Amsterdam is made up of about 1 and a half million people from about 173 nationalities. It is a 24 hour city as it seems that everything is open all the time! The first sight and feel as you arrive is the glut of bicycles - over 600,000! Most mornings if you are up early enough , you can watch all the stolen ones being fished out of the canals. So...Dont leave your bike unattended or unlocked ! This city has on average about 15 million visitors a day!
To Tourists this is the land of Tulips, Wooden shoes and Cheese, however the Dutch are not fooled as they know you have come for the drugs and the ladies in the windows in the Red Light District.Both are freely available in huge quantities and are very easy to find. Ask any Dutch person, 6 years or older! lol
All Dutch people speak excellent English but sometimes you may hear words that sound like dutch and make some sense to you,These are normally British or German Tourists.
The Walletjes area is where you will find the naughty windows with some very young and very lovely women who are available for set prices for a short while. But be aware!...That lovely and beautiful slim Asian with the great body is quite often....a boy! Cameras are not tolerated as you will find out if you point it at any of them when a big gorilla suddenly appears and takes it off you! There is seldom any trouble here as it is tightly controlled and is safe. Voorburgwal and Achterburgwal are where the main windows are sited. Along this stretch you will also find the live sex shows that are popular with tourists,and are full most of the time. The sex museum is situated in Damrak and is worth the 2.5 euros entrance fee.
Amsterdam of course is famous for its Gay community which you cant avoid as it is openly displayed everywhere. There are numerous cinemas and Saunas catering to every deviance imaginable. here sticking a finger in a dike has other connotations! Double Dutch also takes on a new meaning! lol
As you walk along the numerous canals, especially in the Red light Area, you will suddenly be joined by an amiable black person who cheerfully asks you if you want some drugs, if you say no, he will ask you why not ? and if you insist you don't want any off him, he will suddenly start abusing you. Take no notice and walk away, it very rarely amounts to anything but soft intimidation. If you are foolish enough to say yes to him, you will walk away with not what is cocaine but a wrap of glucose or sugar or some other concoction. These crooks are everywhere and rely on your naivety to fill their wallets up. If you want drugs ask the doorman at your hotel and it will be delivered to your room in safety.
Never buy on the street. Drug related deaths in Holland are the lowest in Europe and although the hard ones like Cocaine and heroin are still illegal, the police turn a blind eye if you have less than 7 grammes on you. There are of course 'Brown' shops, which are cafes selling various forms of marijuana and have a menu on the table as you sit down. This is legal but again very tightly controlled. You may find these 'shops' easily as the customers sitting inside are usually looking up at the ceiling watching the flying elephants playing a game of football, with large spliffs in their mouth! Very few Dutch are addicts as because everything is freely available, they don't want it! The glamour is waned and there is no rush to get stoned as its boring to them. Britain should learn from this place.
The best thing about Amsterdam is the numerous cultural places available that are free. Rembrandt's 'Nightwatch' is free to see in the Rembrandt Museum.There is also Anne Franks House which you do have to pay for but cant be missed. A trip on the barges is worthwhile once, as you will pass the Cats hotel, a barge that houses homeless cats! There are a lot of markets including the famous flower market near the Munt Tower. My favourite is the Waterloo Square market ( Flea Market) which is mainly 2nd hand goods but in good condition and a tenth of what it would cost in the shops! If you are a porn person, heres the place to increase your collection as its 10 for the price of one in the shops! lol But they are amazing antiques on sale here.
The Arctic Zoo is fantastic and will keep you occupied for most of the day especially the marine section which is housed in a huge building.
A nice walk to take in most of the sights would be to walk up Damrak Square and turn left into Rokin and walk down to the Munt Tower, from there you can walk to Leidsplein, where there is always street performers plying their trade and amusing the throngs of appreciating tourists.
There a huge array of eating houses supplying many different types of world dishes but my favourite is the Argentinian meat restaurants, especially the one in the street at the side of The Krasnapolsky hotel,Gauchos, run by Indians! lol There you can get a set steak meal for less than £6 per head.
Holland has a very low crime index, probably because here fewer things are considered a crime lol As in England though, exceeding the speed limit in your car brings a huge amount of attention and a considerable fine.
The Dutch are proud of their country and their brave fight against the Germans in the last war. They will point out that they always come second in everything including every war they have fought! lol The national football team has won more medals for being runner up than any other nation and even if they failed to win more Gold medals in the Olympics, they have at least the satisfaction of knowing they supplied all the drugs to the countries that did! Which is enough to make them proud to be a Hollander!
This a fascinating and very worthwhile City but as everywhere, have your wits about you.....a fool and his money are easily parted and this City certainly puts you to the test!
