Netherlands: Canals, Cycles and Windmills

 

Kinderdijk

It was my second visit to the Dutch country. The first time was to drop our daughter at Maastrict to start her undergraduate studies. We mostly roamed around this peaceful town, took a day trip to Liege, Belgium, and did some tourist activities in Amsterdam and Utrecht. With some familiarity and our daughter and cousins to guide us this time, we got adventurous and explored places not on the usual tourist circuit.

Coot Nest

On our first day, we took a morning walk around the Utrecht neighborhood where we were staying. Nature was plentiful. The highlight was, that we got to observe a Coot nest in the middle of a small park pond. How nice and safe it must feel!

Oude Waranda, Tilburg U

For the first weekend, we stayed near Tilburg University. The campus was peaceful and quiet as it was closed during our stay. The wonderfully designed nature park in a star shape,

Oude Waranda, is adjoining the university and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring it one of the days. It is one of the oldest baroque forests in the Netherlands. The main paths were quite wide with thick foliage all around. We found a foot trail that took us along the railway line and crossed the tracks to another park, the Wandelbos. This park had a lake in the middle some ducks, cormorants, and other birds to quench our birding desire. 

Wandelbos Park, Tilburg

The next day we walked around the Tilburg farmers market which was quite fun. 

Tilburg Farmers Market

Gouda was a lovely city to visit the next day. It has calm canals, and pebbled roads with shops, eateries, and old buildings. But our highlight was visiting the fun Cheese Museum with our 6 yr old nephew, where we got a good introduction to the city's history, ate lots of cheese, and learned how to pronounce Gouda (it's howda!).

Zandvroot F1 Circuit

Zandvroot was next on our schedule because our son had booked a BMW experience there. We found it a peaceful seaside town famous for its F1 circuit which hosts the Dutch leg of the Grand Prix every year. There were many nature trails around the racing circuit that we didn't have time to explore. Since it was not a race day, the public was allowed into the stands and pits where we could stroll among drivers/mechanics testing out their racing cars. On the way back a brief stop at Harlem was memorable as we caught the Dutch Euro Cup game at a local pub.

Harlem

Our Amsterdam visit was wandering the city, a free lunch concert at Concertgebouw and the somber, well-maintained Ann Frank House. We ended with some drinks along the canal nearby.

Amsterdam Canals

We got to spend a night at Rotterdam which allowed us to visit Delft University campus and  Kinderdijk. Kinderjik, a UNESCO World Heritage site, gave us a good glimpse into Dutch nature and also learned about its history of canals and windmills. We reached this place by the fun and convenient waterbus from Rotterdam. The windmills, even though 100s of years old are still in use. Few are converted to museums and are accessible by walk or by boat shuttle. We used both to get around. All of them are surrounded by villages and pristine nature. We saw ducks, terns, and geese, during our walk/sail around this place. There were also excellent museums and audio-visual shows to inform visitors of its history.

Crested Grebe, Kinderdijk

Overall, one can clearly see how much the Dutch love nature. They take care to preserve and protect them but still give ample access to us, nature lovers, to get up close and enjoy.

Selected images from the Netherlands leg

Utrecht Ebird list

Tillburg University Ebird List

Kinderdijk Ebird List

Cellphone images from the full Europe trip

Canal Restaurants, Utretcht

Bikers, Rotterdam

Duck Nest Box, Kinderdijk

Mute Swans, Kinderdijk

Windmill, Kinderdijk

Nature pond, Kinderdijk

Singapore Malaysia, Badminton and Nature

 

It was my desire to watch an international badminton tournament live that made us travel to Singapore and allowed us to explore nature around there. I caught the quarter-finals and finals action at the BWF Singapore Open. Before this event, we took a peek at the wonderful nature parks in the Sarawak region of Borneo Island which is part of Malaysia and also visited the superb Sungei Buloh Wetland Preserve in Singapore in between.

Thanks to my nephew in Singapore who suggested Sarawak on Borneo Island knowing our interest in nature. Borneo is the 3rd largest island and has many diverse nature sanctuaries. We had a difficult time choosing which ones to visit. We finally settled on 1. Bako National Park (for the proboscis monkey) and 2. Kubah National Park. Both were close to Kuching where we planned to stay. We postponed planning the logistics after we reached there, a mistake as you can read below. 

For Day 1, we had hoped to visit Bako but found out late morning, that we needed to start early as the park entrance is accessible only by boat.  After some research, we decided to taxi to Matang Wildlife Center. We only realized it was a rescue center, not a sanctuary when we reached there. It was also closed in the afternoon because they let the captive Orangutans out. The person in charge was sympathetic and since we had driven up all the way let us in with warnings to keep away from some paths. Also, there was no bus or return taxi service, so we had to hold back our taxi. The best is to drive there in your own vehicle. We did get to see the captive Orangutans who were very comical in their enclosures and Rhinoceros Hornbills.

We took a cruise in the evening on the Sarawak River, which was fun with snacks, drinks, and cultural events. It was an out-and-back with great views of the sunset. The Kuching waterfront from where the cruise starts is quite a happening place with choices of local food, music, and good space to walk around. We had some wonderful street food like Satay before it started raining heavily. 

For Day 2, we visited the famed and highly recommended Borneo Cultures Museum and booked a night walk at Kubah National Park. The museum is well done with spaced-out exhibits that are innovatively designed in how the information is presented. For example, in the birds exhibit, you could press a button to hear the call of a bird as a silhouette of the same bird lights up on the wall close by. 

Kubah is famed for its frogs which are best seen on a night walk. We were lucky to have chosen a very nice and friendly guide, Lucien, for the night frog tour at Kubah which can only be done with a guide. He picked us up from our stay and gave us an incredible look into the nightlife of animals at Kubah. 

On Day 3, early morning, we caught the local bus which took us to the jetty from where one could charter a boat to take us to the entrance of Bako. The bus cost us just 1 Ringitt per person when a taxi could have cost us nearly 50! Bako did not disappoint as we sighted the Bearded Pig as soon as we entered. The funny but also grave and serious-looking Proboscis monkey welcomed us with plenty of posing before we had even checked in at the visitor center. They guide you on the trails depending on your interest, fitness, and time available. We did a long trek to a beach and a shorter boardwalk over a peat swamp habitat. Time is limited here as our return is fixed by the boat we hired to get us here. If you want to experience this park to the fullest, they offer overnight accommodations too.

In Singapore, we went to Sungei Buloh National Park with our hosts. It is one of the best natural preserves I have ever visited within a large city limits. Wonderfully designed with huts that look out on

the water and swampy areas, almost like a hide. We had a good time walking around and spotting birds and the ubiquitous monitor lizard seen all over the park. We also got lucky to spot a couple of Otters that were frolicking in the lake. We hope to visit again during the migratory season for better spotting.

Overall, we had a wonderful time exploring nature in Southeast Asia that rivaled any we have seen. All the parks were well-maintained and rich in biodiversity. 

Images from the trip

Malaysia

Singapore

Frogs and more at Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia.