There
were ten (10) international organizations including embassies and even
NGOs that opened its doors for public viewing today, September 23, 2012
for the International Day in the Hague. Registration was free but you
have to make sure to register ahead because there were limited number of
seats for each of the organizations in the list. In fact, among the
ten, you also had to choose only 2 that you can visit.I booked for the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court
(ICC). But of course, being a "political scientist" graduate, these
choices were definitely not surprising (yeah sounds boring to my sister
perhaps...haha) but to me, it was like visiting a holy place! haha
After
going to church with Eunsil Chae (my Korean ISS batchmate) and Anabelle
(one of my Filipino ISS batchmate), I figured, I could not make it to
the schedule of the free buses for the "mini tour" to these
organizations and if I go on my own, I would not have much time to visit
both of the organizations upon realizing that the ICC was located in
Voorburg, another Dutch town in Netherlands. So, I decided I will just
take one and choose ICC because ICJ was just a few blocks away from my
place so I know I can go there more often than ICC. So, I went back to
Den Haag Central station after having lunch and inquired for the public
transport going to ICC. I was looking for Manweeg, Voorburg and the lady
at the ticket counter advised me to take the train to Utrecht. It took
exactly (emphasis on the word EXACTLY because it is really amazing how
precise schedules are here) 4 minutes to Voorburg. I got out of the
train and immediately went to the nearest store to ask for directions.
An old man was very kind to give me instructions. It's a good thing, ICC
was just 2 blocks away so I just walked about 10-15 minutes. I saw this
tall building and noticed the ICC signage when I got nearer. I went
through the revolving doors and asked the security guard about the
activity I had registered for and he told me to transfer to the other
entrance door which was located on the other side.
I
was a bit worried because during our orientation week in the Hague, we
were informed that the Dutch are very much particular with time. Right
now, I was running late because the schedule I had booked was for 3PM
and the train arrived, well exactly at 3PM but I should have taken an
earlier one. Anyway, I was glad that the security guards on the other
side of the building were very kind to give me the instructions to
follow the group who were already inside the viewing decks for public
hearings. I made it in time for each of the members of the court to
explain the roles the clerk, prosecution, even interpreters...(okay okay
I won't go into the details of this soon enough to sound boring to
others). Too bad, cameras were not allowed to be used inside the
building. Well, when I got out, I took a chanc for a photo with the ICC
building as a background and the signage with it- not bad (although
certainly a reminder to one of the disadvantages of traveling alone: taking
a photo of yourself, which is again very disadvantageous to me
considering my size which will appear more zoomed because of the
clicking distance capacity)....
Anyway,
I was glad to have finally made it to Voorburg, to ICC by myself and
made it back with a little bit of adventure! This was because, when I
returned to the train station, I was not aware that the machines near
Voorburg, does not dispense through cash payment. I did not have yet my
debit card and the OV Chipkaart I had, was only good for the bus and the
tram and not the train! whew. So, I looked for the bus station which
was also nearby but got really worried when I realized the bus numbers
were the ones that did not go to our place in the Hague. I noticed bus
23 passed by labeled "Scheveningen Nordestraat". I remembered this was
the last stop near my classmates' in Gondestraat (a little bit far from
my place in Kortenaerkade but at least I know how to go home from there,
so I figured I should just hop into that bus if another one stops by). I
walked another block tracing where that bus 23 was about to stop. I
knew I could not make it to that bus running but at least I know now
which one I should be taking. When I reached at the bus stop, I checked
the route for bus 23 just in case it will stop by the Central Station
which was a lot nearer to me. There was none. So I was back to my
Scheveningen plan. It was 30 minutes past 4pm already and a lady sat
beside me also waiting for the bus. I asked if the bus would possible
pass by the Central Station (CS) in Den Haag and she confirmed that it
won't but she told me I can take tram 2 to CS. She explained that from
where she was stopping through that bus, there is a tram 2 line, which
has the CS in the route. So I thought of taking that route instead.
While waiting for the bus, we chatted for awhile, about the temperature
which was dropping already hence the coldness!Gosh this is beyond DAP
aircon already (haha); the places she encouraged me to visit in the
Netherlands and what was I doing here. Our bus came and I hopped in with
her taking in the scenic views of the places we passed by (these are
the moments when getting lost is fun!). I got out of the bus with the
lady and after saying goodbyes, I proceed to the waiting area for Tram
2. It was already 5PM. I thought about not making it to ICJ and realized
oh well, despite that, I know I will still be able to go there
especially when Sen. Santiago comes. Also, it was really fun wandering
around like a tourist for the 1st time and of course, getting "free tram
rides" hahaha this was my 2nd "lucky trip" the first trip I got for
free was when the tram driver run out of tickets and today, well, I'm
sure he did not run out of tickets but everyone inside did not bother to
buy when all of the chipkaart machine was out of order!!! weeehooo
I
arrived at the CS and despite the rain starting to pour and the cold
wind blowing, I decided to take a walk in a different route going home
(at least I was familiar with the area already). After 3 blocks, I took
the Tram 1, which will stop at Mauriskade, a block away from my place. I
arrived at 5:30pm, thanked God for the warm temperature inside Dorus
building, tried to check my mailbox and was happy to see some mails
inside (murag mao pod ba). My other Filipino batchmates arrived in
awhile from the World Forum and asked me if I made it to ICC and ICJ. I
explained my ICC trip only. We got back to our rooms and I immediately
prepared something to eat. I was really starving. I checked my pics for
the day and realized, I did not have only the ICC for today. I had a
photo with Eunsil Chae at the Department of Justice building on our way
home from church and the "office-palace" for Queen Beatrix at the
Noordeinde (also just a block away from my place). NOT BAD!!!
International Day with an international friend! what an adventure ^_^
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