The Diary
of
Anne Ku

21 November 2000 Tuesday

TRAMS, BIKES, AND CANALBOATS

Here's a trivial pursuit question. Where am I?

I got off the plane at the airport which is also a major train station. I got off the train and took an above ground tram to the hotel. When I walked outside to find a place to eat, I had to look left to check for taxi, bicycle, or bus. Later I took a boat ride in the canals.

You guessed it. This is not my first visit this year. It's nice to know a foreign city as if I am living there. I know exactly which streets to walk, to avoid the traffic. Thanks to geometry, I know how the streets merge into the squares and out again radially.

I see more men than women walking in the streets. I wouldn't come here window shopping. The famous coffeehouses have now doubled up as Internet cafes. The waiters and waitresses are multi-lingual.

It's a city that does not sleep. So where am I?

Yesterday

Tomorrow