pricey (around 6 Euros for a meal, 3-4 Euros for the snacks). But you can bring your own snacks if you don't feel like spending more.

There's an open shower (not enclosed in a room) and for each entry ticket, you are entitled to a locker that you can open and close any time. There are also plenty of changing rooms available. Hand driers are available to dry your hair (the driers are positioned such that it's directly above your head). I don't think they sell toiletries, towels or anything like that, so don't forget to bring everything you need there.

The attractions vary from very relaxing Lazy River to something fast and extreme like the Cyclone. I personally like the Lazy River after spending a tiring weekday.

On the other hand, I also like thriller rides. My favourite extreme attraction is Cyclone. It's not the typical slide. It's slide, plus some open-air spinning. It's like you're the ball spinning on the roulette. Except that in the last part, you're plunged into a 3-meter pool.

The Cannon Ball can hurt your nose a bit. It's another high velocity ride, but very short. In about 2-3 seconds, you're already plunged into the water. 

This one as well. I think the name of this vertical slide is Flamingo. It's kind of like Cannon Ball, but this time you see everything, including how high the slide is. The pool is also 3-meter deep. I barely reached the floor after the plunge.

Not a big fan of overly scary attractions? Don't worry, there are also the 'normal' slides. You can even pick the speed. If you take the Family Ride, it's veeeery slow (to me). I could even go down the slides while sitting down, holding my phone as I attempted to take video.

Or if you really don't want feel like engaging in any kind of activities involving any movement... the Jacuzzi is always there for you, warm and bubbly. I think there are about 3 Jacuzzis around the park, but beware that the Jacuzzi is almost always full.  

On the other hand, if you're up for some bromance buddy-buddy time with your friends, it's also quite gezellig. 

It's not exactly warm outside, so the outdoor pools are not open yet. But if you feel like getting some fresh air, there's a small outdoor section close to the Lazy River.

And lastly... it was a really good chance (or I'd say, gamble) to bring my Xperia Z1 underwater!

It worked. And after some time, my phone kind of went dead and I got some anxiety attack. But after 2 days of incubation in rice, it worked again. But I'll never bring it underwater again, especially that SONY actually doesn't recommend chlorine water. The Xperia Z1 ads are very misleading! They won't fix your phone if it's under chlorine water because the manual says "fresh water" even though the ad shows swimming pool.

My neck hurts the next day after Tiki Bad, but after stretching it for 2-3 days, my neck went back to normal (phew!).

Up for some fun with water? Definitely go to Tiki Bad :)

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