Indian Expats!

Amsterdam is very convenient to move around and is well connected by bus, trams and metro. Buy a strippencart which is avaialble at post offices, grocery stores like Albert Heijn, book shops etc which is valid for travel by bus,tram and metro (its cheaper than buying a ticket directly!). Office goers or regular commuters should make a monthly pass. The pass is made for the number of zones that they travel. These passes can me made at most of the post offices and train stations (Central Station, Rai or Amsterdam Zuid WTC).

For help on routes and bus/tram/metro timings, use the following website (from - to address) http://www.9292ov.nl/ and for bus routes use www.connexxion.nl. Information on national and international trains can be obtained from www.ns.nl.

Stay connected with a mobile connection (pre-paid or post-paid). Some of the more popular mobile operators in Amsterdam are vodafone,telfort, kpn and t-mobile. Buy India calling cards from Indian stores to make international calls.

The main supermarkets in Amsterdam and Amstelveen where you can buy your daily necessities like vegetables, fruits, milk etc are listed below. Spot one which is closest to your house.

• Abert Heijn
• C1000
• Dirk

For general household stuff like mixer grinders, storage containers and other kitchen stuff you can go to Blokkers while one of the best places to buy quality and affordable apparel for the whole family is C&A

* Shopping including, grocery stores remains closed on all Sundays except first Sunady of the month when some shopping malls are open. During weekdays, shops in certain areas close at 6, while the grocery stores close between 8 and 10 PM.

For Indian grocery stuff you will have to visit an Indian/Pskistani store where they sell Indian provisions and vegtebales. Some of these stores are listed below.

• Bangala Bazaar (Ceintuurbaan 414 III,1074EA, Amsterdam Phone: 020 - 3790999)
• Khera indian Store (Van Woustraat 162,1073LW, Amsterdam,Phone: 020- 6711027)
• Kashmiri Food Store (Hortensialaan 14,1185EE,Amstelveen,Phone: 020-6415187, home delivery in Amstelveen available)
• San's Asian Supermarket, Srilankan Store (Dapperplein 36, 1093 GS AMSTERDAM, Phone 020-6943408)
• Dutch-Bangla Supermarket (Van Woustraat 48, 1073 LM Amsterdam Phone 020 6727692)

• Vigra C&C (Javastraat 84, Amsterdam)

There are a number of Indian restaurants in Amsterdam. Most of them are located in and around Liedseplien. Most of them also have home delivery (most are open for dinner only) with a minimum order size of Euros 25. Some of the more famous ones include:

• Mayur (020 - 6232142, Amsterdam)
• Sagar Royal (020 - 6418445, Amstelveen)
• Indian Food Palace (020 - 6854307, Amsterdam) Home Delivery
• Indian Express (020 - 612 84 88 Amsterdam) Home Delivery
• Kerklaan Toko (020 - 345 0330, Amstelveen) Home Delivery
• Sandely (020 - 679 5900, Amsterdam) Home Delivery

Lot more information on Indian Restaurant is available on http://www.indiase-restaurants.nl/

For ordering food online please visit http://www.thuisbezorgd.nl/

 Hindi TV channels like Zee TV, B4U, Sony are also available thru digital packages. For these channels you need to get a decoder (provided by cable operators) and digi-cards (25 Euros approx at Media Markt, BCC). The hindi channel package (2 channels only) cost approximately Eur 20. For info contact www.casema.nl. or http://www.upc.nl/.

IMP: From January, Casema will start showing Sony TV. The rates will also change for Hindi Package!