In earlier times, when mobile phones did not have internet access, you had to buy your own travel books or magazines and do your homework, then make international phone calls, fax orders or send emails to book rooms and cars. When you are abroad, you have to improvise.
One year, I was so irritated by work that I wanted to escape, but before the tulip season was over, I dragged my girlfriend, who was so busy with everything, to go on holiday with me to the Netherlands.
The book said that Amsterdam is a highly tourist-friendly city, with tourist centres all over the place offering services such as accommodation, information on attractions, transport information and so on. So I took two books I had borrowed from the library, an out-of-date magazine, bought my plane ticket and flew out!
We walked out of Amsterdam Central Station on Friday evening with our luggage and I was baffled! Well… What a… There were so many people! Did the whole of Europe come to Amsterdam for the weekend? I waited at least half an hour in the queue at the tourist centre for advice, no accommodation within my budget was available, and I managed to find a B&B (bed and breakfast) in the city by gritting my teeth and raising the cost. My girlfriend, who didn’t say a word, warned me two days later that I should at least book my first day’s accommodation so I wouldn’t end up on the streets! She didn’t scold me! Where can I find such a good friend?
Today I would like to share about the village of Sheepscot.
The village is located in the De Wieden Nature Reserve in the northwest of the Netherlands, a low-lying area that was used by convicts to dig coal mines in the early days. In addition to the coal, there are also many goat horns underground, which have been identified as a group of wild goats that lived around 1170, hence the name ‘Goat Horn Village’.
The travel book says that when you take a train in Holland, you can get a discount voucher from the station with your ticket, and you can transfer to a taxi for half price. So my girlfriend and I took the train and then a taxi, and the driver asked us where we were going. The driver asked us where we were going and I compared it to Giethoorn in the book. I paid and got out of the taxi, but I was confused again, the scenery in front of me was different from the book!
I walked into the road and saw a waterway with a restaurant on the side, so I went in and asked for a place to stay.
With a place to stay, I felt a bit more secure and went out for a walk. Turning a corner, I saw the scene described in the book. A traditional reed grass roof with a green grass courtyard, surrounded by canals, some connected to the road by small bridges, some accessible only by boat, immediately brought to mind the Yuan song “Tianjing Sha. Autumn Thoughts”, a house with small bridges and flowing water! The view is so picturesque, so beautiful! Sitting down to have a bite to eat, the ducks were waiting at my feet for my fries, so I was at ease.
Walking back to the restaurant B&B again, the restaurant was closed and we were the only two travellers here the whole way. The scene before us was different from the small bridges and flowing water behind us, two horses grazing in the grassland across the small canal, the sun slowly setting in front of us, no human noise, just the sound of our own heartbeats. We all enjoyed this peace and quiet until the sun set.
The next day we woke up and decided to hire a boat to cruise the canals. There are two types of boats here, one is a large boat with a driver and a guide, usually for tour groups. The other is a small boat with a single screw engine for four people, which you can drive yourself. I was given a map, got on the boat, and with a twist of the hand, I was the captain for the day.
Looking at a traditional house from a boat is a completely different experience to standing on the roadside. On the boat you can see the garden that each owner has put in place, the different flowers and plants that decorate it, the bouncy beds that are set up for the children to play on, the docks that can accommodate two boats, and the traditional wooden shoes that the owners are digging in. It was refreshing to be so close to Dutch life and to pretend that you were sailing a boat and going to visit your neighbour’s house.
Many people who go abroad just keep buying, buying designer bags, buying maintenance products, buying souvenirs from their second aunt and third uncle, those things can also be bought domestically, without going out online shopping can also be delivered directly to your home. If we have already taken a vacation from our bodies, why not take a vacation from our minds. Let yourself go and experience the positive energy that this land, this city and these people have to offer us. And Yangjiao Village has such positive energy.
