Tourist stuff that’s actually kind of fun
Whoever considers themselves to be reasonably modern, have good taste and regularly cross a few borders have one common fear: being seen as tourists. Tourists are always annoying, rude and always in the way. Well that’s my opinion of the tourists I encounter in Amsterdam anyway. They operate in groups blocking roads and jumping aside like frightened deer when I pass them on my bike. My patience with them is limited and I find myself yelling at groups of Japanese selfie-stick holding tourists right in the middle of the road: THIS IS NOT A SIDEWALK PEOPLE, MOVE!
But the thing is, the moment you’re in another country, you’re a tourist – even if it’s for work. And no matter how much I detest tourists in my own country I am not ashamed of my tourist status when visiting another. Better yet; I really enjoy many of the ‘hated’ tourist attractions. A lot.
Open bus tours
It’s the high flyer of touristic activities: a double-decker hop-on-hop-off-bus that makes the same rounds day-in-day-out in every major city. In between Americans with white sport socks and hysterical Chinese with dozens of flashing camera’s you roll past all the big attractions with the guide making the same corny jokes on every round. I love those buses. I’m writing this in Toronto and went on one of these tours and yes it’s kinda cheesy but also very convenient.
Big squares
I can’t tell you how much I hate Rembrantplein in Amsterdam and I’m confronted with the chaos on the Dam in Amsterdam every single day when I leave for work. In your own city you want to stay far away from these busy places but when you’re abroad it’s a whole different ball game. My undying love for Times Square in New York is not met by the local self-respecting New Yorkers who feel nauseous while I feel intensely happy. The lights, the lively busy activity, I can’t get enough of it.
Bar streets
Three years ago when I was visiting Beijing I had the greatest time on Sanlitun, one of the most popular bar streets. Neon-lit shops packed with tourists who pay almost western prices for their beers because they won’t take the trouble to look further than their nose. In Amsterdam there’s the Damstraat and all those streets around the Leidseplein area, I don’t know one single local person who would go there voluntarily. But for some reason in different countries it’s just nice and easy, all those bars and shops near each other.
Tourist trap restaurants
In Amsterdam around those same bar streets are the Rokin and the Damrak, both housing lots of cheap restaurants, the kind that has pictograms on the menu. Whenever I see people sitting there I think to myself: “Boy, just a few streets down eating out is much more fun, why in heaven’s name sit here?” But when I’m tired of walking around in some strange city I gratefully sit down at a similar cheap restaurant because I’ m hungry and don’t care where I’m sitting as long as I can get off my feet. Besides these restaurants are often situated in busy touristic places where you can enjoy the view.
Carriages
Our Peggy’s greatest wish in life is: riding in a carriage through Central Park and during my trip to Canada I also had a carriage ride planned (cancelled because of the rain). But when I see carriages in Amsterdam I always think: “why would you do this to yourself?”
Suburbs
Here we think suburbs are common and boring but in another country they all of a sudden become interesting because it shows us how the people there really live. Funny right.
