Date of Visit: 19 - 21 September 2011
We are in Amsterdam, Sin City! Prostitution, Drugs, you name it, she has it. But surprisingly, Amsterdam is a very beautiful and charming city. Despite the prostitution and drugs, the city feels very safe, even at night. Amazing.
Once we reach Amsterdam, right away we can spot the Dutch architecture style. It's quite unique, and the train station itself looks magnificent.
There are also a few interesting houses in the city. Such as the smallest house in the city(left), and the house with the smallest house-front(right).
Here are some of the sights of Amsterdam, which includes the Royal Palace and the National Monument.
We bumped into this old converted church one day, and it's pretty interesting with the cartoons pasted on the windows. Further investigation reveals that it's a creative firm, which explains the cartoons.
Amsterdam is a city built on a piece of swampland, and the average land-level is below sea-level. That is why the city is full of canals, about 100km of it to be exact. Nowadays, the canals are just packed with tourists in those sight-seeing boats.
Another phenomena is the number of bicycles in the city. The people here love to cycle, and they actually have a dedicated cycling lanes throughout the city. It is actually quite dangerous with so many cyclist around, especially since they do not really follow traffic signals and they pedal about recklessly, in high speed. It is little wonder that the favorite past time of drunk Dutch is to dump bicycles into the canals. If the bicycles are not chained properly, most likely only the chained part will remain (photo below). On average, 20000 bicycles are recovered from the bottom of the canal annually. Sometimes it gets go bad that the bottoms of the boats are scrapping over them when sailing through the canal. LOL
But of course, we have to visit a very famous little girl's house, or more accurately, a famous diary from a girl. Honestly, I have no freaking idea who Anne Frank is before this. Never heard of her before, and truthfully, I do not know why people make such a big fuss about it. I'm sure there are many other diaries out there, just not found and not published. The diary was very lucky to have escaped destruction and that her father is smart and determined enough to publish it.
In any case, it provided a different angle to the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a very very evil thing, which must never happen again to any person of any race/religion.
Amsterdam is part of Holland, which is a region in the Netherlands. And when we think of Holland, what comes to mind? That's right, Windmills! We have to travel a little out of town to visit them, about 20 minutes train ride. There used to be a whole bunch of them, but the advancement of technology made the windmills obsolete. Thankfully, the city has decided to preserve 12 windmills for educational(and tourist) purposes. It was really beautiful the see the windmills spin. We even went into one of the windmills (EUR3.00) to see how is works. Everything inside is wooden: wooden wheels, wooden gears, wooden floor. So when the windmill is turning, you can hear all the creaking sounds of the wood. Quite scary though, as you feel that everything may collapse anytime soon.
And of course, I've saved the best for last. How can anyone missed out the Red Light District in Amsterdam(not that it's miss-able since it's so big). We signed up for a tour of the district, so that we can understand the area more.
There are all types of shops in the red light district. Ranging from porn DVD shops to porn cinema to live sex shows. As such obedient Singaporeans, we did not visit these shops..(also to note that they are very expensive and we can't really afford them :P). One of the interesting shop is the condom shop which can make tailored condoms to ensure it fits. The shop also has very interesting condoms.. anyone fancy a Bart Simpson headed condom?
Amsterdam is also a gay-friendly city. They would hang the rainbow flag outside the shops that are gay-friendly. What's interesting though, as our guide shared with us, are those shopfronts that are all boarded up and no windows. It's supposed to be hard-core gay clubs. One of which their dress-code is shoes, and ONLY shoes. And it's a 4 level complex, with each level dedicated to a type of special services, which I shall not elaborate further.
On the whole, Amsterdam is a very interesting city and I really like it. It feels like a very free and liberal city where anything can be tolerated. There're a lot of freedom going on here. I hope I can return here in the near future!
And I forgot to add that: what happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam
We are in Amsterdam, Sin City! Prostitution, Drugs, you name it, she has it. But surprisingly, Amsterdam is a very beautiful and charming city. Despite the prostitution and drugs, the city feels very safe, even at night. Amazing.
Once we reach Amsterdam, right away we can spot the Dutch architecture style. It's quite unique, and the train station itself looks magnificent.
There are also a few interesting houses in the city. Such as the smallest house in the city(left), and the house with the smallest house-front(right).
Here are some of the sights of Amsterdam, which includes the Royal Palace and the National Monument.
Amsterdam is a city built on a piece of swampland, and the average land-level is below sea-level. That is why the city is full of canals, about 100km of it to be exact. Nowadays, the canals are just packed with tourists in those sight-seeing boats.
Another phenomena is the number of bicycles in the city. The people here love to cycle, and they actually have a dedicated cycling lanes throughout the city. It is actually quite dangerous with so many cyclist around, especially since they do not really follow traffic signals and they pedal about recklessly, in high speed. It is little wonder that the favorite past time of drunk Dutch is to dump bicycles into the canals. If the bicycles are not chained properly, most likely only the chained part will remain (photo below). On average, 20000 bicycles are recovered from the bottom of the canal annually. Sometimes it gets go bad that the bottoms of the boats are scrapping over them when sailing through the canal. LOL
But of course, we have to visit a very famous little girl's house, or more accurately, a famous diary from a girl. Honestly, I have no freaking idea who Anne Frank is before this. Never heard of her before, and truthfully, I do not know why people make such a big fuss about it. I'm sure there are many other diaries out there, just not found and not published. The diary was very lucky to have escaped destruction and that her father is smart and determined enough to publish it.
In any case, it provided a different angle to the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a very very evil thing, which must never happen again to any person of any race/religion.
Amsterdam is part of Holland, which is a region in the Netherlands. And when we think of Holland, what comes to mind? That's right, Windmills! We have to travel a little out of town to visit them, about 20 minutes train ride. There used to be a whole bunch of them, but the advancement of technology made the windmills obsolete. Thankfully, the city has decided to preserve 12 windmills for educational(and tourist) purposes. It was really beautiful the see the windmills spin. We even went into one of the windmills (EUR3.00) to see how is works. Everything inside is wooden: wooden wheels, wooden gears, wooden floor. So when the windmill is turning, you can hear all the creaking sounds of the wood. Quite scary though, as you feel that everything may collapse anytime soon.
Let me try to summarize the basic history here. Amsterdam started out as a port city, and it soon developed into a major trading hub in Europe. As such, many sailors arrive here everyday, after being deprived of sexual urges for a long time(sailing in the past can take up to a few months). So once they dock, they have all the money that they cannot spend out at sea, so they partied and have sex(or rape) with ladies in the city. Seeing this as a business opportunity, pimps started to surface to sell services to the sailors. Furthermore, by having prostitutes, it prevent the local women from being raped. Therefore, the prostitutes are sort of the sacrifice. So slowly, this culture developed and reached the present day, which prostitution is legal and the prostitutes are all self-proprietor of their own business.
So this is how their business works, as recounted by our guide. They rent a window space for a shift of about 7-8 hours, which cost about 150Euros. Then they stand there with their bikinis and try to attract business. Basic package offered is 50Euros for 15 minutes of one position, no touching. And if the client wants more, he will have to top up more cash accordingly. Therefore, it's a very lucrative business for the prostitutes.
Some interesting facts: 1 in 3 sex workers here are above 50 years old, and the oldest registered is 80 years old(rumor has it that she still has a waiting list for her services). Different districts have their own specialty, from races to sizes. There is an area in the red light district dedicated to the "Big Mamas", kinda disturbing to see but they are apparently very popular. What can I say, some people have exotic tastes.
There are all types of shops in the red light district. Ranging from porn DVD shops to porn cinema to live sex shows. As such obedient Singaporeans, we did not visit these shops..(also to note that they are very expensive and we can't really afford them :P). One of the interesting shop is the condom shop which can make tailored condoms to ensure it fits. The shop also has very interesting condoms.. anyone fancy a Bart Simpson headed condom?
Amsterdam is also a gay-friendly city. They would hang the rainbow flag outside the shops that are gay-friendly. What's interesting though, as our guide shared with us, are those shopfronts that are all boarded up and no windows. It's supposed to be hard-core gay clubs. One of which their dress-code is shoes, and ONLY shoes. And it's a 4 level complex, with each level dedicated to a type of special services, which I shall not elaborate further.
On the whole, Amsterdam is a very interesting city and I really like it. It feels like a very free and liberal city where anything can be tolerated. There're a lot of freedom going on here. I hope I can return here in the near future!
And I forgot to add that: what happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam
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